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Forums - PC Discussion - The Official Steam Deck Thread

 

Will you buy one?

Yes, I'm excited to get one. 20 34.48%
 
No, I don't think so. 22 37.93%
 
Maybe, I need to see how ... 16 27.59%
 
Total:58

So, this is my post number 1.000! It took me almost 10 years but I managed to get here :). So I thought of placing a summary of the reviews the Steam Deck got up until now, so this important milestone can generate some further buzz. Please note that unfortunately I don't have a Steam Deck yet, so I rely heavily on the lovely people around our community, like our dear @Conina, for hands-one experiences and impressions.

That said, here we go:

The Metacritic reception is fairly good, even though there is no general score.

https://www.metacritic.com/feature/steam-deck-hardware-review

Verge is fairly critical, even though having some nice things to say about it:

https://www.theverge.com/22950371/valve-steam-deck-review

IGN seems to like it too, but not much better grade:

https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-review

Kotaku presents some nice points, mainly the "sofa test":

https://kotaku.com/valve-steam-deck-pc-console-switch-horizon-zero-dawn-re-1848628507

And other reads of interest:

https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-review/

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/steam-deck-valve-gaming-handheld

Many video reviews have been posted in previous pages of this here thread, so I won't repeat that material.

I hope you enjoy this 1.000 post of mine. Let's celebrate.



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Today I tested one of my favorite series: Grand Theft Auto.

GTA III (old PC version, not the screwed up "Definitive Edition"): starts with sound, but black screen.
After compatibility setting "Proton 5.0-10" it runs without problems (thanks, ProtonDB!),
good stick-button control after a few button adjustments, very readable texts
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 60 fps, 9 - 11 watts power consumption, battery lasts about 4 hours

GTA Vice City (old PC version, not the screwed up "Definitive Edition"): starts with sound, but black screen.
After compatibility setting "Proton 5.0-10" it runs without problems (thanks, ProtonDB!),
good stick-button control after a few button adjustments, very readable texts
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 150 - 500 fps (no 60 fps mode possible), 13 - 22 Watt power consumption, battery lasts about 2 - 3 hours
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 30 fps (frame limiter in game), 13 - 16 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 2.5 - 3 hours

GTA San Andreas (old PC version, not the screwed up "Definitive Edition"): runs without problems, good stick-button control, very legible texts
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 60 fps, 8 - 10 watts power consumption, battery lasts about 4 - 5 hours

GTA IV: Complete Edition: runs miserably, good stick-button controls, font size a bit small
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 10 - 60 fps, 8 - 12 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 3 - 5 hours
1280x800 lowest graphics setting, 20 - 60 fps, 8 - 10 watts power consumption, battery lasts about 4 - 5 hours

GTA V: Premium Edition: runs without problems, good stick-button control, font size very small, game needs over 100 GB on SSD/microSD!
1280x800 "normal", 35 - 60 fps, 18 - 25 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 3 - 5 hours
1280x800 "normal", 30 fps, 10 - 17 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 4 - 5 hours
1280x800 "tessellation + SSAO off", 45 - 60 fps, 10 - 22 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 2 - 4 hours



Conina said:

So far over 1500 games are classified by Valve as "verified" or "playable"... next milestone is the 2000 barrier.

The more you filter by SteamDB rating, the higher the percentage, e.g. over a third of the games with 90% rating are already "positively tested".

...

Yesterday a lot of test results were added, now 1911 "playable+" in total. 38.8% of 90+ titles (SteamDB rating) are already playable or verified.



Some Steam Deck Verified Games Aren't Working Well, Players Say

https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/some-steam-deck-verified-games-arent-working-well-players-say

There is a list in the article. Valve has announced a new "Opt-in Feedback" feature that will allow it to collect data from users about Steam Deck Verified games.



                  

PC Specs: CPU: 7800X3D || GPU: Strix 4090 || RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000 || Main SSD: WD 2TB SN850

Conina said:

Today I tested one of my favorite series: Grand Theft Auto.

GTA III (old PC version, not the screwed up "Definitive Edition"): starts with sound, but black screen.
After compatibility setting "Proton 5.0-10" it runs without problems (thanks, ProtonDB!),
good stick-button control after a few button adjustments, very readable texts
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 60 fps, 9 - 11 watts power consumption, battery lasts about 4 hours

GTA Vice City (old PC version, not the screwed up "Definitive Edition"): starts with sound, but black screen.
After compatibility setting "Proton 5.0-10" it runs without problems (thanks, ProtonDB!),
good stick-button control after a few button adjustments, very readable texts
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 150 - 500 fps (no 60 fps mode possible), 13 - 22 Watt power consumption, battery lasts about 2 - 3 hours
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 30 fps (frame limiter in game), 13 - 16 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 2.5 - 3 hours

GTA San Andreas (old PC version, not the screwed up "Definitive Edition"): runs without problems, good stick-button control, very legible texts
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 60 fps, 8 - 10 watts power consumption, battery lasts about 4 - 5 hours

GTA IV: Complete Edition: runs miserably, good stick-button controls, font size a bit small
1280x800 highest graphics setting, 10 - 60 fps, 8 - 12 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 3 - 5 hours
1280x800 lowest graphics setting, 20 - 60 fps, 8 - 10 watts power consumption, battery lasts about 4 - 5 hours

GTA V: Premium Edition: runs without problems, good stick-button control, font size very small, game needs over 100 GB on SSD/microSD!
1280x800 "normal", 35 - 60 fps, 18 - 25 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 3 - 5 hours
1280x800 "normal", 30 fps, 10 - 17 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 4 - 5 hours
1280x800 "tessellation + SSAO off", 45 - 60 fps, 10 - 22 watts power consumption, battery lasts approx. 2 - 4 hours

Rockstar removed GTA IV from the store for a good while afaicr and not even that made them try to make the PC version a bit better. Shame.



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Today I played into the Crash Bandicoot Nsane Trilogy and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. What a joy to play these six games with smooth 60 fps on an handheld! The Steam Deck is perfect for these games.

There is probably no way back to my 30 fps PS4 versions, unless they release a PS5-performance patch.

Most LEGO games also are a great fit for the Steam Deck, so far only LEGO City Undercover runs like crap.

Last edited by Conina - on 28 March 2022

Got my pay notification.



Your expected order availability:
Q2 (April-June) 2022

Ooo.. decisions! To keep or not to keep preorder. Hmm.



hinch said:

Your expected order availability:
Q2 (April-June) 2022

Ooo.. decisions! To keep or not to keep preorder. Hmm.

That does not seem too far away.



This is the one thing I like about Valve is that they are fixing the issues that I (as well as others) reported to support. You may think that's obvious but you would be surprised how many companies including console manufacturers don't do that. Once they get a lot of these issues fixed and if they revise the fan, I will probably rebuy it.



                  

PC Specs: CPU: 7800X3D || GPU: Strix 4090 || RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000 || Main SSD: WD 2TB SN850