How many of you don’t have a Steam Deck yet?
Out of curiosity… Anyone use the Steam Deck as a computer beyond just gaming? I don’t play games that much but I’d love a decent spec portable computer that I can also use to play video games, the price is quite generous given what its specs look like so…
Yes, I’ve been using it as my PC for about a year now, I do game on it but my primary reason for purchase was that it was just a great deal on a Linux machine.
What version of KDE does it have?
I’m curious what makes it a great deal on a Linux machine? It seems like pretty niche (i.e. expensive) hardware for any other purpose than handheld gaming.
It’s cost:performance ratio at the time was crazy, it is widely assumed Valve is selling it as a loss leader or at mfr cost. The only thing they’ve said is that it’s pricing was “painful”. It’s hardware isn’t that niche, it’s just a PC in a handheld form factor.
Yup. I got some JetBrains IDEs installed and do some dev work on it.
Glad to hear that.
I’ve been thinking about getting one for months. But between this sale and the ability to use it as a portable dev system, I think it is time to finally put my order in.
Yes, the KDE desktop works really well with a USB-C dock connected to a monitor with a mouse and keyboard. I use it when I need to do some work while not at home. The Steam Deck is beefy enough to be really snappy during desktop usage, even with multiple monitors.
There’s no way to boot directly into the desktop with SteamOS without workarounds at the moment unfortunately.
I didn’t bother installing another OS yet since I mostly play games but apparently the Steam Deck drivers are in the mainline kernel so it should be possible to install a normal distro that boots directly to desktop.
I mainly use mine for gaming because I have a desktop and a laptop too, but I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use it as a decent semi-portable computer. It probably won’t be as convenient is a laptop when it comes to typing on the go, and it certainly won’t be as powerful as a desktop, but gaming on a Steam Deck is an absolute joy.
You’ll definitely want some kind of dock, a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse.
I’ve used mine on the go with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Works great, although the screen is a little small in that use case.
Docked with an external monitor is much more useful for regular computing. I suggest use Linux as my daily driver OS, so easy enough for me. Only thing the Deck is really missing is CUPS for printing.
Is the anti-glare screen worth it?
Does the eMMC version allow installing an NVMe drive?
The price difference between the 256GB NVMe version and the 512GB version is more than the cost of a 1TB NVMe drive.
Edit: Ah wait, just realised it’s the stubby 2230 NVMe drives, the ones that are much more rare and like half the length of the long boyes.
Still, the storage is annoying. The difference betwee PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 is massive, and there’s been another leap with PCIe 5.0.
You can just buy an aftermarket anti-glare screen. They are cheap.
You can change the SSD by yourself but you’ll lose waranty. There’s a noticeable speed difference between the eMMC and NVMe versions. There’s no noticeable speed difference between the NVMe versions.
IMHO if can afford it and have a few technical skills buy the little one and install one of these. You might even want to wrap it in one these (there’s a real leather option too) or these or replace the joysticks with these (can’t get drift and have a much smaller deadzone).
You can change the SSD by yourself but you’ll lose waranty.
Just a FYI, but changing the SSD will not void your warranty. There are two cases you can void your warranty: 1) by opening up your Steam Deck you damage something. 2) you no longer have the original SSD (Keep it safe, because you’ll need to put it back when you send it to Valve). Valve have been rather chill about the whole SSD change.
I don’t think I’d bother with a skin, but those sticks look fancy - and not too expensive really.
Any of those said aftermarket screens you could recommend?
Agree on the NVMe bit, only reason why I took the 256GB intermediate aside from the fact that extra space gave me some breathing room off the bat
I can snag a better NVMe on sale down the road
Great tips all round, will be snagging those sticks you shared
You can get really fast SD cards these days and it supports installing games on either.
The anti-glare is definitely worth it and it’s also very noticeable outside. The other option is that you could just upgrade the screen from ifixit if you’re also going to be upgrading your storage anyways.
All versions of the deck allow you to upgrade the SSD. There’s actually a lot more vendors selling 2230 nvme drives now. I’d recommend staying away from SABRENT Rocket since their support is nonexistent and they also have a high failure rate. The Corsair MP600 mini and Micron 2400 is a better option.
More than anything I’m sketched out about buying SSDs from untrusted sellers, don’t want to pay for 1TB and get 256GB that pretends and gets faulty when filled.
There’s tools you can use to verify the disk is right. It’s smart to do so before you put it in the deck if you have access to a computer. Just get a cheapest enclosure.
Yeah I’m aware. I’d still rather avoid the hassle and buy from a trusted seller.
Does the eMMC version allow installing an NVMe drive?
Yes, the only hardware difference between the different version is really only the screen and the drive it comes with. You can technically buy the 64GB version and replace the screen with an anti-glare one at a later date, as it can be bought as a spare part for not much.
Personally I got the 64GB some time ago and am still happy enough with just an SD-card with good speed and decent size. I suspect that will change down the line, but right now I’m happy.
Oh and the carrying/storage case it comes with seems to be different for the 512GB version. Not sure about the 256GB version though.
Personally I just got an anti-glare screen protector and called it a day
I feel like they’ll upgrade the chipset in 1-3 years with newer PCIe versions, then it will be worth the upgrade for you.
The eMMC one does support installing an NVMe, and from what I’ve seen the Deck can’t really support more than PCIe 3.0 speeds. If you find a good deal on a PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 drive it will still work but there’s no reason to spend extra on a newer drive.
Yeah I was mainly moaning about the chipset limitation being PCIe 3.0. Kind of makes me wonder if they’re planning an update in the next year or so.
I don’t think a device like SteamDeck benefits from PCIe 4 speeds. Increased power consumption feels not worth it.
I don’t think there’s a significant power increase from PCIe 3 to PCIe 4. It’s just an increase in bandwidth, and SSDs aren’t high power devices either.
The anti glare screen is amazing in sunlight. However, if you are like me and have very light coloured eyes, you probably also rely on sunglasses. The anti glare screen will not be compatible with polarized sunglasses. You will not be able to see a single thing.
Sweet, the dock is on sale! Snagging that. Thanks for the tip!
The dock has been fantastic. Quick tip: make sure you go to your game preferences before launching and change resolution from Default to Native, otherwise it will still output with the Deck’s resolution instead of 1080p+
Thanks for the tip!
Damn, $71 is the sale price? That’s not what I was expecting.
I wish I had a reason to get one of these. I have a switch I never play and a PC that I play a bit on. Never real play on the road :/
They still don’t sell it at my country
¯\(ツ)/¯I feel you…
Same here!
I don’t have one, because it still isn’t available in Australia.
You can buy it through Kogan or other online stores, but those are imported versions. I’m broke right now anyway, so I’ll probably just wait until I can buy it through Steam itself.
Yeah but I’m saving for a car rn… I might consider it once I get the car. Along with the laundry list of other things that I want to buy.
Still would be nice to buy it through official options regardless of how many third parties decide to sell it for marked up prices.
I don’t, but I want to get one for my husband for his birthday. If I get the dock, can 2 people play the same game of it’s on a TV or do I need 2 decks?
No, you don’t need two decks. You need:
- Steam Deck
- USB-C Dock with power delivery (for example, the official dock)
- 1 to 4 game controller (most bluetooth controllers will work fine)
However, there are not very many “Couch Multiplayer” games on steam. Most multiplayer games are online.
I think there are a ton (of great) local co-op games on steam.
adding to @cron@feddit.de there is whole genre of indie games targeted for couch coop for couples. there aren’t hundreds of excellent games but definitely a dozen. It would definitely deserve it’s own post but on top of my head you have: portal 2, Lovers in dangerous space time, it takes two, a way out,
Children Of Morta works for couples as well.
I would like one if they sold those damn things in my country (Malaysia). On the flip side, the ROG Ally is officially launching here on July 1st.
Sick! I might have to snag a dock for mine…
Honestly, $95 for a dock is still pretty pricey for me. Months back I bought a cheaper $35 dock from Amazon and it’s very good.
I agree with you, but remember the official dock also comes with a second power adapter so that ads to the cost.
The official dock has each of its ports fully fleshed out. These cheapie docks do things like connect the ethernet port to USB 2.0, use a “4K, but only at 30hz” HDMI spec, etc. You also get firmware updates from Valve.
As much as i want their efforts to get supported, the dock might be worth the price, but you don’t really get much for the price of the dock in comparison with a mid-tier for example Ugreen dock.
UGREEN USB C Hub 7 in 1 USB C adapter with 4K 60Hz HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet RJ45, 100W PD, SDµSD, 2 USB A 5Gbps 40€ now. 4k 60p might be good for media playback if that’s a usecase, otherwise you will find yourself in 720p or 1080p in some exceptions.
So, I guess there’s no stupid questions: How future proof is it? How likely is it that in a few months / a year there’s a new, better iteration of the steam deck? Also, if a new version was announced, can the current steam deck be upgraded?
Valve supports their hardware well, so I’d guess you can easily use it for 5 years or so. Probably have to replace the battery or sticks after a few years, but the good news is that most parts are replaceable.
Figures I’d buy mine between 2 sales.
If you contact steam support they may give you a store credit for the difference
Im looking to switch jobs soon but ive been on the fence for the last 6 months about getting one. Shame i couldnt switch jobs sooner or id buy one now 😥
If they are on sale now, chances are they will be again later this year.
It sure is, because I bought one!
Wonder what games play the best on it
Hook it to your TV and couch coop games like Stardew Valley, TMNT, and Tetris are a lot of fun.
Tunic is a blast on steam deck, I highly recommend it. I’ve also been playing Vampire Survivors, Dishonored, emulated Nintendo games: Breath of the Wild (wii U), Super Mario Bros (switch) , Advance wars (ds). Basically anything that can be played with a controller works well, and some of what needs a mouse and keyboard is also good.
Breath of the wild is amazing on the Steam Deck! As is Tunic.
Ohh good suggestions! Def adding to the list
So many, it’s really impressive. Vampire Survivors to Elden Ring (with coop mod and Discord running in the background on SD), to No Man’s Sky, to Diablo 4 (through installed battle.net added to Steam as a Non-Steam game on the SD) all run great.
Also, if you have a good pc you can run the game there and stream it to the SD, extends run time on battery by quite a lot.
My current favorites are gamecube games (Tony Hawk Games and 007 Nightfire) and Forza Horizon 5. Played quite a bit of minecraft aswell, but I find it hard to be efficient with a controller.
Does anyone know how long it is on sale for I need to think about this for a couple days before I spend >$500 on a toy
I don’t. I looked at the sale page, and it screamed at me about there being no stuck and pre orders not being available in my country
Fellow Aussie, I understand your pain
