PC Valve drops a Tim Epic-approved steamer!

[Nokra]

7 hours ago, Zaku3 said:

 

I think I got mine in 3 days vis Fedex. Remember if it doesn't satisfy you gaming laptops are cheaper then you'd think. 3050 class card should handle 1080 high on every game basically.

 

I think (hope) my expectations are set to a reasonable level for the Steam Deck, and I've got a 3070 Ti in my desktop, so I'm probably going to be pretty set for gaming hardware. But it's a good thought, thank you. I'm really just wanting something on which I can play PC games during the occasional flight and when I would rather sit on my couch than at my desk. If my car goes belly up in the next year or two I may start commuting by train to work so that would be another opportunity. 

 

On that note though, it is crazy how much cheaper gaming laptops have gotten in the last few months. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

I don't see Steam Deck and a Gaming Laptop as similar things.  IMHO, they are for very different use cases.

I throw my Steam Deck in my carryon baggage, and use it all of the time on planes/trains and waiting areas while travelling for work.  I have used it in hotel rooms, while lying in a ICU bed, and sitting in a chair in my living room.  I find it way more convenient than a gaming laptop for those use cases -- and I can't see myself wanting to cart around two laptops in my carry-on baggage.

[TheLeon]

I was out on a walk this morning, and I saw a UPS truck go by. I thought “hey, I guess I should check my tracking info”. 
 

OUT FOR DELIVERY! It was on that truck! Setting it up now! 

[Keyser_Soze]

They ship UPS now instead of Fedex? Interesting!

[Nokra]

Yeah mine came via UPS also. Initial updates took forever but I'm finally downloading Desk Job now too.  

[Zaku3]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:00 AM, AbsolutSurgen said:

I don't see Steam Deck and a Gaming Laptop as similar things.  IMHO, they are for very different use cases.

I throw my Steam Deck in my carryon baggage, and use it all of the time on planes/trains and waiting areas while travelling for work.  I have used it in hotel rooms, while lying in a ICU bed, and sitting in a chair in my living room.  I find it way more convenient than a gaming laptop for those use cases -- and I can't see myself wanting to cart around two laptops in my carry-on baggage.

 

They aren't similar per say but a 13in 2 in 1 is pretty space compact. I want to get the 2023 model for Zen4 and Ada plus a bigger battery. 

 

I legit play Paradox games laying down in my bed or recliner for example. If space is tight I go tent mode and use a controller. There are advantages but 13in is a good balance between size and I'm sure a 4060 model would be epic. Problem is gonna be finding one but I think the battery upgrade alone makes it a no brainer. 

 

I bring it up more that after 4 handheld PCs I love them but rather have a 2 in 1 laptop for bigger battery, better performance, better screens, etc. I think a Asus OLED Flow x13 would be glorious. I'd be interested as well in like a 14in model but I love the Dell XPS 13 so a gaming version of that plus tablet for reading I want is an amazing device. 

 

I'd still buy a Zen 4 Aya Neo or something. Though I guess might be wiser to see what RDNA4/Zen5 APU since it's not a priority.

 

TLDR A flow x13 gaming laptop replaces the 17in Alienwares I used to buy and I find it preferable to a handheld PC. Handheld PCs are based and I'd consider buy another in the future but more of a nice to have thing for me. I have owned a Steam Deck, 2021 (?) Neo, Neo Next, and a OXP Mini. The Steam Deck is my favorite in terms of design but I'd rather use windows. The others had nicer screens. A dGPU equipted Next II might be up my alley more though.

[AbsolutSurgen]

I am not criticizing gaming laptops.  I am merely saying they have a different usecase than Steam Decks.

There is some overlap, but since this is the Steam Deck thread, you'll probably find that many of the posters here have found that the Steam Deck fits a niche for them, that they don't feel a gaming laptop does.

[Zaku3]

@stepee Can back me up on this. I sent crazy amounts of money to determine this. I share it because 2 in 1 laptops are relatively newer then thin and light gaming laptops. 

 

Also to support your point. I was high last night and saw news about an unrealized Darkwing Duck remaster or 16bit sequel and I want to play it and more Megaman. Think I broke my OXP Mini by ignoring it or I gotta wait for the battery to completely drain before turning it on again.

 

What is even the point of capitalism when it won't make the cool stuff I want to buy.

[stepee]

1 hour ago, Zaku3 said:

@stepee Can back me up on this. I sent crazy amounts of money to determine this. I share it because 2 in 1 laptops are relatively newer then thin and light gaming laptops. 

 

Also to support your point. I was high last night and saw news about an unrealized Darkwing Duck remaster or 16bit sequel and I want to play it and more Megaman. Think I broke my OXP Mini by ignoring it or I gotta wait for the battery to completely drain before turning it on again.

 

What is even the point of capitalism when it won't make the cool stuff I want to buy.

 

To me it’s all about how you hold the device to play it. I went the opposite of you I think and tried gaming laptops and never ended up using them for gaming because I just didn’t want to game on that form factor. Newer smaller ones may work better for me like a 14” but the main point is I just want to hold the entire unit in my hands. Holding the screen up to that eye level. And having my controls all there. Heck, pc needs a gamepad as good as the steam deck itself to begin with.

 

Im very curious about using the nreal glasses with the steam deck for a larger oled screen and if that worked out I could see using those with a gamepad and laptop may be more viable for me but nreal air has been out for a few years now and Id like to buy a new model at this point preferably one with 6dof.

[Zaku3]

Wait are those the like glasses monitor things I saw on youtube sometimes.

 

I'm not saying I'd Affirm it for the lulz but maybe.

 

@stepee

[Keyser_Soze]

4 minutes ago, stepee said:

 I just want to hold the entire unit in my hands.

 

[stepee]

Just now, Zaku3 said:

Wait are those the like glasses monitor things I saw on youtube sometimes.

 

I'm not saying I'd Affirm it for the lulz but maybe.

 

@stepee

 

They aren’t even expensive just $379 last I checked on Amazon. I might get them just to see what it’s like because I’m super excited for AR but it’s taking foreverrrr and I know @Rev uses them with steam deck regularly. But I know what I’d really like is 6dof and to place the screen in a way that I look down for it still and keep it there for watching tv while playing.

[Nokra]

@TheLeon what do you think so far? 

 

I'm personally loving it! It's taking me a little bit to get used to playing PC games with a "controller" but it's a truly impressive piece of tech, IMO. Playing PC games on the toilet feels like living the dream.   

[TheLeon]

1 hour ago, Nokra said:

@TheLeon what do you think so far? 

 

I'm personally loving it! It's taking me a little bit to get used to playing PC games with a "controller" but it's a truly impressive piece of tech, IMO. Playing PC games on the toilet feels like living the dream.   

I'm disappointed in myself. I should have known this wouldn't work for me, but I let myself get caught up in the oddly sustained hype around this thing. The short version is: my neck and wrists are bad. There's really only one way I can comfortably game for more than a few minutes: controller in lap, looking at a screen straight ahead. I don't know why I thought a fancy piece of tech would make any difference there. I have a dock coming, I'll see how hooking it up to a TV works, but then, what's the point? I guess in a house-sitting scenario, for example, it would be an easy way to play my Steam library on their TV. But did I need to spend $500+ on a device I'll use a couple times a year at most? I already have a Switch I barely use, I could just bring that instead. 

 

I'm going to give it a few more days, but I'm probably going to end up returning it and put that money towards upgrading my desktop. I'll get more use out of that. 

[imthesoldier]

14 hours ago, Nokra said:

@TheLeon what do you think so far? 

 

I'm personally loving it! It's taking me a little bit to get used to playing PC games with a "controller" but it's a truly impressive piece of tech, IMO. Playing PC games on the toilet feels like living the dream.   

 

Whether you use the trackpad as a mouse input, or enable the gyro controls, I find it makes playing shooters quite easy, though I am well versed in using a gamepad for shooters. My personal preference for say Doom Eternal is gyro controls with the trackpad turned off (and inverted up/down of course because this is the way). Yes, I do use aim assist, but given I'm playing for my enjoyment, I'm okay playing with assists on.

 

I did play most of terminator: resistance on my Deck (awesome game btw), and with the trackpad as the mouse input, and overall it was fine, but took some getting used to. I think Analog Stick + Gyro is the way to go, but again personal preference.

 

And yes playing the Deck while dropping a deuce is a great feeling. Done that with my Switch a few times in the past as well.

[Nokra]

9 hours ago, TheLeon said:

I'm disappointed in myself. I should have known this wouldn't work for me, but I let myself get caught up in the oddly sustained hype around this thing. The short version is: my neck and wrists are bad. There's really only one way I can comfortably game for more than a few minutes: controller in lap, looking at a screen straight ahead. I don't know why I thought a fancy piece of tech would make any difference there. I have a dock coming, I'll see how hooking it up to a TV works, but then, what's the point? I guess in a house-sitting scenario, for example, it would be an easy way to play my Steam library on their TV. But did I need to spend $500+ on a device I'll use a couple times a year at most? I already have a Switch I barely use, I could just bring that instead. 

 

I'm going to give it a few more days, but I'm probably going to end up returning it and put that money towards upgrading my desktop. I'll get more use out of that. 

 

Sorry that you're having those neck and wrist issues, that sucks ass.  And yeah it sounds like maybe the Steam Deck isn't really ideal for you without a dock but, as you said, it's at least more portable than just a desktop. 

[AbsolutSurgen]

13 hours ago, TheLeon said:

I'm disappointed in myself. I should have known this wouldn't work for me, but I let myself get caught up in the oddly sustained hype around this thing. The short version is: my neck and wrists are bad. There's really only one way I can comfortably game for more than a few minutes: controller in lap, looking at a screen straight ahead. I don't know why I thought a fancy piece of tech would make any difference there. I have a dock coming, I'll see how hooking it up to a TV works, but then, what's the point? I guess in a house-sitting scenario, for example, it would be an easy way to play my Steam library on their TV. But did I need to spend $500+ on a device I'll use a couple times a year at most? I already have a Switch I barely use, I could just bring that instead. 

 

I'm going to give it a few more days, but I'm probably going to end up returning it and put that money towards upgrading my desktop. I'll get more use out of that. 

If you have the option to return it, I probably would.  If it's uncomfortable to hold, it's probably not right for you.

[Xbob42]

13 hours ago, TheLeon said:

I'm disappointed in myself. I should have known this wouldn't work for me, but I let myself get caught up in the oddly sustained hype around this thing. The short version is: my neck and wrists are bad. There's really only one way I can comfortably game for more than a few minutes: controller in lap, looking at a screen straight ahead. I don't know why I thought a fancy piece of tech would make any difference there. I have a dock coming, I'll see how hooking it up to a TV works, but then, what's the point? I guess in a house-sitting scenario, for example, it would be an easy way to play my Steam library on their TV. But did I need to spend $500+ on a device I'll use a couple times a year at most? I already have a Switch I barely use, I could just bring that instead. 

 

I'm going to give it a few more days, but I'm probably going to end up returning it and put that money towards upgrading my desktop. I'll get more use out of that. 

Bro I got you covered 100%

 

Amazon.com

WWW.AMAZON.COM

 

[legend]

13 hours ago, TheLeon said:

I'm disappointed in myself. I should have known this wouldn't work for me, but I let myself get caught up in the oddly sustained hype around this thing. The short version is: my neck and wrists are bad. There's really only one way I can comfortably game for more than a few minutes: controller in lap, looking at a screen straight ahead. I don't know why I thought a fancy piece of tech would make any difference there. I have a dock coming, I'll see how hooking it up to a TV works, but then, what's the point? I guess in a house-sitting scenario, for example, it would be an easy way to play my Steam library on their TV. But did I need to spend $500+ on a device I'll use a couple times a year at most? I already have a Switch I barely use, I could just bring that instead. 

 

I'm going to give it a few more days, but I'm probably going to end up returning it and put that money towards upgrading my desktop. I'll get more use out of that. 

 

 

I realize you probably don't want to spend a bunch more money, but @Rev swears by these: 

Amazon.com

A.CO

 

 

There's also a newer version coming out:

Rokid Max AR Glasses | 50° super wide FOV with a 215" MAX screen

GLOBAL.ROKID.COM

---

Enjoy cinema-grade entertainment at home, on the road, or wherever you like, with Rokid Max's massive 215″ 120 Hz borderless screen and Sony-certified sound — all packed into a 75g body. Battle your enemies on the big screen wherever you are, with lasting comfort. Rokid Max glasses work with almost any console.

 

 

 

The battery life on the steam deck is actually better when using these glasses as the monitor because it turns the main screen off, and it basically gives you a big screen where ever you look while you can hold the controller in your lap.

 

[Xbob42]

...I see we had two wildly different but superficially similar ideas!

[TheLeon]

Appreciate the eyewear suggestions (Those AR glasses are the kind of thing I might be interested in eventually), but I think I just have to accept that I have no real use for a Deck. Which I'm sure I've said multiple times in this very thread!  Luckily, it looks like Valve has a 14 day return policy on their hardware, so I'll probably end up taking advantage of that next week. 

 

At least it wasn't all for nothing. I got that fun story of seeing the UPS truck go by! 

[best3444]

3 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

At least it wasn't all for nothing. I got that fun story of seeing the UPS truck go by! 

 

Exactly! That was a nice lil high you got there. 

[stepee]

11 minutes ago, TheLeon said:

Appreciate the eyewear suggestions (Those AR glasses are the kind of thing I might be interested in eventually), but I think I just have to accept that I have no real use for a Deck. Which I'm sure I've said multiple times in this very thread!  Luckily, it looks like Valve has a 14 day return policy on their hardware, so I'll probably end up taking advantage of that next week. 

 

At least it wasn't all for nothing. I got that fun story of seeing the UPS truck go by! 

 

lol that’s good you can return it and hey now you at least know what it’s like. I definitely think if anything a gaming laptop would be more your speed but it also sounds like something you might not use enough to justify the cost either.

 

1 hour ago, legend said:

 

 

I realize you probably don't want to spend a bunch more money, but @Rev swears by these: 

Amazon.com

A.CO

 

 

There's also a newer version coming out:

Rokid Max AR Glasses | 50° super wide FOV with a 215" MAX screen

GLOBAL.ROKID.COM

---

Enjoy cinema-grade entertainment at home, on the road, or wherever you like, with Rokid Max's massive 215″ 120 Hz borderless screen and Sony-certified sound — all packed into a 75g body. Battle your enemies on the big screen wherever you are, with lasting comfort. Rokid Max glasses...

 

 

 

The battery life on the steam deck is actually better when using these glasses as the monitor because it turns the main screen off, and it basically gives you a big screen where ever you look while you can hold the controller in your lap.

 

 

I’m seriously considering the Rokid Max even if these are super early beta still. I wish it had 6dof even if the apps aren’t there just to be able to play the screen so it’s not right in front of me but I don’t see any good competitors that aren’t 3dof.

[legend]

1 hour ago, stepee said:

I’m seriously considering the Rokid Max even if these are super early beta still. I wish it had 6dof even if the apps aren’t there just to be able to play the screen so it’s not right in front of me but I don’t see any good competitors that aren’t 3dof.

 

They're very tempting, but I probably have few uses for them ATM. I may eventually succumb to temptation though!

[Nokra]

The Steam Deck has already gotten me to play more games besides my near-daily-go-to of TF2.  In fact, I've been in kind of a rut lately where I've really gotten out of gaming besides TF2, and now with the Deck I've been putting several hours into South Park: The Stick of Truth after it sat in my backlog for years and years. I've really been enjoying the experience. I loved South Park way back when (though I'm way behind; I think I quit watching regularly in season 16 and they're on 25  ). The Steam Deck of course handles it like a champ, and it plays exceptionally well on the Deck's controls. 

 

I also bought Pentiment  (thanks for bringing it to my attention again, @CastlevaniaNut18) and figure that might be my next game once I beat Stick of Truth this weekend. Though I do also want to try something more graphically intense on the Steam Deck, so maybe Red Dead Redemption 2 will be a gap-filler. Lastly, I also finally got started on Hollow Knight for the first time and after an hour or so I'm really loving the atmosphere.

 

Man I love this thing; it's awesome to play PC games on the go or on the couch.

[Keyser_Soze]

Dolphin coming to steam so you don't have to jump through any hoops to get it on your deck

 

Dolphin Emulator - Coming Soon: Dolphin on Steam!

DOLPHIN-EMU.ORG

---

We are pleased to announce our great experiment - Dolphin is coming to Steam! Our store page is now live, and you can visit it with the handy widget below. However, due to how Steam works, you won't be able to download the emulator through Steam just yet. Feel free to wishlist us to be notified when Dolphin is available to download on Steam!

 

[imthesoldier]

17 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Dolphin coming to steam so you don't have to jump through any hoops to get it on your deck

 

Dolphin Emulator - Coming Soon: Dolphin on Steam!

DOLPHIN-EMU.ORG

---

We are pleased to announce our great experiment - Dolphin is coming to Steam! Our store page is now live, and you can visit it with the handy widget below. However, due to how Steam works, you won't be able to download the emulator through Steam just yet. Feel free to wishlist us to be notified when Dolphin is available to download on Steam!

 

 

Between this, and currently Retroarch, there's probably not much else we'll need for our emulating needs. 

[TwinIon]

I know these steamdeck alternatives haven't been very well received, but this new one from ASUS might have a slightly better chance at being worthwhile given its custom AMD chip.

 

 

I'd love it if competition at least made Valve ship decent Windows drivers for those of us that are interested in a good Windows option.

[stepee]

I’d be interested in that potentially if it was an oled hdr display but it is not  

[AbsolutSurgen]

 

[stepee]

At this point unless it breaks Moonlight when nvidia retires shadowplay (sunshine should keep this working theoretically as it’s the same thing but open) the main thing I want is a 7” or 8” 120hz hdr oled display and the guts connected to it don’t really matter as long as it can do whatever codecs etc for that to work well. I’d like this device to also be a steam deck for a few reasons but while I wait for that I probably will buy the first one of these that gives me those screen specs. 

[legend]

While there are obvious advantages to the Windows handhelds, I'm kind of hoping they all fail and that Steam Deck is a wild success to further encourage Linux gaming support. If I could remove Windows from my life, that's a win, and gaming is the only reason I use it.

[Zaku3]

39 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

I know these steamdeck alternatives haven't been very well received, but this new one from ASUS might have a slightly better chance at being worthwhile given its custom AMD chip.

 

 

I'd love it if competition at least made Valve ship decent Windows drivers for those of us that are interested in a good Windows option.

 

You shouldn't listen to the haters. Most of the complaints I see for these devices are SteamOS is better. Which is true but it's not a big deal in practice. I didn't need to fight with SteamOS to get emulators running when I first got mine. The other issue is price and while I am wearing a hammer and sickle icon. I do understand the concept of cash money so I'm interested to see how much they charge. Like if it's an off the shelf product and doesn't need special drivers and it just works with existing AMD driver releases then fuck it. That's literally the main disadvantage of the steam deck in Windows. Remember that AMD driver with improved OpenGL performance. The Deck didn't get that change in Windows until I think the most recent driver update or like a late 2022 driver release. Not ideal.

[stepee]

Just now, legend said:

While there are obvious advantages to the Windows handhelds, I'm kind of hoping they all fail and that Steam Deck is a wild success to further encourage Linux gaming support. If I could remove Windows from my life, that's a win, and gaming is the only reason I use it.

 

It certainly convinced me! I really like SteamOS and that’s why for a pc handheld Id like it to remain that. Even when using it for primarily remote pc now it’s so much nicer having all the easy Steam gamepad config options through the SteamOS layer and downloading templates and such. And then the shared shader cache and such too. It’s reliable and i trust it and it feels like a dream to hold, so that also helps. But yeah I don’t even want windows on deck anymore, just the gamepass app to come to Steam or something.

[Brian]

Rumor: Asus device will launch in October with 2 models and 2 colors. 
 

$649 - 512GB

$899 - 1TB

Colors - White and Black

 

Asus is reportedly working closely with Microsoft on this to make sure Game Pass and Windows work well. 
 

Also thrown into the Reddit post is that Sony is working on a handheld. handhelds are back baby!