In recent tests, the Lenovo Legion Go S console, running Valve’s free operating system SteamOS, achieved better frame rates when running games compared to Windows 11.
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SteamOS Outperforms Windows 11 in Gaming Performance on Lenovo Legion Go S
A decade ago, when Linux game ports were compared to their Windows counterparts, Ars Technica’s tests revealed that SteamOS (back in the Steam Machine days) performed worse than Windows. However, recent tests on the Lenovo Legion Go S have shown that newer games generally run at higher frame rates on SteamOS 3.7 compared to Windows 11. This performance boost is one of the ways SteamOS distinguishes itself from the traditional Windows standard, which has been the go-to for PC gamers for years.
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SteamOS vs Windows 11 on Gaming Devices
While users have been able to install Windows on the Steam Deck since 2022, Valve doesn’t officially support Windows installation on the hardware. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Go S is the first portable gaming console designed to officially support both Windows 11 and SteamOS. The Windows version of this device was released in early 2025, while the SteamOS-based version was recently launched, alongside a new SteamOS release for AMD hardware that Valve didn’t manufacture.
Benchmarking the Performance: SteamOS vs Windows 11
For the test, Ars used the SteamOS version of the Lenovo Legion Go S (provided by Lenovo) and ran five heavy 3D games released in the past five years, using benchmarking tools at two different graphical settings. Afterward, Windows 11 was installed, and the latest drivers from Lenovo were used to test the same games again on the Windows version. In most cases, SteamOS outperformed Windows in frame rate.
Driver Updates and Performance Optimization
In the testing process, the game Doom: The Dark Ages couldn’t run on Windows due to outdated drivers. However, the team managed to replace Lenovo’s official drivers with newer ones from Asus for the ROG Ally console. While this update improved the performance, it still couldn’t quite match the frame rate of SteamOS in most instances. Nevertheless, the new drivers brought the performance closer to SteamOS.
Performance Breakdown
According to the charts, SteamOS delivered better performance in four out of five games tested. The only game where the performance was nearly identical on both operating systems was Borderlands 3.
While running Windows games on SteamOS requires a translation layer called Proton (which translates Windows commands into Linux-friendly code), Valve has invested years optimizing Proton for better compatibility. Additionally, continuous updates to graphical drivers by Valve have significantly improved SteamOS’s performance. Furthermore, many background processes in Windows that consume system resources have been removed in SteamOS, which is one of the reasons for its superior performance. Microsoft has also acknowledged this issue and has recently announced its aim to create a solution to reduce background activity and optimize frame rates in games.
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SteamOS: A Powerful Alternative to Windows in Gaming
The clear performance advantage is an important selling point for SteamOS. The SteamOS-powered version of the Lenovo Legion Go S is priced at $599 (a $130 savings over the Windows version). In the more powerful Z1 Extreme version, the price difference is reduced to $70. It seems that the current SteamOS version is becoming a powerful and practical alternative to Windows in the gaming world. However, it’s worth noting that some games are either incompatible with SteamOS or require complex settings to run without Windows. While Valve has recently improved SteamOS’s compatibility with various hardware, it still doesn’t support many common components like Intel processors, Nvidia graphics cards, and some newer AMD chips.
FAQs
Yes, according to tests, SteamOS performs better in frame rates compared to Windows 11.
Yes, but Valve does not officially support installing Windows on the Steam Deck.
SteamOS has made many optimizations that provide better performance and use fewer system resources for gaming.
No, it is still not compatible with some hardware like Intel processors and Nvidia graphics cards.
