PC Valve drops a Tim Epic-approved steamer!

[Hurricane Game]

Valve’s gaming handheld is called the Steam Deck and it’s shipping in December

WWW.THEVERGE.COM

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Play your Steam library on the go with the Steam Deck.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

There's the Switch Pro!

[Zaku3]

My desire to get a handheld pc lead me to buy the Aya Neo and a OneGX. Still buying this as soon as it's up.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

[Zaku3]

Wait can we install windows on this?

[eggydoo]

2 minutes ago, Zaku3 said:

Wait can we install windows on this?

Specs says comes with SteamOS but I don't see why not

[Keyser_Soze]

Steam Deck :: Tech Specs

WWW.STEAMDECK.COM

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Steam Deck is a powerful handheld gaming PC that delivers the Steam games and features you love.

 

 

 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Zaku3 said:

Wait can we install windows on this?

 

6 minutes ago, eggydoo said:

Specs says comes with SteamOS but I don't see why not

They explicitly say in the video that it is a PC and you can install whatever you want on it  

[AbsolutSurgen]

8 RDNA2 CUs -- so less than half of a Xbox SeS?

[stepee]

Looks like you just put $5 down to reserve it. I think I’ll do that, it comes out in December so plenty of time for impressions. Hopefully I can get the reserve in even but maybe it won’t be so bad since it’s kinda niche and not out until the end of the year.

[Firewithin]

that button layout doesnt seem great.  wonder what the battery life is

[Firewithin]

45 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

There's the Switch Pro!

 

[AbsolutSurgen]

Things to consider:

1)  It will only run games from your Steam Library

2)  Games need to run well on Proton enabled Linux

3)  It is not that powerful -- so you're probably going to mostly want to play indies

4)  It doesn't support Wi-Fi 6

2 minutes ago, Firewithin said:

that button layout doesnt seem great.  wonder what the battery life is

They claim 8 hours.

[stepee]

The button placement is a little off but maybe it makes sense when using it, but besides that I’m not seeing any real problems with this, seems like they checked the boxes well (720p is the sweet spot for still looking sharp on the handheld screen and getting the performance needed).

 

The main thing I want to know besides more real performance and battery tests with games more modern than Portal 2 is if you can add a nvme later to the base model? If that’s the case I’d just get the base and add a 1tb nvme later, I have a 400gb microsd waiting for it already.

[Keyser_Soze]

20 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Things to consider:

1)  It will only run games from your Steam Library

2)  Games need to run well on Proton enabled Linux

3)  It is not that powerful -- so you're probably going to mostly want to play indies

4)  It doesn't support Wi-Fi 6

They claim 8 hours.

 

1) I don't think that's true. In fact they mention you can install EGS on it if you’re a masochist 

3) You're only playing in 720p so they'll be running well enough (That guy playing control in the video)

 

5) You'll probably want to get the 2nd or 3rd model since those have NVME.

[Ghost_MH]

3 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Things to consider:

1)  It will only run games from your Steam Library

2)  Games need to run well on Proton enabled Linux

3)  It is not that powerful -- so you're probably going to mostly want to play indies

4)  It doesn't support Wi-Fi 6

They claim 8 hours.

 

They should have just gone with an Android fork and set this up as a pure streaming device with WiFi6. They probably could have saved some battery life going ARM, too.

 

My bigger concern here is the button layout. Valve really likes their touchpads, but those face buttons look wildly close to the edge device. I swear, that B actually looks like it's going over the edge.

[stepee]

4 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Things to consider:

1)  It will only run games from your Steam Library

2)  Games need to run well on Proton enabled Linux

3)  It is not that powerful -- so you're probably going to mostly want to play indies

4)  It doesn't support Wi-Fi 6

They claim 8 hours.

 

Mostly playing indies is selling this wayyyy short. This should run modern games at 720p/30 just fine. 
 

Im assuming you can install Windows.

 

They say 4 hours for portal at 60, so I assume more demanding games will be the usual 2-3 hours.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 minute ago, stepee said:

Im assuming you can install Windows.

 

It says that in the video you an put whatever OS you want on there.

 

People should really watch the video!

[Brian]

Not a fan of the button layout but otherwise it looks good. I wonder how games like CK3 will play on it. I rather spend $400 on this than the $350 OLED. Where do I preorder?

[TwinIon]

Impressed that they fit a full on x86 Zen 2 APU in there. I'll be very interested in how well it runs games at that relatively low resolution.

 

The trackpads are interesting, though I'm dubious as to how much I'd actually want to play any game that relied on them.

 

I'm guessing the resolution was partially a hedge against needing more power and partially a way to increase battery life, but for a premium handheld I'm not excited by the screen at all.

 

As someone that hardly ever uses their switch in handheld mode, this is not a product I'm interested in buying, but there's clearly a big market for people that want to play on the go. Valve doesn't have the best track record for selling their custom PCs or hardware, but I think this has more potential than most.

[Zaku3]

29 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

Impressed that they fit a full on x86 Zen 2 APU in there. I'll be very interested in how well it runs games at that relatively low resolution.

 

The trackpads are interesting, though I'm dubious as to how much I'd actually want to play any game that relied on them.

 

I'm guessing the resolution was partially a hedge against needing more power and partially a way to increase battery life, but for a premium handheld I'm not excited by the screen at all.

 

As someone that hardly ever uses their switch in handheld mode, this is not a product I'm interested in buying, but there's clearly a big market for people that want to play on the go. Valve doesn't have the best track record for selling their custom PCs or hardware, but I think this has more potential than most.

 

GPD, Aya, and Onenotebook in tears.

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

8 RDNA2 CUs -- so less than half of a Xbox SeS?

800p display, so that part of it at least makes sense.

 

I still can’t trust it to run current gen games well a few years out.  Or even now without some tweaking.  Devs aren’t going to design (or port) to its specs either.

 

On the plus side, the price point means Nintendo finally has competition in the space again.  Not just in hardware prices, but game prices too.  You could save a shit ton of money buying Steam keys of indies instead of Switch ones.

[Zaku3]

16 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

800p display, so that part of it at least makes sense.

 

I still can’t trust it to run current gen games well a few years out.  Or even now without some tweaking.  Devs aren’t going to design (or port) to its specs either.

 

On the plus side, the price point means Nintendo finally has competition in the space again.  Not just in hardware prices, but game prices too.  You could save a shit ton of money buying Steam keys of indies instead of Switch ones.

 

First the super wide 1440p upgrade drive. Now the 800p upgrade drive. 

 

God i almost want to cancel my Aya Neo and OneGX. I wonder what Valve's plans are for the future.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

7 minutes ago, Zaku3 said:

I wonder what Valve's plans are for the future.

 

I bet Valve is wondering the same thing.

[stepee]

29 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

800p display, so that part of it at least makes sense.

 

I still can’t trust it to run current gen games well a few years out.  Or even now without some tweaking.  Devs aren’t going to design (or port) to its specs either.

 

On the plus side, the price point means Nintendo finally has competition in the space again.  Not just in hardware prices, but game prices too.  You could save a shit ton of money buying Steam keys of indies instead of Switch ones.

 

I think it’ll be fine with everything currently out, even win3 seems to be and this should be even better. You’ll have to lower settings of course, but consoles don’t use max pc settings either. 
 

What excites me though is that we even have a portable at the very start of the generation that should be able to play the current gen games. Being able to really have a handheld pc to be able to play the same games on handheld and on tv this gen will likely be a thing. That’s cool.

[Brian]

What sold me is that I can plug this into a USB-C setup and it becomes a small PC. This is exactly what I was looking for to bring to work. I can easily swap the USB-C at work and play a bit during lunch without having to break out another laptop. 
 

There was a rumor that games will have a separate version for the Steam handheld that will be smaller in size. I did not see that confirmed. 
 

@stepee what version you getting? I think I will aim for the $529. I am afraid the 64GB version will be too small. 

[legend]

This is a very tempting effort!

[stepee]

18 minutes ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

What sold me is that I can plug this into a USB-C setup and it becomes a small PC. This is exactly what I was looking for to bring to work. I can easily swap the USB-C at work and play a bit during lunch without having to break out another laptop. 
 

There was a rumor that games will have a separate version for the Steam handheld that will be smaller in size. I did not see that confirmed. 
 

@stepee what version you getting? I think I will aim for the $529. I am afraid the 64GB version will be too small. 

 

Probably $529 as well. The 64gb will be too small especially if you want to put windows on it, and also of course much slower. 

 

I need to read more after work to see if you can add a nvme after the fact, if you can, then I will just get the $400, I can make it a 1tb for $500 total then.

 

 

[stepee]

I hope everyone is complaining about the button placement though and they can just remove that right side touchpad. Or move the analog where that touchpad is, put the buttons on top of that, then put a small stupid pad to the right of the buttons if they need to.

[Xbob42]

Button placement does seem a bit odd, would need to feel it in my hands to know for sure, though. Traditionally I have not been a huge fan of any button too close to the edge. Would rather put the touchpad on the edge.

[imthesoldier]

10 minutes ago, stepee said:

I hope everyone is complaining about the button placement though and they can just remove that right side touchpad. Or move the analog where that touchpad is, put the buttons on top of that, then put a small stupid pad to the right of the buttons if they need to.

 

I was directly comparing the Switch to the Deck, and I personally think the Deck will be more ergonomic compared to the Switch. I need the Satisfye Grip for my Switch to make it comfortable in handheld mode for extended periods.

 

I think while unconventional, that layout may not look as uncomfortable as it appears.

 

 

And power wise, on paper it's 2TFLOPs if you account for the entire APU, but it's AMD's Zen 2 with RDNA 2, AND it uses LPDDR5 Ram. I would wager at 800p, with Ray-Tracing, it's probably between a Series S, and PS5 in a broad sense. And according to their spec sheets, APU uses up to 15w of power? Holy crap, dude.

[Zaku3]

11 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Button placement does seem a bit odd, would need to feel it in my hands to know for sure, though. Traditionally I have not been a huge fan of any button too close to the edge. Would rather put the touchpad on the edge.

 

I am thinking of using the buttons on the back to avoid using the face buttons. Have to try it of course.

 

I lust for a future Zen 3 based model.

[stepee]

27 minutes ago, imthesoldier said:

 

I was directly comparing the Switch to the Deck, and I personally think the Deck will be more ergonomic compared to the Switch. I need the Satisfye Grip for my Switch to make it comfortable in handheld mode for extended periods.

 

I think while unconventional, that layout may not look as uncomfortable as it appears.

 

 

And power wise, on paper it's 2TFLOPs if you account for the entire APU, but it's AMD's Zen 2 with RDNA 2, AND it uses LPDDR5 Ram. I would wager at 800p, with Ray-Tracing, it's probably between a Series S, and PS5 in a broad sense. And according to their spec sheets, APU uses up to 15w of power? Holy crap, dude.

 

Ayyyy yeah the internals are sweet and price is right, this could be a real deal here. I’ll have to see button placement when I feel it I guess, it doesn’t look right to me, I play on the switch lite now and never had any issues with comfort on it myself.

[GameDadGrant]

I’ll keep an eye on this. 

[Zaku3]

2 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said:

I’ll keep an eye on this. 

 

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