1y ago

Steam Deck OLED announced

www.steamdeck.com Steam Deck

November 16

New OLED screen. New APU. And lots of small hardware improvements.

Games @sh.itjust.works

Steam Deck OLED announced

www.steamdeck.com /en/oled

47 4

Games @lemmy.world

Steam Deck OLED announced

www.steamdeck.com /en/oled

317 36

223 comments

Hahaha, they kept trying to convince people again and again that there will NOT be a hardware refresh any time soon. That was only a few months ago.
- They were careful with how they phrased it, leaving the possibility of a refresh without a performance uplift still on the table (as speculated by media). It looks like the OLED model's core performance will be only marginally better due to faster RAM, but that the APU itself is the same thing with a process node shrink (which improves efficiency a little).
  See also: PCGamer article about an OLED version. They didn't say "no", and (just like with the previously linked article), media again speculated about a refresh happening.
  It looks like they were consistent with what they were talking about with how it wasn't simple to just drop in a new screen and leave everything else as-is, and used that opportunity to upgrade basically everything a little bit while they were tinkering with the screen upgrade.
  
  The effiency part becomes a larger feature if it's a mobile device....
- Well yeah, otherwise it will end up like Atari. No sales for the first one because everyone is waiting for the next one.
  
  It's smart. Also, developers have a solid benchmark to set their games to. Console has long had the benefit of a stable hardware set over the course of many years, which makes it easier to develop to the broadest possible market. Skipping incremental APU updates has a benefit of keeping a longer benchmark for game developers hoping to boost sales by targeting the market with handhelds. Valve was pretty clear in their communication in this regard, which is great.
- I received my deck yesterday 😭
  
  Return it 🤷🏻. I'm sure they have some 30 day return window.
  
  Oof. I had mine about 6 weeks but that stings lol
- Yeah I was burned and I’m kinda salty about it.

Just a few tips for people:
I got a 512 LCD at launch prices. I have zero regrets. It is awesome when I go on travel but also great for just hanging out around the house. And while the price is considerably higher than a switch (less so if you go for the entry level pricing), you save a LOT on games since Nintendo Pricing tends to translate to third parties over there too. But you obviously know you.
Will probably "trade in" my current model some time next year for the 512 OLED. 1 TB is tempting, but I have a desktop too. So installing and uninstalling games are almost all network transfers that go really fast because I generally am also playing those games on my desktop. Or even just keeping them installed there because I have the extra storage.
As for trading in: Be INCREDIBLY wary of using ebay. Ebay has incredibly good buyer protections at the cost of almost zero seller protections. If someone receives it and then says "Didn't arrive, go fuck yourself" they get their money back and ebay/paypal will basically tell you to take it up with local police... who won't do shit because ACAB. So stick to local exchanges (and follow all best practices for that) or just keep an eye out for the inevitable amazon or best buy trade in programs. You'll get less, but also will have almost zero stress.
- Not really true. Just cover your ass with paper.
  Had a buyer try to get away with cd-laser not working but I explicitly wrote that in the description (and not in a tiny font). So at the end I won.
  It was about 50€...
  
  That has nothing to do with a buyer claiming they never received the item or even just the correct item. Very hard to prove in eBay’s system.
- Yes, something as expensive as a Steam Deck you want to do a local in person transaction with cash. Nothing else.

What I really like is that they double down on hackabilty by switching to metal torx screws, etc.
That, and a Linux system are IMO the main selling points of the SteamDeck, compared to any clones from Asus or Lenovo, etc.
- Wait, are their screws not metal?!
  
  The screws were metal, but they went into a plastic casing. Now, the metal screws go into metal threading
  
  They are mostly (all?) metal.
  Torx head are preferred for smaller screws because it is a lot easier to strip the heads with a phillips. Mostly because you can use too big or too small of a phillips head with a screw which means you don't have a good fit and are going to mangle it. Whereas a torx is very much "one size fits one size".
  But also? If you actually pay attention to the video/read the article and are not a complete monster, you will use a ph0 instead of a ph1 or whatever and that stops being an issue. But it makes people happier and maps better to the ridiculously expensive electronics screwdrivers (cough, lmg, cough) that come with a very narrow set of bits rather than assuming people shell out almost the exact same amount of money for an ifixit kit that has dozens of bits. Or, you know, people who realize their local hardware store also sells bits.
  The real advantage is that it sounds like Valve are moving away from self tapping screws. Explaining those is well beyond my brain, but it boils down to the idea that they cut/grind/clomp through plastic to hold themselves in place. That is why Valve have made it very clear that disassembling and reassembling your Steam Deck will lower thermal performance and durability. The screws won't go in as tight as they used to and, if you do it enough, they won't hold at all. If you ever were reassembling something and the screw just kind of spun freely, that is likely the cause.
  
  When you buy "wood screws" that doesn't mean that the screws are made of wood, it means they go into wood.

Great. Can you fucking release it in Australia now? Fuck Valve and its support here.
- Yeah ikr. Feels like they’re still pissed at us for our ACCC taking them to task for not offering refunds here
  
  Meanwhile Gaben said he fell in love with New Zealand while he was stranded there during the pandemic. Shame he couldn't confuse the two.
- no official Steam Deck available on Brazil too :/
  
  Wouldn't they need to build it in Brazil, otherwise the tarifs would make it prohibitively expensive?
  
  Got myself a steamdeck in russia via aunty from US. Probably best thing to play some games i always wanted to play but was lazy to invest time
- Norway too please 😢
- They're a bunch of cunts, pretty par for the course when it comes to getting technology here (without having to grayimport it and roll the dice on warranties)

Ok, this has me hyped because it also implies further iterations.
At not wildly inflating costs. I love my deck, so I can't wait to see the next iteration :).
- Jup, love that the price is not just not being increased with upgraded specs, the remaining stock of the old Steam Deck variants is actually being significantly discounted.
- Steam Deck is 1.5 years old and im excited for a new iteration!
- I think they will not do a new processor for another year or so. They said it is years away.
  With Snapdragon announcing their M2 like arm processor for desktop, I wonder if Steamdeck and these handhelds will start to switch to ARM?
  There is already work being done on x86 to arm translation for Linux.
  
  I doubt it. x86_64 might not be efficient, but it has many instructions that aren't in ARM. Plus you'd lose out on AMD's GPU.
  
  While Linux runs fine on ARM like no games do and what I have seen from the Apple ARM laptops playing X86 games isn't quite close to being there and the Steam Deck is made with gaming in mind so it doesn't make much sense IMHO. Plus the added complexity of 2 translation layers and the potential issues different games will have there.
  
  There is already work being done on x86 to arm translation for Linux.
  Linux runs on ARM though?
- Definitely, every other piece of Valve hardware has been one and done. I figured valve would cut the Steam Deck since other companies have entered the market.

I think the real question here is, what will the exhaust vent smell like? Have they improved on the aroma?
- How can you improve perfection?
- Is this a thing? I don't own a steam deck so I can't tell if you're kidding...
  
  They're half kidding but yes, it's a thing.
  New Steam Deck has a "new electronics" smell coming out of the vents that is stronger than most devices.
  
  I own a Steam Deck and I'm not even sure what people are talking about with it, I've not really smelled anything coming from mine (which would probably have me more worried than delighted), but apparently it's a thing amongst some owners.
- I'm not the only one!

Please announce a trade in program, Valve. Don’t make me use eBay cause I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle at that point.
- Try to sell locally
  
  Like put a sign in my front yard or what
- For real. I bought recently and I love it but would’ve absolutely waited had they not promised there wouldn’t be a refresh around the corner. Kinda fumed, Valve thought you were my choom.

Thinking about finally getting one. The 512GB OLED does look very good...
I also wonder if they're ever going to have a non-handheld console (essentially a revamped Steam Machine). I've heard a bunch about people building PCs and running Holo ISO on there as a console replacement, might make sense to have an official solution from Valve.
- I do not think they will. But they said they will release steamOS for install on your own machine. It just runs Linux, so it should work on most desktop hardware without any problems.
- steam deck can already be used as a non-handheld machine.
  and if you actually need one, get a pc.
  
  Sure, but the form factor of the Steam Deck will always limit performance and carry some extra cost with it. And for a large user base installing another OS on a PC (Holo ISO) is something they are not going to do. Hence, Steam Machine.
  
  There is no PC as capable as the Steam Deck at the same price point.
- Some leaks point to possibly a non-handheld console, exactly like a steam machine 2. I think it could work with the right set of features, and a good steam controller 2. But with Valve you never know what internal things will actually become launched products.

Stop it Valve, I can only become so erect

Soooo I was looking into buying a steam deck... Guess that's great news
- It is. It's a significant upgrade for no price increase.
  And if you don't want to get the best model, the old LCD models have crazy discounts right now.
- Only true complaint I might have is that it's actually fairly heavy and your arms will get tired after playing for too long, especially if you compare it to something like a Switch, but otherwise, I love my Deck, it's been great. I've not had much trouble with most games I throw at it and even moved over my emulation game library on to there. It's like the holy grail of gaming.
  
  Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve found the opposite. Maybe it’s the ergonomics, but despite the weight I’ve found myself playing the Steam Deck for far longer than I ever could play my Switch before it gets uncomfortable.
  
  The new one is lighter!

Well shit. I didn't expect to replace my steam deck so soon, but the extra half an inch plus better battery life could convince me. I use it daily for Final Fantasy XI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfoLRmKwnSI
The 90 Hz display is apparently still not VRR
So went from "I NEED THIS" to "I really shouldn't buy it but probably will upgrade during the first sale"
- Better battery life, faster wifi and brighter display is definitely enough for me! Though I will have to be able to sell my original one first
  
  Oh, I am almost definitely buying this some time next year. The battery life is nice for occasional use, but generally I am not doing marathon sessions anymore.
  But the big thing that is getting me excited is the improved thermals. When I play something that is poorly optimized or otherwise start pushing it, I very much am reminded that I am using a "gaming laptop" and all the heat rashes that entails.
  Also: If the translucent black+orange were at the 512 GB range, I would probably still make a poor decision next week. More storage is always nice, but I have had zero issues with my current 512 GB drive. Spent the past year or so in that "When my sticks fail or something otherwise goes bad, I'll crack it open. Swap out to hall effects and get the biggest nvme I can fit in there" state
  I am telling myself I'll wait for a discount. But what I totally expect to happen is I realize the cutting board I am planning to treat myself to next year comes out a lot cheaper than I am budgeting for and...
- You're not driving the display at 90fps, so a 90 fps container for 30-45 fps content is actually not bad at all, and it should feel pretty smooth even with minor fps drops.
  People think VRR is magic sometimes, but it doesn't work well with all types of content. For handheld you're often going to be driving at low fps a high refresh rate can be more relevant sometimes. VRR on top of everything else would be nice, but it's definitely not a must.
  
  Oh. I don't want to really go down that rabbit hole, but I think the 90 hz refresh rate is completely unnecessary considering the use case of the steam deck. Likely just a function of the oled.
  And I do think setting a target refresh rate is probably better in the long run. It encourages people to optimize their performance settings and provides a target.
  But also? Fluctuations and "running at the limits of your system" are where VRR IS magic. You never have to worry about artifacts that occur from being on the wrong multiple (especially with the math for why 40 Hz is better than 30 AND 45 for a 60 Hz display...). And that is largely where the Deck lives.
  I don't think VRR is essential for the Steam Deck. But I do think it is a "no brainer" that I assume is only not there because of how the (kind of ridiculously) low resolution OLEDs were sourced.
  And tinfoil hat mode: It also isn't something that really benefits from reviews. DF might touch on it, but the vast majority of outlets will intentionally set up benchmarks for a stable frame rate and... the Steam Deck is going to continue to be the baseline for all those comparisons. So showing off how good it looks when it is bouncing between 20 and 50 FPS just isn't going to be something that shows up in a GN video.
- The benefit of the 90hz is that it raises the bar for refresh rate/2 gameplay for latency/performamce requirement.
  40hz alone is half of the input latency difference between 30 and 60 fps, and is much more realistic to hit performance numbers for. Some people run it at 40hz for optimized battery/performamce/latency ratio. Setting it to 45 now makes it every frame is evenly doubled. That along with the die shrink/10W/Hr/chemistry changes will allow the battery to last a lot longer on the go, at least on paper
  
  That would make more sense if you couldn't set the old LCD panel to 45 already. There's still an advantage to doubling each frame, especially in reducing latency on frame drops, but I don't think there are any refresh targets under 60 the old panel couldn't match after they introduced the manual refresh control feature.
  The battery life seems much, much better, though. There are already some preview benchmarks that say at minimum TDP you can get to double digit hours on this thing. That's nuts for a x64 handheld device.
- Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=WfoLRmKwnSI
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

Some guy on lemmy went on a two paragraph rant on me when I said 'at this point Ill probably just wait for the next version of the deck' "oh they're just rumors and valve would never release another model this early in the decks life and yada yada yada..." Well here we are a month later. Ive been alive long enough to know the next model is ALWAYS right around the corner, because it makes the company money. I wanted a PS4 when it came out but held off then a little while later ps4 pro came out and held off some more, then ps5, now ps5 pro. At this point I don't even play video games that much anymore so the deck is likely the last 'console' ill ever want. I know the game and am one patient motherfucker, if I need to wait a few more years for the deck 2 then by god ill wait.
- of course Valve will make a steam deck 2.
  They just won't make a steam deck 3.
  
  Nice!
  
  Steam deck 2: episode 2
  
  I see what you did there. Nice.
- Don't bother. By the time the deck 2 comes out, in 6 months there will be a Deck 2.5.
  Never buy or enjoy anything! ONLY think about the future
  
  Alright that last comment got me
- I don't understand this, then the deck 2 will be out and you'll then wait for the refresh that's coming out soon then the deck 3? At that rate you'll never have a console.
  
  On the other hand though, it's Valve so they won't get to 3.
  
  At some point I have to pull the trigger, and I am the kind of person who uses a device until it dies so I would rather that device be a refined variant of the original. This year was hard for me financially so I just couldn't eat the $ on a 400-600$ game player no matter how much I really wanted it. I was EXTREMELY tempted to get the deck when it went on sale this summer. Hopefully when 2 rolls out I will be in a better financial spot and its design and specs will be improved over the og
  
  Yeah it doesn’t make sense to always wait, but I also disagree with people who say “there’s always something around the corner, so may as well buy immediately, even mid-cycle.” The middle ground for minimizing FOMO is: buy immediately after a new release.
- I know exactly when the Switch 2 will be announced.
  It will be the same week that the guy at work who has been holding out for it for 3 years finally relents and buys one.
  
  I still occasionally use my OG switch I got in 2017. Its a fine little device in its own right just a shame that its completely cucked by nintendo. No I am not paying a subscription just to play multiplayer and access to half baked emulators. Horrible sales and overpriced games to boot. I can't see how anyone in 2023 would want a switch 2 when the deck exist. IDC how good the next gen mario zelda or pokemon are nintendo can suck it.
- Dude. I've been watching the handheld gaming market, and it is exactly like you said. If you wait about 6 months there is already new more powerful device out. Aya neo, Ayntech, anbernic, powkiddy.
- Valve in particular is less prone to this kind of thing with their hardware, for example the Steam link, steam controller and Valve Index

Damn, very much tempted to sell mine and buy this OLED version; the LCD screen is pretty much the only feature I dislike.
What would be a fair price to sell a used 256gb version with no damage?
- I just bought a refurb 256 for ~$350 out the door ($319 sticker) so I imagine you could get a bite in the high, mid-200’s although you’d probably also be cross-shopped against the 64 GB refurb (that’s mostly out of stock though)
- On the used market you'll be up against 64gb models upgraded with 1TB SSDs, which are a lot better value compared to the 256 or 512 versions from Valve. So look what those cost and subtract around $100, as that's what the SSD costs.

Looks this is a refresh for those who were on the edge of buying one or those who really love OLED.
Personally, I would've instantly sold mine and upgraded if these also had VRR. Hopefully the proper next generation of these devices comes with it.
- Ooff, that's a bummer it doesn't come with VRR. Linux has no issue supporting it with amd cards in general so I assume it's the screen.
- The rumor is that the Deck and the Switch use the same supplier for screens. Both the Switch and the Deck's screens cannot support VRR. The Deck's OLED also has thinner bezels than the LCD.

Wonder if it would be possible to retrofit the new parts into an existing SteamDeck
- I read in a couple spots earlier that the new battery is physically too big and the OLED panel won’t transfer either.
  
  Ah that's unfortunate if true. Ah well I'm happy with my Steam Deck as is. I'm also sure that some YouTubers will find a way anyway 😂
  
  Even the stick daughterboards are redesigned and the heat sink has different anchor points. None of the internals of these are cross-compatible.
  The shell is identical, though, so it seems that sleeves, skins, screen protectors, cases and so on all carry over.

The original Steam Deck still not available in my country yet. Sigh
- Australia?
  
  Nope. There's lots of 3rd parties sellers here but the prices are marked up and not worth it. Steam is really slow though in rolling out availability worldwide...2 years and still counting.

I waited just under a year for my preorder.
Yes, I will buy the OLED one, and pass the original to my son.

This is a really nice mid-gen refresh, IMO. It drives the entry point prices down (when was the last time you saw THAT in tech?) and it makes some really nice improvements to the newer SKUs.
I don't think it's a must-buy if you already own one, but if I was still using a Deck as a daily driver I would certainly consider it. The idea of a 10 hour battery on a handheld PC is super appealing for me, considering how often I'm playing stuff at 5W.
- I think these prices are the same as the original release. Unless you mean entry point as in buying used.
  
  They are selling the SKUs they're discontinuing at a discount, so the very lowest end at the moment is a little bit down.
  But in general, the 256Gb model got a spec bump without taking a price bump. That is very, very rare these days.

I'm toying with getting a Steam Deck instead of building a gaming PC. I can't afford both. The Steam Deck looks an even better now option now.
- A steam deck is definitely not a gaming computer replacement, get a good pc first imo
  
  Depends a lot on the type of games you want to play. AAA or competitive FPS probably gaming PC. Older games, casual, indie, etc. SteamDeck is great.
  I have to say that the SteamDeck brought a lot of fun back to gaming for me. Everything's in one package, it's portable, I can play docked or lay in bed. I can suspend it and come back whenever.
  I've mainly played the Witcher 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Noita, GC roms, Disco Elysium, Dishonored, and Stardew Valley. Some of those games I've owned for a long time and I never played them until I got the SD.
  But it does make a great streaming device/glorified controller too when I want to run more demanding stuff on my PC.
  
  You're being down voted, but it's the truth. Depends a lot on the particular computer though. The biggest consideration is personal value of mobile gaming.
  Aside from that, it is damn hard to beat a steam deck in performance at the same price, but if you can stretch to even a bit most gaming desktops will handely out perform one
  
  Depending on your definition of “gaming”, it definitely can be for some folks
  
  I love my deck, but yeah, if OP can get a full desktop, I'd recommend that first. More scalable over time.
  
  My biggest problem after owning a deck for a year is the controls. If you like to play PC games designed around a mouse and keyboard the deck is just a chore. I struggle to play games on my deck when the controls make playing the game take far longer than on a PC where I can quickly hover my mouse over things or click and drag. Yes it has trackpads but it's definitely not the same experience.
  That said if it's a console first game then it usually works pretty well.
  
  It kinda is tho. You can even connect a monitor, mouse and keyboard to it if you want to.
- I'm using my steam deck right now as a gaming PC while moving across America.
  It works really well. I got a dock from Amazon that gives me the ports to plug in my gaming mouse and keyboard. I can do HDMI out to the hotel TV or, better yet, lead out one USB-c cord to a fantastic portable monitor.
  I only ran into two minor issues. The first is getting enough juice to the steam deck and heat. Both can be easily solved with a good fast charging station and better air flow (I use this tiny hyper fan and have had zero issues in 90 degree Florida winter weather).
  Of note, I dual boot with Windows 11. It's a bloated mess of an operating system, but I want to use certain mods and programs that windows only. Plus, I'm not tied down to only steam games. The addition of being able to run nearly everything that's Windows compatible takes the deck up a level, I feel.
  The best way to get the most out of the Windows environment is to run a debloater admin tool, which removes unnecessary programs on Windows 10+ systems. The difference between the performance is shocking, making it pretty much required for usage. It's not too hard to use, too.
  The best part of it all is that you still have a stream deck at the end of the day. You don't have to do any hardware mods. You can pick the deck up and walk out of the house and still have the gaming PC with you.
- Depends entirely on what you play. For most people, a standard gaming PC is going to be your best bet, especially if you play FPS titles, but for a select group of people a Steam Deck makes a ton of sense.
  If you play mainly older titles, are on the go frequently, and enjoy a console experience, you can even hook your Deck up to a TV with a docking station, or to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It's super convenient, and is like a gaming laptop/console hybrid, almost like a switch with an entire capable Linux install for productivity.
  For someone in need of something like that, I think a Deck might make more sense!
- I can only recommend the cheapest Steam Deck, and only if you're willing to either open it to upgrade the internal storage or rely only on micro SD cards. The Steam Deck gets decent performance on most games but decent is defined as 25-45 fps for 3D games and 60 fps for most sidescrollers.
  I mainly use my Steam Deck to stream games from my PC at home to my cubicle at work, I am still astonished that my upload speed on coax is substantial enough for very low latency streaming. I prefer it over my laptop because the Steam Deck takes up less space on my desk docked or with a case that has a kickstand like dbrand's Killswitch. Still boggles my mind that this OLED version doesn't have a kickstand either.

Finally I can buy one
I've been holding off on getting a steam deck since I wanted to get their second version rather than being a beta tester for the first
- If stability and reliability are paramount to you, you might consider getting the older version. At this point the hardware has been well tested and I feel like you might be beta testing less on a gen 1 vs a gen 2. That being said my personal experience is that I've never felt like a beta tester for valve and I'm sure you'll be happy with either. Cheers!
  
  It's more like a gen 1.5, valve stated that hardware hasn't progressed far enough for a true gen 2 steam deck
- I bought one 3 months ago after going back and forth for ages. It's really good but I wish I had either bought it immediately or waited a few more months. Don't hesitate, go for it.

So… more importantly, what’s the story with the HDR support? I know there was something with gamescope supporting it. Is this something that’s finally going to be available on a normal Linux desktop?
- Works fine in Gamescope. Doesn't work in any desktop environment.
  
  Plasma 6, to be released at the start of next year, will have support for HDR. Not sure about the specifics though
- Proper HDR for desktop is still very wip. They had two talks at XDC about what they had to do do to make it work with gamescope:
  The rainbow treasure map: advanced color management on Linux with AMD/Steam Deck - Melissa Wen
  Rainbow Frogs: HDR + Color Management in Gamescope/SteamOS - Joshua Ashton
  Kwin has basic support for displaying HDR games in KDE Plasma 6
  
  Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
  The rainbow treasure map: advanced color management on Linux with AMD/Steam Deck - Melissa Wen
  Rainbow Frogs: HDR + Color Management in Gamescope/SteamOS - Joshua Ashton
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
- Work is being done on it by redhat and also the kde team (which is the UI that is on the steam deck). Still early stages, but it's coming soon. More info here

Welp, my friend bought his one month ago lol
- Me too lol. It is what it is though I’m happy with it.
- Likewise. Still a fine device, though. Hopefully there will be OLED screens available to upgrade the older models with.

This thing also available at launch in Australia or nah those cunts can get fucked like usual?
- get fucked cunt
- You're really that upset that you can't give a company more money?

Ahhh now I want one even more!!

I’ve been going back and forth between actively looking to buy one and saying I’ll wait til they get better hardware. Was expecting to have to wait for a while for that so this was definitely surprising.
However while my interest in the new one is incredibly high, I still can’t shake the feeling that it’s still a bit underpowered. Not being able to get above 30/40 FPS in games like Cyberpunk make me feel like I’d be at least a little disappointed. Granted being able to even play AAA games at all on a handheld is awesome, so I may be being unrealistic here in my expectations (I’ve never owned a handheld so my comparisons are just with PCs and consoles).
Nevertheless I think I might finally take the plunge on the 16th.
- I've been playing cyberpunk a lot on both my pc and deck. I thought that it would be a way worse experience going from desktop to handheld, however, it really is a decent experience. I've had the same luck with other games as well. Cyberpunk specifically runs avg 40/50 after I installed CryoUtilities and changed the vram buffer (for those who are curious).
  
  My experience is quite the opposite. Cyberpunk feels too stuttery to me on the deck. I’ve also installed CryoUtilities and tried using the 3.5 update.
- Yeah, they made the SoC run cooler and at lower power, so I wonder why they didn't just let it push to 20W instead of keeping it at a max TDP of 15W.
  Maybe their custom APU just can't yield any more performance at all and just flattens out above that? I know the 6800U and 7800U handhelds tend to flatten out above 25-30W. I've moved on from my Deck to a Windows handheld, but I still really like the tweaks they've made to this.
  
  If I recall the early benchmarks by The Phawx, the Deck got the best performance-per-watt around 11 W TDP. So yeah at 15 W and up, it flattens out. Pushing it harder just drains the battery for diminishing FPS returns.
  I think he says the sweet spot for *800Us was closer to 18 W, but I don't remember that as clearly.
  
  you can change the TDP of the steam deck, and it yields comparatively very minor performance improvements at 20 Watts of power.
- 30 fps will never be equal to 60 fps but for the biggest titles Valve has gone the extra mile to seriously even out frametimes which helps significantly with the experience. It's a difference I've noticed when comparing other handhelds as well, when the performance gain is meager on the Deck's competitors for a given title the variance is also way higher.

Now that is it lighter hopefully it will come to Australia.

Jesus Christ. I just bought the top of the line model 2 weeks ago... FML
- Still not too early to return
  
  Or too late

Couldn't have come out at a more perfect time for me. I have a Retroid Pocket 3+, and was looking for something more substantial for emulation and easier on the eyes with remote play. I was researching the current options and Valve just up and made my decision for me. Subbed to the kbin steam deck community today in anticipation.

Dam I just bought mine SD last month. I wonder if I should return it and buy the OLED. But I saw the 512GB cert refurb are like $200 off now so a second steam deck as a back up would be nice.

Why does it looks like a shotgun or am I still high?

Would this be worth it next to a PS5 and Series S?
I’m wondering if I could 1) buy games cheaper on Steam this way, and 2) play this while traveling (which I do a lot, meaning weekly flights and hotel stays in other countries for work),
- Yes yes and yes
- I mean not really. You're gonna have to double buy games if you want to play on the big screen and handheld.
- By "buy games cheaper" do you mean compared to their console versions, or utilizing steam sales and/or shady key sites? For the former: no, not usually. The latter: yes, definitely.
  And it's an amazing travel device. Used it for most of its first year while I was in hotel rooms for work and I used it more than my laptop when playing games where controllers are fine
- I have a PS5 and was looking at remote play devices. This OLED steam deck seems like a pretty ideal candidate, in my opinion. 720p is kind of a downer, but I think an OLED deck would make up for it in other ways.

Wow, this is quite tempting! Not only is the display going to be brighter and have better coloring, the refresh rate can go up to 90Hz (as indicated by the Tech Specs).

Ooh I was JUST about to buy a second hand one. Prices might get a little better soon.

I can really appreciate the performance is (should) be the same, makes a lot of sense

this thing is so tempting but I just don't have enough time to game as it is... lol

I wish I could care but Valve doesn't want to sell it here so whatever.

probably still 32 gigs standard lol
- RAM? I think it has 16G
  Disk? Smallest is 256G up to 1T
  I think this is fine
- "Still"? What does the original Deck have that's 32 gigs of anything?

RIP people who spend a significant amount of time on the desktop. Steam Deck: burn-in edition.
Edit: I get it, I guess it's not that big of a problem anymore. I've been (pardon the pun) burned by first generation OLED screens back in the day.
- I mean... how significant is significant? I've had OLED phones and tablets for years and I have an OLED Switch, I've yet to see any burn-in issues.
  I have no idea if they have any screen care tools in there, but these days you can use a 7 inch OLED screen just fine for the types of things you do on a handheld.
  Maybe don't use the desktop as an always-on night light, but it should be fine.
  They still sell the LCD model if anybody's worried, though.
- Legit WulfsDen had to put a switch oled at max brightness, worst case scenario scene on 24/7 for 2 whole years in order to get burn in.
  The burn in rates of modern oleds is significantly lower than how they were at launch
  Youd legitamately have to find the user who uses handheld mode desktop at max brightness 24/7 with only white elements only for it to be a serious problem, and thats such a ridiculously niche usecase.
  
  I've heard the, but I think these tests don't take into account things like UV exposure. All the OLED devices I own (phone, TV) have burn in, and I think it's due to our large windows in our apartment.
- I have OLED everything in my household. Several laptops. 3 multi monitor setups used all day everyday for work from home. 4 phones. 4 tablets. Two tvs. A switch. Not a single display shows any indication of burn in.

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