[Twizzleshnizzle]

I found Nintendo 3DS in mint conditions and now enjoining old titles which i skipped before.

I bought one recently as well. I wish handheld consoles were still made with 3d in mind. It's superb.

 

[TrollDragon]

When I'm away from home I bring a 26800mAh RavPower USB C PD battery pack with me and it gives me 12 hours of playtime on the Switch. There are smaller battery packs that will attach to the back of handheld consoles for extra runtime.

I picked up the PD pack as it will fully power the Switch and charge it's battery at the same time. I imagine it would do the same for the SteamDeck.

 

[LunaSearcher]

You can get two hours or even more if you reduce the quality of textures and stuff like that

Yep, you are right. it is not showstopper. I am only think loudly.

 

[LunaSearcher]

I bought one recently as well. I wish handheld consoles were still made with 3d in mind. It's superb.

Yes it is pretty good, unfortunately it looks like this 3d trend is fadeout.

 

[Radio81]

I just looked at a ton of PD battery packs before a trip a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a 15000mAh 45W PD for attaching to the back of the Steam Deck. I use a dBrand Killswitch case + their universal mount. It works well, and not too heavy. It's manageable. I wanted a larger capacity battery, but since I was planning to attach it to the back, size and weight were a concern. The main thing is you want 45W PD for the Steam Deck.

Steam Deck for me is for indies and older PS3/PS4 era games and emulation. I do wish the screen was a tad bit larger and OLED.

Anyone picking up a Lenovo Legion Go when it releases? I'm going to keep an eye on it. I might be tempted to sell my Steam Deck for one, but I really like SteamOS, even if it can't play every single game.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

I just looked at a ton of PD battery packs before a trip a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a 15000mAh 45W PD for attaching to the back of the Steam Deck. I use a dBrand Killswitch case + their universal mount. It works well, and not too heavy. It's manageable. I wanted a larger capacity battery, but since I was planning to attach it to the back, size and weight were a concern. The main thing is you want 45W PD for the Steam Deck.

Steam Deck for me is for indies and older PS3/PS4 era games and emulation. I do wish the screen was a tad bit larger and OLED.

Anyone picking up a Lenovo Legion Go when it releases? I'm going to keep an eye on it. I might be tempted to sell my Steam Deck for one, but I really like SteamOS, even if it can't play every single game.

I originally bought a Steam Deck with the view of using it for emulation and some other light gaming. But the usual fear of missing out led to me selling it and picking up a ROG Ally. I will say the ROG Ally is good, and I find the controls a bit nicer in the hand (bit more like an Xbox controller). But I don't really use it to play newer games, preferring to play things like Skyrim, Slay the Spire, Celeste, etc. and then emulation. The screen is nicer but the 1080p resolution means that performance isn't much better than the Steam Deck at native resolution (800p vs 1080p).

Worst of all is using Windows on a handheld. It just isn't good. I have to say that overall I regret not keeping the Steam Deck. Over time I found myslef playing the same games, but instead of having a smoother OS experience, I spend lots of time frustrated by Windows (and especially Windows 11 which I really hate over some previous version). Will I sell the ROG Ally? Possibly. Windows just isn't worth it in a handheld unless you HAVE to be having the most powerful device out there.

 

[Radio81]

I originally bought a Steam Deck with the view of using it for emulation and some other light gaming. But the usual fear of missing out led to me selling it and picking up a ROG Ally. I will say the ROG Ally is good, and I find the controls a bit nicer in the hand (bit more like an Xbox controller). But I don't really use it to play newer games, preferring to play things like Skyrim, Slay the Spire, Celeste, etc. and then emulation. The screen is nicer but the 1080p resolution means that performance isn't much better than the Steam Deck at native resolution (800p vs 1080p).

Worst of all is using Windows on a handheld. It just isn't good. I have to say that overall I regret not keeping the Steam Deck. Over time I found myslef playing the same games, but instead of having a smoother OS experience, I spend lots of time frustrated by Windows (and especially Windows 11 which I really hate over some previous version). Will I sell the ROG Ally? Possibly. Windows just isn't worth it in a handheld unless you HAVE to be having the most powerful device out there.

Thank you for your input. That is good to know about Windows and handhelds. Is it just software updates and notifications that are interrupting your gameplay?

As much as I like SteamOS, I think a Windows device would get more use from me as it's more multi-purpose. I also think the larger screen, detachable controllers, and the controller functionality for FPS are pretty wicked. This all has me questioning how much I'd actually use it though. I don't really use the Deck that often. At most a few hours weekly. I'm also not familiar with using Windows on a mobile device. Windows 11 on my home pc has been mostly trouble free.

SteamOS is cool but trying to do anything on the desktop like adding emulators was a real chore since I'm unfamiliar with linux. I also question how long Lenovo will continue to support the Legion Go. I feel Valve is a much safer bet there.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Thank you for your input. That is good to know about Windows and handhelds. Is it just software updates and notifications that are interrupting your gameplay?

As much as I like SteamOS, I think a Windows device would get more use from me as it's more multi-purpose. I also think the larger screen, detachable controllers, and the controller functionality for FPS are pretty wicked. This all has me questioning how much I'd actually use it though. I don't really use the Deck that often. At most a few hours weekly. I'm also not familiar with using Windows on a mobile device. Windows 11 on my home pc has been mostly trouble free.

SteamOS is cool but trying to do anything on the desktop like adding emulators was a real chore since I'm unfamiliar with linux. I also question how long Lenovo will continue to support the Legion Go. I feel Valve is a much safer bet there.

It's more about the clunkiness of using Windows on a small touchscreen device. It gets a bit painful. But if you used the Linux desktop side of SteamOS to install emulators you'll know how how that goes. So you may actually feel ok with it.

I find the best solution is to use a wireless keyboard and mouse when you need to do something in Windows.

 

[Radio81]

It's more about the clunkiness of using Windows on a small touchscreen device. It gets a bit painful. But if you used the Linux desktop side of SteamOS to install emulators you'll know how how that goes. So you may actually feel ok with it.

I find the best solution is to use a wireless keyboard and mouse when you need to do something in Windows.

I gotcha. I'll wait for reviews of the Legion and some firmware updates to happen before I decide.

Yes, Linux is not my jam. I've tried other Linux variants for uses like a NAS OS or Plex server. Navigating the OS takes some patience, and reading a lot of tutorials.

As an example, I wanted to add PS remote play on my Steam Deck. There's a way to do it, but it's not straightforward. On Windows, it's just another app to download.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

I gotcha. I'll wait for reviews of the Legion and some firmware updates to happen before I decide.

Yes, Linux is not my jam. I've tried other Linux variants for uses like a NAS OS or Plex server. Navigating the OS takes some patience, and reading a lot of tutorials.

As an example, I wanted to add PS remote play on my Steam Deck. There's a way to do it, but it's not straightforward. On Windows, it's just another app to download.

In no way am I saying the Windows handhelds are bad. I've ordered a refurb'd Steam Deck today to have a good comparison though...again. I do like my ROG Ally when I don't have to use Windows (I can just load up an installed game).

 

[Radio81]

In no way am I saying the Windows handhelds are bad. I've ordered a refurb'd Steam Deck today to have a good comparison though...again. I do like my ROG Ally when I don't have to use Windows (I can just load up an installed game).

Nice! I'm looking forward to your comparisons if you don't mind. That's cool that you will have both at the same time.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Nice! I'm looking forward to your comparisons if you don't mind. That's cool that you will have both at the same time.

Sure, I'll let you know how I get on. I always feel a bit disingenuous comparing things from memory. Always better to have both in hand.

 

[Gladly]

PC! Mostly because all of my friends are also PC gamers.. Just starting to build a new PC to replace a 7yr old one.. man was it expensive.

 

[wmf]

PC player, I find the customization and access level on PC to fit my preferences and it makes it easy to make it work with a lot of things I do on the side.

When I game I tend to do more than one thing and consoles don't give me the freedom to do it.

well thats it.. i do have a ps5, but primarily PC gamer.... it does a whole lot more than just game.... i cant see video from my IP camera on the ps5. the only issue now with pc gaming, is the ridiculous cost of video cards these days...

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Nice! I'm looking forward to your comparisons if you don't mind. That's cool that you will have both at the same time.

Thought I'd better get back to you with that Steam Deck & ROG Ally comparison...

I still have the ROG Ally, I sent the Steam Deck back. One of the important things for me was retro emulation, and one of theajot.failings here on the Steam Deck was the d-pad and the layout. The D-pad position is too vertical from your hand, so it's not comfortable to use. Even worse the d-pad doesn't respond to diagonal inputs well at all. It may have just been my model, but I've seen lots of posts online saying the same. Just those things immediately made it a no go for my use.

I always felt the Steam Deck screen was fine. I actually wish the ROG Ally was the lower resolution as it would be a nice performance boost at a resolution that's perfect for handheld gaming. But next to the Ally you start to notice the motion blur due to the lower refresh rate on the Deck. Your game doesn't have to run at a high frame rate to benefit from a high refresh rate. A high refresh rate very much helps to reduce motion blur.

Now on to the good. The Steam Deck sticks are better, they have lovely resistance so they don't feel overly floaty. My refurb deck was £279, which is a steal. The SD card is also useable. The Ally SD slot is a write off, as soon as those temps go up your card is screwed.

If I wanted a device for more modern gaming that relies on thumbsticks, I'd keep the Deck. I want a mix, and the Ally feels much better suited to that task. I slapped a 2tb drive in mine to save having to use the SD slot.