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[Archaic101]

I don't have a PC of any quality around the house, but I'm considering just grabbing one of the dozen or so $300 Steamdecks I see on FB Marketplace around here and using it in place of a desktop.

I don't really enjoy portable gaming, so this would be its primary application (I've looked into the docks, and it seems perfectly functional). So that said, I was just wondering if anyone else here does this, whether or not they enjoy it, and how much of a pain it is to run non-Steam games on it, for those with little PC experience (I've got about a 200 Amazon and Epic games that I just kept claiming for free).

Just seeking some general input, I guess. Thanks in advance!

 

[Puscifer]

2020 and below you'll have an amazing time

2021 to now it's a high powered switch, 30 fps and better graphics. Remasters tend to run amazingly.

For the price it's honestly a better deal than any PC you can build. Only downside you'll wanna invest in the steam dock for VRR and set expectations at 1080p.

If you want serious gaming, maybe save up a couple hundred more and see what builds are there for the price.

 

[StevieWhite]

There's really no easy way to answer that - It depends on what you play, and how sensitive you are to performance issues.

FWIW, I love it.

 

[MacReady13]

To get a Windows 11 experience (which I'm not certain is easy to get on Steam Deck but I may be wrong) then I'd go an Ally. I have the Ally X and it's a beast of a handheld, plus doubles as a Windows 11 unit too.

 

[Fbh]

I don't have a Steamdeck myself but know a few people who do. I guess it will depend on what you want to play on it.
Indies and older AAA games seem to run fine on it but some of the newer stuff either doesn't run well at all or requieres you to play with relatively low resolution and settings (like 720p-800p with low settings) which often still looks great if you'll be playing on the 7" screen of the system, but will probably look significantly worse if you blow it up to a 24-32" Monitor (or a bigger TV)

 

[Jaybe]

You can launch non-Steam game with a tool caller Heroric Launcher, I believe. I’ve only stuck to Steam games for now. I think it’s great for last gen games and indies. You could always buy it, try it, and if you don’t like it, sell it.

 

[Quasicat]

It’s awesome if you have a Steam library that you’ve been wanting to get back into. The UI is absolutely amazing if you want the console experience on your TV. I use an Xbox controller with it and it runs great at 1080p/sometimes 60, sometimes 30.

Lately, I’ve been using it to run Xbox Cloud gaming and remote play on a PS5. I know it’s a bit overkill for streaming, but it runs really well and I can get around 5 to 6 hours of battery life doing it.

Overall, it’s a very versatile machine, but if it was my main source for gaming I would pick up something a lot more powerful.

 

[Onironauta]

I suggest getting a handheld that supports external GPUs (through USB4 or Oculink)

 

[DrDryRub]

I dunno about the steam deck but the Rog ally /X is great. I dock my ally X at work and game on that. Currently playing rift apart on my Rog ally x flawlessly

 

[Alebrije]

To get a Windows 11 experience (which I'm not certain is easy to get on Steam Deck but I may be wrong) then I'd go an Ally. I have the Ally X and it's a beast of a handheld, plus doubles as a Windows 11 unit too.

Does de Asus Ally is the most powerfull handheld avaliable now? Or there are other?

Like the OP idea of using a deck for office/ Windows but want to play the Best performance on handheld.

 

[kevboard]

there is a reason it has a 1280x800p display. because that is the resolution any semi-modern game will run ok at. anything above that and you're getting into issues.
very demanding games won't even work well at that resolution and will need upsampling like FSR or XeSS to run well.

 

[AndrewRyan]

Been using it as my primary platform the last 8mo. I'm a snob and usually play on the latest and greatest hardware so it's a big step down but honestly it's been pretty good actually. There's a growing list of games I'm looking forward to playing on a big-rig but there's so much else to play I'm not suffering in the slightest, and also saves money.

Look up some videos of your favorite games playing on deck and see if they're acceptable. The top left corner usually shows the framerate. This dock works great. Most of the time I use this tiny dock now with AR glasses and a dualsense.

 

[El Muerto]

If you want a stationary setup then you should just find an old Dell OptiPlex or HP Elite desk on ebay for around $50, slap a $200 gpu in it and get a better experience for around the same price. Then you'll have windows on it so no need to mess with 3rd party apps to play your epic and amazon games. I do have a dock for my steam deck that's hooked up to the tv. It's been fine, but at 1080p games will struggle.

 

[BennyBlanco]

 

[ZehDon]

Honestly, it depends on your gaming roster. If you're looking at Skyrim, Age of Empires 2, Evil Genius 2, Dark Souls 3 - basically older, or less demanding, titles, you'll be fine. 30FPS at 1080p is on the cards for most of that. However, if you're hoping for Space Marine 2, Black Myth Wukong, or Resident Evil 4, you'll get a pretty subpar experience.

 

[Jesb]

Anyone try SH2 on a deck yet?

 

[Kacho]

Anyone try SH2 on a deck yet?

Heard it ran like ass so I didn’t bother. Protondb rates it as platinum but the game is too demanding for the hardware. It’ll be good on Steam deck 2.

 

[kevboard]

Anyone try SH2 on a deck yet?

I installed it out of curiosity (I didn't actually plan to play it on the Deck) and it runs REALLY badly.
you can't hit a steady 30fps basically no matter what you do. FSR, TSR, everything on low etc. by the time you hit 30fps-ish, you'll run at 240p

 

[MacReady13]

Does de Asus Ally is the most powerfull handheld avaliable now? Or there are other?

Like the OP idea of using a deck for office/ Windows but want to play the Best performance on handheld.

I'm certain that there really isn't much better out there in terms of gaming performance on a handheld. I love it.

 

[kevboard]

Does de Asus Ally is the most powerfull handheld avaliable now? Or there are other?

there are some chinese ones that are slightly more powerful I think. the Ally X is up there tho.

the AMD Z2 will soon be available, so many manufacturers will probably release new handhelds using that chip, which will be the next real step up from the Ally X

 

[BennyBlanco]

there are some chinese ones that are slightly more powerful I think. the Ally X is up there tho.

the AMD Z2 will soon be available, so many manufacturers will probably release new handhelds using that chip, which will be the next real step up from the Ally X

That’s what I’m waiting for. People said they should start popping up early next year.

 

[Magic Carpet]

It works but I was disappointed on my big screen tv. 720P upscaled to 4k 82" screen isn't good.
I ended up just getting a new prebuilt PC.

 

[simpatico]

This is one case where you might be better off with an MSI RAZORPUNCH or ASUS BIONIC NEBULA. The pre-configured Windows would go a long way for the docked mode, not to mention the perf. But if you're anything close to a PC novice just get the Deck. It works better and you won't know what you're missing anyways. You'll be golden for any indie or emulated stuff and anything up to PS4 era

OP if you have zero plans for handheld mode this is so much better.

 

[Puscifer]

You get a whole PC for the price of a GPU! OP THIS IS THE WAY

 

[bender]

2020 and below you'll have an amazing time

Depends how far you go back as the further you go, the worse controller support can often be.

You get a whole PC for the price of a GPU! OP THIS IS THE WAY

It sold out in moments, sadly.

 

[lmimmfn]

I'll be honest with you.

Non steam games while working are a bit of a pain, needing to launch in desktop to update heroic etc.

I don't think the deck is the right product for you unless you're playing mainly pre 2017 games.

However, I thought I would hate handheld gaming and bought the steamdeck for holidays but I ended up loving it, while cooking play for 10 mins, put it in sleep, restore takes a second and back in the game for another 10 mins.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

It's weak sauce

 

[GHG]

It's not.

I wouldn't dream of attempting to try and play anything at a resolution higher than the internal screen.

 

[Topher]

Not well. It has the power to do well at 720p but that is about it.

 

[HogIsland]

Steam Deck degrades a lot at 4k. I only dock the deck on vacation: hotels and Airbnb tvs. A better option is to install bazzite Linux on a desktop/laptop if it's gonna be mainly used as a gaming system. Another alternative on Windows is Big Picture Mode.

 

[Griffon]

I love the steam deck, but it can't handle larger resolutions, if you do you'd have to stick to retro games.

 

[JimboJones]

Nice for emulation, older stuff, lite indie games but like others have said anything bit more intensive or modern usually gets away with being on the 800p screen.
Maybe if you were sitting further back in living room situation it might help but sitting close to the screen won't be kind to anything needing upscaling.

 

[Silver Wattle]

The main problem you will face is with titles released within the last 5 years, and since monitors will be a much higher resolution than the steamdeck your performance at native res will be much lower than on the steamdeck.
The steamdeck's small screen also helps hide low quality textures, so using a larger screen will make those bad textures very obvious.

Basically, a monitor will require higher resolution and higher settings which will cause lower fps, so while it may work as a PC it won't be a great one for games unless they are old/low graphic games.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Nice, that would actually be a decent upgrade for me. I still have ddr3 and a 2080.

 

[Fess]

It’s too weak for anything modern on a big screen unless you’re fine playing in 30fps and low resolution. But works great for 2D games like Hollow Knight and the likes and 3D games not so demanding, older games, indie, etc.
I wouldn’t get one for docked gaming alone, it’s the handheld aspect that makes it great.