PCs and Steam: Thread 01

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, that's exactly it

Unless they can make a Deck rival that is significantly more powerful for the same money I'm not interested.
I'd be more interested in something less, but powered closely enough, that cost less to undercut Deck

Which is also probably not possible

[wakka]

Yeah, it probably isn't for anyone but Valve, since they're able to operate the traditional model of thin margins on hardware supported by ongoing software revenue.

It would be interesting to see something which tackles the form factor and UI in a more intriguing way rather than increase power. The Deck and its competitors are absolutely huge.

I'd be curious to see Valve eventually produce something Switch Lite sized, or even smaller, perhaps with tweaks to games to ensure text and other elements are correctly sized.

[nonny]

https://www.theverge.com/23719210/asus-rog-ally-review

Best review I've read that goes deep into the battery life. Seems though the unit is more powerful it can't run lower end games at low wattage to the same degree as the Steam Deck... Which is honestly a disappointment for a handheld. You wouldn't expect anything triple A to last long but you'd think a nice session on a 2D title or Vampire Survivors is going to last multiple hours.

Seems 4 hours is about the best you're going to get...

I do wonder whether that 1080p120 freesync screen is worth it? I know it's not the only power draw but having seen what you can get the Steam Deck screen to look like using Vibrant Deck and even the OLED screen on the Switch... 720/800p can look great in this form factor.

[Neon Ignition]

Slimmer form factor for the Deck price would be great.

The 120 Freestyle screen will be pointless, you'd either end up running stuff so low requirement it feels redundant or hobbling games to try and eek out the frames to use it. It'll exist just to give them a key USP against Deck. Given people can pick up a Series X and a Deck together for barely a difference in price there's no gain here.

I do wonder, given how long cross gen is and how much bleed over there is, whether we'll get to a point where these devices end up being largely the default. The gap in performance between consoles and Switch is really the only barrier remaining

[fishbowlhead]

720p is all you need in handheld mode.

[MartyG]

I do wonder whether that 1080p120 freesync screen is worth it?.

Having a freesync screen is absolutely worth it on a handheld (and worth having generally), depending on its lowest sync frequency as you don't want to dip below the VRR range. It means you can turn off vsync and have a variable framerate sync, you can then set an upper frame limit and eliminated those tearing stutters, and have less input lag. It's a real shame Steam Deck doesn't support this.

[nonny]

Yeah I get the advantage of that inclusion, I just wonder whether it was worth it in terms of extra power/cost that screen choice requires... maybe it's not the main power drain culprit though and that chipset, though powerful, isn't flexible enough to go ultra-low when needed.

Does anyone know if the lower end model is any different in this regard? Probably not.

[dataDave]

Yeah I get the advantage of that inclusion, I just wonder whether it was worth it in terms of extra power/cost that screen choice requires...

It definitely is. It's something that I'd actively want to pay more for if going for a handheld PC.

[Neon Ignition]

If the battery level is sub-1hr it's not a handheld anymore, it'll spend so much time tethered to the mains. For me, the Deck just about rides the edge in that regard but remains just on the right side of it

[huxley]

I’m happy with my Steamdeck, it’s mainly used for older games and emulators. Which run at a respectable frame rate and resolution in the lower power setting.
I don’t think the asus unit can compete in that area.


Why do all the LTT thumbnails have compo face?

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, the main reason the devices can't compete is due to the 64GB model of Deck. Comparisons to the higher end unit fall apart because the expandable memory with the Deck uncuts the impression being given of a small difference. Big price differences open up with no performance drop.

[MartyG]

It will sell well enough due to running Windows - as good a job as Valve has done with Steam OS, there are still things that are simply easier to get running in Windows, getting the Emulators running and indexed properly on the Deck is a massive faff.

Plus it's going to be in Currys selling to a casual audience without competition because there isn't a cheaper Steam Deck next to it to look at instead.

[nonny]

Valve needs to release the Steam Deck through normal retail channels at this point...

[hudson]

Anyone like SOCOM? I do and I discovered a game called Caliber on Steam which is Free to Play. Runs great on Steam Deck too...

[Tobal]

Seems Hawken is making a comeback as a F2P PVE instead of arena shooter (which is still alive, just), early access on steam out in 2 days, i played a good month of the original before going back to Black Ops 2 and another go at Planetside2 back in 2012. I'll likely give it a go, as it always moved smooth and had a unique look that reminded of Phantom Crash series.