The current steam deck isn’t going to be obsolete just because a newer model comes out. I’m happily playing through the new System Shock right now, and there’s a gazillion things in my steam library that I can install and run any time I like.
At some point there will be a faster, better deck, but this one is going to do me for a while. It is, in that sense, like a gaming PC. The lifetime of it isn’t determined by the manufacturer in the same way, because you can choose when it’s worth paying more for a better experience.
Like a gaming PC the first question you need to ask is “what’s my budget”, and the second “what would I like to be able to play”. When you have those answered, you can decide whether the current sale price offers value for money. There is always going to be more power available for a higher price.
Dont expect to play super graphical AAA titles without compromise, but the Deck is an emulation powerhouse(even some PS3/Switch games work good, dreamcast, ps2, gamecube, wii and older just about flawless), and is so versatile that the $360 64GB model and a $100 1TB SSD upgrade makes it a great deal. Got a console/PC already? Can stream to the deck. Get a dock and it becomes a budget desktop with mouse/keyboard. The amount of money you save from Steam/Fanatical/any storefront you want(or piracy ;)) is great too. Got a Steam Library already? It works on PC and on Deck.
It is a tinkering device for sure though. Linux is a learning curve if you want to do more than just steam games. Kingdom Hearts 3 on Epic Store was an adventure to get working for example. Also still havent gotten my logitech steering wheel to work either. Overall though, absolutely a good deal from over a year i’ve had mine.
The Valve Index was released 4 years ago and there’s no legitimate sign of a successor. I suspect it’ll probably be another 4 years before we see a Steam Deck successor, like other consoles, but no one really knows.
I personally am not that interested in Steamdeck, but if I was, I’d probably wait. Considering the age and the fact that newer games are already not that smooth on it, there is a likehood that a new version is on it’s way. May not come out next year but the current gen definetily won’t have the same lifespan as Nintendo Switch for example.
Because on the most expensive Steam Deck the screen has anti glare. Anti glare screens have somewhat reduced sharpness. That in itself isn’t a problem until you start thinking about a screen protector. Not getting one? Then no issue.
But if you want to protect the screen you start getting in this wierd place with no good choices. A regular screen protector will mess up the anti glare and you get the reduced sharpness on top. And if you get an anti glare screen protector you now have X2 reduced sharpness.
Better going with the mid range Deck, get better inbuilt storage compared to the base version which somewhat matters when you start tweaking the Deck. And now you can buy any screen protector. No headache. On the Deck you can also dedicate disk space into virtual ram which is great. Not so great on my 64gb Deck tho. I would’ve wanted a 256gb one for that reason alone and now I’m on the fence about buying a 1tb ssd and start opening it up. I wouldn’t have bothered if I had a 256gb model.
Very interesting. To be honest, I was thinking of buying the 512 GB one, because I’ve been loving matte screen protectors ever since I found out they sell them.
I would probably skip screen protectors altogether if the display wasn’t touch enabled, but since it is my hands are tied…
What about “faster” vs “fastest” storage though? How much of a difference does it make? Please keep in mind I would not feel incredibly comfortable opening it up, at least not until the warranty is valid (and even then I wouldn’t really trust myself)
I have a ROG Ally as well and it isn’t really “better” than the steam deck, because it uses a LOT more power to get better performance. That is to say, there is no chip out there that’s better for handheld gaming than the one already in the steam deck, so there’s nothing for Valve to upgrade to. I think they will want a custom chip for steam deck 2, but if they’re going custom that means they are looking at ~4+ year lifespans for each generation.
If you’re comfortable opening it up, the base model at $360 is the best deal, and you can add a 512 or 1tb drive.
I’d say it’s one of the best consoles (if you want to call it a console) in relation to emulation. If you have very obviously legal copies of your console games they run incredibly well on the steam deck. Installed yuzu and configured it and got SSBU working 90%, multiplayer (even local) doesn’t work, at least the last time I tried it
Battery isn’t the best so it seems like it’s made more for steam link instead of natively running the game but my internet isn’t good enough so I tend to play on the couch tethered to a charge cable
if you buy it and play games on it, regardless of what happens external to you, you didn’t waste your money. I hesitated for like 3 months to buy mine and I was simply wrong. I’m having a blast with it and I wish I had gotten it sooner.
I just bought the base version, and it should be here next week. I bought a 20 dollar docking station from AliExpress, a 54 dollar 512gb ssd from amazon, and an aftermarket antiglare/screen protector. I am still well under what I would have spent for the highest tier.
Ive been wanting a mobile gaming platform, and i could no longer deny the steamdeck. It beings the steamgames i would like to play from a couch and adds the options for emulators my pi couldnt handle. I also feel like the next gen will have a mich higher price point, as well as more options that would only range higher and higher… So i figured now is as good of a time as any.
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A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
As Lemmy doesn’t have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
[Flair] My post title
The following is a list of suggested flairs:
[Discussion] - General discussion.
[Help] - A request for help or support.
[News] - News about the deck.
[PSA] - Sharing important information.
[Game] - News / info about a game on the deck.
[Update] - An update to a previous post.
[Meta] - Discussion about this community.
Some more Steam Deck specific flairs:
[Boot Screen] - Custom boot screens/videos.
[Selling] - If you are selling your deck.
Had the same doubt a few months ago, pulled the trigger and have been a happy person ever since
The current steam deck isn’t going to be obsolete just because a newer model comes out. I’m happily playing through the new System Shock right now, and there’s a gazillion things in my steam library that I can install and run any time I like.
At some point there will be a faster, better deck, but this one is going to do me for a while. It is, in that sense, like a gaming PC. The lifetime of it isn’t determined by the manufacturer in the same way, because you can choose when it’s worth paying more for a better experience.
Like a gaming PC the first question you need to ask is “what’s my budget”, and the second “what would I like to be able to play”. When you have those answered, you can decide whether the current sale price offers value for money. There is always going to be more power available for a higher price.
Dont expect to play super graphical AAA titles without compromise, but the Deck is an emulation powerhouse(even some PS3/Switch games work good, dreamcast, ps2, gamecube, wii and older just about flawless), and is so versatile that the $360 64GB model and a $100 1TB SSD upgrade makes it a great deal. Got a console/PC already? Can stream to the deck. Get a dock and it becomes a budget desktop with mouse/keyboard. The amount of money you save from Steam/Fanatical/any storefront you want(or piracy ;)) is great too. Got a Steam Library already? It works on PC and on Deck.
It is a tinkering device for sure though. Linux is a learning curve if you want to do more than just steam games. Kingdom Hearts 3 on Epic Store was an adventure to get working for example. Also still havent gotten my logitech steering wheel to work either. Overall though, absolutely a good deal from over a year i’ve had mine.
The Valve Index was released 4 years ago and there’s no legitimate sign of a successor. I suspect it’ll probably be another 4 years before we see a Steam Deck successor, like other consoles, but no one really knows.
I personally am not that interested in Steamdeck, but if I was, I’d probably wait. Considering the age and the fact that newer games are already not that smooth on it, there is a likehood that a new version is on it’s way. May not come out next year but the current gen definetily won’t have the same lifespan as Nintendo Switch for example.
Go for it. It’s incredible. Get the middle one. Anti glare doesn’t make sense built in. Get a screen protector for that.
Why it doesn’t make sense ? I hesitate to buy one too.
Because on the most expensive Steam Deck the screen has anti glare. Anti glare screens have somewhat reduced sharpness. That in itself isn’t a problem until you start thinking about a screen protector. Not getting one? Then no issue.
But if you want to protect the screen you start getting in this wierd place with no good choices. A regular screen protector will mess up the anti glare and you get the reduced sharpness on top. And if you get an anti glare screen protector you now have X2 reduced sharpness.
Better going with the mid range Deck, get better inbuilt storage compared to the base version which somewhat matters when you start tweaking the Deck. And now you can buy any screen protector. No headache. On the Deck you can also dedicate disk space into virtual ram which is great. Not so great on my 64gb Deck tho. I would’ve wanted a 256gb one for that reason alone and now I’m on the fence about buying a 1tb ssd and start opening it up. I wouldn’t have bothered if I had a 256gb model.
Very interesting. To be honest, I was thinking of buying the 512 GB one, because I’ve been loving matte screen protectors ever since I found out they sell them. I would probably skip screen protectors altogether if the display wasn’t touch enabled, but since it is my hands are tied…
What about “faster” vs “fastest” storage though? How much of a difference does it make? Please keep in mind I would not feel incredibly comfortable opening it up, at least not until the warranty is valid (and even then I wouldn’t really trust myself)
I’ve only seen and read tests. Speeds are barely noticable, if at all, from what I’ve been able to understand.
256 internal with a 512 micro sd should be enough foe most of us.
Thank you for those explanation, I ordered the 256go.
Totally worth it IMO.
I have a ROG Ally as well and it isn’t really “better” than the steam deck, because it uses a LOT more power to get better performance. That is to say, there is no chip out there that’s better for handheld gaming than the one already in the steam deck, so there’s nothing for Valve to upgrade to. I think they will want a custom chip for steam deck 2, but if they’re going custom that means they are looking at ~4+ year lifespans for each generation.
If you’re comfortable opening it up, the base model at $360 is the best deal, and you can add a 512 or 1tb drive.
I’d say it’s one of the best consoles (if you want to call it a console) in relation to emulation. If you have very obviously legal copies of your console games they run incredibly well on the steam deck. Installed yuzu and configured it and got SSBU working 90%, multiplayer (even local) doesn’t work, at least the last time I tried it
Battery isn’t the best so it seems like it’s made more for steam link instead of natively running the game but my internet isn’t good enough so I tend to play on the couch tethered to a charge cable
if you buy it and play games on it, regardless of what happens external to you, you didn’t waste your money. I hesitated for like 3 months to buy mine and I was simply wrong. I’m having a blast with it and I wish I had gotten it sooner.
I just bought the base version, and it should be here next week. I bought a 20 dollar docking station from AliExpress, a 54 dollar 512gb ssd from amazon, and an aftermarket antiglare/screen protector. I am still well under what I would have spent for the highest tier.
Ive been wanting a mobile gaming platform, and i could no longer deny the steamdeck. It beings the steamgames i would like to play from a couch and adds the options for emulators my pi couldnt handle. I also feel like the next gen will have a mich higher price point, as well as more options that would only range higher and higher… So i figured now is as good of a time as any.
This isn’t like an iPhone that has yearly updates. It’s more like a console, which is updating every 3 - 5 years. Better to buy early than late
If you can buy one then do it. I’m in the UK and I’ve been trying to get one for months.
I’m sure they pop up from time to time but I can’t spend every waking moment refreshing the page to grab one.
Fingers crossed one pops up soon though.