Enterprising User Hacks SteamOS onto Their Intel Arc B580 Desktop PC 1

OK, this is definitely hacking in the classical sense, but a clever Reddit user managed to get SteamOS 3.8.7 working on a desktop with a discrete Intel Arc graphics card - despite only Arc integrated graphics used by the new Arc G3 handhelds being officially supported by the OS.

The user, /u/SaperPL, reported their success on the /r/SteamOS subreddit earlier this week, helpfully including the method they used and how they navigated around various problems that make the install trickier than on setups with officially supported Radeon graphics.

The results seem to be pretty reasonable, too - SaperPL mentions flickering on VRR displays due to a bug, but the GameScope interface runs more smoothly here than it does with Nvidia cards on Bazzite, and after enabling Resizeable BAR on their motherboard, performance is also consistent with expectations for the B580 - despite relatively weak Intel drivers for Linux.

If you're interested in doing something similar, the Reddit post includes details of the precise Steam Deck image to use for the USB-based install and two potential workarounds for the Intel card. One option is using an AMD GPU to set up the system, then swap to the Intel card. The alternative - if you don't have a spare Radeon graphics card lying around - is using a keyboard to interrupt the installer, boot into desktop mode, update the Steam app and enable the 3.8.7 version. Essentially, the idea is to follow the steps listed from seven onwards in this Steam tutorial to prevent a crash when the installer automatically tries to update the OS.

I'm certainly thinking about updating my AMD-based CachyOS Linux Mini PC to SteamOS as I haven't used it for a while, and it's cool to learn that Intel GPU owners have the same option. If you're running an Nvidia card, it's also technically possible to install SteamOS - or an alternative distribution like Bazzite or CachyOS - but you should expect slightly less stability than on AMD.

Are you tempted to go Linux for your next PC - or even your current one? Let me know in the comments below.

[source reddit.com]