Valve Steam Deck - the real Switch Pro?…

If you like the form factor it seems fairly good value in terms of its internals - but the controller layout looks awful!

site23 wrote:If you like the form factor it seems fairly good value in terms of its internals - but the controller layout looks awful!

The IGN video I watched said the same, but that once he held it it was fine.

But yeah, I'm not entirely sold on the form factor myself.

This looks (as in the concept) fantastic. I'd probably hold off for a hardware revision first, but I'd be keen for one.

My entire steam library, no doubt you'll be able to run games from epic, origin etc, plus think of how amazing it'll be for emulation. Give it a month before it's running switch games.

Concept is obviously great but it's pretty ugly and looks extremely uncomfortable. Maybe it's not so bad when you're using it.

I think I'm with the consensus on this - sounds good, especially the idea of portable game pass, but the controls layout looks terrible and Valve hardware doesn't seem to stick around for long.

What’s the battery life like?

As I’ve seen on Twitter too, the starting storage of 64GB really isn’t good either, I know you can expand via MicroSD but some GamePass games are over 100GB.

Can this play all games? We got the stream steam box for the living room & it’s limited in what you can play.

Robbo-92 wrote:What’s the battery life like?

2-8 hours.

D_C wrote:
Robbo-92 wrote:What’s the battery life like?

2-8 hours.

That’s pretty good considering what programs and games it’ll be able to run. A lot more than I was expecting really.

gaminglegend wrote:Can this play all games? We got the stream steam box for the living room & it’s limited in what you can play.

By all accounts you can run anything that is either on windows or proton / linux. I do feel your mileage may vary depending on how good the game is made. If it's trash tier optimised and runs like gooseberry fool on a high end PC then it will do the same on this and I can see people blaming the hardware not the game.

I have no issues with the look of the thing at all, if it does what they say on the tin then I will get one. Playing Factorio, R-type and Rimworld on the move is quite attractive. I wonder if I could get windows 11 on this?

Pedz wrote:
Chocolate-Milk wrote:
ITSMILNER wrote:I love the idea but that button placement looks awful, I would need to try one but I can’t imagine it being comfortable for long periods

Hey, if it worked for the Wii U, it'll work for...

Oh, right.

Wii U Pad is way more comfortable to hold than the Switch.

It really is (unfortunatley). Even with the Hori split controllers attached, it feels much less ergonomic and more "diggy-in" than the Wii U pad.

It's an interesting concept, I think Razor did (or were planning) something quite similar a few years ago so I'm not surprised to see Valve taking a swing at this areas as well.

What are the actual specs of this though?

CPU: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)

GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)

RAM: 16 GB DDR5

Storage: 64GB, 256GB, 512GB versions; expandable with MicroSD cards

Display: 7" diagonal, 1280x800 (16:10), 60Hz LCD touchscreen

Audio: Stereo speakers that "pack a punch," says Valve, 3.5mm stereo jack, dual mics, multichannel USB-C/Bluetooth output

Controls: Two analog sticks with capacitive touch, D-pad, face buttons, analog triggers, bumpers, assignable grip buttons, "view" and "menu" buttons, gyro

Trackpads: There's two of them, and Valve says that they have "55% better latency compared to Steam Controller."

Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Wired connectivity: USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt-mode support; up to 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz, USB 3.2 Gen 2

Battery: 40Whr, "2-8 hours of gameplay"

Size: 11.7" x 4.6" x 1.8" (298mm x 117mm x 49mm)

Weight: Approximately 1.47 lbs (669 grams)

Magic, thanks for that

Seems like a decent enough set of specs, especially given that it's a portable machine so power draw is a concern. Also driving a 1280x800 screen shouldn't be overly demanding.

Main thing that stands out is the weight - that's nearly double what the Switch comes in at which might make things uncomfortable

I'm definitely a bit interested in this as just, like, a cool gadget - I'm not sure about it as a Steam gaming platform (I have a better PC!), but it having a proper Linux OS means you'll be able to do all sorts of cool stuff with it.

I've not been into the PC gaming scene for over fifteen years so this is coming from my "console peasant" perspective.

+ I like the idea of playing a STEAM game library on a portable device
+ The tech seems to be very impressive for the pricing point(s); way superior to the Switch
- The design looks to be - IMHO - rather clunky; think original Nintendo DS rather than the sleek DS Lite. Maybe it's comfortable to hold, though!

Great to see such a device arriving and it feels like it could become pretty popular.

The main thing putting me off a Switch has been the thought of having to rebuy a load of games to play on it in mobile which I already own on PC, so this is almost the ideal alternative. No need to repurchase games, carry over all my existing saves and progress, etc.

Will be looking forwards to seeing what the reviews are like, and hopefully if it's not running a custom OS, it won't go obsolete even if Valve get bored and discontinue this too.

Very interested if the performance and price are right.

I’m hoping it takes off, I may well hold out until the first revision hits but this is what I have wanted for awhile. A handheld device that can also work on TV that delivers a PC gaming experience.

I think the biggest seller for me is to be able to play a game on PC, go off and pick up right where I was on the Deck then come back and continue to play on PC. Also a portable PS2 has it's attractions also.

The fact that the base unit is only a few quid more expensive than the OLED switch is pretty interesting.

Valve Steam Deck - the real Switch Pro?…

Who is online

Affiliates