What is the best OS for gaming?

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327

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Jul 13, 2019

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Here’s the Deal

The 1 must play gameWhy?

Best OS for gaming	Price	Default Desktop Environment	Based On
91 Windows 10	-	-	-
73 Windows 7	-	-	-
72 SteamOS	-	Steam Big Picture, Gnome	Debian
-- Debian GNU/Linux	Free	CLI, GNOME(Xfce on non-Linux Ports)	None
-- Gentoo Linux	-	CLI	None

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16 Other Games Considered

SteamOS

Top Pro

Free

Like the most Linux Distributions it is available for free. See More

Top Con

Hard to Using at Windows Users

If you are using macOS, this SteamOS is familiar with certain systems and shell systems. However, Linux (macOS Modify Version) and Windows are completely wrong. You will also face difficult situations. If this happens, you need enough knowledge of Linux that you can fix it yourself. So I would not recommend this if you have never touched Linux. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

For entertainment, it just works

What media center software do for videos, it does for games (and later videos). See More

Top Con

Old base

Some parts of the OS, like the kernel, are not up-to-date which can give your trouble if you have the latest hardware. See More

Top Pro

Linux Powered

SteamOS had Powered by Linux. Linux is a Lightweight or high performance Operating System. Which OS is Customizeful, and once you have linux technic, you can modify at kernel. See More

Top Con

Still in beta

Top Pro

Gamer-oriented development model

It is made to work and feel like a Console OS. See More

Top Con

Not universal

It is only made for Steam and it is a pain to add non-steam games to. See More

Top Pro

Native graphics processor support

The OS has pre-installed drivers for nVidia, Intel and AMD graphics processors. See More

Top Con

Not built around the desktop experience

SteamOS is, first and foremost, meant to act as a gaming console - it doesn't ship with even some of the most basic applications, such as a file manager or image viewer. As a result, using SteamOS as your primary operating system would require a fair bit of work. See More

Top Pro

Can now run some Windows Games

Like Steam for Linux It has now a vulkan-based fork off WINE included that allows to run Windows games, with a tiny performance drop, on SteamOS. See More

Top Con

Closed Source

Steam is closed software, the whole OS is also tied to Valves closed and commercial Steam platform. See More

Top Pro

Linux Powered

SteamOS had Powered by Linux. Linux is a Lightweight or high performance Operating System. Which OS is Customizeful, and once you have linux technic, you can modify at kernel. See More

Top Con

Still lacking many AAA games

The most game developers still focus PCs with the Windows OS. See More

Top Pro

Linux Powered

SteamOS had Powered by Linux. Linux is a Lightweight or high performance Operating System. Which OS is Customizeful, and once you have linux technic, you can modify at kernel. See More

Top Pro

Linux Powered

SteamOS had Powered by Linux. Linux is a Lightweight or high performance Operating System. Which OS is Customizeful, and once you have linux technic, you can modify at kernel. See More

Top Pro

Vulkan oriented instead of DX12

Vulkan is a low-overhead, cross-platform 3D graphics and compute API. See More

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Debian GNU/Linux

Top Pro

Big open-source project

The Debian project is the biggest open source project with over 5000 active contributors. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

A lot of ways to install software

You can either use aptitude, apt or apt-build to install software from the Debian package archives. See More

Top Pro

Great for gaming

As Debian is the base for SteamOS and because Ubuntu is based on it, it's almost certain that all Linux games will run properly and require no hacks like creating symbolic links because of some hardcoded paths. See More

Top Pro

Rolling or Release based

Every Debian release can either use a Rolling or Release based model. See More

Top Pro

Install and forget

Once installed you can almost forget about it and start to use your desktop for your daily tasks. See More

Top Pro

Highly secure system

Known for being consistent in maintaining a highly secure system. Several other popular distros use Debian as a base or core for their own Linux OS, the security being one of the main factors why it's so commonly used. See More

Top Pro

Unique release cycle

The most Linux distros have one or two stages before a release, but Debian has five before a new stable version is released (experimental > unstable > testing > code-freeze/bug hunting > stable). See More

Top Pro

Live install images for CDs, DVDs and USB thumb drives

Debian releases live install images for CDs, DVDs and USB thumb drives, for the i386 and amd64 architectures, and with a choice of desktop environments. These Debian Live images allow the user to boot from a removable media and run Debian without affecting the contents of their computer. See More

Top Pro

Very stable

Debian has a Stable branch, where packages are thoroughly tested before release. Furthermore Debian is know to be the definition of stable when it comes to production systems. See More

Top Pro

Comes with over 37,500 packages

Because of its popularity, Debian has a lot of applications available which range from productivity programs to business software, games and development tools. It comes with over 37,500 packages (software that is precompiled and ready to be installed on a local machine) -- all of them for free. See More

Top Pro

Wide choice of hardware platforms

Debian has the widest choice of hardware platforms, including: amd64, armel, armhf, i386, ia64, kfreebsd-i386, kfreebsd-amd64, mips, mipsel, powerpc, sparc, s390, s390x, source, multi-arch. See More

Top Pro

Standard vanilla Linux desktop

Debian runs standard Gnome, XFCE, KDE - it doesn't use its own special desktop environment, which means that users benefit from the work of the whole Linux community, Debian developers can focus on the distribution itself, and any support for your desktop environment on other distributions should work on Debian as well. See More

Top Pro

Easy to find help with any problem

Debian is one of the oldest and most popular distros out there. Debian's popularity means that you will always be able to find a solution for your problem just by searching on Google, or if by chance nobody has had the problem you are having it's very easy to ask the community and quickly get a solution. See More

Top Pro

Wide choice in desktop environments

Debian offers stable and testing CD images specifically built for GNOME (the default), KDE Plasma Workspaces, Xfce and LXDE. Less common window managers such as Enlightenment, Openbox, Fluxbox, GNUstep, IceWM, Window Maker and others can also be installed. See More

Top Pro

Well-working team

The developer works very well so the code is one of the best written out there. See More

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Gentoo Linux

Top Pro

Fully customizable

The usage of advanced features like USE flags makes it more customizable than any binary distribution. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Full control of the software

You build the package from a source you can see and read. You decide which features you want to build in and which aren't needed. You can choose build options, optimisation and whatever else fancy stuff you want modified. With a binary distribution this simply isn't possible. See More

Top Pro

Can by optimized to any given CPU by using proper compile flags

Since everything is being built on your PC you can fine-tune the code to make use of your CPU. And all it requires is two lines of string variables in a global config. See More

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Deepin

Top Pro

Great support for graphics cards

Deepin OS includes a program called "Deepin Graphics Driver Manager" which can easily install a good driver for the graphics card. See More

Top Con

Made for the desktop

It is made to showcase the deepin desktop and not for gaming or customization. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Company behind it

The Wuhan Deepin Technology is behind this Linux distribution. See More

Top Con

Slow default repos

Download speed for packages from the default repos is abnormally slow. See More

Top Pro

Easy to install

Installing Deepin OS is very easy. Even easier than installing Ubuntu! See More

Top Pro

Based on Debian

It is based on Debian which is the best Linux distribution for desktops. See More

Top Pro

Exciting applications

It has some exciting applications, such as Deepin Graphics Driver Manager which can easily change between free and proprietary drivers without any issue. See More

Top Pro

Excellent apps

Having Deepin installed also means you have thousands of quality apps to choose from. The apps which come with installation will suit your needs to browse the Internet, listen to music, watch videos, talk with friends, editing documents or simply any task you want to do at home or in your office. See More

Top Pro

Great design to the app store

The app store is gorgeous. See More

Top Pro

Enjoy the simplicity of Deepin's desktop

The desktop interface and apps feature an intuitive and elegant design. Moving around, sharing and searching, etc. has become simply a joyful experience. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

It's very easy to use. You can easily uninstall a program by going to the menu then right-clicking on the preferred app and selecting "Uninstall" option. See More

Top Pro

Has its own toolkit

It has its own toolkit called "Deepin Tool Kit". And the maintainers themselves use it. See More

Top Pro

Includes both Windows and macOS style interface

Top Pro

Rolling release

It is a rolling release Linux distribution which is quite popular these days. See More

Top Pro

Very stable

Even though it is based on Debian unstable, it is still pretty stable and you will hardly ever get a dependency issue. See More

Top Pro

Can be made to look like Windows easily

By default, Deepin looks kinda like macOS but it can be made to look like Windows by right-clicking on the dock and changing the mode from "Fashion Mode" to "Efficient Mode". See More

Top Pro

Automatically cleans package cache

Deepin automatically cleans package cache. Cleaning package cache is a good thing as it will make the OS much faster and lighter. See More

Top Pro

VLC media player works without any issue

In some cases, VLC media player has some problems with Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based Linux distros. That isn't the case with Deepin. See More

Top Pro

Not based on Ubuntu

Some people don't like Ubuntu nor its derivatives. See More

Top Pro

Well-designed in every detail, developers have a professional aproach to the system

Deepin has a sane default set of apps including custom apps of their own design that gives the distro a very consistent look and feel. By working with the community on these tools as well as custom translations there is a great sense of polish when using it that is not often seen when using such a new desktop environment. See More

Top Pro

Lighter than Windows 10 and Ubuntu

Deepin 15.7 is lighter than Windows 10 and Ubuntu. See More

Top Pro

Comes with CrossOver pre-installed

Deepin is a huge supporter of Codeweavers CrossOver. So, it includes CrossOver pre-installed. Nevertheless, it's NOT a trial version. And with CrossOver, you can easily install and use Windows programs See More

Top Pro

Supports Flatpak

Deepin OS supports Flatpak. It also has some Flatpak programs installed by default. See More

Top Pro

Launches programs faster

Programs load and launch faster in Deepin than other Linux distributions. It takes only about 3 seconds to launch Chrome. See More

Top Pro

Best for daily use

Top Pro

Blur and transparent design

Deepin has a blur and transparent design throughout the OS, which makes it one of the most beautiful Linux distros. See More

Top Pro

Steam pre-installed

Top Pro

Gives warning messages when upgrading packages using apt

Deepin uses their own modified version of apt. When there is a distribution upgrade available and if we try to upgrade by running "sudo apt upgrade", then this modified version of apt gives this warning message, "DDE programs will work abnormally if run this command. Run sudo apt dist-upgrade or sudo apt full-upgrade instead." See More

Top Pro

Includes a lot of packages in the official repository

The official repository of deepin OS includes over 73,000 packages. See More

See All

Manjaro Linux

Top Con

Nothing new

There is nothing new in Manjaro compared to any other Arch based distribution. See More

Top Pro

Steam installed by default

Specs

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Top Con

Bad way of handling dependencies

Manjaro is based on Arch Linux. Arch Linux and its derivatives have a bad way of handling dependencies. To handle dependencies, it installs a whole another program which contains the required dependencies. See More

Top Pro

Installation is a breeze

Calamares installer and MHWD is the reason why this distribution is good for desktop user- friendliness! Audio codecs, latest packages,latest kernel and easy upgrade to the latest build makes it the best choice for new users. See More

Top Con

You can't change the default theme in certain applications

Although it is possible to change the default dark theme, this has no effect on Firefox, which appears to have the dark theme "hard coded". Hardened Linux pros may find a way to change this, but for the rest, it renders an otherwise nice distro a no-go. See More

Top Pro

Excellent graphical package manager (Pamac)

Features include: providing notifications of available updates; mirror management; AUR support (with the option to suppress unnecessary confirmations during the install process); update settings (frequency, whether to check for updates from the AUR, packages to ignore updates for); and a history of packages installed, updated, or removed (from the official repositories - AUR packages are not currently tracked). See More

Top Con

The Manjaro unstable repository is slow to sync with the Arch stable repository

The Manjaro unstable repository syncs with the Arch stable repository and if any package has moved, it gets moved to stable. Manjaro gets package updates a bit than Arch. See More

Top Pro

Friendly community

If you ask questions of users in their forums or on other platforms, they are willing to help you. Also according to the developers, they are open to new ideas in order to make the distro better. See More

Top Con

Can still be unstable

Here are the details of it. See More

Top Pro

Stable and consistently up to date

Manjaro receives regular updates, but more importantly these updates are stable. The updates are rolled out, which means you can easily update the software without needing to re-install. See More

See All

Android Lollipop

Top Con

Android does not have the best reliability

Android products might appeal to the more technically capable, people prepared to invest in considering their product, who like a particular device form factor and / or who already use a lot of Google’s online product suite. See More

Top Pro

Customize what apps perform what actions

Android gives users the ability to define which apps perform which action. For example, if an Android device has several browsers installed, the user can choose a default one which will start every time a link is for example opened from another app. See More

Specs

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Top Con

Fragmentation and security flaws due to negligence

Most Android phones seem to be released on a "Let's release a few software updates until we release the next phone, and never push out an update again." For example, In May 2014, 8.5% of phones were Kitkat, 60.8% were spread out between three versions of jellybean (with bias towards older versions), and the another 20% spread out over ICS, Honeycomb, Gingerbread, and Froyo. Google no longer maintains Android 4.3 or prior and serious security exploits remain in those versions. Device manufacturers are also taking no action, which leaves almost a billion Android users exposed. You may also encounter lingering and unfixed bugs, glitches, etc. as a result of the manufacturer's and Google's lack of interest in older versions. Some flagship phones are well supported into the future, but the fact that your phone won't be supported by its manufacturer and/or Google is a consideration you must make when purchasing an Android phone. See More

Top Pro

Open source

The AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is the software stack for the Android OS. It is led by Google. The fact that Android is an open source software has led to many custom Android variants. It also is a big assurance of Android's safety in terms of privacy. See More

Top Con

Difficult to use for pro audio

Android M paired with newer devices are getting audio latency down to 20 milliseconds or less, which is great compared to previous Android versions, however is still slower than Apple's 7ms on the iPhone 4S - a 4 year old phone. There are almost no professional audio tools available for Android because the latency was way too slow for professional audio creation, but perhaps now that Android isn't so far back we will start to see a few options come to Android. See More

Top Pro

Allows the user to easily turn off system wide notifactions

This is great for all those free to play games that constantly send notifications to the notification bar nagging users to play the game as all notifications can be turned off on a per app basis. See More

Top Con

Difficult to find quality games

Due to the surge of in-app purchased filled games that are low quality efforts it can be troublesome to find worthwhile hardcore games. See More

Top Pro

Console gaming with available set top boxes

Google, Nvidia and a few other manufacturers have created TV set top boxes powered by Android Lollipop that allow one to game on their telivisions. Basically an Android console with a wide selection of games. See More

Top Con

Wide variety of phones forces variance in quality

While there are many great Android phones, there are also many Android phones that lack in both hardware and software. When purchasing Android phones, a consumer might want to do some research first - especially when buying on a budget. Not only do you have to worry about shotty hardware or poor quality testing, manufacturers tend to tinker with the software on phones. More often than not this leads to poor performance, unintuitive 'features', slower (or complete lack of) updates, and custom software that detracts from the user's experience. See More

Top Con

You can't play most of the Windows games

Top Con

App permission issues

Any users from Android M onward are not affected by this issue. Permissions are only granted via a pop-up when the app requests. The application permission system used requires requesting access to more user data than should be needed to run an app. For example, in order to enable matchmaking in games the app needs access to contacts list. Additionally, since Google doesn't enforce requesting only the permissions necessary for an app to function, a culture of requesting permissions that aren't in any way needed for the app to function has emerged. See More

Top Con

Outdated

Latest is Android Pie See More

Top Con

Fragmentation and security flaws due to negligence.

Most Android phones seem to be released on a "Let's release a few software updates until we release the next phone, and never push out an update again." For example, In May 2014, 8.5% of phones were Kitkat, 60.8% were spread out between three versions of jellybean (with bias towards older versions), and the another 20% spread out over ICS, Honeycomb, Gingerbread, and Froyo. Google no longer maintains Android 4.3 or prior and serious security exploits remain in those versions. Device manufacturers are also taking no action, which leaves almost a billion Android users exposed. You may also encounter lingering and unfixed bugs, glitches, etc. as a result of the manufacturer's and Google's lack of interest in older versions. Some flagship phones are well supported into the future, but the fact that your phone won't be supported by its manufacturer and/or Google is a consideration you must make when purchasing an Android phone. See More

See All

Steam

Ubuntu 15.04

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