One of the big points that Valve wanted to push with the Steam Deck is that it's an open platformfor users to do what they want with. Gabe even mentioned running Windows on the Steam Deck or the Steam Deck OLED because he wanted the company to stick to that promise. A few months after the release of each handheld console, Valve released full Windows drivers for the hardware inside, making that promise upheld.

Now, just because you can do a thing, doesn't mean that thing is a good idea. The Steam Deck was designed around Steam OS, with multiple tweaks to the OS that make it a seamless experience. Running Windows on the Steam Deck is technically possible, and choice is usually good, but there are plenty of reasons why you'd want to stick with Steam OS. If you're thinking about changing your Steam Deck's operating system, maybe these reasons will sway your mind away from the path.

5 Windows isn't the best handheld OS

It's always the worst part of any PC gaming handheld we've reviewed

The staff here at XDA love PC gaming handhelds, and a (possibly worrying) number of us have multiple devices. There are quite a few Nintendo Switch fans in the office as well, and really, without the popularity of that device, none of the PC handhelds would possibly exist. The one thing that the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch have in common that isn't shared by the other handhelds? Custom-designed operating systems built for that specific device. That's important, because handheld gaming needs to be convenient, and have features like pausing gameplay at a moment's notice, and low battery drain when in sleep mode.

Both of those features are also shared by the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, with the growing number of Windows-based gaming handhelds left with varying levels of support. Not support from Microsoft, although the company has said it's working on optimizations for handheld devices, but from the manufacturers of the hardware, which means an inconsistent gaming experience between the different handhelds.

Take the Legion Go or ROG Ally as examples. Both run Windows 11, but the experience is vastly different, as each manufacturer has made its own overlay to make Windows feel more like a console. Except the overlay doesn't do everything, and you often have to go into Windows to download things or change settings. The experience is nowhere near as seamless as on the Steam Deck.

To be fair, this is on Microsoft's shoulders to fix, and since they're working on an Xbox-branded PC gaming handheld, the ball is in their court. Microsoft needs to put the users first and fix the handheld experience for all gamers without relying on device manufacturers. I'd love to see Windows Mobile or the Windows 8 Start menu come back for the smaller screens, as it would be a perfect use of the UI that Microsoft has already proven works on touchscreens. But until then, Steam OS is still the best operating system to run on the Steam Deck (or any other handheld once the beta version arrives).

4 You lose the quickbar settings

The Steam Deck's easy access menu for tweaking is one of its standout feature

Part of Steam OS's beauty is its tight integration with system settings, BIOS tweaks, and other hardware-specific features, which make the Steam Deck work better. For example, the Quick Settings bar slides out from the right of the screen, giving thumb-range access to overclocking features, fan control, battery stats, and a host of handy settings.

If you're running Windows on the Legion Go or ROG Ally, the manufacturer programs have much of the same functionality. That's great, but there isn't a comparable Windows program for the Steam Deck right now, and I'm not sure whether it ever will. Sure, you can add performance monitoring in some cases, but things like changing the APU's power settings without diving into the BIOS will be out of reach.

3 Poor battery life

Windows is a bigger battery hog than Steam OS ever will be

PC gaming handhelds need good battery life to stay competitive, and the Steam Deck can last for hours with less intensive games. Sure, it doesn't have the gigantic battery of the ROG Ally X, but it's also not as expensive, has dual touchpads, and isn't burdened by the power demands of Windows. Linux is better overall for battery life than Windows, although laptops with Lunar Lake processors have been rewriting that story somewhat.

The Steam Deck does have functional drivers for Windows, but they're not optimized in the same way as they would be if the device was designed with Windows in mind, and the overall experience is lacking. Battery life is just one part of the equation, but it's a big part to anyone who uses their handheld when on the go, rather than while hanging around at home.

2 You lose sleep and resume

Being able to pause games is amazing and not worth losing out on

One of the standout features of the Steam Deck is being able to put it to sleep while you're in-game, and have it resume from where you are when you power the screen back on again. It can even work with multiplayer games, although sometimes you'll get kicked from the server when resuming. It's a feature borrowed from the Nintendo Switch and other Nintendo handhelds, and it should be a staple of convenience and portability with PC gaming handhelds.

While Windows on handhelds does have decent sleep mode functionality, it doesn't work with games running. The device might go to sleep, but then it's anyone's guess whether it'll keep the game going on resume, or if the game, or Windows, will crash. It's just not built for the always-ready functionality that portable gaming demands, and is something that Microsoft needs to address in future builds if Windows wants to excel at handheld gaming.

1 There will be app issues

Not every app is optimized for the Steam Deck's hardware

Steam OS covers basic functionality, plus some nice features like performance monitoring and over- and under-clocking. It has a fully-fledged desktop mode, so you can use it as a productivity machine. It's also got tons of compatible apps because it's built on top of Arch Linux, and there is a vibrant developer community making plugins, apps, replacement launchers, and other things to improve users' experiences.

If you put Windows on the Steam Deck, you lose access to those apps, but you also lose access to Windows apps you might want to run to add usability features. The last time I tried, the popular monitoring software HWINFO64 wouldn't run because it wasn't updated to account for some of the Steam Deck hardware. And with the Steam Deck's APU being a custom job, it's somewhat trickier to develop tools to monitor it. I can't say I've noticed apps failing to run on any of the PC gaming handhelds that ship with Windows, and I run the same mix on every device I test.

Sure, you could install Windows on your Steam Deck, but it loses what makes the handheld special

The Steam Deck essentially created a new category for PC gamers, even if it wasn't the first PC gaming handheld on the market. But it's so much more than that, because the work Valve did with the Proton compatibility layer means that any Linux user can now run Windows games on Linux, with very little setup necessary. Before this, Linux gaming wasn't really mentioned, in the same way that gaming on macOS isn't a major feature. The only real reason to run Windows on the Steam Deck would be to play the handful of multiplayer games that need anti-cheat software to run, because those security apps don't work on Linux. In my opinion, it's not worth the sacrifice of the Steam OS features you lose, to play multiplayer games that aren't the best showcase for what the relatively low-powered handheld can do.