SteamOS/Windows Dual Boot on SSD
SteamOS/Windows Dual Boot on SSD
Has anyone tried this? How good does it work? Any problems in day to day usage?
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I wrote this comment for somebody else with a similar question so I'll copy and paste, but I unfortunately am also a filthy Genshin player and the TLDR is it'll work fine. One thing to note is I would recommend installing to the SSD if possible because installs on SD cards will significantly more quickly kill the SD card due to how much reading and writing Windows does. Copy and paste below, but feel free to ask questions!
I replaced an aging laptop with mine, and I have to say, Windows is fine on the Steam Deck. It's obviously not going to have all the same bells and whistles but performance for most games is the same and it is more flexible on compatability since it runs natively instead of via Proton.
I've been using dual boot for this and started since I got my Deck in early July last year, and a lot of the hate is really overblown. It's good if you just want to use the Deck the same way as any other computer or with applications that cannot work in Steam OS and it's a completely fine experience, and applications like Handheld Companion or Steam Deck Tools make it simpler.
I would just say that it's up to preference and need since it does need setup and tweaking, so if all you care about is playing a few games that work fine in Steam OS, there is not much reason to dual boot for Windows and Steam OS is simpler to set up. But if you want more freedom on application choices and compatability or even just to use it for more everyday purposes like any other computer, Windows runs perfectly fine on it. It will be ultimately up to preference and use case.
As someone that plays Genshin, it actually runs fine through proton funnily enough. Honkai Star Rail on the other hand…
Main issue with that is that it requires bypassing the anti cheat which can get people banned. There aren't many reports of this so most say it's not really common, but bans do happen from Hoyo for doing so on the Steam Deck; there was a post on the Steam Deck reddit a while back with somebody who got banned on Star Rail for it even though they had got it running as well as Genshin. Was pretty rough, they quit all Hoyo games because of it even though they were a whale.
I wouldn't risk it myself for that reason, so I've always played it on Windows. Though, since I use my Deck as my main computer, I'm most often in Windows since so much software I need either barely works or is broken on SteamOS.