Want to check out SteamOS, but don't want to wipe your computer to do it? SteamOS, still in development by game developer Valve Corp., is designed to power the upcoming SteamBox gaming consoles, but it can also run on just about any computer. One of SteamOS' biggest advantages is its ability to run games faster than other operating systems.

You should notice a big improvement in performance on the games you play via SteamOS, even with the same hardware. However, because SteamOS is based on the Linux operating system, only will work on it. At time of posting, that's just under a quarter of Steam's total catalogue, and includes games such as 'Portal,' 'Bastion' and 'Fez.' MORE: SteamOS is still in beta, so it takes a brave soul to test it out, but Valve's developers have now made it a lot easier to do so. With help from the third-party developers on the open-source project Ye OldeSteamOSe, Valve has recently added the ability to dual-boot SteamOS on a PC. Autocad 2008 2d Free Download. That means you can install and test out SteamOS on a computer without wiping that computer's previous OS and all of its files.

However, because SteamOS is still in beta, setting up a dual-boot is far from easy. We explored some of the options, and figured out a way to get SteamOS running successfully on a laptop dual-booted with Windows 7. Here's a step-by-step walk-through of how to do it. Pick a computer, and back up your files.

Even if you're dual-booting, you still want to make a backup copy of your hard drive beforehand, just in case. After all, SteamOS is still in beta, and you don't want to be the one to discover a new glitch. You'll also need to make sure the computer you choose has an Intel or AMD 64-bit processor, at least 4GB of RAM; either a USB port or a disc drive; and an Nvidia graphics card (though support for AMD and Intel graphics cards is forthcoming). Free up some space on the computer you wish to dual-boot. You'll need space on your computer's internal storage to store SteamOS and everything you do from that OS. When SteamOS is out of beta, there will be a way to do this from within the setup process, but we found it difficult and finicky in the current build, so we recommend creating free space from within your computer's current OS. On Windows 7, that means opening your Control Panel and searching for 'Partitions' in the search box.