Ridiculously specced GPD Win 5 is getting Bazzite support

The folks behind Bazzite, the gaming-focused Linux distribution, have released support for the GPD Win 5. It’s still early going, as the system hasn’t been out all that long.

You might remember that the GPD Win 5 is the ludicrously powerful handheld packing an AMD “Strix Halo” chip, the Ryzen AI Max 395+. The chip contains the graphics processor, 8060S, which can match the last generation Nvidia RTX 4070 in performance without a dedicated graphics card.

Linux support is now being worked on as users get it into their hands. Off the bat, it appears the hardware is certainly capable of running Bazzite; the team has to now work through the various issues that seem to be popping up.

One user on Reddit said that a patch fixed their Wi-Fi problems, but others are claiming audio is bad and that the sleep-resume function isn’t working as intended just yet.

Bazzite proves every day why people are switching to it

Bazzite’s team is pretty snappy when it comes to supporting new hardware. Even if it is a ridiculously priced GPD Win 5. I’m about to make the journey of converting this Ayaneo 3 over to Linux, and Bazzite already has a variation specifically for that hardware’s modular design.

Linux is seeing a huge boom in users in recent weeks, as Microsoft can’t stop crapping itself with each decision. Between the constant push for artificial intelligence where it’s really not needed (Notepad, really?), and Windows updates that can kill shutting the PC down, it’s no wonder I see the Bazzite and CachyOS forums on Reddit light up with new users each day.

So once this is working smoothly, what’s the actual benefit to Linux on the GPD Win 5? Outside of potentially improved performance in some games, Bazzite is just far less messy to use in the handheld form factor, even in a desktop environment.

There’s nothing in sight like the Lenovo and Valve deal for these more boutique companies just yet. Lenovo has become the first company to release a SteamOS device, Valve’s custom Linux distribution. However, there isn’t even a waft of air that this is going to hit these more niche devices.

At least Bazzite is pretty good.