Valve has enabled NVIDIA GPU drivers in the SteamOS main tree, moving the operating system closer to running on a wider range of gaming PCs. The support is still being tuned, and Valve says performance remains behind current NVIDIA driver releases.
SteamOS NVIDIA support is in the main tree
Pierre-Loup Griffais, a Valve software developer, told IGN that the company has enabled the driver for certain GPU generations. He said the team is still working on the performance gap between the SteamOS driver and the state of the art.
Valve’s earlier desktop plans centred on making SteamOS work beyond the AMD hardware used in its own products. The company has also been working with Intel and NVIDIA as it expands SteamOS 3.8 to more desktop and handheld hardware, according to The Verge.
“We’ve done a few things like we’ve enabled the driver now in the main tree of SteamOS, so you can get things to light up on certain generations, but in terms of the performance difference between that driver and where the state of the art is, there’s definitely still a little bit of a rift that we’re trying to work on, but it’s getting better day-to-day.”
Pierre-Loup Griffais, Valve software developer
What NVIDIA support means for SteamOS PCs
The change could make it easier to build a Steam Machine-style PC around a GeForce card instead of choosing AMD hardware first. It does not mean that every NVIDIA GPU is supported today, and Valve has not published a release date for a finished driver stack.
The NVIDIA driver work also matters because SteamOS is based on Arch Linux, while NVIDIA’s Linux graphics stack has historically required more integration work than AMD’s open-source-friendly approach. Valve’s goal is a console-style gaming experience on more PC configurations, but the driver still has to deliver stable performance before that promise is useful.
For now, SteamOS NVIDIA support is an active development effort rather than a finished alternative for existing GeForce systems. UAE gamers can continue using SteamOS on supported hardware, but this update does not announce a new local device, price or release date.
Sources: TechPowerUp, IGN, and The Verge. Related: Steam Deck’s cloud streaming update.
Is NVIDIA support available in SteamOS now?
Valve has enabled the driver in the SteamOS main tree for certain GPU generations, but wider finished support is still in development.
Will SteamOS NVIDIA support work on every GeForce card?
No. Valve has not said that every NVIDIA GPU is supported, and performance is still being tuned.
Does this announce a SteamOS launch in the UAE?
No. Valve announced no UAE device, price or release date with this driver update.
