Steam Deck - Worth it or not?

[Horsman49]

Morning DW! I'm thinking of splashing out on a Steam Deck but I know nobody with one and the reviews online are hit/miss! Some call it the best hand held gaming/PC device others say its not worth the time of day. I work away quite a bit and hotel rooms are the most boring of places after you've been out for food & a few pints. I have my switch but the price of Nintendo games puts me off buying games for that, I don't particularly want to pay £60 for a 7+ Year old game.

So I'm calling on all steam deck owners (If there's any here) are they worth it? Which version of the deck do people recommend? Do they run emulators alright and downloaded games or are you again stuck buying from the steam store and their extortionate prices? What features do you enjoy about the deck or what annoys you?

Hoping one of you guys/girls can sway my decision with some owners info rather than someone paid to review online.

Thanks

 

[RobustPatcher24]

The current entry-level option is the OG release higher-end option but at a lower price point. I would say this is sufficient if you're on a budget. Piracy is very doable and switch emulators work great on them. Though be aware that there is a bigger learning curve for piracy on the Linux than if you a regular steam consumer as you can't just 1 click play Windows games with Proton. Personally I don't think this is an issue as its trvial to setup a WINE prefix and run 99% of pirated games issue free. Though Windows stores games are a head ache and close to impossible to run, though do-able.

I am a Linux user. I would recommend looking at Linux tech tips, Gardiner Bryant, and Gaming on Linux's reviews. Brodie Robertson reviewed one of the newer decks. There is also a degenerate community on Reddit that pretends to be knowledgeable called Linuxcracktips, but it generally consists of the blind helping the blind as most technical users have grown sick of non-literate individuals.

Generally a big issue with anything Linux is gatekeepers, but the piracy community on rin and the group I am with (Johncena141) are open to helping. Just do be aware that SteamOS is an "immutable" Distro which means its more difficult to mess up your system it comes with some inconveniences, though there are plenty of work arounds. You also have the freedom of installing alternative distros if you so wish.

 

[checkdeposit]

I have been reading a lot of info about the handhelds and I am very tempted as well. I have seen the Steam Deck in person once, it was running a PS3 emulator and it was playing a game flawlessly, great framerate and everything. There are some competitors to the Steam Deck and it seems there's so many tradeoffs among them that it is hard to settle. I would personally trust the Steam hardware more than anything else. From what I read, some (or all?) models of Asus Ally have an issue with the microsd card slot overheating.

BTW if you have an old Switch model, there is a website where you can enter your Switch serial number to check if it can run homebrew without opening/modifying the hardware. The modding doesn't require opening the switch, just need a simple tool that slides into one of the joycon rails. There are videos of how you can make the tool with a paperclip. Could be worth looking into - there is a risk of being banned from the online service but most modding guides explain ways to prevent that if you still want to play your legit games online.

 

[DatBoiC]

If you are going to use it then it is 100% worth it. I sold my CSGO knife when the OLED dropped trying to get the limited edition. Ended up just getting a OLED. Only reason I have not used it more is due to not leaving be house enough for it haha. But as these trips coming up I have come up I will for sure be thanking I have it. Runs amazing have not played around with the emulation side or anything yet but it’s a amazing little machine.