Same here. Although I do have an old MacBook Pro that I dual boot with Windows 10 and I have a work laptop running Windows, the former can’t play games and the latter is an enterprise laptop that I can’t/won’t install games on, the Steam Deck is the first device I’ve had in a couple decades that can play games intended for a Windows environment. It’s nice to have because it opens up what I can play.
Depending on what you’re playing I find the Deck can last quite a while even at 60fps. 2D indie games go for a long time. But if you’re playing something more graphically intensive I find that 45fps is a nice alternative that provides smooth motion and extends battery power. You need to reduce the refresh rate to 45 and then the fps will automatically switch to match. It’s a nice, sort of hidden feature.
The refresh settings are awesome for extending battery life.
It is rewarding sometimes when you find some magical settings configuration in-game that extends the battery life without impacting your enjoyment. When I started playing Pumpkin Jack, it was draining my battery in less than two hours, which seemed ridiculous. I went in and turned down the draw distance and the internal resolution to a lower level. I couldn’t really perceive the difference on the handheld screen, but it tripled the battery life while playing.
It is incredible to have the potential to play a huge selection of PC / Steam / Windows games pretty much anywhere. I know you can achieve this with a laptop, and things may occasionally need a bit of a tweak, but the Steamdeck solution is just so neat!
That’s mainly what I do, search for my specific issue and look at the results. You’ll have more success with some games than others. For example I’m trying to solve a problem with shaders for WitchWay an indie game that @tylerisrandom actually recommended independent of Steam Deck, but no luck. Which is understandable, it’s a small indie game on itch.io. I’ve been trying to see if more popular games have the same issue, but not much luck so far. Eventually I’ll find it but it takes a bit of searching.
I find this passage from the article that you linked to above interesting:
And as petty as this may sound, I also wanted to take the Nintendo Switch down a peg. While Nintendo’s smash-hit handheld arguably has the strongest first-party lineup of the Big Three console manufacturers (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft), the Switch’s unimpressive specs left me disappointed. Yes, it was more powerful than the PS Vita, but for a 2017 handheld, it could have been much more. To that end, I wanted (and want) Steam Deck to serve as a warning to Nintendo. If it doesn’t start releasing technologically competent handhelds, it’s going to lose that particular battlefield to Valve.
Only just a little over two weeks ago in an earlier post I remarked that the Steam Deck made me appreciate my Switch more. Rather than replacing, or outdoing the Switch, it revealed all the ways the Switch shines in ways other than raw power. And I believe that’s why Nintendo will never feel the heat of competition from something like the Steam Deck, there is simply too much other value the Switch provides, enabling it to stretch it’s life well beyond the power of its CPU/GPU.
….completely agree. I took that passage in the article with a very large pinch of salt!
I don’t actually own a Switch (although have always been tempted). Nintendo has never been about raw power or highest pixel count etc. They’ve always focused on amazing gameplay, which I get 100%. I’m guessing the Switch must be up there as one of the best selling consoles of all time.
I think my Steam Deck has benefited from the fact that I work remotely now. Before the pandemic, I was taking the train into work twice a day, and the Switch was definitely the largest console I could comfortably fit in my messenger bag (and even that was pushing it… it was always a chore bringing out or putting away the Switch without bumping my elbows into other passengers).
The biggest thing that brings me back to the Switch today (aside from exclusives) is the ease of multiplayer. I know I can get a display adapter and sync multiple controllers to the Steam Deck, but my Switch came with a dock and two controllers built in. It’s just way more painless.
It finally closed a few years before the pandemic hit due to not enough interest can you believe it!!! I reckon if it managed to hang on through the pandemic then it’d be a small fortune now. There seems to be more and more interest and value placed on classic old material now.
Originally, I planned to but after weighing the specs against what I’m currently using, I don’t know if it’s worth picking up.
On another fun note, Steam Decks can now be ordered direct without the purchaser being placed on a wait list so if anyone still wants one and doesn’t yet have one, now is your moment.
I just ordered mine yesterday! I came over here to post about it, and here you are. The $90 price tag was a little much, but it’s not a lot worse than a nice Anker dock. This JSAUX one doesn’t seem to bad as a half priced alternative.
I think I’m in the rare position that the Steam Deck dock is a downgrade from my ThunderBolt dock and so it’s better to stick with the device that has greater interoperability with my MacBook Pro, work Dell and Steam Deck. But if I didn’t own this dock the Steam Deck dock would be a tempting purchase. I am a little disappointed that lacks PD compliant USB-C ports other than the single USB-C Steam Deck connector.
So I’m having the damndest time getting my Steam Deck Dock to work with my LG OLED (2017 is when I bought it). I’ve read some forum threads about going into desktop mode, and switching it to mirrored mode, and then getting it into a resolution that the TV will understand, but I’ve had no luck. I’ve had more luck with my Anker USB-C 7 in 1 thing than I’m having with this. If anyone has any ideas or better places for me to look into what to do, I’m all ears!