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Steam Deck |OT| Nintendo Switch 2

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
Not to labour the point, but I can’t get over how well this thing is running games.

It’s almost disconcerting. At the moment I’m not even really playing anything; just installing stuff to see how amazingly games perform.

I did the same thing my first two days with mine. For something targeting such a low resolution it's pretty damned beefy. And AMD's FSR is truly impressive.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
It's probably apparent that I love the Steam Deck, and since my son's unit with the good fan came a month ahead of my unit with the shitty whiney fan, I had nothing but good things to say. However, this fan whine has been putting a damper on my fun, and with the new beta fan curves now my unit is whiney and smells like hot glue. I contacted Valve, and they stated they would reevaluate my case after future updates, and they refused to send me a new good fan. iFixit sold out of fans in less than 5hrs in the middle of the night, so I'm stuck with this...


It will bore a hole in your brain even from 6ft away...
 
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
It's probably apparent that I love the Steam Deck, and since my son's unit with the good fan came a month ahead of my unit with the shitty whiney fan, I had nothing but good things to say. However, this fan whine has been putting a damper on my fun, and with the new beta fan curves now my unit is whiney and smells like hot glue. I contacted Valve, and they stated they would reevaluate my case after future updates, and they refused to send me a new good fan. iFixit sold out of fans in less than 5hrs in the middle of the night, so I'm stuck with this...


It will bore a hole in your brain even from 6ft away...

That sucks man, hope you're able to get some replacement fans soon.

I had my wife watch your video and compare it to my unit and I guess they sound similar. I have trouble hearing - especially stuff in this range - so I guess for once I'll count that as a blessing.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
That sucks man, hope you're able to get some replacement fans soon.

I had my wife watch your video and compare it to my unit and I guess they sound similar. I have trouble hearing - especially stuff in this range - so I guess for once I'll count that as a blessing.
We had the 256GB with a good fan for a month before getting the 512GB with the bad fan, so it was disappointing to go from a generic whoosh sound to having the woosh+high pitch whine. It's the whine that gets to me, bores a hole into my brain after awhile. The majority of my time on this thing has been with DOOM Eternal, and to have it screaming like that is crazy. I play this thing while hanging watching sports and Netflix with my family, so I can't rely on having maxed-out volume drown it out. Drives people nuts.

I was just venting since Valve basically told me they won't help and they're determined to placebo people into thinking it's solved with updates, and I was going to fix it myself, but the fans on iFixit sold out between 3:30am and 8:30am while I was sleeping. I just want the experience I had with the unit with the good fan. Anyway, 1st-world problems. I just have to wait a month or 2 to get it fixed.
 

PhaseJump

Banned
It's probably apparent that I love the Steam Deck, and since my son's unit with the good fan came a month ahead of my unit with the shitty whiney fan, I had nothing but good things to say. However, this fan whine has been putting a damper on my fun, and with the new beta fan curves now my unit is whiney and smells like hot glue. I contacted Valve, and they stated they would reevaluate my case after future updates, and they refused to send me a new good fan. iFixit sold out of fans in less than 5hrs in the middle of the night, so I'm stuck with this...


It will bore a hole in your brain even from 6ft away...


Mine was like that on day one. Tape mod, and the beta software fixed it. Check to see if the whine stops or goes away when you push some pressure on Valve's logo. If it goes away, tape it up to thicken it there.
After the new beta fan curve they pulled out (and put back again), I removed my tape and the whistling barely came back, I would do it again in a second if the thing started squealing again.

Valve won't fix this. It's an unusable garbage product in that state, and 99% of the people who you complain about it to are mentally deficient enough to hand wave it as a first world problem, jealous that you got it already while they keep checking their email.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
jshackles jshackles Here's a volume-boosted version of the 6ft-away video, might make it easier for you to hear it. It's not the woosh that bothers me, it's the whine that nukes my brain. I feel like a dog when somebody blows a dog whistle.


Here's my son's 256GB unit...


So much better. If I didn't experience both, I would probably be a little less pissed, but once you've heard you can't go back.
 
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jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
jshackles jshackles Here's a volume-boosted version of the 6ft-away video, might make it easier for you to hear it. It's not the woosh that bothers me, it's the whine that nukes my brain. I feel like a dog when somebody blows a dog whistle.
Funny that you mention dog whistle, because with my bad hearing I still can't tell what you're talking about. But that's not surprising, there are lots of mid-range tones I just cannot pick up on at all and a few of them (like the noise I'm sure is in your video) seem to drive people bananas. I blame working for almost 30 years in server rooms and data centers, especially when I was younger and lived in the American South people would call you a pussy if you asked for hearing protection.

Anyway, I hope you're able to get it fixed eventually. If I were in your shoes I'd be like "sorry little CrustyBritches Jr, but the loud Steam Deck is yours, enjoy".
 

PhaseJump

Banned
The thing about this as far as RMA goes. Valve takes a few days to answer you in the first place, and their answers are: We're working on fixing it with new software updates. (They did in Beta for the most part) and then they just want you to prove it by recording your bullshit noise, while they continue to tell you they are working on fixing it with software.

This fan whine is loud in the videos, but they still don't do it justice. It's ringing like a tuning fork. It cuts through sound. It goes through walls. You can hear it when switched on in another room like a broken TV set from the 1970s.

Thicker plastic on the back would fix it and slightly change the fan intake airflow. Losers out there without the Deck, ready to dive on grenades for Valve if you criticize anything; they will be the first ones to point out the blatantly obvious dangers of messing with air flow, due to catastrophic temperature changes that only exist in their head.


It's irritating, needing to open up and repair a brand new device. That being said, it's still the best device in it's class.
 
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Griffon

Member
It's probably apparent that I love the Steam Deck, and since my son's unit with the good fan came a month ahead of my unit with the shitty whiney fan, I had nothing but good things to say. However, this fan whine has been putting a damper on my fun, and with the new beta fan curves now my unit is whiney and smells like hot glue. I contacted Valve, and they stated they would reevaluate my case after future updates, and they refused to send me a new good fan. iFixit sold out of fans in less than 5hrs in the middle of the night, so I'm stuck with this...


It will bore a hole in your brain even from 6ft away...

I'm in the same boat. This fan situation is unacceptable.

I'm avoiding playing my Deck more and more because that noise is killing all enjoyment I'd get from it.
 
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Ultradsa

Member
My fan is super quiet and even when playing demanding games I can't hear it. It's a 256gb model. I wonder if certain models got a fan replacement sooner then others.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Mine was like that on day one. Tape mod, and the beta software fixed it. Check to see if the whine stops or goes away when you push some pressure on Valve's logo. If it goes away, tape it up to thicken it there.
After the new beta fan curve they pulled out (and put back again), I removed my tape and the whistling barely came back, I would do it again in a second if the thing started squealing again.

Valve won't fix this. It's an unusable garbage product in that state, and 99% of the people who you complain about it to are mentally deficient enough to hand wave it as a first world problem, jealous that you got it already while they keep checking their email.
Concerning the beta fan curve, it does help in the menu where they just change the threshold for when to kick the fan on, but in-game when you're at 80°C GPU temp and 84°C CPU temp, and the fan is spinning 5500 RPM+, it doesn't help.

Just got a chance to test the whine thing by pushing in on the Valve logo and it does mitigate the whine. You'll have to run me through how to do the tape mod.
 
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PhaseJump

Banned
Concerning the beta fan curve, it does help in the menu where they just change the threshold for when to kick the fan on, but in-game when you're at 80° GPU temp and 84°C CPU temp, and the fan is spinning 5500 RPM+, it doesn't help.

Just got a chance to test the whine thing by pushing in on the Valve logo and it does mitigate the whine. You'll have to run me through how to do the tape mod.

Stack strips of black electrical tape about 4 layers thick and put them on the opposite side of the Valve logo above the fan. There is already a big piece of similar material on the inside of the back panel when you take it off. The tape you're adding should be around the corner of that in the middle of the Deck.

Other people put an extra piece of tape on wires coming off the fan itself, where they might run over the intake blades, but I never bothered with that myself.

It works, either through restricting the air flow a little bit, or just baffling the sound from escaping and being a problem. I never noticed the temperature rising, but you might want to monitor everything before and after to dial it in and see if there are changes.
 

Chiggs

Member
The device is definitely one of those things you have to see to believe.

Glad you're enjoying it!

Im just floored by it, and when I saw the awful packaging it arrived in, boy was I not happy. But turning it on and playing a few games…holy shit, it’s that good. There’s no denying it.

Also, the fan is blowing out this air that smells like a new video game console, and I keep sniffing it, which probably makes me a weirdo. Oh well…
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
happy season 3 GIF
 

triphero

Banned
I just got my email reservation to buy my deck. But its for the one with smallest disk space. Is there a way to keep the reservation and buy the one that is bigger?

And I plan to play this primarily docked. Is that stupid. If I am playing it docked the whole time, should I just get a cheap gaming PC instead?
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I just got my email reservation to buy my deck. But its for the one with smallest disk space. Is there a way to keep the reservation and buy the one that is bigger?

And I plan to play this primarily docked. Is that stupid. If I am playing it docked the whole time, should I just get a cheap gaming PC instead?
No

Yes
 

baphomet

Member
I just got my email reservation to buy my deck. But its for the one with smallest disk space. Is there a way to keep the reservation and buy the one that is bigger?

And I plan to play this primarily docked. Is that stupid. If I am playing it docked the whole time, should I just get a cheap gaming PC instead?

No you can't upgrade.

That's a terrible idea.
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
I just got my email reservation to buy my deck. But its for the one with smallest disk space. Is there a way to keep the reservation and buy the one that is bigger?

And I plan to play this primarily docked. Is that stupid. If I am playing it docked the whole time, should I just get a cheap gaming PC instead?

- I doubt it's possible, but I'd try emailing Valve and checking directly with them

- Given how well the FSR works with most games it's not a terrible idea. The upsides over a cheap gaming PC is that it's portable, Steam's shader pre-caching gives a slight bump in performance for some games, you have the option to play handheld should the mood ever strike you, and as far as Linux distros goes I am actually a little impressed with how streamlined yet still easily usable SteamOS is (customized Arch)

But handheld is really where it's at. The device and Steam Mode are designed almost perfectly for it.

HcZNsdo.png
 
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CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Pretty sure that one of these updates added more custom resolutions. Previously, you couldn't get lower resolution at 16:10 in games like DOOM Eternal and Days Gone, but now there's all sorts of options that can fill the whole screen in combo with FSR.

768x480 FSR in DOOM Eternal for a 120fps experience...
3Nx0uhr.jpg


640x400 FSR in Days Gone for a 60fps experience...
hIUUXE6.jpg

...and no letterboxing.
GIF by FOX International Channels


*edit*Yep, as I suspected "SteamOS 3.2 also includes more internal screen resolution options for games to choose from". Good shit.
 
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Ultradsa

Member
- I doubt it's possible, but I'd try emailing Valve and checking directly with them

- Given how well the FSR works with most games it's not a terrible idea. The upsides over a cheap gaming PC is that it's portable, Steam's shader pre-caching gives a slight bump in performance for some games, you have the option to play handheld should the mood ever strike you, and as far as Linux distros goes I am actually a little impressed with how streamlined yet still easily usable SteamOS is (customized Arch)

But handheld is really where it's at. The device and Steam Mode are designed almost perfectly for it.

HcZNsdo.png
Just out of curiosity why not aim for 45fps @ 45hz or 50fps @ 50hz, Pretty much most games can be tweaked to hit that target reliably, in my experience anyway.
 

BlueHawk357

Member
I really dislike the button locations, feels like it’s all crammed together. Would be nicer if the speakers were underneath and the controls were under each other like the switch perhaps?
 

PhaseJump

Banned
Linux desktop distros are generally as easy to use and get around in as Windows XP - 7 was.
Everybody puts way too much weight into the choice of desktop environment, the package manager, or base their decisions around the release schedule, how often it offers up updates to the stable build. In general it pretty much all operates 90% the same way.

Once Linux makes sense, you begin to look at Windows for what it is. A massive rigged together monster that increasingly gets in the way with multiple, fragmented, stupidly designed options to do things in a GUI. A bloated OS that intrudes on privacy, and offers no advantages as a daily driver for most people. These days the only reason Windows should be booted, is if there are professional tools that require it. People don't want to switch though, so they stick to it and take the intrusion. I still use windows just because I have it on machines already and removing or losing it is more of a headache than backing up and switching. It's procrastination or laziness.

Windows 11 is never going to touch these machines, and once 10 is EOL I'm moving them to Arch. I'll probably complain about it the whole time, too. Just thinking about it is making me want to shut down the PCs and do this:

images
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Just applied TouchProtect trackpad skins to my Deck. I put the carbon fiber skins on my son's Deck, so I decided to switch it up and put the mini hex on mine...
oNQP4Sh.jpg

The texture of the carbon fiber feels better, but these are still good. At $12.95 they're are massively overpriced, but I wouldn't want to go without them, as it feels much better with textured surface on the trackpads.

I was messing with the case and this was stuck under the back band...
cC9aFIM.jpg

It appeared to be a vibrator/dildo bag, but then I thought about it and maybe it's for putting the power supply in and putting under the back strap? I hadn't really connected that maybe that's what that back strap is for.
lC1TGaQ.jpg
 
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Filben

Member
jshackles jshackles Here's a volume-boosted version of the 6ft-away video, might make it easier for you to hear it. It's not the woosh that bothers me, it's the whine that nukes my brain. I feel like a dog when somebody blows a dog whistle.


Here's my son's 256GB unit...


So much better. If I didn't experience both, I would probably be a little less pissed, but once you've heard you can't go back.

Mine's like something in between and it still annoys me.

Good thing is I play mostly indie games that don't require even half the Deck's power in many cases so the fan rarely gets on. But when it does it annoys me.

I ordered a second Deck for the October shipping and will probably sell this one I have now then.

Pretty sure that one of these updates added more custom resolutions.
Yep, they mentioned it in the patch notes.
 
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CrustyBritches

Gold Member
Mine's like something in between and it still annoys me.

Good thing is I play mostly indie games that don't require even half the Deck's power in many cases so the fan rarely gets on. But when it does it annoys me.

I ordered a second Deck for the October shipping and will probably sell this one I have now then.
My son got the good fan on his, so it was a bummer to get the whiney fan after having such a positive experience. I'm still working on Valve support, sending them vids and attempting to get a replacement sent. I refuse to RMA and just end up with the same problem, or worse with a different unit. Still hoping iFixit will get a bunch in stock, too.

I ordered 2 Decks right at launch in July last year. Once we got the first one last month, everybody loved it so we reserved 3 more for 'After Q3'. Hopefully they'll come before Christmas. It completely changes the dynamic of PC gaming from being a hermit in your room, to hanging out in the livingroom together playing games and chatting while the TV is going. Offers a lot of freedom and flexibility.
If you havent seen, you can try the upcoming steam deck UI for steam big piture mode on PC (unoffically):


They should make a standalone controller based on Steam Deck for use with Deck UI as a way to solve the age-old "want to play on a comfy couch" console vs PC claim. Steam controller was an abomination, but something like this would be cool...
IJhjqBu.jpg

^forgive the unfinished middle area I just threw it together in 10min.
 
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BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
I never got a chance to finish Ni No Kuni on my PS3. The remastered edition is on sale on Steam for $8.99 (their Animay sale). I'm thinking it will play great on the Deck. About to pour some bourbon, install it, and find out.

Update: I was correct. This remastered edition is gorgeous and runs at a solid 60 fps, Joe Hisaishi's music is nice and vibrant through these speakers, and the battery is estimated to last over 4 hours (after several minutes in, adjusted down to 3.3 hours - still not bad)
 
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Zannegan

Member
My son got the good fan on his, so it was a bummer to get the whiney fan after having such a positive experience. I'm still working on Valve support, sending them vids and attempting to get a replacement sent. I refuse to RMA and just end up with the same problem, or worse with a different unit. Still hoping iFixit will get a bunch in stock, too.

I ordered 2 Decks right at launch in July last year. Once we got the first one last month, everybody loved it so we reserved 3 more for 'After Q3'. Hopefully they'll come before Christmas. It completely changes the dynamic of PC gaming from being a hermit in your room, to hanging out in the livingroom together playing games and chatting while the TV is going. Offers a lot of freedom and flexibility.

They should make a standalone controller based on Steam Deck for use with Deck UI as a way to solve the age-old "want to play on a comfy couch" console vs PC claim. Steam controller was an abomination, but something like this would be cool...
IJhjqBu.jpg

^forgive the unfinished middle area I just threw it together in 10min.
But I love the Steam controller. =/

That said, I'd welcome a next gen one as you describe. I think they can do better on the ergonomics than simply squishing it all together though. For one thing, there'd be room for the face buttons and D-pad in the middle as opposed to the outer edge. And since your hands would be close together, angling the two "halves" a bit or else adding wing grips would decrease wrist strain.

I doubt it will happen, but I'd pick one up in a heartbeat, especially for a more capable successor.

Of course, the next logical step is detachable grips (a la joycon, but with Index palm straps) that also work for the Deck 3's portable VR headset. That's the dream.
 

CrustyBritches

Gold Member
I had seen the mic volume slider in the menu, but I didn't realize those 2 dots on the top of the screen were the mics:messenger_grinning_sweat:...
steam-deck.png

Installed Discord from the Discovery app in Desktop Mode and I was playing L4D2 with my son and my brother in-law tonight and the mic worked pretty good. I also learned you can use the controller config from the Official Layouts for L4D2. It's labeled "for use with PS4 controller", but the button prompts show as Deck input. Pretty fucking cool since I can't aim worth shit with the touchpads.
 
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