Bought my 1st SteamDeck on a whim after a friend showed me. Had a big gaming rig back then. Within 2 months the rig ceased to get any use. Now I'm on a 2TB OLED SteamDeck with custom triggers and regret nothing, My kids play on my older Deck. Best gaming hardware I've ever owned (ref: C-64 was my first).
this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
9 points (84.6% liked)
SteamDeckPirates
1948 readers
29 users here now
Welcome to SteamDeckPirates
Where we sail the seas with our SteamDeck!
This is where we discuss and talk anything about the SteamDeck, Linux Gaming, Hardware, Software, Emulation, etc.
But you know what we love most? Piracy!!!
Wiki:
This is where we have archive most of our resources and guides. Click here to go to the wiki. (no link yet, work in progress)
For any changes, suggestions or requests, contact us or make a post with "Wiki" on the title and we'll work on that.
Rules:
- Be nice.
- No extreme politics, and mostly no politics.
- Stay on topic or close, for example linux, hardware or OS discussions are encouraged.
- Try to link github/github, or other easily auditable sources when sharing programs.
- No crypto, blockchain, etc.
- No X/Twitter links.
- If needed, feel free to contact mods.
- If in doubt, read rule 1.
Active mods:
Related communities:
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Ha! Sounds like a very similar experience to mine. The only thing I used my rig for was VR here and there (mostly No Man's Sky), and then it fried itself and I wasn't sad at all.
My deck has been my primary gaming device since I got it. Aside from gaming mode I use it for a video station while I'm traveling.
Playing around in desktop mode helped me learn to navigate Linux in a 'safe' environment so now I've reimaged my old gaming machine with Linux and thats working great.
How do you use it for video? Plex?
Nope. Just installed vlc and either stream from my nas or USB drive. I'm a fan of simple
Besides VLC, another option is to use Kodi. Install via Discover Store and add to your Steam library. It's slightly easier to use in Game mode with a controller.
Awesome, welcome to the *nix club! Did you go with Arch on your old rig, or try something else?
I use my deck for a media center on the road, too! I practically live in National Forests in my car, so it's the perfect size for everything.
My initial intent for the SteamDeck was using it on my couch or bed, as I have some serious back problems for my age, but since my girlfriend is getting into gaming, I have a sized down setup at my right, composed of;
- A monitor
- A 60% keyboard, and mouse
- A dock for the SteamDeck
So she can dock it when she's at home and we can play with my main setup and her little settup together!
When she's not at home, I sometimes dock it on the living room TV and play with a Gullikit Controller (I mention it because it's quite awesome).
But honestly, the first day I got the dock, I connected two monitors to the SteamDeck and it was so great it made me switch to dualbooting on my main rig, and if/when the next SteamDeck comes out, I'll probably just sell my pc, or keep it as a home server.
That's awesome. I love that Valve has made this thing the right amount of powerful. Not so weak like the Switch it's laughable, and not so ridiculous it empties your wallet completely.
I hear you on the Gullikit. I've never had one of their full controllers, but I installed their hall-effect joysticks in my Switch and it was like night and day.
I want their new controller because it has extra buttons on the back, like the steamdeck, but in general the unit I have has a great soft feeling, the same shape as a XBOX controller but with integrated battery and nice joysticks and overall nice feeling.
Damn, I wish I had done more research when I got a BT controller. The KingKong 3 MAX looks nice, I kinda like the idea of those squared off buttons.
I landed on the 8BitDo Ultimate. It's nice, and has hall-effect sensors, but I didn't realize until I got it that it's the godamned Nintendo button layout.
It also 1 set of buttons on the back, and came with a nice little charging dock, but I kinda wish I had gone with something else.
That sounds awesome regardless! A model of 8bitdo was my 2nd choice. Be aware in the future that Gulikit also ships with Nintendo layout, but you can buy the buttons and replace them without opening the controller, as it is a feature :)
Not me so idk if this counts, but I got my gf a Steam Deck precisely so that she can daily drive it. We only used desktop mode in SteamOS to set up dual boot initially. Now it defaults into Ubuntu on boot for daily use. Gaming in SteamOS is the more occasional use case.
It counts! Interesting use-case, for sure.
What made you land on dual-booting Ubuntu?
You can add Nested Desktop from the application launcher to Steam to get a near complete desktop experience in game mode. It's very convenient for using Konsole and other desktop apps. I use it a lot.
Aha, thanks. I'm gonna check it out!
Game mode every day, desktop to install something once and a while
Nah, basic bitch Ubuntu.
Hey, nothing wrong with that! Arch without SteamOS stuff can be overwhelming if you're not a tinkerer. Ubuntu is easier to get into and has way more, friendly, community support out there.