Why did you buy one?

[deathhorse]

Just sitting here playing my deck and wondered why i got it lol. Its ok i guess. I probably only have 100hrs or less on me since release.

 

[Axman]

1. I like small, powerful machines,
2. I have always been into portables even before Game Boy times,
And this is the main, and most important reason,
3. I wanted to financially back what I thought was (and still believe is) the most viable alternative to Windows for gaming.

Also I'm not really about playing new games. Shit I'm still playing Baldur's Gate.

Check this out, my latest character, 94 points! This is a legit character, too, no cheats or trainers:

 

[The Mad Atheist]

Bought a Legion Go for higher end emulation OTG, Windows and such. Swapped out the 512GB for a 4TB stick plus a 1TB SD card. Be interesting to see how well SW2 emulation will be once it gets cracked.

 

[Putz]

something I can easily packup and take to my RV and game on downtime and rainy days

So far Baltro, Brotato and POE1, lego racing and wreckfest are my fav. Some other games work fine but controller is just inferior to M/K in most instances and I cant be bothered to fight with a controller, if it feels clunky i just more on to something else that works better with the controllers

 

[deathhorse]

1. I like small, powerful machines,
2. I have always been into portables even before Game Boy times,
And this is the main, and most important reason,
3. I wanted to financially back what I thought was (and still believe is) the most viable alternative to Windows for gaming.

Also I'm not really about playing new games. Shit I'm still playing Baldur's Gate.

Check this out, my latest character, 94 points! This is a legit character, too, no cheats or trainers:

View attachment 737867

nice baldurs gate i would imagine you played lots of keyboard an mouse prior? how was the learning curve of using a controller type setup for this game? i was testing out dishonored from moving to controller setup an i played terribly. What i can say is the steam deck is great choice for dungeon crawlers. But cost wise im still like did i really need this lol.

 

[Axman]

nice baldurs gate i would imagine you played lots of keyboard an mouse prior? how was the learning curve of using a controller type setup for this game? i was testing out dishonored from moving to controller setup an i played terribly. What i can say is the steam deck is great choice for dungeon crawlers. But cost wise im still like did i really need this lol.

I have a dock for my Deck when I want to do keyboard and mouse PC stuff, it's connected to a KVM switch for my main computer and laptop. When I'm on the go I typically play cross-platform games with console controls, like Skyrim, Mass Effect, Brutal Legend, Red Faction, etc. I will say that some games default to controller mode so they don't work with a keyboard and mouse without some tinkering.

It's not all that hard to use the touchpads as mice and the touchscreen for some types of games but it is slow, so Civ-type games are fine, but I would never even bother with a real-time strategy game.

I will say that I picked up this case for my Deck which makes it a lot more portable than using the factory one.

And while I did get it to support SteamOS more than anything else, my wife just got out of the hospital after a six-month stay, and there were times where I had to be there for a couple hours a day, and other times where I had to be there for 24 hours a day, and the Deck went from a novelty to part of the last bit of armor protecting my sanity.

So while I fully admit that it feels like we're beta-testing a product, we're at least beta-testing what is a very good, promising product.

 

[deathhorse]

I have a dock as well but i was having issues with the battery dieing while playing maybe i dont have mine configured well. I also have the steam link around here somewhere but that thing was rubbish over wifi. Now that i think about it I havent really had issues with the deck an wifi. thanks for your input

Axman what dock did you purchase? i like that portable case.

 

[Axman]

Dock: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CS6BWL4Q

Picked this dock since it's universal and I'm pretty sure I can use it with future "Decks" whatever form they may take. Also, hey, it's on sale super-cheap right now.

Power supply: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSGH355C

Can use this to run my Deck, my laptop, my phone, and a tablet or whatever else.

Cables: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPBDF6ZZ

Can use these with pretty much any USB-C devices, two pack, cheap, 240W, and durable.

 

[Wade88]

We have RV and boat computers but the steam deck is nice to use outside, who says you can't PC game while touching grass...

 

[deathhorse]

oh i was actually looking at the power supply wondering if i can get my work to buy it lol. Im an IT manager but with all the cuts in the past couple years i wouldnt want to give them a reason. the company is all about saving money yada yada.

thanks for the links i really like anker products. I have this other brand dock but was looking for a decent price on some other stuff.

 

[Axman]

I have this other brand dock but was looking for a decent price on some other stuff.

That was my other pick I just got a better price on the Anker. I don't expect either one to outperform, function-wise.

I will add that I was able to undervolt everything in the BIOS and haven't had any stability issues, which does make it slightly more portable. It also helps to set game-specific power settings.

I nabbed the Anker power supply for $50, they go on sale pretty often.

 

[SeymourGore]

I'm pretty sure it was the hype train that initially got me to buy one (I've used handhelds in the past, but found them uncomfortable) but was really taken aback by how much I ended up using my Steam Deck. I eventually grew tired of waiting to try out Windows so picked up a refurb ROG Ally and really liked the premium feel of it. Windows was manageable, however I had suspended the system once, put the Ally in its case and when I came back to it less than an hour later it nearly cooked itself. For whatever reason it was running at full tilt and was burning up in its case.

It was at this point I gave Bazzite a try - and it's been great (mostly). It's been the non-verified SteamOS games that have been a pain - I'd get a game to work (ie: Grandia) using a specific Proton and 'media dll' install, only for it to break a system update or two later. Still, when it works, it works great - feels like a console in its simplicity.

 

[Balkroth]

I preordered one at launch, it's pretty common for me to jump onto things early if I think they look neat, even if I don't think I'll use it a lot. Mine has been pretty much really only been used when I travel (which seems odd since for personal travel I'll also bring a gaming laptop). I've actually used the Steam Deck more than experted, as I also use it for PC ports that just do not have proper keyboard support, and I don't like using gamepads with my PC, so it ends up letting me the games in my library I probably would have let sit there unused otherwise.

 

[Wade88]

I preordered on the first day and got it in q3 2022 because I slept in on that day. Coming from 12+lb desktop replacements and 70+ liter steel fulltowers the < 1 liter aspect of it is neat. It's the best gamecube and ps2 and works with a good bit of my steam library that will be old enough to drink next month.

 

[RanceJustice]

At the moment I dont' have a laptop or backup/portable gaming and media device and it has been an excellent companion device to a gaming PC. It also has an excellent hardware configuration (especially for its time) not just in terms of the SoC and the powerful hardware for the size within, the OLED display's upgrade etc...but the layout and function of the controls including the haptic touchpads, gyro with thumbstick activation, rear/paddle buttons, multitouch display, and its other features; its really odd that Valve has not released a modular Steam Deck Controller 2.0 standalone with the same peripheral features and inputs (perhaps a version with and without the multitouch display would be of interest) but without the stand-alone PC hardware. However, while they may not have the exact peripheral configurations, there were already some handheld PCs from both China-design brands like Ayaneo and (after the Deck caused a return of the UMPC-style) major brands like Asus, MSI, and Lenovo arrived. Some of these had slightly newer core SoC or improved components, but they often lacked both hardware and software features that made the Deck an overall better package.

The primary reason to purchase a Deck was because of the desire to support Valve's ethos in its design - a user-focused, FOSS Arch Linux OS based device that is a blueprint for what a modern "console" should be in that it offers a pick-up-and-play experience without locking anything down; a fully capable PC! Like the Steam Input driver, mapping, and configuration system and the inclusion of Proton into SteamPlay, the Steam Deck Verified system essentially made "Does it play on Linux?" rating that is accessible to even the less technically inclined. If you see a game that is Verified, then its highly likely that it has a parity play experience using Proton at very least, if not a native client. The fact that Valve is shipping a device with Linux native and its usability has progressed to the level that many users may not even have to know or care about it running Linux, even for most Windows games, would have been seen as a fever dream in the past. In preparation, Valve spent a considerable amount of time developing both the Steam DeckOS Linux distribution as well as contributing to everything from Wine and Proton to AMD drivers for both CPU and GPU, and even building an entirely separate Wayland compositor called Gamescope for the "Big Picture" style default UI, in addition to the XWayland frontend for the KDE Plasma "desktop" option.

Much of the particulars may sound like technical gobbledeguk and it is, but the end of it is a Linux powered handheld gaming device that's easy to use , FOSS and in a related important bit, not locked down! Users are free to install non-Steam games and they work right alongside Steam ones even using the same UI, merge emulators and other stores, or even install an entirely different OS without penalty. Valve could have followed conventional console logic and locked it down, or at very least segregated official Steam games and Big Picture UI separate from the Desktop mode, but thankfully they didnt. This is the kind of thing I want to support, increasing FOSS Linux OSes and pushing back against proprietary locked down console dynamics that have little benefit save to platform owners.

 

[4saken]

I bought one because it was new and shiny and just came out. Used it quite a bit traveling/camping/etc early on. I'd say last year+ it mostly just sits on my desk docked. Boot it up every 1-2 months and update, and use it maybe 2-3x a year now in earnest.

I really like the device, don't get me wrong. Versatile and i've gotten to do some experimenting with it with SDR, but day to day, not much use for it.