The processor won't be an issue. I don't think there are differences in the kernel for either CPU, it is just going to be their released reference design.
SteamOS
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meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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I just don't see anything to get excited about linux-wise, they've been pushing it for a while and less than 9% of games on Steam support it. That's 180 vs over 2000. I own almost 2x more games on Steam than are compatible for Linux, and a number that aren't on Steam too. Perhaps in a few years this will change.
The streaming stuff I'm excited for, little else including the rumored stuff. I'd also lean more towards it being L4D, Half Life 2 being 9 years old next month and L4D resonates more more with current trends.
The streaming stuff I'm excited for, little else including the rumored stuff. I'd also lean more towards it being L4D, Half Life 2 being 9 years old next month and L4D resonates more more with current trends.
Mist
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Tripamang
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It's not just a stripped kernel though, they are literally modifying the kernel to favor a better gaming experience.
A normal OS will running specific optimizations in the kernel that tailor it to be pretty generic in the way it handles tasks. The scheduler for example will be setup to perform things in specific time chunks which is how the OS will load balance all the open processes on a machine, each one gets a specific chunk of time to execute then it moves onto the next. In windows you can set priorities for processes but you can't pick how long the time slice is for process, or if different processes get longer or shorter time slices. This means if you're gaming and all that background shit running in windows will get a chunk of time to do whatever it needs to do even if it isn't relevant to the game. If you tailor a scheduler specifically for gaming that gives near real time latency for a process or allow applications to specify their slice time and priority then you can create a much smoother experience with more of your hardware actually doing work for the game rather than the background tasks.
That's just an example of what you can do with a task scheduler.. theres other deeper optimizations you could do to favor the gaming experience that you couldn't possibly do in Windows because it's just not something you can tweak or modify. It'll be interesting to see where they take SteamOS long term, as outside of console's this has never really happened before or so openly.
The point is you aren't getting excited for Linux, you are getting excited for SteamOS. The only reason you need to know that it is Linux based for most people is just to know that it will be free and streamlined.
Lots of good points in your post, I was mainly referencing that they will strip the kernel down to start. It isn't your grandfather's linux.
Joeboo
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There's no way that AMD lets their drivers fall behind on this platform if it really takes off. There may definitely be a performance disparity between NVidia and AMD cards early on, but I can't imagine that will last long. I have no preference either way, I've owned plenty of cards from both companies, all I want to see is good competition from both sides, that benefits the consumer the most. You never only want 1 option.
meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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The reason to know it is linux-based for most people is because only 185 games and 13 demos on Steam games work on it.
You still aren't getting it. The SteamOS should support ALL games in their library.
meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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Where has it said that, outside of streaming? If that's the case, then yeah my bad, but nothing I saw suggested otherwise.
That was the entire point of them making their own OS.
Look at that part under "All the games you love" they said ALL of the AAA titles are going to work on SteamOS.
meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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I'm still not seeing it.
Hundreds of great games are already running natively on SteamOS. Watch for announcements in the coming weeks about all the AAA titles coming natively to SteamOS in 2014. Access the full Steam catalog of nearly 3000 games and desktop software titles via in-home streaming.
So games coming out will support it, there are a couple hundred now (must not be counting just Steam titles, or are including DLC), and the rest you have to stream from a gaming PC.
Hundreds of great games are already running natively on SteamOS. Watch for announcements in the coming weeks about all the AAA titles coming natively to SteamOS in 2014. Access the full Steam catalog of nearly 3000 games and desktop software titles via in-home streaming.
So games coming out will support it, there are a couple hundred now (must not be counting just Steam titles, or are including DLC), and the rest you have to stream from a gaming PC.
Legacy games will require streaming, new games will come out with SteamOS support.
meStevo
I think your wife's a bigfoot gus.
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We are in agreement, I guess I just needed to specify I was referring to using this as a replacement for a gaming desktop. That's why I'm not really excited for anything beyond something simple to stream my PC to my living room or other supported device. An entire OS? No thanks beyond it serving as a larger metaphor of their ecosystem.
The OS is for ALL future games. Why would a unified and streamlined console level OS not interest you as a PC gamer?
Did you not run some of those old stripped down versions of Windows 98 built for gaming?
Mist
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AMD has never had good software engineers. The idea that they will magically acquire a team of software engineers capable of writing amazingly optimized drivers for a new platform is dubious at best.
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If you're referring to the old ATI shit, yes. ATI has always had shit drivers (especially for Linux). AMD was never that bad.
nVidia though, they've rocked the house for linux drivers.
Mist
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Tuco
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You're right, the big question is whether or not the steambox can run current games. Maybe Valve can push hard enough and make a convincing case to developers to publish on their platform but that'll be a very tough sell. And selling people on steambox without a huge library for it is going to be difficult also.