I finally caved. I was gonna get an Odin with part of my tax refund, but by the time I spec’d it up to max storage, etc. it was at $399. And a Steam Deck would do so much more, sooo…
Estimated delivery if you order now is October. So expect the hardware revision announce in January.
Oh good deal - I have been super excited to get this, but 99% of what I would be using it for is what I use the Switch for - gaming upstairs in the living room while my wife and I watch our trash TV shows! She’s pretty sensitive if I’m making noise (I had to stop using a very clacky sounding Hoi Pro controller I liked with the Switch) so if this thing had a crazy loud fan, I don’t really think I’d have been able to use it. I’ve been hoping that by the time I get my hands on this (post-Q3 I’m told) they will have gotten it to where I’m going to be really getting a lot out of it - and this is for sure a step in the right direction. Thanks for sharing this.
Finally. My Steam Deck has been at Valve Netherlands since 15th April, I contacted Steam Support four days ago about what’s the hold-up (since the status was still that they are waiting for me to return it to them). Now I got answer from Tessa who told me my RMA is processed and will be shipping out on monday or tuesday.
Hopefully this unit will be completely whine-free.
Yep, the beta update is such an improvement that going back to stable branch is immediately noticeable and no longer tolerable although I didn’t mind before.
Some general thoughts on the Steam Deck by the way: To me it is a thing of wonder like few hardware things have been before (e g. like the Monster 3D or my first laser mouse). Playing Elden Ring perfectly fine hand-held just brings something new to the table (and I guess since I haven’t owned a handheld since the GameBoy I am the more amazed). Also: I just need that Steam Deck right now. I have to travel a lot and can’t use my PC the way I used to.
Things I have learned so far: I will leave the desktop mode just be and won’t ruin my enjoyment by experimenting too much.
Something I wasn’t expecting: Playing FPS with the trackpad as a mouse works like a charme.
Overall the Deck is the right thing at the right time for me. I see lots of mainstream potential here as well. Looking at the UI, the simplified options/presets and the streamlined experience Valve really means it.
Only game I wanted to play that is not working: Fantasy General 2.
Received my RMAd Steam Deck on friday. It is a brand new unit with different serial number.
However, I suspect it has the same shitty fan as the previous unit, because high pitch can still be heard sometimes. But thanks to the new beta firmware, it is overall significantly less annoying, so I think I might hopefully be able to play on this one without issue. I really love the device otherwise. I have 26 games installed right now (all in the internal ssd) and they all work great.
Another thing you could do is have a newborn baby in the house for a few months and pretty soon your brain will automatically block out the high pitch tones.
There are some advantages of being old, I guess. My high-pitched hearing’s not sensitive at all. And by the time I get my “after Q3” Steam Deck, I’ll be a year older.
Same here, I think I’m in the, “October 2022 … maybe,” crowd. If I can even still hear by then I’ll be doing great. I can apparently tune my wife out on command so a Steam Deck? Nothing to it.