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JazzFlight posted:I’m thinking about it more for the emulation scene. I think it’ll be able to run circles around all the current available Chinese handhelds (though they are in way different price ranges). I would actually wager that among all the devices out there, the middle and high-end models of the one xplayer will handle emulation the best. Its CPU is way more powerful than it needs to be for everything but emulation. But of course that's $1059/$1159/$1599, while the Steam Deck is $399/$529/$649. And the Steam Deck will be able to handle non-emulated games better. So... yeah. The Steam Deck will be the most economical emulation handheld, for sure.
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Jul 18, 2021 03:20
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Absolutely selling my Switch + games and picking this up. Nintendo titles just aren’t numerous enough for me to be satisfied, so I’m left with lots of indie ports. Might as well get those on Steam for 25% of what they run on the Nintendo digital store. I doubt the hardware will struggle to keep up with things as much as the Switch’s does, too. e: And yeah, the emulation angle is extremely appealing. Insanite fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Jul 18, 2021 |
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Jul 18, 2021 03:28
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This would probably be amazing for running Dolphin. And the superior PC version of super Mario 64, lol.
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Jul 18, 2021 03:48
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Escape Goat posted:This would probably be amazing for running Dolphin. And the superior PC version of super Mario 64, lol. I'd wager it'll handle Cemu and maybe even Yuzu and RPCS3 too. Those are things the other handheld PCs would be better at. (I've seen the one xplayer running Yuzu pretty smoothly)
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Jul 18, 2021 03:55
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repiv posted:now i think of it, since the usb port is on the top there isn't much impediment to just using a wall charger and long usb cable if you're playing on a couch or in bed or something For the Switch I leave the Nintendo charger next to the bed where I can play it plugged in, but it's awkward at best. On the couch I use a 20k mAh power bank as needed which is better. The Switch has two power modes unfortunately. If you're using external power but the handheld display, it uses the low power/lower target resolution mode which is annoying. Maybe they're worried about the heat from the internal screen combining with the gpu at full speed? Hopefully the Deck runs its hardware at full speed all the time and it's our problem to keep it powered. E: As in there are no caps based on internal vs external display. Happy to see it use low power states of course.
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Jul 18, 2021 04:01
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repiv posted:Valve is really bad at hardware distribution so I wouldn't hold your breath unfortunately Index is releasing in Australia next month through EB Games Hopefully there's a faster turnaround on the Deck
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Jul 18, 2021 04:39
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Spec-wise, this weighs three times as much as the Switch. That's a bit of a buzzkill.
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Jul 18, 2021 05:10
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Mirage posted:Spec-wise, this weighs three times as much as the Switch. That's a bit of a buzzkill. ...No? It weighs 1.68x as much as the Switch and 1.59x as much as the Switch OLED. That's still pretty weighty, and I can see it getting uncomfortable during long sessions (especially for children), but it's nowhere near three times as much.
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Jul 18, 2021 05:13
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Insanite posted:Absolutely selling my Switch + games and picking this up. Shove a paper clip in your Switch and see if you can mod it. If you can you will probably get enough to buy the Deck by selling the Switch alone and get to keep your games.
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Jul 18, 2021 05:14
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What do people think about the GPU on the steam deck? 2 tflops sounds pretty good for such a small screen. I'm running an RX5700XT on my desktop which has ~10 tflops of fp32 performance (for a 1440p/144Hz screen). 2 tflops looks like it'll be plenty for a 720p screen at 60Hz. Battery life is probably going to suck, but that's not unexpected for these kinds of devices. One of my coworkers just ordered one of these as a replacement for his laptop. He says its more powerful than his current (Linux) thinkpad since it has a Zen2/RDNA2 CPU/GPU combo while costing less than half the price of his laptop. Valve must be subsidizing these quite a bit.
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Jul 18, 2021 05:21
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init posted:What do people think about the GPU on the steam deck? It’s a good GPU for the screen size yeah. Imo they are losing probably $100-200(at least) on the $399 one.
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Jul 18, 2021 05:23
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Gabe did say the price was painful
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Jul 18, 2021 05:24
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init posted:What do people think about the GPU on the steam deck? I think it will be quite capable, but I would temper your expectations. It's still running at a reduced power state compared to laptop chips. They seem to be optimizing it for gaming by skimping slightly on the CPU side and going in a bit harder on the GPU side, which is good. I think it will run some demanding games at 720p, but you may have to accept turning down some settings and running at 30fps. That's still quite good for a handheld, mind you. I also expect it to not have particularly good longevity. You'll run into games that are just not playable on it by the end of 2022, I reckon. It'll still be solid for emulation, 2D games, and undemanding 3D games. I bet Valve releases new models at a relatively swift cadence if it sells well. Dr. Video Games 0031 fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Jul 18, 2021 |
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Jul 18, 2021 05:38
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:I think it will be quite capable, but I would temper your expectations. It's still running at a reduced power state compared to laptop chips. They seem to be optimizing it for gaming by skimping slightly on the CPU side and going in a bit harder on the GPU side, which is good. I think it will run some demanding games at 720p, but you may have to accept turning down some settings and running at 30fps. That's still quite good for a handheld, mind you. I also expect it to not have particularly good longevity. You'll run into games that are just not playable on it by the end of 2022, I reckon. It'll still be solid for emulation, 2D games, and undemanding 3D games. I bet Valve releases new models at a relatively swift cadence if it sells well. The GPU should be fine. It mostly depends on how scalable games continue to be in terms of CPU usage, specifically how they deal with having half the amount of cores they do on consoles (single thread performance is about the same). If Valve make enough of a dent in the market, developers and publishers may end up incentivised to make sure their games run on it, adding options to reduce NPC density and the like.
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Jul 18, 2021 05:53
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dug my steam controller out of storage and its kind of magical. def too clicky but goddamn the touchpads are good. took me five minutes to type this but the split keyboard is really neat. already getting faster! oh my god you scroll the the web by rotating your thumb on the left touchpad like its an ipod 
Haptical Sales Slut fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Jul 18, 2021 |
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Jul 18, 2021 06:59
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SCheeseman posted:The GPU should be fine. It mostly depends on how scalable games continue to be in terms of CPU usage, specifically how they deal with having half the amount of cores they do on consoles (single thread performance is about the same). If Valve make enough of a dent in the market, developers and publishers may end up incentivised to make sure their games run on it, adding options to reduce NPC density and the like. Valve is hoping other hardware manufacturers hop on board this trend, so with lots of different SteamOS handhelds on the market there won't be any one spec to optimize for. And it's also why I think Valve will continue putting out new models every couple years for as long as it's profitable for them. If this doesn't catch on, then they'll drop it as quickly as they've dropped everything else, though. Though this scenario presents a problem. Valve is using its monopoly power as the platform holder to sell the cheapest model at a very low profit margin, or potentially even a loss. That makes it borderline impossible for other manufacturers to compete. Valve can make that money back on game sales, but the other manufacturers can't. They'd have to either sell at a higher price and be undercut by Valve or attempt to corral users into their own marketplaces. So I don't really understand how Valve expects a robust ecosystem of handhelds to arise in this situation.
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Jul 18, 2021 07:11
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:Valve is hoping other hardware manufacturers hop on board this trend, so with lots of different SteamOS handhelds on the market there won't be any one spec to optimize for. And it's also why I think Valve will continue putting out new models every couple years for as long as it's profitable for them. If this doesn't catch on, then they'll drop it as quickly as they've dropped everything else, though. It's going to be a while before we see 8 core CPUs running at 3.5Ghz in a gaming handheld. If more devices are coming the specs will likely be in the same ballpark as the Deck. Unless Intel pulls a rabbit out of their hat. I agree that it doesn't make sense for other manufacturers to enter the market now, unless major game publishers like Epic or EA wanna join the hardware train.
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Jul 18, 2021 07:27
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SCheeseman posted:I agree that it doesn't make sense for other manufacturers to enter the market now, unless major game publishers like Epic or EA wanna join the hardware train. That said, holy poo poo, AMD's focus here is really cool to see. They've got the dedicated gaming hardware on lock, but in an interesting way with custom SoCs. I'm loving the processor race right now. As for the Deck itself, I'm hyped as gently caress for this thing. The more I think about it, the more I realize it's actually one of my favorite tech product announcements in quite some time. I really don't have any reason to doubt the success of this device. The Index gives me optimism in the quality and ergonomics. I hope the out-of-the-box software experience somehow dampens the usual jankiness we'd see with an OEM all-in-one type of thing (like the suspend/resume stuff, no annoyances with online modes, and other basic console quality of life features like that). edit: I wonder if this thing will get people to use Steam's chat features. That video with someone sending a message about a Doom achievement... do people actually do that on Steam? It looks cool and all (reminds me of the 360 era of Xbox Live) but I don't know a soul that uses that stuff when everyone has Discord open. oversteps fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Jul 18, 2021 |
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Jul 18, 2021 07:50
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I would say the fact the SD has bluetooth audio is one of the top reasons I’m excited to use it over the Switch. How Nintendo hasn’t fixed that with a revision yet I have no idea.
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Jul 18, 2021 09:45
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Raffles posted:I would say the fact the SD has bluetooth audio is one of the top reasons I’m excited to use it over the Switch. How Nintendo hasn’t fixed that with a revision yet I have no idea. Yeah I don’t get that either and quite a few tech reviewers have brought that up. It would have been a good time to do it.
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Jul 18, 2021 09:51
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Anyone know whether this might support freesync? I’ve not seen anything about it and don’t know how feasible it would be. That might help ease any performance issues in games.
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Jul 18, 2021 10:03
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:Valve is hoping other hardware manufacturers hop on board this trend, so with lots of different SteamOS handhelds on the market there won't be any one spec to optimize for. And it's also why I think Valve will continue putting out new models every couple years for as long as it's profitable for them. If this doesn't catch on, then they'll drop it as quickly as they've dropped everything else, though. Sounds exactly like what happened with Steam Machines tbh and we all know how that went
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Jul 18, 2021 10:26
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It turned into this, a product that fixes just about all of steam machines problems. SteamOS being open to use by third parties is more a side effect of relying heavily on open source software rather that it being a necessary part of the platforms and products success. Getting other hardware makers to use it would be a win, but it isn't something they have to count on to happen.
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Jul 18, 2021 10:41
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Quantum of Phallus posted:Sounds exactly like what happened with Steam Machines tbh and we all know how that went It doesn't sound anything like that actually because Valve never released their own high-value steam machine, and the reason companies stopped releasing steam machines had nothing to do with being outcompeted by the platform owner (because the platform owner didn't compete)
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Jul 18, 2021 10:46
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Can you watch porn on it?
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Jul 18, 2021 11:09
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Doesn't everyone have phones for that? But yeah.
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Jul 18, 2021 11:19
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gandlethorpe posted:Can you watch porn on it? https://www.protondb.com/explore?selectedFilters=userTags&selectedTags=Visual%20Novel
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Jul 18, 2021 11:25
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:Valve is hoping other hardware manufacturers hop on board this trend, so with lots of different SteamOS handhelds on the market there won't be any one spec to optimize for. And it's also why I think Valve will continue putting out new models every couple years for as long as it's profitable for them. If this doesn't catch on, then they'll drop it as quickly as they've dropped everything else, though.
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Jul 18, 2021 12:11
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I don't think they do expect other hardware. The Deck is more for devs.
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Jul 18, 2021 14:53
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CharlestheHammer posted:If you have played literally any handheld console you shouldn’t be shocked. Yeah I remember the PSP having terrible battery life back in the day and my switch (which is the updated battery efficient model) only gets about 2.5 hours on battery. 2 hours is fine imho. I mean how long are gaming laptops running games on battery these days? Last time I used one you were lucky to get 2 hours playing payday 2 or something not even that new/AAA.
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Jul 18, 2021 16:12
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I wonder if you could use this thing for vr. It meets the minimum specs for HL:Alyx, strap this onto your belt and plug in an oculus quest and you might have something
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Jul 18, 2021 16:18
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flavor.flv posted:I wonder if you could use this thing for vr. It meets the minimum specs for HL:Alyx, strap this onto your belt and plug in an oculus quest and you might have something I don't see why it wouldn't work, but with Air Link being as good as it is there isn't much point doing a wired connection
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Jul 18, 2021 16:21
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repiv posted:I don't see why it wouldn't work, but with Air Link being as good as it is there isn't much point doing a wired connection Because cool kids have indexes 
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Jul 18, 2021 16:27
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flavor.flv posted:I wonder if you could use this thing for vr. It meets the minimum specs for HL:Alyx, strap this onto your belt and plug in an oculus quest and you might have something The graphics probably aren't up to snuff. RDNA2 is a step up from Vega but 8 CUs just isn't a lot. It's a good iGPU but ultimately it's just an iGPU. The current batch is outperformed by a 1030, even with a 50% uplift you're talking maybe maybe 1080p med. It's a good fit for the panel it's got, I wouldn't expect much more out of it.
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Jul 18, 2021 16:31
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Maybe the loss-leader pricing might make these good for other tasks. I've seen Raspberry Pi compute "clusters" before, maybe someone will put 10 of these together to make a Steam Deck cluster. Cant waiting to start folding@home on my portable gaming handheld!
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Jul 18, 2021 17:01
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I wonder where Steam thinks it's going to make up the loss in the pricing. They don't have a subscription service like GamePass or even PSN or Xbox Live to get users to make up the difference in the long run. Just about everyone buying this thing already has a deep Steam library, so I would assume the increased software sales won't make a huge contribution to their coffers. Maybe they just believe they can sell it for a profit later on or that iterative models will be profitable and they want to push handheld computers into the mainstream so they can collect later?
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Jul 18, 2021 17:23
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Not that I put much stock into interviews, but Gabe said the idea was not so much to be profitable on the device as it was to create/popularize the device category, with the hope that other manufacturers get into the game. PC gaming is good for Valve, so if they can get people to look for and buy a device like this instead of a switch or phone games they come out a winner in the long term.
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Jul 18, 2021 17:29
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Soul Glo posted:I wonder where Steam thinks it's going to make up the loss in the pricing. They don't have a subscription service like GamePass or even PSN or Xbox Live to get users to make up the difference in the long run. Just about everyone buying this thing already has a deep Steam library, so I would assume the increased software sales won't make a huge contribution to their coffers. The loss they make now can turn into crazy profits later because Steam = $$$$$ so every dollar they can spend to even get someone LOOKING in that direction is good for them because they are where you buy games on PC. They aren't even a little threatened by Epic based on how they handle themselves, they are by Microsoft (or were) and the Deck is probably just someone going "hey PC people are buying the Switch why don't we sell them something else instead of a Nintendo?" The reason Valve can do this very classic investment strategy is because they are privately held. Long ago this is what companies did all the time, invest in the long term. Now however everyone is desperate for short term gains because of the way stock and CEO and shareholder poo poo works so nobody invests for the long term anymore. Valve doesn't have to justify it's actions to anyone but themselves. It's why Half-Life Alyx absolutely lost a gently caress ton of money on paper but Valve doesn't give a poo poo because they wanted to make it, maybe sell some Indexes or just push VR forward in the direction they think it should. Like they've done with shooters and digital store fronts already.
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Jul 18, 2021 17:36
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loudog999 posted:Shove a paper clip in your Switch and see if you can mod it. If you can you will probably get enough to buy the Deck by selling the Switch alone and get to keep your games. Patched SN. drat. Soul Glo posted:I wonder where Steam thinks it's going to make up the loss in the pricing. They don't have a subscription service like GamePass or even PSN or Xbox Live to get users to make up the difference in the long run. Just about everyone buying this thing already has a deep Steam library, so I would assume the increased software sales won't make a huge contribution to their coffers. Can't speak for anyone else, but I've drifted a bunch from PC gaming as I've gotten older. This will direct a lot of my game money back to Steam where before it was mostly going to PS or Switch games. e: vvv And yeah, with the walled garden paradigm having won the consumer electronics wars, making Proton better is a no-brainer. Insanite fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Jul 18, 2021 |
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Jul 18, 2021 17:45
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If Valve is playing the long game then simply getting SteamOS/Proton in the hands of a larger and more casual user base is a benefit for them as well, Gabe really doesn't want to be dependent on Microsoft The more users are actively using Proton, the more game developers will take it seriously and make an effort to target the subset of Windows that plays nice in Proton (in a perfect world i'm sure gabe would prefer native linux ports but that's asking too much at this point)
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Jul 18, 2021 17:53
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