this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
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Steam Deck

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A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.

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It is getting absurd at this poin. Just get a laptop and call it a day

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[–] Nima@leminal.space 68 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

i agree. the reason steam deck and other handhelds work well is because of the smaller screen/resolution.

makes it light and games run ok due to the smaller resolution. a chonker like this completely defeats the purpose of a handheld imo.

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 23 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Idk if I'd call the deck light.

[–] Nima@leminal.space 20 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

compared to a laptop, I would. even a small one.

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[–] penquin@lemm.ee 14 points 3 weeks ago

Try the onexplayer and you'll call it extremely light then. Lol

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[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 58 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Absurdly massive and yet no space for some touchpads? 🤡

[–] TheRedSpade@lemmy.world 29 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

Yeah, how is it that none of these so-called "rivals" have even a single touchpad? I personally wouldn't even consider a device that forces me to use a thumbstick as a mouse.

[–] yuri@pawb.social 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

nah babe just COVER your screen in fingerprints! everyone loves touch screens right??

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

"I appreciate covering my screen in fingerprints, obviously. But what really makes me happy is trying dozens of times to get my fat thumb to register on an interface designed for a mouse."

  • a quote by someone making hardware decisions at SteamDeck rival manufacturers, apparently.
[–] zqps@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Gotta be honest, i hardly ever use them on the Deck.

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[–] penquin@lemm.ee 5 points 3 weeks ago

Lmfao. I didn't even notice that. Damn. They didn't even put the joystick next to the buttons on the right side like the steam deck for better ergonomic, they STILL put it under the buttons.

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[–] Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz 45 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Honestly the deck is already pushing how big a handheld can be and still be portable/handheld. I don't think I would want anything larger

[–] JoYo@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago

Yah, it appears that 650g is the maximum weight im willing to hold for more than 30 minutes. Even then I'd rather use my ipad as a steam link.

[–] Water_Melon_boy@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Agreed, sometimes I even wish there is a "Deck Lite" model.

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[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I find it absolutely hilarious that every single company has a "Steam Deck killer" yet not a single one of them have any idea what made the Steam Deck popular, all they understand is PC handheld with controller (Lenovo is starting to catch on tho).

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

What are they missing thst the steam deck has? Price?

[–] penquin@lemm.ee 18 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The steam deck the absolute most ergonomic handheld I've ever tried. It's so fucking comfortable to game on. I love how they put the joystick the same level as the buttons where my thumb moves very naturally between the two. It has amazing touchpads. Great battery and performance. It's just an amazing device.

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[–] kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Price, software, hardware quality, touchpads, gyro, and a decent sized community

[–] GoodEye8@lemm.ee 6 points 3 weeks ago

In short, Steam Deck was made so that the people at Valve would want to use the Deck. Meanwhile most of the competition is operating on "bigger numbers mean better product".

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[–] westyvw@lemm.ee 27 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

A pound heavier than a steam deck doesn't sound like a lot, but it is in practice.

Also... Windows? Well it's not good for handheld gaming right out of the gate.

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 weeks ago

I'm stoked about the removable controllers, though. I'm gimpy AF so even the steam deck is too heavy. I ended up with a Legion Go and love that I can use it with wireless controllers and the kickstand.

[–] Screen_Shatter@lemmy.world 26 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

My hands are tired just looking at it

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[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Hot take, but I see it having a market for people who just want to play on a tablet dedicated to gaming without futzing with peripherals. During break I stole my daughter's tablet to play Gameboy games and it was possibly better than my deck (lighter weight, bigger screen, and shaders that give it a pixel grid w/ a GBC border frame).

This big thing is still not for me, though, as I'd prefer the versatility of going portrait mode because I would likely use it as a 3DS emulator depending on how good the touch is. DS screens fit quite comfortably on tablets in portrait mode. (Assuming I even have the disposable income, which I do not).

[–] Delphia@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Someone was always going to do an XL version for people who want something thats more "portable gaming station" than "handheld". I dont know why people seem to be bitching about having options.

[–] MattW03@lemmy.ca 19 points 3 weeks ago

Yes, but how can you train your beautiful gamer biceps then? You can have all that beautiful extra train and stay in shape while playing your favorite games. A double win!

[–] Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 18 points 3 weeks ago

My issue is power consumption. Where I live, I rely on solar panels and batteries, and the steam deck is less power hungry than a laptop with graphics card.

[–] QuentinCallaghan@sopuli.xyz 17 points 3 weeks ago

I agree. So big screen and controllers that Nintendo Switch looks like a lilliputian. Not so portable.

[–] cron@feddit.org 14 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I don't think 11 inch is absurdely big. That's the screen size of the current iPad air.

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 3 weeks ago (13 children)

The iPad probably weights less than half what this thing does, and probably takes up a lot less space.

Also it's probably faster and almost certainly gets better battery life.

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Give it one of those detachable cardboard keyboards and it it would be an overgrown Surface competitor.

[–] Hubi@feddit.org 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Honestly, it kinda makes sense with the detachable controllers. It's essentially a very powerful tablet. It's less practical but it serves a different niche than the Steam Deck IMO.

[–] penquin@lemm.ee 8 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I get it, but it wouldn't be a handheld anymore. What's a handheld if it makes your arm tired after a couple of minutes? Plus, the battery life on this thing is going to be abysmal with the 55wah battery they put in it.

[–] Hubi@feddit.org 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This is the kind of thing you take with you on vacation in a motorhome at a campsite. Situations where a PC is not practical but you're stationary enough to not have to worry about the size or the battery life.

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[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

Smart move. People keep buying ridiculously oversized phones. Smaller ones somehow do not sell. So why not apply the same concept to tablets

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

A laptop does not support attached controllers for hand-holding. Seems pretty obvious.

I cannot hold my hands in the air indefinitely. Even completely empty my arms will get tired after a few short minutes, much less several hours. My Steam Deck gets held on my lap or on a table or something like that.

OneXPlayer has something similar that I actually considered buying (but ultimately didn't for several reasons) that includes a keyboard and (laptop) trackpad and a pen. If I can buy 1 device that can do both handheld gaming and also laptop productivity, I can save a whole lot of money...

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[–] SoftTeeth@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Nah the steam decks are laptops but cheaper

Just get a little usbc > usbc/hdmi/usb and you can plug in a keyboard and mosue and then you have a gaming linux laptop for like $350

Show me another capable gaming laptop you can get for $350

[–] Fades@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

You’re missing the actual point, at what point does it become cumbersome to hold a big ass screen in your hand that is also the controller?

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[–] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This is far too big, but still preferable over laptops if you just wanna game

[–] OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

This is also a killer tablet, actually

Linux tablets when?

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

Install bazzite! I have a Legion Go and I love it with Bazzite.

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[–] JoYo@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 weeks ago

this is basically the oversized razer kishi pro with an ipad mini.

ive got that rn and it's pretty amazing as a steam link device.

steamos really needs to fix their steam link code, it's a mess.

[–] Harvey656@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Not big enough. I want to carry a 55'' "mobile" gaming device with me. Make it bigger!

[–] pixxelkick@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If it's not too too heavy, I'm not opposed.

Bigger screen will make touchscreen typing on a keyboard less of a PITA

Some games require rarely typing into the on screen keyboard, and as much as I like my ROG Ally, the small screen makes the onscreen keyboard a real pain to type on

Honestly what I'd like is a secondary N64 style center back handle that I can hold with 1 hand while I type with the other, to make the typing way more stable.

Awkwardly holding it out on the left side way off center fulcrums it as I type, which makes it less stable. You need some genuine wrist strength to fight against that lever action while typing.

So, instead, I usually awkwardly rest it in my lap while I try and type so it's stable at least. But this moves the screen a lot farther away so now I gotta squint at the small ass letters as I aim and type. Makes me feel like a goddamn boomer having to adjust my glasses and squint at the screen.

So... yeah I dunno, I feel like this is something that could use a better solution.

I guess I could use my Tap XR... 🤔

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