Installing Steam OS on an AMD Desktop PC

The wait is over! SteamOS 3.0 can now be installed unofficially on AMD-based PCs.  This is all possible because those fine folks at Steam have released the OS they use on the Steamdeck to everyone - thanks Gabe! 

With this step-by-step guide (about 30 minutes and 20 simple to follow steps) we've been able to get our AMD Desktop PC up and running with the new OS, and while it might not work with all hardware configs just yet, we're very happy with the success! 

System Specifications – Our AMD Desktop PC

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600

• Motherboard: ASUS Prime B550M-K (updated to the latest BIOS)

• RAM: 32GB DDR4 @ 3200MHz

• Storage: 2TB ADATA 800 M.2 NVMe SSD

• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (16GB VRAM)

• Display: 27" Full HD (1080p), 120Hz Monitor

What You'll Need

• ✅ USB Drive (16GB minimum, 32GB USB 3.0+ recommended)

• ✅ AMD Ryzen Processor (5000 series or newer)

• ✅ AMD Radeon GPU (6000 series or newer)

• ✅ NVMe drive for installation

• ✅ Mouse and Keyboard
  (Optional: USB Controller for easier setup navigation)

• ✅ BIOS with Secure Boot (may need to be disabled—varies by system)

• ⚠️ Recommended: A motherboard with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  (External Bluetooth devices may not work—my USB dongle was not detected)

Here’s what you’ll need to do to get SteamOS up and running on your AMD desktop.

Step 1

To begin, you'll need to create a SteamOS recovery USB to install the operating system on your desktop.

Start by visiting the official SteamOS recovery guide: SteamOS Recovery Instructions

Download the recovery image here

Step 2

After downloading the SteamOS recovery image, download and run Rufus (the portable version is recommended).
Use Rufus to select the image file you just downloaded and create the bootable USB drive.

⏱ Note: The process may take some time—on my system, it took around 20 minutes.

Once it has completed, shut down your PC.

Step 3

Next, power on your desktop and press ESC or DEL during startup to access the BIOS menu.
Alternatively, if you know your system’s boot menu key (commonly F12), you can use that to select your USB drive directly.

In my setup, I used a brand new, unformatted 2TB ADATA NVMe drive for the installation—this allowed me to leave my existing Windows NVMe drive untouched.

Step 4

Once inside the BIOS, navigate to the boot menu and select your USB drive from the list.
It may appear as "Partition 1" or as "UEFI: [Your USB drive’s brand name]", depending on your system.

Step 5

The next stage may take some time—on my system, it took around 15 minutes to load the desktop for the SteamOS installer.
Don’t be alarmed if the screen goes blank or if the text resizes during this process; that’s normal.

⚠️ Important: If the desktop environment doesn’t load within 15–20 minutes, it’s likely that your hardware isn’t compatible with SteamOS. In that case, you can safely power off your system.

Step 6

Once you've successfully reached the desktop, double-click the “Wipe and Reinstall SteamOS” icon to begin the installation process.

A confirmation window will appear, warning that this action will erase all data on the selected drive.

• Click Proceed to continue with the installation.

• If you choose Cancel, no changes will be made, and it's safe to shut down the system.

Step 7

After the SteamOS installation completes, you’ll be prompted to either reboot your PC or continue using the live environment.

• Click Proceed to restart your system and complete the installation.

• Click Cancel if you'd like to continue exploring SteamOS without rebooting.

To continue the setup, click Proceed.

Step 8

If your system reboots to a black screen, perform a hard shutdown by holding the power button for about 30 seconds, and remove the SteamOS installation USB drive from your PC.

This helps reset the boot process and may resolve display issues during the initial startup.

Step 9

Next, you'll be greeted by the SteamOS Welcome Screen.
Select your preferred language, then click “Select” in the bottom-right corner to continue.

Step 10

Next, you'll be prompted to choose your time zone.
Select your region from the list (e.g., New Zealand Standard Time) and click on the appropriate option to proceed with the setup.

Step 11

For the network setup, I connected an Ethernet cable and selected Wired Connection, as my motherboard doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi.
Your experience may vary depending on your hardware—if your system supports Wi-Fi, it may detect and allow you to connect to a wireless network.

Once connected, click Continue to proceed.

Step 12

SteamOS will now begin downloading the Steam Client as part of the initial setup.
You might see a low battery warning—don’t worry, this is a known bug caused by the system mistakenly identifying your PC as a Steam Deck. You can safely ignore it.

Step 13

At this point, you should be prompted to reboot your PC. If not, you’ll be taken directly to the SteamOS login screen.

Log in with your existing Steam account or create a new one.

Tip: The easiest method for me was using the Steam Guard mobile app to scan the QR code and log in instantly.

Once logged in, click Select to continue to the next step.

Step 14

After successfully logging into your Steam account, you'll be guided through four menu and button layout screens that introduce you to navigating SteamOS 3.0.
These provide a quick overview of the interface and controls to help you get started.

Step 15

Next, click the menu button in the bottom-left corner of the screen, then select the Settings icon.
This will open a range of useful system options and configuration menus.

Click Settings to continue.

Step 16

In the Settings menu, navigate to the System tab.
Click “Check for Updates” to search for and install the latest SteamOS updates.

Step 17

Once the update process is complete, it’s recommended to reboot your PC to apply the changes.

Step 18

Congratulations! SteamOS is now successfully installed on your unsupported AMD gaming PC.

To enhance your system’s security, it's recommended to complete the next two steps to set up a system login PIN.
Without it, your PC will log in to SteamOS automatically at startup.

Step 19

Next, return to the main menu, open the Settings, and navigate to the Security tab.
Here, you can set a system PIN to prevent unauthorized access to your SteamOS desktop.

Click the toggle next to "On system wake and power up" to enable PIN protection.
You’ll then be prompted to create your PIN.

Note: If your keyboard’s numpad doesn’t work during this step, use your mouse to enter the PIN via the on-screen number pad.

Step 20

After setting your system PIN, reboot your PC. On startup, you’ll be taken to the login screen, where you’ll be prompted to enter your PIN. Once logged in, you can head to the Library menu to install and play your compatible games.

That's it, YOU'VE DONE IT!

SteamOS is evolving quickly and we can't wait to start testing things out on our new Steam OS AMD Gaming PC, so I suppose the real question now is... what game to play first?