As others said it’s just a portable pc - there is steam os preinstalled, which has a gaming mode (looks alot like steam big picture mode from pc) and a desktop mode.
Many people install windows because of the compatibility, however I’ve found the compatibility layer (proton) works for 99% of games so I’ve stayed with steamos.
I’ve been able to play any game I’ve played on my windows pc by simply copying the installed files to the deck and running the exe via proton.
It’s just a PC, it’s as proprietary as a PC. It comes with a Linux distro which is not ideal for day to day use pre-installed (because it’s mostly read only). On the other hand it’s very specialised for gaming. You can install any other Linux distro if you want to, and some people have even installed Windows (although not sure how the drivers work there).
I have zero exp with a steam deck and am not really a pc gamer…
Can the steam deck be used as a desktop or is it proprietary software or steam os or what?
As others said it’s just a portable pc - there is steam os preinstalled, which has a gaming mode (looks alot like steam big picture mode from pc) and a desktop mode.
Many people install windows because of the compatibility, however I’ve found the compatibility layer (proton) works for 99% of games so I’ve stayed with steamos.
I’ve been able to play any game I’ve played on my windows pc by simply copying the installed files to the deck and running the exe via proton.
SteamOS is just a Linux distro. You can use it as a desktop, install windows on it or do whatever else you want
It’s just a PC, it’s as proprietary as a PC. It comes with a Linux distro which is not ideal for day to day use pre-installed (because it’s mostly read only). On the other hand it’s very specialised for gaming. You can install any other Linux distro if you want to, and some people have even installed Windows (although not sure how the drivers work there).
Edit: why the hell am I getting downvoted?