DF: Switch 2 vs Steam Deck OLED: Handheld/Docked Gaming, Battery Life, Display Comparison + More

Zuzu

Gold Member


I've only summarised the game performance sections and the battery life section. The video covers more such as a comparison of the displays and the two console's different form factors and controls.

Handheld game performance comparison:

Hogwarts Legacy

- Steam Deck OLED uses the PC version and has improved texture resolution, higher fidelity assets, better baked lighting & enhanced volumetrics. Can also have denser foliage if you bump up settings to medium.
- Switch 2 version is close to PS4 release.
- Switch 2 has better image clarity. It upscales 540p to 1080p using a lighter version of DLSS. The Deck on the other upscales from 480p to 720p using FSR 3.
- Switch 2 struggles with disocclusion breakup and the Deck fails to resolve clean foliage.
- Switch 2 has better performance with a decently stable 30fps with occasional drops. Deck has more frame time spikes.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

- Switch 2 is using the full version of DLSS (not the lighter version) in this game.
- Switch 2 runs the game at 360p internally and upscales to around 720p using DLSS. It compares well with Steam Deck's image quality even though it uses a lower internal resolution.
- Visual settings are better on Steam Deck OLED but Switch 2's image quality is superior due to DLSS and so is probably the better looking version overall.
- It runs at an unlocked frame rate on Switch 2 and without VRR.

Yakuza Zero

- Switch 2 runs at approx 864p while Steam Deck OLED can run it at 720p at max settings.
- Both run at a steady 60fps but Steam Deck can run it at higher fps if you uncap it.

Docked game performance comparison:

Hogwart's Legacy

- Steam Deck OLED can run 1080p in the game when you drop the settings to low but when this is done the Switch 2 output is sharper and clearer. Low settings brings great parity between Switch 2 and Steam Deck settings but it's still not identical.
- Steam Deck frequently drops frames from 30fps target during open world traversal. Switch 2 is smoother with rare dips below 30fps.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

- Steam Deck OLED can't push settings any higher. Switch 2's internal resolution increases to around 720p and sharper output. Switch 2 is delivering a much higher quality image.
- Both machines have similar performance but Switch 2 does pull bit ahead on average.

Yakuza Zero

- Switch 2 now renders it at 1080p natively. It's essentially a draw between the two consoles in this game.
- Switch 2 has some texture enhancements over Steam Deck which applies in both docked and portable mode. It's more obvious in docked mode due to the higher resolution.

Battery Life

- In legacy games, Switch 2 and Deck OLED players will get longer battery life. For example:

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- However, Steam Deck OLED gets over 7hrs of battery life in Persona 4 Golden at roughly the same brightness settings. And the Switch 1 OLED get 6hrs, 7 minutes, 12 seconds at 2.6 Watts which is a fair bit better than Switch 2. Oliver theorises that the backwards compatibility isn't very efficient running on Switch 2.

- Here's an example of Switch 2 battery life in modern title running at max brightness:

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- However Steam Deck OLED can run Hogwarts for nearly 4hrs. Its power draw is around 14 Watts in this game.
- Switch 2 has a much smaller battery than the Deck OLED and consumes a lot less power. Switch 2 efficiency is very impressive demonstrating that the SOC is very finely tuned.

And here's the written article:

Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: testing Valve's OLED model against the new Nintendo hybrid
 
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If you want to play all of the PC games, plus every retro game spanning 30 years. You go Steam Deck

If you want first party Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives... well you know which to pick.
 
Dlss saving s2, raw horse power worse than old steamdeck, also worse battery life and screen
basically, but again it all comes down to what you want to play.

The thousands of PC/retro games or first party S2 software. As of today... it is hardly existent. Will take a few years for Nintendo to build that first party library up.
 
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Hogwarts Legacy comparison is a good example of the strengths & weaknesses of each system. Switch 2 has the cleaner resolve due to the slightly higher resolution and DLSS, while Steam Deck has the higher overall settings such as textures and geometry.

The one thing that surprised me is the battery life on less demanding Switch 1 games. The Switch 2 has a bigger battery and more efficient SoC vs the Switch OLED but the latter has an almost 50% longer battery life. I wonder if Nintendo will improve this in future with tweaks made to the emulation system they are using?
 
And this is compared with the best version of Steam Deck. TBH I think the Deck is better than I expected, how much better in terms of performance is this one compared to the normal one?
 
Not having FSR 4 on the Z2E is really a deal breaker for me.

Basically, its a wait for me till FSR 4 or a version of it exists on a portable.

Also, the Switch 2 could be as powerful as Switch 1.5, and people will still buy it. Nintendo systems are for Nintendo fans. You won't be able to play Switch 2 exclusive games anywhere else, so it doesn't matter really at this point, does it?

It goes the other way around. If you are not a fan of Nintendo games, even if the Switch 2 is more powerful than any handheld PC out there, people still won't buy it.

To me, these PC handhelds are useless. if I am playing at home, I can remotely do it with moonlight and sunshine apps. Zero input lag, too.

Outside I don't hold a handheld to play in public. if I have time, I would play some light games like Brawl Stars on the phone. and IF I am on a small business trip for a couple of days, I would rather play the switch 2 to be honest. just easier to click and play and I would be playing something I don't have on PC at home.

I get it though, these handhelds have their own appeal. continuing playing your PC games on the go, or a couple of short online games like Tekken 8 or SF while waiting outside is also fun too
 
I can stream PS5, Xbox and Geforce Now to my Steam Deck, that'll trump everything Nintendo offers. I won't be able to play a few Nintendo games, sure, but I have literally a few thpusand games to choose from. And as a patient gamer, I couldn't care less about the newest Nintendo exclusive games.
 
Oh I know it, but I think it'll take at least 3+ years for an emulator or a modchip to be ready and even if it'll be sooner, I doubt it'll be as easy to pirate games. And even if it's easy, my backlog can stack up from here to somewhere between the earth and the moon, I have absolutely 0 needs to collect more games or buy the newest games available, even if they're "free".

Also, I have about 20 exclusive nintendo games on my Switch, and I haven't beaten a single one of them yet. For example, I own all Zeldas, couldn't play through any of them apart from BotW, TotK was a big disappointment, every other Zelda is just meh. It's just not my kind of taste anymore I guess.
 
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And this is compared with the best version of Steam Deck. TBH I think the Deck is better than I expected, how much better in terms of performance is this one compared to the normal one?

not much. the faster memory simply means most games that are bandwidth limited run like 10% faster at most, but usually the difference is smaller
 
Switch 2 is a nice piece of hardware (screen aside). It would be a cool upgrade from Steam Deck if it was a PC and not locked down machine limited to playing ported and super expensive games.
 
I'm too lazy to watch or read this. Somebody just tell me if I should be outraged, and on which company's behalf.
 
Switch 2 runs the game at 360p internally and upscales to around 720p using DLSS. It compares well with Steam Deck's image quality even though it uses a lower internal resolution.
This is some good sub-PS2 era resolution :messenger_tears_of_joy: :messenger_tears_of_joy: :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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I was playing Alan Wake 2 last night streamed on GFN with all settings set to max. And it was glorious. I can't do this on switch 2. Oh and I also don't need to spend a stupid amount to play the games.
 
Steam Deck is simply amazing thanks to steamos.
But the device itself is way too heavy and too big imo for a handheld.
But all in all, it's really good
 
Steam Deck is unless to me since most of the games it has I can already play on my PS5.

Switch 2 has exclusives games I have no attention of mission out….so for me the choice pretty obvious.
 
I'm too lazy to watch or read this. Somebody just tell me if I should be outraged, and on which company's behalf.

Portable performance: Slight edge to Switch 2
Docked performance: Switch 2
Game library: Steam Deck
Battery: Steam Deck
Ergonomics: Steam Deck
Display: Steam Deck
OS: Switch 2
Customization: Steam Deck

Seems like a fair analysis to me. Pros and cons for both. To me, bottom line is do you want to play PC or Nintendo games?
 
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Portable performance: Slight edge to Switch 2
Docked performance: Switch 2
Game library: Steam Deck
Battery: Steam Deck
Ergonomics: Steam Deck
Display: Steam Deck
OS: Switch 2
Customization: Steam Deck

Seems like a fair analysis to me. Pros and cons for both. To me, bottom line is do you want to play PC or Nintendo games?
Both Is Good The Road To El Dorado GIF
 
I mean, no matter how the next gen Steam Deck become, Nintendo will still have the first party factor. Is the selling point I sure DF had take into account.

Thats the point.
What does it matter if the countless PC games that switch doesn't have aren't "first party" to PC? The point was that the PC lineup would give switch a good run for its money.

I didn't know the battery life on switch 2 was that bad. Seems very low in comparison to the switch 1 and deck.
 
I didn't know the battery life on switch 2 was that bad. Seems very low in comparison to the switch 1 and deck.
They are testing against the Steam Deck OLED, which has a 25% bigger battery than the LCD model. The Switch 2's battery life is a bit below the OG Switch, but significantly behind the Mariko revision, which the OLED model uses.
 
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