Time of writing: 01/03/2026
So, I have an issue right now.For the next year and a bit, I'll be living both in Sheffield most of the time, and back home with parents for the rest of it. And, as a result, this means that I have to choose where to keep my PC.
Now, my choice will always be Sheffield because not only am I there most often, but especially in the next uni year, I'll be on my own. My friends will have finished uni because they didn't do a placement year, so it'll just be me to keep myself company.
An issue with choosing Sheffield to keep my PC at, is that while I'm there more than I am at home, it's still a close margin. I have things to do at home, freezers to see, etc., so I'll end up coming home with nothing but my laptop.
Don't get me wrong, my laptop is great! But there are a few issues I have with it, particularly for playing games:
- It's not "handheld" which is specifically something I'd like
- Its built in peripherals aren't enough for most games; I usually need to grab a mouse from somewhere
- Its battery life is appaling
- It heats up a LOT when doing anything CPU or GPU intensive
- It's not too great at GPU intensive things
So, this just doesn't really cut it for me as a solution. But, while I was looking at getting a Valve headset, I came to realise that Valve actually made another product that meets my exact needs for this specific problem, and maybe any other that I may come across.
The Steam Deck.
But what about the other options?
The Steam Deck has competitors, you know!
Okay, but I want a Steam Deck. I am one who cares greatly for having exclusive shit, and the 1TB model comes with cool Steam profile stuff. Also, the way they do quick suspend and stuff for games is super cool, and the fact they're very open about what you can do on it is great (i.e. they show you how you can repair it yourself).
Just.. let me be a consumer, alright? I want this specifically and I think the least amount of devices I can own without Windows (all competitors use Windows) then the happier I can be. Even if the Windows ones have better performance. Also, I hear a lot of good things about the Steam Deck compared to competitors.
ALSO, a reason I wanted to buy it now is because I wanted to make sure it was refined and improved upon before I bought it. There were some criticisms when it first released, such as the display being mediocre, but they've managed to mitigate those issues now.
What about the Nintendo Switch?
Shut up.Choosing a model
I think I'll go for the 1TB model. I'm the kinda guy who likes to go for the best when it comes to picking model generations (unless the other models are smaller, I like small things lol) and what it provides is ultimately going to be the best in terms of future proofing.
The budget options are cool, but if all I need to do to afford the best model is wait a while, then I'm going to go for it. Also custom Steam profile stuff. Fire.
If I end up actually buying a Steam Deck, then I'll next update this post whenever I get it. Otherwise, you will NEVER SEE IT AGAIN!!!
Okay, I bought it.
Time of writing: 15/03/2026
Pretty good 10/10 would recommend.I usually struggle to talk about products I buy once I actually have them, because I'm often writing after I've had it and I feel like I'm only writing because I need to finish the post, so I'll make it quite short.
The Steam Deck does everything I hoped for, and more I didn't even consider! I have installed RPCS3 on it to emulate the PlayStation 3 and have LittleBigPlanet 1 and 2 on it. It's super cool being able to play those games on a handheld, even if the performance is questionable because it turns out the PlayStation 3, while it's an old console, has some processing techniques on its own hardware that typical computer hardware struggles with (for example, it has its own chip for processing physics, and on a typical x86 computer, we need to do this processing on the CPU or GPU on top of the rest of the game). But it's still playable!
And Steam games run great on it. Overall, a really good console, and it even fixes issues I didn't even know I had, such as train rides being boring. And I ride the train an annoying amount of times.
Who do I recommend it for?
If you don't travel much and always have access to your computer, I wouldn't recommend it. I don't really use my Steam Deck when I'm with my PC, because I'm not fully used to using a controller layout and will always prefer a mouse and keyboard for most games (except LittleBigPlanet, of course).I might recommend it, however, if you don't have a PC and want to play games without spending the money on a PC, because this is a pretty good handheld for that sorta thing. Just don't expect the best performance for first person games, particularly shooters, because a mouse and keyboard is superior always.
But even then, you could get the dock for it and connect a monitor, mouse and keyboard! It is just a Linux machine, after all, and can be used like a PC if you so wish to. Having a cool little linux machine like this is quite awesome, and I love that Valve opted for using Arch Linux instead of Windows (especially because, in my experience with my quite expensive and powerful laptop that lasts about 20 minutes on battery, Windows ruins battery life).
Here are a few things I do with my Steam Deck, that are possible thanks to the fact it's just running typical computer software and hardware:
- Playing LittleBigPlanet via PS3 emulation
- Installing Decky Loader to allow for extensions such as one that lets you use Discord alongside your games, and receive Discord notifications + easily reply while you play
- Using Parsec to remotely connect to my PC and use Windows exclusive software, like FL Studio
- And more I can't remember! :P
Overall, extremely happy with my purchase. Oh yeah, and the fan smells REALLY good. But apparently you're not supposed to inhale it too much. Whatever.