Yup

Yeah. They're pretty awesome and I've switched it out for my desktop PC. Get the OLED.

Yes... Well, maybe. Depends on what games you want to play, and what you're expecting out of it as far as performance. It's fantastic, but if you just really want to play COD or Fortnite and nothing else matters, you won't be happy with it. Also if you expect desktop-level performance out of a 15 watt, battery powered handheld with an APU, you should probably move along.

If you would enjoy playing tens of thousands of different Steam games in a highly portable way at reasonable settings, depending on the game. If you are comfortable with using an operating system that's not difficult, but not really what you're used to. If you're okay with playing the most demanding, AAA titles at low settings, then you'll probably get a lot of use out of it and you should get one.

I second getting the OLED. It's a lot more than just a screen upgrade. It's basically a complete overhaul. It's like the Steam Deck 1.5. Better battery life, cooler, quieter, just an upgrade all around.

https://test1.login.steam.hlxgame.cc/app/1675200/discussions/search/?q=worth&gidforum=4312743731802778164z

imo, if you travel a lot, and you can afford it, sure; but get the oled version: it may look similar to the lcd version, but internally it improved and fixed many issues, specially related to the thermal design and heat management.

also, dont try to run windows in it, because even if is partially working, it has many issues and is not officially supported or endorsed. Just check first in protondb your games, to see how many run in the deck.

Yes

Yeah man. Especially if you travel.

No valve sends out defective items that don't work, I wouldn't chance it.

Has this been a regular occurence?

Originally posted by One True Ham:

No valve sends out defective items that don't work, I wouldn't chance it.

The SteamDeck is a pretty good, if you understand its limitations. You do not want to play AAA games on it and certain games that have trouble with anticheat (you could install windows on it but that's a bother). It is still powerful, but only for its size. You can buy stronger handhelds but they will be heavier and only be better while being more power-hungry.

So you gotta consider what types of games you like to play. Metroidvanias? Perfect. Fortnight? Nope. If you are in doubt, look up "protondb" and you should get a site that talks about linux compability.

I would start with asking yourself:

What am I missing with my gaming now, that I believe the Steam Deck addresses?

For me, I needed to be able to play games without being at a desk. I work in IT. Since COVID, I'm at a desk most of the week. I don't want to be at "another" desk when I'm not working. I had been using Remote Play for years to get away from a desk with an Android Tablet and a Xbox controller. While that worked, there was a lot of latency with that setup (the Bluetooth latency to the tablet, combined with the network latency).

At the time, I looked at the OneXplayer as that was about the only thing on the market. I read horror stories of support so I never pulled the trigger. I was contemplating the Switch, but the games I wanted to play were in my Steam library. Valve eventually announced the Steam Deck and I signed up right a way (to then wait almost a year ).

I've had 'a' Steam Deck since they were offered. I also have a fairly powerful home PC running Windows 11. My main PC is mostly for photo/video processing and sim racing (I have a full sim rig setup on it). The Steam Deck has changed the way I game, and has changed the type of games I "thought" I liked. There are games I enjoy on the Steam Deck I would have never 'wasted my time with' on a powerful PC.

You have to think about what gap you are trying to fill, and then find the thing that will fill that gap. If you don't have gap to fill, you are just thinking should you buy it, then it would be "no".

Originally posted by JTM:

Has this been a regular occurence?

If you ask a couple of very opinionated individuals who seem to have an ax to grind, then yes.

Realistically though, no. Valve has sold millions of Decks. You'll be able to find plenty of examples of people having troubles with theirs online, but some of those issues will be user-error. Also even if they weren't... like I said, millions of Decks. Those having difficulty represent a small fraction of a percent of the total. If someone has a problem, they're much more likely to post about it online. Everyone else is just enjoying theirs. If you look for examples of people having trouble, you'll find it. If you look for examples of people who have had a great experience, you'll find it. So whatever you want to believe, you'll be able to find examples to support it, but if you look at the big picture, there are millions, and relatively few actual problems in comparison.

I actually have three Steam Decks in my house, one for each member of the household. Mine is an OLED. The other two are LCD, and one of those LCD Decks was among the first batch of units to ship in 2022. All three are still working wonderfully and get regular use.