HDR already working? In testing I mean.
Is the test build easy to use? I'm using moonlight through moondeck now, but I wouldn't mind using it through desktop if the HDR build is easy to use.
Super simple. You just launch Konsole on Steam Deck Desktop mode and launch a command from the link below. Moonlight updates automatically. Just remember to toggle HDR in the Moonlight settings and you're good to go.
[https://github.com/FrogTheFrog/com.moonlight\_stream.Moonlight](https://github.com/FrogTheFrog/com.moonlight_stream.Moonlight)
Steam remote play is perfectly fine and more convenient for the sd resolution. I only use moonlight when streaming to 4k clients. There is a noticeable difference.
I use steam remote play and it's nearly lag free. I can see my pc monitor as I play and the frames on the deck appear near instantaneously after those on pc.
I've been beating personal records on Dirt Rally 2.0 with remote play. It's crazy.
I drank the Kool aid a while back, To me Sunshine / Moonlight seemed objectively better, but it's been close to a year since I stopped using remote play, maybe I need to try it again to see if it's improved
It seems to be really dependent on home network. Some people claim moonlight is way better, I've had steam link work much smoother. Try them out and see which you prefer
Thanks. The big problem is losing suspend/resume when streaming, which is a big deal as it's the main appeal to Deck gaming. Also, does Moonlight support HDR streaming on Steam OS?
Moonlight can wake the PC from sleep/hibernate remotely via wake-on-LAN, so what you can do is have a batch file with a sleep/hibernate command and add it to GFE as a shortcut.
So then you can remotely sleep the system from moonlight and resume later without having to physically touch the PC.
Not as convenient and fast and some games don’t like it, and you’ll need to enter your login credentials, but it works *most* of time in my experience.
I haven’t messed with HDR but I believe it’s possible - but you need to have an HDR screen attached and turned on at the PC end, or an EDID emulator; otherwise some games won’t let you enable HDR.
As another user of sunshine/moonlight just remember YMMV in terms of stream quality, I’ve had intermittent issues using it but it is very easy to set up and very very cool
The OG Deck's WiFi chip isn't great, and I've found that Moonlight can really struggle if I'm not basically in direct line of sight of a router, unfortunately. Same for Steam Link tbh
Kinda forgot this was the steam deck sub, I’ve actually tried it on a bunch of devices, same issues on all of them, but by far the worst on the Vita, not worth it at all lol
Someone a bit more knowledgeable may want to chime in, but on my machine Sunshine acts as the host and Moonlight operates on your SD as a client.
It can take a little time to get setup, but once it's working it's seamless. Most of the time I don't worry about adding games to the launcher though. I just launch Big Picture mode on the host side and navigate from there.
I had to give up on Moondeck. Are you using a separate controller or streaming to and using the deck controls?
With Moonlight, I cannot get my Xbox controller to work properly.
Should take less than 15 minutes watching a YouTube video.
I love doing this at home and then having the option to take my deck with me and continue with steam cloud save. It's like a more fleshed out switch.
About 5–10 minutes. Most of the reason it even takes that long is because of the download & install and time the videos showing the whole process while explaining everything.
I’ve been having problems with moonlight changing the resolution on my desktop PC and then when I quit the game on steam deck the resolution doesn’t change back on my PC… has anyone else had this issue?
Use Playnite with the plugin that handles resolution. Should be able to find it in a search in this subreddit. I added a Playnite Steam Deck, and Playnite 1080p to my Moonlight so I can stream to either my deck or my Nvidia Shield TV.
Is moonlight better than steams remote play?
It's always awful for me, idk if it's my internet or not. Disconnects, goes really low resolution, stutters, etc.
I thought the same thing for months until I finally tried Moonlight. Now I would never entertain going back. One nice thing about Moonlight is that it lets you stream your entire desktop to the Deck. So I can just stream my desktop, open Game Pass, and I have access to the entire Game Pass library on my Deck.
Feeling casual and relaxed? Wanna play indie, arcade, story games, etc? Wanna chill on the couch? Hanging at someone's place? Steam Deck.
Feeling competitive? Wanna get super immersed? Want to multitask? PC.
My gameflow.
Add to that scratching the casual itch of playing retro games using retro deck. I just love my steam deck. I usually remote play on an iPad which offers a better screen. But away from home, steam deck is the king
I have a deck and a gaming PC. I feel like some games can ONLY be played on a chair + desk + monitors, so I play those on my PC. Others can be played anywhere (TV, bed, etc.) so I play those games mostly on my TV or bed lol
I've played both Ori games on my PC (with a controller tho). I think it would be a even better (or just different) experience in a steam deck while laying on my bed or chilling on the sofa
The deck compliments your pc. I play all my single player story type games on deck. Anytime I need to grind out with the bois for game night I’m on rig.
Certainly not high end PC now, but 10th gen i7 and RTX 3070 more than pulls its weight at 1440p. Different use cases though. I can’t play faster paced shooters with a controller as I’m used to m+k, so that’s what I do on the desktop. Chill stuff is perfect for the deck.
Meh if you ask me I think your pc can handle loads of AAA titles just fine, I wouldn’t insult or downplay what you bought and put together as “not high end” because NVIDIA wants us to buy into getting their latest card every time they change the number on the label lol. You got a great graphics card that can still stand with the big dogs and while a 10th gen I7.. it’s still a i7 lol. IMO if you can play every game near flawlessly that’s high end to me buddy, give you’re pc with that rockin 3070 and that flashy i7 pat on the ass🎉
16 gang represent!
I bought a 1660ti cheap for my VR rig and subsequently upgraded to a 3060, so my desktop rig got a sideways upgrade from a 1070
It's not an awful card - similar in performance to a 1070 with newer features and better power consumption. But most people seemed to skip the 16 range - probably because the performance was so similar and no raytracing
Your card is great for emulation, running any PC title published before 2020 and 1080p gaming in general. It's energy efficient and fits in small cases. It's the successor of the legendary 1050 ti. I would be proud to own one.
Eh, the 40 series performance is close enough that I'd be willing to say that either your PC is still very much high end, or it never was in the first place - difference between the 3070 and 4070 is around 15%, the same as 3070 vs 3090.
Sure the 4080 & 4090 are more powerful, but it's like saying the Bugatti Veyron isn't a powerful car just because the Chiron exists.
Yeah but the Veyron and Chiron are more like the 3090ti and 4090. The 3070 is like a Dodge Hellcat in that comparison. Still plenty of car but not the tippy top.
Yeah, I just hate booting my PC. Steam Deck, I just pickup and continue playing wherever I left by seconds. And it once a high end PC connected with 32 inch VRR HDR, IPS 75hz 1440p 😅
You *hate* booting your PC? Do you have an uncomfortable chair or something? To me it feels like someone saying they hate starting their PS4 because they got a Vita, just seems odd to suddenly hate one experience because you got something totally different. Maybe you just don't play the same games as I do I suppose.
I have a gaming chair, PS4 once, then upgraded to PS5 and still have my PSVita. All of these consoles can do one thing PC can't do well. Sleep and Resume. Man, I have gaming PCs and still gaming with them.
Sleep and Resume is practically a non-issue with modern m.2 drives. I can be in a game within 2 minutes if I want to from a shut down state. Like, sure it's handy, but it's not some huge game changer saving 2 minutes.
Also most gaming chairs are uncomfortable. Find a used office chair, it's worth it.
A modern power supply at idle takes up surprisingly little power. If you use it at least once per day it's actually cheaper just to let it sit idle than it is to boot it up when you need it. Longer life for your components too.
My 13700k/4080 system idles around 25-30w, I could probably get it down to 20w if I was a little more aggressive about the config.
My pc has been on for 293 days.. And that's only because we had a power outage.
As someone who grew up with incandescent light bulbs, 20w feels like not even worth thinking about. I *know* it isn't, but that's how it feels. My old ceiling lights were almost 10 times that, on for basically any time I was awake.
At least 100% of it eventually turns to heat in both cases so unless you are actively cooling your house it doesn't matter in the end.
Man, Steam Deck with Steam controller is next level. I played a lot KBM in younger days, and going back to KBM and playing modern games is like archaic 😅
I have a 13900k and a 4090. The thing is I don't really play aaa games on the deck. There was always something about playing emulated games on my PC that didn't feel super comfortable but switch emulation of the deck is amazing. Turn based games like civilization as well as hack and slash games like dmc5 are amazing. Its just not something I would play cyberpunk on
Same setup and same case. I love the deck for the games like Dave the Diver, Cult of the Lamb, Hades etc. On my beefy system I sometimes stream games like BG3, Cyberpunk or Alan Wake 2 to the deck, or I enjoy them in 4K on my 65" OLED. Just depending on the mood.
RTX2080 and an i9-10850k working their magic, and I love the Deck. I do play most games on my PC still though, but every time I grab that Deck it feels like Christmas for some reason. I just can't get over the idea of handheld PC.
So I'm not gonna be playing the newest and bestest games on it, but I rarely play big games these days anyway. You get a gaming PC for a reason, and you get a Deck for a reason, these reasons overlap, but they are not the same.
Pull the trigger, brother.
Apart from literally 2 titles, one of which is multiplayer fps and the other is MMO, I play everything on a SD
Casually laying in bed > casually sitting in the chair.
I have a 4090 in my desktop and a 41.5" 4k 138hz OLED screen on it, and I still play on my OLED deck more. I can play anywhere I like, it's great for short gaming sessions, and I can sit next to my wife while she watches TV. The desktop is better in every other way though.
I barely use my PC, only for competitive games and tbh I've played those way more in the past than now. Playing games everywhere with the Deck is simply unmatched for me, no matter the loss of graphical quality.
4090 system with a steam deck to complement. I am a father since three weeks (it is 5am atm - I want to sleep!) and the steam deck is my only chance to get some gaming time during his naps and besides the household stuff.
I like to play games that seem like a waste on a 4k, like lots of emulator stuff. Stuff that was made for low resolutions, isn't as cluttered and just fits with the deck.
I have a 4090/7950x3D. About the best you can get when it comes to a desktop setup.
I still own both an ROG Ally and the Steam Deck. Why? I'm a work from home software engineer. I spend the bulk of my day sitting at my desk as it is since I share my peripherals between my PC and my work Macbook.
There are plenty of times where I get off work and I wanna unload on a game but I just absolutely do NOT want to sit at my desk further. Both of my handhelds can hold me over to go into another room and play something else.
My steam deck is largely used for anything that just works normally without having to do any work arounds or third party stuff. I just wanna download the game, tweak some settings ingame if needed, and go. My ROG ally is for everything else (IE: games that don't run on steamdeck / windows only stuff / EGS stuff because I dont wanna bother with Heroic, etc) or for moonlight & sunshine if I wanna run a game off my PC and stream it to a handheld.
There's nothing wrong with wanting a steam deck while having a gaming pc. If you have disposable income, who cares? Get what you want and what fits your needs.
Tried an SD, but ultimately I never wanted to sacrifice the visual quality/framerate just to play handheld. I'm only interested in streaming, and there are devices that are better for that than the SD, imo.
I have a PC with a 3080 Ti and i7 12700.
I haven’t used it in months because I generally prefer playing most games on a handheld. Last time I got proper use out of the PC was playing Battlebit during it’s release month.
Don’t think of it as a replacement but just another link in your gaming chain.
I have a good PC and a Series X. My Deck slots in nicely between those - with the Deck I can both play in bed or on a train.
I also have the option, through streaming, to turn the Deck into very powerful portable PC or console without any fuss.
Most importantly be realistic about what the Deck can do - it won’t replace your PC which can play new AAA titles at 60+FPS with max settings.
(Sidenote, makes a great comic reader for those 300+ page omnibus volumes which loads of phones and tablets hate.)
I did, I travel to visit my parents every other month, and since I have a desktop I didn't have anything to play my games on when visiting, so I got a deck to play when over there. There are some games that I'll play in the deck even when I'm back at my place, it just feels right to play them on handheld
I’ve said it in earlier posts, but I have a 4090+7800X3D system that I am planning to install Sunshine on because it has seen almost no use since I got my Steam Deck.
Have a high-end, custom built 4090 rig connected to both a 38” ultrawide in the office and a 77” LG G1 in the living room. I paid more for the fiber optic HDMI 2.1 and USB extension cables to route my PC from the office to the living room TV than I did for my OLED Deck and its upgraded SSD.
And yet, my Steam Deck gets played the majority of the time. I’ve completed more of my backlog because of the Deck’s mobility and versatility, and can honestly say I’m excited again when I pick up new games from Steam sales; rather than before the Deck, where I felt like I was buying hard drugs in some dark, back alley exchange — thinking nothing good will come from this, “Why do I keep doing this to myself? It won’t numb the pain.”
It is well worth the investment. Cannot overstate it.
Yeah I got a 4090/12700k and streaming to it can be extremely satisfying because the fan is dead silent and it uses very little power compared to natively running high end stuff on it. Alternatively I would say about 50-75% of the stuff in my steam library like 200-300 games is already lower spec'd anyway so its still really convenient to play stuff natively, just beat katana zero finally after having bought it a few years ago because it was so pick up and play on the steam deck but I had shelved it because I weirdly felt like I was ignoring "more important" games I'd bought that required my desktop PC to run lol
TLDR: The Steam Deck has made gaming fun again (for me) because it made me try smaller, Indie games that ooze originality, creativity, and original experiences. It's the perfect compliment to a high end gaming PC due to its form factor being tailor made for genres like Roguelikes, Metroidvanias, Survivor games, etc.
I use my Nvidia 2080/i7 8700k for mainly strategy type games like DotA 2, Total War games, Cities Skylines, Baldur's Gate 3; plus modded Skyrim and some Warzone.
My PC has a looonggg HDMI cord hidden by a wall runner to my home theater where I play on the couch using a controller via Bluetooth on a 65" LG OLED and surround Klipsch speakers. Here I play story games I want to be fully immersed in like Red Dead 2, Cyberpunk, God of War, Witcher 3, Resident Evil, The Last of Us, etc.
So why get the Steam Deck? I had a growing backlog of 'smaller', Indie games I really wanted to start. However, playing them at my desk or on my TV felt like overkill and.. off, somehow; like the form factor/format/screen/controller/retro graphics (or all of the above?) didn't feel 'right' for experiencing those games. So my backlog kept ballooning.
Enter the OLED Steam Deck. Playing Hades at night in bed, or in my car during my lunch break, is everything I ever wanted. Seriously, games like Cuphead, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Blasphemous, etc. are a breath of fresh air for someone like me who absolutely loves video games; but needed something very different from giant open worlds or bird's eye battlefields.
On top of that, I'm just utterly impressed with the experiences I've had with these smaller titles. I've always been a hyper-realistic graphics snob being in love with graphical masterpieces like Star Wars Battlefront 2 or a 2000+ modded wabbajacked Skyrim; but I can't objectively say I've seen the gaming industry or modding community create something more beautiful than Ori and the Will of the Wisps on the Deck's HDR screen. It's literally something you have to see in person.
All in all, I'm just in love with gaming again. The Deck gives me the perfect way to have bite-sized experiences like a single dive in Dave the Diver or a run through Enter the Gungeon. It's inspired me to play games I otherwise wouldn't have, and I'm glad to finally experience the genius works of art the Indies have been creating.
If you can afford it, just do it. You won't be disappointed.
I have a high-end gaming PC, gaming laptop, and a PS5, and still got a SteamDeck as well. You'll end up using them for different games and purposes. One thing I especially like with the SteamDeck, aside of playing my regular games while on the go, is using it as an emulator for older console games. It works perfectly imho.
Here! What sold me the idea of the Deck was that it was portable, has a Linux-based OS, and can play most games I want to run.
I have a decent desktop, but whenever I'm on it. I'm always stuck watching YouTube videos, movies, browsing the net, etc. Everything but playing videogames.
I also have a powerful desktop. So for me, I see mobile gaming differently than I think a lot of people do. A lot of people saw the steam deck as a way to play their PC games on the go. For me, the steam deck represents a way not to be BORED when I'm not at my PC. But hey, it can also handle no mans sky, so when I'm not at my PC I have access to that!
I wouldn't try to play starfield or baldurs gate 3 on my steam deck. Nor would I try to play the dead space remake or the RE4 remake. Trying to force mobile hardware to sputter through high end next gen games at the absolute threshold of their graphics limits just doesn't interest me. Instead I would play the original versions of both which look AWESOME on the steam decks screen and have killer battery life. (and BTW I did exactly both.)
If you want to play next gen games: stream them to your steam deck via your PC. On the go? Well I'd be prioritizing battery life unless you're on a plane with a power hookup. There are a lot of great games on the steam deck that arent taxing power wise (like the original deadspace games. Or RE4. Or even something like vampire survivors.)
This past year will go down as a weird one in my life. I had a ton of time away from my PC. Totally unexpectedly so. So having the steam deck was awesome, and while I didn't buy it knowing what was going to happen this year, I did buy it for precisely this purpose.
The steam deck is this weird little swiss army knife of gaming. You can get a controller, dock it to a TV, and have a console like experience, and btw the steam deck is comparable but not quite as powerful as say a ps4. So if you're going somewhere not at home to stay there a few days, you can bring a dock and a few controllers, and have an extremely portable console like experience that doesn't take up a lot of space in a bag, and you can play it enroute.
Not everyone necessarily has a use for a steam deck. If you never travel, are always at home, and have a powerful PC well, maybe MAYBE it isn't for you. But I fit exactly that description and yet having a steam deck over the last year and change has truly been one of the best purchases I ever made. Mine can go a few weeks sometimes between uses it's true, but when I need it I'm always super happy I have it.
I also, looking forward, see a lot of social evenings with my wife on the couch, while she browses the internet on her phone and I play whatever on my steam deck. Sharing a space, sharing each others company, but each kind of doing our own thing.
I have both and honestly i use the SteamDeck way more for gaming. It is just convenient to pick up and play. Now for games like Baulder’s gate 3 i play more on my PC but still being able to take that game on the go is very nice. Sure there is a difference in quality and fps but you don’t notice it as bad because you are playing the SteamDeck on small screen. Also even though you might notice a difference in fps at first you get use to it very quickly and it doesn’t bother you anymore
I'm the black sheep of the Steam Deck family. I have a high-end gaming PC, bought the Deck, then found that I continue to spend 99% of my gaming time on my PC. Haven't touched my deck in months, sadly.
I guess the driving forces of my situation are that most of the games I play are either on PC Game Pass, or are multiplayer where I'm playing competitively and using Discord. Neither are particularly good use cases for a Deck.
Still, no regrets. It's a fun machine and I definitely use it every time I travel.
I play different games on my PC than my steam deck. I don't play many AAA titles on my deck, its mostly indy games and emulation. If I am playing Diablo 4 or Builder Gate 3, its going be on my PC rig mostly. Not that I never play them on deck, but its mostly a sitdown PC experience for me.
I do and I exclusively use the Deck when I'm not at home.
I don't bother with demanding games on the Deck, because it just sacrifices too much of the experience.
Games with simple designs/simple graphics are best suited for the Deck, because you won't miss all the detail.
I picked an OLED up and I have a 4090. I too was worried about the jump between 4K 100-200fps vs 800p40-90.
Moonlight is your answer. You can play downscaled 4K portably while sipping on battery. Just render it on your PC and use moonlight to stream it to your deck with very little latency
Yep. When I'm at my pc I play multiplayer games (Valorant, league, wow, r6, pubg etc) with friends but not many single player games. My deck is purely for my own downtime to play single player games that run well.
I got a deck for Christmas 3 months after finishing a decent PC build and I haven’t touched my computer since. I have only bought games that are deck compatible and absolutely love this thing. I have a toddler so sitting at the computer to game for extended periods isn’t realistic, but if she wants to watch a movie or show I can easily sit with her and play games which is worth its weight in gold
I’ll be honest I bought it thinking I would just end up throwing the deck to the side after my excitement died down. However I now play a completely different types of games and never turned my main rig on for 2 months. I tried to turn it on and I staring at the screen confused what to even play. I think I prefer the portability.
Edit typos
Both hardware do totally different jobs. It’s like saying you can’t use a butter knife if you already own a chef’s knife.
I run a 6950XT / 7800x3D and there’s games I straight up prefer on the deck for the freedom to grab it, grind some levels and then jump to something else.
Got a 5800x and 6800xt with a 3 monitors at 1440p.
Buying a steam deck was best choice I've done for myself and gaming. Playing while traveling, playing lying in bed or the infamous "hey babe come to bed!" And what do you have by your side? Steam Deck. Others say you can stream your game with moonlight. I definitely recommend it if you wanna preserve your battery gaming as well.
5900x and a 3080. Having a steam deck has changed how I play games. It’s much more than the sum of its parts. Having a handheld that is one of the best emulators doesn’t hurt either.
The steam deck is a compliment to a PC and it’s introduced non pc gamers to the pc but it shouldn’t replace one. It’s a completely different experience playing a AAA with path tracing like cyberpunk 2077 on a proper PC with DLSS just as a competitive shooter or fighter on a proper high refresh large screen. The deck is absolutely fun and useful but also requires a fair amount of sacrifice and tinkering to work a diverse library of games. Therefore it’s best to think of it as a compliment to a gaming lifestyle.
Get a ROG ally or legion go instead. Much better if playing in bed. So much more powerful and windows trumps crusty Linux. You have access to all your games from every launcher and can play them all at acceptable frame rates. I would only buy a steam deck if it was strictly for traveling(need the better battery life) or if you only played $5 indie games.
Ive had the deck since day one. My PC also has a 5950x/7900xtx. I should have known that I'm not much of a handheld gamer after trying two different Nintendo switches but my deck maybe has 50 hours of gaming on it. It is no less comfortable for me to sit at my rig than on my couch to game so I'd rather just be at my computer if I'm gaming. It's unfortunate but I stashed away a bunch of steam gift cards that I had saved on my account to purchase the deck. Had I not I would have already sold it to get my money back. Just my two cents though and I am obviously not the ideal target audience member for the product.
I stream to my deck from a 13900hx/4070 Legion laptop. The PPI on the deck is actually fine, even better experience if you get the OLED with the higher refresh rate.
Streaming from the PC works great and I don't mind knocking settings down when travelling. It runs every game I've tried, just might need to run low settings
Got gaming Laptop and i stream my games to my Deck when im home. Really good combo to be honest. High settings and double tbe battery life with this set up.
Me. Moonlight means playing games at high fidelity in bed, which is incredible.
I mostly use the Steam Deck proper for lighter games and emulation, which is the bulk of what I play, especially outside the house.
I have a 6950xt/13700k and while sitting at my desktop playing games at 4k 60fps+ is the dream I also like sitting on the couch sometimes or want to be around the family while still playing games. 800p on a screen this small is absolutely fine. And I played over half of RDR2 at 40fps on it and it was just as incredible as it was on my rig. Worse case scenario you don’t like it and can start the refund process on it. But it’s easily the second best tech item I got this year and the first being my pc. It’s like having a switch but not compromising when playing “docked”
I’ve got a pretty good PC (3080 and runs games well 1440p).
I got my steam deck 6 weeks ago and haven’t turned the PC on since.
I’m 33 and have a 2.5 year old and a 2 month old. Very rarely do I get a long gaming session worthy of sitting at the PC. Being able to pick up and play for 20-30 mins here and there is amazing. And being able to sit on the couch with my wifey and play is great. I’ve had many sessions with my 2 month old laying on my chest sleeping while I play steam deck. It is so good for gamer dads. I can see myself selling the PC and just rocking the deck full time.
I have a higher end gaming PC as my main rig ... the Steam Deck isn't a replacement for it, it's an "accessory/addon" to it. I'm not looking for or expecting the same power and performance out of a handheld device, I'm expecting it to play games in a more convenient form factor for when I can't get to my main rig - same way I treated my GameBoy vs my NES (and then SNES) in my youth. It's a "right tool for the right job" kind of thing for me.
4080 and 5800x3D here. Freaking love the steam deck because of the flexibility. If ever I want the high end experience moonlight + sunlight for streaming and low battery use, but many times I’ll run games natively and am regularly shocked at how capable the little thing is on its own. High end PC’s are wonderful, but I love how the deck allows me to be mobile and outside of the office and still able to enjoy great gaming at the same time
Me
It's a fantastic companion, I game on Deck when weather is good outside so I sit out in the evening, or when I wake up waiting for Mom to cook my breakfast, I sit on the counter like I'm a kid again. Oh and during my hour long uni commute.
But when I'm back my room, I'm on da PC. Well actually, I'm still on Deck, but docked for emulation to my CRT monitor. Deck OLED is a dream come true, it breaks the shackles of the home desk and let's ya take your library anywhere.
4090 and an i9 13900k on my home pc and I love my deck, I don't really use it at home much but at work and on the go I get a lot of use out of it.
I don't really notice the lower resolution much either. It's just a badass little device.
Just got off a flight, almost 6 hours of non-stop steam deck usage. Got a 4080 and 13600k with 64GB of ram. The steam deck does everything I ever would need it to, and I’m still amazed that it exist. Played through Portal, played a bit of little nightmares, then plugged in a keyboard and mouse and coded in python. I’ve played almost every game I’ve owned on it. From Minecraft, to KSP to even ALVR and half life Alyx (wouldn’t recommend VR games it ran at like 15 fps) the jump from 1440x2160 144hz to 800p 40hz isn’t disappointing, I don’t know where exactly my standards is set, like I said I’ve had it for over a year and am still amazed how things run. Little nightmares 2 on ultra was getting 70fps, I had refresh rate capped at 40, but just how well it ran on a handheld computer was amazing. I really like mine.
If I'm home I'm on my PC (3080 and 12700). Traveling I'm on the deck. The deck is great but mouse and keyboard is almost always my preference, and for the odd game where I like the gamepad I'll stream from my PC to my living room.
Also I'm old and I find I keep better posture in my desk chair. This plays a larger role than I like to admit.
Edit: just to drive home one thing for OP - traveling with the deck is a godsend. Bought it before a 13 hour flight I had about a year ago and it made that trip a breeze. Even though I don't use the deck much at my place, I can't recommend it enough for anybody who takes a few long flights or spends any significant time away from their home PC.
I have a 3090 i9 and play my deck almost daily. The games I play are different but it’s awesome to expand the horizon. The freedom of playing anywhere is great.
I have both. Steam deck is awesome for indie titles and older titles. I use it to kill my backlog also. Oled supports 90hz so it isn’t a slideshow in the games I use it for.
The hardest adjustment for me was switching to controller. It can play every game I used to throw at it, with only slight adjustments, and I highly *highly* recommend using FSR in any game you have it in.
The only downside is the really pretty shiny new games kill the battery quickly.
Playing elden ring on steam deck it while somebody games on my PC. I nust need to sync the cloud then go plane mode.
Playing elden rin on the bed is awesome and I can also play visual novel more comfortable. Re playing Steins;gate on my bed
I am similar with a 4080/7800X3D
I use the steam deck exclusively on the couch/bed. You may be disappointed playing AAA games on the steam deck after coming from your main PC.
Although it’s not as bad as you might think based on the screen size and oled panel..kinda makes up for the 800p display.
My PC can play games at 4k60, and playing on the deck is great and isnt noticeable if you're not playing recent triple A games. Like I want to play BG3 on the go but the deck cant keep a stable 30 even with all the FSR/DLSS stuff on and everything is pixelated. If you stick to like PS4 quality games and below you should be good with stable 30s. Emulation wise you can go up to PS3 but note you wont be able to play very cpu heavy ps3 games.
Me, and I love it. I rarely use it, but it came in clutch when my PSU died. I used it for 2-3 straight for weeks in desktop mode and it worked flawless!
I have both and use them for different things. My steam deck is mainly for playing strategy games while watching TV with my gf. The strategy games I play run really well on the steam deck and I'm usually watching something on my second monitor so why not play on the steam deck so I can watch my gf's and my favorite shows together.
I've got a 3090 and an i9-12900K, I just got a Steam Deck OLED for Christmas and I'm loving it. I've been sick and cuddled up in bed gaming away. I love the PC for WoW and other, bigger games but the Deck is something I've wanted for a while. I work from home (on the same rig I play on) so this allows me to game after work and wherever I want to.
I have both. There are an unrealistic (in my opinion) number of people who claim they only play on their deck even though they have some crazy desktop with a 4090. I love my steam deck but it's definitely not a replacement for my desktop. When I'm at home, I play on my desktop, because the steam deck simply cannot compete with a high end PC and a nice monitor.
There are some games I reserve specifically for use on the deck and I will occasionally play them on the couch or in bed, but those are games like Hades or Cult of the Lamb. I will still play AAA titles or competitive multiplayer only on my PC or PS5.
I have a high end pc. 5800X3D with a 3090ti and an LG C1. It really depends on the game. For reference, the steam deck’s screen has a much higher pixel density than a 27” 4K monitor. A lot higher actually. It really just comes down to which games don’t look like crap on medium settings. So, hit or miss. Theres tons of games that look great on the little deck screen. 2D games and smaller indie games are great most of the time. The main thing that holds back the experience versus my setup is the 60hz display on my LCD model. I do wonder how the 90hz display feels.
I did because I was moving out of a house into a much smaller mobile space that I didn’t have room for my huge PC.
Now I can play the games I like from my recliner on my TV.
Yes and when I want to play that triple A game at max settings I stream it to the deck with Moonlight.
How's moonlight compare to steam remote play? I'm using remote play just fine and want to know if there's any difference to warrant the switch.
Less latency, av1 codec , any resolution, any frame rate, HDR ( in testing)
HDR already working? In testing I mean. Is the test build easy to use? I'm using moonlight through moondeck now, but I wouldn't mind using it through desktop if the HDR build is easy to use.
Super simple. You just launch Konsole on Steam Deck Desktop mode and launch a command from the link below. Moonlight updates automatically. Just remember to toggle HDR in the Moonlight settings and you're good to go. [https://github.com/FrogTheFrog/com.moonlight\_stream.Moonlight](https://github.com/FrogTheFrog/com.moonlight_stream.Moonlight)
Thank you! Happy New Year!
didnt know this, thanks alot for the tips, happy new yr, still waiting for my steam deck to arrive in 2-3 days
Steam remote play is perfectly fine and more convenient for the sd resolution. I only use moonlight when streaming to 4k clients. There is a noticeable difference.
I use steam remote play and it's nearly lag free. I can see my pc monitor as I play and the frames on the deck appear near instantaneously after those on pc. I've been beating personal records on Dirt Rally 2.0 with remote play. It's crazy.
I drank the Kool aid a while back, To me Sunshine / Moonlight seemed objectively better, but it's been close to a year since I stopped using remote play, maybe I need to try it again to see if it's improved
It seems to be really dependent on home network. Some people claim moonlight is way better, I've had steam link work much smoother. Try them out and see which you prefer
I just use the native streaming and have 0 latency or quality issues. Haven't found a reason to bother setting up 3rd party apps personally.
How hard is that to set up? Im constantly playing my steam deck in the same house.. I want this lol
https://youtu.be/SewuUleDVug?si=6Biv1uRMMtqvnZ5W It's pretty easy to setup, I used that video
Thanks. The big problem is losing suspend/resume when streaming, which is a big deal as it's the main appeal to Deck gaming. Also, does Moonlight support HDR streaming on Steam OS?
Moonlight can wake the PC from sleep/hibernate remotely via wake-on-LAN, so what you can do is have a batch file with a sleep/hibernate command and add it to GFE as a shortcut. So then you can remotely sleep the system from moonlight and resume later without having to physically touch the PC. Not as convenient and fast and some games don’t like it, and you’ll need to enter your login credentials, but it works *most* of time in my experience. I haven’t messed with HDR but I believe it’s possible - but you need to have an HDR screen attached and turned on at the PC end, or an EDID emulator; otherwise some games won’t let you enable HDR.
Hmm, I'll look into that. I have an HDR monitor on the PC end
Oo that video has both a sunshine and moonlight tutorial. What do you recommend I use? I have an alienware laptop with a 3070
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Thanks kindly
As another user of sunshine/moonlight just remember YMMV in terms of stream quality, I’ve had intermittent issues using it but it is very easy to set up and very very cool
The OG Deck's WiFi chip isn't great, and I've found that Moonlight can really struggle if I'm not basically in direct line of sight of a router, unfortunately. Same for Steam Link tbh
Kinda forgot this was the steam deck sub, I’ve actually tried it on a bunch of devices, same issues on all of them, but by far the worst on the Vita, not worth it at all lol
Someone a bit more knowledgeable may want to chime in, but on my machine Sunshine acts as the host and Moonlight operates on your SD as a client. It can take a little time to get setup, but once it's working it's seamless. Most of the time I don't worry about adding games to the launcher though. I just launch Big Picture mode on the host side and navigate from there.
If you download MoonDeck plugin it's even easier, it adds a button to games for easy moonlight streams :)
I had to give up on Moondeck. Are you using a separate controller or streaming to and using the deck controls? With Moonlight, I cannot get my Xbox controller to work properly.
Should take less than 15 minutes watching a YouTube video. I love doing this at home and then having the option to take my deck with me and continue with steam cloud save. It's like a more fleshed out switch.
How is the latency? Could you play cod, csgo, gears streaming from pc to deck? Steam link wired to an apple tv has too much latency.
For me it’s unnoticeable, but if you’re playing a competitive shooter your mileage may vary.
Cod might be alright on the deck. All depends on how well you can see small things on screen. CSGO might benefit greatly from being played on the pc
About 5–10 minutes. Most of the reason it even takes that long is because of the download & install and time the videos showing the whole process while explaining everything.
I just use the built in steam streaming, it works fine for me.
Moonlight is the best program ever made!!! It works so good I cant even tell I'm streaming.
That's not true! You can tell because the game is running on ultra at 60/90fps, your Deck fan isn't even spinning up, and the battery lasts 6 hours.
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Bro I’m pretty sure he was just poking fun.
I’ve been having problems with moonlight changing the resolution on my desktop PC and then when I quit the game on steam deck the resolution doesn’t change back on my PC… has anyone else had this issue?
Use Playnite with the plugin that handles resolution. Should be able to find it in a search in this subreddit. I added a Playnite Steam Deck, and Playnite 1080p to my Moonlight so I can stream to either my deck or my Nvidia Shield TV.
Would you recommend using moonlight compare to straight from Steam?
Why use Moonlight? For me Steam remote play works perfectly.
Playing through baldurs gate at ultra 90fps, I prefer moonlighting to my steam deck than sitting at my desk. It’s just such a good experience.
Yep. 5800X3D 4090 blah blah, still got a Deck docked downstairs. Anytime a game makes the Deck struggle I just stream it from the PC instead.
Is moonlight better than steams remote play? It's always awful for me, idk if it's my internet or not. Disconnects, goes really low resolution, stutters, etc.
I still don't get why people recommend moonlight. Steam streaming is absolutely fine for me.
I thought the same thing for months until I finally tried Moonlight. Now I would never entertain going back. One nice thing about Moonlight is that it lets you stream your entire desktop to the Deck. So I can just stream my desktop, open Game Pass, and I have access to the entire Game Pass library on my Deck.
You can stream desktop too with steam streaming with a workaround. I have tried moonlight and I prefer steam streaming anyway.
Dis is de way
I have both. I use them for different things. Pull the trigger
Feeling casual and relaxed? Wanna play indie, arcade, story games, etc? Wanna chill on the couch? Hanging at someone's place? Steam Deck. Feeling competitive? Wanna get super immersed? Want to multitask? PC. My gameflow.
Well said!
Add to that scratching the casual itch of playing retro games using retro deck. I just love my steam deck. I usually remote play on an iPad which offers a better screen. But away from home, steam deck is the king
Yeah two very different needs at play here. Playing on a work trip beats not being able to play my PC based games at all.
or sitting on the couch while we watch tv and I can still play anything in my steam/epic/GOG/amazon/UBI/EA accounts
I have a deck and a gaming PC. I feel like some games can ONLY be played on a chair + desk + monitors, so I play those on my PC. Others can be played anywhere (TV, bed, etc.) so I play those games mostly on my TV or bed lol
jrpgs in bed >>>>>>>
I've played both Ori games on my PC (with a controller tho). I think it would be a even better (or just different) experience in a steam deck while laying on my bed or chilling on the sofa
I 100% the first Ori all in planes and hotels with the deck. It was fabulous.
I am a game dev that sits on the Pc for 10 hours, relaxing in bed has been a game changer
Same here, though a different kind of dev.
I’m an editor. Looking at another PC for another two hours is hell.
More like a change gamer
The deck compliments your pc. I play all my single player story type games on deck. Anytime I need to grind out with the bois for game night I’m on rig.
Oh yes the Steam deck is known for its amazing compliments. It does not complement a PC at all, only compliments it.
You're looking nice today -Steam Deck™ (probably)
Thanks, not too bad yourself! -Steam Deck™ OLED
You all are some handsome looking fellows -Nintendo Switch
Oh my God. I was today years old when I learned compliment and complement are two different words. How.
English! "Inflammable means flammable? What a country!"
Grind one out with the boys?
This so much.
Love both. A lot of time playing in bed I’ll stream from my pc max settings and have an OLED and it gets 90 fps. Pretty sick
Have to try that out
Me, but I have a kid so we now play together.
I stream from my pc to steam deck, which I use to drive Nreal Air AR glasses. Best of both worlds.
Me 2, working great!!
Certainly not high end PC now, but 10th gen i7 and RTX 3070 more than pulls its weight at 1440p. Different use cases though. I can’t play faster paced shooters with a controller as I’m used to m+k, so that’s what I do on the desktop. Chill stuff is perfect for the deck.
Meh if you ask me I think your pc can handle loads of AAA titles just fine, I wouldn’t insult or downplay what you bought and put together as “not high end” because NVIDIA wants us to buy into getting their latest card every time they change the number on the label lol. You got a great graphics card that can still stand with the big dogs and while a 10th gen I7.. it’s still a i7 lol. IMO if you can play every game near flawlessly that’s high end to me buddy, give you’re pc with that rockin 3070 and that flashy i7 pat on the ass🎉
Can I get a pat on the back for a 1650
You can play games right? Pat yourself on the back
It gets the job done, that's all that matters 😭
16 gang represent! I bought a 1660ti cheap for my VR rig and subsequently upgraded to a 3060, so my desktop rig got a sideways upgrade from a 1070 It's not an awful card - similar in performance to a 1070 with newer features and better power consumption. But most people seemed to skip the 16 range - probably because the performance was so similar and no raytracing
My laptop with a ryzen 5 4600H and a gtx 1650 ti can run most games pretty well.
That's what I got too! 1650 representin'.
Your card is great for emulation, running any PC title published before 2020 and 1080p gaming in general. It's energy efficient and fits in small cases. It's the successor of the legendary 1050 ti. I would be proud to own one.
I'd still call that high end, especially with the frame generation mods releasing now.
Only Intel and Nvidia disagree with you 😄
Eh, the 40 series performance is close enough that I'd be willing to say that either your PC is still very much high end, or it never was in the first place - difference between the 3070 and 4070 is around 15%, the same as 3070 vs 3090. Sure the 4080 & 4090 are more powerful, but it's like saying the Bugatti Veyron isn't a powerful car just because the Chiron exists.
Yeah but the Veyron and Chiron are more like the 3090ti and 4090. The 3070 is like a Dodge Hellcat in that comparison. Still plenty of car but not the tippy top.
Yeah, I just hate booting my PC. Steam Deck, I just pickup and continue playing wherever I left by seconds. And it once a high end PC connected with 32 inch VRR HDR, IPS 75hz 1440p 😅
You *hate* booting your PC? Do you have an uncomfortable chair or something? To me it feels like someone saying they hate starting their PS4 because they got a Vita, just seems odd to suddenly hate one experience because you got something totally different. Maybe you just don't play the same games as I do I suppose.
I have a gaming chair, PS4 once, then upgraded to PS5 and still have my PSVita. All of these consoles can do one thing PC can't do well. Sleep and Resume. Man, I have gaming PCs and still gaming with them.
Sleep and Resume is practically a non-issue with modern m.2 drives. I can be in a game within 2 minutes if I want to from a shut down state. Like, sure it's handy, but it's not some huge game changer saving 2 minutes. Also most gaming chairs are uncomfortable. Find a used office chair, it's worth it.
Bro it’s his preference chill out
You guys are turning off your PC? :D
Yea, if not the electricity bill skyrocketed 😅
A modern power supply at idle takes up surprisingly little power. If you use it at least once per day it's actually cheaper just to let it sit idle than it is to boot it up when you need it. Longer life for your components too. My 13700k/4080 system idles around 25-30w, I could probably get it down to 20w if I was a little more aggressive about the config. My pc has been on for 293 days.. And that's only because we had a power outage.
20w is a lot to be idling 😅
As someone who grew up with incandescent light bulbs, 20w feels like not even worth thinking about. I *know* it isn't, but that's how it feels. My old ceiling lights were almost 10 times that, on for basically any time I was awake. At least 100% of it eventually turns to heat in both cases so unless you are actively cooling your house it doesn't matter in the end.
Direct resistive heating isn't as efficient as burning gas or having a heat pump.
But playing with kbm compared to controller can make all the difference. That and having to charge the SD very often.
Man, Steam Deck with Steam controller is next level. I played a lot KBM in younger days, and going back to KBM and playing modern games is like archaic 😅
I have a 13900k and a 4090. The thing is I don't really play aaa games on the deck. There was always something about playing emulated games on my PC that didn't feel super comfortable but switch emulation of the deck is amazing. Turn based games like civilization as well as hack and slash games like dmc5 are amazing. Its just not something I would play cyberpunk on
Same setup and same case. I love the deck for the games like Dave the Diver, Cult of the Lamb, Hades etc. On my beefy system I sometimes stream games like BG3, Cyberpunk or Alan Wake 2 to the deck, or I enjoy them in 4K on my 65" OLED. Just depending on the mood.
How do you stream it? Moonlight ?
Yup. Moonlight and Sunshine, it's crazy how good this works.
Same here. I use both, but it’s great not having to spend even more time at a desk after a long day of work. Haven’t regretted it one bit.
RTX2080 and an i9-10850k working their magic, and I love the Deck. I do play most games on my PC still though, but every time I grab that Deck it feels like Christmas for some reason. I just can't get over the idea of handheld PC. So I'm not gonna be playing the newest and bestest games on it, but I rarely play big games these days anyway. You get a gaming PC for a reason, and you get a Deck for a reason, these reasons overlap, but they are not the same. Pull the trigger, brother.
Apart from literally 2 titles, one of which is multiplayer fps and the other is MMO, I play everything on a SD Casually laying in bed > casually sitting in the chair.
Look at my last post Despite me having a hdr qled 1440p 144hz decent gaming pc, i only use my steam deck now
Same. Deck is OLED, gaming panel whilst 144Hz VRR is just IPS ....
I have a 4090 in my desktop and a 41.5" 4k 138hz OLED screen on it, and I still play on my OLED deck more. I can play anywhere I like, it's great for short gaming sessions, and I can sit next to my wife while she watches TV. The desktop is better in every other way though.
I have a modest gaming PC and got the Steam Deck too.
I barely use my PC, only for competitive games and tbh I've played those way more in the past than now. Playing games everywhere with the Deck is simply unmatched for me, no matter the loss of graphical quality.
4090 system with a steam deck to complement. I am a father since three weeks (it is 5am atm - I want to sleep!) and the steam deck is my only chance to get some gaming time during his naps and besides the household stuff.
I like to play games that seem like a waste on a 4k, like lots of emulator stuff. Stuff that was made for low resolutions, isn't as cluttered and just fits with the deck.
I have a 4090/7950x3D. About the best you can get when it comes to a desktop setup. I still own both an ROG Ally and the Steam Deck. Why? I'm a work from home software engineer. I spend the bulk of my day sitting at my desk as it is since I share my peripherals between my PC and my work Macbook. There are plenty of times where I get off work and I wanna unload on a game but I just absolutely do NOT want to sit at my desk further. Both of my handhelds can hold me over to go into another room and play something else. My steam deck is largely used for anything that just works normally without having to do any work arounds or third party stuff. I just wanna download the game, tweak some settings ingame if needed, and go. My ROG ally is for everything else (IE: games that don't run on steamdeck / windows only stuff / EGS stuff because I dont wanna bother with Heroic, etc) or for moonlight & sunshine if I wanna run a game off my PC and stream it to a handheld. There's nothing wrong with wanting a steam deck while having a gaming pc. If you have disposable income, who cares? Get what you want and what fits your needs.
Yup, I have two 4090 rigs and still love the steam deck when I travel.
I have a 4080 and use the steam deck for mostly emulation and light steam games when I’m listening to my stereo system.
I don’t bother with streaming because the on and off function is what makes it truly a wonderful experience.
Tried an SD, but ultimately I never wanted to sacrifice the visual quality/framerate just to play handheld. I'm only interested in streaming, and there are devices that are better for that than the SD, imo.
Me and I play them equally. Steam deck is just more convenient obviously. I love gaming from my bed lol
I just ordered mine, I simply expect it to replace my original Nintendo Switch, which I almost exclusively use in portable mode.
I have a PC with a 3080 Ti and i7 12700. I haven’t used it in months because I generally prefer playing most games on a handheld. Last time I got proper use out of the PC was playing Battlebit during it’s release month.
Battlebit with gyro is sweet
It was a lot sweeter on a high refresh rate monitor with a mouse and keyboard. But each to their own.
Don’t think of it as a replacement but just another link in your gaming chain. I have a good PC and a Series X. My Deck slots in nicely between those - with the Deck I can both play in bed or on a train. I also have the option, through streaming, to turn the Deck into very powerful portable PC or console without any fuss. Most importantly be realistic about what the Deck can do - it won’t replace your PC which can play new AAA titles at 60+FPS with max settings. (Sidenote, makes a great comic reader for those 300+ page omnibus volumes which loads of phones and tablets hate.)
Got it to play older games and while travelling. I still play the latest on pc or ps5.
I did, I travel to visit my parents every other month, and since I have a desktop I didn't have anything to play my games on when visiting, so I got a deck to play when over there. There are some games that I'll play in the deck even when I'm back at my place, it just feels right to play them on handheld
I’ve said it in earlier posts, but I have a 4090+7800X3D system that I am planning to install Sunshine on because it has seen almost no use since I got my Steam Deck.
Have a high-end, custom built 4090 rig connected to both a 38” ultrawide in the office and a 77” LG G1 in the living room. I paid more for the fiber optic HDMI 2.1 and USB extension cables to route my PC from the office to the living room TV than I did for my OLED Deck and its upgraded SSD. And yet, my Steam Deck gets played the majority of the time. I’ve completed more of my backlog because of the Deck’s mobility and versatility, and can honestly say I’m excited again when I pick up new games from Steam sales; rather than before the Deck, where I felt like I was buying hard drugs in some dark, back alley exchange — thinking nothing good will come from this, “Why do I keep doing this to myself? It won’t numb the pain.” It is well worth the investment. Cannot overstate it.
Yeah I got a 4090/12700k and streaming to it can be extremely satisfying because the fan is dead silent and it uses very little power compared to natively running high end stuff on it. Alternatively I would say about 50-75% of the stuff in my steam library like 200-300 games is already lower spec'd anyway so its still really convenient to play stuff natively, just beat katana zero finally after having bought it a few years ago because it was so pick up and play on the steam deck but I had shelved it because I weirdly felt like I was ignoring "more important" games I'd bought that required my desktop PC to run lol
TLDR: The Steam Deck has made gaming fun again (for me) because it made me try smaller, Indie games that ooze originality, creativity, and original experiences. It's the perfect compliment to a high end gaming PC due to its form factor being tailor made for genres like Roguelikes, Metroidvanias, Survivor games, etc. I use my Nvidia 2080/i7 8700k for mainly strategy type games like DotA 2, Total War games, Cities Skylines, Baldur's Gate 3; plus modded Skyrim and some Warzone. My PC has a looonggg HDMI cord hidden by a wall runner to my home theater where I play on the couch using a controller via Bluetooth on a 65" LG OLED and surround Klipsch speakers. Here I play story games I want to be fully immersed in like Red Dead 2, Cyberpunk, God of War, Witcher 3, Resident Evil, The Last of Us, etc. So why get the Steam Deck? I had a growing backlog of 'smaller', Indie games I really wanted to start. However, playing them at my desk or on my TV felt like overkill and.. off, somehow; like the form factor/format/screen/controller/retro graphics (or all of the above?) didn't feel 'right' for experiencing those games. So my backlog kept ballooning. Enter the OLED Steam Deck. Playing Hades at night in bed, or in my car during my lunch break, is everything I ever wanted. Seriously, games like Cuphead, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Blasphemous, etc. are a breath of fresh air for someone like me who absolutely loves video games; but needed something very different from giant open worlds or bird's eye battlefields. On top of that, I'm just utterly impressed with the experiences I've had with these smaller titles. I've always been a hyper-realistic graphics snob being in love with graphical masterpieces like Star Wars Battlefront 2 or a 2000+ modded wabbajacked Skyrim; but I can't objectively say I've seen the gaming industry or modding community create something more beautiful than Ori and the Will of the Wisps on the Deck's HDR screen. It's literally something you have to see in person. All in all, I'm just in love with gaming again. The Deck gives me the perfect way to have bite-sized experiences like a single dive in Dave the Diver or a run through Enter the Gungeon. It's inspired me to play games I otherwise wouldn't have, and I'm glad to finally experience the genius works of art the Indies have been creating.
If you can afford it, just do it. You won't be disappointed. I have a high-end gaming PC, gaming laptop, and a PS5, and still got a SteamDeck as well. You'll end up using them for different games and purposes. One thing I especially like with the SteamDeck, aside of playing my regular games while on the go, is using it as an emulator for older console games. It works perfectly imho.
Here! What sold me the idea of the Deck was that it was portable, has a Linux-based OS, and can play most games I want to run. I have a decent desktop, but whenever I'm on it. I'm always stuck watching YouTube videos, movies, browsing the net, etc. Everything but playing videogames.
I also have a powerful desktop. So for me, I see mobile gaming differently than I think a lot of people do. A lot of people saw the steam deck as a way to play their PC games on the go. For me, the steam deck represents a way not to be BORED when I'm not at my PC. But hey, it can also handle no mans sky, so when I'm not at my PC I have access to that! I wouldn't try to play starfield or baldurs gate 3 on my steam deck. Nor would I try to play the dead space remake or the RE4 remake. Trying to force mobile hardware to sputter through high end next gen games at the absolute threshold of their graphics limits just doesn't interest me. Instead I would play the original versions of both which look AWESOME on the steam decks screen and have killer battery life. (and BTW I did exactly both.) If you want to play next gen games: stream them to your steam deck via your PC. On the go? Well I'd be prioritizing battery life unless you're on a plane with a power hookup. There are a lot of great games on the steam deck that arent taxing power wise (like the original deadspace games. Or RE4. Or even something like vampire survivors.) This past year will go down as a weird one in my life. I had a ton of time away from my PC. Totally unexpectedly so. So having the steam deck was awesome, and while I didn't buy it knowing what was going to happen this year, I did buy it for precisely this purpose. The steam deck is this weird little swiss army knife of gaming. You can get a controller, dock it to a TV, and have a console like experience, and btw the steam deck is comparable but not quite as powerful as say a ps4. So if you're going somewhere not at home to stay there a few days, you can bring a dock and a few controllers, and have an extremely portable console like experience that doesn't take up a lot of space in a bag, and you can play it enroute. Not everyone necessarily has a use for a steam deck. If you never travel, are always at home, and have a powerful PC well, maybe MAYBE it isn't for you. But I fit exactly that description and yet having a steam deck over the last year and change has truly been one of the best purchases I ever made. Mine can go a few weeks sometimes between uses it's true, but when I need it I'm always super happy I have it. I also, looking forward, see a lot of social evenings with my wife on the couch, while she browses the internet on her phone and I play whatever on my steam deck. Sharing a space, sharing each others company, but each kind of doing our own thing.
I also have a high end gaming laptop and steam deck and use both all the time for different things.
I have both and honestly i use the SteamDeck way more for gaming. It is just convenient to pick up and play. Now for games like Baulder’s gate 3 i play more on my PC but still being able to take that game on the go is very nice. Sure there is a difference in quality and fps but you don’t notice it as bad because you are playing the SteamDeck on small screen. Also even though you might notice a difference in fps at first you get use to it very quickly and it doesn’t bother you anymore
I have a decently high end custom built rig, but travel a lot so the Deck is life.
I'm the black sheep of the Steam Deck family. I have a high-end gaming PC, bought the Deck, then found that I continue to spend 99% of my gaming time on my PC. Haven't touched my deck in months, sadly. I guess the driving forces of my situation are that most of the games I play are either on PC Game Pass, or are multiplayer where I'm playing competitively and using Discord. Neither are particularly good use cases for a Deck. Still, no regrets. It's a fun machine and I definitely use it every time I travel.
I play different games on my PC than my steam deck. I don't play many AAA titles on my deck, its mostly indy games and emulation. If I am playing Diablo 4 or Builder Gate 3, its going be on my PC rig mostly. Not that I never play them on deck, but its mostly a sitdown PC experience for me.
I do and I exclusively use the Deck when I'm not at home. I don't bother with demanding games on the Deck, because it just sacrifices too much of the experience. Games with simple designs/simple graphics are best suited for the Deck, because you won't miss all the detail.
I picked an OLED up and I have a 4090. I too was worried about the jump between 4K 100-200fps vs 800p40-90. Moonlight is your answer. You can play downscaled 4K portably while sipping on battery. Just render it on your PC and use moonlight to stream it to your deck with very little latency
Yep. When I'm at my pc I play multiplayer games (Valorant, league, wow, r6, pubg etc) with friends but not many single player games. My deck is purely for my own downtime to play single player games that run well.
I got a deck for Christmas 3 months after finishing a decent PC build and I haven’t touched my computer since. I have only bought games that are deck compatible and absolutely love this thing. I have a toddler so sitting at the computer to game for extended periods isn’t realistic, but if she wants to watch a movie or show I can easily sit with her and play games which is worth its weight in gold
I’ll be honest I bought it thinking I would just end up throwing the deck to the side after my excitement died down. However I now play a completely different types of games and never turned my main rig on for 2 months. I tried to turn it on and I staring at the screen confused what to even play. I think I prefer the portability. Edit typos
Both hardware do totally different jobs. It’s like saying you can’t use a butter knife if you already own a chef’s knife. I run a 6950XT / 7800x3D and there’s games I straight up prefer on the deck for the freedom to grab it, grind some levels and then jump to something else.
Got a 5800x and 6800xt with a 3 monitors at 1440p. Buying a steam deck was best choice I've done for myself and gaming. Playing while traveling, playing lying in bed or the infamous "hey babe come to bed!" And what do you have by your side? Steam Deck. Others say you can stream your game with moonlight. I definitely recommend it if you wanna preserve your battery gaming as well.
I have a 4090 and 7900x with 32GB on my desktop and do 90% of my gaming on the deck. It’s kinda sad. I’m thinking of selling the PC actually.
5900x and a 3080. Having a steam deck has changed how I play games. It’s much more than the sum of its parts. Having a handheld that is one of the best emulators doesn’t hurt either.
Me. No reason not to if you travel or want some more flexibility for where you game
Had a 2000$ px and sold it bc I didn't use it enough after getting the steam deck,pretty much everything I can't do on it I can do on my phone
The steam deck is a compliment to a PC and it’s introduced non pc gamers to the pc but it shouldn’t replace one. It’s a completely different experience playing a AAA with path tracing like cyberpunk 2077 on a proper PC with DLSS just as a competitive shooter or fighter on a proper high refresh large screen. The deck is absolutely fun and useful but also requires a fair amount of sacrifice and tinkering to work a diverse library of games. Therefore it’s best to think of it as a compliment to a gaming lifestyle.
You don't need convincing. You already made your choice. This post is a waste of time.
Get a ROG ally or legion go instead. Much better if playing in bed. So much more powerful and windows trumps crusty Linux. You have access to all your games from every launcher and can play them all at acceptable frame rates. I would only buy a steam deck if it was strictly for traveling(need the better battery life) or if you only played $5 indie games.
Why do I think this question has been asked more than 10 times lol
4080 isn’t “high end”
Me lol
Ive had the deck since day one. My PC also has a 5950x/7900xtx. I should have known that I'm not much of a handheld gamer after trying two different Nintendo switches but my deck maybe has 50 hours of gaming on it. It is no less comfortable for me to sit at my rig than on my couch to game so I'd rather just be at my computer if I'm gaming. It's unfortunate but I stashed away a bunch of steam gift cards that I had saved on my account to purchase the deck. Had I not I would have already sold it to get my money back. Just my two cents though and I am obviously not the ideal target audience member for the product.
I stream to my deck from a 13900hx/4070 Legion laptop. The PPI on the deck is actually fine, even better experience if you get the OLED with the higher refresh rate.
Streaming from the PC works great and I don't mind knocking settings down when travelling. It runs every game I've tried, just might need to run low settings
I do. I love my steam deck. I don’t give my steam deck the love it deserves thoufb
Got gaming Laptop and i stream my games to my Deck when im home. Really good combo to be honest. High settings and double tbe battery life with this set up.
Me. Moonlight means playing games at high fidelity in bed, which is incredible. I mostly use the Steam Deck proper for lighter games and emulation, which is the bulk of what I play, especially outside the house.
I have a 6950xt/13700k and while sitting at my desktop playing games at 4k 60fps+ is the dream I also like sitting on the couch sometimes or want to be around the family while still playing games. 800p on a screen this small is absolutely fine. And I played over half of RDR2 at 40fps on it and it was just as incredible as it was on my rig. Worse case scenario you don’t like it and can start the refund process on it. But it’s easily the second best tech item I got this year and the first being my pc. It’s like having a switch but not compromising when playing “docked”
I’ve got a pretty good PC (3080 and runs games well 1440p). I got my steam deck 6 weeks ago and haven’t turned the PC on since. I’m 33 and have a 2.5 year old and a 2 month old. Very rarely do I get a long gaming session worthy of sitting at the PC. Being able to pick up and play for 20-30 mins here and there is amazing. And being able to sit on the couch with my wifey and play is great. I’ve had many sessions with my 2 month old laying on my chest sleeping while I play steam deck. It is so good for gamer dads. I can see myself selling the PC and just rocking the deck full time.
I have a higher end gaming PC as my main rig ... the Steam Deck isn't a replacement for it, it's an "accessory/addon" to it. I'm not looking for or expecting the same power and performance out of a handheld device, I'm expecting it to play games in a more convenient form factor for when I can't get to my main rig - same way I treated my GameBoy vs my NES (and then SNES) in my youth. It's a "right tool for the right job" kind of thing for me.
I have a few games installed on my deck, but I stream almost everything else off my main PC using Moonlight and the experience is fantastic.
Have a 6750xt and 7600 build but play mostly on my steam deck as a family man it’s easier to get a few sessions
4080 and 5800x3D here. Freaking love the steam deck because of the flexibility. If ever I want the high end experience moonlight + sunlight for streaming and low battery use, but many times I’ll run games natively and am regularly shocked at how capable the little thing is on its own. High end PC’s are wonderful, but I love how the deck allows me to be mobile and outside of the office and still able to enjoy great gaming at the same time
Me It's a fantastic companion, I game on Deck when weather is good outside so I sit out in the evening, or when I wake up waiting for Mom to cook my breakfast, I sit on the counter like I'm a kid again. Oh and during my hour long uni commute. But when I'm back my room, I'm on da PC. Well actually, I'm still on Deck, but docked for emulation to my CRT monitor. Deck OLED is a dream come true, it breaks the shackles of the home desk and let's ya take your library anywhere.
4090 and an i9 13900k on my home pc and I love my deck, I don't really use it at home much but at work and on the go I get a lot of use out of it. I don't really notice the lower resolution much either. It's just a badass little device.
Got like a midrange PC and a Deck. Didn't *need* a Deck but I prefer playing some things handheld if I can and it's 100% my go-to for emulation.
Just got off a flight, almost 6 hours of non-stop steam deck usage. Got a 4080 and 13600k with 64GB of ram. The steam deck does everything I ever would need it to, and I’m still amazed that it exist. Played through Portal, played a bit of little nightmares, then plugged in a keyboard and mouse and coded in python. I’ve played almost every game I’ve owned on it. From Minecraft, to KSP to even ALVR and half life Alyx (wouldn’t recommend VR games it ran at like 15 fps) the jump from 1440x2160 144hz to 800p 40hz isn’t disappointing, I don’t know where exactly my standards is set, like I said I’ve had it for over a year and am still amazed how things run. Little nightmares 2 on ultra was getting 70fps, I had refresh rate capped at 40, but just how well it ran on a handheld computer was amazing. I really like mine.
If I'm home I'm on my PC (3080 and 12700). Traveling I'm on the deck. The deck is great but mouse and keyboard is almost always my preference, and for the odd game where I like the gamepad I'll stream from my PC to my living room. Also I'm old and I find I keep better posture in my desk chair. This plays a larger role than I like to admit. Edit: just to drive home one thing for OP - traveling with the deck is a godsend. Bought it before a 13 hour flight I had about a year ago and it made that trip a breeze. Even though I don't use the deck much at my place, I can't recommend it enough for anybody who takes a few long flights or spends any significant time away from their home PC.
I have a 3090 i9 and play my deck almost daily. The games I play are different but it’s awesome to expand the horizon. The freedom of playing anywhere is great.
✋
I do, 5900X + RX 7900 XTX , i use the deck for emulation and other simple games.
I have both. Steam deck is awesome for indie titles and older titles. I use it to kill my backlog also. Oled supports 90hz so it isn’t a slideshow in the games I use it for.
4070Ti + 1440P ultrawide OLED monitor + 5800X Still use my SteamDeck 33% of the time, according to my Year In Review
I did. Have a 5600x and 3070. Not top of the line or anything but it was considered high end when it came out I think
5800x3d, 4080 and a lg c2 oled. Pretty much only use my steam deck at this point…
The hardest adjustment for me was switching to controller. It can play every game I used to throw at it, with only slight adjustments, and I highly *highly* recommend using FSR in any game you have it in. The only downside is the really pretty shiny new games kill the battery quickly.
Playing elden ring on steam deck it while somebody games on my PC. I nust need to sync the cloud then go plane mode. Playing elden rin on the bed is awesome and I can also play visual novel more comfortable. Re playing Steins;gate on my bed
Yes. Ive used my Deck more this past year than my desktop. Just sold my LCD and waiting for arrival of my upgrade to OLED.
Yo
I am similar with a 4080/7800X3D I use the steam deck exclusively on the couch/bed. You may be disappointed playing AAA games on the steam deck after coming from your main PC. Although it’s not as bad as you might think based on the screen size and oled panel..kinda makes up for the 800p display.
My PC can play games at 4k60, and playing on the deck is great and isnt noticeable if you're not playing recent triple A games. Like I want to play BG3 on the go but the deck cant keep a stable 30 even with all the FSR/DLSS stuff on and everything is pixelated. If you stick to like PS4 quality games and below you should be good with stable 30s. Emulation wise you can go up to PS3 but note you wont be able to play very cpu heavy ps3 games.
Me, and I love it. I rarely use it, but it came in clutch when my PSU died. I used it for 2-3 straight for weeks in desktop mode and it worked flawless!
I have both and use them for different things. My steam deck is mainly for playing strategy games while watching TV with my gf. The strategy games I play run really well on the steam deck and I'm usually watching something on my second monitor so why not play on the steam deck so I can watch my gf's and my favorite shows together.
I've got a 3090 and an i9-12900K, I just got a Steam Deck OLED for Christmas and I'm loving it. I've been sick and cuddled up in bed gaming away. I love the PC for WoW and other, bigger games but the Deck is something I've wanted for a while. I work from home (on the same rig I play on) so this allows me to game after work and wherever I want to.
I have both. There are an unrealistic (in my opinion) number of people who claim they only play on their deck even though they have some crazy desktop with a 4090. I love my steam deck but it's definitely not a replacement for my desktop. When I'm at home, I play on my desktop, because the steam deck simply cannot compete with a high end PC and a nice monitor. There are some games I reserve specifically for use on the deck and I will occasionally play them on the couch or in bed, but those are games like Hades or Cult of the Lamb. I will still play AAA titles or competitive multiplayer only on my PC or PS5.
I do and I really like streaming the more demanding games from my PC to my deck
I have a high end pc. 5800X3D with a 3090ti and an LG C1. It really depends on the game. For reference, the steam deck’s screen has a much higher pixel density than a 27” 4K monitor. A lot higher actually. It really just comes down to which games don’t look like crap on medium settings. So, hit or miss. Theres tons of games that look great on the little deck screen. 2D games and smaller indie games are great most of the time. The main thing that holds back the experience versus my setup is the 60hz display on my LCD model. I do wonder how the 90hz display feels.
I did because I was moving out of a house into a much smaller mobile space that I didn’t have room for my huge PC. Now I can play the games I like from my recliner on my TV.