Anyone got any experience with steam deck? My work travel is exceeding 50% and would like to play my steam games instead of switch games.

I’m curious about if I can just play any games in my library and if it’ll plug into whatever tv is available to me. Is it worth the 700 bucks?

I have a steam deck and, in my experience, it has been able to play every game in my library, including high end graphics games. There are certain games where the steam deck isn't really suitable, but that has more to do with the control scheme than anything else. Games that are mouse and keyboard generally don't work well on the Steam deck, even with the touch screen. Luckily, steam has rated a ton of their games for their suitability for the steam deck.

Green if it's verified to work well on the steam deck, yellow if it's playable but maybe there's some weird or awkward controls on occasion, and grey if it's either not supported (circle with a line through it) or has not been evaluated (question mark). This rating is shown on the game's store page most of the time.

I like to take it on road trips because then I can play games either on the airplane or while the passenger in a car.

Its one major weakness, and this has apparently improved a little bit with the new OLED Steam deck, is battery life. If you're playing pixel graphics or 2D games, you can probably get 3 to 5 hours out of it no problem (depending on settings). But if you're playing a higher end graphics game, like Elden Ring, it may only last 2 to 3 hours.

People share their average battery life when playing games on this website to give you an idea of how much time you'll get out of a certain game:
https://sharedeck.games/

In terms of connecting it to your tv, its only outlet is its USB-C connection which is used for data transfer and charging. I've never personally used it to connect to my tv, because I only use it on the go, and I bring my laptop everywhere I go, but according to Google, you can connect it to a tv with a HDMI to USB-C adapter cable. But then, you can't charge it while it's connected to your TV, so you'd only get that 2 to 4 hours of gaming before you'd need to charge it.

One really cool thing that a steam deck can do is utilize emulators. Someone made an application called EmuDeck which does a lot of the work of installing emulators and organizing your ROMs for easy access while in Steam mode (the normal operating system of the machine, where you select, install and play your steam games from).
Here's a video tutorial of how to install and use it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5r2WZAImuY&ab_channel=RetroGameCorps

Granted, downloading ROMs is technically not legal, and I am not endorsing breaking the law, but it's just an option the steam deck provides for you if you're interested.

It has been worth it for me personally, but of course it all depends on your budget etc. I make enough money that I felt comfortable buying it, because, worst case scenario, I could absorb a one time 600 dollar hit. If that's your entire gaming budget for the year, it may not be worth it for you haha.

I thought I was going to learn a new method for cleaning my deck.


Joke's on me...

(05-18-2024, 09:33 PM)basballguy Wrote: Anyone got any experience with steam deck?  My work travel is exceeding 50% and would like to play my steam games instead of switch games.

I’m curious about if I can just play any games in my library and if it’ll plug into whatever tv is available to me.  Is it worth the 700 bucks?

I think most games will work.    

Battery life if not near an outlet will be the biggest issue from what i have heard and seen.

With a USB-C to HDMI adapter, you can connect your Steam Deck to a TV or monitor   (per google) 

After about 47 seconds of research I ended up buying (shit I already forgot why it’s called and had to google the name) an ASUS ROG at Best Buy. It is priced slightly higher but appears to be good enough to run all the PC game clients and not just Steam.

So far so good. Hades 2 is really what I wanted to play and it runs fine when using the docking station you could purchase for it.

The Best Buy dude said they get a lot of returns on it so I guess we’ll see how it does.

(05-29-2024, 01:07 AM)basballguy Wrote: After about 47 seconds of research I ended up buying (shit I already forgot why it’s called and had to google the name) an ASUS ROG at Best Buy.  It is priced slightly higher but appears to be good enough to run all the PC game clients and not just Steam.  

So far so good.  Hades 2 is really what I wanted to play and it runs fine when using the docking station you could purchase for it.  

The Best Buy dude said they get a lot of returns on it so I guess we’ll see how it does.

let us know how it works out for you.

(05-29-2024, 01:29 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: let us know how it works out for you.

Im at DFW waiting to go back to Denver so I have time to update.

Overall I’m pretty impressed with this device. I’ve read a lot of complaints online but I’ve had relatively minor issues (games not completely closing, short battery life).

I’ve only played two games (well 3….i made sure BG3 runs well) but I’m extremely pleased. I played Hades 2 on Steam and that baseball game on Xbox game pass that lets me play with the most amazing baseball player ever, Barry Larkin. Both games run great.

My only concern so far is around input lag when I Bluetooth my off brand Nintendo controller to the device and play on the tv. I’m not sure if it’s the docking station, the controller, the tv, or the Ally. I’m gonna research this weekend for a better controller. As of right now, I’m very glad I got this over the steam deck. It seems like it was worth spending a few extra bucks on.