In December of last year (2023), I bought a steam deck oled. I have been using it nearly every day, after getting it in my hands, so with that experience I want to share some of my thoughts.
Before I start, I need to say that I have fallen in love with this device and thogh it isn't perfect, there is no such a device that could replace it.
Hardware
Positives
Everything about this machine was thought out, from the design, to each and every little part, so it would feel great to game on it.
I don't have more to say about it, you just need to experience it yourself, to feel how grate it is.
Specific parts
- Oled Screen - the biggest part is the screen. Which is fabulous. It is the perfect size for this kind of a machine, with good and vibrant colors. The touchscreen part is without any issues. The low/hight brightness difference, ensures your surroundings won't bother you.
- Buttons/Joysticks - Great fill, without any issues. Nothing ground breaking, which is good, in some way.
- Trackpads - Much better than I originally tought. From now, if a portable machine like the Steam Deck won't have them, I wouldn't even consider buying them.
- Ventilation - In heavier games hearable, but not in an annoying way.
- Gyro - With its "joystick/trackpad is touched" detection, it is irreplaceable in shooters.
The Problem
My only issue is with its lack of an ergonomy (or at least for my hands). After a few hours of using, my wrist will start aching.
I will need to change to an classic controller, which brakes the point.
This problem isn't ground breaking and I will happily live with it.
USB-C
My future problem bight be breaking my usb-c port, which would be quite painful for me.
It is soldered on the main motherboard (not a daughterboard). This will make the repair process: dangerous, problematic and costly.
Software
Grate integration
Valve really made a great job at hardware and software submersion.
Features like steam input or changing tdp for each and every game are so great.
The gui is intuitive and responsive. It lack some features, but there are quickly added, after the community points them out.
It is created not to annoy you, but for you to play throw it.
Lack of 3rd party hdr support
I will just say, that playing a game in HDR is impossible, if you don't use Proton through the Steam client.
Closed system
Yee... I know why Valve make this decision, but for my (a tinkerer) image based system are an nuisance.
Though you can try installing another OS, which is described in the tips and tricks section.
Valve
It's impossible to write about Steam Deck Oled and never mention valve.
I gained a lot of trust to this company, through its actions around this product.
How their treat customer in a humanly looking way and how they support tinkering around their product.
This trust pushed my to buy a new product This is something unusual for me. Typically, I would buy something used and tested through many years of usage (by someone else / not me).
Tips and Tricks (for steam os users)
Install another os
Installing something else then steam os can save you a shit tone of useless work.
I personally choose Nobara Linux, about which I might write an article.
Thou you need to be wary, not all the distros support Oled version of Steam Deck.
... but if you don't wont to, then:
Bellow you can find tips for steam os (vanilla experiance) users.
Xbox Dongle
It is possible to use it, so read this for installation steps.
Lock Screen
Without any modifications inside your desktop mode you won't be able to use lockscreen with WIN+L.
To add this functinality you need to create a desktop file.
.local/share/applications/screenlock.desktop:
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=Screen Locker
Comment=Lock your screen
Exec=/usr/lib/kscreenlocker_greet --immediateLock
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=emblem-locked
Categories=GNOME;System;
StartupNotify=false
and then add a custom shortcut to launch it.
I got this solution from this source.
Nix packages setup
Unfortunately, if your software doesn't come in a form of a flatpak, them you are fucked ... or are you really?
You can use nix package manager to overcome steam os overriding your changes to the systems.
I used DetermineSystems's installer.
After that, you can install packages via nix profile install nixpkgs#<PACKAGE_NAME>.
You can also use distrobox, but I did not 😁
Their is also a nice article here.
Firefox profiles
Firefox has an amazing function of adding custom profiles. You can thing about them, as if they were separate browsers. This can help you splitting your personal life from work related stuff.
You can add another firefox profile with flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox -p command.
Then you can add an icon to your launcher via creating desktop file.
~/.local/share/applications/firefox-work.desktop:
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Firefox Work
Comment=Work profile for firefox
Exec=flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox --class firefox-work --name firefox-work -P work
Icon=firefox-dev
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=false
StartupWMClass=Firefox_Work