SteamOS vs. Ubuntu vs. Windows 10: Which Is The Best Operating System For Gaming?

Short Bytes: Several operating systems have been developed for a broad range of purposes, but, currently, there are only three best operating systems for gaming: SteamOS, Ubuntu and Windows 10. Naturally, all three will have varied gaming performance between them, and it is our job to provide you with accurate information on which OS to use if your primary usage will be for long gaming sessions. At the end of the day, it will also come down to the user’s preference.

Years ago, MS-DOS was the ‘go to’ operating system when you wanted to engage in prolonged gaming sessions but its complexity required that a better alternative should be provided to the masses that will also feature a unique interface for easy use. After years of development, several new variations of platforms came that have been designed for gaming purposes.

We have the ever-popular Windows 10, SteamOS, and, of course, Ubuntu. All three of these operating systems will require you to have proper gaming hardware if you wish to play popular gaming titles, but which one has been properly optimized and which is the best operating system for gaming? Let us find out:

Also Read: Best Linux Gaming Distros You Need To Try In 2017

SteamOS vs. Ubuntu vs. Windows 10: Gaming performance

For the past decade, gaming on Windows was the only viable option left for users because there was a lack of support for Linux, but that trend is slowly changing now. That is thanks to the increased support through Valve and SteamOS, which have resurrected the importance of Linux.

Even Ars Technica decided to perform their series of tests to show that Windows 10 was not the only OS you needed to comfortably game using other alternatives.

Windows 10 leads from the front, but Linux is being considered seriously now

The review comprised up of a Steam machine using the most recent version of SteamOS. Firing up the benchmarks to find out the best operating system for gaming, there was a hope that results would not be in favor of Windows 10 but that was not to be.

While you can engage in increased gaming sessions on a machine that is running SteamOS, it is safe to say that both SteamOS and Ubuntu are not able to keep up with Microsoft’s latest operating system despite the developmental leaps that have taken place in the past few years.

If you are going to be playing modern-day gaming titles and want the best performance possible while running decent-grade hardware, it is safe to say that Windows 10 is going to offer the best possible performance. However, that does not make Linux any useless. Keep in mind that these benchmarks were being run at a resolution of 2560 x 1600.

It is 2017 and we know for a fact that there are millions of gamers that still cling onto their 1080p monitor because either their hardware is not powerful enough to render high frame rates at higher resolutions, or it is possible that they want the highest possible performance while running expensive hardware since upgrading gaming monitors is not the highest priority for everyone.

Getting playable frame rates at resolutions higher than 1080p is very impressive given the fact that a couple of years back, no one would have bothered to look at Linux as a viable platform for gaming purposes.

A portion of why you see these performance gains is because it is possible that Valve is focusing on the Vulkan API. Vulkan reduces the overhead on the graphics processor and other resources to deliver increased performance in gaming titles, even on systems that are not running the best of hardware components.

Windows 10 remains the top-performer of the leaderboards for gaming performance but Linux is playing catch-up at a tremendous pace

If you want to game, Windows 10 currently remains the best choice over Linux and SteamOS. While there is no competition with Microsoft’s latest operating system, we should not ignore the fact that Linux has made some tremendous gains in a brief period.

With over a thousand titles available for Linux through Steam, you’re getting a massive number of options that you never knew existed a couple of years back. If you feel that unconditional love towards Linux, we will continue to encourage you to provide your undying support for the operating system, even though we are the bearer of bad news that you will currently experience performance drops when comparing it to Windows 10.

Steam will continue to support Linux as we’ve seen on previous occasions, but other hardware companies should also lend a helping hand. This will include the likes of Intel, AMD, NVIDIA and others which control the driver stack.

If it took decades for Linux to improve heavily, then we should not ruin your expectations a tad bit because it will take several more years to further reduce that performance gap between Windows 10 and the latter. However, the fact that Linux is getting there should mean that Microsoft has something to worry.

If you have something to add to this story on the best operating system for gaming, drop your thoughts and feedback.

Also Read: Best Linux Gaming Distros You Need To Try In 2017