Steam Deck

Grumpypants

I've eero mesh in the house so get 450mbps all over the house. If I do a speed test on the deck it is fine. If I boot Xcloud the wi-fi signal drops like crazy but only while that app is running and only in that one room!! It's fine in any other room.

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121167776#Comment_121167776

I wonder if it is set to only download updates only when wired? So when you dock it, Steam tries to run a load of game updates and that eats up the bandwidth?

brady12

Anyone get ubisoft games working on it through steam ? won't log into u play at all so can't play ass creed syndicate on it .

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121207936#Comment_121207936

I use this and it handles all third party launchers and it does a great job.

https://github.com/moraroy/NonSteamLaunchers-On-Steam-Deck

brady12

Thanks must try that later enjoying syndicate on pc so be easier finish it if have it on deck too.

Icyseanfitz

Found a great second function of the steam deck.... childcare 🤣 had the little one on her first holiday and it was invaluable on the plane and apartment for watching her favorite shows/movies

Thargor

Im surprised they never improved the desktop/gaming mode switch, its a minor niggle but you'd think they would have figured out a way for gaming mode to be the equivalent of minimizing and maximizing a window in Windows, it would make the Deck so much more versatile.

Is the Deck worth getting so? I decided to let the dust settle before looking into it.

I'd love to have a portable console and the switch has been a massive disappointment for me, personally.

PC game pass works I presume?

recyclops

Pc gamepass doesn't work, only cloud and I find cloud to work extremely well.

It's my used most console now and I'd be recommending it all day.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272980#Comment_121272980

That's a shame. Why doesn't it work? I thought Steam Deck was essentially a PC?

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121273207#Comment_121273207

Im going to put windows on mine on a separate sd card and swap them out as needed.

Grumpypants

It's defo worth it. It opens up so many options.

PC game pass needs windows (steam deck is using Steam OS / Linux) but it is surprisingly easy to stick windows on an SD card card and boot it at launch, you can swap back by just popping it out again.

But for most game pass games I use the cloud. It doubles the battery life as you don't run the game on the console itself.

Icyseanfitz

Recommend from me anyway, fantastic piece of kit, can emulate everything, can play all modern releases, can use all the streaming options, as long as your not expecting 60fps ultra and are happy with playing games at 30fps it's simply amazing. Best piece of tech I've bought in a long time.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121274118#Comment_121274118

So Ive a long flight (10 hours non stop) coming up and Id like to bring the deck but Im unsure about the battery life. Any tips on battery packs, etc that I could bring with me. I doubt Im going to last even 5 hours with the deck on a flight.

The appeal of portability is playing it on the train/plane so I'd like to download games. Does game pass require a constant connection?

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121274963#Comment_121274963

I believe there’s a way to ‘cache’ Game Pass verification on a Windows install by booting up a game and verifying it. Then if you have the offline option set up properly it will cache verification for a month or whatever (going off Reddit).

Obviously it will be quite a bit more temperamental than a simple Steam install as Game Pass is all built on constant online check ins to ensure you’re subscribed. But there is some limited support for offline play, as above.

Thanks and one final question. Which model would people recommend buying?

I can afford any of them really, just looking for the best choice.

Thanks for all of the advice!

ilovesmybrick

256 GB, with the 64 GB model you're not going to be getting much on there and the 256 has SSD storage rather than eMMC. You can throw in a 1TB sd card, so I use the internal storage for steam games and sd card for emulated stuff etc. It does seem to be a fairly simple job to put in a larger hard drive if needed.

DaveyDave

It speeds on how many games you think you'll have on it, the 64GB with a 1TB SD card is cheaper than the 512GB model and should give you space to store a handful of large modern games. It just depends on how many you want installed at one go.

Icyseanfitz

256gb but check if steam have any refurbs to save even more

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121274853#Comment_121274853

Prob the big beast battery pack is the Anker range. Something like this monster https://www.anker.com/eu-en/products/a1289?variant=42109767549118&ref=anker-prime

But they are hard to get here as they don't deliver themselves. But others are available too, ensure whatever you get it's over 65watts so it charges fast enough. The deck itself is roughly 5,200 mah. So the one above being 24,000 mah would charge your deck 4 times.

Don't forget most planes have a usb charger too. So if you played for three hours, left it charge and watched a movie you might get another 3 out of it without a battery pack to get you there.

McDermotX

Can vouch for the Anker 737. Great option for the likes of the Steam Deck, ROG Ally and tablets. Not something you'll keep in your pocket, but still relatively portable.

Had same issue with delivery and stuff, Anker don't, Amazon don't etc.......but Electrocity usually have local stock or can deliver within a day or so.

https://www.electrocity.ie/product/anker-737-powercore-24000mah-140w-power-bank/

Just ordered the 256gb!

Thargor

I have a fairly big Epic Games library due to never missing their free giveaways for the last few years but Heroic Launcher just wont work for me, Ive tried everything multiple times, games go to load then just sit there on a black screen with an Abort Game option in the bottom right. I followed multiple Youtube and Reddit tutorials but it just wont work for me.

Can anyone think of something else to try or something obvious I might be missing here?

RobertFoster

@Thargor try installing Epic through NonSteamLaunchers instead:

https://github.com/moraroy/NonSteamLaunchers-On-Steam-Deck

I'd problems with Heroic too, but got both Epic and GOG working with the above.

Grumpypants

+1 for the non steam launcher I use it for everything, playstation, Xbox, ea app, ubi, gog, epic etc etc. Never lets me down.

Thargor

Great stuff thanks I'll give it a go, was feeling a bit lost after finishing Tears of the Kingdom but had totally forgot I owned Control on Epic and have been dying to play it,

Can't find the comment above re power banks, but go to adverts and there will be people selling 65w fast charging power banks for really good prices. I bought 2 sealed 25kmAh 65w banks with shipping for 50 quid each.

I took it on a few plane journeys, depending on the game I was getting 3.5hrs on the deck alone and then able to charge it at least twice with the bank but I didn't even need that much

Hellrazer

How easy is it to change the hard drive?

Struggling with the 64gb +512 gb card.

Going to upgrade it this weekend.

Thargor

Very easy way easier than doing anything inside a phone or laptop, just make sure you dont strip the screws they are very soft or were on mine anyway.