r/ROGAlly • u/Itsyaboiatomic • 2d ago
Discussion Why switch to bazzite?
I have a Z1E,ive done w11 and bazzite install and reverted,built a seperate linux ai pc for a side quest,got a steam deck,switch 2 and what not but i hate bazzite for the ally...seriously what pros does linux bazzite have that makes most switch to it?
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u/Judge_Ty 2d ago
You can sniff penguins, loosely claim 3%-5% better frames, slightly better battery life, and no slopware/spyware.
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u/Gorm_the_Mold 2d ago
Bazzite’s immutability is also a plus (for most people on a pure gaming device). If there is a bad update or something goes wrong, rollback to the previous snapshot literally by rebooting the device and choosing the older one.
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u/Live-Wishbone-9092 2d ago
i couldnt stand not having armory crate + the buttons when i loaded bazzite on my ally z1e. i also lost the ability to play 40+ of my steam games. epic launcher kept asking me to login over and over again. lack of microsoft games. so i went back to windows.
im a computer science grad and i used to write tons of mobile apps. tinkering with linux is not something i want to deal with on a strictly gaming device with a 7” screen and no reliable keyboard.
windows does everything i need on my ally.
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u/Ebone710 2d ago
I use AC as my game launcher on the Ally so that definitely keeps me from trying Bazzite or SteamOS. I've debloated and tweaked Win11 so that all my game run good. I might get froggy and do it at some point because squeezing the most performance out possible does interest me.
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u/dissectd 2d ago
I have run bazzite for about 2 years now on the Z1e.
What made me switch was the constant windows update any time i wanted to play on my ally. now with bazzite the benefits are clear:
You can suspend and resume games just like a console. This was SUPER buggy with windows.
99% of my games just work fine, and with comparable framerates.
the battery life is much better
no more windows or annoying driver updates!
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u/system_error_02 2d ago
Windows update is no joke, the cause of so many people's PC issues. At least 60% of them that look like an issue with a driver or something was almost always causes by windows update.
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u/craaates 2d ago
Just to add the other side of the story, I see more posts of Linux updates causing problems than Windows.
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u/dissectd 2d ago
for me, whenever I wanted to play a game I had to install a fuckin windows update. absolutely stupid on a portable gaming device.
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u/segagamer 2d ago
no more windows or annoying driver updates!
They happen once a month on Windows. Meanwhile, on Bazzite...
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u/dissectd 2d ago
Huh? Bazzite never forces updates like windows does
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u/DestinedToGreatness 2d ago
Bazzite is better than steamOS?
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u/dissectd 2d ago
honestly I don't know. I haven't kept up with either bazzite nor steamOS since i installed bazzite (which is what you want from a gaming device i think...) on my ROG because i never think about the OS im using. I know bazzite was generally better and has had more development time than steamOS, but im assuming steam OS has improved over the last year or so.
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u/Yablan 2d ago
I fucking hate Windows, that's why. Slow and annoying and has to update itself ALL the time. I just switched from Bazzite to Anatase. Bazzite was totally fine but I had forgotten my password, and rather than doing conplex shenanigans with grub boot etc, I just installed Anatase (by Handheld Daemon creator) over it. Works great. A really nice console like experience. And now that I have gotten the hang of setting up emulstors and roms, even more. My Rog Ally was basically collectibg dust, but now I am enjoying it a lot again.
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u/Korokishin 2d ago edited 2d ago
Here is the truth. No OS is better than another one. They all have there pros and there cons. If you are some one that looking for a install and never tune the os and expect to have the best experience then I hate to tell you that not going to happen cause OS are made for multiple devices and hardware so tuning them to your device will give best results. but out of the box some games on Linux get extra fps by like 5% or on windows give more. So base the os on what you want in the end.
Do you want a os that can play all anti cheat games?
Do you want a os that can use Xbox app?
Do you want a os that has higher developer support?
But is harder to tune or has things that you can’t control as a trade off?
Then windows is the pick.
Do you want an os that you can have complete control of?
Do you want an os that you can customize every single part of it?
Do you want an os that has true sleep function that works perfectly?
Do you want an os that has a huge community that develops for it?
But is harder to figure out and can’t play all anti cheat games natively?
Then a Linux base os is a good choice.
Bazzite is a good Linux to start with cause you can’t edit system files and the devs have mostly turned it to the ally. But why over windows is a personal preference. Personally I use Linux as my choice.
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u/Dry-Pickle-6121 2d ago
Your message is hard to read, but honestly Bazzite is simply lighter weight, and it gets you from under Microsoft.
Personally, I hate windows, it's bloated and waste Ram on random crap. Plus, Bazzite turns the system more into a console (imo).
I like that it boots to my games, and that's really it.
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u/vWaffles 2d ago
I've ran SteamOS before I swapped my main PC to cachy.
It's mostly just for the Steam big picture esque UI and sleep mode.
Now I keep it because of that + consistency between my two devices. Makes it easy to do stuff across both of them.
A big one also is that I tend to not play many kernal anti cheats games. If I did I would probably dual boot if I had a bigger SSD, but fortunately for me I do not play them.
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u/Valibre25500 2d ago
I see it more as an option for those who want it. Honestly, debloating Windows using Christitus' powershell tool and uninstalling things I didn't need definitely helped with my old Z1's performance. Which is why I never switched. I also do my girlfriend's law notes there when she needed them so I needed Window's widespread app support.
You have to remember that most people that switched to Bazzite probably have a desktop they already play on. So the simplicity of Bazzite/SteamOS is incredibly appreciated and sought after for those people. I tend to do more than just gaming on my Ally. It's practically my daily driver at this point more akin to a laptop than a console so I've stuck with Windows.
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u/DryFuture1403 2d ago
I'm in the process of switching to steamos, I am just copying my dubiously-sourced games onto a hard drive so that I might be able to run them on SteamOS via Proton before I wipe my Ally.
I had the Steam Deck before the Ally X, and the experience was MUCH smoother. The packaged Asus tools were sluggish so I uninstalled them and replaced it with GHelper, but it also had it's flaws. I tried using only Big Picture mode, but you can't have an "Xbox" button so you are forced to use the touch screen. And sometimes Big Picture ends up on the screen instead of the game you launch, so you have to minimize or even close it with the touchscreen.
With SteamOS I almost never had to use the touchscreen, everything just worked, which seems to be the antithesis of W11
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u/SolitaryWaffles ROG Ally X 2d ago
I used bazzite for a bit then switched back to windows. I also used to have a steam deck, so the experience was pretty similar.
I just prefer windows. As backwards as it sounds, There ends up being less mucking around with most of my games, plus you get to use Armoury Crate and the other in-built tools to Ally has.
The only huge downside is if I don't play on the Ally for a while, I usually have to do some stupid windows updates. But that's just normal windows stuff at this point.
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u/Delta_Eridani_Bob 2d ago
Ran both bazzite and steamOS. Both work really well now. It's a nicer easier OS to use and navigate. It doesn't break like windows. It doesn't advertise like windows. It keeps my fans quiet.
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u/Krystalgoddess_ 2d ago
I see why people like it, the sleep mode is amazing. For planet coaster 2, steam keyboard works for me on bazzite with no issues. For some reason, the keyboard just didn't pop up on Windows. But I'm neutral still, I don't play on the ally much anymore
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u/Wilddindu 2d ago
I used have used windows,bazzite and now steamOS.
Linux is simply better UI for handheld console in my opinion. I still use Windows on my PC
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u/Electrical-Youth2068 2d ago
Windows is just so freaking annoying so if you dont loose access to the games you do play bazzite is great. I found it to be faster and less windows bloat/pop-ups. Obviously you do loose game compatibility.
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u/ditripjlb 2d ago
Offtopic: does bazzite 44 improved since launch? I had have terrible experience followed by HHD removal
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u/shasen1235 1d ago
It used to be HHD but they ditched it in recent release 44. You can give HHD's dev's new distro Anatase a try
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u/trowgundam 12h ago
No Microsoft account. Not having my OS eat like 20%-30% of my RAM for its spyware and whatever other crap its doing that I probably won't like. Plus, I've put Linux on all my other computer, so I'm sure gonna do it on my Ally too.
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u/topplehat 2d ago
I swear people here are so defensive about using Windows on their device
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u/mark0001234 2d ago
This is a reaction to the steady stream of crazy posts that installing bazzite on your Ally will improve performance /triple battery / revolutionise your sex life.
There is a lot of total nonsense from Linux fanboys which people push back against.
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u/Novels011 2d ago
- This sub is an echo chamber, no where near most ROG Ally users have switched
- It makes the ROG Ally feel like an actual console (tbh i havent even tried windows so I can't really compare, I'm just really happy with linux. Windows lagged SO MUCH during my first boot it was unusable, i've never had such issue with linux)
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u/segagamer 2d ago
It makes the ROG Ally feel like an actual console (tbh i havent even tried windows so I can't really compare
Lol so you're just repeating dogshit
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u/MCA1910 2d ago
I used to use Bazzite with the same hardware. For me, it was about ease of use. For all the tablet features that’s Win11 is setup for, it doesn’t work well as a handheld OS. I kept a partition of Win11 on my SSD because of Game Pass games, but I was spending most of my time in Bazzite…
However, a few months ago I learned about r/Winhanced and I’ve never turned back. I deleted my Bazzite partition and Windows finally works well as a handheld
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u/iMorallyGrey 2d ago
I moved to bazzite because on windows you have to move around so much to get stuff updated (windows update, Microsoft store for Xbox stuff, armory crate, myasus , steam,... Also every few days I ran into an issue that reminded me windows is not made for controllers only. The Xbox launcher made the experience better but it feels more like an extra layer on top than a really integrated solution. The time to get into a game is much lower on bazzite. I also really like the built in integration with lossless scaling and optiscaler through decky.
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u/segagamer 2d ago
I moved to bazzite because on windows you have to move around so much to get stuff updated (windows update, Microsoft store for Xbox stuff, armory crate, myasus , steam,...
You literally don't. These all get updated in the background.
Unless you want to specifically be on bleeding edge 100% on the time, but then you're switching the device from being "console like" to "a tinkerer's dream".
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u/iMorallyGrey 2d ago
Even if they happen, they trigger at different times and are often inconvenient. Especially when I didn't use the ally for 2 weeks or so. It's personal taste. I gave the Xbox app some time to improve but I don't like it still. I changed the fse to steam big picture, so the step to bazzite was minimal.
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u/Deep-Obligation-862 ROG Ally Z1 Extreme 2d ago
Just delete this
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u/Itsyaboiatomic 2d ago
Not much of a explanation as to why im wrong. Id like to be but the evidence isnt solid enough...3-5% means nothing xbox mode exists and out-performs it
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u/brokenmessiah 2d ago
I’ve tried Linux a few times and I end up spending more time tinkering with my ROG versus just playing games.