*** The Official Steam Deck Thread ***

[willhub]

Personally would go for the Legion Go over the Ally though it is a bigger device and not without issues of its own, way too many quality control issues with the Ally (even the supposedly updated version). The Steam Deck is one of the better options unless you need Windows support.

I must be lucky with my Ally, haven't tried the SD Card slot yet, and I got mine in July, but I keep mine outside, my son has chucked it across the floor once, and I've chucked it in my backpack a few times without a case and I've not encountered any issues so far as I can see.

 

[wunkley]

Is the 64GB LCD model not on sale anymore? Best bet is buying a 64Gb LCD, then upgrading to a 2TB SSD for £100.
Is the OLED model refresh rate sorted yet? - can 30fps/60hz be selected or still only 30/75 (or maybe it was 30/90)

It made playing games that were 30fps double buffered unplayable. Too much microstutter

I'm super sensitive to microstutter and obsessive about getting smooth locked frames on the deck. On the OLED it does 30/90 by default, and I find this absolutely fine. I don't detect any microstutter and the OSD frametime graph backs it up. Feels no different to 30/60 on the LCD deck but is theoretically slightly better on the input lag side at 30/90, though not so you'd really notice.

You can 'unlink' the new OLED default fps to Hz ratios slider but I can't recall if you can manually set 30/60.

 

[Netguy]

Did you get one in the end? I was having this same conundrum last week, then found out there is a new one coming out in 2025/26, so only a year or 2 away, which swayed me towards grabbing a cheap 2nd hand LCD as a good way of gauging how much I'd actually use it, and then upgrade to OLED/Steam Deck 2 in a couple of years if I got good use out of it.

I ended up with a 512GB with the etched/anti-glare glass, and at first I was a bit unsure after reading some reports of washed out colours/glow etc., but either I got lucky, or those reports were massively exaggerated (probably the latter given how much people like to moan on the internet ). Having used it in person, I have no regrets, the screen is easily vibrant and bright enough to use even in a brightly lit room (obviously given the time of year I haven't tried it outside in the sun), and this is coming from an AW3423DW as my daily use desktop monitor, so not like I'm comparing it to a crappy budget screen!

Sure the OLED is going to be better, and side by side, I'm sure the difference would be noticeable, but it's not like I bought it for cutting edge graphics anyway - that's what my PC is for!

If the choice was between a new 256GB LCD @ £350 or the 512GB OLED @ £480 then I probably would have gone for the OLED (even if just for the bigger storage - upgrading the LCD with a 512GB/1TB NVME is going to take a decent chunk of that £130 "saving" anyway), but given I paid just over half the price (£260) for my 2nd hand one, I don't think the extra £220 would have been worth it in my case.

Not yet, I was still on the fence, haha! But I had no idea about the new 2025/26 release. Thank you!! In that case I think I'll bite the bullet and go for the LCD version. I only really want it for the small indie and retro games I have in my Steam library.

 

[Guest2]

I'm super sensitive to microstutter and obsessive about getting smooth locked frames on the deck. On the OLED it does 30/90 by default, and I find this absolutely fine. I don't detect any microstutter and the OSD frametime graph backs it up. Feels no different to 30/60 on the LCD deck but is theoretically slightly better on the input lag side at 30/90, though not so you'd really notice.

You can 'unlink' the new OLED default fps to Hz ratios slider but I can't recall if you can manually set 30/60.

Great if you can manually set 30/60 now on the OLED. You couldnt initially.
Skate 3 (on Canary) was unplayable due to microstutter on the OLED deck. On the LCD model its fine and can see no microstutter when using 30/60. Think canary uses double buffering, the reason 30/60 works
30/90 was the only option on deck OLED.

 

[carrot1401]

Great if you can manually set 30/60 now on the OLED. You couldnt initially.
Skate 3 (on Canary) was unplayable due to microstutter on the OLED deck. On the LCD model its fine and can see no microstutter when using 30/60. Think canary uses double buffering, the reason 30/60 works
30/90 was the only option on deck OLED.

I can check on my lunch break and report back on unlinking/getting 30/60 on an OLED.

 

[beachBOYken]

I would like to get one of these but can't decide between the lcd and oled.

I have an xbox, so demanding games would be played on that, I would like to use the deck for stuff like Stardew Valley, also Football Manager 2024, would the LCD version be fine for these games?

I would love the OLed version but its pricey and as its my first handheld in a long long time Im not sure how much I would use it so really didn't want to chance spending £480 on something I might not use as much as I thought. Though the Oled version seems like such a good upgrade!

Any advice based on the games I mentioned.

Thanks

 

[BKUK]

I would like to get one of these but can't decide between the lcd and oled.

I have an xbox, so demanding games would be played on that, I would like to use the deck for stuff like Stardew Valley, also Football Manager 2024, would the LCD version be fine for these games?

I would love the OLed version but its pricey and as its my first handheld in a long long time Im not sure how much I would use it so really didn't want to chance spending £480 on something I might not use as much as I thought. Though the Oled version seems like such a good upgrade!

Any advice based on the games I mentioned.

Thanks

Just get the Oled and dont look back, screen is amazing and battery life increase is a big one. If you don’t use it obv it will have a higher resale value and highly sought after.

 

[exhashdotdot]

I would like to get one of these but can't decide between the lcd and oled.

I have an xbox, so demanding games would be played on that, I would like to use the deck for stuff like Stardew Valley, also Football Manager 2024, would the LCD version be fine for these games?

I would love the OLed version but its pricey and as its my first handheld in a long long time Im not sure how much I would use it so really didn't want to chance spending £480 on something I might not use as much as I thought. Though the Oled version seems like such a good upgrade!

Any advice based on the games I mentioned.

Thanks

It massively depends on your use case. The OLED version is way better than the LCD not just for its screen (which is night and day difference), it's also got better battery life, quieter fan and supports 90 Hz. If you plan to use the Deck almost exclusively docked, none of those improvements are going to matter. If you're going to use it in handheld mode, the OLED is easily worth the upgrade. Either way, because it's so trivial to upgrade the internal SSD, make sure you get the cheaper models and buy a 2230 SSD drive separately.

 

[Orcvader]

I would like to get one of these but can't decide between the lcd and oled.

I have an xbox, so demanding games would be played on that, I would like to use the deck for stuff like Stardew Valley, also Football Manager 2024, would the LCD version be fine for these games?

I would love the OLed version but its pricey and as its my first handheld in a long long time Im not sure how much I would use it so really didn't want to chance spending £480 on something I might not use as much as I thought. Though the Oled version seems like such a good upgrade!

Any advice based on the games I mentioned.

Thanks

Another thing to consider is you can stream your Xbox to the Steam Deck. I don't have an Xbox so I can't comment on that specifically, but it's been great to stream from the desktop and PS5 to my Deck if I want to experience certain games in higher quality.

 

[martos123]

I would like to get one of these but can't decide between the lcd and oled.

I have an xbox, so demanding games would be played on that, I would like to use the deck for stuff like Stardew Valley, also Football Manager 2024, would the LCD version be fine for these games?

I would love the OLed version but its pricey and as its my first handheld in a long long time Im not sure how much I would use it so really didn't want to chance spending £480 on something I might not use as much as I thought. Though the Oled version seems like such a good upgrade!

Any advice based on the games I mentioned.

Thanks

I upgraded from LCD to OLED and dont have any regrets, its just a better unit. It depends on your budget and use case as others have said. It's not like the LCD is a bad unit by any stretch.

 

[beachBOYken]

It massively depends on your use case. The OLED version is way better than the LCD not just for its screen (which is night and day difference), it's also got better battery life, quieter fan and supports 90 Hz. If you plan to use the Deck almost exclusively docked, none of those improvements are going to matter. If you're going to use it in handheld mode, the OLED is easily worth the upgrade. Either way, because it's so trivial to upgrade the internal SSD, make sure you get the cheaper models and buy a 2230 SSD drive separately.

I was looking at the 512gb version and perhaps an sd card for extra storage if need be, I presume games can be played from the micro sd card?

Would the internal SSD run out quickly then, I guess it depends on games played and their file sizes.

I have the funds to get the OLED version, its just I worry about the delivery side of things, heard quite poor reviews of the courier Steam use.

Also I was planning on getting a PS5 eventually, but can't afford both currently, I think the steam deck would mix things up better than having both a series x and ps5.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I was looking at the 512gb version and perhaps an sd card for extra storage if need be, I presume games can be played from the micro sd card?

Would the internal SSD run out quickly then, I guess it depends on games played and their file sizes.

I have the funds to get the OLED version, its just I worry about the delivery side of things, heard quite poor reviews of the courier Steam use.

Also I was planning on getting a PS5 eventually, but can't afford both currently, I think the steam deck would mix things up better than having both a series x and ps5.

The delivery side is overblown. People paying in £ sterling are expecting Amazon level of next day delivery. The truth is they are shipped from The Netherlands, not next day delivery, or even next day shipping. They are shipped out like in batches, and then moved over in batches it seems. During transit there is no update between the 2 countries. Just basically "Shipped", and then "delivery tomorrow" People get nervous when it feels like it is off radar for a few days. I am used to it, I have even shipped large items from Japan via boat, with no tracking. 3 months at sea! So in the end, it arrives in about a week, 7 days or so. People expects 24hrs, even from Europe, just because it's via "Courier". It's a simple case of expectations. They think tracking must = fast delivery.

The courier when it comes into the UK, I can't remember, but it's fine, I got mine in 1 piece. I think it was Parcel Force.

For the actual unit, get an OLED if you are unsure, as it is a better unit. as for Storage, SD card is fine, you can run games from it just fine. Storage isn't the reason for the OLED, the screen and battery life are.

 

[CGrieves]

My stepson upgraded to the OLED and I had a play over Xmas. It's definitely a better screen, but "night and day"? Nah, the LCD has a great screen also. It's not like a Game boy without a backlight!

Batter life is much more compelling in my opinion, but personally I always carry a 20k mAh USB charger when I use the deck out and about, so I get 5+ hours of potential play at high TDP. So it's moot for my use case, no plans to upgrade.

 

[beachBOYken]

Anyone purchased one recently, is that 3-5 business days pretty accurate?

 

[martos123]

Anyone purchased one recently, is that 3-5 business days pretty accurate?

Yeah, pretty much. Mine was 5 business days.

 

[Guest2]

One thing to note for OLED version is quality control issues.
Mine went back because the left trigger sounded like a squeeky spring and Dpad was soft as much. It was like somoene had stuck it on with a blob of blue tack

It went back for a full refund. For now, i'm keeping my LCD Deck, which has no issues at all.

 

[exhashdotdot]

I was looking at the 512gb version and perhaps an sd card for extra storage if need be, I presume games can be played from the micro sd card?

Would the internal SSD run out quickly then, I guess it depends on games played and their file sizes.

I have the funds to get the OLED version, its just I worry about the delivery side of things, heard quite poor reviews of the courier Steam use.

Also I was planning on getting a PS5 eventually, but can't afford both currently, I think the steam deck would mix things up better than having both a series x and ps5.

Honestly, I think you need to have a think about what you actually want. You're going to get a biased response here because 1. you're posting in a thread about steam decks and 2. you're posting on a forum of majority PC gamers. You need to do some research about what platform you want to game on. Personally, the Steam Deck OLED is a great upgrade over the LCD (I sold my LCD and bought an OLED). It's an amazing console, but I also acknowledge that I don't play anything at all recent on it.

 

[beachBOYken]

Honestly, I think you need to have a think about what you actually want. You're going to get a biased response here because 1. you're posting in a thread about steam decks and 2. you're posting on a forum of majority PC gamers. You need to do some research about what platform you want to game on. Personally, the Steam Deck OLED is a great upgrade over the LCD (I sold my LCD and bought an OLED). It's an amazing console, but I also acknowledge that I don't play anything at all recent on it.

I want a steam deck, lol. You misread my post, I said I would like a PS5 as well but can’t afford both currently.
The steam deck game wise would mix things up, in that it would be good for more indie games and a bigger library, where as if I got ps5 first, it wouldn’t be much different than my Xbox game wise.

 

[Haggisman]

I would like to get one of these but can't decide between the lcd and oled.

I have an xbox, so demanding games would be played on that, I would like to use the deck for stuff like Stardew Valley, also Football Manager 2024, would the LCD version be fine for these games?

I would love the OLed version but its pricey and as its my first handheld in a long long time Im not sure how much I would use it so really didn't want to chance spending £480 on something I might not use as much as I thought. Though the Oled version seems like such a good upgrade!

Any advice based on the games I mentioned.

Thanks

See my post #6,271 for why I went for the LCD. If it's new vs new then OLED hands down, but I've seen used 64GB LCD go for just over £200 on the MM. £50-60 on a bigger SSD and it's still a £200+ saving vs the OLED which makes it a tougher decision.

 

[martos123]

One thing to note for OLED version is quality control issues.
Mine went back because the left trigger sounded like a squeeky spring and Dpad was soft as much. It was like somoene had stuck it on with a blob of blue tack

It went back for a full refund. For now, i'm keeping my LCD Deck, which has no issues at all.

there are QC issues with some of them, a guy at work had to rma his as the dpad wasnt working properly and sounded like an old microswitch when pressing up.

It amazes me how major manufacturers struggle to get dpad/buttons right, yet a cheapo retro handheld can be rock solid...