|OT| Valve's Steam Deck - OLED refresh shipping to folks

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
The price of the Deck in Europe is already with VAT (which is between 20 to 25 in the EU, depending on country) and I think wholesalers don't pay VAT, or at least they get large tax write offs if they do (VAT is aimed at customers, and companies generally pay far less taxes). So unless the Norwegian store is buying these individually in small numbers, we are still seeing a massive markup here.
It’s complicated. Norway may not have a tax agreement with the country or trade bloc the Decks were imported from, or their tax could be at different rates. In that case, the amount of VAT charged in the country of origin is irrelevant.

There are also other overheads with importing. Customs duty isn’t always the same as VAT. There will be markups from the retailer in Norway, markups from the exporter, costs of warranties (Valve probably won’t honour them outside of released countries - or not easily).

Imports and exports is a mess from a tax and cost perspective.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yuno and lashman

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
It’s complicated. Norway may not have a tax agreement with the country or trade bloc the Decks were imported from, or their tax could be at different rates. In that case, the amount of VAT charged in the country of origin is irrelevant.

There are also other overheads with importing. Customs duty isn’t always the same as VAT. There will be markups from the retailer in Norway, markups from the exporter, costs of warranties (Valve probably won’t honour them outside of released countries - or not easily).

Imports and exports is a mess from a tax and cost perspective.
Norway is in the customs union, from my understanding, so this would only apply if they import from outside the EU. If these companies are "official resellers" in the sense of working with Valve, I'd assume they get their units from Valve's warehouses in the EU. Of course, it could also be a much more complicated thing where they are importing it from a non-EU country and yeah, that would introduce massive expenses.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
Recent update (on Main only?) refreshed the UI a bit. Small changes, like the background changing more visibly when you select titles in Home, and other small changes like that. Probably to coincide with the release of Steam Deck OLED next week.
 
STEAMDECK OLED
OP
prudis

prudis

anime occult member
Sep 19, 2018
10,293
26,932
113
The Kingdom of Beer and Porn
twitter.com


See other updates to Steam Deck OLED
  • Updated APU to 6 nm for better efficiency
  • Updated memory to 6400 MT/s, improving latency and power management
  • Increased thermal module thickness and performance
  • Increased active area to 7.4" (from 7.0")
  • Updated refresh rate to 90Hz (from 60Hz)
  • Updated peak brightness to 1000 nits
  • Updated touchscreen polling rate to 180Hz, improved latency and accuracy
  • Updated WiFi / Bluetooth module
  • Added support for WiFi 6E
  • Added support for Bluetooth 5.3, supporting newer codecs such as aptX HD and aptX low-latency
  • Added third antenna near the top of the device for better Bluetooth performance, including when docked
  • Added support for wake from Bluetooth controllers
  • Improved bass response for an overall flatter sound profile
  • Added support for using onboard microphone array simultaneously with the 3.5mm headphones connector
  • Adjusted analog stick top material and shape for increased grip and dust build-up resistance
  • Adjusted analog stick post material to improve interaction feel with front cover and reduce wear
  • Improved reliability of analog stick touch detection
  • Improved responsiveness and tactility of shoulder buttons switch mechanism
  • Adjusted D-pad snap ratio and diagonal interactions
  • Redesigned trackpad for improved fidelity and edge detection
  • Greatly improved trackpad haptics feel and precision
  • Improved battery capacity from 40Wh to 50Wh
  • Improved battery chemistry for faster charging, from 20% to 80% in as little as 45 minutes
  • Changed charging LED to WRGB
  • Added support for waking up from initial unboxing by long-pressing power button instead of requiring AC power
  • Adjusted power supply cable length from 1.5m to 2.5m
  • Added logo to power supply
  • Reduced total system weight to ~640g, or ~5% less than Steam Deck
  • Rear cover screws now thread into metal
  • Adjusted rear cover screw heads to Torx™, as well as other materials and geometry tweaks on the heads to reduce stripping risk
  • Lowered number of screw types throughout system
  • Reduced step count required for common repairs
  • Improved bumper switch mechanism drop reliability
  • Moved bumper switch to joystick board for easier repair
  • Improved display repair/replacement to not require taking rear cover off
  • Greatly improved memory power management firmware
  • Added preliminary support for open-source BIOS and EC firmware
  • Improved resume time by roughly 30%


 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
I wonder if the improved resume time will also be available for older Steam Decks. In an interview one of the devs said this was mostly due to software improvements, though I imagine the faster memory probably helps too, but if the bulk of that 30% is due to software, then it stands to reason that some improvements should be possible on older hardware as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lashman

sprinkles

Junior Member
Dec 8, 2018
621
1,185
93
This DF review was glowing. I wonder which version they had. If the screen is as good as described even with the etched glass 1 TB SKU, I might have to go with that. Used the Deck on my balcony quite often these last two summers...
 

Ascheroth

Chilling in the Megastructure
Nov 12, 2018
5,261
12,210
113
Rich's glowing review is definitely what's making it very hard to decide what to do.
Reason says I've not had it long enough to justify another 570€ purchase, but this sounds like it's basically the definitive "no compromises" device in this market which sounds very enticing, because I do enjoy using the Deck a lot.
Though I'm still using my Desktop a lot too and before spending this much money on an incremental upgrade while I still have a perfectly fine regular Deck it would be more prudent to spend that money on a new graphics card instead... But it doesn't feel like there's a "definitive no compromises" graphics card in a reasonable price range, so hat does not make it easier, lol.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
Reason says I've not had it long enough to justify another 570€ purchase, but this sounds like it's basically the definitive "no compromises" device in this market which sounds very enticing, because I do enjoy using the Deck a lot.
One option is to try and sell your current Deck, which should knock around 200 or more from that price (no idea where the second-hand market for Deck is at currently). That's what I'm planning to do, anyway, some time next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lashman

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,624
4,996
113
Not sure if or when I will pick this up, I use my Deck daily and cannot afford a proper PC upgrade, so this is enticing. I am back and forth on the etched screen, but I want that case and extra storage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lashman

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Not sure if or when I will pick this up, I use my Deck daily and cannot afford a proper PC upgrade, so this is enticing. I am back and forth on the etched screen, but I want that case and extra storage.
Yeah, I'm really conflicted. It's too short a notice to save for it, so it means a big surprise expanse, and I just can't take the risk with the etched glass thing, so it would be 512 for me, which, while not a bad upgrade, kind of sours it up a little.

And yeah, not sure how much I can get for my old 256. I was thinking 300 but it looks like 250 is a more surefire price. A little steep of a discount.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ExistentialThought

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
Yeah, I'm really conflicted. It's too short a notice to save for it, so it means a big surprise expanse, and I just can't take the risk with the etched glass thing, so it would be 512 for me, which, while not a bad upgrade, kind of sours it up a little.

And yeah, not sure how much I can get for my old 256. I was thinking 300 but it looks like 250 is a more surefire price. A little steep of a discount.
The etched screen thing is not a big deal, btw. If you want the same look as on the "normal" one, you can just use a simple screen protector. As that reflects incoming light again, it "fixes" any perceived issues if you don't like the frosted look of the etched screen.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
The etched screen thing is not a big deal, btw. If you want the same look as on the "normal" one, you can just use a simple screen protector. As that reflects incoming light again, it "fixes" any perceived issues if you don't like the frosted look of the etched screen.
Yeah I read that on Era, and your explanation helps making sense of it.
Still, do I want to save 100 and gimp my SSD or go big budget loss and add the annoyance of adding a screen protector...
I'm not the most skilled, and I'm surely pretty big on anal, so putting those things on is always a big gamble.

Oh yeah, a big factor in the equation is that I don't play outside. Sure, even inside, light can be an issue, but I live with it.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
Yeah I read that on Era, and your explanation helps making sense of it.
Still, do I want to save 100 and gimp my SSD or go big budget loss and add the annoyance of adding a screen protector...
I'm not the most skilled, and I'm surely pretty big on anal, so putting those things on is always a big gamble.

Oh yeah, a big factor in the equation is that I don't play outside. Sure, even inside, light can be an issue, but I live with it.
Fair enough. Opening up the OLED Deck is a bit easier, as they got rid of the plastic hooks, so you could always swap in a larger 1TB SSD and there are third party Steam Deck cases that are slimmer, so if you care about the screen, and want to save some money, that's a good option too.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Fair enough. Opening up the OLED Deck is a bit easier, as they got rid of the plastic hooks, so you could always swap in a larger 1TB SSD and there are third party Steam Deck cases that are slimmer, so if you care about the screen, and want to save some money, that's a good option too.
Oh yeah, while I'm not much into opening the Deck, that was the big sign that Valve is really listening.

-Hey we tend to strip your shitty screws !
-Okay, we upgraded the screws.

Mic drop.
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
They probably have a lot of data that people upgrade their Decks. I imagine more than they first thought.

Makes sense to improve the design to encourage that.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Are you kidding me ? I can't sell that shit to some rando, it needs help. I'm stuck in a reboot loop right now. I push the sleep button, the deck goes black, then some seconds later, 'hey, I'm back motherfucker'.
Jesus, how I love hate that device !
 

MomoVideo

ķ͕͕̍̅͋ḭ̼͂̕lļ͓̞̙̀͗͆̊ ͉͛m͕̲̮̆̒̐̍͢e ͠
Apr 5, 2021
817
2,315
93
I'm very tempted to upgrade my 256 GB model to 512 GB OLED. My main complaint is the fan noise. I have the delta fan which sounds terrible under load. I will wait for further tests of acoustics before deciding if I need one or not ( spoiler: I don't need one, but I still want it).
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Fuuuuu, good news, the deck sold quickly at 300.
Bad news ebay is robbing me blind.

I'm half tempted to cancel and see if my sale on another site attract customers. 30 euros of fee is wow.

edit
Lol, who am I kidding. Pretty sure if I cancel they will still want their fee.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Alexandros

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
Fuuuuu, good news, the deck sold quickly at 300.
Bad news ebay is robbing me blind.

I'm half tempted to cancel and see if my sale on another site attract customers. 30 euros of fee is wow.

edit
Lol, who am I kidding. Pretty sure if I cancel they will still want their fee.
Well, 270 is pretty much half the price of the 512GB OLED model, so I think that's still a good deal.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Well, 270 is pretty much half the price of the 512GB OLED model, so I think that's still a good deal.
I canceled. Now watch me never finding another customer.
It’s called karma. It runs deep in me.

But to be fair, it’s not just the very high fees, I realized that I can wait to see how the launch plays out before selling. Maybe it will be sold lower, but I have the ease of mind to always have a Deck on hand.
 

Amzin

No one beats me 17 times in a row!
Dec 5, 2018
1,001
2,110
113
I'm waiting until I can confirm I have the OLED in my hands before selling my current one. I had to wait quite a while to get it the first time, who knows what supply+demand of this one will be.
 
  • This!
Reactions: undu and C-Dub

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
I won’t even be selling my original Deck, but I certainly wouldn’t sell it until I knew when my OLED was coming.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Motherfuckers on the other side with all their videos of the etched glass version may have convinced me to go for the 1tb version.
I'm not thankful.
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
I’m sticking with the 512gb and upgrading the storage. IDGAF about the twoing and frowing over the etched glass display.

Quick question: I heard it’s easier to get into the OLED Deck - no more plastic clips on the case (so it just comes apart by unscrewing it). Is that true?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
I’m sticking with the 512gb and upgrading the storage. IDGAF about the twoing and frowing over the etched glass display.
I'm not sure I follow, if you don't give a fuck, why are you going 512 and not 1tb ? No interest in the ssd space gain ?

That's a good opportunity to ask ! You already had the 512 right ? So what is you opinion, did the etched glass really impact IQ ?
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
I'm not sure I follow, if you don't give a fuck, why are you going 512 and not 1tb ? No interest in the ssd space gain ?

That's a good opportunity to ask ! You already had the 512 right ? So what is you opinion, did the etched glass really impact IQ ?
I’ll be upgrading my OLED to 2TB. So I either buy a 1TB and change the drive, or I pay less for 512gb and upgrade the drive. As I said, I don’t care about the etched glass, so it makes most sense to go for the cheaper option.

I had a 256gb last time which I upgraded to 1tb, so I can’t speak for how good the etched glass is.

Plus I’ll probably be putting a screen protector on, so that pretty much nullifies the etched glass effect anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Li Kao

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
Last edited:

yuraya

MetaMember
May 4, 2019
2,708
6,311
113
With the OLED version being as nice of a jump as it is...I am now wondering how crazy Valve gets for the Deck 2.

They have to push for at least 120hz screen. There has to be some screens out there in large bulk laying around for them to pick up. They've worked so much with high refresh rates now via VR and OLED Deck. There is too much internal hardware experience for them to do anything less imo. They have be able to get their hands on at least 120hz screens.

I don't see them going higher than 7.4 inches because at some point it just becomes a fat tablet and not really a good handheld experience imo. But who knows maybe they give an optional SKU for higher than 7.4.

As for the AMD chip...I am guessing they will just benchmark GTA6 for it as it becomes available for PC.

I don't know how they do resolution but I seriously doubt they will make a new hardware entry with 720p again. If they admit the tech isn't there yet that means their standards are high. And the performance they are looking for from the AMD chip must be in the 3-4x range. In that case the battery/resolution/performance could make Deck 2 an absolute beast.

A 900p screen with 4-5hr battery life + 120hz + 3-4x power boost vs current Deck will be an insane handheld. I would be very happy with that.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
I would be quite surprised if the resolution does not stay the same for Steam Deck 2. 800p is great for a 7 inch screen (and still for 7,4 too I'm sure), so the jump to 1080p (or even 900p) would just eat away at exactly the generational improvements they are waiting for in the first place. It would be a profoundly stupid thing to do and Valve is pretty smart about everything hardware, so it won't happen.
As for 120 Hz, I don't see the value. It won't power demanding games at those frame rates, and even if it did, it would just burn away the battery. At the very least I don't see this being a priority for Valve, as everything about Steam Deck is so focused on balance. I don't see them being able to cram in a much bigger battery than 50Wh. Maybe a small jump like 55Wh. Battery tech doesn't change that much in a few short years, so it would require a larger device and a much heaver one too. The newer chip will likely be a lot more efficient, so that's where the jump there is going to come from. With Steam Deck OLED. the minimal battery life is 2 hours, up from barely 1.5 for Steam Deck LCD. I could see the Steam Deck OLED pushing this to a minimum of 3 hours for the most demanding titles, which would give easily more than 4 hours for any titles that do not push things to the max (or where you lower settings and frame-rate to be less demanding).
 
Last edited:

MomoVideo

ķ͕͕̍̅͋ḭ̼͂̕lļ͓̞̙̀͗͆̊ ͉͛m͕̲̮̆̒̐̍͢e ͠
Apr 5, 2021
817
2,315
93
I think 120 Hz would be okay in a handheld, especially with VRR support, but Valve would need to be smart about it and make some changes to SteamOS that will make 120 Hz an optional setting in selected games so it doesn't chug battery in heavier games. It should be capped at 60 for modern titles, and you should have the option to boost it to 120 Hz in older or indie titles, that's what I want to say.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lashman

Amzin

No one beats me 17 times in a row!
Dec 5, 2018
1,001
2,110
113
I think 120 Hz would be okay in a handheld, especially with VRR support, but Valve would need to be smart about it and make some changes to SteamOS that will make 120 Hz an optional setting in selected games so it doesn't chug battery in heavier games. It should be capped at 60 for modern titles, and you should have the option to boost it to 120 Hz in older or indie titles, that's what I want to say.
I don't think there's any chance they restrict OS settings on a game by game basis. The current Deck already allows people to change the HZ on a game by game basis themselves, as well the fps separately, I don't know why they wouldn't just keep that as it works super well.
 

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,624
4,996
113
I can't decide if I want the matte finish or the dog's balls glossy one...
:blobweary:


I cannot either, but I suppose I am not getting one on launch, maybe not until March, so I will wait for more impressions. My guess is only under super bright or off angle viewing does the matte look poor, but then it probably does not matter...
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
I can't decide if I want the matte finish or the dog's balls glossy one...
:blobweary:
Not sure if it helps with your decision paralysis, but one of the new features of the OLED is that you can now swap the screen without needing to take about the entire middle part, with the PCB, battery and all that. The cable for the display runs around all those, so it's in principle super easy now compared to how crazy it was before. So if you really end up hating the screen, you could purchase the other later via iFixt. Price-wise it's probably cheapest to go for the cheaper model, and then buy the screen for the more expensive one if you end up not liking it.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,864
15,877
113
I flip flopped a lot on the choice, but the current thinking is 512 glossy.
It hurts because I always wanted 1tb, but I won’t take a 700 euro bet that I can only mitigate by applying a glossy screen protector. And after all, the dream has always been Oled 1tb, and not Oled 1tb with etched glass.
Now maybe it’s a ridiculously small difference that I wouldn’t see, maybe the people against etched are impossibly anal IQ stans. But it’s a bet I won’t take.

On the bright side, it saves me 100 euros. But yeah, a little stupid to make the choice for me and losing some of my money, if you ask me. If I want to put an etched glass screen protector, I can do that on the 512. Not so much on the top end sku.
 

yuraya

MetaMember
May 4, 2019
2,708
6,311
113
I would be quite surprised if the resolution does not stay the same for Steam Deck 2. 800p is great for a 7 inch screen (and still for 7,4 too I'm sure), so the jump to 1080p (or even 900p) would just eat away at exactly the generational improvements they are waiting for in the first place. It would be a profoundly stupid thing to do and Valve is pretty smart about everything hardware, so it won't happen.
As for 120 Hz, I don't see the value. It won't power demanding games at those frame rates, and even if it did, it would just burn away the battery. At the very least I don't see this being a priority for Valve, as everything about Steam Deck is so focused on balance. I don't see them being able to cram in a much bigger battery than 50Wh. Maybe a small jump like 55Wh. Battery tech doesn't change that much in a few short years, so it would require a larger device and a much heaver one too. The newer chip will likely be a lot more efficient, so that's where the jump there is going to come from. With Steam Deck OLED. the minimal battery life is 2 hours, up from barely 1.5 for Steam Deck LCD. I could see the Steam Deck OLED pushing this to a minimum of 3 hours for the most demanding titles, which would give easily more than 4 hours for any titles that do not push things to the max (or where you lower settings and frame-rate to be less demanding).
Deck 2 is probably a 2026 device so I don't see Valve doing 800p for it. They will push higher. And the option to play stuff at 720p will always be there with a bigger screen. I think that is a way out for them. They will tell people to lower the rez if they play AAA games.

The more I think about it the more I see Valve just doing something similar to the ROG Ally with Deck 2.

The Ally was a poorly thought out device for the year 2023 but by the time we hit 2026 or 2027...the Ally specs is probably what will be the norm for PC handhelds. The Switch 2 will set its own baseline next year and I expect Valve to up the specs in comparison across the board for Deck 2. At the very least Valve will give people options with different tiers for frames, screen, storage etc.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,227
11,991
113
Deck 2 is probably a 2026 device so I don't see Valve doing 800p for it. They will push higher. And the option to play stuff at 720p will always be there with a bigger screen. I think that is a way out for them. They will tell people to lower the rez if they play AAA games.

The more I think about it the more I see Valve just doing something similar to the ROG Ally with Deck 2.

The Ally was a poorly thought out device for the year 2023 but by the time we hit 2026 or 2027...the Ally specs is probably what will be the norm for PC handhelds. The Switch 2 will set its own baseline next year and I expect Valve to up the specs in comparison across the board for Deck 2. At the very least Valve will give people options with different tiers for frames, screen, storage etc.
Playing 720p on a 900p screen will look terrible. Maybe if you go 1440p, but that would just waste so much more energy. I think we are just going in circles in this discussion and I really don't understand people's obsession with resolution when I see how sharp look on the Deck. To put this into some objective measurements: 800p at 7.4 inch (to consider the OLED version) is around 200 ppi (pixel-per-inch) [1]. Let's compare that to my current monitor, which has a native 1440p res at 27 inch: it gives you 100ppi. Of course I watch the screen further away than I would with the Deck, but the actual sharpness is far lower. Let's go ham, and imagine a 4K screen, at 24 inch: 185 ppi. Even such a high resolution at tiny 24 inch would be less sharp than 800p is at 7 inch. (to those surprised, ppi scales by a square factor with screen size, so this is not really surprising)

800p is plenty for 7.4 inch in 2023, it will be plenty in 2026, and it will still be plenty in 2062.

[1] DPI Calculator / PPI Calculator (nice tool to play around with these measurements)
 

MomoVideo

ķ͕͕̍̅͋ḭ̼͂̕lļ͓̞̙̀͗͆̊ ͉͛m͕̲̮̆̒̐̍͢e ͠
Apr 5, 2021
817
2,315
93
I don't think there's any chance they restrict OS settings on a game by game basis. The current Deck already allows people to change the HZ on a game by game basis themselves, as well the fps separately, I don't know why they wouldn't just keep that as it works super well.
You could just cap it to 60 Hz globally and change it to 120 Hz from QAM with a slider per game basis. I imagine most casual players don't interact with game settings and options in Quick Access Menu.
 

undu

Junior Member
Mar 17, 2019
194
495
63
Playing 720p on a 900p screen will look terrible. Maybe if you go 1440p, but that would just waste so much more energy. I think we are just going in circles in this discussion and I really don't understand people's obsession with resolution when I see how sharp look on the Deck. To put this into some objective measurements: 800p at 7.4 inch (to consider the OLED version) is around 200 ppi (pixel-per-inch) [1]. Let's compare that to my current monitor, which has a native 1440p res at 27 inch: it gives you 100ppi. Of course I watch the screen further away than I would with the Deck, but the actual sharpness is far lower. Let's go ham, and imagine a 4K screen, at 24 inch: 185 ppi. Even such a high resolution at tiny 24 inch would be less sharp than 800p is at 7 inch. (to those surprised, ppi scales by a square factor with screen size, so this is not really surprising)

800p is plenty for 7.4 inch in 2023, it will be plenty in 2026, and it will still be plenty in 2062.

[1] DPI Calculator / PPI Calculator (nice tool to play around with these measurements)
I agree, having robust AA, including downscaling from higher res should be plenty to get good picture quality.
 

Amzin

No one beats me 17 times in a row!
Dec 5, 2018
1,001
2,110
113
You could just cap it to 60 Hz globally and change it to 120 Hz from QAM with a slider per game basis. I imagine most casual players don't interact with game settings and options in Quick Access Menu.
Yep I'd imagine the general-all-purpose 60hz would be default if they do go for a higher screen. We'll sort of have a glimpse of this in the OLED refresh but it's another thing where by the time the Deck 2 rolls around, there will have been more learning and evaluation too.
 

KingKrouch

Junior Member
Dec 14, 2021
103
327
63
So glad that the Steam Deck OLED model is now a thing though. The only downside is that it doesn't support VRR, but when it's widely available, I'll probably replace my current Steam Deck with that.

This looks pretty neat. Relies on BoilR to add the games to Steam though, otherwise you're launching the launcher through Steam and then launching the game through that which is... not ideal.

I think there are better ways of doing this. Heroic if you're only interested in GOG, Amazon and Epic. For everything else, I think Lutris does a better job.
Yeah, that and some games require specific winedlloverrides and operating system workarounds, and some games crash with the Media Foundation codecs installed. So this sounds like it's going to create more problems than it solves.

Plus having a gazillion Electron launchers open kind of defeats the purpose of going with a Steam Deck to begin with.
With the OLED version being as nice of a jump as it is...I am now wondering how crazy Valve gets for the Deck 2.

They have to push for at least 120hz screen. There has to be some screens out there in large bulk laying around for them to pick up. They've worked so much with high refresh rates now via VR and OLED Deck. There is too much internal hardware experience for them to do anything less imo. They have be able to get their hands on at least 120hz screens.

A 900p screen with 4-5hr battery life + 120hz + 3-4x power boost vs current Deck will be an insane handheld. I would be very happy with that.
A 120Hz VRR OLED display would be great. I'd honestly be fine with the current resolution, 800p is good enough on a 7 inch display, so bringing the refresh rate more in line with what current phones support would be great.

That, a slot built into the casing for a standard sized NVME, and Hall Effect Joysticks would also be great to see.

And I'm really hoping that with the upcoming release of KDE Plasma 6, that Valve changes the default session to Wayland and then fixes the remaining issues with Steam on Wayland. Because that's the only way you're going to have VRR/FreeSync and HDR support in desktop mode too.

The current product images of the Deck where someone's playing Civilization on a monitor while having the Steam Chat open on their Deck's display is a bit misleading because I wouldn't say the current experience with X11/XOrg on an APU and external display like that is a good one, and it's such a disconnect from the stuff that Game Mode (also known as gamescope-session) supports. I'm unsure on whether or not the extra threads being disabled thing still applies to the Deck's desktop mode though.
 
Reason: Fixed some structuring
Last edited:

Durante

I <3 Pixels
Oct 21, 2018
4,014
19,349
113
I also think that sticking with the same resolution display for a new deck would be a good idea. The only reason I would consider to go higher is that almost all the games that wouldn't run on it are going to have upscaling technology by the time a hypothetical Steam Deck 2 releases -- and at that point the native resolution is no longer that crucial for performance. So in that respect e.g. 1920x1200 might work. The one thing that would really benefit are UI-heavy games.

Anyway, regarding the OLED Deck, I'm also unsure of whether to go with the 512 GB or the 1 TB model. I'll probably go with the former -- I don't really play AAA games on the Deck so I have almost everything on a SD card.
 

d00d3n

MetaMember
Jan 26, 2019
317
573
93
I also think that sticking with the same resolution display for a new deck would be a good idea. The only reason I would consider to go higher is that almost all the games that wouldn't run on it are going to have upscaling technology by the time a hypothetical Steam Deck 2 releases -- and at that point the native resolution is no longer that crucial for performance. So in that respect e.g. 1920x1200 might work. The one thing that would really benefit are UI-heavy games.

Anyway, regarding the OLED Deck, I'm also unsure of whether to go with the 512 GB or the 1 TB model. I'll probably go with the former -- I don't really play AAA games on the Deck so I have almost everything on a SD card.
I will go for the 1 TB model due to anti-glare etched glass and the minimal price difference. If you only play in light controlled environments I suppose that missing anti-glare may be preferable for some people, though …