Steam Deck OLED - In-Depth Review

Should you upgrade to an OLED? Yes.. well maybe. Let me explain.
Buy your own dbrand Killswitch at dbrand.com/fanthedeck
Edited by ‪@HiTechLoLife‬
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
S - T I E R A C C E S S O R I E S
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
► Humble Choice bit.ly/3GeGCLt
► Micro SD Card (1TB) amzn.to/3NN1ewF
► Micro SD Card Holder amzn.to/3BgQMZ2
► Moondrop Quarks amzn.to/467klcK
► Tomtoc Carrying Bag amzn.to/3TMZUM6
► Anker 65W Power Adapter amzn.to/3eqCPyC
► 6' USB-C cable amzn.to/3RmNYPC
► Baseus Power Bank amzn.to/3RybagW
► Deck Buttons deckbuttons.com/
► 2230 m.2 SSD (2 TB) amzn.to/3LwmQgs
► STREBITO Repair Kit amzn.to/3LyRwNO
► Rii i4 Mini Keyboard amzn.to/3EQesEz
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
M O R E A C C E S S O R I E S
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
► JSAUX M.2 Steam Deck Docking Station bit.ly/3AApOer
► JSAUX RGB Dock go.jsaux.com/3Or2Duc
► JSAUX RGB Back Cover go.jsaux.com/3QcoJlo
► Viture One XR Glasses (10% off) viture.com/fanthedeck
► Hall Effect Analog Sticks amzn.to/3PRlSh9
► 8bitdo Ultimate (XBox) amzn.to/3Zx1Prr
► 8bitdo Ultimate (Switch) amzn.to/3ZKZ9XH
► Valve Official Dock store.steampowered.com/steamd...
► Stick Clips (Etsy - 3D Filament Fun) tidd.ly/46pEgDu
► Stick Clips (Glistco) amzn.to/46nYNbh
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
S U P P O R T F A N T H E D E C K
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
⭐ Patreon: / fanthedeck
🎤 Discord: / discord
🔵 Twitter: / fanthedeck
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
C H A P T E R S
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
00:00 Start
00:46 The Contenders - OLED vs LCD
01:24 Design - stealth fighter look
03:43 Killswitch
04:43 Controls - a lot of small improvements
08:20 Audio - it gets louder
09:40 Connectivity - wireless audio, wake from bt, download speed
10:53 The Display - it's great!
13:19 Battery Life - it's great!
15:32 Software - tdp & more
17:41 New Buyer - just get the OLED
20:20 Should You Upgrade? - it's ok to wait

[@FanTheDeck]

CORRECTION: Please note that the two LCD models are actually 512 and not 256. This is important because all three models shown have anti-glare etched displays. Apologies for the editing flub.

[@HiTechLoLife]

Sorry -Editor

[@FanTheDeck]

😂 thanks for all your work man@@HiTechLoLife

[@Dracossaint]

​@@HiTechLoLifeno one's perfect yo 😊, all good y'all.

[@Brandon-ez6ej]

@@HiTechLoLife whatttt you edit for him!?? That’s so cool

[@Cristian-ks3hy]

Well... thanks for noting it. I was so confused. I'm literally watching all these reviews to see the etched vs non displays. I've heard the etched dims the display and affects the colors and blacks...

[@perfidious333]

It’s a tiny thing, but I appreciate you having the names and prices of the games you showcase in the top corner.

[@M5Ak]

Agreed

[@poletooke4691]

Especially as a deaf person with captions on. So many people put their tags on the bottom not top and it's annoying going back, turning captions off, seeing what it said, then turning the captions back on. I like that it's on top.

[@alexandrukubelbock3308]

@@poletooke4691 Yeah I agree with you. 👍

[@Daremachina]

There’s no reason to expect a steam deck 2 in 2 years. In interviews they said they want generational improvements to graphics but only if it is at the same low power consumption which they aren’t expecting anytime soon. Valve knows that a single target for devs is a huge strength and aren’t going to jeopardize that for a minor boost so I think your assessment of this being a long haul device is right on point.

[@TheTaxxor]

It all depends on what the next generation will deliver. The Z1 Extreme is tuned to 9-30W but has its sweet spot above 15W, maybe at the end of 2025 we'll have a Z2 Extreme with 9-30W and a Z2 with 5-15W that is >50% stronger than the SteamDeck at 5-9W and >75% stronger at 10-15W. And if they do a custom APU again, maybe they'll use a version of that Z2 that uses c-Cores for lower power and also a better distribution of cores (they should keep 4C/8T and put the additional power into the GPU)

[@Splackavellie85]

Which is exactly why you should expect a Steam Deck 2 in 2 years.

[@xXYannuschXx]

@@TheTaxxor Alot of people seemed to wanted to see the Z1 Extreme, but the problem with that thing is (like you said) the sweet spot above 15W. The Steamdeck OLED can run VERY long when not using its fulls power, something that wouldnt be possible with the Z1E, which absolutely drains the battery at full power. It makes the Steamdeck alot more versatile imho.

[@user-uu9up5fe5t]

also steam will have to defeat the "steam deck compatibility" list when they have different hardware performance models. They would need to make checksums when browsing the store which model u use or make it clear which model & then still people exists that have no clue what model they have & difference it is.

[@wile123456]

Those performance improvements haven't come because phoenix APU's from AMD are only a 30% performance increase. But strix point next year will be massively insane and there will probably be a steam deck version with that in 2 years or so

[@Joe4theRecord]

I just want to say I'm happy Valve sent you one. I remember when you had trouble getting the OG back around the release so it's good to see Valve is now recognizing your hard work.

[@InfinantGamers]

Love the side by side comparisons!! Great review!

[@FanTheDeck]

Thank you!! I wanted to make sure I got those right 😅

[@w_callaghan8300]

the wifi and bluetooth upgrade is enough reason for me to upgrade as i use my deck docked a lot with wireless controllers and no access to a wired network. i'm also very very excited about the increased battery life and more responsive touch controls

[@B0NSke]

Only in the video its not getting mentioned you need a 6GHZ WIFI network to really get advantage for better download speeds. 6GHZ gets barely used in the consumer space at this point. if you are not in an congested 5GHZ Wifi area (like a house) the chances are big that you wont notice a download speeds increase at all. In Some cases if you have a 6 GHZ the performance could be even worse, bc the penetration level of 6 GHZ is around 20% less than 5GHZ if your router is not next to u in the same room. So dont buy the steam deck bc of the better wifi, its only a nice bonus. Bluetooth on the other hand has now an dedicated antenna, that could help allot when using a 2.4 GHZ wifi network and bluetooth at the same time. but than again when you are using 5GHZ and bluetooth you wont see much of a difference. thats why there is mentioned in the video "less" audio latency. thats only bc the radios are not shared anymore when both using 2.4 GHZ wifi and BLE 2.4 GHZ.

[@AFistfulofXanax]

If you get past seeing Steam Deck exclusively as a handheld gaming device and recognize it as a very reasonably-priced full PC (at least for the 64GB and 256GB models), you might see you have a really good use for your "old" deck besides just selling it for some quick cash. It supports 4K60 output so that makes it a killer HTPC which also does emulation all the way up to PS3 and most Switch games. Can you buy something of comparable performance for the $250, maybe $300 you can get for your used Deck?

[@zainshaikh527]

You can play PlayStation 2 right off the bat faster than getting a browser. Wild. Copy paste non drm games from PC. Then even though native game pass PC downloads aren't a thing, at least EA play that comes along for free as part of the subscription can be taken full advantage of.

[@harrifongostudios]

I used to pirate movies all the time and put it on a usb to my tv because my wifi is shit. But then I realized I had a steam deck and just installed but torrent and got a dock looool

[@Moseev]

@@harrifongostudiosButt Torrent you mean?

[@M5Ak]

Exactly.

[@filedotjar]

Even though I won't be upgrading, I'm still really glad that Valve made the OLED version, because it'll get more people on the Steam Deck platform which is great for more Steam Deck support from developers. I love the improvements to screen and battery since those are the big pain points of my usage, but gripper thumbsticks and Wifi 6 are awesome changes. I wish they would've added hall effect joysticks for longevity and made the new components easier to add to the old model to throw a bone to LCD users, but I guess you cant win them all. For now, I'm happy with waiting for the Steam Deck 2 (unless my LCD model suddenly breaks before the second model, then I'll get an OLED version).

[@Dracossaint]

They did comment on hall effect sticks, they found them not as reliable as traditional sticks

[@filedotjar]

@@Dracossaint hmm don't really understand that take. even if there were something that made hall effect sticks worse (which I haven't heard of) I think the longevity makes them worth it. at least gullikit exists

[@KestonCharles]

Love the overlay showing the game info with the review rating and price. And also realized the icon you use to the left of the info is the steam verified status; amazing. I hope to see this detail in most videos! Thanks for the review.

[@alexandrukubelbock3308]

I agree and see Potencial in two matters. First, try to add Euro and Pounds so you have General Currency covered. Prices could be Displayed be in one Line or above each Other. Minimal Effort, Huge effect. In time of globalisation and common Interest your are basically referring to Europe aswell. Im open for Suggestions and Dialog. Second i thought ( Silent speaking: Valve is listening..:D) If you add an Add , your Way of Displaying it is Groundbreaking, U give it minimal Space, most necessary Information ( keep it Global ) and make it as long as u want as long as you keep Format and Size Noone Cares if its there, Take the Finger not the Hand.. Plus Publishers get Benefit of exposision and Revenue. Greetings from Europe Austria.

[@baldsealion]

Fantastic Review, great attention to detail with comparisons. Very well done. 40 more minutes until we can order!!

[@FanTheDeck]

Glad you liked it!!

[@alexandrukubelbock3308]

Its been 4 Months i would like to ask You @baldsealion have you had a steam deck already? If not how is the Experience.

[@baldsealion]

@@alexandrukubelbock3308 I had the glossy and didn't like it - the glare is really bad on the OLED model IMO, since the blacks are true and there is no lcd backlight to mask some of the background. I returned it and got the Limited Edition(thankfully it was still in stock at the time). I use it all the time, lately just for Chiaki (PS5 streaming) - it works and looks so good playing FF7 Rebirth :)

[@jordyvandertang2411]

Regarding the black flash when changing framerate. I have a laptop that can swap between 60hz/165hz with a button press. It also has the same behavior. I assume it is a limitation of general screen hardware/a force of nature that can not be changed.

[@TinkerTaverns]

Yeah, while it would be impressive if they could get it working, I feel it's something that needs to happen when changing a display's properties. A similar thing happens when changing resolution, as I imagine some kind of communication needs to happen between the computer and the display

[@user-uu9up5fe5t]

well see it as an "overclock" it has to be turn off & on again hardware limitation like every monitor has, also the SteamOs dashboard runs at locked 60hz & only when ur in a game / application it goes to 90hz if it wouldnt do that it can not "synchronize" and cause error, since it simply needs to turned off & on again to apply right amount per second (hertz)

[@lloydbond13]

I've used the hell out of my Steam Deck for the last year and nine months. I've actually been able to finish games now. Something that was just not possible for the last Decade. There is no way I could have buyers remorse because of the new OLED model. I'll for sure get an OLED model soon, after I save up some cash. The Steam Deck is such a great product, it's really made gaming flexible for me.

[@carling5214]

Completely agree. I have a 3080ti hooked upto a 65" OLED and a 2070 laptop and last year I didn't game at all. I kept thinking.. Shall I do some gaming.. Maybe tomorrow. Bought the Deck around 3 to 4 months ago and I've played through all Resident Evil remakes, Evil within 2, Dave the Diver, and others. Currently 90 percent completed Arkham Knight. The fact you can just press the power button and resume where you left off is brilliant. It's just there to pick up and jump straight back in and pop back down. Been a great purchase and got me back into gaming again.

[@deserthobo]

@@carling5214 i get a kick out of reading stories like this, i'm so glad the steam deck has gotten people like yourselves back into gaming! its tough to find time to sit down and commit to a game now that we're older but the steam deck is giving life to that inner child! GOOD STUFF GUYS!!!

[@ts1265]

I finished God of war 2018 taking a dump after years of procrastination.

[@carling5214]

@@ts1265 😂 Not played GOW yet, good shout. Might get it tonight.

[@ts1265]

@@carling5214 hell ya toilet bros forever

[@kweefs]

Thank you for always including the name of the games you are showing on screen!

[@MynameisEpinephrine]

OMG you using 3rd strike to test the dpad is so smart, I'm always wondering what it would be like to play on whatever handheld I'm researching since I mostly play fighting games. I have the lcd deck and I hate playing fighting games on it. I still do but I struggle with my inputs, I don't know if its me or the dpad. If I use a controller or fight stick I don't have the same problem.

[@DeckWizard]

Awesome Review, made me even more excited to get mine 😍

[@lthomas63]

Good video, thank you! You did make one mistake though you said that the upgrade cost from the LCD to the OLED was $250 when actually it’s only $150 to go from the 256 GBLCD to the 512 GB OLED.

[@nddugas]

Ordering mine today, God willing. Hopefully I get it quickly and will be able to offload the LCD without too much trouble.

[@alexandrukubelbock3308]

Hey it´s Been 4 Months im couroius on you Resolution to the Product, and you Opinion an the two Devices. Greetings from Vienna. Alex

[@InitialDL84]

Been looking forward to your review on this, my trifecta is complete (Retro Game Corps, Nerd Nest, and Fan the Deck)!

[@robertmatthewgreggjr.3047]

Ill be buying my first handheld pc soon, and its definetely going to be the Oled Deck. Awesome video, thank you for the in depth review and helping sway my decision.

[@deathshade777]

Do not waste your money. Far far better handhelds. Rog ally and Lenovo. The so called oled screen is still less color accurate and looks far worse then both. Rog ally has a vrr screen so it makes games play far better. And rog slly and Lenovo play all games and far better.

[@adgeifc]

This guy never seen an oled and long term customer support and battery life

[@transitcombine9057]

It has battery and Windows problems, but if that doesn't matter to you, good luck 👻

[@adgeifc]

if ya want the horse power i respect that

[@vinylSummer]

@@deathshade777 u a hater

[@regnar1374]

Was waiting for this, Thanks! now decision time

[@agaifi]

Hey, can you do a comparison between the matte (antiglare) vs glossy screens? Thanks for the videos btw!

[@HoldMeForever]

Great review, Richard!

[@M-V-C]

Was refreshing since 1pm eastern and got one after 27 mins, good luck everyone

[@emiliosanchez4610]

Oh man the new battery life sounds crazy. I wish I had a justification for getting one of these. But hey my Deck is still going strong and is so much fun to use so I don't mind haha. Great review my man! Keep up the amazing work 😁

[@ArnoSnyman007]

Great in dept review. Really did a lot of research and benchmarking. I bought my Steam Deck around July of this year. I am still very satisfied with my current device, and the things they changed didn't bother me much. Personally, it doesn't justify me purchasing it, but I can see this being something a non-Steam Deck owner might be getting. I will give this upgrade a skip for now and wait for the Steam Deck 2.

[@_jfs2000_]

@FanTheDeck Hey I hope you can help me with this or anyone else: How noticeable is input lag on the Oled Steam Deck in your opinion? Im pretty sensitive about this and heard mixed reports about latency on the original Steam Deck. Like how is the Oled when compared to your desktop PC? Thanks in advance! Have a great New Year :)

[@Dynamonic]

Will be in the queue for my OLED model at launch today! My LCD Steam Deck has transformed the way I game and this revision has wiped out virtually all the annoyances with that! An umissable update for me!

[@user-uu9up5fe5t]

i wish they would unlock the refresh rate for the LCD models too, it can deliver 70hz without any problems but gets locked behind 60hz - its not a huge difference but big enough to notice it

[@DeezNutzHot]

How do you put it in a que there’s no option for that

[@Dynamonic]

@@DeezNutzHot What I mean is, I’ll be camped at my PC ready to buy as soon as it goes live, with no doubt many others doing the same simultaneously! 🤣

[@com.7869]

​@@DynamonicTook 35 minutes of rage clicking on 3 different devices simultaneously but managed to get one!

[@Dynamonic]

@@com.7869 Same here in the UK. 34 minutes it took for me to finally complete the transaction. 15 minutes longer than it took for me to reserve the original LCD model on launch day. This model is huge!!!

[@rockyjetproject1345]

I’m getting the limited edition soon! Just a little over an hour! I’m so happy the Dbrand kill switch case and protection fits on the new oled. I thought I was going to have to buy it again. Thank you for the great review.

[@thenoble1]

You're very confident in your ability to snag one lol, those things are going to disappear in seconds.

[@Formonitryl]

@@thenoble1I snagged one! Hopefully they were able to do so as well lol

[@rockyjetproject1345]

@@thenoble1 I did get one today, purchased limited edition, first wave. :)

[@diamondly6250]

@@thenoble1 nope still up

[@Formonitryl]

@@diamondly6250 very surprising ngl. at least others still get a chance at buying one :)

[@dave074]

Thank you for the review! I bought a Steam Deck in August, yeah, I feel a bit cheesed about seeing the OLED, but that's okay! I've been having a great time, no plans on upgrading

[@SadlySorrowful]

If you were able to purchase with a receipt does this still mean that they are in stock and you are able to get one? How many days before the limited edition is gone forever?

[@tinostarks]

were u able to test the 3.5mm jack with wired IEMs or wired buds? My unit has a ton of feedback/static/buzzing that wasn't in the LCD deck

[@FROSTB4NE]

I'd love if they had a trade in option, I'd upgrade if they offered that.

[@Daveyengland]

Bro, a “trade-in option” is just selling it and then using that money towards the new one.

[@mrb3991]

HI Great Video Thanks. my launch Steam Deck has just developed a Blue Stuck Pixel on the boot up screen, my deck is still useable, is this my excuse to Upgrade to the 1tb oled version ??? thanks

[@ffvllcloud151]

What about previous accessories like the Jsaux backplate for improved cooling?

[@808Mark]

I snagged one! Preorder went live at 8am and it crashed with errors for 20 minutes, i gave up and tried again right now and got one! A limited edition one too!

[@FanTheDeck]

Me too! Same problems and all lol

[@manuelkimpel3788]

I'm going for an upgrade. Thank you for the video! The steam deck was the best thing that happened to my gaming experience. :)

[@cinnabarsin4288]

Not sure if I'm hoping I can manage to get one of the limited edition ones today or not (totally forgot that was today until I saw this video in my queue), otherwise I'll wait for the inevitable sale since Valve's been doing those (thankfully). Will be interesting to see how rough it is trying to sell a used LCD Deck with the price cut on those and the likely flood of them about to hit sites. Might just convert mine into a HTPC or something if it's real bad.

[@Ragnar0321]

On the same boat hoping to get snag a limited edition today.

[@casedistorted]

What is an HTPC? I have a 512GB model LCD steam deck so curious if I should try selling it or give it to the wifes kids for Christmas or turn it into a server lol

[@erebostd]

@@casedistortedi sold mine. Yes, it was a loss, but i had fun for 2 years…

[@oreganik1924]

as a kid, id have shit a brick to get a used steam deck. Hell I'm 31 and wouldnt be mad at that@@Ragnar0321

[@cinnabarsin4288]

@@casedistorted Home theater PC. I run almost all of my media off a home server and have our over the air antenna hooked up to it too so one connection and any device on the network can watch. Using a PC to run it on the TVs just gives more control, options, and performance than the built in smart TV apps or the set top streaming boxes do plus the ability to run anything a PC can and games and emulation and what not from one device. It's overkill for most people but I'm already too far down that rabbit hole to come back.

[@OperationDecoded]

The Bluetooth wake function not working is sad. I hope future Firmware updates will address this.

[@labman472011]

I see the inner part of the case being something you could use in a backpack where you don't have a lot of space for a bulky hard shell

[@vitriolicAmaranth]

Switch also had bad bluetooth lag, but it was fixed with a software patch. Is the latency still bad on the LCD version?

[@Justin-dp7pg]

I really hate that you have to get the etched display with the higher models.

[@retrobear9367]

Im very eager to order mine today 🤞

[@robagray]

I have been waiting on this vid since I heard about the new deck!!!

[@ingenuk4266]

I've just bought one. Upgraded from the LCD unit. Would love to find a tutorial on how to easily back up and transfer to the new model. Looks like theres only a hard way, Not like the iphone/ipad...

[@timur7381]

Soundcore VR P10 earbuds with a wireless dongle have 0 latency. I hated playing with bluetooth headphones before I got those, they work awesome for me. Dongle doesn't work with the killswitch case, so I had to get a usb-c to usb-c adapter/extension, looks a tad clunky, but it works.

[@Tynemir]

Audio seems more "open" on the OLED based on the comparisons made here.

[@jasondraven7979]

Thank you for being so honest about this during the first part of your video. I count pennies and I'm a little miffed that valve released this revision so close to the original versions launch. Still, the deck remains my favorite console ever. Just can't justify taking this big of a financial hit

[@FanTheDeck]

Yeah that's absolutely fair. SDLCD is still one of the best gaming machines out there and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone that can't afford the SDOLED.

[@dariuswoznica3498]

literally had mine, five days before it was announced that thing is going into the sortiment on the 16th. That was really offputting, since I could´ve gotten a 512 one for less than I paid that time...

[@foznoth]

Thank you for the review. You've just lost Valve about £90 as I'm going to go for the 512Gb OLED now. The etched screen was drawing me to the 1Tb, but I'd like to try gloss, and add a matte screen protecter if i need to.

[@Luke-ih1oc]

Amazing review man, top quality

[@FanTheDeck]

Much appreciated! That really means a lot.

[@Saturn2888]

I have _no_ buyer's remose because I wasn't able to buy a non-OLED Steam Deck until now. All those flights would've required a 3DS or nothing. Which is better? Nothing or something? EXACTLY! It's the opportunity cost. I'm definitely getting an OLED model. This is the one I wanted all along, but they didn't have the tech setup to do it before. None of this was proven to sell, and Valve's cost expectations changed significantly. Lastly, they sold the first gen Steam Deck during the tail end of a parts shortage, so everything here makes sense. I'd prefer to have an OLED model now rather than wait 2 years for an upgraded Steam Deck. I have another flight late January, and I can't wait to try out the new OLED model when it arrives!

[@mponce951]

Im thinking of buying, i dnt have one. I like playing deckbuilders. How is reading text on thst small screen

[@FilSapia]

I've currently got the original Steam Deck 512GB, definitely going to wait until the Steam Deck 2 to justify an upgrade. Already there's a quite a few AAA games such as Baldur's Gate 3 which are running a bit too poorly for my liking to warrant only upgrading the panel.

[@Smexbi]

The good thing about the SteamDeck OLED for me is I was able to get a SteamDeck for cheap used on Ebay because now everyone is selling their old ones. As someone who is unsure about the SD overall that's a great way to test out how good the SD is for me. And so far I gotta say I love it. I wanna upgrade my PC in 2-3 years when the RT50 series is out, but I might also save up some money to get a SteamDeck2.

[@76sagman]

Thanks for the in depth review. I can take my 512gb LCD to CEX (like GameStop) in the UK fand still get £319 cash. The £150 upgrade to the 512gb OLED for me is worth it for what they have provided in this refresh. Vibrant Deck (and the built in solution) really helped the screen but once you go OLED its hard not to go back! + the extended battery as I travel for work and the 90hz is the icing on the cake. Hoping there are some good BF deals on the 2Tb M.2 :)

[@arjunrai9555]

Make sure you have the original cardboard box, otherwise they will knock it down to grade B and give you 278 £

[@76sagman]

Yes I've got everything and it's mint condition. Oled arrives today woo hoo

[@julesy6922]

another small thing mentioned in the digital foundry video is that the OLED does seem to have a marginal up to 7% performance improvement iirc because of more memory bandwith

[@bedrockanarchyrealm2762]

I think the buttons being not as mushy on the OLED is only applicable if you have a launch or early steam deck, the newer steam deck models, including the non-OLED steam deck has buttons that are more clickable as well.

[@FanTheDeck]

One of these is a Q3 LCD that has improved Steam/QAM buttons and the OLED is a _significant_ improvement on that one.

[@3bryanboy]

Hi, could u test war thunder on both devices? It's my main game and would like to see if the o led hits a solid 90fps on the standard presets. Maybe test both on external momitor aswell.

[@GothicDragonX]

I already own the 512 GB LCD version. I would never expect something like a Limited Edition Steam Deck to convince me it is a good idea to buy it again. The translucent shell and red/orange accent make it look very good. Another thing is that it will be a great streaming device once it outlives its usefulness as a stand-alone gaming device. The new model solves 3 things at once: OLED screen, Battery, and Thermal. I love the original 512 GB model and will keep it as a "back up" ducked on my living room TV, while the OLED will be my EDC entertainment device beside my smartphone.

[@CyberClu]

Excellent review as always. Kind of wish you used VibrantDeck saturation to see how close you can get to the OLED model. My case scenario for upgrading to an OLED is, "Is there a trade in/upgrade program from Valve?" No. "Is it worth it to sell off my LCD Steam Deck for at best, $300, and spend an additional $300 for this side grade?" No. "Should I either wait for a Steam 15-20% off sale for the Steam Deck OLED, or just wait it out for the Steam Deck 2?" Yes.

[@eternalbeing3339]

Refurbished deck oled later this year to save money.

[@c-tothefourth4879]

Doesn’t get near

[@rustyshackleford4117]

Curious to see, did you happen to do any testing comparing how much HDR impacts battery life? I'd be interested to see how much of an impact it has like demanding games such as Cyberpunk.

[@Hightower2804TP]

Probably a very negligible one or none as hdr has almost zero performance hit pretty much anywhere.

[@thacoolest13]

Does the matte screen protector significantly effect OLED colors? Not sure if I want to get the anti-glare or the.. not anti-glare.

[@eternalbeing3339]

Yes taki udon showed that it washes out the color.

[@MCVAMP666]

Wait you didn't get the Limited edition oled? The transparent and orange?

[@Kepppo]

I just want a steamcontroller 2, the same as the deck but no screen, i think its on the works with that wake up via bt freature

[@Brandon-ez6ej]

Will oled become your daily driver again? I know you mentioned in Lenovo legion go that device might become your daily driver. Is that still true or has oled completely took its place?

[@FanTheDeck]

Too soon to say for me right now. I've been using the OLED exclusively since I got it because I've had to write this review. Playing FPS on here feels a little awkward again but Lenovo is a little behind on drivers. So I'll have to update in a couple weeks once I see what I'm using more often. For most people, I would recommend OLED over LeGo

[@RJSamonte]

I totally fooled myself into thinking I didn't need the OLED, that I was happy with my LCD. Well, 20 min ago I listed my Steam Deck on Ebay for $250. It sold in 5 min. 512GB OLED arriving in 3-5 days! Who said there wasn't a trade in program LOL

[@CaptnYestrday]

Which model did you have? I've got the mid-tier model wondering how much that would go for.

[@tipsy634]

The audio test seems off to me. Why is the steamdeck OLED so muffled?

[@ninjason57]

How long will it take to ship? Next week is thanksgiving so I wonder if it'll take till the following week.

[@eternalbeing3339]

3-5 days is what my 512gb says. The limited edition was 2 weeks.

[@ninjason57]

@@eternalbeing3339 Ya I saw 3-5 business days. That falls right around thanksgiving when im out of town :( Hopefully they wont be out of stock if I order it the following week.

[@quest2782]

Since they're not going to make a deck 2 any time soon I'm going to try and get it.

[@TehObLiVioUs]

for me yeah the screen normal deck screen gives too much eyestrain in lots of lighting conditions because of its low quality nature (so I use it docked 90% of the time lol) I need IPS or better so my eyes don't kill me and this definitely fulfills that need

[@HoundNL]

Do you think in the future you can compare the OLED SD with and without anti glare screen? I'm decided i will buy a SD OLED as my first deck but I'm not sure what model i grab: authentic visual fidelity with lots of reflections or reduced reflections and visual fidelity

[@JDabz96]

The regular oled without antiglare looks better, the antiglare takes away from the oled

[@kaiichinose9590]

For what it’s worth I am a display snob, when it comes to Oled , for me the true Oled experience is with a gloss panel where nothing interferes with the panel. When Oled has anti glare it looks good but it reminds of like mini led, if you watch Dave 2D video he shows you the difference just by adding a tempered glass screen protector on anti glare.

[@s7r49]

​@kaiichinose9590 I have the etched and my gf has the glossy and I hate the glossy. I know all the reviews that show it more vibrant but to me the angles and lighting where it's visibly more vibrant are the exact angles where there's a big glare line across the screen. Even indoors. Laying in bed in dim lighting you can't even see a difference but sometimes in the glossy you can see your face reflecting. I think people jumped the gun on the etched screen judgements

[@kaiichinose9590]

@@s7r49 I’ve seen both and both are great but I still prefer glossy. Worst case you can literally order the etched display and have ifix it install it or micro center. Or even just slap a semi matte screen protector on it. But for me I’ve always preferred gloss panels. To each their own that’s why it’s good to have options.

[@s7r49]

@kaiichinose9590 I feel ya. But I will say initially I got a glossy screen protector because I thought I wanted protection. I realized I liked the matte and didn't really need a screen protector so I removed it. My fiance ended up getting a matte screen protector to try and reduce the glare. Out of those two options my glossy screen protector looked just like her glossy screen. But (at least the one she purchased) the matte screen protector she used did not look as good as the matte screen. It kinda diffused a little blurry. Out of those two options, unless there at better matte screen protectors but there don't seem to be many, I'd say go with etched and put a glossy on it over vice versa

[@SpencerCunninghamPN]

Listening to the sound test VIA a Steak Deck LCD is really meta and hilarious. It kinda "stacks" the difference for this model.

[@yannikwelsch2248]

Did you encounter any green tint issues at lower brightness? The OLED Switch has it across the board and I'm curious if the deck also suffers from it.

[@rekunta]

I’m glad that I waited. Yes it sucks to not be an early adopter, but I wanted to let them smooth out the kinks, increase compatibility with their library, and let the tech evolve. Why I love this hobby…..letting technology mature only nets you positives. Things get smaller, lighter, better AND cheaper. And in a handheld, that’s all the more valuable. My 1TB OLED is in the mail. As Switch has become one of my favorite devices, I’ve no doubt I’m going to love this kit.

[@M5Ak]

My old deck had a cracked screen broken micro sd slot and a cracked front plate and I still use it more than my ps5 and pc, installed windows and I play games like assetto corsa, cod, 2k, gta etc. I’m big on modding games so I use this to do a lot of that, especially with windows installed. Some annoyances but nothing to make me not like it. basically have my pc setup in my hands and it’s great. Waiting for my oled

[@Peremptor]

I'd buy one but I wouldn't get enough use of it... I'm thinking getting a used OLED deck in a few years once the deck 2 is a thing. Honestly I'm not a fan of playing super demanding games on such a small screen but for many indy games and emulation these current decks are amazing and will keep being just as good as long as they keep functioning and holding a decent charge.

[@sendoh873]

Wait, the DPAD on the OLED model was worse than the DPAD on the LCD model? Please keep us updated on that

[@Cplblue]

This is a win / win for me. I got the 256 GB OLED otw amd my buddy who wants one will buy my 64gb LCD for cheap so he can enjoy handheld PC gaming. I'm just as excited for him as I am for the new OLED deck!

[@lekside]

Do you think it would be possible to simply swap the NVMe drive between the LCD and OLED Steam Deck? I'm asking because I currently have a 2TB NVMe drive in my LCD SD. Great video btw

[@FanTheDeck]

Yes. Apparently Retro Game Corps and Taki Udon have both tried this. I think Pierre Loup from Valve said it would work. Thank you!

[@lekside]

@@FanTheDeck Perfect! Appreciate the information. Merci beaucoup

[@casedistorted]

Less than an hour left before launch, I am going to try to get the Limited Edition model but if not I will go for the 512GB OLED then. Here's hoping..

[@AndersHass]

Your conclusions seems to fit what I have gathered from all the reviews and showcases so far. I think you can also get anti glare screen protector, so ye the cheapest OLED option is definitely makes most sense for the money.

[@FonixVR_]

How does it run with EmuDeck?

[@dfloper]

Will stick with my LCD model which is awesome. The cost was almost 700 euros and I waited a long time for it. I am not going to throw all this money away on an upgrade. Yes the LCD is not as good as OLED but it will never suffer from burn-in. The better battery is an non issue since it acted like a programmed break time for me.

[@pinatadonkey5934]

Literally sold my 256gb LCD yesterday and ordered the Limited Edition OLED lol. Decided to go big this time haha.

[@whiteshadow247]

When do we think that the Deck2 will come out? Ive been holding out for it but this caught me by surprise. Any ideas, everyone?

[@thacoolest13]

No time soon.

[@Jdb63]

2 or 3 years

[@Enes1967]

If this would have also significantly better performance I would definitely upgrade. But the next gen games are barely playable on it. I will wait for Steam Deck 2.

[@vinylSummer]

by the time steam deck 2 comes out, next gen games of that time will be as unplayable on it as current "next gen" games are unplayable on the current steam deck. sd oled is really awesome, but the original version is still awesome too. enjoy your deck!

[@Enes1967]

@@vinylSummer I disagree. Next gen games are based on next gen hardware which doesn't change. So if Steam Deck 2 can play a PS5 game it will be able to play all PS5 games. Same with the current steam deck which can play any ps4 game even if its a newer ps4 game.

[@TheDarKris]

I decided that I will try getting the limited edition OLED, but if I miss out I’ll go with the base OLED

[@jasper265]

Agreed on the waiting. In fact, I'm hoping that Valve sticks to the pattern they've been following so far and does discounts among the way. That would make replacing my perfectly good gaming handheld a lot more palatable. I do also dislike that you can't effectively own two steam decks with only one steam account. The idea of being able to keep the old one around to do couch-ish coop with is interesting to me, but not if I have to buy games twice or less around with friends logging into the device and hoping that they have the same game...

[@th4nkyoub3n]

family sharing

[@jasper265]

@@th4nkyoub3n That wouldn't work, though, would it? Family sharing works as long as you do not play games at the same time. Couch-ish coop would require playing games at the same time, so you can't do that...

[@Negentropy369]

Steam also has "Remote Play Together" which allows you to play multiplayer with someone who doesn't have the game. I've never personally used it, and I'm not positive what the game Library that can use it is, but it does exist.

[@jasper265]

@@Negentropy369 it does exist. But it would basically have one of the two devices idle. And game support is limited. So yeah, not solid enough for my use case, imo

[@Boss_Fight_Wiki_muki_twitch]

nice screen tho i'd wait for the deck2

[@manic_misfit9722]

Anyone know the game being played at 4:22?

[@alexandrukubelbock3308]

Hey Hi! i was watching your video where i Actually got a good Idea for Aditional Option of Imroovment on the Keyboard. Sometimes Tiping i find it accward that the the Section of the Trackpads is seperated on the Keyboard displayed. I wish i had the Option set a Setting that akticvates my both Trackpads for move trough the whole Keyboard Or an 75% to 80% Screen Area. More is Better!. So I have both Trackpads working on a whole Keyboard. I guess it would mean to Set to Trackpads to an higher Pitch or Sensetivity, and Change the Range of Area displayed on the Trackpads. Hope it makes Sense ; D Im open for Questions. Greetins Alexandru Hire Me Valve!

[@tobfon2416]

Would you rcommend the etched or glossy Version? Thank you

[@Hightower2804TP]

glossy for image quality, etched if you hate reflections and are planning to play outside often.

[@atifahmed732]

Is it worth buying the OLED ETCHED screen version? I mean if its going to ruin the oled goodness then might as well buy the lcd ETCHED version…No?

[@Hightower2804TP]

The etched screen definitely looks worse than non-etched version. All the people who say it doesn't affect image quality are lying and or coping. Just buy the regular oled model if you can live with glare. Or even if not, you still can put a screen protector on it.

[@leviticus6105]

Great video! what game are you playing at 4:26?

[@FanTheDeck]

Prodeus 😅

[@leviticus6105]

@@FanTheDeck thank you!

[@StevenTalksAboutIt]

Given it runs cooler, the battery last longer, and all that, wouldn't this model be a good idea to overlock compared to the LCD one, which could directly impact performance?

[@TinkerTaverns]

Yeah I'm really curious to see if there's any secret headroom there for tinkerers!

[@StevenTalksAboutIt]

Maybe connected to the charger it can perform better being overclocked and without increasing heat too much, I'll guess we'll figure that out later with more reviews.

[@FanTheDeck]

I'm very curious about this as well. I didn't want to risk any overclocking or even undervolting before this review was ready but I'm especially looking forward to seeing what CryoByte33 does. I can confirm that the new undervolting controls *are* in the BIOS for the OLED model.

[@StevenTalksAboutIt]

Hopefully that will be good news.@@FanTheDeck

[@reggiexp69]

i just wanted a cheap deck again i was debating when the refurbished came out to buy a 64gb again had in my basket 3 days then it was gone. and 2nd hand market was overpriced.. so yeah ik got my self now a 512gb for 379€ from steam :) i had one of preorder 64gb sold it 4weeks later for double price cause i had no use of it.. (still dont doh) yet i still wanted one... still dont know what im gonna use it for.. i got my desktop pc and am home like 24/7

[@Joobacca1297]

What game were you playing at? 4:20?

[@TheCIMaestas]

I am 4 months late, but did you ever figure out the name of it??

[@cassandraspidel195]

I sold my personalized deck that I spent hours getting ea app running and tweaking rdr2 until it was perfect…. My skin too but I’m excited to receive the deck in the mail I just wish I would have figured out the save transfer first

[@armandogarza2252]

Hey, now with Steamdeck Oled in the market, which hand held should you recomend ? The LeGo? ASUS Ally? As the Steam has the oldest CPU but best OS vs the others thay have best CPU but worst OS

[@finraziel]

"Best CPU" depends on what you value... it's only best if you value maximum performance at the cost of battery life and this is part of the reason why Valve did not want to put that CPU in a new Steam Deck. They value batterylife and there is no CPU available yet that gives acceptable batterylife (at least as good as the original Steam Deck) and better performance. At low wattages the Steam Deck kicks the Z1e handhelds' teeth in.

[@armandogarza2252]

That sounds amazing and tbh playing current AAA will be better to play it in a proper pc and or console right? I'm convincing my self in pulling the trigger for a handheld

[@finraziel]

@@armandogarza2252 Well, I think so, but it's a personal thing... I like to play lighter or older games on my Steam Deck and I do have a beefy game pc that I use when I want to play some new AAA title. I don't think the difference that the Z1e makes on these titles is big enough for me to be worth it. What I really like about the steam deck is its pick up and play quality. At any time I can hit the power button while playing and it will go to sleep, and whenever I pick it up and press the button again, it's ready to go in seconds. As I understand on the windows handhelds, most games will crash or freeze if you do this, so you basically have to quit the game and restart every time you take a break from it and come back. I also don't play online games much. If you do then the Windows handhelds can be a better option because quite a few online games have anti cheat software that doesn't work on the steam deck.

[@TinkerTaverns]

@@armandogarza2252 Yeah if I'm going to play really demanding games, I'd rather play it with better clarity on my PC (and potentially stream it if I want it on the deck still) It's impressive how much even the LCD deck kicks ass with performance and battery life in that 5-10W TDP range

[@ThePhilosogamer]

@@finraziel That's seriously misframing the benefits of the deck and Valve's decision-making. Battery life wasn't the primary concern or else Valve would have just used a bigger battery when the Deck launched, as it's one of the only handhelds on the market that is physically large enough to use one and would have *severely* benefited Deck's initial positioning as a competitor to the Switch. Every foreign competitor to Valve even those running smaller and lighter devices were able to use larger batteries than the Deck. Hell, AyaNeo's stupidly expensive Kun model which is similarly sized as the Deck runs a 75wh battery, nearly doubling Deck's LCD model, and its chip is capable of running at 8w. Valve was just trying to cut costs. Battery tech has not improved significantly in the last 3 years, yet the OLED model has a battery more appropriately sized at 50w. Why? Because now, they don't have to try so hard anymore to compete on price with Nintendo. They have to compete with 7840u & Z1E devices. To your last point, it's deliberately erroneous to draw a comparison on battery life and performance between the deck and another APU due to the aforementioned battery capacity playing an equally critical role in making that determination. The deck's APU is uniquely capable of drawing meaningful performance from lower wattages, but that is not to say that you can't play games well at low wattages with other devices and further leverage their increased battery capacity to result in an overall longer battery life. The Deck's actual advantage is that it has a larger list of games that can perform well at lower wattages due to the chip needing less power to perform. The other devices' advantage is that the performance of the 7840u/Z1E chip caps at 35w, while performance of the Deck's APU caps at 12w. At maxed watts, the 7840u/Z1E chip has almost double the performance of the Deck at maxed watts. Before more people could wake up to the fact that this would make the Deck a poor long term investment (battery banks are a thing, after all), Valve did the smartest thing they could and improved the aspects of the deck that make it a better companion to a stronger computer - a screen that (IMO) is better than all of their competitors, larger battery, wi-fi & bluetooth that can match their competitors, a quieter fan, better buttons, and lighter device. Even as new tech rolls out, and the onboard tech in all of these devices become obsolete the new Deck is now positioned to hold its value better than all of Valve's competitors. To the OP's question, if they already have a strong PC or think they will ever get one in the future, the Deck OLED is easily the device they should get. If they do NOT have one and do not have any interest in ever getting one, then they should still go for a competing device with a more modern APU.

[@expander3710]

How do you get the remaining battery time on the level 2 performance overlay? Mine only appears on level 3

[@FanTheDeck]

It's part of the upcoming SteamOS 3.5. I expect it will be on the stable channel by the time the OLED lands in people's hands

[@FanTheDeck]

Literally just now!! x.com/fanthedeck/status/1725327640490377625?s=46&t=R9XuJIMDoX4GaxObdYi0cg