Posted 22 March 2023

STEAM DECK - NEW OWNERS THREAD: Share info, tips & tricks, advice, game recommendations and more...

Following the recent price reduction of the Steam Deck, there are obviously going to be a lot of new owners in the coming weeks (including myself). The deal posted by has been a great source of info, but I thought it might be a good idea to start an 'Owners Thread'.

A place to share your setup, top tips and tricks, recommended games, accessories and anything else STEAM DECK related...

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Below are a few links that I have picked up from the deal thread - none of which I've tried out yet as I'm still waiting for mine to arrive:-

How to Optimize Your Steam Deck for a Longer Lasting Battery

How to extend your Steam Deck’s battery life

HOW TO REMOTE PLAY PS5 & PS4 GAMES ON THE STEAM DECK

ADD YOUR FAVORITE STREAMING APPS TO THE STEAM DECK

HOW TO INSTALL THE STEAM DECK PLUGIN MANAGER DECKY LOADER

VIBRANTDECK A STEAM DECK PLUGIN TO ADJUST SCREEN SATURATION

Your Games: Steam Deck Compatibility

How to play Game Pass games on your Steam Deck

How to get the Epic Games Launcher on your Steam Deck

REVIEW: The Steam Deck wasn’t born ready, but it’s ready now

Welcome to your home for crowdsourced Linux and Steam Deck game compatibility reports!

Switch Emulation (Yuzu) Guide for the Steam Deck:-


CryoUtilities 2.0 - MASSIVE Performance Boosts & Space Savings! | Steam Deck:-


Steam Deck SSD Upgrade:-


Steam Deck - Valve's Official Teardown Video:-


STEAM DECK EMULATION STARTER GUIDE

The best microSD cards for the Steam Deck

How Proton on the Steam Deck works

How to Dual/Triple/Quad Boot Steam Deck - SteamOS, Windows, Batocera, Ubuntu:-
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  1. darkstryder360's avatar
    I play majority of my games on XSX and PS5 (and Sim racing on PC Desktop)

    For anything niche, or I want to play in bed/laying down, I play on the SteamDeck.


    Here are a list of games that play well on Deck, that I have enjoyed:

    Teardown
    Portal 2
    Huntdown
    Disco Elysium
    Inscryption
    Splitgate
    Mini Motorways
    Trombone Champ (gyro built in)
    CarX Drift Racing
    Trackmania Stadium
    Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
    Age of Empires 2 HD Edition (yes, it plays and controls well!)

    ...and of course, all of the roms/emulators. Primarily play PS2/PS1 games.
  2. Matholwch's avatar
    For those who fancy playing EA games in their EA games library on Steam Deck, you can install EA App following the instructions here:

    A early problem I ran into after getting the launcher to work, was that EA updated their Launcher, so I had to follow the steps described here:
    reddit.com/r/S…pp/
    Launcher will insist on restarting, it will download, then crash out. Once its downloaded, change the launcher to point at the destager location.
  3. slimy31's avatar
    While this thread is full of great info and lots of good links, the one thing I would recommend to anyone starting out with the Steam Deck is just use it as it was intended, at least for a day or so. Install and play some Steam games, get a feel for how things work. I see people jump straight into emulation on day one and then come up with questions like 'how do I switch from gaming to desktop mode', or 'why do the controls change when I go back to gaming mode'. A very common one I see is 'how do I turn off the FPS counter'? Oh, and don't even consider dual booting Windows as a first task, unless you've done something like it before and reasonably understand what it's trying to do. You don't need to switch to Windows for 95% of stuff, it's only certain games that work better in Windows.

    I would guess that a lot of people would never had looked at Linux before owning a Steam Deck, much less owned a portable PC (which this is). Take it easy, enjoy it, then look at expanding your range.
    Player-1's avatar
    agree with this one thing i have noticed researching on stream deck mainly youtube videos. alot of current gen/last gen games there are videos of having to change graphics setting to make games playable

    videos of changing the FPS to 40 to get a good gameplay output..but if XSX or PS5 had to do this people would be complaining about performance. it being said that this device is a portable PC...dont get me wrong im interested in this device..just think performance for games should be able to dp 60fps in 2023. and maybe some are buying it because of FOMO.
  4. slimy31's avatar
    I think this comment is a little exaggerated;

    So as a general rule of thumb - games from around the 360/PS3 era and prior you can expect to easily get 60fps in most games and decent battery life

    I wouldn't say 'most' PS3 games as there is a huge percentage (particularly AAA titles) that are measured in seconds per frame rather than frames per second. 360 is even worse. Things may improve over time though. I see lots of people jump straight into PS3 and Switch emulation, then be disappointed (or even send it back) when they see the reality of things.

    For me the main thing is for new owners to accept it's limitations. Can it play Horizon Zero Dawn and RDR2? Yes it can. Can it play them reliably for more than an hour? The jury is still out. Are you going to be able to play all the games you remember from your childhood? In my case, yes because I'm old. For newer generations, manage your expectations and just enjoy it for what it is.
  5. widebob's avatar
    I had lots of trouble getting Xbox cloud gaming via Edge to recognise the steam deck controller input. Kept retrying the steps from the Microsoft instructions and kept getting a warning about no controller found. Finally tried a complete reboot of the steam deck and it instantly started working.
  6. Cenobite's avatar
    Installing Epic was a bit of a faff. Maybe should have taken advice & got used to it first. Felt it became quite unresponsive when pressing Steam+X. Might be easier with an external keyboard & mouse.

    When adding games to Steam from Epic/Gog, does that add them to the normal library, allowing you to install via Steam? i.e. if I install a game from Epic on my PC, can I add that to Steam & install from there on the Deck?
    slimy31's avatar
    Yeah, Steam+x can sometimes take a second or two depending on what's going on, that's just a case of being patient. If you are doing any kind of set up an external keyboard and mouse will come in useful. I've got a Logitech K400 for this.

    Epic and GOG don't add the games to Steam, they're just a wrapper to install it on the Steam Deck. You can then add a link to the game within the Steam list, but that doesn't make it a Steam installed game.
  7. xxxman123's avatar
    Found mine was getting quite warm just installing games, then ran into a video on YouTube suggested disabling the fan curve that set at the bottom in Settings/System.
  8. Craigr's avatar
    Ordered a load on Cdkeys yesterday, will see how they play on the Deck.
    Days Gone
    No Man's Sky
    Micro Machines World Series
    Cities: Skylines
    Overcooked 2
    Tekken 7
    Wreckfest
    Planet Coaster
    Don't like that you have to leave the Deck on so they could download as took all night to download the above..
    slimy31's avatar
    That was one of my first thoughts, having to leave it on was a bit of a struggle. The best you can get is to have the screen turn off after a certain time.
  9. ninjapirate182's avatar
    49817766-EwTjY.jpgJust arrived!!
  10. Shane_Prunty's avatar
    BM - steam deck just making it's way from the Netherlands.
    LazyDonkey's avatar
    Author
    Ordered Saturday morning and it's just arrived
    4 days to be handed over to GLS in the Netherlands and then 2 days from there. Look out for an email from Parcelforce with a 1 hour delivery window - probably Monday now.
  11. superted2008's avatar
    I have had my 512gb version about 5 months now. As soon as i received it installed windows 11, the reason i did this was so i can play whatever games i like and not just those on stream. You can either dual boot windows 11 with the steam OS or do a complete format of the drive and install windows.

    Very happy with it so far, battery life isnt great, probably as good as i expected to be fair.
    FireOnAWire's avatar
    Are you dual booting or just running Windows?
  12. Gazzie's avatar
    Got my steam deck on Friday and spent most of the time since playing steamworld dig 2 and really enjoying it. Although it developed an issue this evening and my teenage daughter has started using it. I can’t get it back. Has anyone experienced this issue and what’s the solution?
    Spark's avatar
    Easily remedied by your daughter finding herself somewhere else to live. 😄
  13. Craigr's avatar
    Yes i think you dim it via power settings, but if you put it on standby the downloads stop.
    Thankfully not a screen that gets screen burn.
  14. 1Eye's avatar
    Had my 256gb steam deck just over month
    And thanks to this post. Saved me a lot of time looking for info.
    Got luna/gamepass to run great.
    Tried few emulators wich most things I've thrown at the steam deck run very well
    Managed to install most lunchers (ea,gog,epic.etc) wich with direction was quite easy to to install.
    50 of my steam games of 200 are fully compatible but about 110 are playable.

    I'm old school gamer so tend not to play competitive due to arthritis
    Decided to get back into gaming in lock down, purchased gaming laptop. Used maybe 20 odd times
    Steam deck goes most places so have had a lot more use for price.

    So thanks to poster for tipping me over the edge to get steam deck, showing how most things where easy to setup
    (edited)
  15. FireOnAWire's avatar
    Great idea!
    Still eagerly awaiting delivery
  16. nasovoto's avatar
    Hi all,

    I assume quite few of us got the 64GB model and will be upgrading the ssd so I thought I’d share this (borrowed from Reddit)
    49823170-EwdQV.jpg
  17. stepea's avatar
    Anyone recommend decent screen protector.
    nasovoto's avatar
    I’ve got an anti glare oneanti glare film

    Mr.Shield [3-Pack Screen Protector For Steam Deck (7inch) 2021 & 2022 64 GB/ 256 GB NVMe/ 512 GB NVMe Model Anti-Glare [Matte] Screen Protector (PET Material) amzn.eu/d/1…HeS
  18. biscuitracer's avatar
    Missed the deal but have recently bought the 512gb one, I love it! Surprising how well games look on it and how smooth they run.
    sadbuttrue's avatar
    enjoy, I got the 256gb one on discount and it's great - no regrets
  19. DaddyPig's avatar
    Great thread . Will pass it onto my little man
  20. nasovoto's avatar
    Great idea
  21. petermartin99's avatar
    Thanks very much for this, I've just ordered one and this really helps.

    Have to say, you have a very inappropriate username - you certainly ain't lazy, haha
  22. redmoss's avatar
    You all be the crunch the 64gb version out of stock, expected reservation availability after the sale ends at full recommend RRP on the 23rd at 10am pacific time(horror) just gutted found out after topping up steam wallet (edited)
  23. MISTERb's avatar
    Great idea
  24. ninjapirate182's avatar
    Only had a little bit of time with it so far but here are the things I've done since it arrived yesterday;

    Played Halo 3 on the toilet
    Enjoyed the Desk Job tech demo
    Loaded Netflix/Youtube onto the game mode
    Connected my PS5 controller for easier play
    Somehow found a load of GameCube/N64/GBA games on my deck and started a Nuzlocke run on Heart Gold
    ck12111's avatar
    How did you load Netflix?
  25. 4d4m's avatar
    Is there any reason to buy a game on Steam to play on the Deck, if it's already on PC Gamepass? I guess convenience is one, anything else like compatibility, performance? I'm comfortable with fiddling and have set up linux/windows dual boot machines in the past.
    slimy31's avatar
    Yes. There is 'fiddling' and there is 'spending days upon days trying to get the game working for more than a few minutes at a time'. For example, I have multiple copies of Witcher 3 on various platforms, none of which could get working on the Steam Deck. Thankfully it popped up on a Steam sale for £5 or so, while I was annoyed to spend yet more money on the same game having it direct on Steam meant I could just install and play.

    There are apps such as Heroic launcher and Lutris that make most things easier to work with, so you can take advantage of existing libraries. But every so often it's just worth buying a Steam version of the game.
  26. Shane_Prunty's avatar
    Any recommendations for a good protective plate like a dbrand? I had an eye on a dbrand second hand on an Irish site but it has sold. I've bought one of the easyskinz wraps but is a protective case a must - I'm anal about protecting my gadgets.


    Edit: it's an alternative to the Dbrand Killswitch I'm looking for to be more specific. (edited)
    robimitchell's avatar
    I bought the JSAUX alternative through Amazon. It's cheaper, but apparently I'll be waiting a month for it!
  27. 4d4m's avatar
    Mine's in that weird limbo between Steam saying it's been picked up by carrier and GLS saying "The parcel data was entered into the GLS IT system; the parcel was not yet handed over to GLS."
    robimitchell's avatar
    Yep, mine has been stuck on the same status for a day now - very frustrating!
  28. sadbuttrue's avatar
    had a mild panic earlier when Cyberpunk crashed it, rebooted it and all is well
    I'm frankly amazed at how well AAA games run on this thing
    SaLiHuMoN's avatar
    Have you previously played Cyberpunk in other platforms to tell whether you've noticed any difference?

    I used to play a lot while stadia was still alive, but I am a bit hesitant to buy cyberpunk for Steam deck, because I don't mow if I it's worth it.

    Many thanks! (edited)
  29. metalpaul1000's avatar
    Had my deck for 3 days and still only doing basics like playing games on (and downloading them)

    Noticed though that if I’m playing a game and press the steam button to exit it or do something else the screen will go black but then come back to normal. I did the Turning off and holding the volume up button to turn on via bios screen. Hasn’t fixed it. Did it with DMC last night and vampire survivors this morning. Is this normal or do I have a faulty unit?

    Have literally just downloaded games and played them. Haven't tinkered or even gone into desktop mode.
    TiscaliSurvivor's avatar
    Did you solve this?
  30. Spark's avatar
    Is anyone else noticing how quickly the internal storage fills up even when you don't install any games to it? It's definitely the shader cache patches but I'm not sure if there's a simple way to redirect them to the MicroSD card.
    slimy31's avatar
    I think that would kill the performance. Cache by it's nature needs to be quick and relies on reads and writes, a Micro SD card would not be happy. You're spot on though, I see a fair few owners of the 64Gb SD complain that it's nearly filled up just with shader cache.

    I believe Cryoutilities can help with shader cache maintenance.
  31. waz12345's avatar
    Got mine last week. Have installed 512gb NVME SSD and got Emudeck up and running (with plenty of tinkering). SSD install went pretty smoothly. Really enjoying it! Battery life not great, but its an awesome device. Emulating Zelda BOTW on CEMU and getting 40fps (wiiu version) looks great!
  32. UnknownCube123's avatar
    Anyone having any issues with getting it to dock with your TV?

    I've got a aftermarket deck from Amazon, well reviewed. My TV is a 55 inch 4k Samsung (2021).

    When I first plugged it in, I got a picture and now I've tried the second time and no signal. If I go into desktop mode and plug the dock in I can see the screen and even get the desktop onto my TV. As soon as I go to gaming mode it goes back to no signal.

    This is so frustrating, I've got my controller hooked up, the dock was just the last piece of the puzzle.
    widebob's avatar
    Have you changed it to 40hz in the steam deck settings as this may not be compatible with your tv?
  33. Player-1's avatar
    Anyone get the 512gb microSD card from Amazon for£32 for there Steam Deck today?
    LazyDonkey's avatar
    Author
    Got 2 of them
    Now just looking for an SSD - 1 or 2TB.
  34. LazyDonkey's avatar
    Author
    How is everyone getting on with their Decks? This thread has gone very quiet
    MISTERb's avatar
    Love mine, have revisited some gems i forgot about.

    All ran great for me;
    Bioshock 1,2,3
    Sleeping Dogs
    Dead Space 1-3
    also Midnight suns
  35. biscuitracer's avatar
    Does anyone have must have game for it? I've bought a couple but want one big game to work through.
    slimy31's avatar
    I have Witcher 3, Ark survival evolved and No mans sky installed on mine, are they big enough?
  36. J1240's avatar
    Just managed to bag a deck, finally! Have a few questions.

    Any must have accessories?

    Best SD card? (Going to leave it as is until it’s out of warranty then upgrade the ssd).

    Dock recommendations?

    Do the 8bitdo controllers work okay with it?
    slimy31's avatar
    I went for a screen protector and a rubber grip/cover, but it limits dock options.

    512Gb cards are the best pound/Gb, I've not really noticed any change in performance based on card speed.

    JSAux or Steam OEM, I've seen a fair few people comment that other ones don't charge at full speed, or won't connect to their TV, etc. Bear in mind that while the Steam one might seem expensive, it comes with an extra charger which can come in useful.

    I've heard their controllers work fine but I've never tried myself.
  37. gdb19's avatar
    Is it possible to buy games for other regions from sellers like cd keys and redeem them on the steam deck?
  38. ngs's avatar
    My steam Deck box was double sellotaped; Very well done it is not that noticeable.
    Do customs open packages then re-tape or have I a customer return refurbished ?
    Has anyone else noticed this on their box.

    Need a SD cover that fits with SD Dock; anyone sourced such items. (edited)
  39. Robloxian's avatar
    I only use my laptop for Windows programs to hack my Nintendo mini consoles. Can you still do this if you install windows on an SD card for steam? Does it basically turn your deck into a windows pc?

    Also, is £349 good for the 256GB version? (edited)
    nasovoto's avatar
    £349 IS a great price. You can put tons of emulators up to a Nintendo switch. Definitely don’t ruin it with windows.
  40. Robloxian's avatar
    If I buy Steam credit for £350, can I then top up my steam account and then use my steam credit to buy it? I'll save £20 doing it this way.
    slimy31's avatar
    Yes you can use Steam Wallet to pay for a Steam Deck.
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