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Thread: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

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    ALT0153™ Rob_B's Avatar
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    Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    It may just be because I'm older and have less time, or it may be due to crazy GPU pricing and general annoyance with the PC market, but I'm seriously considering selling my rig and just buying a basic 64GB Steam Deck and upgrading to an SSD.

    I don't use my living room SFF PC for anything other than gaming, yeah I lose the potential for amazing graphics but it'd just be so convenient!

    Sell my rig and pretty much do a straight swap with only a little extra cash needed, sounds good to me, and let's not even think about the £200 I'd planned to spend on a 'new' GPU in the next few months...

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    They're a bit small though....

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    ALT0153™ Rob_B's Avatar
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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    The ultimate SFF one might say

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Hows the eyes, yeah you can plug it into a monitor but I certainly wouldn't want to use one to replace my gaming rig..

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Even I thought about it and my view of Steam is no secret. I decided against, though, and not just because of what I think of the principles behind Steam. The first problem appeared to be actually getting one in a timely fashion. The second, for all that it's a very clever little box, is like Trig said - too small.

    Too small for me, though, doesn't mean it is for you. What is a no-no for one might be exactly what appeals to another.
    A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".

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    ALT0153™ Rob_B's Avatar
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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    They're a fair size I think.
    One thing holding me back is that I want to play through HL Alyx again!

    I might wait to see if the person I know selling a 2070 super is letting it go for cheap or not and then make my mind up.

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    It took me almost exactly a year to get one.

    However, I view it as more of a Switch that can use my existing library of games.

    Is it a desktop replacement? Maybe if you install Windows on it, otherwise it depends what you play.
    Unless the game has a linux native version, its reliant on Proton, which, as some have found, means the game can work one day, and stop the next due to an update to either Proton or the game itself.

    I have a limited set of games I choose to play on it, I don't play FPS or RTS games on it for example, but that is because I only use it hand held, and my skills with console controllers suck mightly in FPS games.

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    MCRN Tachi Ttaskmaster's Avatar
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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Back in my day, we played games with only seven colours, and were thrilled to bits.
    Even now, I'm still only gaming on a 980Ti and there's nothing I can't play at decent enough graphics levels to enjoy the game.

    Amazing über-ray-traced graphics look stunning for the first couple of times, but then you get into the game and you stop noticing how good they are anyway.

    Save your money, stick with what you have and maybe reconsider again when the next gen comes out.
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    ALT0153™ Rob_B's Avatar
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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Quote Originally Posted by BobF64 View Post
    It took me almost exactly a year to get one.

    However, I view it as more of a Switch that can use my existing library of games.

    Is it a desktop replacement? Maybe if you install Windows on it, otherwise it depends what you play.
    Unless the game has a linux native version, its reliant on Proton, which, as some have found, means the game can work one day, and stop the next due to an update to either Proton or the game itself.

    I have a limited set of games I choose to play on it, I don't play FPS or RTS games on it for example, but that is because I only use it hand held, and my skills with console controllers suck mightly in FPS games.
    I have a PC for work, a laptop, my son has a PC, we have tablets and smartphones etc so there's no need for a desktop replacement. It feels a waste to have a PC sitting next to the TV that gets turned on once a week. firing it up for 30mins of Fallout or similar is a faff, a handheld might make that easier.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ttaskmaster View Post
    Back in my day, we played games with only seven colours, and were thrilled to bits.
    Even now, I'm still only gaming on a 980Ti and there's nothing I can't play at decent enough graphics levels to enjoy the game.

    Amazing über-ray-traced graphics look stunning for the first couple of times, but then you get into the game and you stop noticing how good they are anyway.

    Save your money, stick with what you have and maybe reconsider again when the next gen comes out.
    I'm on a 960 since selling my 980Ti in preparation for cheap(er) GPUs hitting the market, but that ~£200 goes a long way toward the deck! Pkus I've reserved a 64GB SteamDeck now, I can't cancel or I'll never get that £4 back!

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob_B View Post
    I have a PC for work, a laptop, my son has a PC, we have tablets and smartphones etc so there's no need for a desktop replacement. It feels a waste to have a PC sitting next to the TV that gets turned on once a week. firing it up for 30mins of Fallout or similar is a faff, a handheld might make that easier.
    What I mean is, don't necessarily expect it to be equivalent to a Windows gaming PC, the experience can vary quite a lot.
    It's amazed me how many people seem to believe they cant live without a Deck, mostly those from countries that cant actually order them.

    I am happy with it, i'd be happier if i could get MAME and the ZX Spectrum emulators to actually work for me, but I havent had the patience to mess around much.


    Quote Originally Posted by Rob_B View Post
    Pkus I've reserved a 64GB SteamDeck now, I can't cancel or I'll never get that £4 back!
    They refund it if you cancel.

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Oh I understand the nature of it, but it probably suits my usage. Fallout, Cyberpunk and a dent in my backlog.

    As for the £4... I forgot the /s

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    I think the people its least suited to are those that have convinced themselves it will be like having a gaming PC with a 3090Ti in it, and they will be able to play their games at 4K with highest quality.

    Reality is, its a good little unit, and you sometimes have to accept its occasional failings.

    On thing I would add, you dont necessarily need an SSD, the speed with a decent SD card are more than acceptable, but you will definitely need more storage.

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    I'd seen a used 256gb ssd for under £20 and planned to upgrade it myself. Sat plus a128gb sd card should do me fine.

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    Well I got one, and an £18 256GB SSD which is now installed + a 256GB Sdcard.

    I'm really, really impressed with these things, I'm so surprised at how well some things run, Fallout 4 looks great and runs at decent settings at a fixed 40fps.
    I'm downloading a tonne of stuff but at 30meg Internet it takes a while. Cyberpunk is 60gb so I'll kick that off and have a play soon.

    Time to sell the main rig I guess..
    Last edited by Rob_B; 08-10-2022 at 06:40 PM.

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    What about screen size? Must me like playing on a mobile phone? Or do you find it big enough? How do you think RTS games would fair running on a screen that size?
    Jon

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    Re: Time to ditch the PC and go with a Steam Deck?

    It's a fair size, enough for the size of the device. It's pretty clear, although how an RTS would work I'm not sure as I don't play them, plenty of videos on YouTube though and you can map on screen buttons to make up for lack of keyboard.

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