SteamOS 3.9 vs Omarchy OS: The Ultimate Benchmark Showdown

n this video, I compare SteamOS 3.9 with Omarchy OS on the exact same hardware, running the exact same 4K settings, using GameScope on both systems for a fair test.

This isn’t about which OS has the best desktop — it’s about what happens when you push 4K gaming on SteamOS’s Neptune kernel versus Omarchy’s standard Arch kernel.


I also show the process of installing SteamOS on a desktop with an RDNA4 GPU (9060 XT) using developer mode and mainline Steam, plus why the OS is locked by default and how to set it to read-write for package installs.

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🔹 Hardware Used


• Ryzen 9
• Radeon 9060 XT (primary GPU)
• Radeon 610M iGPU (required for SteamOS install)

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🔹 What’s Covered

SteamOS Installation Process
• SteamOS 3.7 installer won’t support RDNA4
• Must boot with iGPU → install → enable developer mode
• Switch to the main line SteamOS channel to get kernel 6.16. and Mesa 25
• Then reinstall the 9060 XT and boot into SteamOS


SteamOS Limitations
• Immutable filesystem (read-only by default)
• Only Flatpaks installable unless you unlock it
• Unlocking requires setting a password and running the read-write command
• OS relocks after Steam updates


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🔹 Benchmark Rules


• 4K resolution
• Ultra / High settings depending on game
• FSR enabled
• No Frame Generation
• No Ray Tracing
• Benchmarks run through GameScope on both OSes
• Identical scenes used to ensure repeatability

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🔹 Cyberpunk 2077 – 4K Ultra (No RT, FSR on)


• SteamOS: 57.66 FPS (min 50, max 68)
• Omarchy: 57.19 FPS

Result: Almost identical — within margin of error.

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🔹 Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 4K Max


• SteamOS: 49 FPS
• Omarchy: 50 FPS

Result: Also effectively the same.
You also note that the benchmark weirdly changes NPCs, clothing, and positions between runs — making it more unpredictable than people claim.

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🔹 Black Myth: Wukong – 4K Medium


• SteamOS: 120 FPS
• Omarchy: 102 FPS

This is the only big difference in the entire test — likely due to optimisations inside SteamOS’s Neptune kernel.

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🔹 Stray (4K High)


• SteamOS: ~50 FPS
• Omarchy: ~45 FPS

Approx. 10 FPS advantage for SteamOS.

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🔹 Night Rain (4K High)


• Omarchy: Locked at ~60 FPS
• SteamOS: Mid-50s

Omarchy outperforms SteamOS in this test.

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🔹 Borderlands 4 – 4K High + FSR


• SteamOS: Smooth, stable
• Omarchy: Same average FPS BUT heavy stutters

The stutters appear to be engine-related (also seen on Windows).

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🔹 Final Thoughts (from the transcript)


• SteamOS and Omarchy OS perform almost identically in most real-world games
• The difference depends more on game optimisation than OS/kernel
• Black Myth shows the biggest gap (SteamOS leads)
• Night Rain shows the opposite (Omarchy leads)
• Borderlands 4 is inconsistent everywhere
• SteamOS is locked down and not great for productivity
• You would personally replace SteamOS with Omarchy for desktop use
• SteamOS 4 (when the Steam Box launches) may change everything

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#Linux #SteamOS #OmarchyOS #ArchLinux #Hyprland #LinuxGaming #GameScope #Cyberpunk2077 #TombRaider #BlackMythWukong #Borderlands4 #Stray #Benchmarking #AMD #NeptuneKernel