SteamOS helps remodel iMac right into a gaming PC, working video games like Hades II & Forza Horizon 5 at 60+ FPS

It’s not day-after-day that you just hear about an outdated iMac turning right into a gaming machine, however that is precisely what occurred due to SteamOS. YouTuber ETA Prime recently showed how a 2019 Intel-powered iMac, purchased for simply $100, might deal with fashionable video games like Hades II and Forza Horizon 5 at surprisingly excessive body charges.

The iMac in query wasn’t precisely cutting-edge. It was working an Intel Core i5-7500 processor paired with an AMD Radeon RX 560X GPU with 4GB of VRAM. With solely 8GB of RAM, it is a setup that the majority players in the present day would think about outdated. Still, by putting in SteamOS, ETA Prime was in a position to squeeze out spectacular outcomes that nobody would anticipate from a second-hand pc this outdated.

This is why we’d like SteamOS on extra gadgets

SteamOS has been gaining extra consideration since Valve made it attainable to put in it on all types of gadgets, not simply the Steam Deck. It presents higher efficiency in comparison with Windows 11, as demonstrated by Legion Go S critiques, and this iMac challenge is extra proof that SteamOS is a superb working system for gaming.

When put to the take a look at, the iMac confirmed simply how succesful SteamOS could make older {hardware}. Hades II ran at 1080p on excessive settings, delivering a gentle 57-60 FPS. Forza Horizon 5 carried out even higher, reaching over 90 FPS at very low settings, although it largely stayed within the 50-60 FPS vary as a result of GPU’s restricted VRAM.

Older titles like Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal simply went previous 100 FPS, whereas even demanding video games like Cyberpunk 2077 managed a playable 35-50 FPS (we’re being beneficiant right here) at 720p low settings. Interestingly sufficient, CP 2077 was not too long ago launched to Mac, however just for techniques utilizing an Apple Silicon chip, not the older Intel processors we see in ETA Prime’s challenge.

There have been a couple of points, after all. The iMac wanted a USB sound card for audio, and Bluetooth controllers had mapping points. But total, the outcomes have been much better than most would anticipate from a $100 pc, and it’s one thing that we don’t get to see day-after-day.