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!

[Komarimaru]

I enjoyed it while was still in my possession. Sure, you need to lower settings for games, and not high FPS, but due to size of screen not really noticeable.

Downside is, niece loves it and hasn't returned it since loaned it to her, didn't even have time to redeem my profile from it lol. If a Steam Deck 2 comes out, will see how it performs, if anywhere near the repairability of the current one with good performance and features, will probably get it as well and this time, not loan it out.

[Prezidentas]

You already have the Switch, if you still have games in its backlog then I wouldn't bother with the Deck when you already know when you will be going home

[raventhehunter]

Okay, the screen is on the small side, obviously enough. So if your game involves a lot of text or fine detail, that could be an issue. Otherwise though, it's great. I use it daily for games like RDR2, Elder Scrolls Online, GTA V, Battletech, Borderlands, Metal Gear Solid, and the two Pathfinder games.

Performance (among the games I've played on it) ranges from high average to great. There are some games I've had issues with, most notably RDR2 and GTA V, and I've definitely had to dial in the settings for those two games specifically to get the best blend of performance and appearance. And the Borderlands games required some fiddling around with to get displaying properly as well. But most of my games I can play straight out of the box, as it were, with no problems.

On the Desktop side, however, my experience hasn't been as smooth. I mostly go there to install (or try to, at any rate) mods for some of my games, and the experience has ranged from "find folder, add mod to folder, done" to "f**k Linux, this is why people use Windows."

[FandangoChristmas]

Its the best handheld PC around for the price, nothing really beats it for its ease of use (if your good at computers), and its like having a portable PS4 in terms of power in your hand. I love the similarity and ease of use plugging into a TV like a switch, but its way better than a switch, as you can run anything on it.

[Clone303]

yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss and now the short yes

[Trackpad Chad]

Performance is roughly equivalent to a PS4, the main selling points are the portability and that you have access to your steam library. If you're wondering about gaming on the go, definitely take a look at how the games you play impact the battery. The other caveat is that the software is janky, so it can be frustrating to use if you aren't a "power user."

I thought I'd be using the on-the-go part a lot more, but I've found a lot more value in how you can comfortably play PC games on the couch or a hammock (don't use gyro controls on a hammock lol). The deck's controls are experimental, and require a heart for tinkering to bring out its full potential. I'd say that the Deck is the closest you can get to KB/M parity on a controller if you're willing to put the effort configuring it.

[TheCrazyCanuck]

The reasons why I like the steam deck are:

1) I have a big steam library with many games I have never got around to trying yet (no need to buy a bunch of games which a backlog)
2) It doubles as a Linux machine (replaced a laptop) when I need a spare "PC"
3) It does a great job emulating my old games by leveraging EmuDeck
4) Unlike a console, I don't have to worry about most of my games becoming unplayable because there is no authentication server for it to phone home to
5) The sooner PC gaming supports Linux the better for everyone so I don't mind being an early adopter

I see the steam deck as being a complimentary technology that gives me the benefits of a handheld without having to repurchase all the games. I have played consoles in my teens and in my late 30s and one thing I really hated was repurchasing games after upgrades and not having much control over my digital downloads. I like steam so it just makes sense to have it in my hands as well.

I have replaced the sticks in my steam deck with hall effect ones and will be swapping out the SSD for a 2TB one so I'm in it for the long run. The 2nd version of the steam deck will hopefully have better battery life, luckily they have already stated this is one of the main purposes of the 2nd version. So the question you should ask yourself is if getting more battery life is worth the wait. When I play PS1/2 games I can get around 5-6 hours battery life setting the TDP and frame rates accordingly but on a modern demanding game, expect much shorter battery life.

[Trackpad Chad]

Publicado originalmente por TheCrazyCanuck:

I have replaced the sticks in my steam deck with hall effect ones and will be swapping out the SSD for a 2TB one so I'm in it for the long run. The 2nd version of the steam deck will hopefully have better battery life, luckily they have already stated this is one of the main purposes of the 2nd version. So the question you should ask yourself is if getting more battery life is worth the wait. When I play PS1/2 games I can get around 5-6 hours battery life setting the TDP and frame rates accordingly but on a modern demanding game, expect much shorter battery life.

I'm curious about the hall effects. Have you noticed anything like jitters, or latency when using them? It feels like there's some kind of catch since gulikit's controller had some spotty build quality.

[TheCrazyCanuck]

Publicado originalmente por Trackpad Chad:

Publicado originalmente por TheCrazyCanuck:

I have replaced the sticks in my steam deck with hall effect ones and will be swapping out the SSD for a 2TB one so I'm in it for the long run. The 2nd version of the steam deck will hopefully have better battery life, luckily they have already stated this is one of the main purposes of the 2nd version. So the question you should ask yourself is if getting more battery life is worth the wait. When I play PS1/2 games I can get around 5-6 hours battery life setting the TDP and frame rates accordingly but on a modern demanding game, expect much shorter battery life.

I'm curious about the hall effects. Have you noticed anything like jitters, or latency when using them? It feels like there's some kind of catch since gulikit's controller had some spotty build quality.

I haven't seen any negative effects yet, just positive ones. I was able to halve the deadzone settings so if anything my latency should be reduced. I'm using the Gulikit modules.

[hitmobong]

I don't get these posts. What do you think people here are going to say? Don't buy a Steam Deck, you will hate it?

Just buy it, you know you are going to, coming to a Steam Deck forum to ask if you should buy one is just being silly. You already know what people are going to say.

[raventhehunter]

Publicado originalmente por hitmobong:

I don't get these posts. What do you think people here are going to say? Don't buy a Steam Deck, you will hate it?

Just buy it, you know you are going to, coming to a Steam Deck forum to ask if you should buy one is just being silly. You already know what people are going to say.

Well what other forum would he go to though? And it makes sense to ask the opinion of people who've actually been using it for a while, most likely daily, and under a variety of conditions than reading or watching a review who's writer had it for a short time and probably under ideal conditions.

[Haruspex]

The answer to your question as asked is, "Yes."

However, the question you should ask is, "Is the Steam Deck worth it to me in 2023?"

The answer to that question is, "It depends."

The screen really isn't a huge concern, in spite of what you may have heard. It's not OLED or some super color-accurate studio display or anything, but games look very nice on it. 800p is absolutely plenty at 7".

Games run way better than you would expect considering the size and power of the device. 15 watts and I'm happily enjoying Spiderman, Elden Ring, and Final Fantasy VII remake. Yes, you need to adjust the settings accordingly. It's impressively powerful for what it is, but it's not magic. It's not replacing your desktop any time soon, and any one who expects it to is delusional.

You've got to ask yourself how often you'll be put into the position where enjoying PC games on a handheld sounds like something you would like to do.

[day7326]

It depends what types of games you want to play on the go. The battery life is quite poor for AAA games so you would need a decent battery pack and a good size SD card in addition to the steam deck which just adds on more expense initially. If you just like casual games that you can play on your switch then maybe stick with that for now. For me, I also own a series x and a standard switch and I haven't touched either since I got my deck. I've been playing God of War for the first time ever on my Deck and it looks and plays brilliant.

[PopinFRESH]

Publicado originalmente por Trackpad Chad:

Publicado originalmente por TheCrazyCanuck:

I have replaced the sticks in my steam deck with hall effect ones and will be swapping out the SSD for a 2TB one so I'm in it for the long run. The 2nd version of the steam deck will hopefully have better battery life, luckily they have already stated this is one of the main purposes of the 2nd version. So the question you should ask yourself is if getting more battery life is worth the wait. When I play PS1/2 games I can get around 5-6 hours battery life setting the TDP and frame rates accordingly but on a modern demanding game, expect much shorter battery life.

I'm curious about the hall effects. Have you noticed anything like jitters, or latency when using them? It feels like there's some kind of catch since gulikit's controller had some spotty build quality.

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.

Publicado originalmente por raventhehunter:

Publicado originalmente por hitmobong:

I don't get these posts. What do you think people here are going to say? Don't buy a Steam Deck, you will hate it?

Just buy it, you know you are going to, coming to a Steam Deck forum to ask if you should buy one is just being silly. You already know what people are going to say.

Well what other forum would he go to though? And it makes sense to ask the opinion of people who've actually been using it for a while, most likely daily, and under a variety of conditions than reading or watching a review who's writer had it for a short time and probably under ideal conditions.

Or worse, didn't even bother using it and are just making things up. As evidenced by the answers in this thread a lot of Steam Deck users who are active in this forum will provide decently reasoned opinions to try to give the OP some contextual experiences to help them make a purchasing decision. There aren't any rabid fanboyish responses, other than Clone303 who is just being goofy to be humorous.

Personally, I'd say the value someone may find in the deck largely depends on the types of games they like to play and how well those types of games work in a hand-held device. type. For example I play Rocket League a lot on my desktop, however, trying to play it on my Steam Deck is not an enjoyable experience because of the smaller screen which does not afford me to use similar camera settings and FOV as I do on my desktop.

There are however a plethora of games that are very well suited for the Steam Deck such as Dead Cells, Tunic, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted, CupHead, Stray, Rogue Legacy 2, etc. Action adventure, Platformers, puzzle games, etc. all work very well on Steam Deck. If you also have a collection of your old console games as roms for emulators that is another massive plus in the Steam Deck column as it is a fantastic system for running emulators on.

I'm in the same boat as TheCrazyCanuck, I have a large Steam library and a fairly large collection of roms from my console collection from the NES era and onward. I do most of my PC gaming on my desktop PC, however, I still use my Steam Deck a lot while relaxing on the couch.

Wether or not they will release a second generation Steam Deck any time soon is anyones guess, however, I don't personally believe they will in the near future. There just isn't a substantial enough of an upgrade in the class of APU yet, and they have quite a bit of other things that they will likely do before they'd move on to a new Steam Deck. There are still a lot of software improvements to SteamOS3, They will likely launch a new hybrid VR headset (Deckard) to replace the Index; that I'd imagine will also be based on SteamOS3. I think they will likely target a similar type of product cadence as they've done with the Index with a new generation about every 4 - 6 years so maybe a new Steam Deck sometime in 2026-2028.

[FreeLuigi]

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.