Steam Deck

[STICKER TWONK]

Did a search, can't find a specific topic on this, many threads where it's mentioned though.

So who has one? I've had a Switch OLED for a while, but found myself running out of decent games to play, so decided on either a Steam Deck or ROG Ally. In the end, went for a 2nd hand Steam Deck 512gb LCD which I've had for a few weeks and find it a fantastic thing. I already had a decent Steam library though, which helped, playing through GTA5 again, never played Portal 2 but picked it up for 85p and was hooked to completion, just picked up Days Gone which plays fine as well.

Downsides, battery life! Switch would last a good 4 hours even on new games like Fifa 24, but the Deck on NFS Heat will last an hour. Not all games work, like Fifa, unless you install Windows and who can be arsed flicking between operating systems to play games.

For me, with 4 kids and little time, being able to pick up a handheld console means I'm not battling for the tele. Kids watching The Polar Express for the 52nd time, wife watching Eastenders, waiting for kids outside dance rehearsals, all times I have a quick gaming sesh rather than scrolling through social media on the phone. Once the kids are in bed and the wifes fell asleep on the sofa, dock it on the tele with a Xbox Controller, works great for my needs.

Anyone else have one?

 

[Wilkeh]

Been weighing one up these past few weeks. How it's play on the TV, as good as the switch etc? I have about 250 steam games so plenty to go at

 

[STICKER TWONK]

Yes just the same as the Switch, except you have to buy a dock. I have a generic cheap dock, plug in and plays on tele just like a Switch, only difference is Switch has more power when docked, Steam Deck is the same (IE you get full power on battery).

Been tweaking settings over the weekend, turning down refresh and FPS, together with power and NFS Heat will now last nearly 2 hours with no drop on performance.

Managed to get EPIC working for Rocket League which I play with my 11 year old (him on his Switch, me on the Steam Deck).

 

[Ray Gin]

I’ve been looking at the Ally for weeks now and I’m really put off by the battery life. I saw a switch v Ally review and the Ally’s battery died after 1h20min. Although this was on Ultra settings etc. Thought the steam deck would have been better battery wise! There’s a lot of people saying there’s going to be issues with SD cards being damaged on the Ally too as they put the heat sink fans right next to the card slot.

 

[STICKER TWONK]

Battery life is never going to be great on any of these, especially if you're playing AAA games, 1h20min seems fair on Ultra Settings, about what I get on Days Gone. I have a 65w battery pack off Amazon that can fully recharge it while playing still. If you're playing older games, it'll last hours, for example I've just played through Portal 2 and battery drain was very low, 4-5 hours at a guess? GTA 5 is also low drain, 3 hours ish.