Steam Deck? HOOAHH!

[User 189]

I don't think anyone buying one cares at all if it comes from Steam themselves, as you could simply install that on a generic device.

Similar to GPUs, the Steam Machine was licensed to other manufacturers such as Gigabyte Technology.

The Steam Deck's biggest competitors aren't Nintendo, Sony, or MS. It's boutique gaming PC manufacturers, like Razer, Origin, Falcon, and the like.

Consolized though it may be, it's still a PC at heart. It has some potential to eat into the traditional console market, especially if they can maintain a smooth experience across all games, but it's primarily a laptop competitor.

Is the hardware in that handheld console really comparable to a gaming PC or even a laptop for that matter?

 

[Renzatic]

Is the hardware in that handheld console really comparable to a gaming PC or even a laptop for that matter?

It's a 4 core Zen 2 Ryzen chip, with a integrated GPU that's supposedly pretty stout. It won't be able to go toe to toe with a top end gaming PC, but it's still got a lot of bang for it's size.

For comparison, it could probably give a Razer Book with it's Intel XE GPU a run for its money.

 

[Renzatic]

Steel yourselves, folks. I'm about to fire up some Proton games to see how well they run.

 

[Renzatic]

I tried out two fairly demanding games, Resident Evil 2, and Nex Machina (aka the raddest game EVAR). This is hardly a scientific benchmarking, since I'm not comparing frames per second or anything, but just at a casual glance based on what I know about how they usually run in Windows.

As far as I can tell, running 1920x1200 windowed with everything maxed out, they're about on par with each other. All you have to do is turn on Steam Play and click Proton Experimental in your user preferences, and the games install just like they would in Windows. The only issue I could see is that it gives a generic app name in the global menu at the top left, rather than the actual name of the program.

...pretty damn swank.

 

[lizkat]

I tried out two fairly demanding games, Resident Evil 2, and Nex Machina (aka the raddest game EVAR). This is hardly a scientific benchmarking, since I'm not comparing frames per second or anything, but just at a casual glance based on what I know about how they usually run in Windows.

As far as I can tell, running 1920x1200 windowed with everything maxed out, they're about on par with each other. All you have to do is turn on Steam Play and click Proton Experimental in your user preferences, and the games install just like they would in Windows. The only issue I could see is that it gives a generic app name in the global menu at the top left, rather than the actual name of the program.


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...pretty damn swank.

That second one there looks like what happens when someone new to the boondocks goes all in for "smart home" tech and wires up a bunch of motion-sensitive yard lights around their five acres of mown grass surrounding their summer retreat in the middle of 25 acres of wildlife habitat.

Come nightfall: Yeee haaaa.

 

[Renzatic]

That second one there looks like what happens when someone new to the boondocks goes all in for "smart home" tech and wires up a bunch of motion-sensitive yard lights around their five acres of mown grass surrounding their summer retreat in the middle of 25 acres of wildlife habitat.

Come nightfall: Yeee haaaa.

It's what my neighborhood looked like on the 3rd and 4th. The neighbors just to the left of me had to have spent about $10,000 on fireworks. I've seen official functions hosted by cities that were less impressive.

 

[lizkat]

It's what my neighborhood looked like on the 3rd and 4th. The neighbors just to the left of me had to have spent about $10,000 on fireworks. I've seen official functions hosted by cities that were less impressive.

Heh, fun and games you don't even have to download!

Of course for some in range of those fireworks displays, that might go over about like that ill fated iTunes automatic download of a U2 album.

 

[User 189]

with a integrated GPU

Oh, I thought it was a discrete GPU?


I'd be surprised if it's much better than Intel Iris Xe graphics that come integrated into Intel's latest offerings...

 

[User.168]

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[User.168]

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[User 189]

Steam Machine was a response to the risk that Windows may go full on Windows Store only apps, no other store fronts please. Epic's Tim Sweeney had the same opinion at the time. The Steam Machine project was doomed to fail for two main reasons, in my opinion:

1. Steam machines were made by all the usual PC makers with no clear guidelines from Valve on what the minimum hardware should be. This project is vastly different, since it is fully under Valve's control with them setting the specs and the design and controlling the entire supply chain from manufacturing to selling.
2. SteamOS was immature and not ready for prime time back in 2015. It made no sense for consumers to buy a "steam machine" since many games were not compatible. The workaround was to install Windows, but then why buy a steam machine in the first place, when you could buy an equivalent PC from the same manufacturer for the same price, or less. I understand that things are very different in 2021 and SteamOS is a different beast entirely.

Do you think Steam Decks should be made by other PC manufacturers too (so long as Valve learns from their mistakes and sets clear guidelines regarding the minimum requirements)? I think that would help to expand the reach of SteamOS and finally give Nintendo a run for their money.

 

[JayMysteri0]

Valve Says It Hasn't Found A Game That The Steam Deck Can't Handle

According to one Valve dev, all games tested on the device run at 30 fps or higher

kotaku.com

 

[Renzatic]

Linus Tech Tips has a hands on with the Steam Deck. Seems to be pretty impressed with it.

 

[User 189]

Linus Tech Tips has a hands on with the Steam Deck. Seems to be pretty impressed with it.

Linus Tech Tips isn't the only one.

 

[Renzatic]

Linus Tech Tips isn't the only one.

So rad.

 

[JayMysteri0]

A little more on it, that I guess Steam wasn't in a hurry to reveal about it's little discussed dock.

The Steam Deck Might Struggle To Play Some Games On Big TVs

Valve has confirmed the portable device won't get a power boost when docked and plugged into a external monitor

kotaku.com

In an interview with PC Gamer, Valve’s Greg Coomer explained that when developing and designing the Steam Deck, Valve had thought about adding a “higher power mode” that would be activated after docking the device. However, the company decided against it.

“...We felt that it was actually better all things considered to not modify based on docked status or mobile status,” Coomer explained.

“We really wanted to prioritize for using it in what we thought would be the highest use case, which is actually mobile,” Coomer told PC Gamer. “And so since we were focusing on that, and we chose like a threshold where the machine will run well, and with a good frame rate with AAA games in that scenario. We didn’t really feel like we should target also going after the dock scenario at higher resolutions. We wanted a simpler design target and to prioritize that.”

Still, if you were planning on using the Steam Deck as a living room PC and portable console, this might be something to consider before trying to snag one later this year.

As of today, we also don’t even know how much the dock for the Steam Deck will cost, when it will be available to pre-order or purchase, or really any other details for that matter.

 

[Renzatic]

A little more on it, that I guess Steam wasn't in a hurry to reveal about it's little discussed dock.

That's no surprise. The integrated GPU in the thing will work fine running all your games in 1280x800, but try to push it anywhere beyond that, and you'll quickly begin to see its limitations.

 

[User 189]

That's no surprise. The integrated GPU in the thing will work fine running all your games in 1280x800, but try to push it anywhere beyond that, and you'll quickly begin to see its limitations.

Maybe it isn't the Nintendo Switch "Pro" that we all wished for...

 

[Renzatic]

Maybe it isn't the Nintendo Switch "Pro" that we all wished for...

Oh, it's still a killer machine, you'll just have to curb your expectations a bit.

 

[User 189]

Oh, it's still a killer machine, you'll just have to curb your expectations a bit.

The custom AMD "Ryzen" APU is underwhelming and unimpressive.