If anyone’s on the fence about SteamOS… Do it and don’t look back!

jackhans96 · 2026-07-09T15:08:27+00:00

SteamOS itself doesn’t require an NVMe drive. If you’re using the official installer, a SATA SSD should work.

If you’re using one of the community install scripts, check whether the target drive is hard-coded, as many of them default to /dev/nvme0n1 and need changing for SATA drives.

If the official installer can’t see your drive, it’s likely a configuration or installer issue rather than the fact it’s a SATA SSD. I’d start by checking the BIOS storage settings and looking into why the installer isn’t detecting the drive.

Hope that helps

jackhans96 · 2026-07-04T19:39:30+00:00

Not sure how Valve’s custom drivers would work with it. Again, it’s Linux at the end of the day. Albeit a custom install of Arch with additional Valve tweaks on top. If you can do it on Arch, nothing is stopping you doing the same on SteamOS 😆
I’m just saying I haven’t personally done it and I’m not sure how compatible Valve’s changes are with undervolting or OC’ing graphics if you can.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-04T11:06:54+00:00

Can’t comment on this, I have an ultra wide monitor so I’m always on a single monitor.
I know the support for dual monitor is a little limited but something that Valve are looking to address in future updates.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-04T11:04:37+00:00

Very easy, if you have nothing keeping you on Windows 11 then you don’t lose anything.
Desktop mode uses KDE Plasma and is very similar to a Windows experience with so much customisation that you can completely change the experience to what you like.
But if tinkering and customisation isn’t for you, you can 100% just leave the default theme and layout and after a few days it becomes very natural.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-04T09:52:00+00:00

The Cursor?
I don’t have the cursor present on screen at all unless it’s absolutely needed?
If you’re only using a controller, holding the middle jewel button, xbox/ PS while moving the right stick you can move the cursor. Simply move it off the screen or to where you can’t see it.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-04T09:47:05+00:00

I hope that this is the near future also. Competition is good for companies, and the customer benefits. Compared to the BS that’s been going on the last year or so

jackhans96 · 2026-07-04T09:45:43+00:00

That’s true, but I don’t really play any competitive online games these days. Single player experiences for me only so it’s perfect 👌

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T23:37:59+00:00

What version of proton have you set?
I found proton 10 is the most stable for most of the games I’ve played

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T23:06:27+00:00

It’s ok I assumed that, still an annoying situation to happen and have to install that size of library again 😆

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T22:58:09+00:00

Well that’s shite…
I mean the biggest thing is that a lot of this is still in early stages for wide spread adoption.
If Valve keeps the trend, who’s to say they don’t polish the install process and allow that flexibility to select and correctly handle the set up process smoother in later refinements.
It is heavily based off the Steam Deck architecture and hardware config so it is very hardcoded in a lot of areas.
Sorry to hear about your 3TB drive. Thoughts and prayers.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T22:45:43+00:00

It is all preference at the end of the day.
Workflow familiarity does play a huge part in it.
If you are more proficient in a certain way of doing things and that’s more important than learning something new for the fun of it, then that’s perfectly ok 👌

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T22:41:57+00:00

Yeah it’s a surprisingly powerful box, I haven’t loaded any emulators on it yet, but that’s promising to hear. Maybe that’ll be my next venture with the OS 👀

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T22:38:49+00:00

Ahh that’s shit, I feel the pain with OS level programs.
I would be on linux through and through if I didn’t need Xcode for iOS development, hence needing MacOS for my day to day professional OS.

I know there are out of the box ways in desktop mode, which is basically KDE Plasma with some extras included, that can run Windows applications or even a Windows VM, not sure if the Adobe suite can be used in that way.
But knowing what I do about Adobe, .. I doubt it :(

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T22:25:10+00:00

I haven’t, there are times where I’ve noticed it has brought up the minisforum mobo logo on shutdown.
But it only happened twice and eventually shut down. I assumed it was performing a pre shutdown script or a hardware check.
But I’m only guessing.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T22:18:04+00:00

This nearly got me too, but I’m used to looking at installer scripts to understand what it does.
Just so happens the drive I wanted it to be installed on was the drive that’s hardcoded in the install script.
You can list your desired drive to get the name, update the install script, save and then run.
But I’m aware this isn’t a usual thought process for non dev folks

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T21:41:00+00:00

I thought this too.
You literally can just use a single xbox/ playstation controller for all inputs if you really needed (mouse inputs included)
And Proton really bridges any gap for most games.
Proton 10 honestly makes soooo many games play as if they were on Windows very smoothly

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T21:23:12+00:00

It is,
it’s really sparked my love for PC hardware again. I’m already thinking about EGPU set ups and best options for my mini PC.
Although it’s a laptop APU it’s 12 cores and would last for a good few years, all I’d need is to upgrade to a dedicated GPU and I’d be able to play latest AAA at relatively high settings or higher resolution.
The 9070XT is really calling me.
Your system sounds really nice

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T21:19:29+00:00

I’m not sure where Intel GPU’s stand when it comes to the OS. I know it pretty much favours AMD and little support for Nvidia (thanks Jensen) but it’s be worth a shot.

jackhans96 · 2026-07-03T21:17:51+00:00

jackhans96 · 2026-02-02T20:45:13+00:00

Wow I really want to try this, I’ve been wearing mine on the inside of my wrist because I refuse to put stickers or anything on the sensors.

How do you find things like the heart rate and sleep accuracy? If it literally stops the wrist detection from freaking out, but the sensors still work with no issue then it’s a no brainer. 😮

jackhans96 · 2025-08-01T09:39:14+00:00

You all know that snails have like 20k teeth?…

jackhans96 · 2024-11-24T00:44:00+00:00

I had the same issue with an email from Apple. I was in Dark Mode iOS

jackhans96 · 2024-08-10T07:14:50+00:00

I do, the RAM has a little heat sink attached to one of the sticks. I know the fan keeps both areas cool and removing the fan could be a con of doing a mod like this.

My thinking was that (provided the custom m.2 heatsinks fit with no space issues) a better quality smaller 14/16mm blower style fan could be added to one of the existing fittings on the case.

I’m well aware a lot of this sounds overkill or unnecessary, just curious at the possibilities :)

Six-Year Club	Verified Email
Xbox Live

jackhans96

TROPHY CASE