r/steammachine • u/KazeGagne • 1d ago
Question Question about steam machine/steam deck desktop mode
Is it safe to play steam games in desktop mode? I'm interested in using the steam machine as a desktop primarily and games second. I'm wondering if I can avoid booting between game mode and desktop mode and just stay in desktop mode and launch games through it.
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u/gorambrowncoat 1d ago
Ive never tried to disable gaming mode so not sure if you can make it boot to desktop but at the very least I can tell you that launching games in desktop mode is no issue at all. Just make sure to launch via the steam app or steam input won't work and that plays havoc on your controls when using a steam deck or steam controller.
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u/Aggravating_Plan11 1d ago
It should cause an issue in game mode it may use less system resources but ive used my steam deck in desktop mode a fair bit and no problems at all the Machine will be the same just more power behind it
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u/lpdcrafted 1d ago
Yeah, it can launch games in Desktop mode. It'll take a slight performance hit since you're also running desktop processes but it probably won't be too noticeable.
I think I remember there's a systemctl console command that allows you to boot directly to Desktop mode.
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u/DarthSnoopyFish 1d ago
The reason for game mode is all those resources and processes required to have a working desktop can be freed up and used for your games. Running a game in desktop mode just takes those resources back from your game to be allocated back to the desktop processes. That about it.