this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
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From what I saw, it's more or less just a new app that starts when windows boots up. Plus some improvements like "the controller now works in UAC prompts" - which tells me that they didn't really learn anything.
You know a reason why Linux with Steam runs just way better than win? Because they use game scope, therefore not needing to render and run all of the desktop.
So what does Microsoft do? They release a new app on top of the already bloated desktop.
Gamescope is a compositor. It has many useful gaming features, but it doesn’t have a major performance advantage over desktops like Gnome, KDE, or tilers.
The performance advantage comes from the fact that there isn't a full-fat desktop running concurrently with the game. You're booting directly into Steam.
Performance isn't noticably worse in desktop mode on the Steam Deck compared to gaming mode. Windows is just full of bloat and has a trash power scheduler.
They thinned the os, ive just watched llt video, the appear to have debloated some of it
X Doubt
Well according to information out there they did get permition to tweak Windows to make it much more sutible for gaming handhelds.
that sucks, make windows lightweight for all of us.
Apparently it will come to all desktops.
x to doubt its actually gonna be lightweight
As per Microsoft, they apparently saved 2 GBs of RAM by preventing productivity apps (bloat) from loading in their Big Picture mode. Now, it's another entirely different thing about how they are handling CPU/VRAM for the games. Let's see how that goes.
There was a Youtuber who showed that Windows is bloated, not because of background apps, but because of not using CPU properly (incorrect governor settings). The Youtuber used a script to set it right and windows got a boost in battery life. This kind of makes sense because I've seen none of the "bloat-free" Windows ISOs provide a significant performance boost over the standard OS.
Bloat caused by bundled apps is different than bloat caused by the OS being a hodgepodge mess of ancient features, half baked new "features", and spyware.
Of course clean ISOs still install the horseshit known as Microsoft Windows; most of the crap comes from windows itself.
Yeah apparently the desktop doesn't even load when this launcher is used. But it's still an option.
I don't think not loading the desktop will really help much. Maybe it will free up a few hundred MB of memory.
Funny how this is exactly the opposite of what they're doing, but sure, keep on raging.