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[Derktron]

I'm very excited about the device and I was even able to get a preorder on it even though I had trouble, but there are so many questions about the device I'm sure many still have questions but one of my biggest problems is the storage in all the three devices, I know you can add an SD Card to get more games installed but the problem is how would this work when games on PC aren't meant to run games unless I'm wrong and you can but I never had heard of that. So my biggest problem is why didn't Valve make it accessible to change out the internal memory? Making it easier to change it out? -- Does anyone think this would be a problem?

 

[spons]

I'll install a bunch of games on internal storage, all the emulator crap goes on the MicroSD.
I don't think it's going to be a big problem, just a minor annoyance to (re)install games sometimes.

I should say I have uncapped fast internet though, so downloading from Steam is not an issue, unlike for some others.

 

[Derktron]

I'll install a bunch of games on internal storage, all the emulator crap goes on the MicroSD.
I don't think it's going to be a big problem, just a minor annoyance to (re)install games sometimes.

Well yeah but what about the 64GB edition device, how would that work when installing games on SD Card?

 

[spons]

Well yeah but what about the 64GB edition device, how would that work when installing games on SD Card?

I assume the operating system sees it as an external drive. You can install anything you want on it, just like the internal storage. The only problem would be speed of the MicroSD cards.

 

[AndrewRyan]

Gabe and the lead developer both said you can install an m.2 drive after purchase (though they don't recommend). It's not a standard m.2 connector but the 2230 type. A 1Tb drive is around $230. We have to wait on the details but it looks promising.

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

the price is the dinosaur in the room

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

the price is the dinosaur in the room

Nah it's priced really well

 

[reksveks]

Gabe and the lead developer both said you can install an m.2 drive after purchase (though they don't recommend). It's not a standard m.2 connector but the 2230 type. A 1Tb drive is around $230. We have to wait on the details but it looks promising.

I wonder if it void warranty in which case, it isnt something that I would do at least not in the early days of the device.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

the price is the dinosaur in the room

I disagree, it's not cheap but it's also not ripoff tier. Price is fine.

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

Nah it's priced really well

well i must be poor then

 

[UnNamed]

Too much elephants in this room lately.

 

[AndrewRyan]

At first it seemed like they were really marking up the price for the larger drives but these smaller 2230 m2. drives are more expensive than the more common ones we use in full sized PCs. For example, amazon has the 512gb drive for $200 + $15 shipping.

I think the storage strategy will be to use SD cards as library storage, then move the games you're actively playing onto the m2 drive.

 

[jufonuk]

What's the difference between this and the Nvidia shield and the GPWIN? cant all three do the same thing essentially ? run a version of steam?

 

[Birdo]

As soon as Nintendo see some Youtuber playing BOTW on this thing, it's over. Valve are going straight to Nintendo Jail.

 

[Guilty_AI]

well i must be poor then

be happy, cause this will probably cost twice as much in my country

 

[jufonuk]

As soon as Nintendo see some Youtuber playing BOTW on this thing, it's over. Valve are going straight to Nintendo Jail.

its ok Genshin impact and Imortals exist

 

[ReBurn]

What's Linux support on Steam like these days? if you keep the stock OS then moving games between an SD card and the SSD should be relatively simple. It's the folks who load Windows on this and have to deal with how Windows manages software installations that would likely be the most frustrated.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

If I was getting one, I'd go 256 or 512. No way I'd get only 64.

The file sizes should be modest as they are 720/800p games, but wouldnt risk only 64. After the OS, saved games, patches, OS updates every so often etc.... that 64 SSD will probably be chopped 10 or 20 gb alone. You'll probably have 40-50 gb left tops. Who knows how many 800p games you can install with that.

 

[Beelzebubs]

Micro SD cards have a decently fast read speeds. Something like 200-350mb/s for current cards which is still a hell of a lot faster than a mechanical HDD and just below normal SSD's.

What I'm saying is it shouldn't be an issue as all games will run fine with that storage solution. Maybe a slightly longer load time but there's no PC game that actually requires an SSD to run.

 

[Guilty_AI]

As soon as Nintendo see some Youtuber playing BOTW on this thing, it's over. Valve are going straight to Nintendo Jail.

Nintendo can't really do anything about it. Its a PC and emulators are 100% legal.
The best they'd be able to do is try to pry if the youtuber is using an original copy of the game.

What's Linux support on Steam like these days? if you keep the stock OS then moving games between an SD card and the SSD should be relatively simple. It's the folks who load Windows on this and have to deal with how Windows manages software installations that would likely be the most frustrated.

Linux support its pretty good these days. For steam is as easy as enabling some options on the settings, and maybe putting in some launch commandlines.
That said, its always good to check if the games you want are currently compatible with proton or have native versions:

https://www.protondb.com/

 

[Mr Branding]

The more games you hold, the less you play.

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

be happy, cause this will probably cost twice as much in my country

if u need me to help u get a green card just shoot a pm

 

[reinking]

The more games you hold, the less you play.

I believe there is some truth to that. At least in my case.

 

[tr1p1ex]

reality is the Saturn in the room no?

we're at the stage where everything works the way you want it to.

 

[Fredrik]

The internet told me SD cards can load games quite well.

But I went with the biggest model to be safe, same size on the NVMe as I have on the PC, it works.

 

[tr1p1ex]

The more games you hold, the less you play.

yep exactly. it's a paradox. Less is more....playtime.

 

[BennyBlanco]

there's no PC game that actually requires an SSD to run.

Cyberpunk recommends one. I think that is the direction we’re heading once new gen only games start dropping on PC.

But really I doubt many people who care about modern games don’t have an SSD already. Not like they’re wildly expensive anymore.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

You need to blindly trust in Proton not shitting the bed all the time in a couple months yet the elephant in the room to you is the storage? OK.

I think you might be able to replace the SSD yourself with a bit of tinkering.

 

[SkylineRKR]

I'd go 512 and I wonder if I won't hold out. In fact, I don't mind the 512gb storage of the Series S right now. I beat some of the biggest games, and uninstalled them. Only kept the Gears 5 MP. For the rest I have games like Yakuza, Dishonored remastered, Ori, R-Type etc on it. I have like 20 games right now. Over half of them I don't even boot up.

On handheld I typically have even less games installed at the same time. Its not like you'll play everything, let alone replay a game you keep but beat already.

 

[Nikodemos]

The internet told me SD cards can load games quite well.

But I went with the biggest model to be safe, same size on the NVMe as I have on the PC, it works.

It varies greatly depending on the card's speed class. Some UHS-II U3 class cards can reach up to 300 MB/s. Problem is, they're extremely expensive. A 128 GB Lexar 1800x (270 MB/s read) is nearly $200.

Worth noting, however, that, according to the specs, the Deck only supports UHS-I (which IIRC is capped to just a bit over 100 MB/s).

 

[Unk Adams]

I'm not too concerned about storage. Even the smallest storage option should be sufficient enough for me to play the games I love on the go.

 

[KiteGr]

For me, only the 500gb exist. The rest are a future regret waiting to happen. Then I'll add a TB or 2 of micro SD and add all emulators and roms in existence there.

I wonder if I'll be able to boot Batocera from the SD card...

 

[Spukc]

the price is the dinosaur in the room

Nah price is pretty damn sharp

 

[Xellos]

I'd like to see Valve work with developers to get custom installs for some of the larger PC games. Cut out the High/Ultra textures (not needed on a 800p, 1.0-1.6 TF device), compress the audio; work to get the install space down on some of the 50-100+ GB games.

 

[Dream-Knife]

I'll use the SD card for what I can run on it, and most stuff will be transferred to the m.2.

The only big issue I see is that same as the PS5. If that memory is soldered to the motherboard it will never be able to be replaced, and memory dies.

Edit: apparently it is not soldered in the Deck.

 

[MadViking]

The internet told me SD cards can load games quite well.

And this was three years ago with UHS-1 card that was around 60MB/s. Now you can get 160MB/s UHS-3 card and it won't be very expensive.

 

[Derktron]

the price is the dinosaur in the room

I think it's priced really well, even I myself got one that is how good it is. Did you want it at $40 or something lol sounds like you can't afford it and that is the case.....Ohh well lol

 

[Tommi84]

The file sizes should be modest as they are 720/800p games,

The display resolution doesn't determine the size of the game. Not sure where you got this idea. If these are not Desk-specific version (and I doubt they are), you are looking at exactly the same game size as on regular pc/laptop

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Gabe and the lead developer both said you can install an m.2 drive after purchase (though they don't recommend). It's not a standard m.2 connector but the 2230 type. A 1Tb drive is around $230. We have to wait on the details but it looks promising.

Why wouldn't they recommend this? That doesn't sound good.

 

[SecretAgentHam]

Why wouldn't they recommend this? That doesn't sound good.

From what I understand, the port is going to exist on the motherboard for every unit but they aren't advocating for people to disassemble the units to install their own internal storage. All of this speculation is based on a GabeN email that is circulating. Hope that clears things up a bit.

 

[Derktron]

You need to blindly trust in Proton not shitting the bed all the time in a couple months yet the elephant in the room to you is the storage? OK.

I think you might be able to replace the SSD yourself with a bit of tinkering.

What I want is official confirmation on that

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I was late on getting my order in to start with so mine won't be ready till Q2 2022 I got the 256 model but now I'm like. Shit that's like 2 games installed and a few indie titles that's it.

Should have got the 512 but knowing my current situation thought I best just play it safe with the one within my budget.

 

[JORMBO]

I ordered the middle one since the top end one started to hit a price I didn't really want to pay for something like this. I am wondering if that is going to be a mistake. 256gb is not much space today. I'm mostly interested in JRPGs, emulation and maybe an ocassional bigger game here and there, so that was my reasoning for choosing the 256 one. I figure I can put my JRPGs and emulators on an SD card and save the faster drive for other games. We will see.

 

[crozier]

Why doesn’t Valve have an easier, not to mention official, way to check which games you own work in Linux? This is ridiculous with the Deck right around the corner.

 

[killatopak]

The elephant in my room is if this will even be available in niche countries like mine.

 

[Speedwagon]

Why wouldn't they recommend this? That doesn't sound good.

Maybe it's on the frontside of the motherboard. Oh no.
They want you to buy the 512GB model for $250 more.

 

[jshackles]

I ordered the middle one since the top end one started to hit a price I didn't really want to pay for something like this. I am wondering if that is going to be a mistake. 256gb is not much space today. I'm mostly interested in JRPGs, emulation and maybe an ocassional bigger game here and there, so that was my reasoning for choosing the 256 one. I figure I can put my JRPGs and emulators on an SD card and save the faster drive for other games. We will see.

I ordered the 256GB version as well, but I'm not worried. How many games do you need installed at once? 256 will be plenty to install several games - and once you're finished with them they can be deleted (and re-installed later, if desired). Emulators and things that don't need tons of fast storage can definitely be shifted off to an SD card.

 

[Trogdor1123]

How much space will the os take?

 

[ManaByte]

I'm not too concerned about storage. Even the smallest storage option should be sufficient enough for me to play the games I love on the go.

Yea but you'll be really mad when you drop your $400 portable PC when trying to play those one-handed.

 

[Ezquimacore]

Fast micro sd will run just fine, I tried this already. Plus you're not going to run the games at 4k.