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Steam Deck - "battery life is between 2-5 hours depending on APU load."

Sentenza

Member
For me a big part of the potential appeal of the 'deck is pc on the go, for me it's just a reasonable example of a game you certainly wouldn't see in a normal portable
Yeah? But there are "PC games" that are suited for a handheld format and fruition and other that decisively aren't.
RTS are the latter.
 

Shmunter

Member
You can play games in your bed. With good quality.
Not five or ten either. Hundreds of games, many of which you already own.
If it's in your bed you could likely stream the things from much more powerful hardware. This is an outside the home device surely.
 

Sentenza

Member
If it's in your bed you could likely stream the things from much more powerful hardware. This is an outside the home device surely.
I could, but it would suck compared to native hardware.
And I have no plans to bring ANY gaming device "outside the home" unless it's some long travel.
 
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Tschumi

Member
Yeah? But there are "PC games" that are suited for a handheld format and fruition and other that decisively aren't.
RTS are the latter.
I can't think of many other pc genres that don't have adequate presence on consoles and even hand helds

Whatever
 
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Sentenza

Member
I can't think of many other pc genres that don't have adequate presence on consoles and even hand helds

Whatever
Not sure why "not having an adequate presence on consoles" should mean shit.
A lot of the things I'll (eventually?) play on this thing will also have a Switch version, except I won't have to buy them more than once and pay the Nintendo robb premium price for them. Also, good performances.
And emulation.
 
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Shmunter

Member
I could, but it would suck compared to native hardware.
And I have no plans to bring ANY gaming device "outside the home" unless it's some long travel.
Why would it suck? 1ms Wifi latency from a powerful GPU would yield better framerates, super sampling, and higher settings. It would be superior assuming you have the hardware.
 
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Tschumi

Member
Not sure why "not having an adequate presence on consoles" should mean shit.
A lot of the things I'll (eventually?) play on this thing will also have a Switch version, except I won't have to buy them more than once and pay the Nintendo robb premium price for them. Also, good performances.
And emulation.
If i want to play shooters,i can't think of one i like that isn't on the console i own.

If i want to play rpg, in all of its forms, consoles are arguably the platform most modern RPGs are designed for.

If i want to pay platformers,side scrollers, shmups, they're all better on console.

If i want to play indy games, they're all in console.

If i want to play rtwp or its simpleton turn based cousins, they're both on consoles

If i want to play 4x, it's on consoles

If i want to play chess, it's on consoles. Tetris, too.

If i want to play rts, it's on consoles, but with simplistic controls that i don't enjoy.

Apparently steam deck is designed so that the controls are an adequate stand-in for a keyboard, so I'm most interested in seeing how RTS translates.

The rts i care most about atm that could possibly demand a lot of battery power from the deck is aoe4.

So when i hear that maybe I'd only be able to play aoe4 for 2 hours, it was relevant to me and i posted it.

So there, hope you enjoyed the wall of text.
 
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KAL2006

Banned
This device just doesn't make any sense

Too bulky to be portable for outside. And if you playing inside the house, streaming is superior

For AAA PS4/XB1 gen games battery life is 2 so not exactly ideal for that, again streaming is superior for these types of games.

For emulation there are much cheaper devices out there including your phone

So that only leaves retro PC games and indie games. You can stream those but to play these games locally on hardware is very niche. You are already covered for indie games on Switch although it doesn't have as many as Steam it has the most popular ones. Retro games again it's niche, the amount of people dying to play Half Life 2 portable isn't a big audience, and even still again you can stream those games.

I think one underated feature is it makes a decent travel PC or if you want s desktop and don't have much space it would work quite well connected to a monitor. But then again you can just get a cheap small laptop and connect that to a monitor.
 

Sentenza

Member
If i want to play shooters,i can't think of one i like that isn't on the console i own.

If i want to play rpg, in all of its forms, consoles are arguably the platform most modern RPGs are designed for.

If i want to pay platformers,side scrollers, shmups, they're all better on console.

If i want to play indy games, they're all in console.

If i want to play rtwp or its simpleton turn based cousins, they're both on consoles

If i want to play 4x, it's on consoles

If i want to play chess, it's on consoles. Tetris, too.

If i want to play rts, it's on consoles, but with simplistic controls that i don't enjoy.

Apparently steam deck is designed so that the controls are an adequate stand-in for a keyboard, so I'm most interested in seeing how RTS translates.

The rts i care most about atm that could possibly demand a lot of battery power from the deck is aoe4.

So when i hear that maybe I'd only be able to play aoe4 for 2 hours, it was relevant to me and i posted it.

So there, hope you enjoyed the wall of text.
I mean, aside for the fact that NONE of your claims is objectively true, not sure what point you are even trying to argue.
There's no way an RTS will EVER be well suited for this type of device no matter how much you can rant about it, and that has nothing to with its hardware specifications but with the format itself.

Who gives a shit if some stuff is ALSO on consoles? Many of us already have a crowded Steam library to take advantage of.
I have 1200 games and counting on my account, why should I ever BEGIN to give the fuckiest damn if, say, 80% of these games are "on consoles, too"? I'm not going to buy them again.

Also, handheld format aside, where did you plan to "play AOE 4", exactly, to make battery an issue? on the bus?
And not sure why do you think that Aoe4, of all titles, will be the flagship example of demanding games. I have yet to try the final version but the beta wasn't exactly taxing.
 
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Kupfer

Member
This device just doesn't make any sense

Too bulky to be portable for outside. And if you playing inside the house, streaming is superior

For AAA PS4/XB1 gen games battery life is 2 so not exactly ideal for that, again streaming is superior for these types of games.

For emulation there are much cheaper devices out there including your phone

So that only leaves retro PC games and indie games. You can stream those but to play these games locally on hardware is very niche. You are already covered for indie games on Switch although it doesn't have as many as Steam it has the most popular ones. Retro games again it's niche, the amount of people dying to play Half Life 2 portable isn't a big audience, and even still again you can stream those games.

I think one underated feature is it makes a decent travel PC or if you want s desktop and don't have much space it would work quite well connected to a monitor. But then again you can just get a cheap small laptop and connect that to a monitor.
You wrote that yesterday already and we read it. It's okay. You don't like the idea of the Deck. Get over it people want to play on it nevertheless. But please do not try so vehemently to badmouth others. Just don't buy it and be happy about your better solutions.
 

Sentenza

Member
This device just doesn't make any sense

Too bulky to be portable for outside. And if you playing inside the house, streaming is superior
No, it's not?
Not sure why this myth keeps going around.
And "1ms latency" my hairy ass.

For emulation there are much cheaper devices out there including your phone
No, there aren't? Any other device comparable to this in format, ergonomics and performances is far more expensive.
 
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Tschumi

Member
I mean, aside for the fact that NONE of your claims is objectively true, not sure what point you are even trying to argue.
There's no way an RTS will EVER be well suited for this type of device no matter how much you can rant about it, and that has nothing to with its hardware specifications but with the format itself.

Who gives a shit if some stuff is ALSO on consoles? Many of us already have a crowded Steam library to take advantage of.
I have 1200 games and counting on my account, why should I ever BEGIN to give the fuckiest damn if, say, 80% of these games are "on consoles, too"? I'm not going to buy them again.

Also, handheld format aside, where did you plan to "play AOE 4", exactly, to make battery an issue? on the bus?
And not sure why do you think that Aoe4, of all titles, will be the flagship example of demanding games. I have yet to try the final version but the beta wasn't exactly taxing.
We're arguing about different things, and i think it happened because something in my original post triggered you and you decided to get a piece of me.

Do you really need to?

My subjectivity is my own, and it's the reason i wrote that original post, is it so important for you to, whatever the fuck this is, convince me that judging steamdeck by how it can play aoe4 is fucking ridiculous?

What business is it of yours?

Can we just get along? I'd prefer that. If you can't then kindly crawl up your arsehole and hibernate til spring.

I'm not the one who made a big deal out of the thing playing ALL PC games, take it up with Gabe, or whoever the fuck its daddy is.
 
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Sentenza

Member
people want AAA games in their dress shirt pocket but wonder why the battery doesn't last long.
More than anything people seem to think there's a magic engineering solution somewhere. There isn't.
"Better batteries" is an ongoing struggle in the tech industry and as I said in a previous reply somewhat of a Holy Grail many are chasing (and promises of better solutions around the corner are starting to sound similar to "nuclear fusion in few years").
 
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Sentenza

Member
We're arguing about different things, and i think it happened because something in my original post triggered you and you decided to get a piece of me.

Do you really need to?

My subjectivity is my own, and it's the reason i wrote that original post, is it so important for you to, whatever the fuck this is, convince me that judging steamdeck by how it can play aoe4 is fucking ridiculous?

What business if it of yours?

Can we just get along? I'd prefer that. If you can't then kindly crawl up your arsehole and hibernate til spring.

I'm not the one who made a big deal out of the thing playing ALL PC games, take it up with Gabe, or whoever the fuck its daddy is.
Look, feel free to play AOE 4 on a 7 inches screen and with twin analog sticks as much as you want, ok?
 

Tschumi

Member
Look, feel free to play AOE 4 on a 7 inches screen and with twin analog sticks as much as you want, ok?
Glad you managed to squeeze that out, next time just pass over my post if you don't like it, mmkay?

Frustrated Larry Bird GIF by SB Nation
 
I'm still getting mine. It's ridiculously cheap for the specs and I had no problem keeping my Switch going for days using a power bank.

Maybe it will end up in a drawer like my Steam controller but I'll take that risk.
 
I ended up cancelling mine pre-order. Think I'd play on it maybe once or twice and then never touch it. Would rather buy the Index with the extra money.
 
Not great but pretty much within expected limits given current APU and battery tech. Frankly, I’m amazed at this little device. The holy grail of a device that is powerful and lasts all day on a single charge is probably at least a decade away as we await tech advancements. I’m glad I pre-ordered the 512Gb version, will be excited to check this thing out.
 

Thaedolus

Member
you can? nice
Yeah it’s a fully unlocked PC. You can run whatever you want on it.

As far as 2 hours being the worst case battery life…when are people in a spot for over 2 hours where power is completely unavailable? I know long flights exist but finding 2 hours to game and not having a plug either on your chair or a portable battery pack? Obviously longer would be better, but I’m not getting much anxiety thinking I’m gonna having all this time to game in places that don’t have a plug nearby. Even camping I have batteries for mobile devices
 

Skyfox

Member
This is for hardcore portable gamers and it will be best in class as far as I'm concerned.

Every gaming handheld ever made has had very serious drawbacks.

Steam Deck offers something truly unique - AAA Steam library in realtime on the go.

I have psp, vita, 3ds, switch, razer kishi, stadia, GFN.

  • psp - no dual analogue. Dead
  • Vita, no l2 r2. Dead
  • 3ds - great at the time but mostly for nintendo type games only
  • Switch - great at the time, underpowered now
  • Razer kishi - no wired audio (wtf were they thinking)
  • Stadia - limited library
  • GFN - limited library and technical issues for now
Those of us looking forward to this potentially incredible piece of tech know to be grateful for this gift.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
With brightness and sound at 100%, and Wi-Fi on, you should get at least 5 hours with the most demanding games (something like Metroid Dread (also with these settings) should give you more than 6 hours).

Maybe there's an issue with your unit.
There may be but that's about what I get. I'm not bothered and used to short battery life systems.
 

Alan Wake

Member
That required buying 6 batteries every 3 hours, or use an external battery pack,
This isn't that bad
Especially when charging is a usb jack away
Two hours is bad for a handheld. USB charging is great, but the battery time will limit where and when you can play.
 

yansolo

Member
For a lot of things… like sex for example… not gaming.
Good one. I can't think of many scenarios where you'd want to play for more than 2 hours on a little screen away from home, what are you gonna be doing travelling on the orient express?
 

Thaedolus

Member
Two hours is bad for a handheld. USB charging is great, but the battery time will limit where and when you can play.
I think the people running into that limit with any kind of regularity are going to be edge cases. This isn’t a GameBoy, and the people buying it probably aren’t going to have many 2+ hour AAA sessions away from a power source
 

Beelzebubs

Member
I don't get the issue.... If you want the battery to last longer than a Switch, run the games at Switch level settings..... You can essentially choose your own power saving mode by changing in game settings to be lower.
 

BigBooper

Member
I think the people running into that limit with any kind of regularity are going to be edge cases. This isn’t a GameBoy, and the people buying it probably aren’t going to have many 2+ hour AAA sessions away from a power source
Yea. Why people are saying 2 hours now, instead of 2-5 hours like the original claim is silly.

Here's a little suggestion. If the only games you'd want to play on this are the kind that would kill it in two hours, then it's probably not a device for you anyways.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Good one. I can't think of many scenarios where you'd want to play for more than 2 hours on a little screen away from home, what are you gonna be doing travelling on the orient express?
Maybe my country is just too big.
A small work travel from my city to the capital takes around 8 hours using bus… it can take around 2 hours via airplane but that is too expensive.

I used to do that at least once per week before COVID.

Said that most bus here have USB for charging things… it is just a bit hard to deal with a small cable (unless you let the device there) but I have an extension.

BTW when I lived in the capital my usual bus/metro travel from home to work was around 2 hours (yes it is the same city)… I used the Vita in that period.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
You didn't even know that. I think it's safe to say that your opinion about it being 'not a PC' is completely invalid and worthless.
of course I knew that. Why wouldn't it be possible to install windows. It's handheld pc.
Not sure why I act surprised there.
 

BigBeauford

Member
This device just doesn't make any sense

Too bulky to be portable for outside. And if you playing inside the house, streaming is superior

For AAA PS4/XB1 gen games battery life is 2 so not exactly ideal for that, again streaming is superior for these types of games.

For emulation there are much cheaper devices out there including your phone

So that only leaves retro PC games and indie games. You can stream those but to play these games locally on hardware is very niche. You are already covered for indie games on Switch although it doesn't have as many as Steam it has the most popular ones. Retro games again it's niche, the amount of people dying to play Half Life 2 portable isn't a big audience, and even still again you can stream those games.

I think one underated feature is it makes a decent travel PC or if you want s desktop and don't have much space it would work quite well connected to a monitor. But then again you can just get a cheap small laptop and connect that to a monitor.

I would have loved to play on my Deck after our washer and dryer went out and I made my first trip to a laundromat in 10 years.

I'd love to play my deck at night in bed after my wife goes to sleep. A 7 inch screen is much less disruptive than a 16 inch laptop screen.

I'd like to take my deck to lanparties instead of my laptop.

I'd rather my 6 year old game on my deck instead of the laptop.
 

yansolo

Member
Maybe my country is just too big.
A small work travel from my city to the capital takes around 8 hours using bus… it can take around 2 hours via airplane but that is too expensive.

I used to do that at least once per week before COVID.

Said that most bus here have USB for charging things… it is just a bit hard to deal with a small cable (unless you let the device there) but I have an extension.

BTW when I lived in the capital my usual bus/metro travel from home to work was around 2 hours (yes it is the same city)… I used the Vita in that period.

fair enough mate
 
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