Valve recently released official Windows drivers for the Steam Machine, allowing owners to install Microsoft’s operating system on the console-like PC. Naturally, many were curious whether switching from SteamOS to Windows would deliver a noticeable boost in gaming performance, and new benchmark results suggest the answer isn’t as straightforward as some may have expected. Sadly, there’s no official support for dual-booting yet, but it may become a viable option in the future.

The testing was carried out by YouTuber ETA Prime, who installed Windows 11 on the Steam Machine and compared it directly with SteamOS across several synthetic benchmarks and modern games. According to the reviewer, the installation process was smooth, and all of the hardware worked as expected using Valve’s newly released drivers.

Steam Machine benchmarks – SteamOS vs Windows

While Windows did come out ahead in some tests, SteamOS also claimed victories in others, making it difficult to declare a clear overall winner. We think it’s safe to say that, unless you really need Windows for better anti-cheat support, there’s really no reason to move away from the native SteamOS.

The biggest gap appeared in productivity-focused benchmarks. In Geekbench 6, Windows posted a small lead in single-core performance but pulled significantly ahead in the multi-core test, scoring around 22% higher than SteamOS. This suggests Windows may offer better performance in workloads that can take advantage of multiple CPU cores.

Gaming results, however, painted a much different picture. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Windows held a slight advantage at 1080p and 4K, while SteamOS edged ahead at 1440p. The differences were small enough that most players would likely never notice them during actual gameplay.

The story was similar in Cyberpunk 2077, although this time, SteamOS performed better at both 1080p and 1440p. Windows managed to pull ahead only at 4K, but both operating systems struggled to deliver playable frame rates at that resolution, making the result less meaningful for most users. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered also showed mixed results. Windows led in some scenarios, particularly at 4K, while SteamOS performed slightly better at 1440p. Overall, neither operating system consistently outperformed the other across every test.

Overall, the benchmarks suggest that gaming performance is very close regardless of which operating system is installed. Instead of one platform dominating the other, the results vary from game to game and even between different resolutions.

That means choosing between Windows and SteamOS may come down to factors beyond raw frame rates. SteamOS offers a console-like interface that launches directly into Steam and is designed specifically for gaming. Windows, meanwhile, provides broader software compatibility and allows users to run games or applications that may not work properly under Linux.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.