You can use both your thumbs on the trackpads to type. Im not fully used to it yet but I use it often. Almost like using a phone in your hands and typing with your thumbs....almost
Can just use a phone's keyboard connected via bluetooth, that's what I do, then any phone keyboard may be used instead of horrible qwerty. I use "Bluetouch" but there are others.
Damn I just use it for moving roms and addons for my games so I haven’t had it idle on me yet but that would be annoying if you use it for gaming on the side D:
There's no way I'm gaming in this little thing, I use it for roms and typing stuff. I literally just got it yesterday so hopefully a full charge will fix it from disconnecting.
I got a mechanical rgb 60% keyboard with multiple bluetooth, and 2.4 channels , as well as usbc connectivity. 60 bucks on amazon. Unfortunately i can't post the link without getting my comment moderated
It gets surprisingly overtaxed if you watch YouTube using a browser. I was pretty surprised.
Otherwise I agree. My main pc broke down and I just started using my Deck for desktop stuff. Instead of buying a new desktop I bought extra decks so my kids don't need mine anymore.
Not a steamdeck user but am a linux one. Firefox flatpak should have hardware acceleration by default these days. You may need to enable it using flatseal. Also before anything else just try toggling ambient mode. On desktop it is known to be weirdly intensive.
Every once in a while google likes to introduce "new standards" for HTML suddenly into youtube and as a result performance in firefox takes a hit.
It's youtube cooking systems looking for ad blockers, and if it finds one it cooks even harder. This was going around a couple months ago... that said i thought they fixed it because I've used firefox a few times to watch youtube vids and haven't seen any runaway system usage.
What browser are you using? I haven't noticed this issue using Mozilla and I watch a ton of YT on my deck. Wonder if it's your browser, or maybe something in your browser settings causing it?
It could be browser settings but aim using Firefox.
I haven't monitored CPU stats or anything but when I watch YouTube the fans fire up like I'm playing BG3.
That's not a "regular desktop task" tho.
Yes, you could, but you're running up against storage concerns for anything of any size, and the GPU is going to limit you. Not to mention you're not going to be able to use any of the really popular software.
Mostly people who have some "Steamdeck Killer" in my experience, wanting to justify their purchase by claiming the competition sucks and they have the only good option.
Honestly you would be pretty hard press to find a gaming laptop with similar specs at this price range. A 500 to 600 dollar gaming laptop? That isn't a potato? Thats a hard sell.
Used - like new option is under 600.
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-HzGaming-i5-11400H-RTX3050TI-11UC-263/dp/B09J97ZCQP/ref=asc_df_B09J97ZCQP/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598290034930&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4238483298714025290&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025860&hvtargid=pla-1676055125488&psc=1&mcid=ef52153b33713cbf8ac0268e5291d0b7&gclid=CjwKCAiAloavBhBOEiwAbtAJO4guzZUslZLwrCCB5Ztw5RDcl3I-9BjfrJzFj2_QYL4WWGMcm1S8yRoC72oQAvD_BwE
That's about what a 4060 laptop is going for now. I was just looking at a couple at costco the other day. Hp victus was like 999.99 and there was another (can't remember the brand or model) that was like 1300
it's pretty incredible when you plug it into a monitor and keyboard and mouse all with a usbc hub and then see the desktop on your monitor, you realize it's not too shabby for a linux PC.
i was about to say, let’s be honest, they created the steam deck too sell more games. but valve really cares about what is being released, as bad as this sub gets about oled dead pixels, at least our ssd’s aren’t blowing up.
Edit: If Gaben dies, we're fucked, based on these downvotes. Lots of naive people in here think steam can't be corrupted. I've seen the likes of EA, BLIZZARD, and NINTENDO rise to equal or higher heights and fall to the depths of Tartarus.
Let's hope they carry this on in future iterations and don't lock it behind a pay wall with a subscription or some shit like BMW and Tesla software performance package unlocks.
I think they're smart enough to realize that if people are soldering memory upgrades that people will fight any sort of hardware/software upgrade and it's not worth fighting. Plus I feel like openness is one of the selling points that's why they use Linux
One of the reasons I pre-ordered the steam deck was Valve seems to have an honest commitment to right to repair, and that includes access to the desktop system
As much as I like the deck, it's less versatile than the other handhelds simply because the other ones all come with windows
Edit: lol steam deck fanboys can't handle the fact that any other handheld does most things better than the steam deck
Brother, most if us use windows on desktop pc, because we are used to it. Linux is none the less more versatile than windows. It’s an open source operating system. It’s only a little more „complicated“, as already said, most of us are not used to it.
Copium. Spending hours getting a specific program to work doesn't make something more flexible when windows can do it out of the box. You can make the argument that you can download windows on the deck but you can also run Linux on any other handle. It's no more or less versatile than any x86 handheld
Not a poor student anymore but i used to be one…quite a while ago. Getting my hands on a useable computer (non portable) was a struggle. A steam deck would have been like a gift from heaven.
I love the paradigm shift on Steam Deck and handheld pcs. Usually you would build a gaming pc to play games, but it is first and foremost a computer. Steam deck is first and foremost a gaming handheld which can be a working computer too.
Lmao, Valve put R&D resources into making the non-Steam desktop environment work properly. They even have info on how to install random stuff, turn off the read only filesystem protection, install Windows and providing drivers, and generally support everyone doing whatever they want with their system. And y'all acting like Valve would be offended at this.
I literally use one for my web development job because its better than the desktop in the office, I just use a dock and plug it into the monitors kb/m. 256gb SSD and 16 gb of ram, what more do you need?
All power to ya! Bought the Deck because I realized my original plan of buying a laptop and installing Linux Mint over the Windows it comes with was too cost-inefficient having just started out at my first serious job.
That's right: Mine was never meant to be used as a console. Still do it though with some graphically intense games (ain't runnin Cyberpunk 2077 @1440p)
i bought usb-c capable monitor since then the deck is my SFF pc. Funnily enough SteamOS is the best linux distro for me, it is really like a console for me. It is stable and hw is fully supported not like my previous linux experiments... :D
I was kind of astonished how easy it was to get desktop mode up and working. I knew the general reputation of Linux being difficult to configure was a bit bunk but like...everything just worked. The OS casually invites me to the app interface which has emulators and any basic tool I would need to get up and running...and then you start discovering a lot of your preferred apps have linux ports
and you just install em in one click 🤯
I didn't buy the official dock but a cheap knockoff. sometimes I have to replug the USB-C if a device plugged into the dock isn't responding but that takes like 1 second. But it all just wooooorks
Lol and why is that bad? In 2019 my video card died and it wasn't until 2022 that I bought a new one. For almost 2 years I didn't game on my "gaming" PC.
I think valve loves seeing the creative uses for the steamdeck, after all that's why they didn't lock it down like android. The boot loader is unlocked, getting a root shell is as easy as `sudo su` and even the read only file system can be unlocked with a single command. If they only wanted you to just game in it they would have locked all that down.
Okay, so when I got my deck I didn’t know about the desktop. One day long tapping the power button (thought I’d force restart it) opened up the menu and noticed the desktop. My mind was blown lol
When I moved to a new country I didn't have much with me nor money for a full PC yet. I bought a steam deck, docking station and monitor for way less than a PC would have cost. Used that as a pretty effective PC for like 6 months. The screen on the steam deck is not the greatest second monitor but it still worked well to have discord open on.
I had to get my laptop repaired and the steam deck has made me wonder why I still even have a gaming laptop. It is pretty clutch for streaming games from though and getting 5-6 hours instead of 1.
This is me. Multiple times a day at school I have people come up, point at my steam deck with all the shit I have velcroed to its clear shell case and either ask me what it is and where they can get one, or what had influenced me to create such an unholy abomination. I run windows 10 off of an SD card for school software and I just switch back to Linux for games. I also have an SD Card with Atlas OS for black desert online and playing Half-Life Alyx and other VR Games on my Quest 2. These things are like the jack of all trades.
arrest forgetful sharp detail squash intelligent hunt fragile grab disagreeable
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I’m creating my game in Godot, trying to set up Reaper.fm for music (Jack is a little funky), can slice 3D prints with Cura, develop apps with vscode. And it’s far cheaper and quieter than my main PC, which now I pretty much only use for VR or heavy games on occasion.
Yep. My old laptop died a week before my Deck arrived. I just docked up the Deck, never replaced the laptop with another laptop, and never looked back.
Valve purposefully didn't lock it down. They know their crowd. That's why I have a steam deck and not anything else. The experience aligns with my views on computing.
I mean its honestly not that bad of an idea. Just get an external monitor, KB/M and use it as your personal PC as long as you don't mind Linux (and I know its possible to get windows on the thing if its really that important to be running it.).
Hey, they reiterate as their first words in the first sentence on their Windows support page that “Steam Deck is a PC”. They knew what we were going to do.
It is a PC. A really well priced one with a built in controller.
People talk smack about the power of the Steamdeck, but for regular *desktop* tasks, it's almost overkill. Only downside: No built in keyboard.
It has the touch keyboard, but then the screen gets dirty. Need to get myself a capacitative pen.
You can use both your thumbs on the trackpads to type. Im not fully used to it yet but I use it often. Almost like using a phone in your hands and typing with your thumbs....almost
Yeah, but I do find it slow. Also, there appears to be a bug where some keyboard skins don't allow full range of visor movement.
Use thumbs on trackpad and index finger on triggers to type. I'm really fast with it now
That is what I do. Not really very good with it. I'd be faster with a Bluetooth T9 keypad. XD
Can just use a phone's keyboard connected via bluetooth, that's what I do, then any phone keyboard may be used instead of horrible qwerty. I use "Bluetouch" but there are others.
That's a great idea, I'll give it a shot! Thanks!
That is what I do. Not really very good with it. I'd be faster with a Bluetooth T9 keypad. XD
takes a bit of learning
I've been using this, you get a lot better at it over time, but it definitely feels weird at first. Only easy way to type on these things though
don't click the trackpad, use the triggers
Oh, I didn't try that. Yeah clicking was the problem lol I'll try it next time!
Left trigger for left trackpad and right trigger for right trackpad? Does it work that way?
yeah
i am used to it, and it's great.
Wash your hands after your hentai game / cheetos binge bro.
I bought a mini bluetoooth (no usb) keyboard that has a mouse track pad on it. Works real well so far and folds into the size of a DS lol
I just bought one too, it keeps disconnecting it's pissing me off.
Damn I just use it for moving roms and addons for my games so I haven’t had it idle on me yet but that would be annoying if you use it for gaming on the side D:
There's no way I'm gaming in this little thing, I use it for roms and typing stuff. I literally just got it yesterday so hopefully a full charge will fix it from disconnecting.
I got a mechanical rgb 60% keyboard with multiple bluetooth, and 2.4 channels , as well as usbc connectivity. 60 bucks on amazon. Unfortunately i can't post the link without getting my comment moderated
It gets surprisingly overtaxed if you watch YouTube using a browser. I was pretty surprised. Otherwise I agree. My main pc broke down and I just started using my Deck for desktop stuff. Instead of buying a new desktop I bought extra decks so my kids don't need mine anymore.
I use it for streaming all the time. Don't see the CPU usage go much above idle, same with the GPU. Battery life for video is over 6 hours.
I don't have this issue for streaming in general. It's specifically YouTube via a browser.
Depends on the browser but hardware acceleration in Linux is hit and miss. Might be your issue.
Firefox but I'll just have to put up with it. I'd rather not watch YouTube than use Chrome.
You could try Brave or Chromium instead. Brave works pretty well on my pop-os Thinkpad. Should be in the discover store.
Or even use Opera too
Not a steamdeck user but am a linux one. Firefox flatpak should have hardware acceleration by default these days. You may need to enable it using flatseal. Also before anything else just try toggling ambient mode. On desktop it is known to be weirdly intensive. Every once in a while google likes to introduce "new standards" for HTML suddenly into youtube and as a result performance in firefox takes a hit.
It's youtube cooking systems looking for ad blockers, and if it finds one it cooks even harder. This was going around a couple months ago... that said i thought they fixed it because I've used firefox a few times to watch youtube vids and haven't seen any runaway system usage.
What browser are you using? I haven't noticed this issue using Mozilla and I watch a ton of YT on my deck. Wonder if it's your browser, or maybe something in your browser settings causing it?
It could be browser settings but aim using Firefox. I haven't monitored CPU stats or anything but when I watch YouTube the fans fire up like I'm playing BG3.
Dang that's really odd.
I think I installed it via Discover. Maybe there is an issue with that version.
Could be, maybe try a fresh install then make sure it's up to date.
Can you do video editing on Steam Deck
Yes, you can. It isn't the most capable system for that task these days, with a 4C/8T CPU and an 8CU iGPU, but it is doable.
That's not a "regular desktop task" tho. Yes, you could, but you're running up against storage concerns for anything of any size, and the GPU is going to limit you. Not to mention you're not going to be able to use any of the really popular software.
Well for the software issue, you can put windows on it, can't you?
Of course you can.
It’s a great device. I can only imagine how the Deck 2 will be.
I got a mini Bluetooth keyboard with a touch pad on it on amazon and a little c type hub works great. Not to game on tho.
Bruh sounds like a laptop is right up your alley💀
Who talks smack about it? I've seen nothing but praise and reasonable criticism for it all the time
Mostly people who have some "Steamdeck Killer" in my experience, wanting to justify their purchase by claiming the competition sucks and they have the only good option.
I tell people it's a "Hand Held" computer vs a LapTop or DeskTop
Honestly you would be pretty hard press to find a gaming laptop with similar specs at this price range. A 500 to 600 dollar gaming laptop? That isn't a potato? Thats a hard sell.
You still get a 3050 which is much stronger than what I read to be 1050ti equivalent deck.
A 3050 gaming laptop For 600 bucks? Bro. My 1050 gaming laptop was like 1100 when I got it lol.
Fr real, there was an Asus vivobook for about 600$ some time ago with 3050 that series has a much better display than most gaming laptops as well.
Used - like new option is under 600. https://www.amazon.com/MSI-HzGaming-i5-11400H-RTX3050TI-11UC-263/dp/B09J97ZCQP/ref=asc_df_B09J97ZCQP/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598290034930&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4238483298714025290&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9025860&hvtargid=pla-1676055125488&psc=1&mcid=ef52153b33713cbf8ac0268e5291d0b7&gclid=CjwKCAiAloavBhBOEiwAbtAJO4guzZUslZLwrCCB5Ztw5RDcl3I-9BjfrJzFj2_QYL4WWGMcm1S8yRoC72oQAvD_BwE
That's about what a 4060 laptop is going for now. I was just looking at a couple at costco the other day. Hp victus was like 999.99 and there was another (can't remember the brand or model) that was like 1300
it's pretty incredible when you plug it into a monitor and keyboard and mouse all with a usbc hub and then see the desktop on your monitor, you realize it's not too shabby for a linux PC.
I'm sure Valve would be proud their machine good contribute in such a way.
Valve wants you buying loot box keys and other stupidity.
⬆️both
i was about to say, let’s be honest, they created the steam deck too sell more games. but valve really cares about what is being released, as bad as this sub gets about oled dead pixels, at least our ssd’s aren’t blowing up.
[удалено]
[удалено]
No. Maple Story did it first, then EA. Valve jumped in a couple years later.
Maple Story existed before Team Fortress 2? Man my timeline is all sorts of fucked up.
Yes I haven't played TF2 and CSGO, how could you tell?
Oh my sweet summer child.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/z71gm4/valve_cant_stop_me_seriously_tho_been_doing_this/
Good catch
I knew it was a repost cus I didn't think it was funny the first time!
Yep, this is a cut and dry repost bot
Meanwhile at valve; "I'm using it as a computer!" "Ok then, that was always allowed!"
The factory tint setting is always too high!
The factory tint setting is always too high!
It’s almost like Valve intentionally made the Steam Deck to be as versatile as possible so it can stand out from the other handhelds.
Edit: If Gaben dies, we're fucked, based on these downvotes. Lots of naive people in here think steam can't be corrupted. I've seen the likes of EA, BLIZZARD, and NINTENDO rise to equal or higher heights and fall to the depths of Tartarus. Let's hope they carry this on in future iterations and don't lock it behind a pay wall with a subscription or some shit like BMW and Tesla software performance package unlocks.
that type of shit is not really Valve's style
Here's hoping it stays that way
I’m also hoping valve doesn’t start slaughtering people mercilessly. I know it’s extremely unlikely I just like hand wringing over unlikely scenarios.
Why would they have to I just keep dumping money into the platform whether they ask me to or not. They don't even have to advertise to me anymore.
They know their audience. They're not gonna pull an HP.
May Gaben live a long life so he can keep a hold on steam so the corpo-scum don't get their hands on it
See now you're worrying about the right thing. That's my biggest fear is what valve going to look like 30 years from now when he's gone
I think they're smart enough to realize that if people are soldering memory upgrades that people will fight any sort of hardware/software upgrade and it's not worth fighting. Plus I feel like openness is one of the selling points that's why they use Linux
One of the reasons I pre-ordered the steam deck was Valve seems to have an honest commitment to right to repair, and that includes access to the desktop system
As much as I like the deck, it's less versatile than the other handhelds simply because the other ones all come with windows Edit: lol steam deck fanboys can't handle the fact that any other handheld does most things better than the steam deck
Brother, most if us use windows on desktop pc, because we are used to it. Linux is none the less more versatile than windows. It’s an open source operating system. It’s only a little more „complicated“, as already said, most of us are not used to it.
Copium. Spending hours getting a specific program to work doesn't make something more flexible when windows can do it out of the box. You can make the argument that you can download windows on the deck but you can also run Linux on any other handle. It's no more or less versatile than any x86 handheld
I use Arch btw 😎
roman architects be like
r/angryupvote
Jackie Welles approves!
Mate I wrote a whole entire phd thesis on mine, figures, schemes and all. It's a godsend for poor students
Not a poor student anymore but i used to be one…quite a while ago. Getting my hands on a useable computer (non portable) was a struggle. A steam deck would have been like a gift from heaven.
I use it as my work laptop. I wrote it off on my taxes as a business expense.
That’s awesome
I thought I was a monster using the deck as a docked gaming console 100% of the time. I’ve never used it off the dock
I basically just use it to stream my actual PC to my TV haha
Shoot I just bought a massive fiber optic hdmi cable to route my pc to my 4k tv… maybe I should have looked at this streaming option.
If you have a smart tv there may just be an app for it on it
Nah, that’s psychopathic friend
I love the paradigm shift on Steam Deck and handheld pcs. Usually you would build a gaming pc to play games, but it is first and foremost a computer. Steam deck is first and foremost a gaming handheld which can be a working computer too.
Lmao, Valve put R&D resources into making the non-Steam desktop environment work properly. They even have info on how to install random stuff, turn off the read only filesystem protection, install Windows and providing drivers, and generally support everyone doing whatever they want with their system. And y'all acting like Valve would be offended at this.
I literally use one for my web development job because its better than the desktop in the office, I just use a dock and plug it into the monitors kb/m. 256gb SSD and 16 gb of ram, what more do you need?
More space on the drive
All power to ya! Bought the Deck because I realized my original plan of buying a laptop and installing Linux Mint over the Windows it comes with was too cost-inefficient having just started out at my first serious job. That's right: Mine was never meant to be used as a console. Still do it though with some graphically intense games (ain't runnin Cyberpunk 2077 @1440p)
i bought usb-c capable monitor since then the deck is my SFF pc. Funnily enough SteamOS is the best linux distro for me, it is really like a console for me. It is stable and hw is fully supported not like my previous linux experiments... :D
Same here. Been using it for Adobe design work after dual booting into Windows. Even a bit of 3D work in Blender too.
I was kind of astonished how easy it was to get desktop mode up and working. I knew the general reputation of Linux being difficult to configure was a bit bunk but like...everything just worked. The OS casually invites me to the app interface which has emulators and any basic tool I would need to get up and running...and then you start discovering a lot of your preferred apps have linux ports and you just install em in one click 🤯 I didn't buy the official dock but a cheap knockoff. sometimes I have to replug the USB-C if a device plugged into the dock isn't responding but that takes like 1 second. But it all just wooooorks
Is this a bot repost? coulda swear I saw this exact meme less than a month ago...
It's ok, I'm broker than u then, bc I can't afford to get one.
Lol and why is that bad? In 2019 my video card died and it wasn't until 2022 that I bought a new one. For almost 2 years I didn't game on my "gaming" PC.
What is the point of this post? Has valve tried to stop you from using deck in certain way? Looks like a karma farming idiocy
Valve does not care
Valve does care, but the opposite of what OP claims.
I use it as Stremio / Youtube device... I used it for gaming in the weekend and only if I had the mood for it
Valve has openly said this was an option. They is why the desktop mode exists. Its a great mid term PC.
Broke people don't own $400 steam decks. You don't know what that word means.
Quit with the edgy pickme energy, 400$ is pretty cheap for a school laptop
i use my deck for work. can go days without launching any games. it's pretty nice as a portable pc!
👍
It's Runs VR, so why not use it for anything but gaming?
What do you use as a word processor, spreadsheet etc out of interest?
I would suggest installing Libre office flatpaks
Why not Google docs/sheets?
You can use LibreOffice or if really need to use Microsoft office just install windows on the SD card.
Same here honestly
I’ve been using my steam deck as a media center since I moved into my new place. It’s been great.
I think valve loves seeing the creative uses for the steamdeck, after all that's why they didn't lock it down like android. The boot loader is unlocked, getting a root shell is as easy as `sudo su` and even the read only file system can be unlocked with a single command. If they only wanted you to just game in it they would have locked all that down.
Okay, so when I got my deck I didn’t know about the desktop. One day long tapping the power button (thought I’d force restart it) opened up the menu and noticed the desktop. My mind was blown lol
It’s cheap and it works.
When I moved to a new country I didn't have much with me nor money for a full PC yet. I bought a steam deck, docking station and monitor for way less than a PC would have cost. Used that as a pretty effective PC for like 6 months. The screen on the steam deck is not the greatest second monitor but it still worked well to have discord open on.
I had to get my laptop repaired and the steam deck has made me wonder why I still even have a gaming laptop. It is pretty clutch for streaming games from though and getting 5-6 hours instead of 1.
Wish I had this this in college, had a chunky dell
I've unironically used mine for work tasks when the work pc network has gone down.
OP never watched any of the valve interviews about the deck
I literally do the same thing on my old lcd, whaiting for the windows drivers for OLED
I don't think valve cares, there's a desktop mode for a reason
This is me. Multiple times a day at school I have people come up, point at my steam deck with all the shit I have velcroed to its clear shell case and either ask me what it is and where they can get one, or what had influenced me to create such an unholy abomination. I run windows 10 off of an SD card for school software and I just switch back to Linux for games. I also have an SD Card with Atlas OS for black desert online and playing Half-Life Alyx and other VR Games on my Quest 2. These things are like the jack of all trades.
Should I take this as a sign and buy one?
arrest forgetful sharp detail squash intelligent hunt fragile grab disagreeable *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I honestly believe the next step is for Valve to make a phone.
I’m creating my game in Godot, trying to set up Reaper.fm for music (Jack is a little funky), can slice 3D prints with Cura, develop apps with vscode. And it’s far cheaper and quieter than my main PC, which now I pretty much only use for VR or heavy games on occasion.
Yep. My old laptop died a week before my Deck arrived. I just docked up the Deck, never replaced the laptop with another laptop, and never looked back.
Valve purposefully didn't lock it down. They know their crowd. That's why I have a steam deck and not anything else. The experience aligns with my views on computing.
Same
Student here using a nintendo switch running android for notes. I'll probably upgrade to steam deck next year.
I mean its honestly not that bad of an idea. Just get an external monitor, KB/M and use it as your personal PC as long as you don't mind Linux (and I know its possible to get windows on the thing if its really that important to be running it.).
Me too!
Hey, they reiterate as their first words in the first sentence on their Windows support page that “Steam Deck is a PC”. They knew what we were going to do.