Steam Deck discussion

[JUSA]

Anyone have these? I thought I'd grab one - if nothing else, I'll use it for emulation if playing PC games on a 7" screen is impossible.

[JustiNtense]

Now that we can play Xbox Game pass on our phones I don’t see a need for one.

[taskmob]

Don't have one but I'm thinking of getting an aya neo air. Lowest config is like $250 and it's strong enough to emulate ps3/360 games.

Handhelds are getting more powerful and cheaper thanks to the steam deck

[Train57]

preordered in aug and my que is after october

im prob gonna play it for a week or two then forget about it

[rocketfish]

my order should be coming soon, but was thinking about canceling and waiting to see if a steam deck 2 would come out with better hardware with how fast these SOC are improving..


i dont know tho, enjoy now or wait it out another year or two

[hackerwacker]

my order should be coming soon, but was thinking about canceling and waiting to see if a steam deck 2 would come out with better hardware with how fast these SOC are improving..


i dont know tho, enjoy now or wait it out another year or two

if you are waiting for better hardware, you will always be waiting. I got my deck q1 and its been great. Runs everything I want it to just fine. Being able to take a handheld PC to a buddies house, hooking it up to his TV, and pairing a couple of PS controllers via bluetooth is a game changer.

[BearyManilowe]

if you are waiting for better hardware, you will always be waiting. I got my deck q1 and its been great. Runs everything I want it to just fine. Being able to take a handheld PC to a buddies house, hooking it up to his TV, and pairing a couple of PS controllers via bluetooth is a game changer.

If only there was an available product on the market that already had this capability and could do it better....... it could sit on your lap when you wanted to game on it. We could modify graphics cards to fit inside it too so you could have any card you wanted. What an invention that would be.

@OP, it's an overrated piece of hardware that pretty much already has counterparts that do almost everything it does that comes a premium price point.

[elterrible987]

I sort of want one but they realize if I had it I would probably only use it the first month and then forget about it

[JUSA]

Don't have one but I'm thinking of getting an aya neo air. Lowest config is like $250 and it's strong enough to emulate ps3/360 games.

Handhelds are getting more powerful and cheaper thanks to the steam deck

Screen size? I see it's an OLED

Edit: to answer my own question 5.5"

[elterrible987]

been meaning to mod my switch, i bought one a few years ago its the rev1 that can be modded and has low firmware, havent gotten around to researching how to do it, got a 1tb sd card for it too.

going to put switch games and emulators on it

[JUSA]

Does anyone actually have one? Seems like a lot of people question their existence, which I am fine with, but I don't see anyone who either has one and is good with it or got one and has buyer's remorse.

IMO, I can only really do handheld. I don't like lugging a laptop around. I like my Switch for it's library and form factor but lament how weak it is. Seems like this gadget might make sense for me.

[Coal Man]

I can't casual game for 10 mins in between doing things. I need to settle and get my mind into my game. Too busy during the day to play anything. I just can't find a spare hour or half hour. And even if I did, seems a waste to bring a whole handheld just for that purpose.

A laptop or phone I can understand for some people since they may use those for other purposes too. For me, I'm content with just sitting behind my big TV and unwind on an evening with a console that has the best graphics possible for a console.

[UniversityMisc]

We have a switch that sits and gathers dust at the house. Probably gonna cancel my preorder, because it'll be another object just sitting on a shelf after a week.

[OptimusTrajan]

I canceled my preorder when I realized I'd never use it.

[OneLegSquats]

Nothing screams incel like a dude sat on the bus hunched over sweating while he plays with a handheld console

[JayJ350]

I got one. Love it, it's basically a gaming laptop but it actually works as a legitimate portable handheld, while my gaming laptop is basically just a portable gaming desktop, only using it when sitting on a desk/table and plugged in.

It's just ridiculously awesome though. Love using it while kicking back with some sports on in the background or while chilling in my backyard on a nice day or something. I hardly use handhelds when I am out anymore, but I still love having them as I find myself playing games on them that I wouldn't be playing on a console/PC typically, and they are great for various relaxation situations.

The Steam Deck is a total game changer. After getting into mine and getting it all setup with the games I want on it, going back to a Switch feels like going back to a Nintendo DS or some chit, it's amazing how primitive it now feels to be playing games on anything else. It's the future, no doubt. Gaming on a portable where I can play the latest games on decent settings and 60 fps most of the time, it's turned handheld gaming into a no/low compromise experience. Heck I am playing games on it that perform better on Steam Deck than they did on my PS4/One. It's by far the best performing handheld I have ever owned for it's time, and the most impressive gaming hardware on the market today.

[taskmob]

I got one. Love it, it's basically a gaming laptop but it actually works as a legitimate portable handheld, while my gaming laptop is basically just a portable gaming desktop, only using it when sitting on a desk/table and plugged in.

It's just ridiculously awesome though. Love using it while kicking back with some sports on in the background or while chilling in my backyard on a nice day or something. I hardly use handhelds when I am out anymore, but I still love having them as I find myself playing games on them that I wouldn't be playing on a console/PC typically, and they are great for various relaxation situations.

The Steam Deck is a total game changer. After getting into mine and getting it all setup with the games I want on it, going back to a Switch feels like going back to a Nintendo DS or some chit, it's amazing how primitive it now feels to be playing games on anything else. It's the future, no doubt. Gaming on a portable where I can play the latest games on decent settings and 60 fps most of the time, it's turned handheld gaming into a no/low compromise experience. Heck I am playing games on it that perform better on Steam Deck than they did on my PS4/One. It's by far the best performing handheld I have ever owned for it's time, and the most impressive gaming hardware on the market today.

What model you got? Thinking of getting the 64gb but idk how the memory speeds would hold up especially with an SD card. Also it says it will ship after October I don't know when I'd actually get my hands on one.

Thinking of opting in to get an aya neo or Ayn handheld. Steam deck has completely changed the game though. Gaming handhelds are getting better and cheaper. I find it more enjoyable to lie down and game on a handheld. The only time I actually game on a monitor or TV is when I'm playing Halo or League of Legends. More competition is good and although Nintendo does their own thing, hopefully it pushes them to release a more powerful console.

[JayJ350]

What model you got? Thinking of getting the 64gb but idk how the memory speeds would hold up especially with an SD card. Also it says it will ship after October I don't know when I'd actually get my hands on one.

Thinking of opting in to get an aya neo or Ayn handheld. Steam deck has completely changed the game though. Gaming handhelds are getting better and cheaper. I find it more enjoyable to lie down and game on a handheld. The only time I actually game on a monitor or TV is when I'm playing Halo or League of Legends. More competition is good and although Nintendo does their own thing, hopefully it pushes them to release a more powerful console.

I got the full blown 512, go big or go home would be my motto, but then again any Steam Deck is awesome to have, just be warned that if you get a 64GB essentially the entirety of your game storage will be your SD card, you probably shouldn't even store any games on your internal storage, leaving that for system storage and things unrelated to game files.

As for those Chinese competitors, they seem fine if you're more interested in high-end emulation, but they tend to cost a lot more while performing notably worse. Then there's the fact that loads of games are being optimized around the Steam Deck while nobody really cares about optimizing anything for those Chinese handhelds. This means that games will run notably better on a Steam Deck, and the selection of PC games that will work well should be better as well, and you will have a lot more options for things like control solutions and optimization on a Steam Deck.

I mean if you use a Steam Deck, you will quickly notice how big of a deal it is to have an OS that is designed to run all these games well on a handheld and optimize them for it, and the Deck is in a league of it's own when it comes to that kind of support. Considering the cost for performance you're getting, it really doesn't make any sense to go for anything else unless, like I said, you're trying to focus on emulating newer consoles.

[DASBUNKER]

I used to get stim dick all the time with OG jack3d

[JUSA]

I got the full blown 512, go big or go home would be my motto, but then again any Steam Deck is awesome to have, just be warned that if you get a 64GB essentially the entirety of your game storage will be your SD card, you probably shouldn't even store any games on your internal storage, leaving that for system storage and things unrelated to game files.

Apparently, it's easy enough to get the lower tier one and just put in your own hard drive. There are other minor benefits to the 512, like the screen. For me - another minor benefit is that it saves me time, time to buy the new hard drive, watch installation videos, then do it, etc.. at this stage in my life, my most precious asset isn't money, it's time. I also opted to pre-order the 512 for this reason. Should be ready around xmas, if production stays where it's at now and not the dribblings it was at launch.

And, fuk it, I got it for Emulation Alone, I have a blast playing old n64, gba, ps1 and older games, they'll probably look and run great on it and having it very portable will be good for me. If I actually crack into my Steam Library that's just gravy.

[dcbone30]

I did the cheapest one. I've played outside by the pool (i know risky) with no issues from glare and I put in an SD card to make up for included drive space. Awesome little device and runs basically anything I want at a reasonable if not better-than-expected framerate so far.

[JayJ350]

Apparently, it's easy enough to get the lower tier one and just put in your own hard drive. There are other minor benefits to the 512, like the screen. For me - another minor benefit is that it saves me time, time to buy the new hard drive, watch installation videos, then do it, etc.. at this stage in my life, my most precious asset isn't money, it's time. I also opted to pre-order the 512 for this reason. Should be ready around xmas, if production stays where it's at now and not the dribblings it was at launch.

And, fuk it, I got it for Emulation Alone, I have a blast playing old n64, gba, ps1 and older games, they'll probably look and run great on it and having it very portable will be good for me. If I actually crack into my Steam Library that's just gravy.

Honestly, if I was buying it for emulation, I would probably just go with the base model. Just use an SD for rom storage. I think the Steam Deck really only shines with it's intended purpose, playing games in Steam OS and taking advantage of the optimization you can get with it. It pretty much just turns it into a console, where many games just work a lot better with the hardware than they would otherwise. That said absolutely no problem with just booting to the desktop and playing some emulatiors there as well, plus they got RetroArch on Steam so you can just get it all setup all nice and smooth like. When I take a look at what they're charging for some of these more advanced emulation handhelds, I don't blame you for just going with a Steam Deck.

[DigDeeper1]

expecting mine soon, pre-ordered the 512gb version last year and finally we are in my window

[JUSA]

I almost made another thread but was like fuk it, only a few of us are really into these things --

... So, I just pre-ordered an AYN Loki Mini Pro. There are like 15 different versions ranging from $200 to over $800, with the high end Loki Max supposedly having twice the power of the Steam Deck.



Me, I kind of only want this thing for emulation (I'd preordered a Steamdeck with the silly hope I might get it by xmas, after hearing about people waiting nearly a year - I found the Loki and paid for it outright. Hope I don't get fuked)... I got a $400 job. Loki Mini pro, upgraded the ram to 16gb LPDDR4x.

A handful of thoughts here:

1) I bought it only because AYN got high marks for their last handheld, the Odin, which is nice but android based. They're a China company which understandably makes me nervous about buying anything from them.

2) Shipping is atrocious. Of the $400 I dropped, $40 was for the ram upgrade and over $70 was for shipping. There was a cheaper alternative, some company I haven't heard of and a quick google search gave them miserable reviews. Late, missing, lost, no customer service, deliveries to the wrong address, etc... I went with like UPS I think. Just keep that in consideration if you are buying from China.

3) When I bought it, I didn't check for extras and just grabbed one. It was the standard with like 8gb LPDDR5x. I then looked and saw some extras, the only one I really wanted being more ram (I'm old, for me ram is comfort and I always want more). I quickly emailed them, asked if I could add to the order and very quickly they wrote me back and sent me an invoice to add on the extra ram (which is $40). They were super easy to deal with and I thought it was great.

Has anyone plunked down before with the AYN Odin? It was their previous offering, most of the reviews were stellar but I think in the emulation market people have lowered their expectations due to pretty much only dealing with China, so my concern is that these glowing reviews equate to in reality a mid product. I'd love to hear someone who has one and get their thoughts on the quality of it and how it performs.

Link to the one I ordered:

https://www.ayntec.com/pages/loki-mini-pro

I bought intel. While AMD is better generally speaking, in my mind at least, but we don't know much about their new whatever mendisomething chipset yet, so I just went Intel. Better the Devil you know. Also, the Intel version is black which is my color preference over white.

[JayJ350]

I almost made another thread but was like fuk it, only a few of us are really into these things --

... So, I just pre-ordered an AYN Loki Mini Pro. There are like 15 different versions ranging from $200 to over $800, with the high end Loki Max supposedly having twice the power of the Steam Deck.



Me, I kind of only want this thing for emulation (I'd preordered a Steamdeck with the silly hope I might get it by xmas, after hearing about people waiting nearly a year - I found the Loki and paid for it outright. Hope I don't get fuked)... I got a $400 job. Loki Mini pro, upgraded the ram to 16gb LPDDR4x.

A handful of thoughts here:

1) I bought it only because AYN got high marks for their last handheld, the Odin, which is nice but android based. They're a China company which understandably makes me nervous about buying anything from them.

2) Shipping is atrocious. Of the $400 I dropped, $40 was for the ram upgrade and over $70 was for shipping. There was a cheaper alternative, some company I haven't heard of and a quick google search gave them miserable reviews. Late, missing, lost, no customer service, deliveries to the wrong address, etc... I went with like UPS I think. Just keep that in consideration if you are buying from China.

3) When I bought it, I didn't check for extras and just grabbed one. It was the standard with like 8gb LPDDR5x. I then looked and saw some extras, the only one I really wanted being more ram (I'm old, for me ram is comfort and I always want more). I quickly emailed them, asked if I could add to the order and very quickly they wrote me back and sent me an invoice to add on the extra ram (which is $40). They were super easy to deal with and I thought it was great.

Has anyone plunked down before with the AYN Odin? It was their previous offering, most of the reviews were stellar but I think in the emulation market people have lowered their expectations due to pretty much only dealing with China, so my concern is that these glowing reviews equate to in reality a mid product. I'd love to hear someone who has one and get their thoughts on the quality of it and how it performs.

Link to the one I ordered:

https://www.ayntec.com/pages/loki-mini-pro

I bought intel. While AMD is better generally speaking, in my mind at least, but we don't know much about their new whatever mendisomething chipset yet, so I just went Intel. Better the Devil you know. Also, the Intel version is black which is my color preference over white.

Honestly with these Chinese handhelds there's always going to be performance and reliability concerns, I am willing to bet that their most powerful models will probably have issues with running too hot and draining too much battery, and PC games probably still won't run as well as they do on Steam Deck. That said if you're primary interest is in emulation, these are perfect for that. Honestly, I think they are more suited to the task.

I have been a fan of Anbernic handhelds myself, they have been my retro gaming hardware of choice, and they're some Chinese company as well, but not all Chinese companies are created equal and they have always done an impressive job when it comes to quality and price. I have heard of AYN, never bought one because they are typically more of a high-end handheld that costs more, but I have heard good things, seems to be a good upgrade for people who like something like Anbernics but want something more high performance for later gen emulation (Anbernics have typically struggled with DC/64 and beyond, but they played PS1 and everything prior well). I think the latest ones are finally getting some decent performance with DC and N64, but that's where you're at when it comes to cheaper emulation handhelds.

Honestly, I'll be interested in seeing how this turns out for you. I never really bothered making a thread on my Steam Deck because there's so many people talking about it, but something like the AYN would be interesting to hear more experiences from.

[JUSA]

Honestly, I'll be interested in seeing how this turns out for you. I never really bothered making a thread on my Steam Deck because there's so many people talking about it, but something like the AYN would be interesting to hear more experiences from.

Cool, may be awhile, I'll do that though knowing at least one person shows interest.

[JUSA]

Update,

So I just put my order in for a 512GB Steam Deck. Last month I cancelled my pre-order for the Loki. I did this once Steam upped their production and I figured I'd get the deck first. An assumption that just came to bear fruit. Earlier I thought I'd be lucky to get the Deck in early 2023 and the Loki before, now knowing otherwise.... well, at that point, having one dedicated handheld for emulation (Loki) and another for PC -- just seemed like no point to it. Particularly since the Loki was going to end up costing like $400.

AYN was easy to work with, though and refunded me with no hassle rather quickly.

So, right now I don't have tracking #s yet, hope there is no issue with it's delivery or it isn't one of the rare ones that show up with ****ed up bubbles or chit. Put an Amazon order in for I think a 512GB SD card, that I plan to use for emulation. Not sure if that is going to work, the Deck only has 512GB memory, which isn't going to go that far with modern games.

Any interest on an update once it gets here? A review or anything of that? Or are Steam Decks common enough now that anyone who cares either has one, has a buddy who has one to look at or just has seen enough unboxing or review videos to know if it's for them or not?

[Deathstroke]

Can you play wow on them?

I miss it once in awhile

[JUSA]

Can you play wow on them?

I miss it once in awhile

I would imagine spec-wise it's a breeze, it's a matter of playing WoW without a keyboard.

https://www.dexerto.com/world-of-war...-deck-1886617/

A quick google search, seems like you can and it plays well. Go figure.

[Coal Man]

So wait you can't connect a mouse and keyboard?

But who was Dota 2? Valve pls