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

I think something that should be kept in mind with the software advantage is to separate what is from Valve developing specifically for the Steam Deck and what is intrinsically from Steam OS. The reason this is important is that broader Steam OS availability for other devices does not mean they will automatically have software feature parity with the Steam Deck.

It also means theoretically (economics/business aside) some of the software features could also be implementable hypothetically in Windows, as I don't think all them are necessarily dependent on the Steam OS/Linux base. Of course they won't be in practice due to the economics/business.

Remij said:
Windows based handhelds have to license Windows, which raises costs..
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I believe the Windows license is free for devices with displays under 9 inches.

Remij said:
And no.. lmfao.. What in the world makes you think that Deck owners would want it to be Windows based? They already can do that.. and the people who actually DO use Windows on the Steam Deck undoubtedly dual-boot. It's a tiny insignificant number.
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This seems rather abstract because in practice Valve doesn't support Windows (bare minimum) so the software functionality is very lacking by comparison. This would not be the case in a hypothetical situation in which Valve fully supported Windows software wise.

Remij said:
I mean, no... They offer replacement displays.. and there are upgraded LCD displays you can install in the deck. The display they made already fits in the OG Deck... They're simply choosing not to support it to encourage people to buy the new model instead of just upgrading.
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I'm not sure if that's entirely true but we might need a full tear down to confirm. While the new displays does fit in in terms of x/y dimensions there's other physical factors to consider on whether or not it could have been done as a drop in upgrade. Especially as for these devices the display itself can also be structural component.

Valve themselves do claim (and have since the beginning) that display changes are complicated due to other factors that just pure dimensions such as structural. For what it's worth I believe the Deck HD people (who sell the drop in LCD upgrade) when asked before also said it wasn't possible to source an OLED display that could work as a drop in.
 
arandomguy said:
This seems rather abstract because in practice Valve doesn't support Windows (bare minimum) so the software functionality is very lacking by comparison. This would not be the case in a hypothetical situation in which Valve fully supported Windows software wise.
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MS can support the Steamdeck with Windows if they want to.
 
tuna said:
Linux devs do that all the time.
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I don't know much about how SteamOS is architected, but perhaps its similar to macOS which is also open source *ix in many ways, and whilst it's technically possible to install new drivers, in practise its a right pain in the arse.
 
Kaotik said:
MS can't do drivers for Valves HW without Valve (And AMD can't release drivers for it without Valve either)
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Valve already provides the drivers for Windows for the Deck, which is pretty awesome of them to do.
They're provided as-is, but they certainly do work.

I installed Windows on mine a while ago, using those drivers, and it worked well.
The deck can already basically work exactly as all the other windows based handhelds do, although I disagree with the sentiment on the previous page that everyone 'wants' such a device to be Windows based.

I bought the deck specifically because of Valve's awesome work with SteamOS and the polished user experience and navigation; the primary thing that stopped me from buying an Ally or any other Windows based handheld gaming device was the lack of official SteamOS support.

help.steampowered.com

Steam Support :: Steam Deck - Windows Resources

help.steampowered.com help.steampowered.com
 
DSoup said:
I don't know much about how SteamOS is architected, but perhaps its similar to macOS which is also open source *ix in many ways, and whilst it's technically possible to install new drivers, in practise its a right pain in the arse.
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Why would it matter how SteamOS is architected with regards to drivers for Windows?

You can install whatever you want on the Steam deck hardware, it is not locked down like an iPhone or XBox.
 
I think the oled deck is a great side grade and is a smart choice for people buying now. I just don't see a need as a deck owner to purchase this upgrade.

I do like that some things I mentioned like better cooling were implemented into this revision. But I still would like a 8inch + screen and a much better apu until I buy a new one
 
If anyone's wondering at the moment it doesn't seem like it's going to anywhere near the demand/supply imbalance as actual launch.

Limited Edition sold out as of 11AM PST in Canada (presumably for US as well) and I believe was still available at least as of 10:40AM? Although it might be intermittently coming back in stock. Only this model had purchasing restrictions (limit, Steam account ate and standing).

Everything else, including the EOL models, still show as 3-5 business days delivery. There was checkout issues I think for the first 20mins?
 
arandomguy said:
If anyone's wondering at the moment it doesn't seem like it's going to anywhere near the demand/supply imbalance as actual launch.

Limited Edition sold out as of 11AM PST in Canada (presumably for US as well) and I believe was still available at least as of 10:40AM? Although it might be intermittently coming back in stock. Only this model had purchasing restrictions (limit, Steam account ate and standing).

Everything else, including the EOL models, still show as 3-5 business days delivery. There was checkout issues I think for the first 20mins?
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It makes sense , the original deck was delayed due to covid production issues. We are way past covid delays at this point in time. We could see long wait times again with a steam deck 2 that would get all the original owners jumping back in
 
Assuming this thread can be used for Steam Deck 2 speculation (I've searched and couldn't find one). I believe affordability has served the Steam Deck probably more than anythingh else, they cannot axe that, what they can do next time around is go to a multi-SKU approach with the more premium version having both better SOC and OLED. the standard could get two variants sharing the same SOC with one offering OLED on top. To summarize:


-Steam Deck 2 (entry level): 8" 120hz IPS AMD 7440U --- $399
-Steam Deck 2 (entry level OLED): 8" 120hz OLED AMD 7440U --- $499
-Steam Deck 2 (Pro version): 8" 120hz OLED AMD 7840U --- $599
 
Probably console games more than PC-specific games.

Something that I can pick up anywhere and just play for awhile, then pause and put to sleep until the next time.
 
The Switch 2 isn't even out yet, so I'm not sure how it factors in. The ROG Ally doesn't seem to have done well in reviews, so I guess that leaves the OLED Deck.
 
wco81 said:
Probably console games more than PC-specific games.

Something that I can pick up anywhere and just play for awhile, then pause and put to sleep until the next time.
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Suspending and resuming games on Windows is much less consistent/reliable at the moment than SteamOS/Steam Deck much less the Switch and likely the Switch 2.

If that is important to you I'd make sure to research user experience on that in detail.
 
arandomguy said:
Suspending and resuming games on Windows is much less consistent/reliable at the moment than SteamOS/Steam Deck much less the Switch and likely the Switch 2.

If that is important to you I'd make sure to research user experience on that in detail.
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SteamOS is coming to more than Steam Deck starting at CES
 
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