Yeah you should! I got one for my partner and she loves it.

But what if I just received my Deck. Holy shit is it amazing. But also I’m overwhelmed. What should I do first? Do you all have game recommendations? Also I broke my SD card while removing the shell so I could get a better whiff of the vent.

Do you have a Steam library already or are you starting from scratch?

That’s definitely true. I’ve had to just kind of lean to be bilingual but if there nonnegotiable factor then I’d recommend an Xbox controller.

Probably a DualSense - native Linux drivers from Sony. Touchpad. Gyro.

I’d say far from most. A lot won’t even let you set it manually in the settings.

I think it should have “boot to account picker” for people who share a Deck like a living room console.

Also a “boot to desktop mode” for people who want to use it as a desktop PC.

I switched to a DualSense because Sony provides native Linux drivers. It seemed to work better.

You’re going to have a great time! What are you going to play first?

That’s why for the first couple of months I had a fairly strict “no desktop mode” self imposition. Kept it to Steam Games and tinkering only within what was available in settings do I wouldn’t go down modding, emulation, sideloading rabbit holes.

I hope that eventually Valve adds a setting for “boot to desktop by default” an option.

The Steam Deck is a handheld console by default but its versatility is part of what makes it such a unique and awesome device.

With a docking station and controller it becomes a great living room console. I think the UX could still use some improvements in small areas but it’s a great experience already.

But right now it’s not the best desktop PC experience because even if you hook up a mouse and keyboard, it boots into game mode by default and can’t be configured on the settings.

I honestly can imagine a future where after several iterations of the Deck I’ve got one hooked up to my TV, one at my desk, and one in my backpack or bedside table or wherever I play in handheld mode.

I just bring my docking station and a controller. It’s not great but it’s still usually nicer than hooking a laptop up to a TV because you can navigate the UI from the couch with a controller.

I wish there was an easy way to cast the image to the TV while playing the game from the Deck in your hands. Hell, even just a second USB C port so I could hook up an HDMI cable with a dongle while having it plugged in would work alright.

The progress on Proton, SteamOS, and the Steam Deck is honestly amazing.

Releasing SteamOS to other devices will be a huge deal - I believe it will accomplish what Steam Machines set out to do originally.

Hopefully a Steam Controller 2 will be not far behind to provide a first class controller-based experience on Linux.

Gaming has been such a barrier to Linux adoption and looks like it’s truly about to turn around. Gamers are such natural Linux allies - bringing that community into Linux will benefit the open source ecosystem so much.

Basically the ability to play games that I want to play but which I can’t play on the existing Deck. Not really very many games right now it can’t handle acceptably well.

eGPU with a nice dock that had that built in would be tempting. I play in docked mode more than handheld so if I could play new releases at 4K resolution and say 120hz that would have me considering it.

Also a second USB C port so I could easily hook up to a display or peripheral while plugging into a charger would be nice. Sometimes a dock is just too fiddly to deal with. I’d sometimes like to be able to play a game on my Deck but have the game on the TV so say my friends can see what’s going on. Or use it on a trip in a hotel room without bringing the Dock and a controller.

Basically the ability to play games that I want to play but which I can’t play on the existing Deck.

eGPU with a nice dock that had that built in would be tempting. I play in docked mode more than handheld so if I could play new releases at 4K resolution and say 120hz that would have me considering it.

Also a second USB C port so I could easily hook up to a display or peripheral while plugging into a charger would be nice. Sometimes a dock is just too fiddly to deal with. I’d sometimes like to be able to play a game on my Deck but have the game on the TV so say my friends can see what’s going on. Or use it on a trip in a hotel room without bringing the Dock and a controller.

Couple of low to medium impact drops inside my house. Never sustained any visible damage. One of them was a big enough drop that I was worried but I picked it up and found it in perfect condition still.

I play in docked mode more than handheld anyway (on my OLED TV). Honestly not even sure if the Deck 2 will be worth an upgrade for me if my og is still kicking. I think I’d need OLED, 1080p, better performance, better battery, a second USB-C port, and a lighter chassis for it to feel worth it for me. That much improvement feels like Deck 3 at the soonest.