Steam data reveals PC gamers shifting from Windows to Linux
Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for July 2025 show Linux's market share growing ahead of a potential full SteamOS release for PC.
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I switched to Linux so I could spend $200 more on actual hardware for my build.
Not arguing with your choice (props actually, I respect the switch) but it is possible to get a legit grey market key for w11 Pro for a lot less. I think I got mine for $20-30 in early 2024?
Edit: I should have noticed I was in the Linux group before I posted that, I thought I was still in the gaming one I guess! Not advocating windows to anyone, it's a terrible OS. But some people might need it for some things so I figured I'd share information that might help someone save a bit of money if they did. (Yes, there are other ways around that.)
Yeah but Microsoft is making money off your data.
I don't doubt it, but do you happen to have a source?
The only plus side I guess is I only use that computer for a bit of gaming and not for anything else, and i did manage to turn of automatic updates before they AI-ified everything. If I had more time and energy in my day I'd dual boot it, maybe some day.
So you’ve decided unpatched security flaws is better than learning a superior OS? I’m not much for gambling.
No, I just haven't had the time and energy to do something better. Happens when you're approaching middle age and have health problems.
Sorry to hear that.
Just so you're aware, it's super easy. You can even leave your Windows drive(s) the same if you want too if you're up for buying a new drive. Linux can access the data fine —though probably not the other way around, depending on the format of your Linux drive(s). I have a drive that's mostly media from back when I used Windows that just works like any other, but a worse format but that hardly matters.
If you're a gamer, Garuda, CachyOS, or Bezzite are good and take minutes to set up, and come with everything you need out of the box. Bezzite is immutable, so it's harder to mess up, but it also limits what you can do (which probably doesn't matter for you). If you do need help, which you probably won't because it's easier than installing Windows, you can ask and plenty of people will volunteer.
Thanks! I've actually done it before back in the days when Mint was quite new,and I'm a programmer by trade (although mostly on Mac) so I'm not too worried about it, but I don't have a second drive (and don't really want one given a 2TB NVME drive) so I'd want to do all the backups first, at least for important stuff like my friend and I's Minecraft server. For a computer I barely use it hasn't felt worth it. Most of my computer time (outside of work) is on my Mac laptop.
And then you have to continously fight it because it switches your default browser to edge or starts showing you ads out of the blue or record your screen every second or whatever the fuck those greedy bastards think of doing next...
Noooo fucking thanks, I switched to Pop for a year now and I'm not going back ever.
Even with Windows Enterprise, I don't trust Microsoft to not spy on me and fuck with my control over the machine. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be planning on switching over to Arch SteamOS Desktop when it releases.
I've used Enterprise IoT for a while, which is supposed to be the cleanest possible build of Windows (except for the Chinese government special one) and that STILL somehow managed to introduce ads after updates, reset settings, force me to use the GameBar, and so on.
Yup. Just last night, my machine decided to reboot itself without permission. I want to do updates on my timetable - that means backing up my passwords and bookmarks, figuring out what third-party things I want to update like my GPU, and preparations. Being forced to update also makes me feel extremely distrustful of MS, especially since they plan on having AI to take pictures of our activities. I enjoy LOTS of hentai, and feel that it is likely for MS to give the Trump Regime dirt on people.
Just switch. SteamOS is specifically designed for the Deck, and other handhelds. It doesn't do anything special outside of defaulting to a handheld friendly view that you can't get in another distro. I would say it's probably going to be worse than one designed for desktop, if you're putting it on a desktop. Bezzite is pretty much the same as what SteamOS will be (with the option of desktop or handheld mode at install I think). Garuda and CachyOS are great for gaming if you want a distro that isn't immutable. They come with everything you'll need for gaming.
It's trivial to set up. Just switch. Stop creating an excuse to wait. SteamOS isn't special, unless you are putting it on a handheld potentially.
SteamOS is special in that it has the direct support and maintenance from Valve, but I agree with the spirit of your response
Yeah, but it doesn't do anything special. Sure, it's pretty much guaranteed to work for the Deck, but other than that you don't get anything out of it that you can't get elsewhere. There's no special sauce that Valve puts in. The only thing they put in that's special is Proton, except the contributions are open source and freely available everywhere.
All distros are supported by some group. Valve isn't particularly special in that, except it isn't their specialty like other distro maintainers.
If you're switching to Linux to avoid a huge corporation then you should do that —and Valve is a pretty damn large corporation. Sure, they're doing good things now, but people would have said the same thing about MS at some point in time. Don't build them up into something else. Use the best option, not just following some brand loyalty for no good reason.
Sure, but Valve specifically have a focus on a gaming experience, so if your focus is gaming, there's a good chance steamOS will provide timely fixes and updates.
Again, I don't disagree with the general sentiment of your reply, and I wouldn't personally bother waiting for steamOS, but there are valid reasons to want to specifically choose steamOS
I'd rather buy a high end noctua fan for my CPU then spend $30 on a windows license. Although I have bought those in the past.
You can get it for tree from them directly. They don't care about that upfront cost. They make money off your data.
I've never needed to activate windows on any of my computers since I just prefer Linux. But the gray market seems scary to me with the possibility of the key coming from a stolen card victim's wallet.
Is there any reason a non-dirty key would be available on the market? Does Microsoft do promotions or deals like that?
A ton of them apparently come from regional pricing, or from keys purchased by businesses. Windows offers volume licensing where you can buy bulk keys at a steep discount, basically. The business might not use all of them, and then they turn around and resell them. That's technically against the terms of the license, but afaik Microsoft has never bothered to enforce that.
I've also heard people will take the Windows keys off of older OEM towers and resell them. I have no idea how true that is, but it would also be against their terms.
It's not exactly likely, but Microsoft could probably just deactivate all of those keys at once if they decided to.
Microsoft doesn't give a shit to stop it, because they profit off your data. They give it away for free themselves. They don't care how you get it if you are on their system, and then they do everything they can to trap you. They don't make their profit from key sales.
Those are good questions that I don't have the answers to. Although from the research I did at the time it seems most likely they were purchased with regional pricing in a lower price region.
You aren't taking anything from anyone. It's just an algorithmically generated activation.
This is so easy it's kinda nuts, and there are multiple methods to activate. All you should need for Windows these days.
