Steam Deck - SteamOS, Zen2 4C/8T, RDNA2 1.0-1.6 TF, 16 GB LPDDR5 88 GB/s, starting at $399 [2021-12]

[Cyan]

I would hold off on buying a Steamdeck type thing at this time, I have a feeling competition will be thriving soon. Also at those prices a gaming laptop makes a lot more sense to me.

regarding gaming laptops, I had one until a couple of years ago, which cost me 1400€ -sigh-.

The differences with a device like Steam Deck are huge:

- more powerful
- heavy no matter why they say
- not as mobile
- no integrated gaming controls
- Heat is a huge problem, not even a cooling base is going to change that
- On battery games drain the energy in a jiffy
- If you want the most performance (which you usually will 'cos of the screen native resolution) you MUST connect it to the wall
- if you do that though, and after using it for many hours, the battery suffers in the long run, shortening the battery life

In my case the laptop's battery got to a point where it became useless. It said 80% charged then all of a sudden, bam, the computer was shut off and nothing could be done, the OS had no time to go into hibernate mode.

Finally it got to a point where it was as if the battery didnt exist. If you unplugged the laptop, the computer turned off like a desktop PC.

I could reuse some of the components on other computers though, or the HD as a external drive for my desktop PC and so on.

 

[Cyan]

Well, every other mobile PC gaming device except Steam Deck are overpriced. They need to be priced under $700 for wider adoption, though it will be very difficult for those niche hardware makers.

now that you mention it, once again Lowspecgamer has a video on why these mobile devices or PC hardware in general is more expensive than their console counterparts:

Why the Switch is Killing Portable PC Gaming (and why Valve might save it)

 

[Cyan]

 

[orangpelupa]

these portables would work better docked to big screen if it use nvidia gpu, thus allowing it to use DLSS. Its not magic, but it looks nice enough even when DF (or who was it.. anandtech? i cant remember) tested upscaling 720p to 1080p and 720p to 4K.

unfortunately nvidia didnt make x86 SoC so my point is moot hahaha

 

[SpaceBeer]

That is not a solution, as there are many games (vast majority of) which have no DLSS implemented. There is FSR, but it has the same problem. Also, these devices are meant to be used as ultra portable gaming machines for most of the time, not so many people will buy it to play it on the big screen

 

[orangpelupa]

maybe DLSS combined with the shield upscalig? so for games with no dlss, it use the shield upscaling

 

[Cyan]

Regardless, if Steam Deck does come with 44GB/s bandwidth against all odds, I'll cancel my pre-order the next instant since it would mean having an iGPU completely castrated by memory bandwidth and performance would be terrible.

which model did you preorder?

I decided that I am leaving desktop GPUs for good -at least for a while- and that I am going to buy one, this kind of technology must be supported.

But I am torn between the 64GB and the 256GB model.

Then I am going to buy MicroSD cards -a la Switch-, or just a 1TB model.

Cartões Micro SD / micro sd - MediaMarkt

I've found some good prices here too

https://www.mediamarkt.es/es/category/_tarjetas-microsd-701491.html?sort=currentprice+asc&page=3

 

[Cyan]

maybe DLSS combined with the shield upscalig? so for games with no dlss, it use the shield upscaling

imho DLSS needs some extra hardware that might not make it worth it from a power consumption point of view, Plus you lose the benefits of an all-in one solution and also AMD is better at efficiency than nVidia nowadays...

On a different note..., I've watched this video (this guy gives me the creeps but anyways): just to test things out, after also reading a thread from a colleague on Linux gaming, tips and stuff

Additionally, I've read this review on how good is Pop OS compared to other Linux distros:

Pop OS 18.10 Linux Gaming Report: System76 Nails It For Nvidia And AMD Users (inkl.com)

Pop OS is now installed on my 256GB NVMe and Windows 11 on my 1TB SSD, in case I decide to leave Steam OS on the Steam Deck, which is very unlikely.

Well, I've always been a Microsoft fanboy, and behaved like the secret child of Steve Ballmer but I gotta say that this Linux distro is actually palatable.

Not as good as W11 yet, imho, but I might be using it more than I ever expected.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

which model did you preorder?

I decided that I am leaving desktop GPUs for good -at least for a while- and that I am going to buy one, this kind of technology must be supported.

But I am torn between the 64GB and the 256GB model.

Then I am going to buy MicroSD cards -a la Switch-, or just a 1TB model.

Cartões Micro SD / micro sd - MediaMarkt

I've found some good prices here too

https://www.mediamarkt.es/es/category/_tarjetas-microsd-701491.html?sort=currentprice+asc&page=3

I ordered the 512GB version. I think it's a bit of a risk to count on the upgradeability of the device until we see teardowns. If it's something that needs taking off the screen and 100 screws then I think I prefer no to take chances.
With that said, I think 256GB is a bit on the low side, unless you're willing to install a bunch of older games into the microsd.

 

[Cyan]

I ordered the 512GB version. I think it's a bit of a risk to count on the upgradeability of the device until we see teardowns. If it's something that needs taking off the screen and 100 screws then I think I prefer no to take chances.
With that said, I think 256GB is a bit on the low side, unless you're willing to install a bunch of older games into the microsd.

hmmmm 512GB is on the safe side, plus you get some nifty bonuses like a better screen and the bag, etc.

Steam Deck has a Micro SD slot

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/tech

...so I wouldn't mind grabbing the 256GB version, or the 64GB version and buy a 1TB Micro SD (or several 512GB, 256GB models).

Whatever the version, you might like to perform dual booting -almost an impossible feat for the 64GB version, I think?- or switch to Windows 11 or keep Steam OS alone.

Also, my experience with dual booting (on a single disk! -works like a charm if you have each OS on a different unit-) Pop OS and Windows 11 wasnt good.

I only made a single mistake yet lost everything in the C partition .

I have all the important data in Onedrive so I didnt care, but given my slow connection, it's quite painful to reinstall some apps and games and both OSes

 

[orangpelupa]

imho DLSS needs some extra hardware that might not make it worth it from a power consumption point of view, Plus you lose the benefits of an all-in one solution and also AMD is better at efficiency than nVidia nowadays...

On a different note..., I've watched this video (this guy gives me the creeps but anyways): just to test things out, after also reading a thread from a colleague on Linux gaming, tips and stuff

Additionally, I've read this review on how good is Pop OS compared to other Linux distros:

Pop OS 18.10 Linux Gaming Report: System76 Nails It For Nvidia And AMD Users (inkl.com)

Pop OS is now installed on my 256GB NVMe and Windows 11 on my 1TB SSD, in case I decide to leave Steam OS on the Steam Deck, which is very unlikely.

Well, I've always been a Microsoft fanboy, and behaved like the secret child of Steve Ballmer but I gotta say that this Linux distro is actually palatable.

Not as good as W11 yet, imho, but I might be using it more than I ever expected.

for me, rather than installing that linux to steam deck, installing windows 10 or 11 will be much better as i got gamepass ultimate stacked for years. if want to be cheap, just use the windows unactivated or buy cheap keys on online stores.

although IIRC windows 10 is free for small-screen devices, maybe it will detect steam deck as small screen and got free activation.

 

[Cyan]

for me, rather than installing that linux to steam deck, installing windows 10 or 11 will be much better as i got gamepass ultimate stacked for years. if want to be cheap, just use the windows unactivated or buy cheap keys on online stores.

although IIRC windows 10 is free for small-screen devices, maybe it will detect steam deck as small screen and got free activation.

also if you buy a Micro SD you still have the option to perform dual boot, just in case. But yeah, it's very likely I am going to do the same. I like gamepass PC very much, so the only option for me to use Steam OS as the one and only Steam Deck's OS could occur if MS publishes gamepass PC on Steam.

That being said, I managed to get my gaming mouse work under Linux, using Wine, can you believe it?

Pop OS is working fine for me, I shall test games recovering them from the Windows 11 SSD, where my Steam and GoG games are installed. I wonder if they are going to work taking into account they are in a different disk under a different OS.

 

[SpaceBeer]

In Windows 11 system requirements, minimum screen size is 9". So unless MS changes something, Deck (or any similar device) won't be supported. TBH, I don't care. I have no plan to changes OS. I have more than enough games in my Steam library, and from now on, I will buy all games on Steam. I used to buy from GOG if it's also there, but since they don't care about Linux (I understand that, it is totally ok form business side), Steam is now my preferred store.

I will for sure have Windows on my PC, and if I really want to play something outside Steam library, I will play it there

 

[Deleted member 13524]

hmmmm 512GB is on the safe side, plus you get some nifty bonuses like a better screen and the bag, etc.

Steam Deck has a Micro SD slot

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/tech

...so I wouldn't mind grabbing the 256GB version, or the 64GB version and buy a 1TB Micro SD (or several 512GB, 256GB models).

I guess it depends a bit on what games you expect to play in there.
I'm a hopeless romantic on the Deck, so I'm expecting/hoping to be able to play every next gen, UE5, direct-storage, RT-enabled, etc game in it.
And for that I'm counting on the faster speed of the 512GB to be a nice bonus.

In Windows 11 system requirements, minimum screen size is 9". So unless MS changes something, Deck (or any similar device) won't be supported.

There's no way for the OS to know the screen size of the device. It's probably more of a recommendation given the scaling options for the UI elements.
The only hard limitation for Win11 is TPM 2.0 support on the CPU, and the Deck's Zen2 already supports it.

 

[Cyan]

I guess it depends a bit on what games you expect to play in there.
I'm a hopeless romantic on the Deck, so I'm expecting/hoping to be able to play every next gen, UE5, direct-storage, RT-enabled, etc game in it.
And for that I'm counting on the faster speed of the 512GB to be a nice bonus.

same here. Once I get it working I wont probably ever use my desktop computer again, at least to play solo, 'cos my best friend sometimes comes to my house to play games, but even so, with the SD's dock it should be more than enough.

I am going to buy the 256GB version, most probably, but I am not entirely sure yet. There is time to decide.

In Windows 11 system requirements, minimum screen size is 9". So unless MS changes something, Deck (or any similar device) won't be supported. TBH, I don't care. I have no plan to changes OS. I have more than enough games in my Steam library, and from now on, I will buy all games on Steam. I used to buy from GOG if it's also there, but since they don't care about Linux (I understand that, it is totally ok form business side), Steam is now my preferred store.

I will for sure have Windows on my PC, and if I really want to play something outside Steam library, I will play it there

dont worry about that, there are many videos of people showing the GPD Win 3, and they use the touch controls on Windows 10 just fine on its 5,5" screen.

Windows 11 was born to countermeasure -or rather imitate- the popularity of touch based mobile devices like phones, the interface changed to one of a mobile phone -round borders, centered layouts, etc etc-, so it shall do better than W10 -not a mobile first UI OS- in that regard.

 

[Cyan]

I used to buy from GOG if it's also there, but since they don't care about Linux (I understand that, it is totally ok form business side), Steam is now my preferred store.

GoG is my favourite store too, and yes there is certain indolence with Galaxy, but it's a non issue having Lutris or Mini Galaxy.

Plus, Steam Deck is going to be a huge success, they are going to release a Linux version of Galaxy. Yes or yes

https://www.addictivetips.com/ubuntu-linux-tips/gog-galaxy-on-linux/

 

[hughJ]

for me, rather than installing that linux to steam deck, installing windows 10 or 11 will be much better as i got gamepass ultimate stacked for years.

Has Valve actually made a statement about fully supporting Windows and non-Steam applications with Deck's input hardware? IIRC, the Steam Controller doesn't function out-of-the-box as a xbox/xinput device such that other storefronts are plug-n-play, and GloSC seems to be needed for that. Similarly Revive is needed to make Valve's VR hardware interoperable with the Oculus store. The prospect of having all of the Deck's input hardware functionality being an out-of-scope usecase supported by 3rd party utilities seems concerning to me as you'd be at risk of a Steam or Windows Update breaking your mouse+keyboard+controller emulation in one fell swoop, leaving you searching for a USB-C mouse/keyboard to attach and rescue it.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Has Valve actually made a statement about fully supporting Windows and non-Steam applications with Deck's input hardware?

There's no reason to believe they won't.
The Steam Controller also released originally as a companion for the Steam Machines with SteamOS and it came with windows drivers from day one.

Valve has been making quite clear that although SteamOS is awesome, they won't pose any restrictions whatsoever to those who want to install windows.
They probably do expect that most power users will install Windows in it as soon as they get their hands on the device.

 

[orangpelupa]

Probably ds4 windows, etc will add support for steam deck controller to be emulated as x360

 

[hughJ]

There's no reason to believe they won't.
The Steam Controller also released originally as a companion for the Steam Machines with SteamOS and it came with windows drivers from day one.

Valve has been making quite clear that although SteamOS is awesome, they won't pose any restrictions whatsoever to those who want to install windows.
They probably do expect that most power users will install Windows in it as soon as they get their hands on the device.

Not posing restrictions isn't the same thing as engineering the input hardware/driver/software to be equivalently operable across all games/storefronts. The Steam Controller having Windows drivers doesn't mean it's a PnP xinput controller. It's a great controller... provided you use it through Steam. The Vive/Index are great VR hardware... provided you use it through Steam. Power users may be willing to put up with the overall Windows UX being poorly tailored for the Deck, but at some point the value of the device (rather than a laptop) is that it's an all-in-one unit that's convenient to launch and play games with. That convenience evaporates pretty quickly if how you launch and play games is outside the scope of the product Valve is selling.

If someone is planning on doing 95% of their gaming through Steam anyways, then "There's no reason to believe they won't." is a reasonable position. If someone is expecting to use it mostly for non-Steam, then it would make sense to put a non-zero amount of thought into this and ask some questions.