Which OS is best for Gaming?
There is no one “best” operating system for gaming, as different operating systems have their own strengths and weaknesses and can be suitable for gaming depending on a variety of factors. That being said, some operating systems are more commonly used for gaming than others. However, recently we have a seen a range of customized windows OS made specifically for gamers! Lets dive in
Related: Reduce CPU Usage
Windows
Microsoft is undoubtedly one of the most widely used and most popular operating systems when we talk about gaming in particular. It simplifies the user interface and brings the gaming systems even closer to the public.
After the introduction of series of incarnations, including Win95/98/NT/2000 and various other variations, a much more refined Windows 7 was introduced and widely used for gaming. It is only now that the new series of Microsoft Windows, Windows 8 and 8.2, has been introduced.
However, the most advanced among them all is the latest introduced Windows 10 and 11. It comes with numerous updates and is extremely good for playing games and doing various other tasks.
Linux
It doesn’t dominate every operating system but covers a broad range of OS that is most probably based on open-source Linux Kernel. It is an advanced operating system that offers people the most flexible and lastly, its free.
Prominently, the most popular of all the known OS that come based on Linux Kernel is the Google AndroidOS, despite the fact that they can only be used on tablets and smartphones. However, if you are thinking of some versions that you can also use on PC, then you can go for openSUSE, Debian, CentOS, Valve’s SteamOS, Ubuntu, Fedora, and much more alike.
The great thing about these versions is that they are entirely free and are build upon various developers that suit differently to different systems. Linux is built to serve the needs of enthusiasts and professional users and also the lower hardware requirements when compared with Windows. It comes with a “user-friendly” interface, and the software’s that are compatible with it are not generally in high supply.
MacOS
Initially released in 2001, it is amazingly popular worldwide in the name of its performance. The only difference between it and Windows is that it is found on MacBook computers and Apple’s iMac.
It is highly optimized to work with the Apple hardware only, and this makes it extremely efficient. Also, it comes with a highly secure and user-friendly operating system which is the want of almost every Apple user.
Related: Optimize Mac for Gaming
Which OS is Best for Gaming?
Each of these above-mentioned OS is extremely functional and is highly helpful in making the gaming experience fun, enjoyable, and highly memorable for all time. The OS can help you play your most favorite games on your desired computer, however which OS is best for gaming? It all depends upon which game you play and how much variety you want to have on your gaming list.
Now, let us now discuss which of these OS are best for gaming that you can use to get optimal results.
Performance
In terms of performance, Linux and Windows seem to be on the even ground with only slight differences from one another in terms of supporting games. Every version of Windows is known best to maintain consistent framerates, while Linux is highly efficient in providing you completely different performance through its various distributions.
Among all the distributions of Linux, Ubuntu and SteamOS are known to be the best-performing ones. While in regard to Windows, it is highly reliable and consistent and thus provides you superior performance almost all the time.
Besides, MacOS is low-performing OS among all the three. This is mainly because of its hardware limitations that it comes with. It is designed to be non-customizable and highly compact, and this leaves very little room for GPU’s and other modifications that are needed to enjoy efficient gaming. If you want to enjoy the best-ever gaming on MacOS, you will have to buy an e Thermal GPU, which is quite an investment for the users, which not everyone likes to make most of the time after buying a pricy Apple computer.
Game Selection
A vast majority of games are released mainly for the PC gamers who are working on Windows, as it is regarded as the most popular gaming operating system in present times.
While on the other hand, the selection of games for MacOS and Linux is much more limited than the Windows. If you go only by steam, you will examine quite an improvement in its supported games: it supports over 4000 games at present times. Well, this is quite a less number when we compare it with Windows as it supports over 20.000 games at the moment. However, Mac comes with the ability to support almost 7000 Steam games most prominently.
Custom Windows OS – Gaming OS
Atlas is a modified version of the Windows operating system designed to enhance gaming performance by eliminating negative factors that can affect it. The Atlas project is transparent and open source, and aims to provide equal gaming opportunities for users regardless of the type of device they are using. In addition to improving performance, Atlas is also designed to reduce system latency, network latency, and input lag, and to protect user privacy.
It removes tracking elements from Windows and implements various group policies to minimize data collection, while also striving to be as secure as possible without sacrificing performance. Atlas is also heavily stripped of pre-installed applications and other components, which helps to reduce its ISO and install size, though this may result in some compatibility issues. The project has made various changes to optimize performance, including custom power schemes, reduced numbers of services and drivers, disabled unneeded devices and power savings, and optimized process scheduling.
Windows 10 vs. ATLAS
These tests are conducted on Atlas v0.5.2 & stock Windows 10 21H1.
Processes Usage – Atlas Gaming OS
Atlas disables and strips lots of processes which run in the background on stock Windows. Processes aren’t too important, but you can compare your results to ours on the left, it’s mind blowing.
185 -> 35~
Ram Usage
All the bloated applications and processes that run in the background add up to effect a substantial amount on your total ram usage. We’ve gone ahead and removed the stuff you don’t need.
1.5GB -> 600MB~
Ram Usage – Atlas Gaming OS
How Setup Atlas OS
Wrapping Up
While the common operating systems, do support gaming, some operating systems are better then others, windows is a stable and a great all around.
However if you are a dedicated hard-core gamers, we would recommend giving Atlas or other variations of Windows OS specifically made for gamers, but do be mindful of security and features before you go further.
Operating Systems – Best Sellers
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FAQ
What is an OS for gaming?
OS for gaming stands for an operating system that is also known as the system software responsible for managing the software and hardware of the computer and also provides some common services for various computer programs which make it compatible with various games that are played on it.
Why Gaming Needs and OS?
Games are also some kind of software’s that needs the OS mainly to interact with the hardware of the device. OS is the main thing that holds all the basic libraries requirements to run various software’s, including the games at the moment. Not only this, but an OS operates the mouse, keyboard, joystick, video card, and also sound card drivers to run efficiently.
Which OS is Best for Gaming?
There is three most prominent OS used for gaming: Linux, Windows, and macOS. However, among these three OS, Windows are regarded as the best OS for gaming because of its ability to support 20.000 games, the number which the other two are unable to compete at present times.
Last update on 2023-07-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising APIGaming techies is supported by it's awesome community, using the amazon affiliate links on our website helps keeps the lights on! at no additional cost to you.
