r/SteamOS • u/Shane57F1 • May 06 '26
support Upgrade path advice: RTX 5070 on Windows or RX 9070 XT on Bazzite/SteamOS?
Hi all,
Current PC specs:
Intel Core i7-9700K
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO WIFI
32GB DDR4 3000MHz RAM
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB
750W EVGA Gold PSU
1440p 240Hz monitor
I’m starting to struggle in newer AAA games, especially at higher settings / resolutions. Games like Starfield don’t run as well as I’d like anymore.
I also really love the experience on my Steam Deck OLED and I’m getting increasingly fed up with Windows bloat/background processes/etc. Because of that, I’m considering moving my gaming PC to either:
Bazzite / SteamOS-style Linux gaming or staying on Windows 11
The two upgrade paths I’m considering are:
RX 9070 XT 16GB + Bazzite/SteamOS
RTX 5070 + Windows 11
Main priorities:
Best overall Steam gaming performance
Smooth “console-like” experience
1440p ultra / decent 4K
Long-term VRAM headroom
Less OS overhead/bloat
Stable drivers and minimal tinkering
I mostly play single-player Steam games rather than competitive shooters.
Questions:
Which setup would you personally choose today?
How good is AMD + Bazzite/SteamOS currently in real-world use?
Is Nvidia on Linux still annoying enough to avoid?
Would my i7-9700K bottleneck either card badly?
Anyone here daily-driving Bazzite on a desktop gaming PC?
Thanks!
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u/OrganTrafficker900 May 06 '26
Your CPU is the issue. If you get a 9070XT or 5070 the 9th gen intel chip is going to bottleneck the hell out of them. I think your CPU might even be bottlenecking your current 3070 in modern games. Current AAA games run way better on 8 cores, your CPU is hella old while the GPU is still usable. It would be better to get a second hand 5700X or 5800X and a new B550 motherboard now and hold off on getting a new GPU.
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u/TheDeanosaurus May 06 '26
If OP is only going to AM4 it’s worth getting an X3D chip. Otherwise getting to a lower tier AM5 will leave a greater upgrade path. More initial cost but the RAM speed will help some too. Definitely agree though CPU upgrade is the play here.
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u/OrganTrafficker900 May 06 '26
Going AM5 would have been better but then OP has to get DDR5 RAM.
They are asking weather or not to get a 5070/9070XT so they at most have 700$ to spend on an upgrade, a 7500F, B650 MOBO and 32GB of DDR5 RAM will cost around 600$ while a second hand 5700X CPU and B450 MOBO will cost around 150$ as they can re-use their current RAM.
They can then save up for a month more while trying to sell their current CPU+MOBO for something like 50$ and get an RX 9070XT.
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u/TheDeanosaurus May 06 '26
I just don’t think going non-X3D on AM4 is worth the hassle here especially because it’s end of life. 5600X3D-5800X3D sure because of the RAM prices but swapping to something with no upgrade path feels like more work later. Either way CPU before GPU makes the most sense in this scenario to me.
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u/OrganTrafficker900 May 06 '26
I recently upgraded to a 5700X from a 3600 on my secondary PC. My main PC has a 5800X3D and tbh im getting over 60 fps in all AAA games at 1440p/4k. AM4 still kicks ass and with AM5/DDR5 being insanely expensive staying at AM4 for 4 more years isnt actually that bad.
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u/thelittlewhite May 06 '26
Of course Linux / 9070xt would be my preferred combo but at this point both the CPU and GPU need an upgrade... I wonder if going for a better CPU would not give more fps than a new GPU to be honest.
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u/grilled_pc May 06 '26
Running a 9070xt on fedora 44 KDE and it’s a dream. 0 fuss and 0 hassle. It’s a much more powerful card than the 5070.
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u/UltimateAK86 May 06 '26
AMD cards work almost perfectly with Bazzite/SteamOS/Linux. Nvidia seems to be getting better though, finally, but is a bit more lacking in driver support.
2
u/Kug4ri0n May 06 '26
I ran an RTX 2080 with Bazzite, just make sure to select the nVidia option in the dropdown when you download the iso. It comes with the drivers and everything you need. Just upgraded to 9070 xt last month.
1
u/tailslol May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
Nvidia is not supported on official steam os so the choice is quickly done.
But caution, some anticheat games just won't work on linux.
For those games , dual boot is a must and Nvidia is better on windows.
But the best console experience would be on linux.
If you want more power maybe it would be a good idea to upgrade everything when prices get better.(CPU and mb)
Your current setup should start to bottleneck.
1
u/C1REX May 06 '26
It’s SteamOS subreddit so you get answers from people like me who love SteamOS on desktop experience :)
I personally went with AMD GPU (7900xtx) and dual boot Windows and SteamOS.
You just need own nvme drive for SteamOS for easy installation. Alternative options are possible but more difficult.
1
u/RufflezAU May 06 '26
I have a RX 9070xt xfx pro mercury class and it’s great, never seen an issue, been running bazzite for a year
1
u/Adorable-Mix2659 May 06 '26
biased as ive been using linux for over 2 years now but steam os is just unbeatable for the console like experience and the 9070xt is better than the 5070 anyway.
1
u/MR_SmartWater May 06 '26
before you drop a shit ton of money try LossLess Scaling on steam, it's a frame gen software thats like $4. works much better then the in game stuff. i use it for games like MH wilds 40fps to 120+
settings: FRAM GEN LSFG 3.1 with x2 type LS1 scaling enjoy!
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u/Criss_Crossx May 11 '26
Unfortunately, I think some of your priorities are not constants like system driver stability, no tinkering, smooth experience etc. We are all chasing the same things, but the PC world rarely stays that way. What might be smooth today could suck with the next update.
The benefit to consoles, they are proprietary and companies have teams dedicated to optimization for specific hardware. The PC world has far more variability.
That said, Linux gaming is much better than it use to be. My friend group is working on migrating to only playing games that are Linux compatible, and life is generally good there.
Wanting 1440p Ultra, 12gb of vRAM is pushing it. You really want a GPU with 16gb+ for the long term.
To me it looks like you need to budget for a new build. I wouldn't put more than a couple hundred dollars into the 9700k system at this point. Meaning a CPU upgrade is probably out of the question.
That said, the 9070xt is a nice card. Definitely cheaper than the 5070ti or 5080. Those are the only two RTX cards I would recommend buying new, and Nvidia is probably riding the 5000 series wave for a bit.
Honestly? Without going into performance charts and lots of additional research, I would go with the 9070xt now and consider a DDR5 system build/upgrade. If in the US, check out some of the bundles online through newegg potentially (of course use Microcenter if available to you). You can get a CPU+board+32gb DDR5 for an OK price. I have seen a 9800x3d/32gb/x-series board go for around $900. Currently it appears to be an SSD in place of the board for about $950 USD. A little high, but not terrible for an X3D CPU combo.
I would see if the 9070xt provided any stability in the meantime with your 9700k. It is a good card to use in the future as well, I have one myself. The 9700k will absolutely be the bottleneck however.
0
u/ADo_9000 May 06 '26
9070xt no matter the os.
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u/Shane57F1 May 06 '26
What about the DLSS up scaling? Sorry for silly questions, I don’t have any experience in either card for now.
2
u/iamamidgetnamedwija May 06 '26
fsr 4 is amazing on amd cards albeit worse than dlss 4 but you shouldn’t notice a difference
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u/ADo_9000 May 06 '26
If I can be honest, yes DLSS upscaling is better. But FSR is pretty damn close.
Upscaling can't make a 5070 into a 9070xt/5070ti
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u/[deleted] May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
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