Is steam deck worth buying in 2025 ???

[50368]

Hi a quick question , is steam deck good and worth spending time and money on if i do not want to buy PC ?

[Mahjik]

Publicado originalmente por ?legit:

Publicado originalmente por Haruspex:

There are a lot of different PCs out there. A basically an infinite number of different hardware and software configurations, and not every game is automatically going to run 100% out of the box on every single configuration. This isn't limited to the Steam Deck. That's just the reality of PC gaming, and for anyone who can't accept that, they should go get themselves a console where their choices are made for them and they don't have to think about it.

Nobody is talking about that, you need to read again. Games which were playable or supported for steamOS suddenly become unsupported, die to shady devs/ pubs rolling out updates that break compatibility (on purpose).

It's Valve's platform, if they can't even guarantee that a playable game you've purchased will be accessible from the deck in the future, then there must be something wrong. This hasn't anything to do with hardware at all.

Nobody can. Nobody can guarantee that a PC game you bought will keep working on the PC/laptop you bought period. Devs have broken (for example) ATI/AMD GPU users before by an update.. Or they stop supporting an older GPU. The only difference is that people are "expected" to upgrade/change their system where as with a handheld it's not that simple.

As Haruspex mentions, there are so many variations of PC components, there are people out there that a game (or multiple) doesn't work on "their" system. Don't act you are naïve and never see these threads. They are all over Steam forums and the other usual PC places.

I've literally had a category in my Steam library called "Don't Work". Those games work for other "configurations" but not mine (referring to my desktop that is).

[TheDizzle78]

Publicado originalmente por ?legit:

Publicado originalmente por deleted:

Hi a quick question , is steam deck good and worth spending time and money on if i do not want to buy PC ?

Absolutely not. First of all the game compatibility is very limited, many games are unplayable, performance isn't good anymore. If you like to play modern games (if they are working under steamos) in 30fps go for it, if you want to have a good gaem performance get the legion go. Which has an integrated kickstand, so that you don't need to buy an overpriced dock.

To say that compatibility is "very limited" is simply not accurate. "Unplayable"? also not accurate. And what do you mean "performance isn't good anymore"? It's not like games have all of a sudden become unplayable or poor performing all of a sudden. Maybe it's just the way you typed it that isn't clicking. Yeah, some brand new AAA games aren't playing great, but that's optimization on the developer's part, not a flaw in the Deck itself. A vast majority of games that are marked "unsupported" play just fine. Most of the time, taking the settings down will result in a good experience. I just think saying "very limited" is misleading.

[TheDizzle78]

Publicado originalmente por ?legit:

Publicado originalmente por Lruce_Bee:

Game compatibility very limited? What? Last time I checked, the Steam Deck boasts a compatibility library containing 10's of thousands of titles, so your statement is completely incorrect. https://www.steamdeck.com/en/verified
As for performance, I'm currently playing Diablo 4 on my Steam Deck with high settings & 60 fps. it's flawless performance. Everything I've played on my SD performs perfectly, so I dunno where you're coming from with your negative assessment of the Steam Deck but it's not reliable, that's for damned sure.

10's of thousands steam "games". All the llow tier copy pasta indie "games" are running, but more popluar games are not. The more popular a game is, the less likely it is to run on the SD. According to steam's official certification system only 19% of the Top 1000 games in steam are marked as verified. Only 30% are marked as playable. 24% are straight unsupported. So at least every 4th game of the Top 1000 steam games isn't supported on the SD. :eliselaugh:

And that only applies to steam games, have fun to find tedious workarounds for non steam games.

Diablo 4 on high settings with 60fps? I doubt it.

Low preset: ~45-56 FPS
Medium preset: ~31-45 FPS
High preset: ~29-42 FPS
Ultra preset: ~28-40 FPS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o-GKkCulPM

Diablo 4 at high settings does in fact get you 50-60 fps, mostly on the higher end of that. It's truth. That's accurate, I don't care what youtube videos show. I've seen some of those "performance" videos and many times, the person doing the video has no clue. Many games you can crank most setting up and keep shadows low and get really good performance. Shadows being set too high does bog the Deck down in a lot of games. Also, 40fps is the sweet spot for the Deck. On the small screen 40fps looks really smooth, so any time you can get above that or lock it to 40 is great.

[TheDizzle78]

Publicado originalmente por 23 ITA SUPERMARTXE IBIZA:

I bought it 2 years ago but now a Lot of Games are no longer supportet like gta v apex Why?

For better clarification, GTAV single player story mode works just fine. It's the BattleEye AntiCheat that prevents GTA Online. Some people may just want GTAV for the story mode (like me) and saying it doesn't work may prevent people from getting it because people are incorrectly stating the entire game just doesn't work.

[[?]legit]

Publicado originalmente por TheDizzle78:

Publicado originalmente por ?legit:

Absolutely not. First of all the game compatibility is very limited, many games are unplayable, performance isn't good anymore. If you like to play modern games (if they are working under steamos) in 30fps go for it, if you want to have a good gaem performance get the legion go. Which has an integrated kickstand, so that you don't need to buy an overpriced dock.

To say that compatibility is "very limited" is simply not accurate. "Unplayable"? also not accurate. And what do you mean "performance isn't good anymore"? It's not like games have all of a sudden become unplayable or poor performing all of a sudden. Maybe it's just the way you typed it that isn't clicking. Yeah, some brand new AAA games aren't playing great, but that's optimization on the developer's part, not a flaw in the Deck itself. A vast majority of games that are marked "unsupported" play just fine. Most of the time, taking the settings down will result in a good experience. I just think saying "very limited" is misleading.

False. Unplayable as in not being able to start the game, due to steamOS incompatibility, and not just getting bad performance in it.

[Haruspex]

Mostly I was referring to older Windows games not running on modern Windows. Right off the top of my head, the original 2002 release of Max Payne doesn't run, but on SteamOS it runs fine first try. You can get it working on modern Windows after several unofficial, third party fixes though, and even on Linux it's a good idea to add a widescreen fix or you're limited to a 4:3 aspect ratio.

2005 adventure game Ankh is another example. I did manage to at least get it to launch on Windows 11 after setting a compatibility mode, but even then you can't open your inventory at all, which is necessary to play the game properly. On SteamOS, it just runs. No tinkering needed.

More recently I wanted to play some Arx Fatalis. A 2002 release. It launched on Windows 11, but there were graphical glitches and it crashed immediately after character creation. It was also stuck at a low resolution and would crash if I tried to change it. You can fix it with a third party fix based on a source code release. On SteamOS it works fine without it though.

The fact that many of these older games have a community of dedicated fans who will do what they can to keep a beloved game running on modern hardware at all costs is one of the perks of PC gaming. Not every game enjoys such a fervent fanbase though, or even makes such fixes possible. Lots of these old games "just work" on Linux via Proton though just due to the way Proton works, even after they've long been forgotten on modern Windows.

This is why I'm always telling people who ask, "Should I get a Steam Deck?" My answer is always, "It depends." It depends on you, your needs, your expectations, what games you want to play. This is true of anything. You wouldn't buy a Super Nintendo if you wanted to play Sonic 2, so don't buy a Steam Deck if you want to play Fortnite.

[Drak3]

Publicado originalmente por Haruspex:

Mostly I was referring to older Windows games not running on modern Windows.

Get ready for the moving goal post.

Publicado originalmente por Mahjik:

Nobody can. Nobody can guarantee that a PC game you bought will keep working on the PC/laptop you bought period.

It’s not even guaranteed on “modern” consoles going back to the PS3 and Xbox 360. System updates can break game compatibility and if a game is abandonware, you’ll either lose access to that older game or won’t be able to play games that require the update that broke compatibility.

[Mahjik]

Publicado originalmente por Drak3:

It’s not even guaranteed on “modern” consoles going back to the PS3 and Xbox 360.

I cannot speak to that.. I'm not a console gamer so I'll take your word for it.

[Radegast]

I have a good performance PC and no taste / desire to spend time on it. Steamdeck is a superb tool how to enjoy games (streaming from PC) when i am already in the bed. But even without, it its good.

For travellimg i still prefer a book instead of the handled.

The OS is the winner in the concurent products.