Valve Steam Deck Spec Analysis: Can It Really Handle AAA PC Gaming?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ค. 2021
- Join Rich for his initial reaction to the excellent specification of the handheld Valve Steam Deck. Is this the Nintendo Switch Pro we were hoping for - or actually something a whole lot more exciting?
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Bespoke: ✔️
In the here and now: ✔️
pristine: ✔️
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Buy and large
However is a classic one.
Interresting and fascinating
Fascinating?
*F* *U* *L* *L* *F* *A* *T*
I really hope this sells well so that we keep getting newer versions, improvements and better game optimizations.
yup 2nd gen iterations is what i'm holding on
Same. I'm pretty excited for this little thing
I am holding out for 2nd gen, to see if it will succeed and if Valve will continue supporting this idea unlike the Steam Machine. I have hopes though!
This will definitely sell well.
@@winghong3 it’s just a handheld PC, with some nice button mapping. What is there to support?
If this thing gets super popular, this could lead to PC game devs in the future being even more focused on polish and framerate optimization. Which would be a good thing for all of us, even us on actual PC's.
I doubt hard. On the other hand we will get more indie games to support SteamOS.
Not going to happen considering they removed the good game quality control they had and then the community quality control to instead replace it with "pay us money, we sell ur games no questions asked" policy. Video game industry as a whole has also been spoiled senseless for the last 15 years or so with the continued explosive growth in computing power and RAM while Nvidia & AMD continuously sabotage each-other.
Any given game NOT being released in a completely broken/dysfunctional/half-finished state is exceedingly rare these days and the underpowered gimmick steam deck ain't gonna do shit.. If anything, it's going to make things worse now that developers have this thing to worry about on-top of everything else.
Yeah that's not happening
@@ev.c6
Maybe, or they just say “install windows 10 on it yourself.”
It might even lead Xbox and playstation to get into the handheld AAA market. Hopefully.
The concept of a “liberating product” is so very extremely rare.. generally products aim to monopolize and box the consumer in.
Turn customers into fanatics
products into obsessions
employees into embassadors
and brands into religions
Welcome to Apple.
people hate on steam for not doing anything with all their money but for me at least.....this is just huge, good will for years from me
most people are going to stay with steam anyways, even if you put windows on it
@@weepgamer that’s just it, when you give the consumer full control it shows confidence in your demographic, I will 100% always stick with steam/valve because they give me the choice.
Me: Googles "Steam Deck"
My Google: "Did you mean Stream Deck?"
Haha same here, surprised the Google algorithm hasn't caught up yet
Google do you mean steam hams lol
Google. Do you mean Google Stadia? Lol.
TH-cam suggested Valve STEM deck
Google in 1 year
Me: Googles Stream Deck
My Google: Did you mean Steam Deck
5:26 "There are 3 steam decks available at launch".
Thats a lot of stock for 2021.
@Taxevader_4743 No they won't, you can only reserve/buy one with your steam profile and you need to have bought at least one 5$ game a year earlier.
I will not get mine until q2 2022
There will be none at launch tho..
I mean, they probably get a lot of left overs from faulty Xbox/PS chips that would've more than likely just been trashed, so they get a good price and save the environment a bit by recycling.
@@3rd.world.eliteAJps is not a full zen 2 and RDNA 2 chip.
It could be a cutdown Xbox chip
As a fan of the PSVita, I'm keeping a keen eye on this.
Saime
Same
This is nothing like a PSVita, in size and weight, and ofc by the fact it's not a console to begin with.
@@trixniisama You forget the fact that the PS Vita is one of the most popular platforms for emulation, which the Steam Deck will handle as good if not better.
@@fruiteusfly5307 And ? That's not what I'm saying. Of course it will emulate better ! The PSVita was a small and really comfortable handheld, which this thing isn't.
It valve was smart what they would do is they would do a certification program for games optimized for the steam deck and allow those games to display a logo on their store pages indicating they were certified. That would encourage people to write custom code to run well on the hardware
Give them time damn
That or heavily discount the "publising cost" of the games devs optimize. It'd be a win-win, devs get a discount and a sales bump while steam has even more reason to sell the decks like hotcakes
@@rdowg They would never do that, because then they have less money to waste on developing the next piece of poorly supported dead within a year or two steam hardware.
They could highlight games on the store front page. Older games might find that worth their effort
@@rdowg This actually is a really good hucking idea.
Imagine PC games including a specific graphics option for the Steam Deck. They now know what exact hardware they're working for so can just optimise exactly for it: even better they can just patch it in too.
I really hope Steam will have an install option for the Deck, so there is no need to download and keep high quality assets that will not be used anyway
Valve has talked about introducing “Optimised for Steam Deck” certification so you could get those options soon. This rests mostly on Valve improving Proton in my opinion, it’s great but anti-cheat still is an issue and yeah you can install windows but the average user won’t care to. Yes this is geared towards PC gamers who aren’t scared to mess with their systems but not everyone feels comfortable with resizing partitions and dual booting windows and I don’t want Valve to scare off people who are new to Linux by having horrible Proton support forcing people to have to learn complicated terminal commands to get partitions resized and install windows.
Edit: just found out there’s a dev kit for the Steam Deck which is great because we can get games that are optimised for the Steam Deck and assuming Valve does implement the certification Developers have the tools to test their games on this.
@@funny3591 I’m kinda one of those folks. I mainly use Windows and Mac OS and I have never touched Linux in my life, so now I feel like I have to learn how to use it. If I see that Windows works well on it, then I’ll just install it to make my life easier, especially since I want to use Game Pass.
If it establishes a major installed base, devs will absolutely consider a specific Deck performance profile.
Yeah. Would be nice if there is a "Deck optimized" tab besides the low, medium and high settings.
I know others have probably said this, but I'm most stoked to see this sleek UI replace Big Picture mode for regular PC users of Steam. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about that happening.
I mean, big picture is already fantastic, but I agree this looks even better
@@mechanicalmonk2020 big picture hasn’t been updated in years and is broken
Yes please! Big picture is a burning trashcan, and incredibly invasive. Every time I pick up the steam controller the last thing I want is the goddamn big picture UI and overlay
Not to forget big picture is just janky and slow.
Big picture is a brilliant concept, I really like how clean the UI is, but it definitely could use a fresh coat of paint
I'm gonna get it. If it fails, it fails, but I guess I'll get a little "remember this thing" type of collectors item.
It's a PC though, how much can it fail?
Worst outcome, put it somewhere permanently docked, plug in a mouse, keyboard and monitor, and just use it as a quiet PC
I think its going to be a phone with a dock eventually in a couple of years. Probably even with a Laptop case. So a all in one PC at least thats what Im dreaming for
Worst case, it's a very capable PC that'll power then-classic gaming for a long time. Or Install windows, use dock, carry on as a low end desktop. It's versatile hw.
@@flyingskyward2153 does windows even support the weird DDR5 setup it's using?
It's a PC. As long as it works, it doesn't matter to you if it's a commercial failure, you can still play current and future games on it.
I know they position this as playing AAA games, but I'm most excited to use it to play some of my back catalog and indies.
The fact that it can run normal operating systems like Linux and Windows is going to excite a lot of emulator user. It's basically a jailbreak Switch next to a portable PC.
and that is why i just preordered on. My switch has custom firmware but this is just so much stronger. will be able to play n64 and ps1 games in handheld mode and run flawlessly which is what i really want.
That's the least exciting thing of this whole thing
@@benjwallace7479 So you folks just want this shit for Nintendo games? Lol! What a waste of time.
How about controller Support? PS vita and the switch u can Use Controller on the handheld too.
@@benjwallace7479 You can emulate ps1 and n64 on a ps vita for nearly 1/4 of the price. But yeah the steam deck will work great for emulating even newer consoles.
I love the fact that this handheld-PCs market is getting more and more popular.
I hope this will be successful bcuz if that happens, Alienware might want to make the concept ufo a reality.
No it isn’t beside the Switch
@@JCdotnl considering the mobile game market has exploded, it can only go up from there. between mobile games and nintendo's long LONG history of popular hand held devices there is and always will be a market for this which is why there push for innovation has gotten to this point. If not the steam deck its onl ya matter of time
There's been concepts that I remember smack z that cool looking Alienware switch handheld PC(good thing they didn't launch it it would have been like $5,000) it seems to have inspired Aya neo and one x player but I think the first one to actually launch was the GDP win PC handheld
Would be good to see someone release a dedicated streaming handheld device. Would be much cheaper to produce and could run Xcloud, Stadia, Gforce Now, Shadow and more.
70% of my steam library will run on this, so that's good enough for me.
yes
I don't plan on buying one, but a handheld that's as powerful as a ps4 is pretty impressive.
exactly, all thos 10-15 yo games I don't give time to... they will now have a special place where they're not overshadowed by new titles.
I have over 500+ steam games, I already know which games will be on that system. Most indie games for sure. 2D and cel shade graphics games are certainly my go to.
@@GothicDragonX already created a Steam Deck collection in my library. Theres a few games that ported terribly to the switch that I never picked up that I will have to now... Bloodstaned for example.
I genuinely hope this thing is EXTREMELY successful so we have more competition in the handheld market! I'd absolutely LOVE to see a PS Vita 2 or a Microsoft Xbox series mobile 🙏
It won't be. Lets talk in 3 years...
Yeah, when Sony exited the handheld market I was pretty bummed out. Hearing about a handheld that lets me play my steam games in bed, instant buy day 1 and I haven't been hyped for anything for 10 years.
@@FleshToDust agreed! I absolutely loved my PlayStation Vita! The fact I could play infamous second son, killzone, uncharted 4 and almost every other PS4 game in bed while my wife watched her TV shows was a HUGE game changer for me! I loved that I could play PS4 on the go via remote play. I wish I never game my Vita to my little brother lol. The steam deck is brilliant, it's portable performance is BETTER than the PS4 & the thought of playing AAA games wherever I go is enough for me to buy it. That being said I'd love to see a PS Vita 2! Happy gaming ✌️
@@Dr.WhetFarts Sounds like you're confusing cynicism with clairvoyance.
This is way better than a proprietary walled garden that will eventually die. This has the massive PC game market advantage + being a full-fledged PC in itself.
Only one question remains: Will the dock be called the Deck Dock?
It's deock
It’s full official name will be the the Deck Docker decking dock.
Elon : breaks intentionally the windows on the tesla suv on live presentation. *Stock market plummet*
Gabe : So we sell this d*ck d*ck for our new handheld pc. *Stock market goes into seizure, foaming from the mouth*
The best part is that deck dock is genuinely the official title
Steam dock... Duh..
This has me tempted, a good way to get into PC gaming without the monitor/desk/chair/tower etc for people who don’t have the room.
U could have got a laptop
@@David-tz1oi At this price though?
dont forget the leds theyre the most important part
I would love to take this on road trips and camping as well, looks really awesome
Or the people who don't have the money.
love when Valve makes experimental products
love when Valve craps on their fans by not updating their games and not making half life 3
@@katatastrofa6136 Have you seen HLA's ending? Did you know text strings that hint at an upcoming project codenamed HLX were found? I'm sure you can figure out what that means.
@@protocetid it doesn't mean that there's gonna be a half life 3. also, it's been 14 years and all we got is a prequel nobody asked for.
@@katatastrofa6136 You're either badly informed, or trying to spread bad information, given that Alyx is not a prequel. It starts before HL2 and ends after it.
@@Eunostos it doesn't end after it. and it's a prequel. it happens BEFORE half life 2
From the reviews I've seen it seems that the performance on Proton is almost the same as on Windows, and in a few rare cases the performance on Proton was even slightly better.
dang, i havent kept up on proton at all. last i checked it would run only afew specific games, and not that far either
I'm using Linux exclusively and have been using proton pretty much since it came out. For someone like me who really only plays Single player games without anticheat its all i could ask for in its current state. Those cases where the performance is better usually involve games with old version of DirectX where the translation to Vulkan turns out to better than what the GPU driver can do with the DirectX calls directly.
@@pajamas720 yeah I remember I used wine to run a simple 2D game in 2017, and I was amazed, then I tried it again in late 2018 and I could run entire 3D games
@@flograuper9294 hey, since you use proton, you probably know the answer lmao, I'm too lazy to search it on google. does it support Direct X 12 or not yet ?
@@flograuper9294 it could still be better for single player. Lately I've been playing Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines from 2004 and had to install the unofficial patch and manually set it to use an old version of Proton and set the game to run with the unofficial patch before it would work at all. I also save scum because of a few times where the game got stuck on a loading screen, and when the game open I have to Alt Tab to it. However, once I'm in the game it just runs, no different than I would expect.
Also with Age of Wonder I have to Alt Tab to find the correct window since about 3 open.
I haven't tried many games, but a lot of the games in my library are rated Borked or Bronze. Bronze means they won't run without tweaks.
Nintendo - “You can’t have Gamecube games on the Switch!”
Valve - “Dolphin runs great on our SteamDeck! Enjoy the entire back catalog!”
Isn’t Mario Sunshine just the GameCube game on the Switch?
@@robertpeacock894 Correct. Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are the three games in Super Mario 3D All-Stars. All three will be a relative piece of cake to emulate on the APU. The four Zen 2 CPU cores are more than up to the task of emulating the game and machine code as is the Navi2 GPU for rendering HD upscaled graphics of each game on Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, and Nintendo Wii, respectively.
You can even have Switch games on Steam deck
@@arandomcat5551 I mean, yeah you could, but it'd barely run. Switch emulation is still pretty hard to run, and has some large issues.
Heck you can have the entire switch, Wii u, Wii and GC libraries.
I love the fact that no one talks about doom eternal running on it; that game is just soo well optimized that its a given it'll run on basically any decent hardware from the last 5 years, while still looking beautiful
It’s a fantastic efficiency the devs have been able to inject into the design. Amazing, I hope to see more devs pioneer and innovate like they did to get Doom Eternal looking and playing so damn good!
I swear the devs are genius programmers. Doom 2016’s console commands provides so much power to the user and you can get this game to run on so many pieces of hardware and the game is so damn well optimised it’s amazing
Only been playing it for a week on series X and never played doom before, but the basic geometric shapes do stick out. Fun game tho classic game experience 👌
Doom Eternal already running at 1080p 60 fps on the weak low end Xbox One S, so no surprise
@@Sims64340 to be fair, both the Xbox One and the Ps4 are nice consoles
Wow, your videos are so easy to watch! Thank you so much for being so real in front of the camera with us and talking to us as real people! You have a great thing going here!
Playing Halo on a portable device like this will be godly, i've waited years for this.
Stalin ? I never knew you were waiting for this but why not i guess 😨
Xbox games pass, stream it on Android
@@chaikagaz what a horrible choice
Me too.
@@chaikagaz lol sure use a internet streaming platform rather then run it natively truly a superb choice
Successfully pre-ordered a "Gabe Gear" (256gb model) last night. I am excited to try this out. Looking forward to making a dent on my backlog once I can finally travel the world again.
I reserved a 512GB Gabe Boy to play RetroArch. :D LOL! J/K, this will probably see many hours of Astroneer and Lumines Remastered and Minecraft Dungeons to start.
Ayyy have fun man! :D
@Kaan Özkuscu Haven't quite decided. Doom Eternal without a doubt, MGS V and Postal 4 are on the tester list.
@@AlexKidd4Fun but it will also play retroarch sooo good!
Update ur opinion here 🙏
I’m impressed they priced it fairly for UK customers, they didn’t rip us off like scummy Apple and say $=£.
Wait they did proper exchange rate?
@@crimblr Yeah, valve does that sometimes. Games are actually cheaper in my country because they actually keep a lower exchange rate for us which is very apreciated
@@crimblr £349 and $399 for base modeI, I was expecting £399 so mildly surprised.
@@disco7379 oh let’s go
@@DanielFerreira-ez8qd damn that’s cool, valve really are the gods of videogames
I look forward to 2027 when this is finally in stock.
valve is requiring that you already have a steam account already before reservation and that you pay 5 dollars to reserve , this will cut down on scalpers
LoL
Yeah I got mine reserved, hopefully I can save that much money by then😬
The first model will be in stock in December 2021, and then I believe they'll release the next two models one at a time, a few months apart.
There's no reason right now to think they won't have enough stock at launch, this isn't Sony. Why approach with pessimism from the outset? They MIGHT end up having stock difficulties, but there's currently no reason to think that.
@@jp9707 cool story brah - anywho on their actual site the shipping dates are late 2022 already.
I really like this move from steam. Not tying you up to one OS/game store is something that no other company would willingly do.
Valve should've named it Gabeboy instead
What a missed opportunity :(
Geayboy
Thankfully not the 'Half-Life Boy'. That would have been a HUGE mistake. 😆
Or the Gabe Gear
The Gabestation Portable
Steam Deck's success is going to depend how much bespokeness it can deliver.
A well bespoken point.
or else it gonna flop
Probably not much.
I predict a score of 8/10 on the universal bespokeness scale.
I don't understand this apparent reference.
Come on Richard, you know you want to make a Zen 2 (8 thread), RDNA PC that matches the specs as close as possible to get a ballpark of what this baby can do.
*Palpatine: Do it!* 😈
Just placed a order for the 256gb version. Love to have my steam library on the go specially on vacation. Bad part is I have to wait till Q2 2022
I thought about "GMOD ON THE TOILET!" then I thought "oh no, Gmod on the toilet"
Gmod on the toilet 🤪😜🤪😜🤪😜🤪😜🤪😜🤪🤪🤪😜😜🤪🤪😜🤯🤯🤯😜🤪🤪🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯😜🤪😜🤯😜🤪😜🤯😜🤪😜🤯😜😜😜🤯🤯😜😂🤯😂😂😜🤪😜😂
Broke: Gmod on the toilet
Woke: S&Box on the shitter
just make sure you dont have open mic on, or someone will definitely think youre the terrorist in TTT with the bombs you might be dropping
Payday 2,while waiting in a bank
Rdr2 on a fookin’ toilet
This machine could truly be a beast, they have to get each and every title a steam deck graphic setting. So it could not only run well, but give optimal battery like when not docked.
FSR could be huge for Steam Deck optimized games.
Great idea!
Games have config files that can be altered by other software, so Valve could provide an option that optimizes your settings. It doesn't make any sense to ask devs to update games when that's not needed
I don't know. That might hold back game design. The settings stuff should be left to the user.
I think it’s mentioned in the IGN video or the faq video they did,that it has optimized or default settings for when it’s in portable mode. You can still tinker with it however.🤘😎
The way you said everything was so engaging and thought provoking, thank you!!
This is the first Digital Foundry video I have seen and I am very happy with your attention to details. I am so excited and looking forward to receiving mine.
Valve should absolutely have an auto config on settings for all games, kinda like Geforce Experience where it can take over and set the best settings for you, if they're planning to give the advantages of consoles, one being easy plug and play.
That seems like an awful lot of effort to implement into steam for anything that doesn’t run on the source engine, which, realistically, requires no optimisation anyway. What I will say though that you could easily download GeForce on the device.
@@menembeck yeah I mean I could easily see myself replacing my PC with this in the future once the normal issues of 1st gen is fleshed out. Use it as a normal PC and play some games on it, stream some games and being able to bring it along really easily.
@@menembeck Valve like crowdsourcing, could see them adding a recommended settings button that would pull from other deck users presets with a vote mechanic to float the popular configs to the top. Like hero guides in dota 2 for those familiar. Only feasible method for such a library, biggest difficulty is how different games handle their setting configs.
Personally find the optimise feature in geforce to be kinda useless, but you're not wrong.
Considering its AMD hardware it may be possible AMD could put it's tools on here like Freesync. Giving it A better market push for PC players.
games already do that by default and is pretty good. Experience just give you one click all solution
I hope to see that FSR can be pushed to this. I know its on a Game implementation, but be nice to have AMD toss it into the list of supported chips
I'll be frank - even if it couldn't play current-gen AAA games on this, it can (probably) play most of the lesser graphically intensive new games plus the huge catalog of PC games that has accrued over many years.
The Emulation capabilities of this will be pukka too, stick a 512GB SD card in with Gamecube, Dreamcast, N64, PS1&2 etc games where the file sizes that need loading or streaming in are irrelevant and this becomes an additionally interesting proposition.
It has about the same power as an xbox one s, and that running on a 720 p screen will easily be able to handle AAA games.
I'm getting this for factorio, tmodloader, and emulation. this can definitely run wiiu games and switch games well.
@@dum760 👍
The last handheld I had was an original PSP so I'm excited about this, I hope they also make an Index 2 after this.
As someone who can’t game as much, this excites me. I get to re-enjoy all my games and don’t have to carve time out of my day…
This review was so balanced I'm no longer in financial debt.
:)
Same I actually look forward to this altho I'm broke af
Since Proton is available right now, I'd love a Digital Foundry special where you test out Proton performance on a similarly specc'd Zen 2 chip!
They could take a r3 3100 and a 6000 card and disable parts of it so it behaves like the gpu in the Deck
theres probably a HUUGE update for proton coming when this thing comes out. So I dont know how comparable that would be
They would find that Proton does not decrease performance, but if working right with a game will actually _improve_ performance.
@@powerfulaura5166 I swear they said the same shit about Source games on Linux but it wasn't the case LOL
@@powerfulaura5166 Nope.
someone with a time machine needs to take this back to the past when crysis came out and blow peoples minds
Oh well Nintendo it looks like this is how I’m going to play Xenoblade chronicles X.
How, emulation?
@@pwtprojects5610 correct
A 1.6 teraflop GPU is able to emulate a wiiu?
@@chan13153 Yes.
@@Nohiro.3D it's gonna be better than a wii u, steam deck is like a ps4 pro. Wii u ran like shit
12:50 - "It's bigger than that Chris, it's large."
*points finger* I understood that reference.
Could you sum it up in a word?
@@blargd no
@@augustdeer
What about a sound?
@@augustday9483 "Wooooarrraaghh"
This is the only sensible video I've seen about the Deck. Most people are already either salivating over it being the greatest handheld ever and will crush the Switch with its' superior specs. Or they're trashing it, laughing at the mere attempt by Valve to create another piece of failed ill advised hardware.
Gamers Nexus??
Yep that sounds like video game "reporting" alright
I mean, many, if not most, bought Switch for Nintendo games so Steam Deck isn't really a competition here. Still, I'm very curious how this will work out.
Vale has some stinkers like the valve box and the steam controller. But I think people forget that there also made the valve index which is expensive but amazing
Nah, not this one fam. This is gonna be a hit
The one downside that I see to this design is that the wear and tear on the controller might become a problem with heavy usage - Nintendo imo learned from the 3DS' model when crafting the Nintendo Switch so that you can swap out the Joy-cons so that it separates "Controller" issues from "System" issues which the Valve Steam Deck unfortunately has combined.
Edit:
Allowing the Steam Deck to swap out worn buttons/sensors without a headache (custom colors and designs even..) while maintaining the high quality build could help solve that issue👍
Really great point.
Exactly my worry. And those look like some fancy controllers to boot
Play on a mouse/controller at home and with the steam deck anywhere else, problem solved.
@@rurou6530 Yeah - I hear you, but that can get annoying FAST.. especially considering it's being marketed as an All-In-One product
@@rurou6530 you mean defeat the whole purpose of this unit? Most people buying this will already have a PC at home... you don't use a Steam account on a Playstation or Xbox.
I've been playing pc games since 1990s in my youth years and slowly I've seen the trend where gaming is going more and more portable and readily available. I've had powerful desktop, then to powerful laptop, then to super tablet.. I keep making my hardwares smaller and less bulky as possible and this device introduced, i was intrigued. Hope this one lives on and make steam deck 2,3,4 in the mere future.
I want one but I'll wait for the reviews whenever it comes out. I've been thinking of a way to play my games on the go and was going to settle for SteamLink on my iPad. This is better.
its allready outsold till Q1 2022
Edit: outsold till Q3 2022
Book it now, Im sure the first batch or 3 is sold out, so its not like you will be pushed to make a purchase at launch, just you will have a place in line (which you could cancel)
@@utubby3730 you might get lucky and get one if someone cancels their order and steam push the order to you 👀
I’m just always blown away by how thoroughly the DF team cover every category of importance and curiosity for us. Rich is especially one of my favorites lol. Beautifully written and scripted as usual.
& I'm Fish
Nice overview of Steam Deck. This was one of the better discussions on the system that I've seen so far. Thanks.
Thank you very very much ... Always ... May all good come to you guys ...
I'm glad they didn't just throw out everything they learned from the controller. That had so much potential.
The steam controller is still my go-to for games that work better with a controller on pc plus it works great with dolphin running through steam big screen mode to play games like Mario galaxy using the gyro functionality
If my left bumper didn't die on me, I'd still be using it.
Doom and Doom Eternal made me love my Steam controller again. A shame if my controller ever craps out I'm SOL
Yeah they really utilized everything they developed.
Drift
Going to use this baby to finally make a dent in my backlog.
IF it works decent. And thats a huge if. Valve has no experience building this stuff. And if someone could have built a good pc into a handheld, they would have done it by now. I have a feeling this is going to run games on lowest settings and still look meh.
@@trenken Well we will have to see in a couple of months or so, from what we've seen in specs and footage of it being used it looks great.
@@trenken I understand your skepticism - but frankly - I’m not sure we really had the “techmology” before now.
Sure we could literally build portable boxes before - but AMD’s RDNA2/Ryzen APU is basically what makes this device possible.
It is very power efficient and the gpu architecture scales pretty well at the low-end.
I’m not saying it will be the most powerful thing ever - but it is roughly half as powerful as the Series S - and it will be used to move roughly 1/2 the pixels: (1920x1080 = 2M vs 1280x800 =1M)
So it should be a respectable device at 720P resolutions. Just like the series S is a respectable device at 1080P.
I’m not saying it is a PS5 in your pocket. But it’s a Series S in your pocket - metaphorically speaking.
And for me - since I have about 50 games in my backlog that I”m pretty sure can run on it (at least theoretically speaking) - I’m ok with that - it might not run the next gen games amazingly. But 3 - 4 yrs from now - there will be a new device based on a new APU that can.
@@TubeYouDSilvy I'd say it's more like a Xbox one x in your pocket, but it'll run games at a full 60fps...
Actually yeah it's pretty much a portable series s lol
500 games and counting, lost the love of sitting at a desk after sitting all day at a desk, so this is perfect, skate 3 emulated on a handheld? Sold, sold, sold.
Holy shizballs!!! Rich Leadbetter! I remember you from C&VG and Mean Machines. Glad to see you’re still in the gaming and tech industry bringing your 30+ years of gaming knowledge to the masses. If there was ever an opinion worth listening to the people should look no further. I salute you sir 👾
Digital Foundry, you are the best. As a long-time switch owner and also Steam user, Steam Deck is probably the best thing to come out since the Switch itself! Keep up the great reviews!!!
Already got me one reserved. Absolutely stoked to get my hands on it
Yeah, reserved one too. Dunno if I want it, but with how shortages are, I dont want to find out in December that I crave a nice handheld emulator only to have the thing on 3 month back order...
Same !
Reserved one as well. Portal PC here we come!
not available in my country :( The steam deck is truly promising.
Same! Q2 2022 though even though I got through 45 mins after they opened.
Can't wait for someone to run Zelda BOTW emulated on this thing :D
better wait for a next model then. 20 fps the best you are going to get. the only thing faster then that will be nintendo, striking you with their copyright laws :p.
@@aryinc lol people can run Zelda on lower powered PCs it ain't going to be a problem really
@@aryinc pretty sure it will be better than that.
lol, that's boring, I wanna see cyberpunk on this thing and how he runs.
@@aryinc Cemu is very optimised now, to the point where this model might even be able to play BOTW at 60fps with mods since it is reasonably more powerful than the Switch.
really excited to see more off these in future
Amazing video, thanks for putting it together
The steam deck seems more powerful than my current pc! If it ever breaks I may just get one of these
I know right? I’m shocked that it’s even RTX ready they really went the extra mile with this one.
That's a good punt! I recently upgraded my machine (mainly for work mind you) but this would be a very attractive proposition if I hadn't.
Heck, it's an attractive proposition anyway!
Yeah i would just buy the cheapest one of these, throw an external ssd onto it, plug into my monitor and keyword and mouse and ill have the a AAA capable pc setup for less than $600!!! And ofc it is portable. Ill just buy game pass ultimate and play it on this and im truely hyped!!!
@@Surya-tz6id I think you'll have a better experience playing it on the handhelds screen itself if im being honest. One of the key reasons it can run AAA games as well as it does is because it'll be running them at 720p, whereas it might struggle quite a bit more if you want to run it at 1080p which is double the pixel count.
@@bakanonii-chan4117 I'm running a dual core pentium so thts very powerful for me
Beyond just "playing Steam games on a handheld" and "emulation on the go", there's hope for PC to become the lead development platform for even more games (so that they can scale for both ultra high-end machines and handheld alternatives, while consoles will be somewhere in-between and benefit from specific low-level improvements). That, and more devs adopting Vulkan and Linux support, or at the very least taking steps to ensure games remain playable on Linux.
New consoles right now are more stronger then what people have in their homes (pc) ..
@@arek140485 both of them are in homes
@@arek140485 not really. The new consoles are good, but their still APUs from 2019. Within 2 years (or less) they will be surpassed by a budget GPU.
If consumers could benefit from the bulk purchase price that sony and MS get it would happen even sooner, but nvidia and AMD want to extract that extra profit from their premium GPUs first.
@@bp968 Xbox s X and ps 5 it's something like rtx 2080 . How many people have graphic like that . Not many ..mate
@@arek140485 which means a 3060ti compares favorably to rhe current consoles that *just* released. And RDNA is getting a refresh what next year and intel releasing a gpu lineup. Nvidia is likely to have a 4xxx series waiting in the wings for 2022 depending on what AMD and Intel release. So 1 year into the console release cycle and a comparable GPU will cost 150-200$.
This happens every cycle now and its unlikely to change anytime soon since modern consoles are just commodity hardware on a custom board and with a huge economy of scale price discount.
This thing is amazing! Better specs than other handhelds and I like the design it looks comfortable. I'm definitely getting it got the 512 version pre ordered
This feels like the first "real" content I have seen about the steamdeck. The comparison to the 1s is especially helpful when looking at games falling to 720p render resolution to keep 60fps.
best selling point of this device is steam games can be bought at almost as low as 90% off, switch games are full $60.00 per game.
Not every Switch game is 60 dollar lmao. I got Hollow Knight for 4 bucks on the store .
Indies are constantly discounted same thing with other third parties especially Bandai and Capcom.
They don't have to be published by Nintendo though.
@@mssunshine8971 prices on steam are still lower, let's say Bethesda decides to bring Fallout 4 or NV to switch, you will atleast see a price of 50 $ maybe even 60 while you get it on steam for 20 $ with much better performance. Hell last time i checked even skyrim on switch is still full price.
@@brotbrotsen1100 You would pay that on launch wait 6 months and you will get it discounted for $25 digital and $30 physical same thing was happening with Skyrim.
Nothing beats Steam sales but I would pay a little bit more for proper handheld port and not a monitor optimized version played on a handheld. That's something a lot of people here are missing. Steam games aren't optimized for handheld gameplay
Fallout isn't something I would play on the Switch or Steam Deck Either though.
Exactly, if you use a VPN to change your Steam store, you can get games dirt cheap. I have hundreds of games. If I would just save 3 euros, I have the extra cost in in no time. Also switch has really terrible quality in the hardware. Really shitty plastic and pressing a button, the whole thing sounds like the cheapest China children's toy. That kept me from buying. Also big gap between monitor and controller.. No idea what their quality assurance team does all day.
@@1IGG It's absolutely not as bad as you describe. Pretty much the only problem was launch fails and joy con drift. The console itself feels good and is sturdy as fuck, i dropped it a bunch of times and it still works perfectly i didn't even noticed a scratch. The buttons on the joy con's are perfectly usable not the best on the market but far from bad and the Pro controller is my favorite controller on the market right now although i didn't tried out the ps5 controller so far.
Pre-ordered the 512gb version. I love the idea of taking my steam games with me and running emulators.
Same. Wonder if the screen can be replaced for OLED..
It's not windows I thought it was Linux OS in the background
@@warframedeaths4881 The video literally just explained that you can install Windows on it...
@@warframedeaths4881 You can install Windows if you wish Valve said they don't want lock the system away. This is a portable PC it has console like experience but is a PC in the end with all the benefits what comes from a open platform.
I keep thinking this makes for an excellent cheap desktop computer also. There is no way you could get a desktop computer equivalent for that kind of money at the moment.
Just wan't this to do well so the major players make their versions. Asus ROG, HP OMEN, Dell Alienware, Lenovo, etc... Valve is giving us the OS, and what looks like a solid control scheme, now lets see what the PC integrators can pull off with this as a boilerplate to work from.
Asus, HP, Dell, Lenovo, ect are all hardware manufactures, dumbass, lol. They have nothing to do with Win10. Proton is Valve's creation, and you can boot it onto any modern hardware.
@@evolicious Dumbass this doesn't come with Windows 10/11, it will come with Valve's SteamOS
I mean steam would actually benefit from that i think, since the os has steam as interface (and it runs linux, so it actually is the only easy to use store on it) so people that would use theese versions made by pc integrators will still buy games on steam. and I don't think steam makes much money from the hardware anyways
This has a LOT of potential I can’t wait to see how this’ll go
Managed to snag a GabeGear after struggling for over 45 mins through various errors/glitches etc. This thing is going to be killer for emulation and indie games.
Gabe gear
I fucking love that
@@joe6772 I'll fully admit to stealing it from Twitter, I'm not that creative lol
gabe boy
GABE GEAR AHAHAHAHAH I FUCKING LOVE THIS
GabeGear Im dead lmfao
...having my steam game library available anywhere, everywhere, anytime like my switch...its a luxe that i always wanted !...thank you valve !
The final nail in the coffin for the switch is the day there's a switch emulator and you run it on your steam deck. I was rooting to get a Switch, just for Animal Crossing mainly, but Steam Deck to me is a better value, especially with the new hardware that will serve for years to come, and all emulators known to man to be played on a portable PC is my dream.
@@mixmakmax2847 To be clear there are already two Switch emulators and they both run really well on the extremely similar handhelds GPDwin 3, Aya Neo, and OneXplayer that being said though all of those devices just run Windows and I'm sure there will be some weirdness trying to get emulators to work with SteamOS but either way that nail is basically already in the coffin.
@@theninjamaster67 Both Switch emulators (as well as most other ones, like Dolphin) run natively on SteamOS. No problem there.
@@theninjamaster67 Ah there is, I'm watching Yuzu emulator right now. Gonna start researching how well it runs games as of now.
I think with the existance of the Steam Deck, more emulation groups will be more than ever entinced to make their emulators more compatible than ever for Linux. Steam Deck and its hardware seems to be going in the direction of being a power house of portable emulation.
@@theninjamaster67 You can delete the SteamOS and install Windows if you like according to the devs.
😎 Tech. It's an absolute positive to see newer ideas unfolded.
great piece of content as always
The dawn of handheld PC gaming is upon us... I hope this continues into the future.
man, I am so waiting for battery revolution.. Hopefully, in our lifetime there will be a breakthrough, and then handhelds and smartphones would be unstoppable
It's going to be interesting if other manufacturers (who make tablets and/or laptops) try to adopt this kind of form factor.
Storage is going to be a huge problem, especially with a base 64GB. PC games aren't small like Switch games. Jedi Fallen Order, for example, is 50GB installed. And next gen is going to rely on DirectStorage and nvme drives for a smooth experience. A 64GB emmc drive is worthless.
@@LeoStep93 I don't think a battery revolution will come anytime soon. What might save us in the long run is ARM and a good emulation layer for it in PC hardware and software.
I mean it’s weak AF when compared to PCs and Laptops
But it’s cool to have either way… even if it gives nightmares of the gamegear lol
I've been F5ing DF's homepage for this one all day !
I got a reserve, you won't believe how much I'm selling it for ;)
seriously? people are THAT excited about AAA gaming on the go? wtf?
@@vasopel well it’s a first why wouldn’t we be?
@@vasopel streamed AAA games to my jailbroken nintendo switch.. It's pretty awesome and being able to play them native is chefs kiss.
@@sonicandroxas I did the same and it sucks, and if your switch turns off you have to redo it all again.
The timing of this is sublime. Just as Nintendo's ageing Switch is 'updated' with and OLED version, Valve drops this on us - funny as hell.
I've reserved the middle version of this beauty and can't wait to get my hands on it.
It's an absolutely impressive piece of hardware.
We need "Optimized for Steam Deck" badges on product pages. Even if it's community sourced, that would be perfect. Custom presets / profiles people can use to hit 30 or 60FPS. That's key to attracting more casual or newer people to PC gaming, I hope as we get closer to December they will expound on something like that.
Proton has really improved in recent years. It's a pretty impressive piece of software.
I agree. It's pretty impressive.
is it worth partitioning a dual boot for Steam OS finally?
@@TheAciditty When SteamOS 3.0 comes out, I would actually say yes. Assuming Valve’s promise to get anti cheat support by launch for Proton doesn’t fall flat, that would probably double the game compatibility because usually the thing that prevents games from running is anti cheat kicking you from games. Valve is aiming for nearly 100% of your steam library to work, and for devs to consider proton when they develop their games. When that time comes I think I can safely ditch Windows.
@@TheAciditty Steam OS 3.0 is not available yet, but any Arch based distro is already a great choice to see what's proton is capable of. Currently, only games that use anti-cheat software and some DRM typically don't run on Linux (And Valve is stating that they want to solve the anti-cheat issue before launch). The question is more "Is it worth dual booting to windows?" at that point, unfortunately it is if you want to play any multiplayer shooters (because of anti-cheat). You can install Manjaro today and see for yourself.
I run arch and I've had a surprisingly good experience, so I would expect that the new arch based steamos would only get better.
Just on a theoretical level: it has roughly the same horsepower as a PS4 and Xbox One, with a potentially stronger CPU. And those consoles target 1080p while Deck targets 720p (which is half the pixels of it). So in theory, it could deliver PS4/Xbox One quality games with twice the framerate.
Not only that.. BUT IT'S PORTABLE. Could never bring any of those consoles on a train etc.
Not potentially, this CPU is definitely much faster than the last gen consoles. Jaguar was anemic.
but keep in mind that its a much smaller chassis so a lot of cooling is needed and furthermore the ps4 and xbox one games are better optimized than pc games
And that's acceptable for £460 is it? Noones buying the £350 version, you might get one game in it. So at the absolute best, you get a PS4 level system for that £460. Ridiculous.
Theoretically. But PS4/X1 games are 200% over performant since devs develop and optimize like madmans
Fantastic analysis. Thanks for this!
Got mine ordered and can’t wait for the chance to play games like Jedi Fallen order on the move. Plus a lot of PC titles that I have missed out on.
If I can game things like DOOM: Eternal, Death Stranding or Sekiro at locked 800p60 with medium settings, this thing is already a masterpiece, or, should I say, a Pro device. Gabe made what Nintendon't.
Do you think docked runs at 1080p?
@@flufflenuggit6499 Docked it can do anything up to 4K120Hz IIRC. Though, obviously, it depends on the game, only some indies will get there or older games.
@@denisruskin348 don’t expect to run newer AAA games anywhere near 4K at 120fps but for older games you probably can run at 4K 60fps
@@funny3591 older games like Sonic 2
@@Zee216 older games like...x360 games
I would say that the number of Pre-Orders/Hype they get will play a factor into getting developers to buy into optimizing their games for "The Deck".
Its already optimized... They showed star wars jedi fallen order 60fps 720p
@@Sharki33 Watch from 9:45 he clearly talks about the need for optimization. My comment was in direct response to his comments.
@@Sharki33 That is a 8th gen title, we have to see if developers will optimize 2023 or 2024 games for it.
@@pulkitsharma4927 Keep the base game, reduce poly count, reduce texture fidelity and if needed reduce environmental animations. Rescale to 720p.
(Basically PC Gaming on a budget, but on the palm of your hand)
Done.
(Pretty sure CP77 will run like like the game it is supposed to be when this machine comes ootb).
@@josemvacar only if developers will optimize the game for the system just like they do for consoles. Switch was successful mostly because it merged both nintendo console and hand held user base which with ds and 3ds alone was in 100 million range. With steam handheld, I am not sure if people will buy it since for the same price I can get a 9th gen system and the handheld market has always been dominated by nintendo since Gameboy and I dont see that market shifting to this by 10s of millions cause it is too expensive.
One of the best videos about the topic, awesome analysis.
I'm really excited about this.
The perfect switch like PC device for the 30+ audience (including myself 😊😆 what's up 90s kids!) I want it!
@UCKGRoUL4JPnwleR3zARC5vA I'm just saying right off the top of my head playing Deus ex series, unreal tournament, Quake, left 4 dead, jet set radio, emulators, heck gamepass! etc on the go! Or dock it to a decent monitor or TV... Add Windows, stream really demanding games from your main PC easily! get a massive sd card for cheap 😊 And still finish that random report if need be... Seems like a great companion device to someone's main desktop 🖥️ IMO
First glance reminded me of a sega game gear.
*Waves cane!* Hi Friends! LOL!. :)
@@happygofishing When anti-cheat support and patches comes out and I can play stuff like Rainbow Six without getting banned on the go you best believe this thing is becoming the number 1 device I have lol
Problem for me is I've been a m+kb guy for 30 years so although this looks incredible I'd have to learn how to use sticks and feel effective with them.
Personally I don't care if this isn't capable of running 9th gen games. Based on the specs it should be able to run any 8th gen-era game at least as well as the base Xbox One, if not better given the lower target res and superior CPU. Being able to run basically all games released in 2020 and before on a $550 handheld with direct Steam integration and Steam input is already enough.
Completely agree, the amount of games you could play are endless..mod support etc too.
I've got a rtx 3080, ryzen 7 5800x PC but I'm buying this mainly for fallout new vegas..I'm going to setup a heavily modded game
Not to mention, you can probably run Nintendo games on it too from NES to Wii U era, likely some Switch games that are optimised for PC can run on this thing as well. I have a 1660ti & an i5 and Animal Crossing runs at 29-30fps at 1080p. At 720p it should be no problem for this device to acheive that, especially as the Yuzu emulator and Ryujinx are still being optimised. You can also play Splatoon 2 multiplayer at a stable frame rate. I haven't tested other games but for a current gen machine, emulation for the Switch is ridiculously good.
@@user-tb9sq5po6z I’m sure you can run Damn near every emulator from all the classic consoles on the deck. I’m eager to see what type of thing people will do and run in this handheld
it will be a while before yuzu or ryujinx support online play
@@seab7553 Ryujinx supports online play but the userbase isn't consistently active. Once or twice a day matches will be available on Splatoon, but other than that you can't freeload and play for hours on end it like NSO.
Thinking of the many games in my steam library neglected because I didn't feel like going to my pc... the Steam Deck is a literal game changer.
For a while I was thinking technology hasn't really been progressing a whole lot in recent years but seeing people comparing the steam deck to the current consoles shows just how much the gap between mobile and desktop has shrunk. I have a feeling that we're going to see valve repeating this concept in the future as the gap continues to shrink
10/10 buying this. Have one in my cart but steam is being stupid edit: ended up putting funds on my steam wallet and that worked
I added a random $5 game and it processed my order with both! Try that with a cheap game too.
@@sigil_5332 Or just add £4/$5 to your steam wallet no need to purchase a game. Worked for me.
I got mine without buying or adding anything to my wallet at all. You just have to keep trying and trying and trying. I will go through eventually. Also, make sure you get the version you really want or want to sell. You can only preorder one system at a time. Once you made your choice, it blanks out the pre order button on the rest of the systems.
Not worth it in my opinion especially for the price…
@@cruz1210001 how much would you pay for something like this?
I would use this to play Halo on the go.
I tried playing Halo MCC on xcloud on my cell phone. It was okay. At least for single player. Not as good as playing on PC or even Xbox but it's decent
And not have to pay for Gamepass if you already own it. This is pretty cool for Steam users specifically, ones that have gigantic librabies of games from all the sales over the years. Soo many awesome games PC games to play on the go
@Pro-Facts Anti-BS wow you’re so cool bro imagine leaving your house for work or a vacation of some sort
@Pro-Facts Anti-BS this is a console for people who have only one chin
@Pro-Facts Anti-BS Imagine self-identifying as an "asshole" to protect your ego from the fact no one likes you.
They NEED to make some kind of Preset curated Profiles for each game, something the casual user can just select and instantly play without worrying about PC settings, i know for a fact a lot of casuals and console gamers get scared with them. These Preset Profiles would be curated by Valve themselves for each new game and the most famous already released games, like a "Quality" and "Performance" option on current gen consoles and they would ensure locked 30 or 60fps gameplay.
Compare the Steam Deck with the GPD WIN 3! I’ve been using my WIN 3 for months and I love it, I haven’t run into any games I own that I can’t play yet (barring a lack of controller comparability, of course).
I’d love to see those two go head-to-head.
Curious how hot this thing gets to hold and how fast
There are a few hands on reviews, I've only heard one person talk about the temperature and they said it never "got hot" whatever that means to you
it has a MAX of 15w, which some laptops do passive cooling with. this doesnt appear to be passive cooling, so you likely wont feel the heat hardly at all. id bet on barely warm
Seeing how large the ergonomic grip is, if you're holding the grip it won't get too hot. If you touch the back, it'll probably be fairly hot
Gonna rock up to the LAN party with 5 of these bad boys strapped to my Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Disc
This is the definitive LAN machine, so excited for it
Duuuude. YES. Hadn't even thought of that.
Seriously gonna be so good for LAN parties. Especially for people whose main gaming rig is a desktop.
I know some people in the FGC are already hoping to use these to standardize hardware for tourney play on certain games. Making sure everything's legit between 3 different laptops and some weird box one guy built, all running different versions of windows and linux, is a huge chore lol As long as the thing doesn't add any input lag and runs most games as promised, it could be a literal game changer.
Definitely interested as someone who's been on the fence about getting a PC. Hopefully some competition will be good for Nintendo.
One month remaining! All aboard the hype train! If I am able to get at least 720p@60 FPS medium details, I will be super happy!
I saw so many insane videos pushing this idea that this is meant to be a high-performance gaming PC. They literally said they are aiming for 720p on mid to high. It is meant to be a portable, so testing it by any other metrics is disingenuous as hell. I am glad you guys are saying that right away.
even in docked mode?
Since PC gaming ranges from the late 80's to today, you can call this a high performance gaming PC if you count only games from 8~10 years ago and before. Newer/more recent games will be medium/high for sure. To me, this is only a matter of perspective. I can see this device maxing out many games from the 360 era and earlier ones.
Since I don't really mind a game's age, this device will be perfect to me.
@@dlib89 except far cry because their engine is trash
@@Jack-zd3vr this is not a switch docking it doesnt push more power to the apu nor help the fan cool off said apu. all it does is prevent the pc from going into low power/max battery mode if your in windows
@@Jack-zd3vr There is no 'docked mode', or rather there is no docked performance profile. Sure you can 'dock' it to a TV or monitor, but it won't get any faster like Switch is designed to. That being said, it's exponentially more powerful than even Switch's docked mode.
Everyone including me: gets excited !!!
Richard: Hold on now .......calm down and think for a second 🤔
@@attilaracz2626 Honestly 99% of his analysis can be debunked in a split second, and this is a portable PC, not a console...a lot of considerations about this product should be done without considering Series S (which he says struggles, but I relatively disagree) and Switch...because this product points to a different kind of market, a market which doesn't care about AAA on the go.
@@or1on89 valve was advertising Jedi fallen Order on it. It doesn't get more AAA than a star wars game by EA.
@@or1on89 Go on, debunk then.
@@or1on89 people are already thinking about playing Elden Ring on the go lol
@@attilaracz2626 yeah this video made me calm down and really think about what he said and now I'm gonna wait for results in December when people get their hands on it.
Cause he does bring in some very good points.
I completely agree, my main concern for the Deck is game dev support, that and being locked into wifi only are my only real major concerns, I can always put windows on my Deck if my favorite games aren't Linux-ready but there's very little I can do if wifi connectivity is subpar
I have so many older games on steam that I still havent played. Even if it struggles running current gen games ill have a blast playing morrowind on it whenever Im out of my home.