Slowly but certainly, Valve continues its long trudge towards makingSteamOSthe very best gaming-focused operating system. SteamOS 3.6, specifically, is now available in the Steam Deck’s ‘Preview’ update channel, and everything suggests it’s an absolute hoot in regards to performance and stability.
The full list of improvements on offer is substantial indeed, but some of the highlights include an update of SteamOS to a more recent Arch Linux base, improved display uniformity, a more up-to-date GPU driver, and unlocking of the LCD Steam Deck’s BIOS overclocking capabilities. Valve promises improved performance and responsiveness as well, which is always good news.
SteamOS 3.6 now available in Preview with substantial stability and performance boons
According toValve’s SteamOS 3.6 patch notes, there’s quite a lot for Deck users to be looking forward to. Here’s a (slightly) truncated summary of what’s coming to theSteam Deckwith this version of the SteamOS:
For a full list of fixes and boons, be sure to check out Valve’s full patch notes, but what we outlined above should give you a sense of what’s waiting for you in the Deck’s Preview update channel. On that note, it’s worth remembering that the ‘Preview’ build of SteamOS isn’t fully stable, and you shouldn’t necessarily expect a flawless and entirely bug-free experience if you opt into it. For that, wait for SteamOS 3.6 to be pushed into the stable content pipeline instead, which may happen in a few weeks’ time if all goes well.
In the broader handheld gaming news, anew model of the ASUS ROG Allyis now in production. Designed for “enthusiast” gamers, the ROG Ally X is to the baseline ROG Ally what the OLED Steam Deck is to the LCD Steam Deck: expect a substantially improved battery and a revamped shell, but not a generational leap in performance. This makes sense, too, as the hardware necessary to deliver a truly substantial performance boost at low wattages simply isn’t there. Not yet, at least!
