Steam Deck Page 5

  • Gregolution 16 Jul 2021 11:10:54 11,084 posts
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    I think I'll probably get one. I was considering a surface pro to play some indie games, but this is a lot better. No illusions tho - usability will be pants compared to the Switch. Too heavy and uncomfortable looking with a poor battery life. It will be more of a way to play a game down in the living room on my sofa while plugged in than a truly portable device.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:15:05 10,703 posts
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    Zerobob wrote:
    Wayne wrote:
    Decks wrote:
    What would be the point of paying an extra £200 for the 512GB model when you can get a 512GB SD card for £30?
    NVMe is considerably faster than an SD Card, kid.
    I knew this would be the case, but no coverage of the Steam Deck has clarified this so far.
    It literally says on the SD page: 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe SSD (faster), or 512GB NVMe SSD (fastest)
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:16:53 10,703 posts
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    SolidSCB wrote:
    As a non-pc gamer I'm very interested by it.

    Only trouble is that I think it would act as a gateway PC for me. First thing I chucked at it that it couldn't handle and I'd be pricing myself up a sweet RIG.
    Hmm, possibly that would be some 3-4 years later and they're out with a suitably better Steam Deck. Not that there's anything wrong with a RIG.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:18:02 10,703 posts
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    Gregolution wrote:
    I think I'll probably get one. I was considering a surface pro to play some indie games, but this is a lot better. No illusions tho - usability will be pants compared to the Switch. Too heavy and uncomfortable looking with a poor battery life. It will be more of a way to play a game down in the living room on my sofa while plugged in than a truly portable device.
    You might conceivably put graphics options and res down to improve battery life - and get that Switch-like experience visually to boot.

    Edited by dominalien at 11:18:09 16-07-2021
  • Fake_Blood 16 Jul 2021 11:18:54 11,093 posts
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    I keep telling myself that I'm going to play all those Steam games I'be bought but never bothered actually playing on this.
  • Technoishmatt 16 Jul 2021 11:19:22 5,365 posts
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    Getting this for game streaming seems pointless. Wouldn't any old phone or tablet manage that? Both would have a much better screen. You can get those controllers for either side too.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:19:48 10,703 posts
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    nickthegun wrote:
    Phattso wrote:
    Or even - if they're smart - use the SDCard as cold storage and then buffer them onto the NVMe to play.

    That would probably involve them supporting it long enough for a firmware revision.
    I know you're just trying to be funny, but they support pretty much everything they've put out. The Steam Link is getting regular sw updates, despite being discontinued.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:20:51 10,703 posts
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    Fake_Blood wrote:
    I keep telling myself that I'm going to play all those Steam games I'be bought but never bothered actually playing on this.
    You won't. There's not enough life for that.
  • PierrePressure 16 Jul 2021 11:25:13 1,478 posts
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    We were going to purchase a gaming laptop for our eldest this Christmas but this has put a slight spanner in the works.
  • Fake_Blood 16 Jul 2021 11:25:30 11,093 posts
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    dominalien wrote:
    Fake_Blood wrote:
    I keep telling myself that I'm going to play all those Steam games I'be bought but never bothered actually playing on this.
    You won't. There's not enough life for that.
    I’m going to install them, play with the settings until I get 60fps and then continue not playing them.
  • MrWorf 16 Jul 2021 11:27:14 64,187 posts
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    I need this, ehat time does the preorder open up?
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:28:58 10,703 posts
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    Fake_Blood wrote:
    dominalien wrote:
    Fake_Blood wrote:
    I keep telling myself that I'm going to play all those Steam games I'be bought but never bothered actually playing on this.
    You won't. There's not enough life for that.
    I’m going to install them, play with the settings until I get 60fps and then continue not playing them.
    That's what I do on PC... Oh.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:29:26 10,703 posts
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    MrWorf wrote:
    I need this, ehat time does the preorder open up?
    6 pm UK time, 7 pm CET, depends on what time zone you're in.
  • MrWorf 16 Jul 2021 11:32:45 64,187 posts
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    Cheers dom, I wasn't convinced at first but finding out that I can hook it up to a telly was the clincher. Gaming laptops are double the price, more capable yes, but this is a very convienient piece of tech.

    Part of me still wants to wait for v2, and some reviews but there's no harm in preordering.
  • StixxUK 16 Jul 2021 11:32:56 8,755 posts
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    dominalien wrote:
    @StixxUK Well, it's a machine from Valve, they won't want to emphasize any competition to Steam too much.
    Sure but they have their own in-home and remote solutions don't they? This seems like a bet on cloud gaming and streaming not being up to scratch for a few more years.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:34:45 10,703 posts
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    MrWorf wrote:
    Cheers dom, I wasn't convinced at first but finding out that I can hook it up to a telly was the clincher. Gaming laptops are double the price, more capable yes, but this is a very convienient piece of tech.

    Part of me still wants to wait for v2, and some reviews but there's no harm in preordering.
    Hmmm, remember, this is tuned to the 1280x800 screen, connecting this to a TV may give you less than stellar results. I don't think it'll increase in power if docked like the Switch does, or at least I haven't seen any mention of it yet.
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 11:36:52 10,703 posts
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    StixxUK wrote:
    dominalien wrote:
    @StixxUK Well, it's a machine from Valve, they won't want to emphasize any competition to Steam too much.
    Sure but they have their own in-home and remote solutions don't they? This seems like a bet on cloud gaming and streaming not being up to scratch for a few more years.
    As far as I can tell Stadia and PSNow and xCloud are very useable right now? I think Valve is simply concentrating on their own offerings to make them seamless and easy to use - all the rest they'll probably just leave as they are. Which, admittedly, would be go to desktop->fire up browser->go to website->play.
  • beastmaster 16 Jul 2021 11:59:38 22,373 posts
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    Not checked specs yet. If I could connect an Xbox controller, and power it having it going to a 4K TV then I might be in. Use it like a docked switch. Does it support HDR or is that asking too much?
  • Technoishmatt 16 Jul 2021 12:02:09 5,365 posts
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    Having watched the IGN hands on, this is quite compelling.

    I'm still not really all that convinced about wanting to mess about with PC games and settings, tho.

    I hope MS is looking at this with great interest. I know they are doing the streaming thing, but what about a Series M (for mobile), with a lower res target than the Series S. Maybe in a couple years!
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 12:18:17 10,703 posts
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    beastmaster wrote:
    Not checked specs yet. If I could connect an Xbox controller, and power it having it going to a 4K TV then I might be in.
    It can do 4K but at not any performance you'll want to see.

    Does it support HDR or is that asking too much?
    LOL
  • monkman76 16 Jul 2021 12:22:21 18,987 posts
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    So there *was* a Switch Pro, it just wasn't made by Nintendo.
  • chopsen 16 Jul 2021 12:29:42 21,958 posts
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    I first saw this on reddit where everybody as falling over each other to praise it, then came here and people are just shrugging their shoulders.

    Just think it's a solution looking for a problem really. I know some people are buying those handheld gaming PCs so I guess someone likes this sort of thing, but it's just playing slightly shitter versions of games in an uncomfortable form factor.

    I've often looked at these things and gone: "ooh,that's interesting" and then realised that I'm paying 100s of pounds for something that I'll probably mostly not bother with. Opportunity cost and all that.
  • DodgyPast 16 Jul 2021 12:34:27 9,353 posts
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    @dominalien No problems with HDR.

    I run the same OS this is based on and it's fine when plugged into my HDR TV. ( it's Arch btw )

    The GPU is definitely going to struggle at 4k though.

    Edited by DodgyPast at 12:35:56 16-07-2021
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 12:37:13 10,703 posts
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    @DodgyPast Oh really? Cool.
  • OnlyJoeKing 16 Jul 2021 12:40:27 1,293 posts
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    Interested to try plugging it into the telly downstairs and streaming from the gaming PC upstairs... with a wired connection, would it be good enough to, like, use a mouse? I've already got one of those keyboard lapstation things to use on the sofa...
  • dominalien 16 Jul 2021 12:41:10 10,703 posts
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    As for resolution, 1080p is fine on a 4K TV, but this will probably struggle with that, too.
  • mrpon 16 Jul 2021 12:43:43 37,366 posts
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    MrWorf wrote:
    Part of me still wants to wait for v2
  • DodgyPast 16 Jul 2021 12:43:48 9,353 posts
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    @OnlyJoeKing nVidia shield would be a cheaper solution for that if that's all you want.
  • Tomo 16 Jul 2021 12:57:11 19,565 posts
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    I used an Nvidia Shield for a good while and it's definitely the best streaming device from an ease of use perspective. BUT, there were still little annoyances like not discovering my PC over the homeplug network on occasion, not always seamlessly being able to launch non-Steam games, a small but discernible input lag (enough to irritate when playing games like Dirt Rally where time is of the essence) and other little quirks which I was fine with, but my gf couldn't be arsed to deal with.

    In the end I sold it and built a SFF PC which sits under my telly... -_-

    So, I think the Steam Deck is a really nice option as it avoids networking faff. Can't beat plugging in an HDMI cable to something and away you go.
  • monkman76 16 Jul 2021 12:57:20 18,987 posts
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    DF's take:

    https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2021-valve-steam-deck-spec-analysis
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