Is The Steam Deck The Right Choice For You?
Pricing
- Most likely the Deck will be the cheapest option new if you want a PC handheld
- It’s worth looking for sales or on the used market to see what the competition is going for as well
- Consider game prices, sales, family sharing and other Steam functionalities as well if coming from other platforms
Previous / Current New Unit Sales
New Or Refurbished
- Both have warranties
- Refurbished stock usually gets sold out pretty fast and a lot of time can pass between re-stocks
- Refurbished offers best value though local used market could go even lower depending on region
- Refurbished comes in different packaging but most of the time the device itself looks like brand new (from user reports so far on r/SteamDeck)
- Valve has said many times that they will iterate slower with the Deck compared to the competition
- Newer AAA games are already pushing the limits or barely run at all (poor optimization and “weak” hardware don’t mix together well)
- Lacking features:
- External GPU support (without tinkering)
- Variable refresh rate display
- 2nd USB port
Game / Software Compatibility (SteamOS / Linux vs Windows)
- Not all software is available or works under SteamOS (Linux)
- Competitive games that have anti-cheats most likely don’t work (eg. Call Of Duty, Fortnite)
- Under SteamOS specifically flatpaks are the way to go limiting your choices even more (immutable distro)
- Modding games might be harder (specifically non-Steam-Workshop modding)
- Frame-generation isn’t that good on Linux yet
Need for portability
- If it would be mostly docked a more powerful console or a PC might be a better choice
Other uses
- Media consumption, doing work etc…
- Might benefit from a larger screen, built in keyboard or more ports which the Steam Deck lacks (unless a hub / dock is used)
LCD Or OLED
Steam Deck OLED Improvements
- Updated APU to 6 nm for better efficiency
- Updated memory to 6400 MT/s, improving latency and power management
- Increased thermal module thickness and performance
- Increased active display area to 7.4” (from 7.0”)
- Updated refresh rate to 90Hz (from 60Hz)
- Updated peak brightness to 1000 nits
- Updated touchscreen polling rate to 180Hz, improved latency and accuracy
- Updated WiFi / Bluetooth module
- Added support for WiFi 6E
- Added support for Bluetooth 5.3, supporting newer codecs such as aptX HD and aptX low-latency
- Added third antenna near the top of the device for better Bluetooth performance, including when docked
- Added support for wake from Bluetooth controllers (this feature is being implemented for the LCD as well after it initially not having this capability)
- Improved bass response for an overall flatter sound profile
- Added support for using onboard microphone array simultaneously with the 3.5mm headphones connector
- Adjusted analog stick top material and shape for increased grip and dust build-up resistance
- Adjusted analog stick post material to improve interaction feel with front cover and reduce wear
- Improved reliability of analog stick touch detection
- Improved responsiveness and tactility of shoulder buttons switch mechanism
- Adjusted D-pad snap ratio and diagonal interactions
- Redesigned trackpad for improved fidelity and edge detection
- Greatly improved trackpad haptics feel and precision
- Improved battery capacity from 40Wh to 50Wh
- Improved battery chemistry for faster charging, from 20% to 80% in as little as 45 minutes
- Changed charging LED to WRGB
- Added support for waking up from initial unboxing by long-pressing power button instead of requiring AC power
- Adjusted power supply cable length from 1.5m to 2.5m
- Added logo to power supply
- Reduced total system weight to ~640g, or ~5% less than Steam Deck
- Rear cover screws now thread into metal
- Adjusted rear cover screw heads to Torx™, as well as other materials and geometry tweaks on the heads to reduce stripping risk
- Lowered number of screw types throughout system
- Reduced step count required for common repairs
- Improved bumper switch mechanism drop reliability
- Moved bumper switch to joystick board for easier repair
- Improved display repair/replacement to not require taking rear cover off
- Greatly improved memory power management firmware
- Added preliminary support for open-source BIOS and EC firmware
- Improved resume time by roughly 30%
- Shortened heat pipe and changed fan design improving heat dissipation and thermals
- Overclocking and undervolting introduced into the BIOS (and now in LCD BIOS)
- Overall runs cooler than LCD Steam Deck which can allow its clocks to boost higher for longer
Copied and edited slighly from the Steam Deck Discord’s FAQ
- Steam Deck or other solutions? (Laptop, Other Handhelds, Consoles etc…)