It would be nice if the major controller APIs used for feeding input into games had native gyro support. I think that’s the biggest limitation with gyro on the Steam Deck - you almost always have to use it to emulate some other input method (mouse or joystick). Almost certalnly because most games use Microsoft’s XInput and that’s based around the Xbox controller and its lack of gyro. I know there was a gyro server to feed Steam Deck raw gyro data directly into Yuzu and it made the gyro parts of BotW playable, but the interface used didn’t seem like much of a standard outside a few emulators.

I just use the default case for the most part. I have a third party case from Amazon with a larger internal storage compartment I use when traveling as I can fit a battery bank, bluetooth earbuds, and extra cables in it.

I have both, mainly got the Ally as an experiment. The Deck is absolutely the way to go. Windows is a dreadful experience in general, but especially so on a handheld. No touchpads means awful mouse control, but Windows means an OS designed around mouse control. Asus’ software feels like a big hack (because it is) haphazardly glued on top of a stock Windows desktop. Steam Big Picture works OK but the Steam menus are limited in functionality compared to using them on SteamOS and the Deck. Meanwhile, the Deck is an incredibly polished product and the SteamOS interface is controller-first. You can still go to the desktop and use it as a PC, but you won’t wind up there accidentally like you will on the Ally. The SteamOS gaming mode is built around operating with a controller and everything works well.

As for running Linux on the Ally? It is doable, but the experience is nowhere as good as the Deck. No seamless sleep and resume< issues with button mapping, limited tweaking of power limits, and more. Just get a Deck OLED and be happy.

I’ll pick this one up eventually. Still need to finish Zero Dawn, which I was playing on my Deck recently while traveling. It’s a good game so far and I’m glad to see Sony games making it to PC.

Any dock that lists Steam Deck support and has the ports you want should be fine honestly. USB C docks are very standardized, so as long as it supports 45W charging or more it’ll almost certainly be fine. I have a bunch of different docks and they all work fine with the Deck. The OLED model doesn’t change this either, any dock that works with the original should work with the OLED.

How much is the money worth to you? If you absolutely love the Steam Deck and have the disposable income, I’d say go for it. I bought the OLED Limited Edition though I already had two LCD Decks (512GB and 64GB upgraded to 512GB) because I broke my first one but later fixed it. I love what Valve is doing with the Deck and with Linux and I had the disposable income to buy it. I’m happy. However, I would say it isn’t the wisest financial decision I could’ve made and if money is tight the LCD Deck is still a perfectly fine option. The performance is basically the same.

Where did it say 90Hz? That sounds like a HUGE upgrade. The OLED image quality will be nice but higher refresh rate is something I’ve really wanted, though unfortunately I haven’t seen anything regarding VRR.

I need that limited edition, it looks EPIC! I already have two Decks but man I need that one. The only complaint I have is they didn’t upgrade to a VRR screen, but OLED will be a nice upgrade in the image quality.

Haven’t used my Deck in a while, but yesterday I played Overwatch on it. New gf plays on console, so she was on Switch and I was on Deck. I’m not good at controller Overwatch but after a few games I felt like I wasn’t a complete drag on our team at least.

Your definition will, but the industry standard of VRR is what it is, and the Steam Deck is not VRR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_refresh_rate

“Variable refresh rate (VRR) refers to a dynamic display that can continuously and seamlessly change its refresh rate without user input.”

Note the “without user input” part.

If you’ve used a VRR display you would be able to see the difference between the fixed but selectable refresh rate of the Deck and proper variable, dynamic refresh rate. There’s a very noticeable difference. The Deck is not VRR. It was never claimed to be VRR. Some of the other handhelds like the ROG Ally do have VRR screens. A VRR screen for the Deck would be an upgrade. I’m not sure why this merits any sort of debate.

Sounds like you’ve never used a VRR display. It’s actually very obvious you’ve never used a VRR display. Once you use one you won’t want to go back. Fixed refresh stutters and/or tears when the game frame rate doesn’t match the display’s refresh rate. VRR just dynamically speeds up or slows down the panel refresh to match, giving a tear-free image with as minimal stuttering as possible. Just because the Deck display supports a wide range of fixed refresh rates does not make it anywhere near equivalent to a proper VRR panel as the Deck screen does not adjust dynamically to match the game FPS.

Adjustable refresh rate and variable refresh rate are not the same thing…have you ever used a VRR display (Freesync/GSync)? VRR means the panel refresh changes dynamically with the game framerate. Having an adjustable fixed refresh range between 30 and 60 is damn nice compared to a fixed 60, but VRR is better and would hugely benefit the Deck since it tends to run a lot of games sub-60.

My biggest wish for a Steam Deck Pro or whatever would be a variable refresh rate screen. 60Hz is still fine for the handheld format given the current Deck APU specs, but if it could handle frame dips below 60 without requiring manually fixing the refresh rate lower or dropping to 30 that would be wonderful.

I have both the Deck and the ROG Ally. The Deck feels like a complete product and is great to use. The Ally is impressive when pushing over 100fps on relatively demanding games, but the overall user experience is garbage. Windows is a terrible platform for a handheld. I dual boot it with Arch now and can run gamescope session for the Deck experience, but I just recently figured out how to use ryzenadj for TDP control so I could see anything near full performance. The buttons don’t work for navigating the Steam UI when in game. Audio requires a UEFI override. It’s still a better experience than Windows but nothing compared to the “it just works” console style Deck experience. The Deck hardware is more ergonomic and has better designed controls too. Trackpads are incredibly overlooked.

I’m guessing they RMA’d this particular one because I think it is a firmware bug. Hopefully a firmware bug that has since been fixed in newer hardware revisons/BIOS updates. My old one ran into the same issue after 6 months and Valve basically offered an immediate RMA when I described the issue.

Yeah, that looks like the same issue mine had. I read that it was an APU firmware/BIOS bug. Hopefully the newer units have patched firmware to fix this. In my case it started happening after I let the battery completely die and didn’t charge it up for a month, so I’ve been more careful about keeping mine charged up now.

Definitely not a thermal issue, the temps barely climbed and the fan never ramped up. It seemed like a TDP lock of 1W or so but only on the CPU as the GPU core would happily boost up still.

I had to RMA mine at the beginning of the year for pretty much the same issue. It would throttle the CPU to like 400MHz in any sort of gaming workload no matter how light. I reinstalled the OS, reset the BIOS, battery storage mode, even unplugged the battery and plugged it back in but nothing fixed it. Valve sent me a brand new unit in its place. Valve’s RMA is top notch. Mine was only around 6 months old at the time so 1.5 years is awesome that they’re still doing it.

At least we know all the returns aren’t just being scrapped now that they’re selling official refurbished units. That’s where all of the RMA units are going I suppose.

Tinkering with settings, web browsing, coding, file management, terminal, DistroBox, YouTube watching, using multiple monitors, installing flatpaks, installing emudeck, installing cryoutilities, compiling code, Qt creator, etc.