PCs and Steam: Thread 01

[MartyG]

Quite a lot of test data here from The Phawx, so the Steam Deck is basically running away at 10 watts, but left behind at anything over that, with the Ally managing better battery life at 15W (Deck's official maximum power setting). For the most part anyway, there are a couple of outliers like Red Dead Redemption 2. The results are definitely a bit odd, so drivers could well change this result over time in the Ally's favour.

If you like looking at lots of bar charts, then you'll like this video.

[nonny]

I watched similar from retro gamer yesterday.

I think the jury is still out with the Ally until after launch as a lot of early reviews have said the command centre / armour crate software is buggy and that the face buttons on the device are sticking. The Steam Deck UI/OS was similarly undercooked at launch so really it's a wait and see for me to see if Asus can support this device as well as Valve has this past year.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2023-too-big-for-steam-deck-testing-the-last-of-us-part-1-hogwarts-legacy-and-resident-evil-4?view=comments

Feels like an unfair approach. Lack of optimisation is a valid concern but aside from that the idea that getting 30-40fps on new large budget releases out of a device run off a lithium battery is bad is becoming a woeful bar. The fixation on 60fps across the board is becoming more of a hindrance than an aid.

[fishbowlhead]

https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfou...?view=comments
Feels like an unfair approach. Lack of optimisation is a valid concern but aside from that the idea that getting 30-40fps on new large budget releases out of a device run off a lithium battery is bad is becoming a woeful bar. The fixation on 60fps across the board is becoming more of a hindrance than an aid.

60fps should be the sole standard games should stick too, anything less is unacceptable.

[fishbowlhead]

Nvidia 4060 & ti announced.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/18/23728149/nvidia-rtx-4060-4060-ti-release-date-price-specs

[Dogg Thang]

60fps should be the sole standard games should stick too, anything less is unacceptable.

I love a good frame rate but, when dealing with the idea of playing AAA new PC games on a handheld, I feel like some reality needs to be taken into account on what is deemed acceptable.

[Neon Ignition]

Putting the handheld aspect aside, if 60fps had always been a requirement in the past then most of the most significant games ever made would have never existed. You can't have across the board 60fps without increasingly significant compromise elsewhere. To apply it then to a handheld feels like a snub at the sheer magic todays handhelds are pulling off already. To be honest, the 40hz optional cap you can apply on Deck does a wonderful job of striking a balance.

[fishbowlhead]

I know, it’s just what everything “should” be. I’m never going to get it.

[nonny]

Putting the handheld aspect aside, if 60fps had always been a requirement in the past then most of the most significant games ever made would have never existed. You can't have across the board 60fps without increasingly significant compromise elsewhere. To apply it then to a handheld feels like a snub at the sheer magic todays handhelds are pulling off already. To be honest, the 40hz optional cap you can apply on Deck does a wonderful job of striking a balance.

I use that 40hz option all the time... it's really the best option for most situations.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.deckhd.com/

[speedlolita]

Fantastic way to further tank the battery life of your Steam Deck.

[nonny]

Yeah pointless... if it was an OLED panel with smaller bezels, same resolution and lower power draw then it would be worth the risk/effort.

[Neon Ignition]

It'll end up being a Triggers Broom situation

People touting their modded Decks that have a new OLED 1440p screen, upgraded SSD, replaced battery, unique casing, resistant analogues, faster CPU to support the resolution etc and an expensive bill that highlights no original parts remain.

[nonny]

The screen can be tinkered with using VibrantDeck in Deck Tools anyway and that functionally is coming natively in the next SteamOS update from valve soon. I've got mine set to much higher saturation and I've gone as far as to cross check it with the Switch OLED. It doesn't reach that of course but you can bring it much closer to that colour level.

Really upgrading the SSD is probably the only thing you need to do.

The 1TB Sabrent Rocket gen4 SSD is now on Amazon for £150. I've got a WD gen3 1TB in mine which I paid that price for a few months back.

That Sabrent SSD also dropped down to £105 a few days back which is basically the same price as 1TB SD Cards these days which are obviously slower.

Having that much fast storage in the device offers plenty of room for dual boot with Windows, which basically opens the options a wide as it'll go without losing anything.

Short version, upgrading the SSD is all you need.

[nonny]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BQG6JCRP?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_VWM6QD4DD9ZFZ5GDX2W8

Back down to £105 now...