OLED Steam Deck Review: Worth the Upgrade?

[@nekoplanetary4244]

I was so close to buying a Deck around 3 weeks ago. Thank goodness I was waiting to see if valve was going to do a discount sale on this holiday season. Time to buy a steam deck OLED!

[@tigrankhachaturian8983]

Seeing how you'd need to wait ~2 weeks to receive it and you have a 14 days return guarantee, it wouldn't really matter

[@keanu9173]

@@tigrankhachaturian8983 still would have been a hassle

[@zhon5311]

thank you for the ds 3ds touch benchmark! it looks like a big improvement to the disappointing touch on the LCD screen. I plan on passing down my LCD deck to my little sister for Christmas and setting up the emulation for her.

[@hiroosama]

May i be your little sister till Christmas?

[@meric12131415]

That's always nice 😁

[@christianr.5868]

This is exactly what i wanted, not only is the screen fantastic. But the battery life the best out of these pc handhelds. I played the majority of my games at 9 watts, on my LCD steam deck to get anywhere close to the battery life this thing gets at full load! Im so excited to try battery tweaking when I get my hands on it

[@rockyjetproject1345]

From what I’ve researched and seen, there are a couple of videos on how TDP is going to be a bit different than the LCD. It’s going to actually work better and more efficiently with a higher TDP setting. I’m curious and will wait for my oled SD to come in so I can test it. Nonetheless less that’s good news!

[@Juggernaut-IV]

Just got a 512 Gb steam deck for $280 so I guess I’ll survive on lcd

[@Ollytodd]

Good price

[@Beastw1ck]

Sweet jeebus that’s an incredible deal. Congrats!

[@billmore6486]

Insane deal. Chaper than switch and more poweful

[@ronaldsaravia98]

Just got a 64 gig for $250 😂😂

[@BootyWarrior]

Vibrantdeck helped me tons. If it wasn't for FOMO I'd definitely keep my old one

[@tphan715]

That Freya / Cloud bit at the end was pure genius. Potentially real world situations taking into consideration into the nuances of individual preferences. Bravo

[@HenryThe12]

I’m as busy as Freya but have most of the traits of Cloud, so it helped me realize it’s probably not what I want. I think the Steam Deck 2 will be perfect, though.

[@zt9233]

It was excellence

[@nmocini]

Another thorough and thoughtful review! Excited to get my OLED SD ordered tomorrow! Thanks Russ!

[@Beastw1ck]

Good luck!

[@fightnight14]

You are not getting your SD OLED tomorrow, you will just be ordering it and it's coming in 1-2 weeks lol

[@nmocini]

@@fightnight14 yeah the wait times are the hardest part - but at least I have my LCD SD to keep me perfectly happy until the OLED ships. 😊

[@h.b.2847]

I just ordered mine . Says 5-9 days . I think she's ordering it tomorrow

[@nmocini]

@@h.b.2847 I also got mine ordered this morning - very excited! The time in between will go by quickly.

[@christianjr5479]

Also used this to pick up an lcd version for sub $300 The amount of technology in that package value is crazy and I’m very happy with it-I’ll worry about upgrading when the hardware makes significant jumps

[@SEVENTEENPOINT1]

It is a wild good value.

[@TheTrueWelshIdiot]

You'll be fine. Its still a truly incredible piece of kit. Hopefully you are enjoying it already.

[@defi5]

2-3 years isn’t worth the wait imo. That’s when the SD 2 is supposed to come out according to valve. That’s probably why they came out with the OLED model for the time being

[@christianjr5479]

@@TheTrueWelshIdiot I actually am floored by the power and flexibility of these things, I have already poured hours into getting all my childhood games emulated and it’s just been fantastic On the other side I have been playing Path of Exile without issue, which runs fantastic

[@TheTrueWelshIdiot]

@christianjr5479 Same, I bought an LCD around a month before they announced the OLED. Setup Emudeck and have never looked back, it's been a game changer for me, and though I've gamed for over 30 years, not since I was a teenager has a bit of kit made me smile so much. Truly glad you are enjoying it too!

[@telsan4291]

Thanks for showing the SSD swap, no one else on YT has shown that working so saves many us a lot of time rather than starting from scratch when upgrading, I have 2TB SSD from my OG SD ready to go, awesome work!👌

[@richard-davies]

Same, was confident it should work fine but it’s nice to see. Plan to transplant my 2TB as well, knowing it works fine saves a hell of a lot of work.

[@skycloud4802]

I have the 2TB in mine. Am reluctant to upgrade when I'll have to go through a lot of effort for swapping. But it's definitely a great upgrade.

[@XGhozt.]

I wonder if I could clone the drive and expand the partition to use the new drive.

[@telsan4291]

@@XGhozt. you can clone the drive to a bigger one using Davy Chiu Steamdeck NVME clone method, you essentially put new drive in a caddy and then run the script that’s actually built into Linux, then swap the SSDs- super easy and saves lots of time 👌

[@XGhozt.]

@@telsan4291 Yeah, popos is my daily driver, I'm mostly thinking I need a way to get two m.2 drives connected to my laptop simultaneously, guess I need some hardware! XD

[@Zimtok5]

Best Steam Deck OLED review I've seen. Comprehensive, informative, and excellent variety in how you examined the specimen in captivity.

[@845H1R]

Looking forward to the emulation showcase as this is probably what I would buy one for!

[@BootyWarrior]

I love watching reviews of things I know I'm already going to buy. Helps with the anticipation

[@Razear]

Valve needs to push the battery life improvement as one of the main selling points of the OLED. This is really flying under the radar because of the new display.

[@Abigail-hu5wf]

My absolutely favourite game device is my OLED Switch. When I got my Switch, my friend had been telling me about how it was really fun but occasionally, even for him, the battery life was a bit short - though still really good by modern handheld standards lol. The OLED Switch is larger, brighter, has a clearer screen... and has a LONGER battery life! It's genuinely insane how long this thing lasts while playing something like Hades or Mario. For the Steam Deck to get an OLED screen without changing screen dimensions or brightness is huge for its battery life. Ultimately, OLEDs are just that much better for this kind of thing, and we're going to see a huge improvement over and above even the Switch advantage.

[@B3VR]

@@Abigail-hu5wfI’m thinking of getting steam deck oled but I’m not sure I have switch oled I play and may just wait for switch 2 what would u recommend

[@amadeoel3781]

@@B3VR I suggest you wait for the Switch 2 announcement. Might be a dud in the end, the Steam Deck wont get a revision for 3 years or so. Valve already said they will not be upgrading to a new model until the technology provides reason to do so, and they wish for a greater leap between devices. My money is on solid state batteries becoming viable, which should happen within 2-5 years roughly. By the time, we get a new device, you might have saved up the cash to buy it already. One thing is for sure, with Nintendo, at the very least, you have their first party stuff which is always good :) On the other side, Steam ^^ Cant go wrong with one or the other, but IMHO, wait for the switch announcement, see what they offer and if your not impressed, you should get the deck

[@ctgaming168]

​@@Abigail-hu5wfwdym without changing dimensions or brightness? The OLED deck has bigger and brighter screen.

[@mattsponholz8350]

Ahh, yes. The classic tale of Freya and Cloud... (Thanks for your incredible input! The only reason I didn't get a steamdeck before was the lack of OLED. Now it's a no-brainer!)

[@jjcranfill]

I was soooo close to going for the oled, but I decided that I love my current lcd unit too much to justify the cost. I just got mine in August so the feeling of fomo is definitely real though.😅

[@meric12131415]

Agreed

[@leifparon1561]

i got mine over a year ago but i still feel like its too soon lol... but i might give in and upgrade tomorrow. but its not worth it lmao

[@meric12131415]

@@leifparon1561 agreed it's a mid cycle refresh so not much has changed from the original

[@BrianJones-wk8cx]

Divinity in the details, as always, Russ, bravo! Every last detail is depicted with such precision, loving the evolution of audio and fan testing, spot-on! You’re getting to the necessary nitty gritty that others overlook, and you’re doing it in such a thoughtful, informative, entertaining way, that whether Freya or Cloud, everyone needs a little Retro Gaming Corps in their lives. As to my own upgrade path-while I’m stoked for Valve’s iterative improvements, I’m also content with my current LCD model. I’m happy that Valve made significant improvements but nothing that leapfrogs the “old” Deck from relevance. As always, keep up the great work!!!

[@RetroGameCorps]

Thanks Brian, your insights always make my day :)

[@DanielBrosman08211986]

@@RetroGameCorps: How did you manage to rip the Nintendo Wii game ''Super Mario Odyssey'' that is pretty cool I have a bunch of wii games myself but I don't know how to rip the discs becouse my Blu Ray Drive will not read them so please tell me how it is done if you know?

[@AlejandroHiraldo]

What I love about Valve is that they could've just offer the new Oled model and call it a day, but no, they went out of their way and made the stock LCD screen so much better with the features of the 3.5 update. I'm very happy with my SD, yes I would prefer the better battery life on the Oled but to me it's not worth it since I don't travel a lot and I even have a battery bank for the rare cases where I run out of power on the go. Great vid as always!

[@Deadguy2322forreal]

*could have just offerED

[@David-ln8qh]

@@Deadguy2322forreal Thank God you were here.

[@wesmrt]

Loved the Freya/Cloud user cases comparison. Please, do this more often, was great!

[@SonofSun100]

Great review! Will be holding off upgrading until the next round when they have a performance upgrade (2.0)

[@usk8]

I was saying to my friend the same. Yes we get better battery on top, but I play indoors close to a power supply. So for me it's not a requirement. Only the oled is the improvement is see. Not worth selling my deck and paying the extra. It needs a screen and power performance to make it worth it

[@conchobar]

I agree. 18 months ago, this would have been the bees knees, but in Q4 2023, we are seeing more and more new AAA games that are essentially unplayable on the Steam Deck, so the $500 price tag pushes this far into the niche/enthusiast device category.

[@jowartube]

same

[@lagunriv]

It's up to you if you want to improve or wait 2 years until the real upgrade 2.0, technology is like this anyways, no matter what you do there will be a better version of the product the following year 🤷

[@onedays104]

I 100% identify with the whole "battery anxiety" thing. I was just on a flight and I was so hesitant to take my Steam Deck out because I knew it would die fast. I always wish it just had a little more juice. When I have more money I definitely want to consider upgrading.

[@bdp2868]

well, maybe i have the boomer mindset slowly growin inside my brain but i cant see myself just grabbin that huge thing and start playing in front of unknow people.... Simply i cant.

[@justMeJustBri]

@brundodp what about a switch?

[@Andre-vr1ul]

​@@bdp2868Pop on some headphones and pretend they aren't there lol.

[@cangel8563]

​@@bdp2868Meh I do it with a switch, not much different. I'll probably do it with my OLED when I get it too :) People don't care as much as you think.

[@MrLeicon]

​@brunodp2868 I did it all the time with my steam deck and rog ally when I switched. No one really cared.

[@danielcaparros]

The Freya and Cloud comparison was top notch, thanks for that. I tend to switch between these too profiles but I loved how you presented it without making fun of any profile!

[@LudoArcadeGames]

For me, external controllers work much better over bluetooth with the OLED version. There was sometimes lag or disconnections on the LCD steam deck. This is a great improvement for playing with others on the TV !

[@OilersHD97]

Great review. Ill be ordering my 512 tomorrow morning! Higher screen brightness, OLED, Improved battery, quieter fan, improved wifi/BT, improved sticks, improved touch screen. This is exactly the upgrade i wanted. This is the emulation/indie machine of my dreams. Not to mention everything else it does

[@cooolpotato]

I love my launch deck and have had zero complaints. I use vibrant deck for better saturation - would appreciate seeing a comparison between the oled screen and one using vibrant deck if you have the time

[@antoniog6293]

Anda what about the battery?

[@dust5717]

​@@antoniog6293not as good of course but we'll wait for the next deck thatll have more power and battery.

[@skycloud4802]

​@@antoniog6293 mine it's tethered to wall most of time, and am considering a external battery attachment.

[@pin00ch]

@@dust5717 Same my Deck has more than enough juice for me. I dont take it out of the house since its too big/heavy anyway. Thats is my main gripe. If the size and weight came own by 30%...Im in for a new one.

[@cooolpotato]

​@@antoniog6293 Battery's fine. I've made power profiles for each game but it ultimately depends on what you're playing. I have never been one to get bent out of shape over battery life though. I remember the Switch's launch and how battery life was such a deal breaker for everyone lol

[@Saltywaffles39]

i love it when u use those 2 little characters for deciding between things in a customer standpoint and there needs and wants, i feel like i can usually put myself as one, and its cool to see the outcome.

[@FMBriggs]

battery life is really only a concern if you're playing demanding games. My primary use for SD is emulation and as a portable media PC, which wouldn't benefit from a 90hz refresh rate and doesn't use a ton of power. I like that Valve has kept the dimensions the same so there's no need to upgrade accessories. As expensive as the Deck is, the accessories (bigger carrying case, outer protective case, 3rd party dock, screen protectors (usually comes in packs of 2 or 3), internal SSD upgrade, SD Card, USB Drive for configuring dual-boot, etc) can push the cost even higher.

[@joemarsh3136]

Thank you for the upgrade discussion section. I haven't seen any other reviews breaking it down like that.

[@ultra_combo]

Outstanding review. Thank you in particular for the example use cases of Freya vs Cloud - and looking forward to the video showcasing the OLED 512 glossy vs. 1TB etched glass! That will probably be my deciding factor and I trust your level of analysis

[@cgonzalezcon]

I agree! I'm on the same boat, leaning for the 512 for this reason

[@user-ih6oe9ny3j]

@@cgonzalezcon Glossy is so hard to use, you can literally see everything and yourself in the reflection

[@cgonzalezcon]

@@user-ih6oe9ny3j Nice didn't know that. Would you go for a glossy with some sort of screen protector to tone it down a bit? Or go for the etched screen one?

[@user-ih6oe9ny3j]

@@cgonzalezcon I have a glossy OG steamdeck. I got a brotech tempered glass matte screen protector, works great

[@christopherfeist1687]

I'm waiting on this comparison too. I want 1 TB storage and glossy screen so trying to determine which I'll compromise for. Buying a new ssd to upgrade 512 GB is wasteful. @user-ih6oe9ny3j I don't think glossy screens are that hard to use. I have the ally and switch OLED both with glossy screens and I don't have complaints while using inside under normal lighting, i.e. not under studio lights.

[@bamtna]

thanks, was looking for the fan noise comparison -- seems like a huge improvement

[@Evercade_Effect]

Great honest comparison. I am in the middle for the V Cloud and Fara comparison. I mainly play indie games and emulation. I don't mind tweaking settings. On average, get 4-6 hours depending on what I am playing. Charging or playing while charging isn't a problem for me as I mainly play the deck at home. I am happy with the LCD and will upgrade when the 2.0 modules come out a a couple years.

[@HarzinLolz]

you put this well as a fellow LCD owner i am also excited to see what goes into the 2.0 model

[@Villardisky]

I’m in the same in-between situation, I’ve ordered the LCD model a year ago and the fan noise (even with the Huaying fan) and the battery anxiety really kills the fun now that my wife have the OLED model… I’ll definitely wait Xmas to get Steam gift cards to help me upgrade, and I’ll gift my wife’s brother my LCD when my future OLED arrives.

[@elhandro24]

Love the review, keep them coming. I wish content creators in general, would add a section for remote play on the DECK, specifically in regards to playing AAA games, as I suspect most PC gamers use the DECK as a companion to their Gaming PC within their home and Remote Play on the DECK is fantastic.

[@caramelzappa]

Love my deck but def not seeing enough here to upgrade. Im glad they made changes and I think this will lengthen the life of the deck as a platform.

[@korrina]

But......I WAAAAANT ITTTTT😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@caramelzappa]

@@korrina Then get it, I'm not your mom!

[@Trojanischer_Esel]

For me personally I play a lot of indie games like Hades and Dead Cells, where the OLED screen would be a huge improvement, given that it’s 90Hz. Most of my more demanding games I stream from my gaming PC anyway, so the better WiFi and battery life will be amazing as well. I agree, objectively there is not enough to justify an upgrade. But if you’re gaming like me and have the money to spare… I think I will go for the new model

[@c-tothefourth4879]

Exactly. You've described it perfectly. Enchanced indies with OLED and 90hz natively on the deck, plus game streaming for the challenging stuff.@@Trojanischer_Esel

[@redcrimson1028]

First of all, the screen is the only reason to upgrade!!! Everything else is extra. Better screen, better wifi for faster downloads, bigger battery and more. What's more not to upgrade. Is always that broke person that always come with an excuse or reason why they don't upgrade😂 Why did u upgrade to the ps4 to ps5? The oled switch was a huge jump from the base switch, even a lot of bloggers made the same excuse u made on why not to upgrade but the numbers show that almost everybody upgraded. I will be getting the oled deck and I still got my old one. The screen on the old deck sucls!!! Thats why I never used it.

[@throbbingwiener6218]

Retro Game Corps is the only review that I will watch when it comes to these handhelds because he's the only one who does a detailed battery test.

[@leonardomeitz]

YES, others do this so bad, its unbelievable.

[@_Majoras]

you mean like his RGB30 battery test? 🤣

[@cooolpotato]

I'm the same. His reviews have so much integrity. They are many other review channels that I enjoyed in the past but they have started to feel a little... bought.

[@samh5886]

Would be cool to see a video (or included in another video) on the streaming options with this deck OLED, how to make use of HDR/90Hz if you want to stream from PC or PS4 pro/PS5 etc.

[@Zappla420]

Awesome review. I really liked the bit with Freya and Cloud - it makes it way more concrete, and thous easier to make a decision.

[@logicalanomaly3516]

I am sticking with the LCD model because it’s easy for me to plug in most places I go. Also, I was debating whether the new deck would be a better upgrade than my recently purchased 2tb SSD and decided I would rather have the extra storage.

[@MarceloMedeirosb]

You can get the OLED one and put your 2tb sdd and sell your LCD deck

[@leilavergerius9223]

@@MarceloMedeirosb he will lose more money people will pay less for the lcd deck even before oled was realesed regular deck was already cheap, now will be so cheap to get regular deck and people that don't have a deck will rather buy the oled instead.

[@inmypaants]

It’ll still be worth something, but personally I’ll just hold onto my LCD and either have a backup or gift it to my daughter once she is ready to game more often.

[@jarrodwhite9415]

Was very tempted to buy a steam deck oled day 1, but can’t justify the investment without seeing Retro Game Corps etched glass screen comparison video first. I appreciate you doing that, can’t wait for the video to decide which version to get! Love ur videos, keep up the excellent work!

[@attackemartin]

I would think that the case for the Steam Deck could've altered the sound tests on both, the speaker but also the fan sound test

[@Dutchovenderlinde]

I decided to order one when it became available yesterday. I have the LCD one but I almost never actually use it without a charger because it dies so quickly. I absolutely love the Deck already so I’m really excited to see what the OLED offers. Can’t wait to get it!

[@tinas7504]

What do you play on your first gen?

[@icecatti]

I've really appreciated the way you've been covering the antiglare panel. I am very torn between them myself, and I've been orbiting your channel for the past week as a source of info. Although I am a big fan of the antiglare panel on my original Steam deck (it just feels more dignified, and it's nice not seeing my ugly reflection staring back at me during loading screens), I've decided to opt for the 512 glossy screen OLED. You are correct that the etched glass on the 1TB makes a tempered glass protector not "truly" glossy, but I feel that the same does not hold true for adding an antiglare screen protector to the glossy screen, if that makes any sense. And, for what it's worth, 512GB is enough storage for me since I don't play triple A 3D games on the Steam deck.

[@glennshoemake4200]

I'm still happy with my Steam Deck which was shipped during the very first shipment back in February 2021. I did order an Odin 2 Max so that will fix the battery life for most emulation.

[@MFillmore]

It's really cool that they upgraded the steam deck in this way, but I'm very happy with my 64gb model. It was a good price at the time and it's held up well with an sd card housing my game library. There's always a bit of fomo in these situations, but it is 550 dollars, which is quite a chunk of change.

[@cooppp]

I'm hoping for a Spring sale like Valve has been doing. It's hard to justify a $550-650 purchase on something I already own improved especially with the holiday season coming up with gift expenses

[@Fefe1036]

thank u for reviewing the viewing angles ! (love to share "over the shoulder" gameplay with friends and family). No reviews I could find at the time on the LCD deck focused on that aspect.

[@xelthos2051]

Great upgrade so far, but i would say its a luxury only upgrade with the cost and no trade in program. Looking forward to what changes will be made another year from now though after all the competition comes up with new stuff.

[@nicksalgado22]

can i ask... why did anyone think steam/valve would ever do a trade in program? What gaming console company does trade ins? it would be nice, but i just would never expect it from them.

[@shadowthehedgehog181]

A Steam Deck is a luxury item anyway :p

[@shaunlynch7786]

I said the same thing on Twitter. I don't understand people that don't know how business works. 😅

[@andrewmichaelwitt]

I did not expect the Wegmans call out 😂 I have a bunch in my town, and I'm a short drive from the original locations as well. I didn't think someone from Hawaii would know of them tbh.

[@MrBillRizer]

Absolutely love the Steam Deck, the only console that stopped me from playing my beloved OLED Switch all the time. It taught me the excitement of fiddling around to get things working, the last was Trails Evolution, rated as unsupported, runs perfectly. I received my Lenovo Legion Go a few days ago and thanks to the Steam Deck I'm ready for it... Amazed so far, it's a beast. Janky but they'll get there. Steam Deck though ❤

[@gisone79]

It's frankly incredible to watch such a honest review ! Great work, as always !

[@christopherfeist1687]

I'm going to wait to order one until I see direct comparisons of the etched vs glossy screen steam deck oled. I want to get the 1 TB version so I have the extra storage. Buying the 512 GB versions is a bit wasteful if I want to upgrade to 1 TB or 2 TB ssd. From what I've seen the etched glass only washes out the screen when there are reflections present or at odd viewing angles. Under normal conditions, i.e. no studio lights, minimal reflections, and facing the screen, the etched glass doesn't look to alter the colors/black levels much at all.

[@Senayoshy]

You put a lot of work into this video and it's given me a lot of insight for whether I want to make this upgrade. Thank you!

[@xkxxxx]

Struggling to decide between gloss and antiglare. Really wish valve gave someone both to compare before preorders.

[@BenRiley83]

Same!! I’m probably gonna go with the one that doesn’t have the anti glare. Apparently it ruins the dark colors

[@smeelss]

It's not going to be a major difference. If you're not looking at it side by side I don't think you'll notice. I am personally going for the limited edition with the anti glare. I hate seeing myself while playing games and I think the subtle worse black justifies not looking at my self while playing a game lol

[@BenRiley83]

@@smeelsshmm… interesting point. I was very sure I was gonna get the one without thr anti glare coating. Now you’ve got me reconsidering… god damn it I wish we would have fucking gotten a good comparison of the two screens before tomorrow

[@dyyuri]

​@@smeelsssame here and applying a screen protector would also lessen the "worse" colours anyways..

[@spicybodo]

Thanks for repping my alma mater! ❤ thank goodness I held off on buying the LCD version a few months ago. Hoping to get my first SD by years end. 👌🏼

[@frankscheno8042]

having very tough time choosing between the etched glass vs regular OLED.

[@DrumsBah]

They've made swapping the screen easier with the OLED model. If you really hate your choice you can just swap it out. I'm going 1TB because I like the reflection handling of etched glass and the extra storage and better case is nice.

[@Nekrozys]

@@DrumsBah Funny, that's exactly what I'm doing for exactly the same reasons. I get that the glossy is better for perfectly deep blacks and slightly more vibrant colors but I find reflections to be very distracting and I really like the etched screen of the LCD model which scatters the light but doesn't give the screen a prism "rainbowy" effect visible on so many phone screen protectors.

[@abzu235]

Already sold my 64GB original model that I've bought a few months ago. Can't wait for the oled baby!

[@friendlyhobo6483]

The 1tb model needs an option to not have the etched screen. It made sense for LCD but it makes no sense for OLED.

[@attzb-982]

I'm invested in all this Freya and Cloud lore, will they talk to each other again? Need an update asap

[@starscourge_micola]

This is less of an upgrade for already owner but more of an incentive for buyers

[@OilersHD97]

Upgrade for an already owner here! The LCD to OLED felt generational to me on switch, so I have to get this.

[@pfroo40]

The battery life gains are really impressive and that screen will meet or beat the best for years to come. Plus the wifi and Bluetooth improvements. Too good to pass up. I already use my deck for game streaming for more intensive games, that use case will benefit from all the improvements. Now, to sell my old 512.

[@Davemate]

The default LCD Steam Deck screen is very dull and muted out of the box - but it's colorfulness and vibrancy can easily be changed, in the Steam OS settings of the 3.5 update or via Decky Plugin. This is not hard to do and it's as simple as one slider; or you can even tweak individual color with individual sliders. You won't get as much contrast or the deep rich blacks but you can get much more vibrance (a lot more). The screen time is the biggest upgrade by far, with the bigger battery and screen that uses less power - so if you're away from a charging point for a long time then it makes a ton of sense to get the new one. But for a lot of people the LCD Steam Deck is still fantastic

[@_bhp]

It can be changed to a degree, it will not fix that it doesn't cover the entire sRGB spectrum the way the new panel does.

[@spartanmtb2640]

You can't change the inherent limitations of the LCD panel via software

[@Davemate]

@@spartanmtb2640 Of course, i'm not talking about changing the capabilities. The plugins and the sliders work within those limits. The dull, washed out default settings are not what it's capable of. It's possible to make it way more colorful with software, much closer to the OLED, but without the deep blacks and rich contrast an OLED will have over the LCD I've done it myself, without it being overly vibrant or creating any banding, and the colors look great even next to a Switch OLED. It doesn't have the same blacks or range but it's significantly better than the default What it comes as default is not it's full capability. It'll never be as good as the OLED for color range but comparing the default setting to the OLED isn't showing what it's capable of at all

[@StickerWyck]

VibrantDeck would actually give you a worse experience. When we look at a screen, we sort of adapt to what it can do. You'll automatically lower your expectations for how well the colours the screen shows represent what's intended by the game. Those colours are always in a certain relation to each other. Blasting the saturation will throw those relations out of whack and all you get is distortion.

[@Davemate]

@@StickerWyck Even a 10-15% bump in vibrancy on the LCD Steam Deck creates no artifacts or banding because it starts from such a muted and undersaturated starting point, you only start to see color banding and artifacts after around a 35-40%+ increase in vibrancy The reference point is the default setting. Because the default screen is actually highly inaccurate and undersaturated (and actually bad as default). Increasing the vibrancy and tweaking the color balance actually makes it more accurate and true to color. It can go beyond that and create color banding and distortion but to do that you have to increase it to a ridiculous level

[@ElderKai555]

I’ll be looking forward to the etched vs non-etched comparison you’re doing.

[@WhoIsLudwig]

In my case, the upgrade seems more and more like a no brainer. I like my Deck a lot, but I dislike the thermals, the fan noise and the terrible touch screen / trackpad polling rates. I also have troubles with Wifi on my setup that gets unstable and not very fast. These are all the things that seem to be fixed in that revision. I didn’t care too much about the screen, but OLED, HDR and 90 Hz refresh rate, plus the slightly faster RAM are gonna be nice bonus on top of that.

[@AndersHass]

The original Steam Deck was already really fast when turning back on from sleep which is why it is very difficult to notice a difference without actually taking time on both units, at least what others have managed to figure out.

[@manic_miner]

Really great video, thank you. Have just got a 512gb OLED model and am blown away by the experience

[@dan47483]

Wish the etched glass was an option on the 1TB. Looks like the 512 is the way to go, OLED screens should always be glossy.

[@GrayWolf323]

agreed, the limited edition console would be nice but there’s no way I want etched glass on the OLED

[@Drygore]

Honestly. I’d rather have a glossy OLED panel than an etched glass one. OLED 100% looks better when glossy. The downside is, ofc, more reflections if you play with a lot of sunlight or similar.

[@aliazizan6239]

“I wanted to get this video out before the pre-orders went live” My man 🙌🏻 your dedication is second to none

[@mattb6522]

Good review! As much as this sounds great, I already have a Steam Deck and am happy with it. For me, I don't see a reason to go for this upgrade. If you don't have a Steam Deck yet, this seems like the logical one to get. I'm looking forward to see what Valve comes up with next for the Deck.

[@SmsoBoyzo]

Really great video, a huge thanks for featuring the SSD replacement segment. As you mentioned, it's definitely much easier to replace.

[@SpikeBlighty]

Excellent work on the battery test. Very interesting results.

[@Kogami]

I love the method of recommending via Cloud and Freya examples you did. More people should do it like you than trying to boil it down to a "one size fits all" conclusion/recommendation.

[@PrometheusD12]

The SSD thing was something I was thinking about so I am glad that as long as you make sure both Steam Decks are on the same OS, it's a simple swap. I do plan to upgrade my Steam Deck not just because I want the OLED, but I was planning on getting a Steam Deck for my brother as a gift. He isn't a huge gamer but expressed interest in trying playing games on Steam for the first time ever, so I thought my current Steam Deck would be perfect and he gets to have it with a 1TB SSD right out the gate, so it's a win-win situation.

[@ImperiusRex74]

Wish they had a trade-in program. I'd probably upgrade if they did. Until then I'm happy with my LCD version and can wait for the next iteration.

[@markpotter8280]

I'm honestly torn between this and the legion go. I like the steam deck because of quick resume etc etc. It does have a lot of great features. But I also want to be able to run AAA games if I feel like it and use things like gamepass etc. Really don't know which one to get

[@ricardomerced12]

I am with you, man I don't have any I am just trying to get the best bang for my buck you know

[@CaptainEffort]

It depends on your priorities. If you really care about playing AAA games, pvp games, gamepass, and will primarily use this at home near an outlet, then get a Go or the Ally. Otherwise, I’d recommend the Deck. With the far better battery life, SteamOS features like Quick resume, and the crazy level of community support, it’s been far better than any other handheld I’ve ever used. But if you prioritize the above I don’t know if I’d recommend it over the others - I just personally prioritize battery, ease of use, SteamOS, and said community support. I only play modern AAA games occasionally, like Spider-man, and I don’t use Gamepass. Nor do I mess with pvp games all too much. So for me, none of the drawbacks of the Deck matter. But for some those are pretty big drawbacks, so it depends on you. I care about portability, so all the power of the Go and Ally means nothing to me if it results in only 30 minutes of gaming.

[@bnr32jason]

Don't let people scare you away from Windows handhelds as far as quick resume goes. My Ayaneo 2 works great for waking it up directly into a game. While Windows sleep mode can be finicky, Hibernate works great. From the time I press the power button to the time I'm in game on the Ayaneo 2 is about 5-7 seconds. Yes the Deck is faster, but we're not talking about a ton of difference. I've played through several games without having any issues with the handheld waking up and overheating in the case or anything like that. I'm still getting an OLED Steam Deck because I'm a visual quality whore, but I don't think you'll be making a mistake picking the Legion Go either. I'm keeping my Ayaneo 2 for Game Pass and Honkai Star Rail but the SD OLED will be my daily handheld.

[@jplopez76]

I waited until I saw an open box for the Go. I got it for $124 less…. After doing all the upgrades and “tweaking” so far it’s working great!!! That screen is just amazing even at 900P. Maybe get it at an open box item then try it out if you don’t like the Go then return it. You have until January to return things with Best Buy. The OLED looks great but I’m worried it won’t be able to keep up with future tittles. Even with the Go I had to do a few changes just to run Alan wake 2.

[@aegiltech]

The most intriguing thing right now is the Legion seems to be already pretty well supported under Linux with Bazzite & ChimeraOS with the only real things missing being remapping back buttons & RGB control. Its not perfect (yet), but it doesn't seem to have the deal breakers the ROG Ally (still) has. I'm thinking this might be the best of both worlds for me personally.

[@InverseLogic89]

Thank you Russ! I ordered a limited and a 512 just to be able to do my own comparison. I’m already an etched glass owner, but I’ve had a screen protector on it before even turning it on. It’ll be fun to finally see the difference in person!

[@itsdtxjd]

It a big difference. That’s why oled tvs have glossy screens.

[@infin1ty850]

Unless Valve offers some kind of upgrade program, which I haven't looked into so they might be, I definitely can't justify spending the money for another Steam Deck.

[@redcrimson1028]

U sound broke to me. Still got my og deck and will be getting this tomorrow. I also got the legion, the rog and of course still the goat the switch lol step your money game up buddy boy 😊

[@Swagvadar]

Thanks for adding that bit in about the M.2 slot being able to simply swap between both. Really wanted to know about that part.

[@frankvonbismo549]

I love seeing the upgrades to the Steam Deck. They aren't for me though. Most of the time my deck is on a docking station hooked up to a TV and connected to the router via cable. So I would not even benefit that much from the screen or the longer battery life or the better WIFI. And a storage upgrade is just as easy as hook up an external drive or pop in a micro SD. In fact, as it was calculated in the video it would take about $350 for the upgrade. For me personally it would make more sense to buy a second 512 LCD deck for that money rather than investing in the upgrade and end up with a single deck.

[@Metroidam11]

I’m Freya here. This has been my indie game console and I play this more than my desktop PC. Almost did the DeckHD mod but glad this was announced before I pulled the trigger! Already sold my Steam Deck LCD and will buying the OLED one tomorrow!

[@theshepard22]

☀️Really interesting video! Great game choices, and intriguing results! As much I want to pretend that the OLED doesn't matter to me, IT DOES! The screen capabilities alone make it worth it to me, aside from the battery and other level ups. For the time being I'll be getting a 16" gaming monitor around the 144hz mark. OLED screens are just WAY too pricey to purchase by themselves. VALVE IS KILLING IT!CANT WAIT FOR WHAT ELSE THEY HAVE IN STORE FOR NEW MODELS! 🎉

[@hoylematt1]

I sold my current Steam Deck for $350, and will buy the 512 OLED model (Not a fan of the etched screen) tomorrow for $550. The $200 difference I feel is worth it with way we interact with our handhelds the screen is the most important part. The extra goodies (battery ect.) are just a bonus for me. Now the real question is: will it ship fast? 🧐

[@Andre-vr1ul]

I just ordered the 512gb oled too. Do you know if the screen is glass or plastic (like on the og switch)? Are you going to put a screen protector on? Does it need it?

[@Reprogrammed_By_SEGA]

I answer is no, buying the same thing again just for an OLED screen is O.T.T and quite frankly some reviewers should be ashamed of themselves for suggesting you should double dip. The hardware itself is somewhat ailing when it comes to new PC games too.

[@deuxforever13]

Very good description of realistic scenarios with Freya and Cloud lol.😂 Congrats on 400k subs broski.❤😊

[@bnr32jason]

For me it's 1000% worth the upgrade. The Steam Deck released with OKish battery life and the worst screen on the handheld market. With this mid-cycle update they have resolved both of those issues. It now has class leading battery life and the best screen on the market. Any Steam Deck owner would benefit from this new one, even if they think the current screen is "fine" (it's not, they just don't know any better). But I'm happy that lots of people are sticking with the crappy LCD because that means it will be easier for me to get an OLED on day one.

[@MithosDagon]

Thank you for testing the SSD swap! That was my biggest question.

[@kraugaming7557]

This is an EASY SKIP for everyone that already has an LCD steam deck. This is GREAT for non-steam deck people to pick up and enjoy. Just wait for STEAM DECK 2 which will have all of these improvements + a generational leap in tech (for about the same price currently). You also have to account that an LCD steam deck model will be extremely rare and will GO UP IN VALUE since it's no longer in market circulation. LCD also has a health benefit where it DOES NOT DAMAGE your circadian rhythm, unlike the OLED screen because of the blue light which is far more extreme in longer use cases.

[@ZygonCannar]

Oooo. Touchscreen looking sharp! When the Bluetooth rumors floated, I told my sister that if this led to an OLED model I would sell her mine and upgrade. Very much looking forward to all these improvements.

[@ThePaintedTarget72]

The Steam Deck LCD has better speakers from what i could hear of the test, the OLED mids sounded muffled.

[@charlienewman7496]

I'll hang on to my LCD Deck until the Steam Deck 2 comes out. The OLED model is awesome, but it's not enough of an upgrade for me.

[@faviangarcia6403]

9:40 is my favorite part of the video. Thank you for also purchasing the 512gb to compare the screens. You got a like and a sub🤙🏽

[@sirwyattt]

I just ordered one and I can't wait for it to show up. The battery life of the LCD one put me off from getting it when it came out, so I'm glad this one is better with battery life. The other features, namely the OLED screen are awesome too.

[@edewar6004]

I have the 512gb OLED. I love it and definitely think it was worth the upgrade. The only downside for me is that there is a definite green tint to the colors compared to the LCD, which is a bit of a disappointment. But it's less obvious when not comparing side to side, and of course contrast and brightness is much better while retaining blacks.

[@kuronokei01]

I ended up getting a 64gb steam deck for 349$, it will be my secondary handheld next to my ROG Ally and focused mainly on emulation

[@saizonic]

Thanks for covering the bluetooth side of things - also love your character scenarios that help people decide if they should upgrade or not!

[@ulissesjunior5280]

I love your channel so much man. Top tier quality in your content with arguably the most fun topic to talk about! I wish I had it in me to make videos when I was younger. Congratulations!!

[@_Chris390]

Super video - Best look at all the features and differences. Interesting about the hazy screen for the 1TB. Thank you :)

[@akmalamni]

Amazing review, detailed as always, thanks a lot for this! Excited for my OLED 1tb!

[@xXYannuschXx]

Guess I am gonna buy the new 512GB OLED model today, even though I bought a Deck just 2 months ago. The better screen, better battery life and better fan are worth it imho. One thing I noticed about the new interior: Valve uses bigger and sturdier ribbon cables, which makes it even easier to repair.

[@zacharyc1958]

Haven’t owned a Deck before, and want to go for the $650 one with anti glare. But I usually stay at home, don’t go out much and when I do, I never have time to game (unless car rides/travels). But the 512gb version fits my budget a little better. At the same time, I want to just go and get the bigger one since i’m spending that much money, not sure what to do still.

[@xXYannuschXx]

@@zacharyc1958 With the OLED, a glossy panel is usually better (better colors and black levels). And if you dont like it, you can just install an anti glare screen protector.

[@tinabeana7]

Hmmm I’m so confused on the oled 512mb or 1tb . I wish they would have offered the etched glass as an optional upgrade.

[@Cherri_Bomb_01]

Happy with my current Steam Deck, and getting an Odin 2 next month. This new Steam Deck is great, but I think I'll wait till they do a more significant upgrade.

[@BinaryArcher]

Your summary on Cloud is exactly the conclusion I came too. Wait for next gen (figured this out after buying and trying everything)

[@ninomusician]

Watching your videos made me purchase the RP3 Plus and now it looks like I will be purchasing an OLED steam deck.

[@jasonthomas9729]

Initially I was gonna get the Lenovo legion go but it looks so bulky...I don't think I would able to enjoy it as a handheld. You convinced me in your previous video that the steamdeck oled is for me. Primarily wants handheld emulation.

[@DanikaShoru]

I appreciate Your awesome reviews keeping me informed. I also loved the storybook style explanation of upgrading examples very much.