I’ve now had my Steam Deck for four years.
When I first got it, I thought, “If this thing only plays a tiny fraction of my PC game library, it will be so worth it!”
Little did I realize it would play nearly all of my library. Sometimes better. As in, some games that no longer work on Windows still work on my Steam Deck.
Now the stereotype with PC gaming is that it’s all about specs. As in, chasing pixel counts and framerates. And for some people, that is the appeal of PC gaming.
But let me tell you, my Steam Deck has been locked at 800p and 60fps – except on the very rare occasions I docked it to a TV. And the experience has been nothing short of magical.
You know how amazing it is to play Commander Keen on a handheld? Or Serious Sam? Or Septerra Core?
And it’s not just about old games. There are indies like The Binding of Isaac that really come alive with a handheld.
Admittedly, I don’t play a whole lot of recent AAA titles. But Battlefield 4 on the Steam Deck? Amazing.
“Amazing” pretty much the word to sum up everything. I’ve got far more out of my Steam Deck than I ever dreamed.
Comparing my Steam Deck to newer handhelds like my wife’s Legion Go, it’s clearly showing its age. But I ain’t letting it go. Not for any time soon.
There’s too many memories wrapped up there. I spent days on my porch, enjoying the sunset. Nights spent on a park bench. Visits to the beach.
But also, keeping my old friend around gives me an opportunity I never had previously: the ability to go multiplayer with my wife.
That’s right, while on vacation, I’m looking forward to PvP sessions. Perhaps while sipping lattes in a hotel lounge. Or right by a pool.
It’s been worth it.
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I’ve been thinking about selling my Deck to get an OLED, or maybe a Legion Go S. I haven’t decided yet, the Go S is more powerful but it has a higher res scree, so in the end they peform more or less the same from what I could gather. The OLED Deck is almost the same as the LCD model, but the screen tempts me.
In practice, I think it largely depends on what you play.
If you play indie games, then that 1600p, 144hz screen will make a huge difference.
Also, the ability to set the power draw is a massive factor. I’ve played games with an 8W power draw on 1600p, and it was awesome.
Keep in mind that the OS makes a huge difference in performance. Changing from Windows 11 to Bazzite has resulted in big improvements to the battery life.
Finally, my point of comparison is the original LCD Steam Deck (the one I own), not the OLED edition which seems to be superior in terms of battery.
I’d mainly play indie and AA games on it, alongside emulation.
How good is the trackpad? It’s an important point for me. It’s quite smaller than the Deck’s and I read SteamOS still has problems with it, so I guess I would install Bazzite or CachyOS if it’s fully functioning.
Edit: I just realized that you’re talking about the OG Legion Go, not the S. The trackpads should be better than the Go S’ small one.
Edit 2: But the OG Go is quite more expensive and outside my budget, so It’s be Deck OLED vs GO S. The Go is a no-go (sorry).
Edit 3 (Is this going to end up being a saga?): I thought that I might buy a used Go, it’s another option. The tiny trackpad of the Go S is a bit off-putting, I have a couple weeks to think it over.
Consider life extension!
I guess it probably says something about my own age that I don’t consider the Steam Deck to be anywhere near an old system.
I didn’t realize they’d been out for 4 years already. I could have sworn it was just hitting like 2
I agree. After all, they are still selling it, and people are still happily buying it. A friend got one about 3 months ago and he’s been very pleased.
The Steam Deck is still under four years old, let’s remember. The Nintendo Switch is over eight! Of course that’s not an apples-to-oranges comparison as the Steam Deck aims to run any game, not just specifically optomised titles. But it’s an indicator.
On the subject of being old, we get way more life out of PC hardware right now than we did back in the early 2000s. Nowadays if you buy a high end GPU you might get a decade of gaming out of it. Back then you’d get 2-3 years and it would be obsolete, because graphics tech was just evolving so fast. (Of course, cards now cost ten times what they did back then, but that’s another story…)
Point is, there’s plenty of life left in the steam deck yet :)
it’s only 3 years old so I wouldn’t consider it an old system. I think atleast 5 years is old for a console
I would consider it underpowered compared to competitors but not outdated (and imo I don’t think better hardware is needed)
I wouldn’t worry about it, the guy is very obviously just here to sell whatever a Legiongo is
Nope, the Legion Go is for my wife.
I’m personally holding out for the Steam Deck 2.
Whatever happened to reading comprehension?
I no longer really use the deck to play games stored on the device when I’m at home. I set up game streaming from my ageing gaming rig, 32gb ram and a super 2080.
I stream using moonlight on the deck and Apollo on the rig, the rig does all the heavy lifting.
If u set the streaming resolution to 2560x1600, double the deck resolution it looks awesome.
The only other setting to really change is to set the deck as the only monitor not multiple monitors and to set always use virtual display.
The other thing I did initially was set up a hotspot on the rig to connect the deck to like it’s own Lan for the traffic to go through. I later changed this by plugging an old Asus router in ap mode via ethernet in to rig and the main router to connect to it so the router deals with the traffic.
Was playing atomfall last night for first time after buying it as a discount.
Plays great no lag very smooth great visuals.
Playing this way I can still play new titles with no issues.
If u have a rig and a deck I would encourage you to play this way.
The deck will last me years more using it this way and the battery life while streaming is fantastic.
Do you have any good guide links? Specifically the hotspot sounds interesting
It’s important not to get caught up in the “constantly upgrade everything” hype, even though it gets the spotlight a lot more than solid midrange gaming gear. As far as I’m concerned, four years is nothing; a gaming system that can’t hold up for that long would have been a poor system even on day one.
Glad you’re still enjoying your Steam Deck. I would be surprised if you don’t get another four years out of it. :)
I chased the specs but of course I only play indie games and don’t even bother with AAA they’re rarely worth it imo… With my VR headset unplayably decaying and (ironically) valve not fixing it, I often wonder why I still have this heavy lunk of metal.
I often wish I had the Steamdeck instead so I could kick back and mold into my bed forever, or bring it to quirky spots of the world like you have.
Very envious, it sounds incredible! You’re living the gaming dream - freedom~
After trying the Lenovo legion, I definitely wish the Deck had a bigger display. A bit more power would be nice as well. But overall the Steam Deck is still fantastic.
The deck, to me, is the prefect gaming PC.
I really wish they’d make a stronger one. I have the OLED model, and after “beating” Isaac on the Switch, I got it for the Deck so I could have mods. Most QoL mods are fine (EID being a huge one). But if I wanted to play a complete overhaul mods (like Boss Butch or others that add more enemies and rooms) or tanks the FPS so badly, from 60 in the starting room, not moving, to the mid to high 40’s, also in the starting room, not moving.
Same sentiment - I’ve been looking at some alternatives like the Legion Go or Asus’s variant and putting SteamOS on it - but I’d really rather stick with Valve’s own hardware if possible.
ive played harry potter, elden ring, cyberpunk, skyrim, oblivion remastered, dragons dogma, and monster hunter wilds. You can’t play them with maxed out stuff but its been fine and fun for me.
The deck is still a weapon.
I think I got mine in the second or third wave or pre-order shipping. The right trackpad is worn smooth in the centre, I’ve replaced the joysticks with the Hall effect ones, not as an upgrade but because the originals finally failed. I upgraded the SSD to a 1TB. It’s been my constant companion for years now.
One day, there will be a Steam Deck 2, and I’ll probably upgrade. In the meantime I’m excited to see the Legion Go, especially the Steam OS version, because it means the market is there.
I just ordered a Jsaux backplate (v1) to help with overclocking to take the edge of Expedition 33. And that’s not even its final form. I’ll gladly keep this system alive for another five years.
And even when it eventually cannot run the shiny new games anymore, I have an enormous backlog to keep me occupied because Epic, Amazon and GOG like to keep me bound to their shops with little presents.
