Steam Deck vs Everyone: Numbers Aren't Everything

The Steam Deck made the right tradeoffs and achieved the perfect balance. Plus DeckHD, Replaceable Battery, Storage Tests, and more.
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CHECK OUT MY NEW CHANNEL
@FanTheGames • Xbox is out of excuses
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S O U R C E S
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@cryobyte33 Steam Deck Storage SHOWDOWN | 5 Drives Tested! • Steam Deck Storage SHO...
@overkillwtf EU Replaceable Batteries overkill.wtf/eu-replaceable-b...
@moon-channel Why Are Emulators Legal? Dolphin vs. Nintendo, and the Fate of Emulation • Why Are Emulators Lega...
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S-TIER ACCESSORIES
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⮞ Micro SD Card (1TB) amzn.to/3NN1ewF
⮞ Micro SD Card Holder amzn.to/3BgQMZ2
⮞ Wired Earphones amzn.to/43cY4Id
⮞ Tomtoc Carrying Bag amzn.to/3TMZUM6
⮞ Anker 65W Power Adapter amzn.to/3eqCPyC
⮞ 6' USB-C cable amzn.to/3RmNYPC
⮞ Humble Choice bit.ly/3GeGCLt
⮞ JSAUX M.2 Steam Deck Docking Station bit.ly/3AApOer
⮞ JSAUX Upgraded Docking Station bit.ly/3eq0nE7
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S U P P O R T F A N T H E D E C K
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⭐ Patreon: / fanthedeck
🎤 Discord: / discord
🔵 Twitter: / fanthedeck
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C H A P T E R S
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00:00 Steam Deck is Balanced
03:13 Ally's Latest Folly
06:30 Steam Deck Retail Packaging
07:17 Gamestop Refurbs
07:50 DeckHD vs Ally
08:31 DeckHD Firmware
09:08 Replaceable Battery
10:25 Sponsor - Micro Center
11:32 CryoByte - Storage Tests
12:37 Nintendo Legal Update
13:49 Meteorish
15:08 Ratchet Specs
15:58 ExoPrimal on Deck
17:01 Shredder's Revenge DLC
17:45 New Oldies
18:54 Boltgun Deck Update
19:22 Dave the Diver 1M Sold
19:55 Gravity Circuit
20:13 Oxenfree II
20:42 SPECIAL CHANNEL ANNOUNCEMENT
#DeckNewsRoundup

[@FanTheDeck]

I have a new channel! Here's my first video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5OXn56LoL2AfJo

[@therealsunnyk]

Fan the games as a pun makes more sense than Fan the Deck. Or is "Fan the Deck" an American term I don't know about?

[@stakesishigh8443]

What's the mini PC looking thing with 6 keys in the video. I'm looking for cool tech for my desk

[@yeshuayahushua4338]

I want to tell you I love the way you made the video, how you place the games, the kind of games that you show, that you actually tell us the names of the games, you are a lovely content creator and I will Always keep my eye on you on the subject of Steamdeck, also, I m sorry if I m being silly but I have some sort of enigma, would Valve want to make a more powerful PC than like PS5 so we can have a better, open, ecosystem ? Do you think that would be silly? I think it's gonna be good, exactly what they did with Steam Deck they can do some sort of machine like the ps5, I cannot play CS2 on my PS4 Pro, or some other games that are infinitely superior on PC like 7 days to die, or RTS games like Company of Heroes, would you kindly aproach this theme of my comment in a future video my friend? I know that people made videos that the Deck represents its Trojan Horse and that the Galileo in South Korea would be a steam machine but it seemed that it was just a modest revision of the classic steam deck. The thing is I cannot play the games I want to play on Steam Deck very well and they would make a more than Wise decision, normal and inevitable I would call more apropiately, I DO Want to enter the ecosystem !

[@FanTheDeck]

@@yeshuayahushua4338 Thank you for the incredibly kind comment!

[@NeonPixels81]

The Steam Deck actually is in stores here in Japan and it's been somewhat popular. The fancier packaging is because people are less likely to steal the device during shipping.

[@markkocsicska2590]

I actually loved how valve went with the simple packaging but gave us a whole hard carrying case for free instead. A fancy packaging makes no sense. The steam decks were not designed to be sold on store shelves. People buying it do it on the internet. And whatever is saved on the packaging can go towards other, more useful things. Such as the included carrying case which is suprisingly high quality.

[@gangwu4541]

Sorry but none of my many Japanese gamer friends are willing to spend on the deck. They all got a switch though.

[@JazneoGaming]

@@gangwu4541 tell them it can play switch games lol

[@NeonPixels81]

@@gangwu4541 Lots here in Nagano, enough that we even have a few at our local Hard Off.

[@modestmouse6]

​@@gangwu4541 "gamer friends" "they all got a switch" 💀 high school students?

[@tubeMonger]

The Steam ecosystem, affordable pricing, SteamOS instead of Windows - the Deck has many things in favor.

[@itsquiwi8780]

Steam os is on windows, not nearly half a video game. Support the Linux base system. The screen on the steam deck is a pitiful excuse of a display with a low response time in a awful color accuracy. It is one of the cheapest displays I have seen in a new handheld and it's Windows. Windows will always be Linux in community support

[@FanTheDeck]

many things indeed

[@partywumpus5267]

​@@itsquiwi8780 what does "steamos is on windows" mean?? are you talking about proton??

[@seeibe]

​@@partywumpus5267New big picture mode I guess. Not everyone necessarily knows all the nuance Steam OS entails beyond UI.

[@seeibe]

I still recommend ChimeraOS for anyone who wants the SteamOS experience on other devices. My Steam Deck has been collecting dust since I put ChimeraOS on my ayaneo. (Nothing against the Steam Deck, I love mine and will keep it as a super power efficient home server)

[@Thiniking]

Wanted a portable PC to play games. Waited until ROG Ally came out. Saw what was offered. Saw that it had a Win 11 Home. No debloated version or custom. Started to worry. Then saw the ad card issues. Saw the software issues. Saw the battery life reports. Then Steamdeck got a discount. All of those factors made it very easy to choose the Steamdeck.

[@reaperreaper5098]

@@skelawThat has the issue of Windows, which means software issues (with the Ally perhaps having the best software for trying to make handheld Windows bearable), and the price.

[@skelaw]

@@reaperreaper5098 have not seen any issues so far, give me any example. I would say price is even. 32gb ram and 2TB with much better CPU and APU + possibility to plug in external GPU for less than 150$ difference? Sounds fair for me

[@reaperreaper5098]

@@skelaw First and foremost is that Windows does not want to be controlled by a controller, and tends to fight software that tries to do exactly that. Windows’ OSK also tends to have issues being called on long term, especially if the device has a built in keyboard or quick detach keyboard, such as the ROG flow line or Surface line

[@2ndAmendmenttime]

The software is trash!

[@sunrisesunset1734]

Linux has 9999999999 more software issues than Windows, and 1% of the available software. You aren't going to get a portable PC when you buy a steam deck, sorry man.

[@LeMMingSlayeR]

I seriously considered buying an ROG Ally, but when the news of the SD card issue first came out, I decided to hold off until they fixed it. While I was waiting, Valve released the Steam Deck OLED. I took it as a sign and bought the 1TB model. After playing it for the last two weeks, I can proudly say I have zero regrets.

[@user-md1cd5wy6b]

Hi, new steam deck owner here. Packaging hasn't changed, and it wasn't discreet. I got mine last week of the sale. Got mine within 7 days, I'm glad I had mine delivered to my work cause it said right on it what it was. Maybe I was one of the few who got the old packaging, but yeah, both the dock and deck were labeled. I just wanted to pass that information on. FYI, I love your content. I came here for some how-to's now. 😊I'm just enjoying the videos

[@FanTheDeck]

Good to have an update from someone who recently bought it. Thank you! And thanks so much for the kind words ♥♥♥

[@conchobar]

Wow. I totally forgot about that. When the Steam Deck first started shipping, the Steam Deck subreddit was full of stories and photos of people having their Steam Decks stolen by mail carriers and porch thieves. My first unit was faulty out of the box so Valve had to replace it. I made a video of myself opening it in case it was stolen and resealed, as happened to so many. Glad you got yours OK.

[@gabrielvalentin3940]

same here although i got mine a few months ago. I was so paranoid waiting for mine knowing that ppl were stealing them. Especially the delivery drivers.

[@adamgerald849]

Got mine today. Same packaging as everyone else's. Stayed home and waited for it to get delivered. Never had porch pirates here but wasn't gonna risk it with this.

[@TheAmyrlinSeat]

As someone who comes from a family that doesn't want to spend very much money on electronics, the low price of the steam deck was definitley the most important factor in my purchase. I just wanted to play big games that took up large amounts of computer space without having to blow 2 - 3 times more money on an expensive gaming laptop or pc

[@SirBranDon24]

Had my deck for a week and its one of the best purchases I've ever made.

[@MATTY110981]

I brought one a few weeks ago and whole heartedly agree

[@whbig1848]

I bought one two days ago and playing lies of p with 60 fps just wow what a monster.

[@mikeb714]

I actually love the look of the Steam Deck. It reminds me of a well designed tool.

[@Kitoalderete]

It looks functional, optimized, and that's because it is! Though it could use a bit of color. Thankfully it's easy to get skins for it

[@cygnusbass]

If the battery was better It would be my favourite thing i've ever bought. But its a huge problem. look and feel is 10/10 though

[@leonardodavinci7425]

​@@cygnusbasswhat's the favourite thing you've bought?

[@entertainmentgaming8738]

Looks exactly like a Sega game gear

[@linkinaball]

I love that the Steam Deck looks like it could be made in the 90’s. I don’t like how the ally looks.

[@gonaye1]

Yay! Valve has been refining the Steam Deck almost nonstop since it’s launch and I am sure they are taking notes from their would-be competitors. Healthy rivalry means we the consumers all win down the line. I think Steam Deck 2.0 is going to be a monster!

[@nycki93]

Honestly I'm not even sure a Deck 2 is needed; remember that the Switch came out in 2017, hasn't had a major revision in 6 years, and is still the best console in its weight class. If they magically make the Deck lighter, I might consider buying a second one, but otherwise I don't think there's any way to improve it without just making it into a desktop pc.

[@BoolyK]

I don't think steam deck 2 should be a conversation we should be having for the next few years imo

[@igorgiuseppe1862]

pre launch reviews also said: you can expect certain ammount of hours of battery... but if you have to increasse your fan speed to not fry your microSD card, then you will have less battery life

[@Espodude17]

Although the steam deck does not feel like a gaming device and more like a military grade machine made to remotely fly killer drones, I love it to bits. I am one of those who pre-ordered it and I have zero regrets.

[@simonrockstream]

I'll take "military grade" over "gamer plastic with rainbow lights" anyday. Bro, what kinda moronic comment is that?

[@abzu2358]

I got my deck a week ago and I absolutely love it. SteamOS is definitely my favorite aspect of it. The linux desktop is surprisingly easy to learn and has many aspects I've thought wouldn't be available on the system. Now I don't really have any reason to install Windows, maybe except trying out online games with heavy anticheat software like Fortnite or CoD.

[@steamdecknoface]

“I was right” at least you’re humble about it 😂

[@ericwolford5685]

8:20 - As someone who purchased the Deck HD's previous product (the F(x)tec Pro1x), I have no confidence in them whatsoever.

[@AndreVandal]

I have about 30 portable gaming devices that I have bought and played with over the years, I had so many because I was always looking for something else, they were all missing a something. I stopped when I got the Deck, it was all I was ever looking for and more. Now more, better, faster, whateverers can come out, I have decided to stop here with the deck because it solves the hitch I was looking for. Maybe years from now I might look for something else but not now. Also My Deck broke down and I returned it and am getting a new one from Steam at no charge. Not sure I would get this kind of service by any of those other ones.

[@FanTheDeck]

Wow that's impeccable service. Glad they're taking care of you. And yeah - I never got all of the handhelds but I had a few (GP2X, GPD Win Max) and I just could never find the RIGHT one. Steam Deck is the right one for me.

[@hiddenguy67]

wow that's really cool so you are some sort of connoisseur and have seen it all and you stop at steam deck. they really know what to do. also what about the low battery life on the deck how do you feel about that

[@joker6558]

@@hiddenguy67he battery life on the SD is better than any other device (pc handhelds) last time I checked. I get 3 hours on average for games like cyberpunk and for a game like enderal, I’m getting, like, 4.5 hours.

[@joker6558]

I feel exactly the same way. I had a gpd win 3, and I was already looking for the next thing. The SD is everything I’ve wanted from a device like this. I’m not going to buy another SD until they choose to do a power upgrade (whether that be in 3-9 years). Windows is a plague on these types of devices

[@zZiL341yRj736]

How about describe what it is that you're actually looking for instead of just a bunch of nothing. Oh it solved a hitch? Ok?

[@franciscobutte]

For a device like this I will always go for the one that have actual customer service and an amazing community behind. The Valve Steam Deck it is. I will only change my Steam Deck when Valve release their next one.

[@katietree4949]

Once the Linux environment really matures alongside valves steam (honestly LOVE that linux is FINALLY getting the attention is deserves) we'll begin to see valve kick it up a notch or two. Stability / Compatibility & Reliablility is what really matters right now.

[@gdot1803]

An easily replaceable battery could essentially solve many of the issues with battery life. For long journeys, you can pack as many as you need. At home, you can dock one to a charger while you play with a freshly charged one, and when that depletes, take the one that was in the charger and place the depleted one in the charging dock. Or, and perhaps the best use case, is companies may strive to make bigger capacity batteries that still manage to fit in the case without modification, so if the Deck 2 still ships with a 40wh battery, there may be hope that someone makes a 50wh (or more) one.

[@cryobyte33]

Amazing video as always, lots of good news this week! And of course, thank you so much for the mention 😁

[@FanTheDeck]

Any time!

[@Secret_Takodachi]

hey! I know this guy! He's cool! ❤

[@CheapBastard1988]

The Legend!

[@jorge86rodriguez]

the rog is one product between the many that asus have in their portfolio, the steam deck and in general proton is the main project that steam is developing for the future of the company

[@zedstrange]

The Ally was my first pc handheld. I had to return the first unit due to a dead left bumper, then tried really hard to love the item. Eventually returned it within my full refund window and bought a Deck.

[@TheArchitect9593]

What didn’t you like about the ally

[@Millzieeeee]

glad i got my deck this week , legit got past all the waiting for the amazing modding community to work things out and now i can jump right in and do everything i want to do with the deck without waiting for them to do their thing ( im impatient but i appreciate the work that goes in)

[@TsDwelling]

Things keep getting better and better for the Deck. I recently picked up Boltgun, so very happy that it's now fully working as intended. 👍✌️

[@FanTheDeck]

Nice! How do you like it?

[@TsDwelling]

@@FanTheDeck I'm a fan of Warhammer and Retro shooters already, so it's a perfect match for me. The game is awesome imo.

[@eliasr4427]

Im getting this game on the switch since it makes more sense to play a pixel game on a weaker console.

[@blastu2fool]

I'm seeing Boltgun in the Steam Store it's saying its unsupported, are you playing that on the deck ?

[@TsDwelling]

@@blastu2fool Yes

[@xenos_n.]

The Steam Deck will always be the overall top dog until the Steam Deck 2 is released. I don't buy expensive gaming equipment often but as soon as i saw the Steam Deck i knew i had to have it, and every day for a year now i think "this was the best money i ever spent". It's really Valve and the customer support/community and the integration if Steam into the handheld that makes no other system able to compete imo.

[@derinouterbridge2667]

I live in Charlotte, and literally just built my first PC last month, Micro Center can't get here fast enough

[@rob465]

I am fortunate enough to be in a state where I was able to buy an Ally from Best Buy without getting rid of my steam deck & because I have BBTT I have a 60 day return window. However after only 7 or so days of tests the ROG ally shortcomings became so apparent. ROG ALLY was better than my SD, IF I had it plugged in. The second you take that thing off the charger it is no longer even a decent device. 4th of July i take both Ally & Steam Deck out to wait for Fireworks. Both devices had a full charge before I left the house, however the ALLY ran into that weird Windows power error where it needs to be reconnected to power to turn back on. Now this isn't necessarily the shortcoming of ASUS but it is the overall shortcoming of the Ally in its current state. It relies on Windows, which runes on thousands of skus. The edited version of Linux known as STEAMOS has one purpose and one purpose only, to optimize itself for the hardware in the steam deck. The steam deck has been the closest device to giving me the "apple" experience as far as ecosystem.

[@FanTheDeck]

Great synopsis! I'm really happy you have a 60 day return window. Kinda sucks that you don't get that without a BB membership. I checked if I was in the return window and found that it was only 14 days.

[@blastu2fool]

I returned my Ally the other day...the Deck is more reliable ...until Asus get a hold of the heating sd card as situation...I will wait to buy down the road

[@jorismak]

'that problem where you need to hook it up for turning it on' eh what ? Never heard - or noticed that one - and I get a few new devices every few weeks through my hands.

[@accelement3499]

@@blastu2fool by the time the ally is fixed and worth it with real drivers i bet something better comes out

[@blastu2fool]

@accelement3499 that's exactly what I was thinking ...

[@jeremyknasel]

Deck owner for a year now. Love that little beast. Feels good in my beefy hands and can play everything on my emulator list plus have my while steam library on the go. Best purchase I've made. No regrets.

[@rudya.hernandez7238]

Gread video thanks. Prefer when content creators put the names of the games they play because I tend to want to play them on my deck too.

[@FanTheDeck]

Funny - I normally do but I had to make a second video over the weekend (kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5OXn56LoL2AfJo) and I didn't have time to do everything I wanted. But thank you so much! Definitely tune in to future videos - I'll have game names labelled.

[@emerald85]

I have both deck and ally, honestly in terms of 3A game visual and performance ally is way better than deck without a doubt , they dial up a bit fan curve in 322 update , yes , a little aggressive but only compared to its previous quiet version.

[@thingsiplay]

ROG Ally launch reminds me the launch of Epic Games store and their excuse that Steam launched in a bad state too. Yeah, we don't need to be better, because our competitor wasn't better too. That logic is anti consumer behavior, as that means they don't care about the quality. Well off course I am a bit dramatic here, but you get the basic idea.

[@FanTheDeck]

I defended Epic then, I'd say. But the fact that the store hasn't improved much since then shows a bit of where their intention has been.

[@DragunBreath]

Back-end software support is, by far, the most important thing when it comes to systems like this. Valve knows this and got it right out of the gate. All they gotta do now is just keep it up.

[@user-pq4by2rq9y]

the only thing the steam deck really needs is a led display. High contrast, deeper black and thinner bezels

[@Sitskier123]

Just got a steam deck because of the sales during summer sale and bought a few more deck verified games to go along with it like Uncharted, Elden Ring, Persona 5, and have been downloading others from my backlog library and I’ve been extremely impressed so far. I haven’t had to do any tweaking of setting except for capping uncharted frame rate at 30 on the system level and that got rid of the jitters I was seeing and everything has played and looked great so far. I’m going to try to get emulation going, but I’ve already gotten some patches and mods working in other games and everything has been pretty easy so far. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m thoroughly impressed and loving it.

[@gamble777888]

Just fyi, the steam deck "verified" means very little at all. Many games that are not verified at all work perfectly well with little to no tweaking necessary.

[@Sitskier123]

@@gamble777888 thanks for the heads up! I am aware of this too, but figured within the first few days I’d with things that knew would 100% work and now I can research and find what other games to try out and just try them myself :)

[@command0uk]

Silent ROG Ally enjoyer here. Love my Ally. Haven’t experienced any issues myself with the SD card or windows 11. Admittedly it helps being an IT Technician and working with Windows 11 all day. Zero issues so far :)

[@TJ.85]

Love mine as well... Being able to play destiny 2 was a must for me and isn't possible on deck without just installing windows at which point the ally is just a smoother experience. I want power as I'll just be playing in bed on couch 100% of the time and the ally also offers that over the SD. There's just some things the deck is NOT the best choice for....

[@doggy101]

the battery is terrible

[@MrAxelStone]

I have the both the Deck and Ally....while I love how much more powerful the Ally is and its 1080p/120hz...I do love the sticks and especially the trackpads on the Deck. When jumping back to the Ally after using the Deck for a while, I end up trying to use trackpads on the Ally and then realize "shit, i forgot" lol.

[@TheCoolerFury]

I've subbed since your earliest deck vids but I finally got mine a couple days ago. Appreciate all your guides! Had to bite the bullet that Valve isn't going to sell the Deck in Australia any time soon and bought a new one from a grey imports site (Kogan).

[@Dynamonic]

Seeing that Bond style Gex Trilogy trailer reminded me how much I would love to see GoldenEye (and other classics from Rare) released on Steam, and fully playable on the Steam Deck!

[@JDRumbleBee]

Nothing is a "steam deck killer" Cause at the end of the day, the steam deck is still around half the price compared to all the other devices :) (atleast for the moment)

[@FanTheDeck]

The value is unmatched imho

[@LennyTabbi]

​@@FanTheDeckvalue is relative though. If your main aim is just gaming (steam verified and on steam platform) then I guess but everything else, well not so much. Example the Ally helps me reduce my energy cost which is insane these days. I can just fire up Vscode or Intelij and get some work done and game on the Sofa when I want to chill without switching modes or worrying about an update wiping my work. Value is relative indeed!

[@JDRumbleBee]

​@@LennyTabbi You would have a good point here. But in fact you could buy the Deck and a laptop with pretty good specs. A good Laptop with a snappy 6 core CPU and 16GB of RAM goes for around 400-500$. Value is relative, yeah. But two devices for the price of one is very hard to argue with. Especially considering that your "productivity" on the Ally, would most likely be very restricted to a workplace with USB hub, monitor, mouse, keyboard etc. While you wouldn´t have any restrictions at all when you get both.

[@ToastedSynapseGaming]

For me the Steam Deck will always win because of the controls. Trackpads, extra back buttons, virtual menus, everything customizable and shareable. (and I also have dual boot - easy to set up btw - so I see no reason for somebody saying NO to the deck just because of Linux/SteamOS). Anyway, I can't imagine playing some PC games on another handheld that doesn't have these things. Sure, indie games meant for an Xbox controller will be great on any handheld, but what about other, more complex, PC games. Here are some examples of Steam Deck "exclusive" experiences: - Diablo 4 action layer to switch to M&K when trackpad is touched ensures a quick and easy inventory and menu management, then exit that and you're back to controller. - Mechabellum Mouse Trackpad very easy to place units - V Rising that has a lot of controls (and no controller support) and where you aim with your mouse you can set 1,2,3...,9 action bar to a single radial menu on left trackpad, have a mouse region on your right stick so you can dual-stick move and aim, right trackpad for moving the mouse in inventory/menus, activator buttons for radial wheel and camera control, normal press, long or double press for different activators and more. - Original Witcher game (similar to V Rising no controller support) needs many buttons and menus with customizable icons so you can select your weapons and spells - Pretty much any 3rd or 1st person action game (even with controller support) where I trained myself to NEED 4 back buttons. Right ones are Jump and under it Duck or dodge, left ones are Sprint and Focus power(or whatever that game has) so I can still aim while jumping and I don't have to press in my stick wile moving. So sorry other handhelds. If you want attention you should have MORE not LESS buttons and customizability. And the marketing should focus on this, showing us footage of your proprietary software doing at least what Valve is offering with their controller customization. Sure, it can play games... But how? That's the question.

[@tafitson]

Steam Deck at launch: Problems with really loud fans -> Valve adjusts Fan Curve after lots of testing Ally at launch: Super quiet fans -> SD Cards get fried -> Asus needs to adjust Fan Curve and Ally gets louder Honestly thats how everything with the ally feels to me these days. Wouldnt buy it without a proper console like interface (like Steam OS) anyways, but I definitly feel assured in my decission, after seeing all those things, where Asus' handling of the situations is just poor

[@pants8029]

Canadian Steamdeck owner here. The packaging DOES NOT identify the contents as a Steamdeck when shipping across the border.

[@porkopio9468]

I love my steamdeck but I wish the battery was easily removed/replaced or upgraded to bigger capacity. But I still love my steamdeck

[@chrislaustin]

I've been a handheld gamer since the Game & Watch days of the early 80's, and while I had other electronic devices during that time, the Gameboy was a game changer at the time. That being said, I've never had the latest or greatest in regards to specs or screens, as I played my Lynx just as much as I played the GB. Same for PSP along side the DS, and while I miss my Vita OLED model, the Slim screen is just fine, and great in it's own right. So I'm still happy to get a Deck, as it is everything I could have wanted and then some. Do I wish it was smaller, or the screen better, sure, who wouldn't, but every first system started in similar shape. As everything gets a revision after the fact if it gains an audience, and I expect nothing less from a Deck Slim, rev. 2, etc.

[@probablemisclick]

Funny story, I've had LESS issues getting some games to boot in Windows on the Steamdeck than pretty much every laptop I've bought and PC I've built in the past few years. Was NOT expecting that, especially with Forza which has been notoriously touchy for me. Like I've had zero games fail to boot. I've gotten a number of 'this system isn't good enough' type warnings, followed by the game working absolutely fine. Even MSFS runs perfectly smooth (FSR + lower settings obviously). I did have a few problems setting up dual boot (rEFInd would default to Windows every time, Clover solved this), and I wish I could use OEM software for overlays and controller support, but definitely not terrible to set up and more battery efficient than I expected. In it's own native Steam OS it's simply simple, pretty much a console experience with fun toys for more advanced users (love the quick toggles for Overlays and FPS limiting).

[@MarcsMinis]

Just ordered my deck on your review! Thanks

[@noahneutral7557]

I've had one for months now and i love mine. When I'm playing a game i forget about the bezels and the speakers are amazing.

[@alt666]

Its still crazy to me that some people think the ally is best because of the egpu when the ally itself is already more expensive than the steam deck and the so called egpu is over 1500 dollars. 1500 for a mobile gpu that can be found in laptops for the same price. Or you could just make your own xg with a 5-600 dollar 3080/4070 and an oculink connector.

[@Punisher6791]

I bought my 256gb model mainly for emulation. But it's still capable of playing games like resident evil 4 remake. Which i love that i can play it on the go.

[@SweetKingTanner]

Steam deck can play 97% of the steam library on high-ultra settings. That’s pretty good

[@jocg9168]

what would be a dream is if Valve do like DJI with hot swap battery basically you can change the batterry while is on means people would buy extra battery and swap then when they have warning would be cool concept then have extra external battery , well to be honest just normal baterries where can be changed already would be awesome.

[@FanTheDeck]

I would absolutely love this.

[@lionxray]

Love the channel and your content AND your appearances on the NERD NEST podcast. Please keep sharing! Weird question: at 9 seconds into this video there is a device in the upper right corner of the video that has a mini keyboard (two rows) and possibly an attached LED screen. WHAT IS THAT DEVICE? And WHAT DOES IT DO? Thanks!

[@FanTheDeck]

Oh that's the divoom ditoo! Bluetooth speaker / desk gadget. You can customize the art etc. There are a couple games too but they're not very good (eg pong). Link: a.co/d/721pYyU And thanks so much for the kind words!

[@X862go]

It's definitely a fine balance 👌 👌 and i do like how dim the screen gets! I just wish the text was clearer on the steam deck.

[@CheapBastard1988]

My major gripe with the Steam Deck screen is the size of the bezels. I prefer 720p to a higher resolution and I don't care that much about colour accuracy. But I would like a slightly larger screen with smaller bezels.

[@Skett]

Agreed. It amazes me that so many people go on about the washed out colours. I barely even notice it once I start playing but the bezels are omnipresent

[@Linuxdirk]

The bezels are ridiculous! They should either make the screen larger, or the device smaller. I wait for a decent replacement screen.

[@Juanguar]

Yeah I realized that I had the same issue when I got a switch a few years ago It’s my biggest pet peeve with it

[@leo88775]

You just know that with all the knowledge SD gave Valve, they're going to release a Steam Deck 2 and it'll blow the competition away right out the gate. I got my deck a few months ago and it singlehandedly got me back into gaming in general. The sleep function alone blows my mind. I took a train with it, playing Deus Ex Human Revolution, and got play sessions while transiting from one stop to another, it was wicked. 4 hours of stupid [train - waiting period at a stop - new train] felt so nice actually. 10 outta 10, would recommend.

[@andrewyemelyanov2469]

Sleep function is like wheel invention 5000 years ago or invention of internet. I am currently serving in the military and tell all my friends to drop expensive notebooks they bought in favor of steamdeck. I rarely play (around every four days for an hour before sleep) and being able to contibue from where i left off is the only thing that lets me play in the first place, instead of booting the system and game for 20 minutes which would render experience uselless

[@d.b.1176]

Still love my Deck after a year, returned my Ally after one day. Luckily the joystick broke within an hour, easy decision to return it.

[@epicbrowndragon]

SteamDeck not pretty? Gotta be joking, bruh. It’s elegant as ****.

[@Chron880]

ordering mine tomorrow and i cannot wait!

[@Guitario666]

Honestly, SteamDeck with the VibrantDeck plug-in is wonderful. I use it and have never wanted a better screen.

[@gamble777888]

Incredible what a difference just bumping up the saturation some 30-50% makes a massive difference to the perceived color and black/white contrast.

[@davidagiel8130]

I was gonna get aya neo 2, but ended up with the deck, put in a 1tb ssd and already have 2x 256gb sd cards full. I don't regret my choice, constant updates and support is what I like. I'll probably wait another 2 to 5 years before getting another handheld PC. I'm completely done with consoles unless they are jailbroken.

[@Dumpster-J-]

I have a Deck, Ally, and for now an AYANEO 2. I've had the deck twice since launch. I am the opposite. I find nothing redeeming about the Deck when I compare it with the other two devices. The only reason I have it is curiosity of Steam OS , which I despise not being able to play online anti cheat enable games, and that $399 isn't going to change my life if I sell it. I just got an AOKZOE to try out and I'd rather have it than a Deck too.

[@KuhWristChin]

Lord Gaben always looks out for us. Put some respect on his name.

[@figu26]

So a steam deck channel finds anything he can to knock on the ally. Real original.

[@chaoticmobilegaming]

I've wanted a steam deck but didn't want to be an early adopter. I'll wait till they put out a second Gen. Something that takes it even further. So cool seeing so many companies dabble with their own handhelds.

[@Tigershark-qy2gq]

I got the top model, the docking bay and other stuff. I still play ten times more on my gaming computer. There are times though, where it is a must have for a heavy Steam gamer.

[@TylerRolloGuitar]

I have both. The decks better. I don't really know how to put why into words its better, but it really is just better

[@TomBortels]

Superior specs are lovely - but that doesn't denote quality. Nor do superior specs say anything about vendor support, ease of use, or the OS. Steam isn't selling superior specs - they're selling a package. Any vendor who offers something on top of windows - an OS not designed for portables with smaller handheld screens - is at a handicap until/unless they provide a frontend tailored to their platform. It's the *integration* that Valve has done between the hardware and the OS and the front end, and the continuing support, that add a ton of value you don't see in the competitors. If you are comfortable with hacking around, you may be fine on the others, but if you want to *play your games* and not have to fuss - I still don't see any real SteamDeck competiton.

[@FanTheDeck]

Agreed Tom! There are some people that value specs over the things you mention here and that's OK too. But I love the Ease of Use, Community support an Manufacturer support the Deck has

[@TJ.85]

Look up the steps to play destiny 2 on the steam deck and come talk to me about "hacking around" I had my ally not 30 minutes from power press to playing destiny 2 and I didn't have to "hack around" at all... Just logged into steam hit install and was up and playing minutes later. Deck isn't perfect and game compatibility is there biggest problem. Every time I read about deck I see a million "after I installed such and such program" or "i had to switch to the desktop mode to do such and such" So many of you are ignoring the deck experience can quickly go from "it just works" to miles more complicated than anything in windows VERY quickly!

[@aviatedviewssound4798]

I actually bought Dave the Diver and i fully enjoy it, it's like multiple games all in one.

[@niclasneziru1854]

Against the hype, I followed your advice (and other people's) and bought a Steam Deck on the summer sale instead of the ROG Ally, so far I'm very happy with my purchase

[@koopeker]

that sale was fire but i assure you the hype was well merited :)

[@niclasneziru1854]

@@koopeker I know it certainly is, that APU seemed pretty damn powerful and the RGB lighting around the sticks is pretty damn beautiful, but I'd rather wait until some more models release and competitor companies fix some of their internal and external issues so buying something outsids of Valve is less risky

[@thewishy23]

9:06 interesting you left out the fact that the steam deck has been reported to run hotter if the screen is replace with the 1200p and that the steam was set to 800p because it designed to handle games at that resolution while the ally is designed to run at 1080p with higher spec and higher refresh rate

[@guhbe385]

Steam deck is amazing. Im probably going to cave and try the ally also though the deck just struggles too much to run COD for me an extra 15fps or something would do amazing for me. Plus the screen is a big difference even if you run at 720p on both. I might just jeep the deck and mod it with new shell and the new screen if bios is fixed

[@Evercade_Effect]

Great news and updates!

[@LPhooligan]

so glad i got the steam deck when it was on sale. held off on handhelds for years and its was between the ROG and deck but i did my research and knew ASUS would have poor support while steam had so much backing them and independent programmers making addons for it, and i can play WoW and Diablo 4 on it too, took a bit to set up but can play non-steam games on it no issue

[@LeeroyJanky]

Keeping it 100 here, I have both a Steam Deck and an ROG Ally. My playtime with the Deck has slowed to a crawl. The Ally is getting all my playtime and that VRR screen is a HUGE factor. I always hear people talk about the Deck being easier to use... but I've been a PC gamer all of my life. Windows is easy to me and not having to fiddle with Proton is nice. All but one issue I've seen brought up often for the Ally seems to have been fixed with updates. That said, Asus should be ashamed of how they handled the micro SD cards. All in all, however, the Ally is what I wanted. I really miss the track pads, and actually being able to reliably download to micro sd, but that's about it.

[@simonrockstream]

lol wtf bro.

[@KuroiPK]

My only nick pick is the screen but I doesn’t have to be higher resolution but instead contrast and color accuracy. Something similar to switch OLED would be near perfect in my opinion.

[@seeibe]

Yeah. An 800p replacement with high quality IPS would sell out so fast...

[@FanTheDeck]

That would be an awesome addition.

[@gamble777888]

Vibrantdeck plugin helps a lot. Have you tried that? Obviously doesn't match the contrastin an OLED screen but it's a big improvement over the stock color settings.

[@LelandHasGames]

I think people need to stop assuming that a Steam Deck 2 is going to release at some point. Valve is going to be taking a long time to recover from selling a system so cheap.

[@callme_Sweetpea]

People who feel the need to tell everyone "I WAS RIGHT" always rub me the wrong way. I guess it's one of my pet peeves 🤣

[@galaxyyfun]

its simple steam has one product to maitain while other companies are trying to do plenty of things running in market so steam deck although enough power for 720 p ips display will get lots of updates and steam support compared to other brand u will see game companies launching games specifically for steam deck compatible

[@JoeL-xk6bo]

The ally is a lower quality version of the aya Neo and GPD devices. The ASUS brand just brings clicks and fanboys into the mix.

[@FanTheDeck]

I honestly had no idea there were ASUS fanboys. Still I think the Ally is close to being worthwhile. But it's going to take ASUS actually improving for it to meet its potential.

[@gangwu4541]

@JoeL you are half right. But I will never buy anything from Aya or GPD unless I’m living in China. I’ve had bad luck with their after sale support before and I will stick with valve or Asus.

[@Dracossaint]

I was definitely very happy to be an early adopter. Who knows if they listened to suggestions i made. Butt I suggested steam allowing local file transfers from to desktop. Reordering controllers automatically if the steamdeck is docked. There's a few more but I can't remember them 😂

[@PCWonlinevideo]

great video! thank you!

[@m2ljay]

I’ve keep an eye on every handheld to release since the launch of the steam deck and while there are many good alternatives I don’t think any of them match the steam deck. Things like the rog ally and the gpd win 4 have very attractive hardware options but none of them feel like they have the same love that the steam deck has and I think it’s gonna be a hard time getting me to move to any device that isn’t simply a steam deck 2

[@rushmore3927]

Newest Ally 323 firmware performs the same or better than my Deck and same thermals. Unexpected. Even more unexpected is performance down to 12W also hangs with the Deck. Separation starts at 15W.

[@Echelon730]

Ok the 2 things that can make the Steam Deck go from Legendary Pioneering handle to full on mythical device forged along side the infinity gauntlet. 1. A 2nd USB port preferably type A 2. And 1 of the ports needs to have egpu support.

[@theevildice83]

Got a Steam Deck yesterday, was debating for months whether to get the ROG Ally, OneXFly or Steam Deck, it ultimately came down to Steam Deck was the only one that had a purpose built OS, the others were more powerful sure, but the software on top of Windows approach just seems way too janky. Very glad I went with the steam deck.

[@davidknightx]

There's three things I never do. Buy new hardware before I know it works, preorder, and buy handhelds. I broke all three for the Steam Deck and it was the best $400 I've ever paid EASILY. It was worth every penny.

[@qazwsx000xswzaq]

The only capability I miss that the Deck lacks is USB4/Thunderbolt 3. The 40Gbps port can do a lot.

[@bland9876]

The Wii U gamepad, Wii U pro controller, qnd all the handhelds from nintendo since the first one with a rechargeable battery had a battery cover to remove the battery by just unscrewing 1 screw. (Maybe the new 3ds/2ds used 2 screws) so why can't we have that 9n every device like the Switch pro controller and Steam Deck?

[@7ssav]

Things are moving hella fast for steamos this is good

[@Gremwu]

Nice video!

[@FanTheDeck]

Thank you Gremwu!

[@thewildman4300]

Love the videos! What mario is that at 13:40?

[@JustShoveJayOhBe]

Had an Ally and it was extremely stressful and required insane tinkering and debugging. Steam deck was push button for steam library and straight forward/forgiving levels of tinkering for emulation

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Yes let me freaking open the Steam Deck to change the screen and flash the bios to make it better than the Ally.

[@raineyjayy]

From an amazing Linux experience, to wide game support to steam's ecosystem . Steam link, quick bug fixes. Replacing the hard drive was a breeze... I still love my steam deck even after what.. a year and a half? I don't think I'm going to stop loving it anytime soon.

[@lifelfe]

Surprised you mentioned the bezel. Don't notice it as much now for sure, but it was first thing I noticed. This a known industry thing they should give it full screenspace and think about the PPI after the fact considering we'll be getting the jump to 1440p and beyond sooner or later with these handheld touchscreen powered devices

[@adamgerald849]

New OLED model Steam Deck has 7.4" instead of 7" because they narrowed the bezels. Looks great. Gotta admit, BBB have always been a pet peeve of mind. (Big Black Bezels) so I'm glad they changed it.

[@lifelfe]

Don't own it yet, I'll buy it whenever I've got cash on hand

[@Vandius24]

I ONLY bought the Steam Deck because you can buy parts to repair the device on IFixIt and IFixIt is supplied by Valve, meaning as long as Valve supports the device I'll always be able to repair/replace parts. I got into PC gaming after I dealt with 4 different Xbox 360s red ringed of death, after that I went PC so I never had to deal with these issues again. Another plus, no more being FORCED to upgrade for the "Next Gen". With PC the lines blur between last gen and current gen, what I'm saying is when a new generation comes out my PC can still play those games, no problem (unless I'm rocking really old tech).

[@namcojr]

The best accessory for an ROG Ally is an RMA Form. How can anyone even compare it to a really well made product such as the Steam Deck puzzles me.

[@gangwu4541]

Maybe because it is not the case here? Ally is a better product compares to steam deck in many ways. It indeed has a lot of shortcomings and bad designs, but a company need to learn from their mistakes. Valve did exactly the same for years. Steam deck and Ally are both device to play games, how about we all try to enjoy ourselves without spreading unnecessary hate towards others?

[@rorylynch1203]

SteamOS and games being optimized are great but one of the best things Steam Deck has going for it is the community

[@randyfiglehorn9192]

All I’ll say is this - the issue I had last night would’ve been detrimental on a Asus. With my steam deck, I just hit a hard reset and went back to gaming. You can’t beat the usability of the deck.

[@bigload6]

Just picked up a second hand steam deck off marketplace for $850nzd (cheapest ive seen in nz) for 256gb. Big fan so far, only problem I've had is I cant get non steam games to work I've tried everything. Thinking I might upgrade the ssd, dual boot windows and get two docks to have at home and in the office! Those track pads have been life saving for playing M&B bannerlord. Only thing handhelds need to work on is the battery life!