The SteamDeck is my favorite purchase of last year.
Literally the best PC I've ever owned.
this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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Steam Deck
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A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
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Yep, at the end of the day it’s so much nicer to lay in bed to play vs. sit at my PC desk. I play so much more of my backlog now.
Do you use it hand held? I ask because I've had a Switch for years and I've used it hand held like three times. I'm interested in how the Steam Deck performs 'docked'.
Works exactly like you’d expect. Plug it in and keep playing. I use a ps5 controller, no issues. No performance changes as nothing is throttled when you play it in handheld mode
Nice. Thanks
That dude left out a couple negatives.
First, all games will default to the Deck's output resolution. You need to go to the game's settings before launching to set the resolution to match the TV's.
Since running a game at a higher resolution hurts performance, you'll usually get worse performance docked than handheld unless you're ok with using a lower resolution intentionally.
There are various issues with external controllers. Here are a few that I've had personally:
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PS5 controller developing input lag over the course of an hour. Need to disconnect and reconnect.
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Double inputs caused by Steam Input happening on top of a game's built-in input
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Some games not correctly interpreting multiple controllers because the Deck's controls still register as a controller while docked
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Some games like Stardew Valley not accepting controller input without going into settings and reordering
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Not reconnecting to Bluetooth controllers automatically, needing to go to settings and manually connect (for some reason this doesn't happen with Xbox controllers for me)
Unrelated to controllers, there are some other dock issues:
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Constant audio buzzing and disconnect while docked. Need to enable Developer mode and change a setting to fix.
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Severe UI slowdown while docked.
These are all with the official Steam dock. So yeah, it's not the seamless Switch-like experience a lot of Deck users pretend it is.
I don't doubt you. I haven't personally had any of those problems except fixing the resolution. I use Xbox clone controllers.
I don't use the official dock, just one of the dozen random USB-C docks running around my house. My Deck is mostly stock, except for an SSD upgrade. I used to dock it about a third of the time I played it but now I've got a mini PC running HoloISO connected to the TV to play games remotely from my rig if I want to play on the big screen (I'm too lazy to walk over and dock it and someone who will remain nameless borrows the deck from time to time). HoloISO hasn't shown any of the problems either.
Luck of the draw, I guess.
Edit: removed the line about it being dead stock because I wasn't thinking about my SSD upgrade when I wrote it. I addressed it elsewhere anyway.
Does the dock need to have power pass through or is there a dedicated charging port?
And can it be used like a steam link to stream from a desktop on the same network at higher resolutions?
The dock/hub should have power pass through. Both my inexpensive Amazon hub and my Jsaux hub have this though. There is only the one USB C port.
You can use Steam Link, but I've never done so. My desktops are old and/or low spec, so I've never bothered.
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It's great docked, except for an audio bug in Linux that causes some occasional minor (but annoying and concentration-breaking) static sounds while outputting over HDMI. It comes and goes on its own.
The bug is acknowledged by Valve, and it's (to the best of my understanding) not something specific to the Steam Deck. Supposedly it's being worked on, but no fix yet.
Once fixed, the Deck will be nearly perfect in my eyes.
I also experience audio dropouts. Not very common, but they do happen.
There is inherently more "fiddling" with the Deck overall compared to the Switch, which I believe is unavoidable. You aren't playing games designed only to run on one locked down device. You are running games designed to run on PCs of just about any era. Upside, you could be running emulators, games or programs from sources other than Steam, even a Word Processor. Downside, it differs require a little more knowledge and fiddling.
Having said that, if you stick to game mode and games rated as great on the Steam Deck through Steam, your experience will come very close to the Switch for ease of use, with an arguably larger library.
I don't have a switch but I only use my deck handheld. It works great IMO.
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I think it might be one of the best purchases I've ever made. It definitely doesn't fit everyone's use-case, but it fits mine very well!
Yeah, more horsepower can't beat being able to play from an airplane!
It's the perfect balance, I used to love my switch but this is a lot better while retaining 90% of the portability. And the key thing - it's not better only in terms of performance (graphics), but in terms of compatibility: it will take most of the games available on switch, either natively as pc versions or through emulation. But also a truly vast array that goes from Sega's sonic adventure to cyberpunk2077 or Starfield. It's awesome.
They deserve it just for their contributions to Proton/WINE/Linux. The Steam Deck might be my favorite console ever but I’m even more excited about the future and what Valve’s efforts will enable. One of the things that’s great about open source is that someone somewhere might build something on top of your work that you never expected. In 5 or 10 years, I would not be shocked if the work they’ve done on Proton ends up way bigger than games.
Seems pretty easy.
Step 1: direct the largest library/store of games ever
Step 2: create the best piece of gaming hardware ever
Step 3: dribble out pre-orders for a year to really get that slow hype train rolling
The only problem with this plan is that Valve have massive issues when it comes to counting to 3.
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I wouldn't call the steam deck the greatest piece of gaming hardware ever. There are many very well equipped PC handhelds out now. The difference that Valve brings is that their software is impeccable and they have a good history of supporting their hardware with up to date software for many, many years.
While there is better hardware out there now I can guarantee you that the software sucks on all of them in comparison to the steam deck. And if you run HoloISO on them you won't get the full feature suite.
Plus of course the price point. You can get a refurbished SteamDeck for like 330€ now. While alternatives start at like at least twice that for almost the same performance.
Competitors have better performance, but the overall hardware of Steam Deck is unmatched so far. Trackpads alone make it so much more flexible.
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I mean ya can't really evaluate the hardware and ignore the software. The hardware won't do anything without it.
Additionally Valve was the first to my knowledge to incorporate actually comfortable hand grips (at the expense of size), gyros, and trackpads.
Any handheld that's not just a basic emulator is totally nullified by their garbage software (in my opinion).
According to the logic of this video it costs Valve $0 to produce steam decks. Jeez, the Internet is so filled up with these unresearched, amateurish attempts at journalism.
Yeah, title is clickbait. In reality it would be nigh-inpossible to calculate how much money it has made them.
Not only because Valve is a private company but because they mostly make money on games and it's impossible to say which games were sold because Steam Deck exists, though you could probably get a pretty close estimate based on playtime % on Steam Deck vs. other hardware, users who ONLY register a Steam Deck, and other such data. But again, because they're a private company we don't have access to most of that data.
Likely they are breaking even or even taking a small loss on the actual hardware, but I'm sure they have achieved the intended goal of increased game sales well into the millions.
I would bet they're basically losing money on the $399 model, but making money on the higher spec models. No other manufacturer has been able to offer similar performance at that low price point (yet).
Cost analysis estimates I've seen have them also taking a small loss on 256GB units, only making a profit on 512GB units.
They didn't have official data though, they were mostly working backwards from taking the ifixit part costs and assuming ifixit used their standard markup.
Makes sense, Gabe said in an interview that making that $399 price point was "painful". But I guess the point is that the Deck sales drive Steam game sales.
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I would bet that they aren’t losing as much money as other companies would. Valve made their own OS for the Steam Deck. Asus and Lenovo made similar devices, but they both run Windows and have to pay Microsoft licensing fees.
It’ll be really interesting if Valve opens up a partner program with other OEMs to allow things like firmware updates through SteamOS on more devices than just the Deck. I think then, we’d see $500 or less competing consoles to the Deck.
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Interesting, I assumed that it would flop or at best be a very niche product. It doesn't seem like a very interesting device to me. I don't see the appeal at all.
I guess it's nice to hear that it's so successful, considering how much it has done for linux gaming.
Tell me you haven't tried a steam deck without telling me you haven't tried a steam deck.
Not the person you replied to, but I have a Steam Controller and a streaming device for my main library on my desktop, so I'm honestly torn.
What do you think makes this better than such a setup? From my perspective, it seems like the main benefit is "Steam Controller with screen attached," so it's portable, and it has some limited* capabilities to install and play games locally.
I'm not trying to detract, but having used my own setup for over five years, I wonder what it is I might be missing. What do you think?
Edit: *Compared to a desktop with latest-gen or second-latest-gen hardware.
Limited capabilities? I haven’t found a game in my library it couldn’t play locally. The ui is great, the controls work well, and it can even be used to run desktop apps.
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If your setup works for you I wouldn't bother changing, but for me going from steam link to deck has been night and day. Running the games locally has been a massive experience improvement for couch coop, while the portability is great for unwinding away from my desk. No input lag, no weird video artifacts, things like that made it worth running locally for me.
Running the games locally also provides the ability to play games without an Internet connection, like at a park or cafe.
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It's a handheld that can play basically any game through the previous generation and even some current AAA titles. If you have a steam library already, most of your games are suddenly playable on the go. The hardware is open with spare parts easily obtainable so that you can repair it yourself if you drop it. Valve is very engaged with maintaining and updating the software to be an enjoyable experience whether you prefer console or PC. Because it is subsidized by software sales the hardware costs less and drove down prices in the industry for competing products. When my 10-year-old motherboard gave out in my desktop, I was able to use the Steam Deck as my primary PC for a month while I took my time putting together a new computer. Also, you are very correct that it has had a meaningful impact on Linux gaming.
In my opinion, there's a lot to like.
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I get what you're saying. I thought that myself, that it would be niche. Then I got it and now it's part of my standard carry. I think the tricky thing about it is that it doesn't do anything surprising, so you wouldn't expect that it would be so successful. But once you try it yourself, you realize that the appeal is primarily in how balanced and versatile it is. In other words, it doesn't do anything new, but it does everything that it tries to do very well
I have two for my kids, and will be getting a third. With the dock, it acts as a regular desktop computer with monitor on an arm, mouse, keyboard, etc, giving my kids an inexpensive desktop computer that can play games. It's emulation is so robust that I downloaded battle net from Blizzard, added the installer as a non steam game, ran it with proton compatibility, and they can now play diablo 2 resurrected.
In desktop mode it is just a regular Linux desktop, so they can browse the web, and I have a nuc running Windows that they can remote into to learn Windows OS stuff as well. It is a way better experience for them than any other micro PC you might find for $400. And it can be mobile. Pretty crazy device.
That said, I wouldn't need one for myself unless I traveled a whole lot more and wanted my steam fix on the road. But for a kids first desktop they are amazing.
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You can throw it in your backpack and go around the city on roller blades screaming "hack the planet" because you've literally got a fully functional PC in your back pocket.
It's solid. when my laptop went out and I needed a back up, it serves as a daily driver for a few days while the replacement shipped. No issues.
i don't get this, it's a handheld PC that can play games really well, in what universe would that not sell well?
This was one of those products that, when it was announced, I thought to myself “meh, I have no need for this.” But through the urging of friends, I pre ordered it back in July of 21, because hey, it was only 5 bucks to deposit and I could cancel.
Then as they started coming out, and I heard about everything they could do, I thought “well damn that’s pretty cool.” And then my own hype grew until I managed to get it, I believe August of last year. By far the most fun I’ve had with a device in quite some time.
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