SteamOS now works on the Intel Arc B580 without workarounds on the latest beta

Q: What limitations of XeSS on the Arc B580 under SteamOS 3.9 beta were reported related to XMX cores and shader cores?

The Linux drivers for the Arc B580 on SteamOS 3.9 beta are not configured to run XeSS on the XMX cores, forcing XeSS to run on the shader cores instead. This also makes XeSS frame generation incompatible because the technology is inaccessible to the XMX cores through the Linux driver.

Q: Is XeSS frame generation currently compatible with the Arc B580 on SteamOS 3.9 beta according to the report?

No. The report says XeSS frame generation was incompatible on SteamOS 3.9 beta because the Linux driver does not expose the XMX cores, forcing XeSS to run on shader cores and making frame generation inaccessible to the XMX hardware.

YouTuber discovers that the Arc B580 finally works on the latest SteamOS 3.9 beta without any installation workarounds and achieves playable FPS in games.

Aaron Klotz

Tech Reporter

Published Aug 19, 2026 9:50 AM CDT

1 minute & 45 seconds read time

TL;DR: SteamOS 3.9 beta now runs Intel Arc B580 without installation workarounds; ETA Prime found games achieving playable FPS (e.g., Cyberpunk 2077 ~80 FPS, Horizon Zero Dawn ~70 FPS, Fallout 4 and Elden Ring locked at 60 FPS, Forza Horizon 5 ~80 FPS at 1440p). XeSS is limited to shader cores on Linux, and XeSS frame generation is incompatible with XMX cores. Valve's SteamOS now supports AMD and Intel GPUs, leaving NVIDIA as the remaining mainstream vendor to be fully supported.

Voice: DefaultSpeed

0:00 / 2:54

Getting SteamOS to work on Intel cards has been anything but smooth since the operating system arrived, thanks to installation bugs and issues. However, SteamOS 3.9 beta now reportedly works on Arc cards without problems; YouTuber ETA Prime reported in a recent video that his Arc B580 worked "on the first boot up" and ran games on SteamOS almost flawlessly.

The YouTuber tested several games, confirming that the Arc B580 can play games at playable frame rates on SteamOS. Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p high settings with FSR set to quality mode ran at roughly 80 FPS; Horizon Zero Dawn at 1440p high settings with XeSS in balanced mode ran at roughly 70 FPS. Fallout 4 at 1440p ultra settings ran at a flat 60FPS with a V-Sync 60Hz lock with no dips, and Elden Ring also ran at a locked 60 FPS with no dips at 1440p max settings. Finally, Forza Horizon 5 ran at roughly 80 FPS at 1440p high settings.

Less than a handful of issues were present when running the Arc B580 on SteamOS; the biggest issue was XeSS support, which could only run on the shader cores on SteamOS. The Linux drivers for the Arc B580 reportedly aren't configured to run XeSS on the XMX cores, forcing the GPU to run the upscaler on the shader cores instead. This issue also extends to XeSS frame generation, which was incompatible due to the tech being inaccessible to the XMX cores through the Linux driver.

Regardless, seeing SteamOS running on the Arc B580 without any installation workarounds is a huge improvement from where SteamOS support was with Intel Arc graphics cards previously. Support was technically baked in with SteamOS 3.8; however, support was geared primarily towards Arc iGPUs for handhelds that used Intel SoCs. If you wanted to run an Arc card on SteamOS, you had to use one of several workarounds to get SteamOS to install with the card. One of the more popular methods was to install a supported AMD graphics card for the initial installation, then swap to the Arc card after the OS install was complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

TweakBot answers common questions about this news using TweakTown's own coverage from this page and related content from our archive. All answers are generated from TweakTown content and not outside sources. Tap a question to reveal the answer, or type your own below related to this content.

Question #1

Does SteamOS 3.9 beta install and boot directly with an Intel Arc B580 without using previous installation workarounds?

Yes. The primary article reports that YouTuber ETA Prime found the Arc B580 "worked on the first boot up" with the SteamOS 3.9 beta and no installation workarounds were required. The card ran several games at playable frame rates, though a few issues remain such as XeSS only running on shader cores under Linux.

Answered

Question #2

What limitations of XeSS on the Arc B580 under SteamOS 3.9 beta were reported related to XMX cores and shader cores?

Question #3

Does SteamOS 3.9 beta now include native support for both AMD and Intel discrete GPUs, leaving only NVIDIA unsupported?

Yes. The primary article reports that SteamOS is now compatible with both AMD and Intel graphics cards, leaving NVIDIA as the only mainstream GPU maker not yet supported. The article also notes that NVIDIA is working with Valve to develop GeForce compatibility (see related article "Valve is working with NVIDIA to make GeForce GPUs compatible with SteamOS").

Answered

Question #4

Is XeSS frame generation currently compatible with the Arc B580 on SteamOS 3.9 beta according to the report?

Have a question about this content not listed here? Ask below and TweakBot will answer it.

With SteamOS now compatible with AMD and Intel graphics cards, that leaves NVIDIA GPUs as the only mainstream GPU manufacturer Valve's operating system does not support. However, NVIDIA is working closely with Valve to develop full GeForce compatibility with SteamOS, so we will see full support for all three GPU manufacturers soon.