Steam Deck: 10 things you need to know about Valve's console

Steam deck

More than two and a half months ago, Valve he presented la Steam deck. At first we all thought it would be a portable console to use on Steam, but in the end it is much more than that. For that reason, the € 419 that they will ask for it is not a high price, and more if we take into account that we can install different operating systems and use it as if it were a computer, saving distances.

What about can be used as a kind of mini computer Tower is a perfect example that it is worth investigating in depth to know what a device, software or whatever we are talking about can do. In this article we are going to talk about ten things to know about the Steam Deck, although we have already talked about some points, such as being able to install different systems.

Cool things about the Steam Deck

  1. Support for various operating systems. By default, the "console" has installed a new version of SteamOS based on Arch Linux and with Plasma, but other operating systems can be installed, such as Windows. You can multi-boot and choose the system you want when starting the device.
  2. Support for Virtual Reality (VR). Although it will not be optimized for virtual reality, the Steam Deck will support VR devices for PC. Playing this type of content requires a good GPU, which brings us to the next point.
  3. Does not support external GPUs. Connecting a console to an external GPU requires a Thunderbolt 3 port, and the Steam Deck does not have any of these. Of course, the "console" has hardware that will allow you to move practically any title with ease.
  4. Haptic experience. Beneath each touchpad is an LRA engine, which will give us some haptic feedback in some games. It is expected that there will be vibrations and shocks, but not that they will be as good as in other devices such as Sony or Nintendo.
  5. Support for multiple Steam accounts. As in the PlayStation, for example, we can configure and choose several Steam accounts, or in other words, we can use different profiles. This is a necessary function in practically any team, and more in those that we probably share with friends or family.

Proton and games outside of Steam

  1. Proton API. Most Steam games are for Windows, but all versions of SteamOS, including the one on the Steam Deck, are based on Linux. To improve compatibility and the catalog, the "console", which we will always put in quotation marks because it is more than that, makes use of Proton, which is intended to be able to run Windows games on Linux-based systems. They will not all work or perfect, but there will be titles available that could not be accessed otherwise.
  2. Non-Steam titles will be playable. Related to the previous point, Proton allows you to play titles that are not on Steam. Valva ensures that there is an option "Add game" in this SteamOS for console with which we can add games from other supported launchers. The problem is that some titles, like the popular Fornite, use anti-cheat systems that are not Linux ready, so you are likely to experience problems… for now.
  3. Available only online, at least at launch. As with the Raspberry Pi and other types of hardware, at first we can only buy the Steam Deck from the Valve page, but soon we could also see it in physical stores. What is confirmed is that it will be sold in third-party online stores later.
  4. Always the same performance. The Steam Deck can be used as a portable console or used as a "dock" or mini computer. Other portable consoles that can be connected to large screens perform differently, but that will not be the case with Valve. It will not matter where we have it connected or if it is pulling the battery; it will always be the same.
  5. ext4 for SD card. If using SteamOS, the card format must be ext4.

Available for christmas

There are already videos on the internet of people who have tried the Steam Deck, but they are from professionals who have received it for a review and, incidentally, to promote it. The «console», which can already be reserved from the official store, will go on sale around the holiday season.


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