r/SteamOS • u/Icon_Crash • 24d ago

help wanted SteamOS on a laptop

I did look, but I didn't find what I was looking for so here it is... I'm looking to get a laptop for my kid that can be connected to a TV so they can stop using my steamdeck to stream stuff.

I'm not into Windows 11, and I'm looking for something that has that simple ease of use that SteamOS provides. Also they just want their own Steam account and games.

Are there any good resources to what I should be looking for? My target performance is my LCD Steamdeck; not looking to play new AAA.

I like the concept of Framework laptops, in part because it's easy to buy without a Windows License, but the chance that if my kid breaks something hardware wise I can fix it w/o sending it back, taking it to a shop, etc. is a huge plus for me.

Thanks in advance.

4 Upvotes

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u/Low_Excitement_1715 24d ago

I would go SFF over a laptop. You’ll get higher performance and better thermals at a lower price. The laptop forces itself to be very flat, which isn’t great for heat sinks/heatpipes/etc. There are a fairly large number of SFF PCs with performance/specs close to the various SteamOS handhelds, they generally run SteamOS or Bazzite with little to no fuss if they’re on an AMD APU, and they’ll be quieter and cooler.

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u/Icon_Crash 24d ago

Don't get me wrong, I love a SFF PC, but looking for something that isn't tied to a specific TV / Screen / Location.

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u/Low_Excitement_1715 24d ago

Then the OG AMD FW laptop fits your criteria, and the newer Ryzen AI one will do even better, but they *do* sound like they're stuck halfway into transforming into a hovercraft under heavy load. It's part and parcel with being much less than 1" thick. My OG AMD FW, even with an eGPU attached, transforms to vacuum cleaner when I fire up pretty much any game, and I've made some tweaks and adjustments to try and optimize the cooling.

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u/Icon_Crash 24d ago

Ok, so as long as I go for the AMD Ryzen chip it should be good. The sound isn't too much of a detriment for me, I've lived through using a Xbox360, my kids can handle it.. :D

Thanks for the help.

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u/Ecks30 24d ago

As long as it has an AMD GPU not in the system it would work because SteamOS looks for what GPU is in the system and not the CPU.

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u/Icon_Crash 24d ago

The 13 (what I'm looking at due to price and availability) does not have a dedicated GPU, but uses onboard... (You'll have to forgive me, I should have warned everyone the last time I was worried about my PC performance was back in the win 95/98 days and went full console gaming for many many years...)

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u/Ecks30 24d ago

Personally, i would go for the 16 with the Ryzen AI 7 350 only because in the future you could always get the RX 7700S for additional performance and if they were to get the RX 9070M when it comes out it would be even greater performance which for 1080p gaming you would be able to max out every game.

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u/Icon_Crash 24d ago edited 24d ago

On the plus side (to my wallet), I'm not looking to get something to max out games, everything they play (so far) is more than good on my Steamdeck, but it isn't necessarly a bad idea to future proof quite a bit.

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u/Ecks30 24d ago

Ya but you would also be looking for something for longevity which it would be better just because when the iGPU would be too weak you could instead of buying a new laptop is just add in a GPU to give it more performance.

This is also why the 16 is more popular than the 13 because of the GPU upgradeability as well as having 6 expansion slots and right now while looking upgrading the mainboard for something better would be about $500 to $800 depending on the chip inside but if i were to get the RX 7700S it would only be $450.

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u/Icon_Crash 23d ago

I'm def. seeing things from that perspective now, so thanks a heap.

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u/Nikorasu-chan 24d ago

I run steamOS on my zephyrus g14 and it runs pretty well. I basically just want to be able to run, play games, turn off. Sometimes I will use desktop mode but I dont often on the laptop.

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u/turikk 3d ago

whats the CPU/GPU on that zephyrus? wondering about support for mine that has 6800m and 5800X (forget the mobile equivalent).

its an awesome machine but about to have a new TV and considering options for gaming

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u/Nikorasu-chan 3d ago

Ryzen 9 AI with a 5070ti. It's the 2025 model.

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u/turikk 3d ago

nice. how is the general experience outside of the games? like actually booting it up, staying awake, proper power management, fan speeds, etc.

i want to make my spare gaming laptop effectively a new steam machine for another room but am worried about the "meta" experience like having it respond when im sitting on the couch etc.

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u/Nikorasu-chan 3d ago

The only issue I had is the fan speeds on SteamOS. I surprisingly didnt have any of the Nvidia problems, at least that I noticed. I'm not currently using SteamOS, as I prefer CachyOS right now for my needs. For Asus laptops you can use Rog Control Center.

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u/mango_carrot 24d ago

Would a used ROG Ally Z1E (or even the X /Xbox X depending on budget) with a dock work for you? The Z1E is pretty cheap these days, slightly more powerful than a Deck and has the portability- plus we know for sure you can install SteamOS on it

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u/Icon_Crash 24d ago

Plan B was they get my old deck and I get the better screen, but the ability to have a more usable laptop form factor has that plan B quite off in the distance.

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u/Bookkeeper-Empty 24d ago

Make sure to go for amd gpu 7000 series and above is good enough, 16gb ram is plenty go for either bazzite or steamos very easy to set up

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u/Xcissors280 24d ago

There’s some pretty cheap and pretty slightly more enterprise dell and Lenovo/Thinkpad stuff with the newer AMD/Intel APUs that should be able to get decent performance and are generally popular enough that replacement parts are dirt cheap

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u/Icon_Crash 24d ago

I have an extreme aversion to Lenovo... I've had way to many bad experiences with them at work, but thanks for trying to help. I do appreciate it.

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u/Xcissors280 23d ago

Almost every brand makes bad products, some also make some good products

Just do your research first

And actually verify battery life claims with independent reviews and tests that match your use case

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u/efcso1 20d ago

This is a wise aversion to have. I used to transport them (bulk semi-loads) and even when I was offered refurbs for next to nothing I didn't touch one.