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Steam Deck |OT| Nintendo Switch 2

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Been getting my new Deck up and running again. Setup SteamOS+Win10 dual boot. Got PS+ Premium(PSNow) going using GlosC+reWASD. Only played Ghost of Tsushima, but it worked really well. reWASD doesn't have native Deck controller support yet, so it's converting GlosC's 360 pad to PS4 controller. For games that use the DS4 touchpad it might take using combo key presses, like Select as the activate + d-pad direction or some shit. Deck has pretty beefy Wi-Fi and game streaming works quite well.
Ghostof-Deck.jpg


I really need to upgrade the storage on this thing next time I have money to burn. Right now I'm working with 512GB ssd+256GB microSD. Ideally I'd like to have at least 1TB ssd+1TB microSD. Maybe in a few months. Got plenty to play, though. Going to start a Mass Effect Legendary full trilogy playthrough. There's GoT on PSNow, of course. Been playing TMNT: Shredder's Revenge a bunch. I can make it work for now.
 
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BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
Coming across more and more games that are verified and in the "Great on Deck" section, but actually require a ton of customization to make work. Thinking Valve needs to hire more testers, maybe create new positions that are somewhere between QA and engineers so they can keep making changes to Steam OS / Proton and making workable controller configs. Even a game as simple as Slay The Spire actually didn't work well out of the box.
 

Zannegan

Member
Where are we in the shipping queue? I had an estimated purchase availability date of May-June, and I was worried about missing the the email, so I've been checking my spam filter daily for almost two months. Lol.

Someday...
 
Just got mine this week. I haven’t stopped using it in my spare time. Love it!

I’ll post more impressions soon. The Steam Summer Sale timing was great. Plus of course all the other sites lowered their prices even more for keys.

The summer of Steam Deck!

In celebration I finally built my Half-Life shelf and took out the gravity gun.

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I am rather looking forward to this analysis. Aren’t you?

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CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Where are we in the shipping queue? I had an estimated purchase availability date of May-June, and I was worried about missing the the email, so I've been checking my spam filter daily for almost two months. Lol.

Someday...
Sounds like you should be up soon. If you use Steam you'll get a yellow notification up top on the little message box, and it will have a pop-up window that informs you to make your purchase. The window will pop-up every time you open Steam until you click the check box to opt-out of getting the pop-up.
 
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Kagero

Member
Some games I played today.

Hitman Absolution. Runs and looks amazing on med

Modern Warfare 3. Runs nicely. Some dips below to around 51fps. Game is virtually dead online :(

Risk of Rain 2. Runs perfectly. Such a fun game.

Detroit become human. Looks and plays great on low settings. Low settings look like high on a small screen. So awesome.

Will probably pick up more games to test further on in the week. Happy to see more and more games supported.
 

Kagero

Member
I know I asked this but for 512gb owners, did you install a screen protector?
I didn’t because I didn’t want to ruin the anti glare. I only thought about it because I would die if I dropped it and the original screen shattered. I think I’m going naked for this one though.
 

Romulus

Member
So do we expect the Switch 2 (or whatever it’s called) to be more powerful than the Steam Deck?

Hard to say. Even if it is, that will probably be short-lived. Not to mention, even if it comes out months or years after Steam Deck 1, there will probably specs that pale to the current Steam Deck.
 

Zannegan

Member
So do we expect the Switch 2 (or whatever it’s called) to be more powerful than the Steam Deck?
Expect? No. Especially not if it's coming out any time soon. Nintendo is more likely to prioritize battery life and affordability over power, even if NVidia can deliver the goods.

That said, it could be more powerful given what NVidia's got cooking, and it will almost certainly be aiming for a $400 or lower price point. Steam Deck 2's specs will wipe the floor with it regardless, but I think what arguments there are will be all about the libraries rather than the devices. It will basically be the same as the dynamic between PC and current console fans--some will only want one or the other, but many that can afford it will spring for both. *shrug*
 

Romulus

Member
Expect? No. Especially not if it's coming out any time soon. Nintendo is more likely to prioritize battery life and affordability over power, even if NVidia can deliver the goods.

That said, it could be more powerful given what NVidia's got cooking, and it will almost certainly be aiming for a $400 or lower price point. Steam Deck 2's specs will wipe the floor with it regardless, but I think what arguments there are will be all about the libraries rather than the devices. It will basically be the same as the dynamic between PC and current console fans--some will only want one or the other, but many that can afford it will spring for both. *shrug*

That's the main thing. Nintendo has 1 chance to bring powerful hardware for 7+ years, whereas Steam Deck can get a couple of hardware revisions within Switch 2's lifespan, maybe more. I would wager the Switch 2 will barely outpace the current SD, and then everything after will be the Steam Deck mopping the floor with Switch 2.
 

Holammer

Member
The Switch 2/deck talk got me thinking, what if Valve made a Dock that provided additional cooling for the unit. The Switch dock is just a glorified USB hub that allows it to draw more juice. Do they need to design Deck #2 to accommodate such a feature or is a caddy with some airflow on the backside enough.
To give it meaningful cooling for higher resolutions.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
So do we expect the Switch 2 (or whatever it’s called) to be more powerful than the Steam Deck?
It’s probably going to be about as powerful. Hard to say. iirc Switch has around 15W max power consumption, while Deck hits around 25W. Switch 2 will probably have DLSS which at the moment is better in motion than FSR2, but the gap could be closed by FSR by the time Switch 2 releases.
 
So I had sorta forgot I had reserved the 512gb version 1 year ago. Just checked for the first time in a long time and it says it's on track for a July to September shipping window. Not sure I want it still. Have some questions I hope owners can answer.

1) Is it playable offline ? And can it play older 90s and early 2000s games ?



2) How easy is it to use for someone semi computer illiterate? I am way more used to consoles. But there's some older and newer games I want to play.

3) Overall thoughts , and is it worth $700 after tax ?

Trying to decide if I want it still.
Thanks
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
So I had sorta forgot I had reserved the 512gb version 1 year ago. Just checked for the first time in a long time and it says it's on track for a July to September shipping window. Not sure I want it still. Have some questions I hope owners can answer.

1) Is it playable offline ? And can it play older 90s and early 2000s games ?



2) How easy is it to use for someone semi computer illiterate? I am way more used to consoles. But there's some older and newer games I want to play.

3) Overall thoughts , and is it worth $700 after tax ?

Trying to decide if I want it still.
Thanks
1. Yes. You just need to have launched the game in online mode at least once and then put the system into 'Offline Mode' in the settings.

2. SteamOS Game Mode is basically a console interface, but if you're wanting to run games not found on Steam you'll have to use Desktop Mode, which is just linux desktop(SteamOS is based on Arch Linux, I believe, with KDE Plasma as the desktop). It would go something like adding it as a non-Steam game then finding a compatibility layer that works said game. If you're talking GoG games then you can use Heroic Launcher and switch between different versions of Proton and Wine until you find one that works, or simply look it up on the internet and see how other people got it running. Also, Steam Deck display runs in a rotated 5:8 portrait mode, so some older games run into issues with it and need specific tweaks. Same with the controls that might requires custom controller layouts to convert KB/M to the Deck controls.

3. I have the 512GB and it's totally worth it. I don't think for my use case the anti-glare screen was a must-have. When I preordered the 512GB model it was because I thought I'd get it faster, and I wanted the biggest storage without having to open the unit. Kind of a fail since the 512GB ended up being the most popular unit, and I'm already wanting to upgrade the internal storage. In hindsight I probably should have just gone with the $399 64GB unit and used the extra $200 to drop a nice 1TB 2230 into it.
---
It all depends on how you intend to use it. 40% of my 400 game library is either 'Great on Deck' or 'Playable'. A good amount of 'Unsupported/Untested' games run fine, as well. Couple that with emulation(which includes up to some PS3 games) and there's no shortage of games to play. I'm also dual-booting with SteamOS+Win10 for access to Game Pass. So for me, there's more games than I could ever keep up with.

Your comments about wanting to play some games from the 90s and 2000s, and some older and newer games is kind of vague. Hard to recommend the Deck without some examples. Do you have a decent Steam library, or working on growing one? When you talk about 90s/2000s games are you talking about Steam, GoG, or what?
 
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h0mebas3

Member
Received my email yesterday and completed the order--can't wait to be apart of the Gaf Steam Deck contingent :messenger_beaming: A couple questions for everyone:

1) How long after do you complete your order do you receive your tracking information? I want to make sure I take that day off.

2) Anyone using it as a Linux dev station? Thinking of putting on my desk at the office and using it as my code station that can double as a game machine
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
1) How long after do you complete your order do you receive your tracking information? I want to make sure I take that day off.
Congrats!

Looking at my post history, it looks like I paid for my son's Deck on Monday, April 4th. It shipped Wednesday, April 6th. Arrived Tuesday, April 12th. This is from Carol Stream, IL origin to Oregon.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
2) Anyone using it as a Linux dev station? Thinking of putting on my desk at the office and using it as my code station that can double as a game machine
I looked into doing this as well, but the CPU is kinda weak compared with modern desktop alternatives, so compiling software took a while on this thing compared with my regular laptop and especially my desktop. So I guess I'd say it really depends on what you plan on doing with it, and whether you're patient when it comes to CPU intensive tasks.

Pick up a cheap $70 USB-C docking station and give it a try I suppose.
 
I looked into doing this as well, but the CPU is kinda weak compared with modern desktop alternatives, so compiling software took a while on this thing compared with my regular laptop and especially my desktop. So I guess I'd say it really depends on what you plan on doing with it, and whether you're patient when it comes to CPU intensive tasks.

Pick up a cheap $70 USB-C docking station and give it a try I suppose.

I got a USB-C hub with HDMI and another USB-C for power and it’s been working great to use it on my 4K set.
 

h0mebas3

Member
I looked into doing this as well, but the CPU is kinda weak compared with modern desktop alternatives, so compiling software took a while on this thing compared with my regular laptop and especially my desktop. So I guess I'd say it really depends on what you plan on doing with it, and whether you're patient when it comes to CPU intensive tasks.

Pick up a cheap $70 USB-C docking station and give it a try I suppose.
Thanks for the advice. I will do the same thing :)
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Got GeForce Now up and running through Edge. I just used the same instructions MS provided for xCloud, but added the GFN game home in launch options instead of xCloud this time. GFN requires you to use either touchscreen or the Steam Button+Right Joystick/Right Trigger to browse the games menu, unlike xCloud that lets you use the gamepad. No biggie. I also added the custom artwork for GFN from steamgriddb. I prefer local play on the Deck, but given the storage limitations(I have 512GB+256GB), it's helpful and convenient to have xCloud and GFN. Between Steam, EGS, and GoG I have 154 GFN compatible games.
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.

I used to marvel at all the indie games I could finally play. Now I've already got access to them elsewhere for cheaper.

Jack Nicholson Yes GIF by The Taboo Group
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
I feel like the SteamOS microSD card formatter can screw up your card. I've had it happen a couple times where I used it and it would cause my downloads to go really slow then completely stop, then resume going slow at like 3MB/s and same for the disk write speed. I just formatted the same card with GParted and now it's back to normal with ~30-40MB/s downloads and 40-50MB/s disk write speed.
 

Apocryphon

Member
So I originally had my preorder for Q2 2022, but it got pushed back to Q3. Just got my confirmation email a few minutes ago and paid up.

Fucking HYPED.

How long did it take you guys to get your Decks in your hands from when you processed payment for it?
Mine shipped the following Tuesday from the Thursday I got my email, then arrived on the Friday, so just over a week.
 

demigod

Member
So I originally had my preorder for Q2 2022, but it got pushed back to Q3. Just got my confirmation email a few minutes ago and paid up.

Fucking HYPED.

How long did it take you guys to get your Decks in your hands from when you processed payment for it?
I was not expecting an email until next Monday but lo and behold, checked my email today while working and saw it.

I ordered the 256GB, hoping to get it before i go to Florida vacation next week.

Edit: ahh damn, dreams crushed from post above.
 
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Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member


So I originally had my preorder for Q2 2022, but it got pushed back to Q3. Just got my confirmation email a few minutes ago and paid up.

Fucking HYPED.

How long did it take you guys to get your Decks in your hands from when you processed payment for it?
I think mine shipped Friday and arrived Tuesday but I could be mistaken. It was about a week and some change from confirmation for me.
 

Saiyan-Rox

Member
Ordered mine last night when I really shouldn't have lol

Quick Q though Halo MCC campaign can be played okay yeah? And if so what about infinites campaign?
 

Deerock71

Member
Will you be able to play your steam library on the switch 2 😏?
Will you be able to play Nintendo exclusives (legally) on Steam Deck?
So do we expect the Switch 2 (or whatever it’s called) to be more powerful than the Steam Deck?
Great place to ask this question, where nobody knows, and everyone is slanted towards their Steam library.

Side note: anyone have any sales numbers? I want to know how much longer until the 'Nintendo Is Always Doomed' clock gets reset.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Nintendo (and Microsoft, and Sony) Customer
 

Griffon

Member
I've followed the example of CrustyBritches CrustyBritches and sent back my whiny jet engine Deck. Couldn't take the noise anymore and IFixit never has anything in stock.

Hopefully my replacement is a good one, I don't want to play RMA lottery...
 
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Ozzie666

Member
I wish you could be buy these at brick an mortar stores and they were much easier to come by. Until they go to a more traditional distribution method and have more stock, it's going to turning a Neo Geo, thing of legends device.
 

paolo11

Member
I tried the Steam Deck and by golly this is an amazing device. It’s like Ps4 /Xbox Series S portable.

Has anyone tried playing GTA V or Red Dead 2 on this beauty offline?
 
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