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Question

Valve's new SteamDeck - arriving Dec 2021

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Play all your PC Steam games using a handheld device, thus Valve made a mini-PC - more info here:

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/?snr=1_4_4__118

Hardware:

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/hardware

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/tech

So 1280x800 in 60 fps:

AMD APU
CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
APU power: 4-15W

I noted the 1.6 TFlops - the RTX 3090 has 36 TFlops, for what it's worth, lol.

Personally I have no interest in such devices - but of course interesting to see new stuff. I found this image amusing:

- even on a big screen, Disco Elysium has so many small details I have to look very closely - the last thing I'd want is to play that game on a screen looking slightly like an oversized phone, lol.

Ryanality

Honored Contributor

RuneSR2 wrote:
- even on a big screen, Disco Elysium has so many small details I have to look very closely - the last thing I'd want is to play that game on a screen looking slightly like an oversized phone, lol.

I wonder how long until we get the accessory we all deserve!

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RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

We might need something stronger for Disco Elysium and Terraria, lol

I do think $ 650 is rather high for the 512GB model, also taking the hardware into account. Sure the size may be convenient, but wouldn't a nice laptop like this one be more interesting? - It's not much more expensive, and the screen is bigger:

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Modern-A10RAS-884-Professional-i5-10210U/dp/B085B39HYD/

Really interesting if the SteamDeck will be a succes. I do like my Steam controllers, especially for their ability to work as a mouse. I could be overlooking some important details, we'll see 🙂

Also I may be biased - I'm really not much into 2D gaming, and so far I have not seen anything about the SteamDeck that truly caught my interest.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

nalex66

Honored Contributor

What makes this more compelling than a laptop is the increased portability, the gaming-focused form factor, and the frictionless ease of getting straight into the game. A gaming laptop tends to be bulky, you need to set up on a table and have somewhere to use the mouse, etc. You'll end up lugging around a heavy laptop bag, and you'll spend several minutes getting it out and set up before you can fire up your game. This looks like something that would be easier to carry around, is more self-contained, and with literally one button press you can fire it up and resume a paused game, making it much more convenient to jump into a quick play session. I could see myself taking this to work to play at lunch time, like I do now with my Quest.

That sort of convenience is something I didn't know I cared about until I got my Quest. I'm much more likely to do some gaming when I can quickly jump right in; with my PC, I typically spend quite a while longer getting things going, and thus don't bother unless I've got at least an hour to dedicate to a play session.

Anyway, I'm not entirely sold yet, but I've got the rest of the year to consider the purchase while I wait for more info and reviews prior to release.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

nalex66

Honored Contributor

I thought the Steam Deck looked compelling enough that I put in a reservation for the 512 GB version--and managed to get into the queue in the first minute! (If only I'd had such success with queuing for an RTX 3080!) I previously wouldn't have been interested in a handheld gaming device, but owning a Quest has opened my eyes to the joys of portable gaming. I'm not sure whether I'll end up buying it, but there's no risk in making a reservation (the $5 reservation fee will be refunded into my Steam Wallet if I decide not to buy).

I've read claims that its chipset is comparable to the performance of a PS4. You can also install Windows on it, which would be necessary if one was going to attempt to use it for VR via Link.

I was a bit concerned with how good the gaming experience would be on a small screen, especially for the types of PC games I enjoy (FPS and XCOM-style strategy), but I do watch Let's Play videos of these types of games on small screens without a problem, so I think it'll be fine. I'll probably have to wear my reading glasses to play, but such are the trials and tribulations of getting old.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

The original PS4 had 1.84 TFLOPS, so 1.6 is indeed close (since TFLOPS are all we have for comparisons at the moment). Maybe I have been too negative - and if you wish to play 2D Steam games on a small screen, Valve probably did a good job making that happen.

But compared from the massive brute force in the latest Series 30, the hardware in the SteamDeck is very far from that - of course Valve is well aware of that. I don't consider SteamDeck anything close to high-end, but it could be a nice way to play PC games when you're not close to the rig (vacations/travelling).

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Btw, just some numbers - because PS4s arent all the same etc:

SteamDeck: 1.6 teraflops.

PS4: 1.84 teraflops.

PS4 Pro: 4.2 teraflops.

Xbox One S: 1.4 teraflops.

Xbox One X: 6 teraflops.

PS5: 10.3 teraflops.

Xbox Series X: 12.1 teraflops.

- and for the fun:

GTX 1080 = 8.9 teraflops.

RTX 2080 Ti = 13.5 teraflops.

RTX 3080 = 29.8 teraflops.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

kojack

Honored Contributor

As expected of Valve, they won't let Australians order it.

We still don't have the Index, apparently it might be launching here in august, the price difference between US and Aus orders is more than the cost of a Quest 2. (It's going to cost us $1900au. The Quest 2 64GB is $479au)

From IGN's interview with Valve:

IGN: Can I play VR off of it?

Pierre-Loup Griffais: I mean, it has all the connectivity. You would need [a lot] to do that, but that's not really what we're optimizing the performance for.

IGN: So you can try it, but your mileage may vary.

Pierre-Loup Griffais: Yeah.

It's certainly interesting. I'm mainly interested in it for my students (could be an interesting platform to dev for).

I'm still more interested in the Dragonbox Pyra (hopefully mine won't take too much longer to build). But I'm not really a mobile gamer. I don't play phone games, I have a switch but it's only for my nieces, I don't use it myself.

Author: Oculus Monitor , Auto Oculus Touch , Forum Dark Mode , Phantom Touch Remover , X-Plane Fixer Hardware: Threadripper 1950x, MSI Gaming Trio 2080TI, Asrock X399 Taich Headsets: Wrap 1200VR, DK1, DK2, CV1, Rift-S, GearVR, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Reverb G2, Quest 3

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

UploadVR also has a short article quoting the same Pierre-Loup Griffais and mentioning that SteamDeck isn't aimed at VR, even if it could work for some titles:

https://uploadvr.com/valve-steam-deck-vr/

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

kojack

Honored Contributor

Not to be confused with the latest Elgato Stream Deck that was announced on the same day as the Steam Deck. 🙂

Author: Oculus Monitor , Auto Oculus Touch , Forum Dark Mode , Phantom Touch Remover , X-Plane Fixer Hardware: Threadripper 1950x, MSI Gaming Trio 2080TI, Asrock X399 Taich Headsets: Wrap 1200VR, DK1, DK2, CV1, Rift-S, GearVR, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Reverb G2, Quest 3

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

That one does look like fun, lol

Probably no winner when it comes to teraflops though 🤣

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

kojack

Honored Contributor

I wouldn't mind getting a Stream Deck. There's mobile app alternatives (use your phone/tablet as a controller for a PC), but I want physical buttons. Sometimes you need to press a button (pause, mute, etc) without looking at it, you can't rest your finger on a touch screen button.

Or I could make my own, but display buttons aren't cheap. The Stream Deck gets away with it because it's buttons don't actually have screens. It's a single large LCD panel under all buttons and membrane contacts around the edge of each button. I'd prefer a real OLED/LCD mini panel so the buttons are really clicky (like the buttons on my Virpil throttle, they feel great!). I can get a tiny OLED panel for under $2. Clicky buttons cost cents. But combine both and they cost $50-150 each.

iDisplay sells panels with 24 buttons with a display, but I don't know if it's a single panel design. Also they have a minimum order of 100.

I need to make my own controller anyway, I need a new volume system since my Wooting keyboard doesn't have a volume roller.

Anyway... Steam Deck.

Scalpers are already active.

Author: Oculus Monitor , Auto Oculus Touch , Forum Dark Mode , Phantom Touch Remover , X-Plane Fixer Hardware: Threadripper 1950x, MSI Gaming Trio 2080TI, Asrock X399 Taich Headsets: Wrap 1200VR, DK1, DK2, CV1, Rift-S, GearVR, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Reverb G2, Quest 3

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Looks like the scalpers are moving in, better be quick if you don't wanna pay 5k for a deck 😉

https://www.bluesnews.com/s/238722/steam-deck-fuels-fomo-fever

"Valve's plans to thwart scalpers for its newly announced Steam Deck handhelds appears to have taken a faceplant into the deck. As noted on PC Gamer, preorder reservations for the units are going to exorbitant prices on the scalpers paradise that is eBay. And since there is nothing to order yet, attempting to buy one of these units is going to require degrees of trust and cooperation that are not always common on the internet. Many of the listings are over one thousand US dollars, and we see one listing for a 512 GB unit with an ambitious buy it now price of $5000, despite the indications that the 512 GB models won't arrive for a year. On the other hand, for those who want to compare deck sizes, word is the Steam Deck SSD is upgradeable but doesn't want you to do it."

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

N

Nekto2

Inspiring

😄

it looks like they are testing chipset they will put inside next portable VR Index :))

Which OS is there?

nalex66

Honored Contributor

It comes with Linux-based SteamOS (along with Proton, a compatibility layer to allow games to run in a non-Windows environment), but they say you can install Windows on it if you want to.

And I agree, my first thought was that they might put that chipset into a stand-alone VR headset. Such a headset probably wouldn't run native PCVR games very well, so they would likely need Quest-like ports of VR games.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

Zenbane

Honored Contributor

Yeah, the Steamdeck is looking to be quite awesome. If they can manage to let it send/receive text messages then the PC Gaming market can finally overtake the Mobile market!

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Saw this one on Index SubReddit - more SteamDeck (and some Alyx):

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

nalex66

Honored Contributor

A lot of new Steam Deck content today on YouTube and gaming sites. One particular thing I noticed in a Verge article--Valve suggested that the APU used in the Deck may very well end up in a stand-alone VR headset:

But Coomer did light up when I suggested maybe we could see the Steam Deck’s custom APU in a standalone VR headset, like the Oculus Quest. He said he loved the question. “We’re not ready to say anything about it, but it would run well in that environment, with the TDP necessary... it’s very relevant to us and our future plans,” he said.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

nalex66

Honored Contributor

The LTT video did a good job of really digging into the details. I’m getting hyped for the Deck, and I’m glad I managed to get a December reservation. I’m really interested in how well the gyro aiming will work—it could finally be the feature that makes thumbsticks (or trackpads) acceptable for FPS input. I think I might dust off my Steam controller and play around with it, and see if I can get gyro aiming working well for me.

DK2, CV1, Go, Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3. Try my game: Cyclops Island Demo

RuneSR2Author

Honored Contributor

Just saw this post on Reddit - and I'm not really disagreeing, lol

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/ptw5f6/from_steamdeck_new_faq/

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

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