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Steam Deck Windows drivers now available

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Windows Drivers

Steam Deck OLED
  • IMPORTANT:
    for Bluetooth to work properly, you’ll need get latest BIOS through the SteamOS Beta update 3.6.9 or later (do this before installing Windows)

  • APU driver
    • Download here, run setup.exe to install.
    • This driver is updated as of August 15, 2024.
  • SD Card reader driver
  • Wi-Fi driver
  • Bluetooth driver
    • Download here, right click qcbtuart.inf and select Install
    • Important: Requires users to get latest BIOS through the SteamOS Beta update 3.6.9 or later (do this before installing Windows)
    • Note: Bluetooth audio is currently output only, microphone functionality still being worked on
  • Audio drivers
  • In Windows 11, *.inf files will show up as ‘Setup Information’ type files.
Steam Deck LCD
  • APU driver - download here, run setup.exe to install.
    • This driver is updated as of November 17th, 2023.
  • Wi-Fi driver - download here, run install.bat to install.
  • Bluetooth driver - download here, run installdriver.cmd to install.
  • SD Card reader driver - download here, run setup.exe to install.
  • Audio drivers
    • Download driver 1/2, right click cs35l41.inf and select Install. (last updated October 10, 2022)
    • Download driver 2/2, right click NAU88L21.inf and select Install.
    • These INF files will show up as 'Setup Information' type files in File Explorer.
    • On Windows 11, right click and select 'Show More Options' to see the 'Install' option.
    • Don't forget to get the updated APU driver above for audio support.

Dual-Boot with SteamOS not yet available
  • Installing Windows requires you to wipe your Steam Deck, and dual-boot with SteamOS is not currently available.
  • While Steam Deck is fully capable of dual-boot, the SteamOS installer that provides a dual-boot wizard isn't ready yet. This will ship alongside SteamOS 3 once it's complete.

Notes for installing Windows
  • To get to the boot menu, power down. Then, while holding Volume Down, press the power button.
  • Installation will be in portrait orientation (sideways) on the Steam Deck screen. You can switch this to landscape once Windows is installed.
  • To enter your product key during installation, you'll need internet. Because there are no Wi-Fi drivers at this point, you'll need a USB-C hub with an Ethernet port for internet.
  • Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 are supported. For Windows 11, make sure you have the latest OS update (in order to get the latest BIOS with fTPM support) before installing.
:arrow: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8
 
Last edited by subcon959,
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LTT saying it's probably not worth installing Windows right now, and a lot of other sources are showing that Proton/Linux outperforms Windows in compatible games by about 18%. I'm looking forward to the day compatibility is wide enough that I can consider switching my main rig over to Linux/SteamOS 3 as well.

 
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Xzi said:
LTT saying it's probably not worth installing Windows right now, and a lot of other sources are showing that Proton/Linux outperforms Windows in compatible games by about 18%. I'm looking forward to the day compatibility is wide enough that I can consider switching my main rig over to Linux/SteamOS 3 as well.
Click to expand...
It would be quite surprising if SD performed as well in Windows as it does with SteamOS as it is clearly something that Valve is looking to push gamers towards. However, it is a bit disappointing that it's as bad as it seems to be considering the whole "it's just a PC" thing. Not sure if it's AMD's fault or not at this point as to the maturity of the drivers.
 
subcon959 said:
It would be quite surprising if SD performed as well in Windows as it does with SteamOS as it is clearly something that Valve is looking to push gamers towards. However, it is a bit disappointing that it's as bad as it seems to be considering the whole "it's just a PC" thing. Not sure if it's AMD's fault or not at this point as to the maturity of the drivers.
Click to expand...
It's literally just Windows/DirectX sapping performance with all its extra overhead. Vulkan and OpenGL rendering are far more efficient, but because we haven't had a compatibility layer like Proton in a semi-complete state before, Microsoft never really needed to worry about the competition.
 
subcon959 said:
It would be quite surprising if SD performed as well in Windows as it does with SteamOS as it is clearly something that Valve is looking to push gamers towards. However, it is a bit disappointing that it's as bad as it seems to be considering the whole "it's just a PC" thing. Not sure if it's AMD's fault or not at this point as to the maturity of the drivers.
Click to expand...

I’m hoping they become ‘stable’ by the time my reservation is up in Q3, Windows support was one of the reasons I became interested because of incompatible/non-Linux software I’d want to run.

Honestly it would make me hesitant to go through with the purchase.
 
tech3475 said:
I’m hoping they become ‘stable’ by the time my reservation is up in Q3, Windows support was one of the reasons I became interested because of incompatible/non-Linux software I’d want to run.

Honestly it would make me hesitant to go through with the purchase.
Click to expand...
I definitely want the option if nothing else, but I'm sure the drivers will get better. I assume you will also have the option for Win11 by then too as being locked to Win10 at the moment is a bit meh.
 
Blauhasenpopo said:
For what reason do i need Windows on a superduper Linux Deck ?
Click to expand...
I suppose it'd be mainly for people looking to play Game Pass games on their Deck, or very specific Steam games that are still unsupported by Proton. Though tons of games that are listed as unsupported/unknown will work just fine, especially with a bit of tweaking.
 
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Blauhasenpopo said:
For what reason do i need Windows on a superduper Linux Deck ?
Click to expand...
Depends on what you buy the device for, i guess.

If you just want to play your steam library that's verified /playable: none
If you're looking for an emulation device : little to none (to my knowledge, there's no system that only has an emulator on windows)
If you're hellbent on playing certain unsupported games (eg fortnite) : windows

... And a group that wouldn't be buying the device if not for the price (and have a usb-c dock lying around) : users looking for a new home computer.
I can't think of non technical users picking this up, but if they exist : they better install windows. Every operating system is great as long as everything works, but if things fail on windows you can Google and find others with the same problem within seconds. On Linux... Not so much. Community effor ts notwithstanding, Linux is still often a system to tinker with. If you've got a non standard usb device (eg an old printer) , there's no guarantee it'll work. And boy, do companies presume you're on windows for drivers.
Oh, the different distros don't make it easier either.
 
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@subcon959 you should update the first thread with the SD card driver, otherwise, someone that's only looking at this thread will miss out and have a janky experience using the internal SD card slot in Windows.

So far my experience using Windows has been solid. I play my Deck 100% docked and outside of the lack of audio drivers, I can only think of three major issues.

1) video output only works with Display Link docks. Most USB-C adapters do not work

2) USB-C power delivery is somewhat broken. Playing a game whilst plugged in will still take some of your power.

3) The Steam Deck's VRAM reporting needs work. Some games will report 2 GB of VRAM and others 8. This keeps me from cranking up some settings in Monster Hunter World.
 
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LightyKD said:
@subcon959 you should update the first thread with the SD card driver, otherwise, someone that's only looking at this thread will miss out and have a janky experience using the internal SD card slot in Windows.
Click to expand...
I think I might have to appoint a mod or two because it's hard to keep up to date with driver releases when I don't have a Deck yet.
 
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Anyone tried Xenia Emulator yet? I guess I can give the latest version a spin if anything. I tried RCPS3 a few days ago but the only game I had would not boot. It's an obscure, small game so my expectations were not high. I might have time over the weekend to really test things this coming weekend.
 
As mentioned earlier, there is a video out issue the Deck has on Windows. Apparently it's kinda a flip to the way Deck handles video out on Linux. On Linux Display Link docks do not work well but the many USB-C HDMI adapters easily found on Amazon, work fine. On Windows it's the opposite. It's not much of a problem if you're like me and play your deck, docked 90% of the time. Problem is, there's aren't that many travel sized Display Link docks. I have a solution. Luckily I was going through my old cables and found my j5 Create USB to HDMI adapter. I installed the driver to my Deck and the adapter works fine! It's pretty small and can be easily stashed in your pocket. Keep in mind that you're going to need a USB-C to A converter to connect this to your deck.

Walmart seems to have the adapter on the cheap for 29.88 (USD)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/626586141

If you have to go the Amazon route, the adapter is 44.99 (USD) and can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076MKDK11/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_WWZTQ0Q1T259DVA49YCR

Hope this helps some of you ☺️
 
I did something naughty....

1n0hcWz.jpg
 
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I have to say, using the Deck as a controller for gaming in Windows is janky AF. I'm not a fan of the GloSC method at all. They really need to get the drivers sorted ASAP (still no proper audio support - really Valve?). Having said that, Windows 11 is nicer for hanging out in the desktop (that's personal preference of course) and doing non-gaming stuff. I'm going to dual boot for now since it's easy enough.

In short, if you're just gaming SteamOS is a far superior experience.
 
Xzi said:
LTT saying it's probably not worth installing Windows right now, and a lot of other sources are showing that Proton/Linux outperforms Windows in compatible games by about 18%. I'm looking forward to the day compatibility is wide enough that I can consider switching my main rig over to Linux/SteamOS 3 as well.

Click to expand...

you will wait a long time
 
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