There’s absolutely no reason not to buy an SD. It’s the Switch of the PC world! It’ll go on forever even when the second is released. There are literally thousand of games out there (tens of thousands if you’re into emulation) that run on the SD in its current form
*** The Official Steam Deck Thread ***
- Thread starter DrCrabHands
- Start date
I thought it wasn't powerful enough when it released and never bothered getting one. I only have one now as I got a too good to miss out deal on a "faulty" used one which was easily fixed. Having one for a while I just realised that it doesn't have to run the Star Warses or the Wukongs out there. I'm currently playing Balatro, UFO 50 and another go of the Titanfall 2 campaign.
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How easy is it to switch from using handheld (my usecase - steam games / emus in evening) to docked on a livingroom TV. The second usecase would be brilliant for my son to play wobbly life / minecraft etc on downstairs TV rather than in my office.....
And I've seen it can support multiple storefronts; epic games OK? How would one play minecraft?
Cheers for any input
And I've seen it can support multiple storefronts; epic games OK? How would one play minecraft?
Cheers for any input
The easiest way is to get a dock to keep permanently plugged into the TV. That way all you need to do is put the SD in the dock and plug in a single USB-C cable.
Check out the Heroic Launcher which handles Epic, GoG, Amazon and others with ease. I’d say this is a mouse and keyboard job to get it set up and games installed but you’re once the games are installed they’re in Steam and you’re back to the easy to use Steam interface. I’m not sure about playing Minecraft specifically but there’s bound to be a tutorial at setting it up somewhere on the net!
Check out the Heroic Launcher which handles Epic, GoG, Amazon and others with ease. I’d say this is a mouse and keyboard job to get it set up and games installed but you’re once the games are installed they’re in Steam and you’re back to the easy to use Steam interface. I’m not sure about playing Minecraft specifically but there’s bound to be a tutorial at setting it up somewhere on the net!
Soldato
Actually good reminder for me to ask, has anyone used and can recommend any of the 3rd party docks?
I have a DELL WD15 here from my previous jobs home office setup, is that going to work or do stupid things with the SD?
www.laptopmag.com
Happy in fairness to invest in another dock if I need to but thought sensible to ask first before spending. .....it's already been an expensive week 
Ta
I have a DELL WD15 here from my previous jobs home office setup, is that going to work or do stupid things with the SD?
Dell WD15 Docking Station - Full Review and Benchmarks
The Dell WD15 Docking Station provides 4K or dual-monitor output over USB Type-C, but competing machines offer more versatility for less money.
Happy in fairness to invest in another dock if I need to but thought sensible to ask first before spending
. .....it's already been an expensive week Ta
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I just got a cheapo usb-c hub from Amazon which does the job for me. Doesn't output 4k at 60hz, but then any game in which you need 4k at 60hz probably won't run on the Deck anywayActually good reminder for me to ask, has anyone used and can recommend any of the 3rd party docks?
I have a DELL WD15 here from my previous jobs home office setup, is that going to work or do stupid things with the SD?
Dell WD15 Docking Station - Full Review and Benchmarks
The Dell WD15 Docking Station provides 4K or dual-monitor output over USB Type-C, but competing machines offer more versatility for less money.
Happy in fairness to invest in another dock if I need to but thought sensible to ask first before spending
Ta
Soldato
should be fine! external display support has come on a lot in steam OS. I'd be amazed if that Dell didn't do everything you need.Actually good reminder for me to ask, has anyone used and can recommend any of the 3rd party docks?
I have a DELL WD15 here from my previous jobs home office setup, is that going to work or do stupid things with the SD?
Dell WD15 Docking Station - Full Review and Benchmarks
The Dell WD15 Docking Station provides 4K or dual-monitor output over USB Type-C, but competing machines offer more versatility for less money.
Happy in fairness to invest in another dock if I need to but thought sensible to ask first before spending
Ta
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Soldato
Oh that would be amazing
. Already rigged up to my 32" panel so thats a winner
Soldato
it used to charge the laptop via the USB-C so assuming that fits the bill?
I has a 65w or 90w DELL psu powering it from AC
Soldato
that’s plenty. 45w is enough to charge and use the deck at the same time
Soldato
Well seems I have gone from payment processed to shipped with tracking number in one fell swoop! this morning.
Hopefully see it by monday
Hopefully see it by monday
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Thanks for this - I had no idea, will have a play when I get home
This +100 - the integration with steam makes this so nice to use.
On a different note, I have a major IT overhaul Im in the middle of, new PC, KVM dock for personal PC and work setup, Im thinking of getting a Ugreen docking station for the deck, how reliable is using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with the deck as I obviously don't want to have to get another K&M for the Steamdeck dock.
Weirdly I fancy using the Linux side of it for a few things
Well seems I have gone from payment processed to shipped with tracking number in one fell swoop! this morning.
Hopefully see it by monday
I hope you enjoy it, it will soon end up in a handheld obsession and collection
, starts with one then suddenly more. Really enjoying going back to handheld devices again, something I grew up with and sadly died out till recent years with technology becoming interesting in these devices again.You will love the screen on it and make sure to try out some games with HDR on them as that is the huge selling point of the SD OLED.
Gotcha, although you don't need much GPU for Monkey Island
For my money the Deck might not be the most powerful handheld (it was never meant to be), but by its nature it's the most tightly integrated to the Steam ecosystem.
On the OLED thing, I wouldn't say The Phawkx is a clickbaity content creator at all- he was very clear that his tests are unrealistic in the general use case, but it was a useful test intended to demonstrate that the OLED can burn in. Every OLED will degrade in some way eventually, it's the nature of the technology, but you'd have to be really trying hard to make it a practical issue over the sort of timescales these devices are useful for, and with a bit of DIY skill they're replaceable components, so I don't see it as an issue.
Having said that, after trying an OLED version I have no plans to upgrade, I'm quite happy with my OG LCD.
Agree the Steam Deck is more console like for the average user and has its own market place for that reason and the OLED HDR display is great on it.
Phawx is not clickbaity he is probably the one person to most respect in the field on YouTube, he's like Level1Tech's Wendell for handhelds and mobile devices. He knows his stuff and not made up rubbish. OLED screens we all know degrade over time as all screens do even LCDs, just OLEDs being organic sadly degrade faster than other screen technology, just the nature of the technology, just some people are not aware of it.
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Quick question for steam deck owners who play strategy games. How do games like shadow tactics and commandos play on the steam deck? Normally play these type of game with mouse and keyboard and I'm not sure if the steam deck would be a suitable replacement. Cheers
Soldato
I hope you enjoy it, it will soon end up in a handheld obsession and collection
You will love the screen on it and make sure to try out some games with HDR on them as that is the huge selling point of the SD OLED.
Oh I am already terrible for collecting lol
Handhelds wise I already have Gameboy, modded Game Gear, Lynx, Evercade, PSP, Odroid GO and an OLED PS VITA, the OLED screen on the Vita is beautiful, if the SD is even half as good as that (I knows it's WAY better) I will be over the moon.
Been scouring the PC gaming Wikis list of HDR ready games and there are loads more that I own than I thought!
Haven't been this excited for a new console in absolutely ages!
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First thing to do is to check www.protondb.com and search for the game on there to see how compatible the game is on SteamOS. Protondb is a site where users review games compatibility with various Linux based OS's and comment if a game works out of the box, or any tweaks which might be needed. They also sometimes comment on the most optimum controls etc.
With strategy type games which rely on keyboard and mouse on a normal PC it depends on how twitch-based the mouse needs to be. For slow paced strategy games everything can usually be mapped to a control button or combo, and the trackpads are good enough to be used for mouse input. I actually kind of enjoy the challenge of getting an optimum control setup in the Steam controller settings menu for each game with the buttons and trackpads. You can also just download control schemes that others have created off the cloud as well, someone will usually have done one for pretty much any game, and you can tweak this for yourself if needed.
For anything which needs quick and accurate mouse work like Commandos I personally prefer to still use a wireless mouse in my right hand, whilst using my left hand to hold the deck and map game keys to the buttons my left hand can reach. This is with me lying back with it in a tablet stand balanced on my chest with one of those beanbag trays, or just simply balanced on a cushion. I have played Commandos before on a desktop pc, and I know there are times where you really have to be fast and accurate with the mouse cursor when you need to make well timed moves, and I know that using the track pads or joysticks as mouse could be tricky in those moments. The bulk of the game could well be fine with a SD only control setup that someone will have created, but its just those tricky moves now and again which you might need to resort to using an actual mouse. With the Steam Deck you can have both mouse as track pad and an actual mouse connected at the same time, and switch between the two when needed for the tricky bits.
Soldato
Yours turned up yet?I just bought a 1TB Oled SD. I'm not worried about burn in as I'll just run brightness at 25% be in a darkened room most of the time as I'll be doing mostly bed gaming.