Is the steam deck worth it in 2023?

[Mr. T]

Is the Steam Deck worth it?
I have been debating getting a steam deck. Although I don’t know if it’s worth it. I have a PC, Series X and a Switch Oled. But when I am at uni I don’t have my PC. I worry that I would be buying something that i technically already have in the form of multiple consoles.

If the steam deck came out a few years ago I’d be more inclined as the thought of playing PC games on though go when I’m at Uni would be ideal. However I am now in my final year and so from next summer onwards I will be back home with my PC.

The other thing I worry about is the screen and gaming performance.

So my question is to those that own one and have all the other consoles/pc. Was it a worthwhile purchase? Do you find yourself using it more? Would I be better waiting for a Steam Deck 2?

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

[evancampbell]

I love mine, pretty much all I use since I got used to it. But I also don't own another handheld or have a beefy PC or anything.

[GoalieG]

For me, the answer is a resounding YES! But, it depends on your gaming. I play way more handheld than most. My PS4 sits unused mostly. I have gone from PSP to Vita to Steam Deck. From my perspective, it gives an amazing performance, with a huge library of games (many that I already own). This has been my best gaming purchase probably ever!

[Mahjik]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. T:

But when I am at uni I don’t have my PC.

If by "uni" you are referring to "university", then focus on your studies. Steam Deck can wait.

[Haruspex]

Publicado originalmente por AAAbuser:

Wait another year, and then maybe the device is ready for launch. Currently it's a very hacky experience that requires a lot of research and fiddling around. If you can't see yourself enjoying that, better wait.

It's really not all that hacky, unless you specifically want to do things it wasn't really made to do, like emulation or third party stores. (Even then the community has made some of this stuff very simple and straightforward.) The average user can be very happy just sticking to Steam and the thousands of Deck Verified titles for a very solid, console-like experience.

The "research" required is really just a reality check. If you buy a Deck to play "Fortnite" play any unsupported game unless you either install Windows or stream it, you're going to be disappointed. Just like someone who buys a Playstation to play "Halo" will be equally disappointed.

Edit:
Seems like someone is sensitive to the mention of "Fortnite". I did not intend to trigger this user by mentioning that unspeakable game. My intention was to use it as an example of a popular game someone might want to play, only to be disappointed when they buy a Steam Deck for that purpose.

[FreeLuigi]

Publicado originalmente por 8bitbeard:

Publicado originalmente por AAAbuser:

Wait another year, and then maybe the device is ready for launch. Currently it's a very hacky experience that requires a lot of research and fiddling around. If you can't see yourself enjoying that, better wait.

It's really not all that hacky, unless you specifically want to do things it wasn't really made to do, like emulation or third party stores. (Even then the community has made some of this stuff very simple and straightforward.) The average user can be very happy just sticking to Steam and the thousands of Deck Verified titles for a very solid, console-like experience.

The "research" required is really just a reality check. If you buy a Deck to play "Fortnite", which is completely unsupported and unplayable unless you either install Windows or stream it, you're going to be disappointed. Just like someone who buys a Playstation to play "Halo" will be equally disappointed.

I love how you just 100% made everything up in your post, just to then sounding smart by refuting it. Nobody has said a word about Fortnite.

I'll happily give you some examples, all things the deck was "designed to do".

1) Hook it up to a dock, even the official one. Then start using a physical keyboard, or even a bluetooth keyboard, doesn't matter. The second you want to type something in any game, the onscreen keyboard will come up, no matter what. Because the smart Valve designers couldn't see a reason to let people deactivate that feature - even when a real keyboard is connected.

2) The onscreen keyboard can create all kinds of glitches, but most annoyingly in my case, it increases the input delay from my external controller, a Switch pro controller, rendering it unusable in the process.

3) External controllers are funky anyway, because sometimes they randomly start acting like a mouse, and then you're $%&§ out of luck trying to get it back to gamepad mode again.

4) Anecdotal, but over new years I bricked my deck by trying to insert a USB stick into the USB-C slot on the device. The deck completely died, no hard reboot or reset possible. I had to open the case up, and reattach the battery manually for it to work again.

Those were just the last 7 days of my experience. And I know, people like you of course never have any bugs. Ever. People like you probably claim to this day that Cyberpunk 2077 and other ♥♥♥♥ shows were always working perfectly.

But people in the real world have to deal and fiddle with all kinds of issues on the steam deck.

And now please give me another Fortnite comment so I can block you for good.

[Ben Bernanke]

in 2023? no. we got it thanksgiving 22 but it was obsolete by xmass.

was a great month. too bad u missed out.

[zenstrata]

Publicado originalmente por Mr. T:

Is the Steam Deck worth it?
I have been debating getting a steam deck. Although I don’t know if it’s worth it. I have a PC, Series X and a Switch Oled. But when I am at uni I don’t have my PC. I worry that I would be buying something that i technically already have in the form of multiple consoles.

If the steam deck came out a few years ago I’d be more inclined as the thought of playing PC games on though go when I’m at Uni would be ideal. However I am now in my final year and so from next summer onwards I will be back home with my PC.

The other thing I worry about is the screen and gaming performance.

So my question is to those that own one and have all the other consoles/pc. Was it a worthwhile purchase? Do you find yourself using it more? Would I be better waiting for a Steam Deck 2?

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Hmm.. a lot of it depends on if you feel the need for a portable system. I personally picked up a steam deck, and it's become a staple requirement to take on trips, and I even use it around the house frequently to game. Not daily, but often enough that I am content with my purchase. It is also helping me learn how Linux works, which is important because I plan on ditching Windows entirely with the next few years.

This video may help you make up your mind (or just confuse you more, who knows? :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmAidEoN4YY

I personally love to see what Valve is doing with the Linux support for games. I think it's a great change and am happy to support it.

[SimpleSimon]

I own a Switch, OneXPlayer, decent PC, gaming laptop and the Deck. I find myself playing on my Deck the most, just for the comfort of lounging out after a hard day at work. I know this can be done with my other handhelds, but:

OneXPlayer over time becomes tiring to hold as it is heavier than deck, not quite as ergonomic (particularly with the angular bottom that digs into the palms), also fewer controls compared to Deck.

Switch required a purchase of a seperate grip to make it comfortable, by default it would make my hands cramp. Some games or more expensive on Switch, some ported games are not great, for example Green Hell does not look as good and the controls are poor on Switch compared to playing on Deck.

I love my Deck, yes some games require tweaking to run well, but that is PC gaming for you. Also there are a handful of games that don't work, but in my library the majority do work.

[Haruspex]

Publicado originalmente por AAAbuser:

And now please give me another Fortnite comment so I can block you for good.

I fixed and annotated my previous comment for your comfort.

[Trackpad Chad]

Publicado originalmente por PopinFRESH:

Hall effect sensors would specifically reduce those issues. They do work very well, will have no stick drift issues, and you can calibrate them and configure a very small/tight deadzone.

Not quite, what hall effect addresses is the drift that develops from wear and tear compared to the more common potentiometer based sticks, but they are subject to different kinds of drift and interference due to the nature of how the sensor works. Those kinds of drift are solvable, I'm just skeptical of Gulikit's build quality.

[fliptwister]

Several people in this thread have mentioned this but for me it is all about what I have in my Steam Library. I'm mainly a PC gamer. I have a significant amount of games that are great games but I lost interest in them fairly early. I also have a huge backlog of games that I want to play. There are also games which I loved which I want to play through again. I got my Deck about a week ago and I do not have to spend any money on games (though I did pick up Gods of War and Horizon Zero Dawn when it was on sale). I realized this issue when I showed my Deck to a friend recently who is strictly a console gamer (PS). He was is awe literally but immediately asked about game costs. I imagine if you do not have a Steam Library the Deck can get pricey when including games. I understand that with any new game system you typically spend a significant amount on games. With the Deck and if you are PC gamer you should be pretty set and not need to spend a lot of money on games.

[⍟Tex]

By the way, valve already announced that steam deck 2 will have the same specs of sd1, except for battery life and screen. So you'd rather wait for steam deck 3 if you look for more performance.

[ReBoot]

Totes worth it. Haven't regretted a single cent spent.

[Mahjik]

Publicado originalmente por ⍟Tex:

By the way, valve already announced that steam deck 2 will have the same specs of sd1, except for battery life and screen. So you'd rather wait for steam deck 3 if you look for more performance.

Valve said no such thing.

In a semi recent interview, two individuals from Valve were asked what they would like to see improved in a new Deck (should one happen). They both responded battery life and screen. It was never phrased or intended that those would be the only two differences. It was just a small comment from a larger interview.

[SimpleSimon]

Publicado originalmente por ⍟Tex:

By the way, valve already announced that steam deck 2 will have the same specs of sd1, except for battery life and screen. So you'd rather wait for steam deck 3 if you look for more performance.

You really think they would just do minor upgrades and call it Steam Deck 2?