Steam Deck - Reviews Thread

[subcon959]

Think of it as a mini-PlayStation 4 but with access to the vast Steam library

 

[subcon959]

 

[subcon959]

 

[Xzi]

All sounds really good to me. The meat of the OS seems to have everything I need, even if certain aspects of it could use some QoL updates. I'm guessing there will be about two times as many verified games by the time my Deck ships, too.

 

[tech3475]

I’m curious what the Windows reviews will be, Steam OS I’m not surprised by but the ‘backup’ in my book has always been Windows support.

 

[Xzi]

I’m curious what the Windows reviews will be, Steam OS I’m not surprised by but the ‘backup’ in my book has always been Windows support.

Valve has to finish driver support for it first, otherwise odds are you'll run into a lot of BSODs. Windows gonna Windows...

 

[Pacheko17]

I’m curious what the Windows reviews will be, Steam OS I’m not surprised by but the ‘backup’ in my book has always been Windows support.

Don't even bother.
Linux is the future everywhere, specially here. Proton will only get better due to the Steam Deck.
No normal user is going to want to deal with the hassle of swapping their operating system if everything just works better.
EAC support is likely growing exponentially soon for example.

 

[tech3475]

Don't even bother.
Linux is the future everywhere, specially here. Proton will only get better due to the Steam Deck.
No normal user is going to want to deal with the hassle of swapping their operating system if everything just works better.
EAC support is likely growing exponentially soon for example.

I’ll remove Windows when ‘the future’ happens, for now I plan on dual booting using a spare license I have (subject to drivers) for incompatible/windows only software.

 

[subcon959]

None of the influencers are acting like PC users in these reviews. It's a bit annoying getting lots of fancy production when all you want is the real world experience.

Has anyone even mentioned if there is BIOS access or not? Seems like the number one thing a PC user would do with a new system. If there is no BIOS access then it's not just a PC (tm) as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Taleweaver]

I’m curious what the Windows reviews will be, Steam OS I’m not surprised by but the ‘backup’ in my book has always been Windows support.

Okay, I admit I'm also curious, but more from a gleeful perspective. I'm currently dual booting, and though ingame it's fine (rocksmith and epic games... Yes, i actually play these games)... The startup is like wading through mud. When my mint installation i thought the comparison unfair because... Well... Daily use tend to cause bloat. But a few years in, mint's just as snappy as it was whereas windows... It needs maintenance whereas the former 'just works fine'.

 

[Taleweaver]

None of the influencers are acting like PC users in these reviews. It's a bit annoying getting lots of fancy production when all you want is the real world experience.

Has anyone even mentioned if there is BIOS access or not? Seems like the number one thing a PC user would do with a new system. If there is no BIOS access then it's not just a PC (tm) as far as I'm concerned.

I disagree on that. When the hardware is the review, the hardware is where it's at. Bryant Gardner (not sure if I'm spelling his name correct) said he's going to post more gaming footage (and install windows on it for comparison), so that'll be there soon.

But you're correct in that bios handling hasn't been mentioned yet. It wouldn't be my number one thing to do with a pc, but it certainly would be high on my list. Strange that it hasn't been mentioned yet...

 

[tech3475]

Okay, I admit I'm also curious, but more from a gleeful perspective. I'm currently dual booting, and though ingame it's fine (rocksmith and epic games... Yes, i actually play these games)... The startup is like wading through mud. When my mint installation i thought the comparison unfair because... Well... Daily use tend to cause bloat. But a few years in, mint's just as snappy as it was whereas windows... It needs maintenance whereas the former 'just works fine'.

I'm finding myself considering moving away from Mint, it's ootb experience is my favourite so far, but I've had issues in the past which didn't happen on other distros (mainly when compiling stuff) and right now it's based on a version of Ubuntu so old that it wont boot by default on my laptop.

There are work arounds but these themselves can cause other issues e.g. Broken packages.

 

[tech3475]

None of the influencers are acting like PC users in these reviews. It's a bit annoying getting lots of fancy production when all you want is the real world experience.

Has anyone even mentioned if there is BIOS access or not? Seems like the number one thing a PC user would do with a new system. If there is no BIOS access then it's not just a PC (tm) as far as I'm concerned.

As of now they seem to be treating it as a console and only concentrating on the ootb experience, we'll probably see more in depth stuff over the coming weeks.

I know ther faq said there would be BIOS access of some kind:

What can you tell us about the BIOS and does it allow dual-boot?​

Multi-boot is supported - you can have multiple OSes installed and choose which one to boot into. Users will have access to the BIOS menu.

 

[Stone_Wings]

Don't even bother.
Linux is the future everywhere, specially here. Proton will only get better due to the Steam Deck.
No normal user is going to want to deal with the hassle of swapping their operating system if everything just works better.
EAC support is likely growing exponentially soon for example.

Oh, please. Linux fanboys have been saying that since the mid 90's. Still hasn't come even remotely close to being true almost 30 years later, and it never will.

 

[Taleweaver]

Wired 's review is an interesting read :
https://www.wired.com/review/valve-steam-deck/

They're not as hyped as the YouTube videos I've seen (the author calls it bulky and mentions the flaws she encountered testing the device) , but that makes the potential they see even better.

Edit : missed who the actual author was and made an incorrect assumption. Corrected.

 

[Taleweaver]

Another review I stumbled upon :
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/02/steam-deck-initial-review/

 

[subcon959]

Wired 's review is an interesting read :
https://www.wired.com/review/valve-steam-deck/

They're not as hyped as the YouTube videos I've seen (the author calls it bulky and mentions the flaws he encountered testing the device) , but that makes the potential they see even better.

She, and her hands look quite small so it is to be expected.