Topic: Valve's Steam Deck console Thread

I found out the device I’m PWM sensitive, and it’s the steam deck. I’ve used countless electronic devices and screens over the decades. And not one cause me to have severe eye strain and headaches like the Steam deck.

Sunday morning, woke up barely able to open my eyes, sensitive to light, and felt like I didn’t sleep a wink. After 30 minutes, i was able to get out of bed.

Took half the day for my eyes to stop hurting. I’ve seen that there are lots of posts about other people being sensitive to PWM.

Really disappointed that Valve hasn’t addressed this. Will probably just repurpose my Deck as a emulation console and use my switch. But that totally defeats the purpose of what i bought the deck for.

I can game for hours on the tv and/or Switch and i feel fine.

From November Steam Deck will be officially available in Australia. I know Switch 2 isn't long off which would almost surely take the space of whatever I'm likely to use a Deck for but...... at $650AU it's tempting

@skywake - I can really advocate for the SteamDeck...

I've had a Switch since release, eventually trading in my OG - - -> OLED upon release. Have always grown up with Nintendo, love their IP and everything the space they occupy! During the pandemic I also got a PS5, which was brilliant, but sold it eventually due to travelling again with work (3 out of 4 weeks I am away roughly)

To fill the void, I got the 256 LCD Deck last year - so I have OLED Switch and 256GB LCD Steamdeck. Honestly feel I have the best of both worlds...

I am not a "techy guy" but once you learn the basics of the deck, its such a cool little machine. It can play most PS4-era games quite well, standouts being Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, Red Dead 2 etc. It is also an amazing machine for emulation, and has some incredible native-running classics - which various enhance mods. (Steamdeck Ocarina of Time port, Ship of Harkninan I think, is incredible!

I reckon Switch 2 might not hit the shelves until late Q3 or early Q4 next year, so a steamdeck could be a great bridging unit for you?

@CJD87 @skywake

There's a few modern games that really just don't run well at all on Deck (looking at you, Dragon's Dogma 2), but the vast, vast majority of games are great to playable. It works really well in bringing the convenience of the hybrid console lifestyle to PC gaming. Valve has done an amazing job of making it feel approachable and comfortable while also still allowing the sort of freedom you'd expect from a PC in terms of tinkering with games, the UI, etc.

Even once Switch 2 is out, it'll still have a place, IMO. You'll still have the benefit of far cheaper games. A far larger playable library. Emulation. Fully customizable controls, including gyroscopic aiming. It's the best aspects of a gaming PC condensed into a smooth handheld experience.

Also, the LCD model was pretty questionable in terms of battery life, but the OLED model largely addresses that, as well as improving and streamlining things device-wide.

I'm also a little tempted by the Steam Deck once it officially hits Australia as I do love my handhelds but I'm not doing much gaming away from home at the moment and pretty recently built a PC so it's a lot of money to spend just so that I can relax on my couch or bed when I can just get up and walk a few metres to my desk and play there. Going to try to hold off but good chance I'll end up with one anyway haha.

@Ralizah
Emulation is definitely a large part of it. Having something portable that can comfortably run anything upto Wii U would be nice. Plus what's essentially a fairly portable PC running a fully featured Linux distro

But mostly I'll probably be using it for all the stuff I have in my Steam Library. Some of which is on Switch, some might come to Switch 2, a lot isn't and won't

@skywake Right. Steam has such a huge library. Not all of it is compatible, but in the few shorts years since the release of the original deck, Valve has made huge strides in that direction, and even a lot of supposedly non-compatible games look and run perfectly fine.

Admittedly, my own time with emulators has been relatively limited. I mostly set them up, test them out on the console to make sure the games run right, and then go back to whatever Steam game I'm playing. Having a readily available library of PS2 discs I've ripped in convenient handheld form is so nice, though.