Steam Machine Windows 11 benchmarks show small gains at 4K
Valve’s Steam Machine can now run Windows 11 with working graphics, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. The company recently published the required drivers for its compact gaming PC.
ETA PRIME installed Windows 11 on a unit upgraded from 16GB to 64GB of DDR5-5600 memory. Windows identifies the custom six-core Zen 4 processor as the AMD 1772, while the 8GB graphics processor appears as a Radeon RX 7600-series GPU.
Windows posts higher CPU benchmark scores
Windows 11 led SteamOS by 3.3% in Geekbench 6 single-core testing and 22.1% in the multi-core test. However, SteamOS was tested in desktop mode, which does not use the same CPU performance behavior as its gaming mode.
Source: ETA Prime
The processor scored 99 points in the Cinebench 2024 single-core test and 554 points in multi-core. It was 5.3% faster than the Ryzen 5 5600X in single-core performance, but 14.1% slower in multi-core testing. The Steam Machine reached 9,245 points in 3DMark Time Spy, compared with 10,310 points from a desktop Ryzen 5 5600X and Radeon RX 7600 system.
SteamOS and Windows trade wins across three games
Cyberpunk 2077 showed the largest difference at 1080p. SteamOS reached 74 FPS, compared with 68 FPS under Windows 11. SteamOS also led at 1440p with 45 FPS against 43 FPS, while Windows took the lead at 4K with 20 FPS against 18 FPS.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider remained close across all three resolutions. Windows led 120 to 118 FPS at 1080p and 46 to 44 FPS at 4K. SteamOS recorded 86 FPS at 1440p, compared with 84 FPS under Windows.
In Horizon Zero Dawn Windows powered Steam Machine reached 59 FPS at 1080p and 28 FPS at 4K, while SteamOS recorded 58 and 26 FPS. SteamOS led by one FPS at 1440p. Windows won all three 4K comparisons, although none of the tested games delivered suitable 4K performance without upscaling.
Source: ETA Prime
Additional Windows testing showed around 74 FPS in Forza Horizon 6 at 1440p High without FSR. Red Dead Redemption 2 ran above 70 FPS at 1440p High, while Mortal Kombat 1 maintained 60 FPS at 1440p High.
Valve cited the ability to install anything as one reason the Steam Machine will not be subsidized. Gamers can install any operating system they want and use whichever launcher or storefront they choose.
I think the optimizations and simplicity of SteamOS are among the main reasons people will consider this system. Still, if you ever get tired of gaming on it, you can install Windows and give it to someone who may need a PC more (with Windows).
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