Installing an OS
TIP
Be sure to check the supported devices page to see what you can run.
Windows
Pros:
- Works on most platforms with minimal tweaking¹
- Generally has better application support
- Better game support
Cons:
- Audio driver is paid (10 USD) for Skylake (6th generation) and newer devices
- USB4/Thunderbolt driver is paid (20 USD) for TigerLake (11th generation Intel processors) and newer generations on devices that require them
- Requires the user to install many drivers
- AVS and SOF users may experience instability at times
Installing Windows →
¹Some devices such as CELES need workarounds. Refer to the known issues page to check whether you need patches.
Linux
Pros:
- Free audio support
- Lightweight and optimal for Chrultrabooks with low storage / slow CPUs
- Most hardware (biggest exception is audio) will work out of the box
Cons:
Potentially difficult for a new user (depending on the distro of choice)
Requires some work on the end user (running audio script, configuring keyboard mapping)
AVS and SOF users experience instability at times
WARNING
Ubuntu and Ubuntu-based distributions may have issues and are not supported.
Installing Linux →
macOS
Pros:
- OS experience is near identical to a Mac
Cons:
- Battery life is subpar
- Hardware based DRM (e.g AppleTV.app) is broken
- No audio, mic, or 3.5mm support¹
- Doesn't support all devices.
- Often takes up to a week or longer to set up.
- Limited support
TIP
Any Chromebook with an ARM, Celeron or Pentium CPU is not supported. AMD Ryzen might have support in the future.