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[Bragr]

I'm still on the fence about buying one. I heard mostly positive things about it, but not enough to make me hyped enough to buy one. I just can't get a read if it's a success or not, and who knows where this thing will sit in the marketplace in a year's time. Some people are even talking about Steam Deck 2.

I hear so much about its emulating potential, so I focus on that in the poll a bit, to weed out why people are interested in it.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[01011001]

I don't think this thing will be relevant for long. the specs are just not there yet, but it shows how far AMD mobile hardware has come.

 

[Shifty]

The hype certainly seems real, but it was real for the Steam Controller too. And to a lesser extent Steam Machines (ha, who am I kidding) and SteamOS ( ).

For my part, I don't get it. I do get it - in terms of market position, form factor, niche, yada yada - but it just doesn't click. It's a whiff from me, Kev.

In my mind, Valve is a bit like Google in this sense - they'll get their bread and butter right - i.e. Steam itself - but most all other projects might as well have a Final Fantasy style doom counter over their heads from moment zero. We might get some side-effect project like Big Picture from Steam Machines, and Steam Input from the Steam Controller, but even those are still a bit shaky after god knows how many years.

I suppose VR is an exception to that rule. Not as much as I'd like it to be given the oculus selloutening and sony's gradual edging-in on the space, but it is at least alive and well.

 

[STARSBarry]

Didn't get one in the end although I was interested. I think I would rather wait and see after the many many failed attempts by Valve to enter other market with things like the steam link, steam controller and steam box.

 

[kingfey]

Same fate as Steam Machines.

Fixed. Or else, I would have eaten you now.
I have the steam streaming machine, and that is one of the worst scam product, which I bought.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[KellyNole]

I don't have one, but I think it is a step in the right direction for portable PC gaming. With that said, I will be waiting for steam deck two or three as I want the bugs worked out. I do think it will be successful. It seems like the best product Valve has put out for a mass-market audience. Proton could be a huge game-changer.

 

[VN1X]

My opinion isn't reflected in the poll's choices. Needs more options. Shame on you.

 

[Topher]

I'm in wait and see mode myself.

 

[Ogbert]

Getting mine in Q2. Hopefully April.

I think it looks incredible.

 

[LazyParrot]

Not sure if Valve will ditch it, but I don't see this being more than a niche thing even if they do decide to keep it around.

 

[cormack12]

The consensus is I had a preorder and it was pushed back

 

[Mercador]

Missing my option:
- I had a preorder from day 1, watched the reviews, removed my preorder

 

[Dream-Knife]

I'm less interested now that I have a 3080. I think it's neat but I barely used my switch handheld, so idk why I would need this.

 

[Kacho]

I think most people are still waiting for their order to ship. Gonna be a while to get some honest impressions outside of influencers.

 

[bender]

Windows on the device and setting up old games to utilize it just seems like too much of a hassle.

 

[BadBurger]

I have it. I am perfectly happy with it. I haven't experienced any major issues or bugs.

I feel like it's a device many won't appreciate until they get a hands-on with it. Valve did a hell of a job with the design of this thing, hardware and software, every level. If a person enjoys handheld gaming this is the device to get.

 

[Ozzie666]

Just not enough of them available for mass market penetration, so it really can't make an impact. Seems to be a really decent machine from all accounts and decently priced. Without more supply, it's going to become niche, but owners will be extremely happy with it.

 

[lughnasadh123]

This thing is going to quietly roll on to a big success with constant updates making it a better experience.

 

[Hezekiah]

Looks like an amazing piece of hardware, but I think it will remain a niche product.

The limitations of mobile gaming are just too big imo.

 

[Captain Toad]

Still waiting for mine. "Q2 2022"

 

[It's all in the wrist]

I would like to see them iterate on it. As it stands now, it's too large. It's hard to compete in the handheld space without serious optimization.

 

[Hendrick's]

I'll consider the next iteration.

 

[Shmunter]

30fps on a small screen with short battery life. Not sure it’s as enticing as the initial fanfare

 

[Ryu Kaiba]

I'm not buying this thing for the latest and greatest games. I have a lot of older titles on steam that I'd like to play in spare time that I wouldn't really play on my main setup.
To me it's basically the switch pro that I was waiting for.

 

[ArtHands]

they are sold out for probably the rest of the year. Still waiting for mine which will come after Q3. That’s a very long wait

Happy to see you guys not getting it so I can get mine earlier

 

[chaseroni]

I'm not buying this thing for the latest and greatest games. I have a lot of older titles on steam that I'd like to play in spare time that I wouldn't really play on my main setup.
To me it's basically the switch pro that I was waiting for.

Yeah, I'm using mine as a backlog killer, and its already working!

 

[BadBurger]

30fps on a small screen with short battery life. Not sure it’s as enticing as the initial fanfare

First off, if someone draws the line at a small screen and dealing with battery life then they're obviously not the target audience for a dedicated mobile gaming device.

Furthermore, it's a decent PC that only has to cater to low resolutions so battery life and performance slide along a self-determined scale any PC gamer will be familiar with. I can play the Ori games, which look amazing and run at 60 fps, for about four hours. Metal Gear Solid V can run at high settings with frames constantly greater than 30, and for around two and a half hours.

 

[LavosBit]

I like mine, but at the end of the day, I’m still just playing games I already have access to on my PC. It does a great job with indie and less demanding games, but you probably wouldn’t want to play a modern game on it if you had other options.

I tried Elden Ring for all of five minutes before I concluded it was unplayable. I mean yeah, it runs, but the slow down is pretty extreme in places. I can’t imagine taking down some of the tougher bosses on this thing.

 

[ZehDon]

I'll probably wait for their next revision.

I already have my PS Vita running homebrew, so my emulation needs are taken care of. Having games like Elden Ring in the palm of my hand is mighty tempting however...

 

[ReBurn]

It looks ok but I'd get bored with it.

 

[BigBooper]

I have it preordered for Q2 and I'm planning on getting it, though I admit I have waffled a little. I've bought a few similar devices and didn't end up using them all that much for the most part. I did use my GPD Win 1 a pretty good amount though, and the deck is way better than it was.

I think people waiting on the next revision might not be too happy with it either, because the battery life is already pretty rough at the current specs.

 

[Smether]

If it would have been out a few years ago, I'd never have picked my Nintendo Switch over it. I trust Steam so much more than Nintendo in every sense possible.

But given that wasn't an option then and I already have my handheld needs covered, I don't see myself getting it anytime soon, even if there were any in stock. Maybe later on or perhaps when the hardware gets a revision.

 

[teezzy]

I love steam but it sounds like people were more hyped for this before it came out

 

[CrustyBritches]

They delayed it, so barely anybody has it. The people who have it seem to really enjoy it. It's a handheld PC, so it's not sold on a promise of future games. People who bought it know what they're getting and what they intend to use it for.

 

[daveonezero]

2nd version will be out before the next switch. Zen2+ integrated graphics are running these games at 1080p.

I'm in the market for a powerful laptop with a Radeon 6000 before a Steam Deck. I want to play current gen games at 1080p and those look like they are doing that. Then its better to buy more demanding games on that instead of the Switch.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Got mine this week.
Got my email in the 3rd wave this month. Paid the same day I got the email and they shipped it the next day.
Arrived two days later.

So props to Valve for the awesome shipping process!

Peoples impressions of the hardware are going to be all over the place but here are some early ones from my end:

I have installed about 50 or so games across random genres. So far none of them has failed to run for me.*
Elden Ring runs fine.
So does Strangers of Paradise...so that ALONE makes the steam deck worth the cost .

Battery life is...ok! 2 to 3.5 hours before I plug it in to charge (have gotten down to ~8%).

I have big meaty man hands and the steam deck feels fine to use honestly! Better than the switch with joycons attached, at least imo.

Screen quality is quite nice with the lights on, and looks great playing in a low/no light room as well.

*I have had to mess with alternate configurations to get that "oh so right" combination of settings for several of the games...its not all rainbows and kitten whiskers.

 

[necroticart]

I got my steam deck at the beginning of the month and I'm using it daily it's a great device most of the games I've tried work well. I don't expect everything to run at high or ultra settings but honestly at the screen size you don't need it too and Honestly I'm impressed by the rdna2 gpu it's definitely better than i expected.

As for the SD card proformance it has been nothing short of amazing I've played games off both the ssd and SD card and the difference is not even noticeable. Both are speedy and speaking of the ssd I've installed the wd sn530 1tb it was easy to upgrade and I've not experienced any issues.

The only difficulty i ran into is how different the Linux file system is to windows it took me some time to get use to it. I also installed ge proton which seems to work better with more games. Overall the deck was worth the cost to me and I can't recommend it enough

 

[kraspkibble]

don't have it. not buying it.

1. shite battery life. as low as 2 hours is pathetic. that's worse than a Switch. yeah the Deck is more powerful but this is a portable device and 2 hours sucks.
2. more games need supported. a decent amount of games work now but i still have a lot of games that aren't supported. need to improve compatibility.
3. it's valve. a lot of their hardware hasn't been a success and they can do what they want. look at steam machines which was a complete failure and they abandoned it. steam link and steam controller they were basically giving away. i'm sure if Valve think the Deck is a success they will make a second model but if they don't...they'll get rid of all the stock and abandon it. we don't know if the Deck is a success because Valve don't need to tell anyone shit and for the same reason they aren't forced to work on stuff they don't want to just because shareholders think it'll make them more money.

i'm not hating on Valve or the Deck. i'd be happy to buy one but I'm not buying first gen hardware from a company that can give up on products. if this was Sony or Microsoft I'd be more confident and even then i still won't buy first gen models.

if we get a Deck 2 and it has improved battery and game compatibility then I'll be really tempted to buy one.

 

[Bernkastel]

DavidGzz Where is Durante now? Do you still trust him?

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

"...speaking of the ssd I've installed the wd sn530 1tb it was easy to upgrade and I've not experienced any issues."

Where did you snag your drive? It's the WD SN530 2230 right?

 

[jshackles]

Have it, love it, it's everything I wanted. I usually only get about an hour of portable play in a day (lunch break at work) so the battery life doesn't bother me. I have about 250 fully supported games on Steam (and that number seems to be going up all the time as new games are tested) so I have a ton of stuff to play on it without even worrying about installing Windows / Epic Launcher / GOG stuff / etc. I'm super happy with the emulation performance, especially for PS2 games.

Overall, a damn fine system and (for me at least) worth the asking price.

 

[BadBurger]

don't have it. not buying it.

1. shite battery life. as low as 2 hours is pathetic. that's worse than a Switch. yeah the Deck is more powerful but this is a portable device and 2 hours sucks.
2. more games need supported. a decent amount of games work now but i still have a lot of games that aren't supported. need to improve compatibility.
3. it's valve. a lot of their hardware hasn't been a success and they can do what they want. look at steam machines which was a complete failure and they abandoned it. steam link and steam controller they were basically giving away. i'm sure if Valve think the Deck is a success they will make a second model but if they don't...they'll get rid of all the stock and abandon it. we don't know if the Deck is a success because Valve don't need to tell anyone shit and for the same reason they aren't forced to work on stuff they don't want to just because shareholders think it'll make them more money.

i'm not hating on Valve or the Deck. i'd be happy to buy one but I'm not buying first gen hardware from a company that can give up on products. if this was Sony or Microsoft I'd be more confident and even then i still won't buy first gen models.

if we get a Deck 2 and it has improved battery and game compatibility then I'll be really tempted to buy one.

This is a perfect example of what I posted earlier - how many people will need a hands on to appreciate it.

1. The battery life can last well over four hours for any game given the chosen settings. Even demanding games can be tuned down to the target resolution and get several hours. It's like dealing with gaming on a laptop, not sure why so many people are struggling with this concept
2. They support thousands of games and add more each day, along with doing things like adding shader pre-caching for games to help with perfomance. A lot of them, actually
3. Pretty much every major tech company out there has failures or endeavors that didn't work out that well at first but they learned from. This seems no different. One can see the evolution of their ambitions in the touchpads, for example

Again, once the layman gets their hands on this and realizes it's just a handheld PC with really good support from Valve they'll change their minds. Until then we'll keep getting hot takes from people who probably couldn't even figure out how to dual boot on a PC.

 

[Shmunter]

I'll probably wait for their next revision.

I already have my PS Vita running homebrew, so my emulation needs are taken care of. Having games like Elden Ring in the palm of my hand is mighty tempting however...

Sony really should release a dumb handheld stream only device for toilet gaming enthusiasts. Put all all the Dualsense gizmos into it, nice oled screen, but no cpu or GPU outside of the wifi and stream decoding electronics. Cheap and cheerful, opens up possibilities.

StreamStation (tm) - “for all your streaming (and logging) needs”

 

[misslore]

GOOD STUFF
- Powerful, high-quality hardware at an unheard-of price
- Infinitely customizable controls make decades of games playable
- Easily lets you balance performance and battery drain
- Suspend and resume games
- Doubles as a full Linux PC

BAD STUFF
- Unfinished, buggy software
- Noisy fan almost never stops whining
- Some of the most popular games still don’t work
- Two hours or less of battery life at highest fidelity

 

[Pejo]

I got bumped back to Q3 from Q2, which stinks. I have been hearing good things about it, and I can't wait to try it out.

 

[Chukhopops]

I was hyped for it since I have 45 mins commute each way but now I’m glad I didn’t order it, nothing wrong with the hardware (looks impressive) but I doubt I would use it over the Switch OLED and I have more than enough to play on it.

I think it will be successful but remain niche overall.

 

[Notabueno]

Numbers will speak on this one, although people don't understand numbers.

 

[AlteredForms]

Hype was absolutely through the roof and now look at people lol. I was expecting the same thing with the Steam Machine and all their hardware: To fall flat on it's face!