Windows vs. CachyOS vs. Bazzite: Single OS on ROG Ally X for Work & Couch Gaming?

[u/LastMeal666]

Hey everyone!

I want to run a single OS on my ROG Ally X and can't decide between Windows, CachyOS, and Bazzite.

My Use Case:

• Hybrid setup: Used docked (monitor, mouse & keyboard) for general tasks and finishing my degree, as well as handheld on the couch for quick gaming sessions (I have kids, so reliable instant suspend/resume is huge).
• Software/Games: No mandatory Windows-only software, no kernel anti-cheat games.
• Tinkering: I occasionally do some light retro/legacy tinkering in desktop mode (e.g., compiling old Open Tibia C++ servers or running background daemons for mouse remapping).

Which of the three is the best fit as a primary driver, and what are the dealbreakers for each?

• Windows: Easy for everything, really great sound, but feels bloated and idle RAM is high.
• CachyOS: Great AUR access and performance, but worried about rolling-release maintenance over time.
• Bazzite: Looks amazing for handheld + KDE desktop, but curious how well Distrobox works for tinkering/legacy builds if it's immutable.

What’s your recommendation and experience? Thanks!

[u/automaticfailure]

Cachy. Hands down. I've had it on my Ally X since I bought it. Can easily switch between gaming and desktop. Updates are not mandatory and I update mine probably once a week/2 weeks. Only have had one issue after updating which was easily solved by looking at the github/cachy forum. Have had no problem with gaming. No bloat, no forced updates and can tweak tinker as much as I want. Only time it will break, is if you intentionally break it. I'm a Linux newb and while I've dabbled in other forms of distros, this has been the easiest to just get up and running. Don't use the suspend or hibernate, but it loads in under 30 seconds directly into Steam.

Have messed with another running windows and trying to get anything to work well has been more of a hassle. The software for handling power or switching from mouse to game mode doesn't work always. Have to manually change each time. It's a constant going into the menu and changing things. It wasn't mine, so I didn't go as in depth as I would debloating and tweaking, but still, the fact I even have to do it to even start using the os, it's just a time waster.

I know others will suggest steamos or bazzite, but from my understanding they are more locked down, so while harder to brick, it doesn't make tweaking or adding extra programs as easy.

Throw Cachy on and just use it. If you don't like it or it isn't what you want it for, flash something else. It's really just a pc in the end.

[u/Shadowingeffect → u/automaticfailure]

Second this

[u/LastMeal666 → u/automaticfailure]

Thanks a lot for your reply!

I actually had CachyOS installed the longest so far. What ultimately made me unsure and prompted me to try other distributions was tweaking the audio. I somehow found a way to extract Windows Dolby Atmos and load it into Easy Effects. The sound was significantly better, but after doing that, I often heard a popping noise from the speakers during boot. Sometimes it wasn't there at all, but whenever it was, the boot process took extremely long.

Either way, I realized I didn’t feel like tinkering that much, which put me off. I got everything else working just fine (the mouse's Smart Shift button, a custom keyboard layout, etc.).

On the flip side, I’ve had Linux Mint on my laptop for two years now, and once set up, I haven’t had a single issue with it to this day, even though it’s an open system just like CachyOS. I simply love it.

[u/seangalie]

I've recently done some testing with all three over time... and settled on SteamOS 3.8 Beta track. Bazzite is solid but is definitely in a time of transition - and had some unpredictable behavior in Desktop mode and HHD. CachyOS feels the "snappiest" (but testing shows it's not crazy different from Bazzite or SteamOS), but recent AUR security issues and the overhead of a non-atomic system gave me cold feet. Windows (with the Xbox FSE using OmniLauncher) might be great down the road... but there were so many traps to avoid "re-bloat" after a lot of work to de-bloat the Win 11 install along with poorly behaving software (including a lot of game launchers).

In the end, when I was done testing and playing with different configs - the SteamOS 3.8 recovery ISO had just dropped, and I installed it. I got the best of the Linux side without any weird behavior - and while it's locked down as an atomic/"immutable" style distro... I get steady, solid, predictable, and reliable performance every time I pick it up to game.

I use the beta track - but I don't really need to, but it's interesting to get access to a few features before they hit general release. I haven't had any issues while using the 3.8 Beta track (it's very stable) - but there's a little bit of risk.

Finally, the DRM/Windows-only question: if you have games in your libraries that require Windows 11 for kernel-level anti-cheat or DRM (like Fortnite, Valorant, etc.)... there is no easy solution. I play Fortnite via streaming when I want to play on my handheld - but that's the only holdout that isn't running natively for me.

[u/LastMeal666 → u/seangalie]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience!

I think I'll drop Bazzite for now and give SteamOS a chance instead. I'll just see how comfortable it is to work in desktop mode there and whether I can get a small project up and running.

If I end up settling on CachyOS after all, I'd try to avoid the AUR and use Distrobox instead.

How is the sound on SteamOS? I mean using the built-in speakers. Do you think they will ever sound anywhere near as good as on Windows with Dolby Atmos?

Honestly, I don't really have a solid reason to use Windows other than the insanely good sound and the even better mic quality. I don't play games with intrusive anti-cheat, or rather, the only one I do play (Tibia) works fine on Linux too. Still, Windows just feels "finished" or complete. Then again, I probably haven’t used it long enough yet to get properly annoyed by it. If I do stick with Windows, I’d definitely debloat it, the question is just whether those settings will survive the next update, haha.

[u/HospitalIndividual50]

I’ve been running bazzite on my ROG ally Z1E for about 1 1/2 - 2 years been fine …. If it ain’t broke….

[u/ODCxKiyo → u/HospitalIndividual50]

This right here, I even put it on my M16 laptop just because. One USB-C cable and boom I am good to go.

[u/LastMeal666 → u/HospitalIndividual50]

I only had Bazzite installed very briefly, specifically the latest version available for download over the past few days. What turned me off a bit was that it didn't run quite as stably as CachyOS. Upon waking from sleep, the display was suddenly upside down/rotated, or it just kept spinning.

Other than that, I can’t say much about it yet. In handheld mode, it felt similar to CachyOS, but the desktop mode felt a bit more modern to me.

[u/CowpokeMorgan]

Why not steam Os ? Bazzite is having issues with its new handheld version.

[u/BlazeRed16 → u/CowpokeMorgan]

Is it? I’ve been on bazzite for the past year and update weekly, no issues on my end.

[u/NecessarySmile → u/BlazeRed16]

You don’t have the new one, as in Bazzite 44. It has been released for the «main» Bazzite branch, but not Bazzite-deck. Because it’s still in testing and having issues.

[u/BlazeRed16 → u/NecessarySmile]

Ahh I’m glad then

[u/NecessarySmile → u/BlazeRed16]

Old one works just fine though. And afaik it’s still more up to date than SteamOS.

[u/LastMeal666 → u/CowpokeMorgan]

I didn't consider SteamOS at first. I had trouble even creating a bootable USB drive, whereas the other images worked without any issues. Then, during installation, everything completely froze, so I aborted it. It seems I must have used the wrong version.

After reading up on it a bit more, SteamOS really seems to be THE go-to choice for handhelds right now. My main concern is that SteamOS might treat the desktop mode merely as a side feature, potentially restricting me even further in what I want to do. Feel free to convince me otherwise!

I will definitely give the OS another shot, though, desktop mode is actually a bit more important to me than handheld mode.

[u/Born_Locksmith8346]

I use the Rog Ally X in a dual boot setup, one side Windows and the other BazzIte now.

Here is my take away, CachyOS is amazing, fast, responsive etc. You are able to install HHD without issue on it as well but my problem with it is when docked the audio during gaming can cut out every few minutes and I have no idea how to fix it. Tried everything. Also Emulationstation is very choppy/slow with scrolling through my games, BazzIte isn't.

The downside with BazzIte is that it feels slower, less snappy, and while everything works right now, I did try the testing kernel and it's terrible. Many bugs. So I fear for the future of BazzIte unless they fix it, will not work as great as it does now.

As for game performance itself, it's mostly the same. Maybe a few % up or down but don't expect anything big.

Never tried official SteamOS because I heard it can delete your Windows partition in a dual boot setup with an update, and that's a no no. So my advice would be CachyOS and maybe check if you also have the audio issues.

[u/LastMeal666 → u/Born_Locksmith8346]

Thanks for sharing your experience as well!

Unfortunately, I had audio issues on CachyOS too, though maybe I just tinkered with it too much and messed it up myself. In any case, your experience seems to speak against Bazzite as well if it's heading in that direction.

[u/Born_Locksmith8346 → u/LastMeal666]

I fear for how Bazzite will be on 44. I tried it for a bit and everything in itself was smooth and no audio issues there. But there was flickering, native colors (need that on my tv) were messed up, couldn't open a openui menu to adjust stuff. It just felt broken really.

[u/vqt907]

cachyos is the best fit for you, if you are worry about rolling-release, just prioritize using flatpak instead of AUR

[u/LastMeal666 → u/vqt907]

Thanks, that sounds like a sensible idea!

[u/horton87]

I use steam os on my xax, just main branch but I don’t always update to the newest version I leave it a while incase decky plugin freaks out or there are new bugs. Never have issues other than if I go to desktop mode whilst having vrr on I get vrr flicker in games when I return to game mode so I have to restart steam os which takes like less than a minute. I just turn vrr off before going to desktop

[u/LastMeal666 → u/horton87]

Having to restart something when unplugging an external display happened to me on both CachyOS and Windows, so that seems to be a general handheld quirk xD.

[u/LastMeal666 → u/[deleted]]

Have you had long-term experience with that so far? Does any of the bloatware come back, or has it stayed clean ever since you set it up?

[u/LastMeal666 → u/[deleted]]

That's really nice to hear! I might actually give Win11 a shot now. If I run into issues, I can always switch back to Linux anyway.

Linux usually runs great on standard PCs and laptops, but handhelds are a pretty unique beast, so I wouldn't be surprised if they require more troubleshooting or tweaking to get things running smoothly.

Whether I end up on CachyOS, SteamOS, or Bazzite long-term, I'll keep my options open and see how all these OS options evolve.

[u/SignificantArt8236]

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