Windows 11 vs SteamOS vs Omarchy - Same Nvidia GPU, Honest Numbers

You've all been asking for it since the Nvidia patch dropped — how does SteamOS actually compare to Windows 11 on the same hardware? So I benchmarked Windows 11, SteamOS, and Omarchy on the same 5060 Ti, same games, same settings, all on the very latest Nvidia drivers. Windows wins. You knew it would. But the margin — and where Linux fights back — is the interesting bit.

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THE SETUP

Four games with built-in benchmarks — Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth Wukong, Homeworld 3, and Returnal — all at high settings targeting 60+ FPS. Windows 11, SteamOS (stock 3.8, 6.16 kernel — exactly what you get from my Nvidia patch out of the box), and Omarchy with the Gamescope launcher. Same MangoHUD-style analysis: averages, 1% lows, and frame pacing.

AVERAGE FPS — WINDOWS WINS

No shock. Cyberpunk goes to Windows by a slim margin, Black Myth and Homeworld 3 by bigger ones. Overall you're losing roughly 20% running through the Proton compatibility layer. There's no way around that — a translation layer incurs a debt, full stop. Anyone claiming their games run faster on Linux across the board isn't measuring properly.

But context: everything stayed comfortably playable, well over 60. If you're chasing 120+ competitive frame rates, you need bigger hardware regardless of OS.

1% LOWS — WINDOWS AGAIN

Higher baseline means higher dips. Running at 90 and dropping to 75 beats running at 60 and dropping to 48. SteamOS and Omarchy are neck and neck with each other, but Windows takes all four games here.

FRAME PACING — NOW IT GETS INTERESTING

Lower is better, and this is where Linux punches back. Linux wins two of the four outright — Black Myth Wukong absolutely trounces Windows on pacing, and Omarchy matches Windows elsewhere. SteamOS oddly fell apart on Cyberpunk pacing and I'm not sure why.

This is the architecture showing itself. Windows has an enormous amount going on in the background — Linus Tech Tips did a great piece on how much RAM Windows 11 eats during games. Linux is simply more structured about what runs while you play, and it shows in how smoothly frames land on screen.

Notably, SteamOS came within 1% of Omarchy in three of four games. Two Arch systems, near identical — the distro convergence again.

THE REAL QUESTION

Windows wins on raw throughput because it doesn't pay the compatibility tax. But would you give up 10-15 average frames — on games that are all completely playable either way — for what Linux gives you back?

No telemetry feeding a giant corporation. No being sold something at every turn. No Copilot upsells, no subscription creep, no Edge begging for your Google data on first launch. I remember Windows 3.0 and 95 — you bought an OS and it just ran. Windows 11 has a whole secondary sales layer built into the operating system and it's horrific to live with.

The only genuine blocker left is kernel anti-cheat, and for a huge chunk of players that doesn't matter. Between the Steam Deck teaching a generation how Linux works and SteamOS now running on Nvidia, the gateway has never been wider. Ten frames for freedom. I know which way I'm going.

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00:00 - Start
00:09 - intro
03:43 - average frame rates
05:37 - 1% Lows
06:41 - FRAME PACING
09:19 - FINAL WORDS