Is the Steam Deck getting outdated soon? Should I wait for the next gen?
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My brother has a Lenovo Legion Go (the original one, not the S). I am definitely in envy of the big display, the higher refresh rate, and the more powerful chip. However it's a bit ehh in terms of ergonomics. It also runs windows but that's irrelevant because you can install steamOS.
There's a good chance I'll get a Legion Go next and stick steamOS on it unless we see a steam deck 2 soon that's bigger and punchier. I know we all love our retro and indie games, but it is nice to be able to play more demanding games from time to time.
Yeah ergonomics is extremely important to me. I also try to avoid products from Chinese companies.
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Yeah ergonomics is extremely important to me. I also try to avoid products from Chinese companies.
Are there electronic goods on the market that aren't, in some part, made in China?
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Are there electronic goods on the market that aren't, in some part, made in China?
I am not trying to start a political discussion here, only stating my preference.
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I am not trying to start a political discussion here, only stating my preference.
I didn't think my question was political, but rather about logistics. I just don't know of any video game console, or electronics manufacturer in general, that is promising that none of their components are made in China.
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Is the Steam Deck performance struggling with new AAA games? Should I be concerned buying a Steam Deck now?
I'm guessing/hoping not because most game developers would optimise the games for the Switch 2 and Xbox Series S which have similar performances as the Deck.
I think 30 fps (consistent) is perfectly fine, and I don't mind medium details.
If you aren't too sensitive to a bit of input lag, you could keep your laptop around and stream the more demanding games over steam link. Streaming these demanding games will also significantly increase battery life, but I don't think it will work away from home.
Most games run quite well if you drop the settings (outside of those using intrusive anticheat), and it runs lighter games very well. -
I didn't think my question was political, but rather about logistics. I just don't know of any video game console, or electronics manufacturer in general, that is promising that none of their components are made in China.
I never mentioned anything about "made in China". I said "Chinese companies".
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If you aren't too sensitive to a bit of input lag, you could keep your laptop around and stream the more demanding games over steam link. Streaming these demanding games will also significantly increase battery life, but I don't think it will work away from home.
Most games run quite well if you drop the settings (outside of those using intrusive anticheat), and it runs lighter games very well.That's true. But I really hate the noise from my laptop. It can be heard from another room.
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I never mentioned anything about "made in China". I said "Chinese companies".
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Oh, sorry, I conflated those two things. So, if I'm understanding this right, you don't mind if the components were made in China or purchased from Chinese companies, but the seller of the final product cannot be a Chinese company? That's a far easier rule to satisfy.
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Oh, sorry, I conflated those two things. So, if I'm understanding this right, you don't mind if the components were made in China or purchased from Chinese companies, but the seller of the final product cannot be a Chinese company? That's a far easier rule to satisfy.
I prefer to avoid everything from China, but that's not realistic. So for now I avoid products designed/sold by a Chinese company. That includes video games created by Chinese companies.
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Is the Steam Deck performance struggling with new AAA games? Should I be concerned buying a Steam Deck now?
I'm guessing/hoping not because most game developers would optimise the games for the Switch 2 and Xbox Series S which have similar performances as the Deck.
I think 30 fps (consistent) is perfectly fine, and I don't mind medium details.
I don't play retro games. I have the OLED. I don't feel like it's outdated. I don't care about FPS and I play some AAA games.
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I don't play retro games. I have the OLED. I don't feel like it's outdated. I don't care about FPS and I play some AAA games.
Thanks for sharing your experience and your straight forward answer!
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Do you mean that the Steam Deck is currently not capable of AAA?
Its a complicated answer. It can play probably most modern AAA games. But it likely won't be a great experience and I can only describe it as playable.
If you want a very good experience with the steam deck, then use it for mid spec games or less and it'll be perfect and have good battery life.
If you want more then maybe try another hand held, or a console.In the end the device you play your games on needs to do one thing well, and that's to play the games you WANT to play.
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That's true. But I really hate the noise from my laptop. It can be heard from another room.
Is it the kind you can open up and clean the fans?
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Is it the kind you can open up and clean the fans?
Yeah I have tried cleaning the fans but it doesn't help. I think it is just not designed well for gaming use.
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Is the Steam Deck performance struggling with new AAA games? Should I be concerned buying a Steam Deck now?
I'm guessing/hoping not because most game developers would optimise the games for the Switch 2 and Xbox Series S which have similar performances as the Deck.
I think 30 fps (consistent) is perfectly fine, and I don't mind medium details.
The thing that I would keep an eye out for is if Valve ever does a refresh with a VRR panel. With VRR, you don't need to have "so much excess GPU power that it's impossible to miss a rendering deadline".
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Is the Steam Deck performance struggling with new AAA games? Should I be concerned buying a Steam Deck now?
I'm guessing/hoping not because most game developers would optimise the games for the Switch 2 and Xbox Series S which have similar performances as the Deck.
I think 30 fps (consistent) is perfectly fine, and I don't mind medium details.
I wouldn't be concerned.
We're at a point in portable technology where increased performance means decreased battery life and makes the system need to be larger and less comfortable to hold (makes it release more heat, which has to go somewhere).
I do not believe there is enough demand to expect a larger, hotter, SteamDeck with poorer battery life to be released soon, or maybe ever.
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That's a pretty personal opinion but I'm a Switch owner and if there is one thing I don't miss on it, it's AAA games. Not because I dislike AAA, but because I think in handheld mode I really preferred games with simpler graphics, like Mario games (2D and 3D), sidescrollers, the top down Zelda games or (S)NES games. I really had a hard time when I tried Breath of the Wild and ended up playing it in the dock almost completely. I think it's a real missed opportunity that the new Pokemon games aim for 3D and open worlds because it not only hurts the games performance, but for me also the playability.
I'm interested in switching to a Steam Deck but I don't think I would play visually complex games on it. That's what my PC is for. But I don't know if that's just me or if other people feel the same.
I pretty much only use my Deck for older/simpler/indie games. I tried Ghost of Tsushima, and I definitely couldn’t enjoy it at the performance and detail level the Deck is capable of. However, streaming it from my PS5 is still a pretty great experience. That said, it still looks better on a 4K screen.
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All games in my current library look fine. Just want to plan slightly ahead for upcoming games in the near future (around 2 years).
The deck is now 3 years old, so it’s not all that future proof. I expect to see a successor sometime in the next 2-3 years or whenever it makes sense for Valve to upgrade it without losing battery life.
I’m on my second Deck (LCD sold for an OLED), and I honestly couldn’t be much happier. I feel like the base models are one hellava good buy even still.
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Yeah I will very likely spend half of the time playing retro games on it. At the same time I don't want to regret when there is a new AAA game that I really want to play. (There is nothing annouced that I considered as "must play", and I am not interested in GTA6).
Even if a new AAA comes out that you’re eagerly wanting to play and the performance may not be great on Steam Deck, don’t forget about all the hundreds of games you also love that can be played on Steam Deck. Or the ROMs from nostalgic consoles that you love.
If you have a gaming solution now and you’re not ready to commit, just wait for the inevitable next gen Deck as you’ll be happier that way. Of course we’ll never know when it is coming.
Get a device now and play the games you want? Or wait ~2 years and get the next gen so you can play some games better?
Only you can make that informed decision that works best for you. Best of luck!
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Even if a new AAA comes out that you’re eagerly wanting to play and the performance may not be great on Steam Deck, don’t forget about all the hundreds of games you also love that can be played on Steam Deck. Or the ROMs from nostalgic consoles that you love.
If you have a gaming solution now and you’re not ready to commit, just wait for the inevitable next gen Deck as you’ll be happier that way. Of course we’ll never know when it is coming.
Get a device now and play the games you want? Or wait ~2 years and get the next gen so you can play some games better?
Only you can make that informed decision that works best for you. Best of luck!
That's a very reasonable take. Thanks.
