Support NeoGAF

[64bitmodels]

I've had this question for a while- how has your PC usage been affected since purchasing the Steam Deck?

I personally find a lot of reasons to play my Deck even at home thanks to how good the controls on it feels and how many roms I have stored on it at a time- it's a great device for emulation and the like, especially 6th gen. However since that's happened, I've been using my PC less for gaming reasons- mostly internet browsing and making music these days. Beforehand I used my PC primarily, but didn't get as much time to play

 

[jshackles]

Going from a 49-inch screen to a 7-inch screen, and having significantly less power overall still means I'm mostly still playing on my desktop PC.

The Steam Deck is great for traveling and playing away from home though, where an option didn't really previously exist.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

I use the deck when I don't have access to my pc.

 

[Topher]

Mostly PC still. But I don't always want to game at my desk so I take my SD and play somewhere else in the house.

 

[KiteGr]

50-50...

 

[hybrid_birth]

Photo of my PC and new deck.

 

[bender]

I only use my Deck.

 

[Mortisfacio]

Probably 90-95% PC, 5-10% SD. I bring my SD on trips (work or vacation - wife and kids tend to crash early, but I can't sleep so I game for a few hours then sleep) or when I want to game, but my wife simply wants to be next to me, but I can't stand her crappy crime drama shows, so I'll sit on the couch with my SD. That's about it for me.

 

[Fredrik]

I use it to get some gaming time in bed.
I used Steam Deck docked to the TV for awhile too, felt 100% like a console. Then I bought a living room PC and haven’t used it that way anymore. The PC is my new console, not quite 100% like a console since keyboard and mouse is sometimes needed, but it’s close enough that I don’t need Steam Deck docked anymore.

 

[Puscifer]

With my gaming habits? Definitely Steam deck first, PC 2nd, retro devices third, PS5 dust collector.


Steam deck is just great since I'm mostly indies and my back catalog these days. Nothing wrong with that mind you, but I have to say the deck is so good for so many things that it kinda takes over in ways you didn't expect.

 

[Jrecard]

I play indies like brotato and lamb of the cult on the deck, as well as long format turn based rpgs like the Persona series where there's a lot of downtime and dialogue.

Pretty much everything else on my pc.

Really depends on how much free time I have and what I'm playing to see what the split looks like, sometimes the deck will get exclusive use for weeks, sometimes the same for the pc.

 

[jshackles]

I will say that I've barely touched my dedicated "gaming" laptop since I got the Steam Deck... despite it having a much bigger screen and way better specs. But it's also 9lbs and has a 1-hour battery life. So, the deck has taken over that niche nicely.

 

[DavidGzz]

Forgot I owned a SD till this thread. I need to use it more. I'm all PC still.

 

[GeekGuyWithGlasses]

I mostly play on my Deck since im away from my home computer most of the time+ my main rig is eh..really outdated to say the least

 

[LRKD]

I like my deck, but my pc is just so much stronger that for anything more recent the deck is too much of a compromise.

 

[RickSanchez]

I have a clear demarcation:

PC : Heavy duty games (heavy in terms of required system power, graphics, physics, FPS combat, etc)
Steam Deck: Light games which can run on a potato (and hence run well on the Deck)

Which ends up meaning i play all my small/indie/cosy games on the Steam Deck, which is perfect for me. If i want to play a big, graphically intensive, AAA title, then i use my powerful PC and large monitor to get the best experience out of it.

For example:

Cyberpunk 2077 can run on the Deck, but it looks fucking ridiculous (and immersive) on my 4K monitor, powered by a 4090, at max settings with ray & path tracing. Not to mention i need my mouse to aim. I can't aim for shit with a stick.

Disco Elysium, on the other hand, can run on my PC (duh) but i like to chill out on my recliner or bed with a much more relaxed vibe and still play it fine, because it runs fine on the Deck.

 

[Raelgun]

I've had this question for a while- how has your PC usage been affected since purchasing the Steam Deck?

I personally find a lot of reasons to play my Deck even at home thanks to how good the controls on it feels and how many roms I have stored on it at a time- it's a great device for emulation and the like, especially 6th gen. However since that's happened, I've been using my PC less for gaming reasons- mostly internet browsing and making music these days. Beforehand I used my PC primarily, but didn't get as much time to play

still play on PC more - probly 60% PC, and 40% steam deck

play diffent kinds of games on either system though - less graphically intensive games on Steam Deck (indies / retro), and more graphically demanding games on PC

 

[VeganElduderino]

I use my Rog Ally at work mostly , PC at home ,sometimes I use the Ally at home when my Gf plays Hogwarts.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Rog ally (before it steam deck) in bed and on the road/work.

Pc all the other time.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Have a rog, sd, and a legion. Use none of them at home.

If I’m out of the house I use the legion.

I have been working on a streaming set up, it’s underway but not done yet so I won’t derail the thread with that…but it works so damn well! Excited to share when I get it all up and running fully.

 

[ハトリス]

I sold my PC and only game on my Steamdeck and Switch. I play more games now than before, since I can squeeze in some sessions here and there which wasn't possible with my PC.

 

[Kupfer]

When I play games via Steam, it's almost exclusively with the Deck.
But my PC is also old now, and the Deck offers comparable performance with an eighth (or something like that) of the power consumption.
I often don't feel like sitting down in front of the PC, start everything up and then play something for a few minutes.
With the Deck, I press the button and continue playing where I left off.
At the moment I'm playing Prodeus - what a game.
It took an hour to optimize the controls, but now it plays like butter and is really fun even for 20 or 30 minutes at a time.

So when it comes to time gaming, it's probably 90% SD and 10% PC nowadays.

 

[Leonidas]

Mostly desktop PC before, still mostly desktop after buying Steam Deck.

My desktop runs circles around the Steam Deck in terms of hardware, and it has a much higher refresh rate and resolution.

I mainly only use Steam Deck for less demanding and older titles.

 

[Zheph]

still mostly PC, deck in some scenarios

 

[Dazraell]

I constantly move between two places, so for me Steam Deck is a great device to play games, especially that I prefer to play older games and indies than AAA stuff. Nowadays I tend to use PC mostly for browsing internet, watching YT videos and working on personal projects. I very rarely use it for playing games and opt more to play on a Deck

As for more demanding games, I have PS5 for that

 

[Come On Tars]

Photo of my PC and new deck.

This shit goes hard dude. What area do you live in?

 

[Come On Tars]

I only use my pc for competitive stuff like apex. The thought of sitting at my desk to play Spider-Man or some single player thing lost its allure to me. I disrespect games now and play them in bed half asleep on my steam deck. Maybe when I get a new pc I’ll want to experience the best gfx and controls can offer but for now I’m just doing it casual.

 

[rofif]

I had a deck and gave it away to nephew who doesn’t have a pc. Gaming on it sucked. It’s heavy, screen was terrible with low res and IPS glow. And playing all games on low is nonsense.
Now I am considering portal. It at least streams high quality games from ps5 and got much better ergonomics. Deck was very heavy and had short battery life.
That said it was good for older games and steam operating system fixes ton of pc problems

 

[hybrid_birth]

This shit goes hard dude. What area do you live in?

It was some random photo I found on Google to use for the joke. Sadly.

I do have a deck in real life but no gaming pc.

 

[Spukc]

The switch lite kinda ruins my steam deck.
I still love it.. but the switch lite is so much better in my hands

 

[Hohenheim]

About 50/50 between my desktop rig and my PC handhelds [including SD Oled)

 

[Resenge]

Steamdeck is great, but I find it hard to give up my FPS for portability, also my eyesight is not as good as it used to be with closer objects and I dislike putting on glasses.

The switch lite kinda ruins my steam deck.
I still love it.. but the switch lite is so much better in my hands

Do you have child hands? because I find it crazy that people with adult sized hands would feel that way. My hands cramp up like crazy on my Switch in comparison to the Steamdeck.

 

[TintoConCasera]

More or less the same as before. I use my PC for modern and demanding games, while I keep my Steam Deck for indies and older games.

 

[Garibaldi]

I'm just using the deck for smaller indie titles tbh. Stuff like Cult of the Lamb, VNs etc.

It's also my emulator machine (except for PS3 and Switch, I prefer PC for those).

Anything meaty I still prefer on my PC because, well the PC I have is vastly superior tech wise.

Absolutely adore my Deck though

 

[Spukc]

Steamdeck is great, but I find it hard to give up my FPS for portability, also my eyesight is not as good as it used to be with closer objects and I dislike putting on glasses.


Do you have child hands? because I find it crazy that people with adult sized hands would feel that way. My hands cramp up like crazy on my Switch in comparison to the Steamdeck.

Nah it’s just lighter

 

[Thaedolus]

Do you have child hands? because I find it crazy that people with adult sized hands would feel that way. My hands cramp up like crazy on my Switch in comparison to the Steamdeck.

I was gonna say the same thing lol…unless you have aftermarket grips on Switch, there’s no way it can match the Deck’s form factor.

I find myself playing most games which are controller based/preferable on the Deck, while sticking to my desktop for M+KB stuff.

 

[pennythoughts]

Deck only really gets used if I need to burn a few hours in a hotel room and only certain games like Slay the Spire or Hades get played. I don't use it as much as I thought I would. If I'm at the house I'm not playing the Deck when I have a top of the line setup + ultrawide + bangin speakers/headphones. It feels more like it's meant for dads who have to let the kids take over the TV.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

I didn't really use my desktop all that much, as it makes me feel like I'm at work. I use my Deck basically exclusively now. It's an incredible backlog killer.
Recent hit list:

Blasphemous 1
Yakuza 7
Yakuza 0
Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2
Alan Wake American Nightmare
Final Fantasy VII original/7th Heaven

In the middle of Fallout 2.

 

[TheStam]

My Steam Deck wins narrowly since getting the OLED. But I mostly play older titles and indies on it since I can't accept the performance that many people seem to live with. For me 40 fps semi-locked and decent enough settings are the bare minimum, like how Elden Ring runs or the updated Witcher 3. It's quite amazing though how many people don't seem to care about that. BG3 and Hogwarts are some of the most played games on SD while I don't feel like they run well enough. I actively look out for games to play on the Steam Deck though. Like I started playing a lot more JRPGs since getting it which are awesome handheld. Also older AAA backlog games which can run and look great, like Dishonored or Bioshock. There's a certain magic to gaming handheld that I just love. I feel like I could switch to handheld exclusively in a couple of years once we get even better performance.

 

[Quasicat]

I had a pretty powerful rig up until last November which I used for gaming and as a Plex server. Around that time I noticed that my gaming had changed due to the kids and wife demanding more of my time and having less time to dedicate to my hobby. I was playing my Switch more because of it, but wanted to play things like Fallout and Mass Effect. I bought a Steam Deck for gaming, a Mac Mini M2 for Plex and have let the dedicated PC go. I actually love being less cluttered with the Mac Mini and Steam Deck running on the TV and the PC desk going away.

 

[IAmRei]

Rarely... I dont know why, almost a year. I have three. Ally is still my fave because of the look. After last year, i ended using pc laptop because i can work>play in instant. And if i want big screen i will run to my ps5 or switch dock. Deck always on the box btw, dont like the design and feels. And legion go are too big.

 

[JCK75]

I still play PC way more, but I do get a LOT of use out of my deck..

 

[Chupanibre]

I haven't turned my steam deck on in months. Possibly 6 months. I basically feel like I wasted the money, to be honest.

 

[SmokedMeat]

PC is still my go to.

Steam Deck is the compliment that allows me to play at times I otherwise wouldn’t be playing.

 

[nikos]

Bought a Steam Deck OLED and it mostly sits in its case. It's a great device for specific types of games but it's also sort of an underpowered monstrosity and the compatibility/performance isn't really there yet.

I have a top end PC and a girlfriend who lets me use it whenever I want, so there's not much reason for me grab the deck instead. I was recently cycling through a bunch of games on the deck while we were on the couch, until I asked "why the fuck am I dad gaming?" and hopped on the PC instead.

 

[ArtHands]

Right now 75% SD, 24% PC and 1% consoles

SD is a device made in heaven. Certainly a vast upgrade over the PS Portal

 

[BennyBlanco]

Probably near 50/50 at this point. SD is a godsend for parents.

 

[Dev1lXYZ]

95% Steam Deck 5% PC. While my PC is vastly superior in power, the Deck is absolutely more convenient.

 

[StereoVsn]

Probably 80-20 PC-Deck (or ROG Ally). I use portables (including Switch) when traveling or when watching TV with wife or kids.

Or in the sunroom and my Deck for some of that Deck on Deck action, lol.

 

[schaft0620]

I play on the PC at home (some of the time) and then I play on the Steam Deck when I am commuting on the train because there is cross-save. This really helped me get trough 150 hours of BG3. I mostly play console on the couch but, if I am playing PC, its because I am in the middle of something on the train and continue my playthrough at home on the PC.