So I had sorta forgot I had reserved the 512gb version 1 year ago. Just checked for the first time in a long time and it says it's on track for a July to September shipping window. Not sure I want it still. Have some questions I hope owners can answer.
1) Is it playable offline ? And can it play older 90s and early 2000s games ?
2) How easy is it to use for someone semi computer illiterate? I am way more used to consoles. But there's some older and newer games I want to play.
3) Overall thoughts , and is it worth $700 after tax ?
Trying to decide if I want it still.
Thanks
1. Yes. You just need to have launched the game in online mode at least once and then put the system into 'Offline Mode' in the settings.
2. SteamOS Game Mode is basically a console interface, but if you're wanting to run games not found on Steam you'll have to use Desktop Mode, which is just linux desktop(SteamOS is based on Arch Linux, I believe, with KDE Plasma as the desktop). It would go something like adding it as a non-Steam game then finding a compatibility layer that works said game. If you're talking GoG games then you can use Heroic Launcher and switch between different versions of Proton and Wine until you find one that works, or simply look it up on the internet and see how other people got it running. Also, Steam Deck display runs in a rotated 5:8 portrait mode, so some older games run into issues with it and need specific tweaks. Same with the controls that might requires custom controller layouts to convert KB/M to the Deck controls.
3. I have the 512GB and it's totally worth it. I don't think for my use case the anti-glare screen was a must-have. When I preordered the 512GB model it was because I thought I'd get it faster, and I wanted the biggest storage without having to open the unit. Kind of a fail since the 512GB ended up being the most popular unit, and I'm already wanting to upgrade the internal storage. In hindsight I probably should have just gone with the $399 64GB unit and used the extra $200 to drop a nice 1TB 2230 into it.
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It all depends on how you intend to use it. 40% of my 400 game library is either 'Great on Deck' or 'Playable'. A good amount of 'Unsupported/Untested' games run fine, as well. Couple that with emulation(which includes up to some PS3 games) and there's no shortage of games to play. I'm also dual-booting with SteamOS+Win10 for access to Game Pass. So for me, there's more games than I could ever keep up with.
Your comments about wanting to play some games from the 90s and 2000s, and some older and newer games is kind of vague. Hard to recommend the Deck without some examples. Do you have a decent Steam library, or working on growing one? When you talk about 90s/2000s games are you talking about Steam, GoG, or what?