Using Steam In-Home Streaming with Windows 8

I recently acquired a new desktop and before I started loading Linux on it I decided to check out Windows 8 and retry Steam In-Home Streaming.  The machine has the following specs.  It idles around 70W at the Windows login screen.

  • Intel i7-3770
  • Asus Sabertooth Z77
  • Corsair Vengeance 8GB
  • EVGA GTX 770 SC
  • Corsair HX 850
  • Corsair Obsidian 650D
  • Western Digital Black 1TB 3.5″ HDD

Surprisingly, Windows recognized all of my hardware.  Unfortunately, it did take several hours to download and install all of the updates.  Once the updates were finished I was able to install Steam and quickly download several games.

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Installing SteamOS and using Steam In-Home Streaming

I’ve been using Steam for some time now.  While it is a form of DRM, it actually provides benefits to the end user unlike most DRM.  Since I had a spare machine I decided to give SteamOS a try.

I am using the same machine that I have installed Arch on.  I swapped the SSD for a 500GB hard drive.

  • AMD FX-6300
  • GA-78LMT-USB3
  • 2 x 8GB DDR3 1333
  • WD Blue 500GB 2.5″ HDD
  • Radeon HD 4350

I am unable to use the regular SteamOS installer as my machine does not support UEFI.  Fortunately, Valve provides a SteamOS iso that supports BIOS.  Unfortunately, the first installation did not complete.  The installer gave me an error message that simply said the base system could not be installed.  Upon further research, I determined that SteamOS only contained the latest video drivers.  My HD 4350 was not supported.

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Installing and configuring Xfce in Arch Linux

When we last left our Arch Linux install we had a lovely command prompt.

login-prompt

This is fine for a server, but as this is a desktop, it would be nice to have a GUI.  We will be installing Xfce.  I started using Xfce when looking for a lighter weight GUI than KDE or Gnome.  Openbox and Fluxbox are certainly lighter but require more configuration and setup than I prefer.  Xfce was a nice compromise.  Light enough for my needs while still remaining a full desktop environment.

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