bender
What time is it?
Heroic Games Launcher has mostly been a miserable experience. It takes ages just to load the UI often freezes. Maybe because my libraries are so large. And like you mentioned, it's a compatibility minefield.
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Heroic Games Launcher has mostly been a miserable experience. It takes ages just to load the UI often freezes. Maybe because my libraries are so large. And like you mentioned, it's a compatibility minefield.
Mercador
Member
Ok I'll grab a 400gb one next time I go shopping.
Minsc
Gold Member
Battle.net was ridiculously easy to setup and use, but I've moved past Diablo 4 since then. Still, it took no time at all, and really wasn't any more difficult than setting it up on a new PC. Just have to jump to desktop mode quick initially, but it all worked perfectly in the Deck itself afterwards, including updates.
Sleepwalker
Member
Heroic just sucks in general, my library is small and its fucked up anyway.
bender
What time is it?
There is a new version out. It took 3+ minutes to read my library but once it did load, it seemed to behave better than the previous version.
Topher
Identifies as young
Just installed the latest version on my new linux build and so far it works really well. Running Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark now.
Haint
Member
Bunch of fanboys idolizing anything Valve makes. I'm not going to say the Windows portables are perfect as you're ultimately using full fat unmodified windows on a 7" or 8" touchscreen, but they function exactly as you'd expect and install and run pretty much everything. I mean I've got over 1000 games on Steam and bought an Index, Steam controller, and Deck all at launch so I'm furthest thing from a "hater" you can get, but the Deck is an inherently flawed product for anyone looking for a "Portable Gaming PC". It's good for running a select subset of your Steam library, and nothing more. It's real accomplishment was revealing a market for such devices and making them reasonably affordable, succeeding where the $1500 Chinese bullshit like Aya et al failed.
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Topher
Identifies as young
I'm not seeing anyone saying Steam Deck is "perfect" so why don't we just forgo the "fanboy" characterizations altogether? Both Steam Deck and Windows handhelds have positives and negatives. Higher compatibility is definitely in the Windows column. Windows does perform exactly as you expect and that is a good thing and a bad thing. Frankly, the interface sucks as a handheld. Thank God for Armoury Crate as I'd have returned my Rog Ally day one. So inherent flaws are there regardless and folks have to overlook them no matter which way they go.
Minsc
Gold Member
I think you have a pretty different POV than I do of it. See - I see it as a Linux machine, and Linux to me (someone who used Windows 100% of the time basically their whole life - with the bit of Classic/OS X here and there) isn't something I ever could take seriously as a gaming machine.
Clearly even with Steam OS you don't think that has changed - BUT for me - and from what I have thrown at the Steam Deck, it's really changed my perspective on Linux and gaming. Proton - which I didn't really understand before, is pretty damn amazing, and actually really neat for preserving games - as you can easily just run games with other version of Proton, something MS tried with Windows, but it just never quite worked as surely IMO.
But yeah, from running Diablo 4 no problem, to getting actual prime time commercials of running FFVII Remake, to running really old games (like I threw a few 20 year old fun games and it loads them up no issues!) to all sorts of games in between - I'd say I personally have nearly a 100% track record with the device. It's actually amazing - but I'm viewing it as something that was inherently going to have issues and it has way, way less than I expected (basically none). And the UI is so much better than Windows for a handheld. I guess it's similar enough once you hit BPM in Steam, but it's still got that slick built in TDP / overlay with a great UI that runs on an OS that is evolving at a pace that makes Windows look like watching grass growing.
Plus those trackpads - I love them! And the 4 back buttons. The Go did something pretty neat with the mouse, but you need a table for that, and the track pads are always right there on the device. So yeah, the Deck is kinda like an underdog in my eyes, and one that can be very charming if you aren't expecting the world from it.
There's no way I'd pass on getting the ultimate upgrade for such a device - an OLED screen is end-game stuff IMO. No better upgrade for a handheld than that.
yet_another_alt
Member
I just find it hugely exaggerated how Windows sucks as a UI. Frankly, even Mac fans are more bearable than Valve fans in that regard. It's just Windows. If you install Steam on it, it even has Big Picture like the Deck. And honestly desktop Big Picture is better than the Deck's default big picture which is too zoomed in. Seriously, launch the Deck in desktop mode and run Big Picture through that, you see so much more.
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bender
What time is it?
fanboi
Topher
Identifies as young
I'm not talking about Windows UI in general. Just for handhelds. For desktops, it is fine.
Don't get this "Valve fans" take on Windows UI. Where is that coming from? I get Mac fans don't like it, but 97% of Valve gamers use Windows.
yet_another_alt
Member
Windows as a handheld UI. There's quite a few posts online complaining about Windows being hard to navigate which is laughable for precisely the reason you said, most Steam users use Windows already. But somehow sticking it on a handheld makes it hard to use.
Topher
Identifies as young
Not "somehow". Windows is hard to navigate on a handheld because the interface isn't built for a 7" screen and touch. I mean......that is a staple criticism of Windows handhelds from just about every reviewer I've seen so this isn't some obscure minority opinion of the thing. This is the reason Armoury Crate and Lenovo Space exists on handhelds.
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Haint
Member
99% of people interested in a Steamdeck device aren't looking for a Linux machine, nor are they trying to learn or explore Linux. They want a "Portable PC" that will play the stuff they already own on their gaming PC.
MatrixReloaded101
Member
The limited edition looks nice but it has that anti glare screen which takes away from the OLED a bit so I might stick with the 512 GB model.
bender
What time is it?
I don't even like desktop mode in Linux on the Deck. I can't imagine Windows is easy to use. Then again, people seem to like the track pads.
Topher
Identifies as young
I don't even like desktop mode in Linux on the Deck. I can't imagine Windows is easy to use. Then again, people seem to like the track pads.
yeah, desktop mode on SD is just as bad. Personally, I didn't like the track pads at all so I was glad Rog Ally didn't have them. I'm probably in the minority there, but a <1 inch trackpad didn't work for me.
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yet_another_alt
Member
The only reason it's hard to navigate using touch is because the landscape presentation combined with the "controllers" making the devices even longer wreck any sort of weight distribution. The Steam Deck itself used installed with Windows and using the touchpad (meaning both hands and not just one is holding the device) makes it as simple to navigate as any other PC. I imagine that the Go with it's touchpad would be similar. No idea about the Ally.
Ok, well this is obviously why we'll never agree. I love those touchpads. I regularly play Rimworld on my Deck.
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Topher
Identifies as young
Come on man. No way those tiny Steam Deck touch pads are equivalent to a standard mouse for navigation. I get we disagree on those touch pads, but let's keep some perspective here.
yet_another_alt
Member
It really is just a matter of adjusting to it. I thought the desktop mode on the Deck was absolute shit at first but that's because aside from clicking shortcuts I had no idea how to use Linux. Now that I know where to go and how much thumb movement is needed to get there it's just like navigating any other OS. It used to amaze me how people where able to navigate laptops using a touchpad too when I thought I couldn't live without a mouse but now I regularly use my work laptop without one.
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Minsc
Gold Member
The trackpads and Steam's built in ability to load / save / and remap/customize controls in a huge variety of methods is pretty much unrivaled - it's not just putting some shortcuts differently on the buttons, the degree to which you can control how the device works in the game almost feels like you're re-coding the game at times - and if that's too intimidating you just download one of the many deck profiles already made for that game. Definitely a big draw of the device, and one that allows it to reach a bit further for me than a traditional handheld with only buttons and analog sticks and no crazy button remapping.
I think many want a console-like Switch experience but with some PC elements and access to Steam - which has many benefits (doubly so for someone who already had a Steam library). And I think a very large number of Deck's userbase wants an all-day battery life, low TDP handheld that runs the few games they're looking to play. Certainly, you won't get 10-12 hour runtimes on Ally or Go.
I think many want a console-like Switch experience but with some PC elements and access to Steam - which has many benefits (doubly so for someone who already had a Steam library). And I think a very large number of Deck's userbase wants an all-day battery life, low TDP handheld that runs the few games they're looking to play. Certainly, you won't get 10-12 hour runtimes on Ally or Go.
Klosshufvud
Member
Sometimes I feel like I live in Bizarro World. My 8' handheld uses W11 and I find the interface a million times more intuitive than SteamOS did. The moment I wanted to play a game outside of Steam, it was a miserable experience. Now on my Windows handheld, I just put every .exe on the desktop. I don't even bother with launchers. I just press on the game I want to play directly after it boots to desktop. How is that not as easy as can be? I can for the life of me just not get what people find so much more cumbersome than Deck Desktop mode which is a true nightmare experience for someone not used to Linux. Almost all PC handhelds also come with mouse modes/shortcut buttons that make the experience smoother.
Silver Wattle
Gold Member
I might be a bit late to the party, but I just found out the ROG ally RAM is only dual channel vs quad channel on the steam deck, and since the Ally and OLED use the same memory the SD OLED has exactly double the memory bandwidth of the Ally.
Lucifers Beard
Member
1. Saves are tied to your Xbox account so cloud games should work seamlessly in that way.
2. Yes, Steam cloud saves work across devices, hence the term cloud saves. A few games don't support them though.
3. The 512gb will be the best one to get in my opinion. If you want anti-glare, buy an anti-glare screen protector which is what I did with my 64gb model and it's the same thing basically with added screen protection.
4. I don't have one but I don't see the point if you have a PC at home. Although there may be more uses for it.
5. EmuDeck if you want to play older games. I'd also recommend maybe a grip for the deck and potentially thumb stick grips if you don't like the sticks as they are. Also get an SD card, well worth having another 512gb in there just purely for games.
MidGenRefresh
*Refreshes biennially
I don't think it is. I have the official one but I used it twice to play Mass Effect 1 on a big screen. If you have a PC, don't even bother. Maybe if you plan to do a lot of stuff in Linux with emulation etc. and want to have a convenient way to plug it to monitor or maybe if you plan to use it as a secondary PC somewhere. Maybe...
Darko
Member
True… might go with the 512 and upgrade to 2tb + 1tb microsd instead.
Edit: might work out cheaper that way
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Lumpyoatmeal
Member
Why nobody said you can play Team Fortress 2 on this thing? I literally just found this out. What is wrong with you people?
Darko
Member
You can play team fortress 2 on this thing.
balls of snow
Gold Member
My local supplier says they are getting some sweet sweet steam oled mid december if they can get some preorders tonight. Guess who is upgrading.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Windows as a handheld UI is terrible. You have to squint even if you bump up icon sizes and text size. And you have to click small buttons in the taskbar quite often.
That needs to be done either through touchscreen or on ROG Ally can use right stuck as a mouse which is very imprecise.
Once you get into Steam, it’s fine as you can turn on BPM, but outside of that the whole experience sucks. And I do have both Ally and Steam Deck.
Also, from Steam Library compatibility perspective if we are talking SP games or say co-OP games without super strong anti-cheat, things mostly work fine on Steam Deck.
I only have a handful of games that I couldn’t run out of 1000+ title library. Might need to tweak Proton version at most, including loading up that experimental branch which is very easy to do.
3rd party like GoG, EA or Ubi kind of sucks. Doable but a lot of hassle. Battle.net surprisingly is pretty easy though.
NeonDelta
Member
Just dropped my Xbox one S off at CEX. Hopefully it passes the testing phase so should be good to go tonight, may still use PayPal credit instead of credit card to stop me relying on the credit card app authentication
U n i o n 0015
Member
This is the 16th right?
We've finally reached it, brother.
I have a meeting from 12-1 EST and I am praying to jeebus that my customer doesn't make it run over...
Heimdall_Xtreme
Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
And IGN to give Steam Deck Oled a rating of 6 and Playstation portal a 9 
hououinkyouma00
Member
Is that because it’s more intuitive or because you are used to windows?
I find Windows to be a massive POS compared to MacOS and part of the reason I use Mac/iOS.
I would love to never have to touch Windows ever again so the more of a bite Steam can take out of it the better.
Topher
Identifies as young
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Zheph
Member
apples and oranges mate but it did hurt some people it seemsHuh?
Topher
Identifies as young
Yeah, I don't know why Portal is even brought up here. What about it hurt people again? I must have missed this controversy.
graywolf323
Member
for me the official dock ended up being a disappointment, while it can get updates from the Deck directly unlike any other dock it doesn’t seem like Valve is actually supporting it very well
I‘ve had it go several times where it just stops outputting video and even with troubleshooting with Valve nothing would fix it until it just randomly started working again
instead I just find myself using a case that has a stand and sitting my Deck on top of a spare Dell WD19 dock I have from an old job which works much better (they let me keep everything except the laptop itself when I was laid off)
Heimdall also just has an irrational intense dislike of PlayStation under Jim Ryan
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CuteFaceJay
Member
Lucifers Beard
Member
A decision you won't regret. Good choice.
graywolf323
Member
completely different use cases though, for streaming your PS5 the Portal is likely going to be better hands down, in the video below it seems to outperform the ROG Ally using Chiaki