*** The Official Steam Deck Thread ***

MookJong said:
Was I the only one that didn't realise for ages that to use FSR in games these two things must be true:
  • The game must be running in Windowed mode
  • The game resolution must be lower than SteamDeck native
I feel like Valve should explain this better. You can get some pretty incredible results with FSR and extend the play time massively on battery.
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How does this work, does FSR automatically kick in when these 2 options are set? Does every game support it on SD?

Tell me more, this sounds like significant info! :D

Edit: I found some info here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-turn-on-fsr-on-the-steam-deck/
 
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You can only see if FSR is on by turning on the system monitor to level 5 that shows the maximum details.

I'm pretty sure most people are not using FSR to get the best performance, it can make a huge difference. Also, you need to check that the green "FPS" line is running flat / smooth on that monitor. If the line is jumping up and down you might want to lower the CPU clock speed a little. This can be particularly true on older games and make them seem much smoother. Smoother the line smoother the frames.
 
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I haven't had mine long but have noticed a lot of PC-ish tweaking that can be done to make it run more efficiently. I picked up on the FSR tip while learning about undervolting and the tdp limits. I like how easy it can be to just download and play but also how you can just dig down into the desktop mode and poke around.
 
McPhee said:
The fabled "Steam Deck Killer" is like the mirage of an oasis in the desert.

Valve priced the Deck very aggressively. And now that anyone and everyone who is involved in PC hardware is producing their own handhelds, it's getting very difficult to differentiate your product from the competition and compete on price. This week saw Acer's COO basically admit that they don't believe they have any chance of competing in this market. And I fail to see why Zotac would expect to fair any better?

Maybe we will see someone pull off the impossible within the next year. But I'd be willing to bet the Steam Deck 2 will be out shortly after that happens. And with that, the goal posts will have moved.
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The other thing to bear in mind is that Valve can price more aggressively simply because 99% of the userbase buys a Deck to play Steam games on. While it's not quite the same as Nintendo or Sony where they can take an initial loss on the hardware, nevertheless every Steam game sold is pennies in Valve's pocket.
 
So good news, have sold my 2nd desktop to a friend for his son so now have an extra lump in the SD pot earlier than expected! I have to say an OLED is looking tempting. Only consideration is I could get a 256 LCD, 1tb upgrade drive and a 512gb SD card and most likely have change vs. buying the OLED.

Are they that much better?
 
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They are a teeny bit faster than the LCD and the battery lasts a little longer, I think they're a little quieter too because of the reduced power usage.
If I was buying one now I'd probably go OLED depending on the difference in cost.
 
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Rob_B said:
They are a teeny bit faster than the LCD and the battery lasts a little longer, I think they're a little quieter too because of the reduced power usage.
If I was buying one now I'd probably go OLED depending on the difference in cost.
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So it's current £130 difference between 256gb LCD and 512gb OLED on the store
 
phatboy said:
So good news, have sold my 2nd desktop to a friend for his son so now have an extra lump in the SD pot earlier than expected! I have to say an OLED is looking tempting. Only consideration is I could get a 256 LCD, 1tb upgrade drive and a 512gb SD card and most likely have change vs. buying the OLED.

Are they that much better?
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The LCD screen on the Steam Deck is very disappointing, the OLED is really the one you want if you will be using it in handheld mode, if you plan to dock it more only then the LCD one is fine as you will be using another screen and in handheld rarely. The colours are very washed out on the LCD version and one of the worst for colour reproduction out of all the handhelds in the mainstream market for handheld devices.

The OLED with HDR will blow you away on the OLED version, if I was getting one it would be the OLED 512GB without the etched glass as the colours pop more on that version to me and is more glossy, the etched glass is good in bright areas but also can make the OLED pop less in darker rooms/situations. Personal choice really.
 
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Yeah I am in the realms of thinking do it right first time and go OLED as I can now reach that price bracket after flogging the pc. After you saying I have watched a few videos and that brightness and HDR is pretty damn impressive!
 
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Although I would get the OLED now if buying again I feel I have to stand up for the LCD screen. You can increase the vibrancy of the colours with a dedicated setting on the min SD settings now. It used to be you would do this with a 3rd party plugin called Vibrant Deck, but it is built in now. I know with my LCD I am happy with the colours, I would not say it is washed at all to be honest.
 
Bubo said:
Although I would get the OLED now if buying again I feel I have to stand up for the LCD screen. You can increase the vibrancy of the colours with a dedicated setting on the min SD settings now. It used to be you would do this with a 3rd party plugin called Vibrant Deck, but it is built in now. I know with my LCD I am happy with the colours, I would not say it is washed at all to be honest.
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Really do appreciate the feedback from this perspective too.

A near £500 purchase is scary for me lol. On the flip side of last comment..... if I could not spend the extra, the cheap bit of me would be exceptionally happy :D

Might need to talk nice to my friend and borrow his LCD overnight if he will let me to see how I get on with it.

£130 is a day trip to London with the kids which would be nice too. Money can always be used in other ways I guess........
 
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If you borrow your mates Deck make sure he has done the colour boost setting in case he doesn't know about it himself. I should say with me I am happy enough with my LCD such that I don't feel the need to upgrade with the potential for the SD2 to released within a year or two. If I was buying now I would defo go for the OLED and just add storage as able overtime if you need to limit your budget in stages.

Edit: and whatever Deck you get you will certainly want some of these.


They make all the difference.
 
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phatboy said:
So good news, have sold my 2nd desktop to a friend for his son so now have an extra lump in the SD pot earlier than expected! I have to say an OLED is looking tempting. Only consideration is I could get a 256 LCD, 1tb upgrade drive and a 512gb SD card and most likely have change vs. buying the OLED.

Are they that much better?
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The OLED screen really pops. Some games look so much better. I’ve had both. Get the OLED if you like pretty colours/lights
 
TNA said:
You what m8? Say more :D
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Go into Display settings via the Steam button. In the Brightness section there is a button for Adjust Display Colours. Go into that and there are two settings to tweak Colour Vibrance and Colour Temperature with a sample image so you can see live how it changes. I have my vibrance set to about 1/3 the way between sRGB and Boosted, and colour temperature in the middle.

I googled the Decky Loader Vibrant Deck plugin just now and apparently this plugin still is a thing on top of this. I might have to reinstall it and have a play, though apparently with the latest SD OS update there is some jiggery pokery required to get Decky Loader plugins working as they should. But regardless the built in setting does allow you to boost the colours. It is by no means OLED level, even though I have never seen an OLD Deck, I know everyone says the OLED is significanlt better. It is probably wise I never get round to seeing one because I can see myself just getting one despite my position on waiting for the SD2 :D
 
My son has hinted that he'd like a Steam Deck for his Christmas. Did they get any meaningful discounts last year around Black Friday?

I'll probably stretch to get him the OLED model but before buying just wanna make sure.
 
N0ddie said:
My son has hinted that he'd like a Steam Deck for his Christmas. Did they get any meaningful discounts last year around Black Friday?

I'll probably stretch to get him the OLED model but before buying just wanna make sure.
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Literally in the same holding pattern!

I think last year it was all about them promoting deals on cheap refurbished ones but I have my fingers crossed!
 
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