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Personally, Anker has done something I can't say about any other accessory company. Every single Anker product I own has been exceptional. Multiple speakers, batteries, cables and dongles. All excellent. I have a battery bank that's almost 10 years old and still works absolutely perfectly This is why every single accessory in my "deck accessory" case is made by Anker.
True, although when it comes to high power USB chargers, their form factors here in Germany are totally nuts. They specifically designed them so that when you plug them into the socket, they block up the sockets on either side of them. Whereas ugreen has a sensible design that expands the brick into the empty space, not into the adjacent sockets, so I went with that and I'm really happy with my choice. I guess they went with the form factor to look different from all the cheap alternatives, and didn't consider the practical implications.
In regards to the A1 vs A2 SD card speeds - from what I remember, the Linux kernel doesn't actually support A2 yet, so A2 cards are treated essentially the same as A1
@@FanTheDeck yup! But I believe its just software/kernel level, so in the future it could and likely will be updated so there may be a performance increase
Not true. I had an A1 card and downloads would take forever to finish. Got an A2 last week and my downloads finish in minutes. Not too sure about loading speeds but downloads are significantly faster. I’d highly recommend A2 only cards for the steam deck.
@@FanTheDeck I'd wager there's much less difference between game loading times due to valves secret sauce under the hood keeping things very consistent across the board. It would be terrible PR if the SD card performance wasn't consistent. I think the biggest advantage going for A2 cards is downloading/installing games and physically copying games/files over from external storage.
As someone who has also tried a lot of different docks for the steam deck, I find it a bit frustrating that most reviews don't mention that not all docks work without being plugged into a charger. The anker 4K60 hub for example, does not work unless you plug in the charger. The only docks that have worked without a charger connected for me have been 4K30 ones. This is important because I'd like to have an option in situations where I cannot plug into a charger but I'd still like to connect some peripherals.
Another pro of smaller cards: You can have fun creating mix cards of games, like one just for your collection of Lego games, another for your valve collection, another for emulation, etc. And have fun feeling like you are Nentendo getting to make the game cartridges. 😋
I have the same powerbank and I love it. It’s capable of recharging deck at full speed via PD port and once powerbank itself is depleted I can recharge it in under two hours with 65wt adapter. These sepeeds were unheard of just a year or so ago and now we can do it and pay only budget price. One thing I don’t like about Baseus powerbank is that display shows voltage and current instead of showing wattage. I really don’t want to constantly multiple V*A to see what power it gives out. Kind of a stupid limitation on their part.
I finally got my email today and placed my order! Now the next few days / week will feel like an eternity waiting for my Deck to arrive! I will be taking a look at your recommendations - thanks for another good vid!
I have that tomtoc case and I love it. However I face mine the opposite way. I want the thumb sticks protected by the wings and not mashed into the back of the case
I just got done traveling with my Tomtoc bag and between the strap to carry it around my back (I'm a big guy so the I can say the strap size is good) and the strap on the back that attaches it to suitcase handles, I can say it was an absolute joy to travel with my SteamDeck.
A word of warning with the magnetic couplers. I used them for the first few weeks that I had my Steam Deck but one evening when I went to plug it in, the screen went dark and I could no longer turn it on. The couplers bricked my system. After my RMA I don't use them anymore.
Been waiting on an updated accessories video from you, thanks. You know I secretly thought that once I got my Deck I wouldn't watch as much Steam Deck videos and that I wouldn't participate as much on Steam Deck social media and forums, but if anything, I'm doing a lot *more*. I'm on week three now with my Deck and am loving it more and more and more and more! And I consume ever more Steam Deck content. So keep up the great videos, I wouldn't mind seeing them more frequently TBH. I'm really happy when I see new Steam Deck videos from my top Steam Deck UA-camrs: Fan The Deck, Deck Ready and Gardiner Bryant. There's a few more regulars I like and watch often but I don't remember their names. Anyway, thanks again!
The Steam Deck SDC reader tops out at UHS-1 (100mbs). So it doesn't matter if you buy faster SD cards, their speed is limited by the Steam Deck's drive capabilities.
So U1 and U3 both use the UHS-I interface (source: www.kingston.com/en/blog/personal-storage/memory-card-speed-classes ) Practically speaking, I've absolutely seen a difference in write speeds during downloads and transfers on the Steam Deck with U1 vs U3.
@@FanTheDeck placebo effect. Some U1 cards aren't capable of their maximum spec speed. Similar to USB, WiFi, or any other standard. The baseline for U3 is faster than the baseline for U1. To make a fair comparison, you'd need to buy the best U1 card and compare it to the best U3, the performance should be identical. Because of the Steam Deck's limitations.
@@kewlztertc5386 What you're saying is a limitation is not a limitation though. U1 and U3 are both UHS-I and I've gone over 10MB/s For clarification: > U1 = 10MB/s > U3 = 30 MB/s > UHS-I is a bus interface that allows up to a theoretical 100MB/s
You didn’t talk about mini keyboards, some of them are bluetooth and include a small touchpad section instead of using a mouse and the virtual keyboard to navigate the desktop mode as gaming mode is easy to use with a controller anyway (I use a bluetooth one and it’s very thin and small to carry around)
I would love a Fairy Ocarina design for the Steam Deck. So far the closest green design I have liked is a camo design and I'm not very happy with that- either people go with too bright of green or it's not a pure enough green. Forest greens and army greens are great.
I disagree with the smaller cards being cheaper due to leaving some empty headroom on each card. A SanDisk 256GB Ultra microSDXC is $27 and a $124 SanDisk 1TB Ultra microSDXC is $124. 10% free space (25GB headroom) on a 256 card leaves 230GB per card. 230x4 cards = 921GB at $108 or $.11 per GB. The same 25GB headroom on a 1024GB card leaves 1000GB. 1000GB at $124 is $.12 per GB. Or very close to the same cost and a lot more convenient.
agree, except convieniance.....I use different cards for emulators, files, and steam games .....I have my file transfer cards as exfat so my windows and linux pcs, as well as steam deck can read them... my steam games are native ext4.... for me, much more convieniant
Honestly, I rather have everything on just one card, maybe have a backup card just in case. I couldn't justify carrying around all those little cards, I'd be scared I'd lose them. The most I'd do is have one card with all my Steam games, and have another with all my ROMs for emulation.
The A2 cards have significantly faster write speeds. That said, I think it’s only noticeable if you have fast internet or are transferring from internal to external. Read speeds are going to be similar (on the deck, in my testing) between A1 and A2, so for most users they probably won’t ever notice the difference. I do wish the Steam Deck would allow background updates and continued downloads while plugged in and in sleep mode. Maybe even an option to do a fake sleep with the screen off if the deck has >95% power, is plugged in, and has downloads queued.
So do random write speeds matter when downloading from Steam? Doesn't Steam download sequentially? Anecdotally, I haven't noticed faster downloads from Steam but I also think it's hard to have a good test for this because like you said - it's more dependent on your internet speed at the time. I've also tested transfers to and from the SD card but I find that the Steam Deck is unreliable when doing this. It'll sometimes get 90% of the way through a transfer and then fail without any helpful error message. So that hasn't been a reliable test either. (Great comment btw)
@@FanTheDeck A2 relies on either specialized hardware or specific drivers to use the CPU for acceleration. The steam deck doesn't have said hardware to take advantage of A2 speeds, nor does Valve indicate they will write those drivers. Valve themselves sent out A1 chips to reviewers. Performance between A1 and A2 should be the same on the Steam Deck (or A2 be actually be slightly worse).
@@FanTheDeck Random I/O doesn't matter for downloads, but it does for unpacking. However, I believe another commenter was right when they said A2 isn't actually supported on Linux currently, so I guess there's no difference either way, at least here.
@@jeffreytong It was faster because it was a V30 chip, not because it was A2. The A1 chips he tested were V10. I stand by the statement that A2 will not benefit the steam deck.
I used a powerbank with the quest 2, since it has a low battery life itself I strap it on t he back, and that power bank shall work with the steam deck, but I haven't really needed it staying at home most of the time, it's a super good accessory for any wireless electronic.
love your videos man. Pretty sure I found your channel when I first got my deck, either on my alt channel or this one and you're always so informative. Keep it up dude.
Problem with magnet connectors is the hold isn't super strong. I got some for my controller to plug to my pc. But i have to hold the cable with my hand or else the cable will come off. So I'd only use it for something stationary. Like a dock or just when you are leaving the deck to charge. Not for when you are holding and playing the deck.
I found an micro sd case where you can also put in the sd adapters, and you get a microsd sd card reader (usbc, usba, microusb connectors) thats sits snugly in the case. So nice.
The magnetic cables are useful, but one point of friction of that the magnetic stud remains in the jack and will put pressure on the usb jack if bumped, used them with a female female usb A socket to extend a racing wheel on a desktop PC and someone walking through the cable became harmless which was a great upgrade, but on mobile devices you are best using a magnetic adapter cable only if the jack are recessed somehow. The deck isn't ill suited, but I'd be wary about leaving it up when used in the official case, HOWEVER the kill switch recesses the steam deck's jack and is perfect for a rectangular magnetic cable like the one you showed, if it fits.
Like how you explained the SD card speeds. I didn't know about that before. Steam Deck has been "shipping soon" for a full week now... Valve likes to tease people it seems.
I have a steam deck but I also have a ton of Micro SD cards that credit card-sized storage device looks perfect compared to using an adaptor and storing them in an older full-sized SD card holder.
fyi for the magnetic connections, they can make your stuff short circuit if grime comes in there, i had my phone instareboot when plugging it in via magnetic, so be careful
You can build a decent gaming rig that can outperform the Steamdeck if you add up all these accessories. I love my deck and I use it when I travel or if I want to watch something on tv but that is about it.
Just finished copping the carrying bag. Honestly I’m hyped. I thought I wouldn’t need it until I’ve come across the issue of a carrying case twice now so I decided to go ahead and buy it. Looks awesome
Sick! I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I do. The Steam Deck case is great. But since the Steam Deck is the main thing I play, this is just so much more practical for me.
have the Deck for two weeks now, and have one of those ivola docks. It works so gar fine, just wish it would have a bit more rubber protections where the Deck sits in. I also paid 35 (EUR) for it, was the only one available here, the jsocks was out of stock. My 512er does have a issue with the display, some resedue or something like that is on the screen. Only slightly visibile when ultra clean but with finger prints it gets more visible... couldn't get it clean. Valve does suggest cleaning with ipa or white vinegar essence... anybody similar issue?
@@rajgill7576 no, at least compared to smartphone, can't compare to non 'lasered' versions of the steam deck, it's a flaw during production. Valve seems to know about it. I'm torn about RMA or not. Can be cleaned and with display on not visible even with fat/finger touches on the screen. With the 419 EUR version I would have much less issues with such a flaw, but 680 EUR version, it's annyoing...
One more use case for a more "portable" hub: You can connect a LAN cable to stream games off your PC with a more stable connection. Though I do wish Valve would just support streaming over USB 3.1 the same way the Oculus Quest does.
I have a 128GB U1 Sandisk SD card I purchased back on black friday in 2019.I have played Red Alert 3 on it and Portal 2 on my Steam Deck and had zero issues,I have the 256GB Steam Deck.
I ordered the Moskeeto Cyberpunk skin in the past. The skin is beautiful and with time and patience it is totally doable to apply it to the Steam Deck, but I didn't like the feeling of the texture - it was too smooth/slippery for me. Additionally, the bright yellow color was distracting me while gaming. I ended up removing it from the front and the top and left the back skin on the Deck, which is a nice compromise.
Love, love, LOVE, my Steam Deck, mine is all protected & tricked out, Its so, awesome, I bought a 1 Tb. and its already gone, they need to come up with a better solution.
That station I felt didn’t bother to accommodate adequately for a case. For this reason, as well as a hardware defect on my particular unit, I had to return it.
Regarding JSAUX products - If you use “JS15” it gets you 15% off a single item purchase or you can use “JS20” if buying 3 or more items for 20% off. That said, I’m still waiting for mine to arrive. Going on three weeks. At least it is in the states now.
What really blows my mind is that for such a relatively niche product, it looks like I won't have to buy ANY accessories, adapters or peripheries specifically for it (at last I hope so). I'm not even someone who owns a lot of tech accessories to begin with, and yet my limited selection will outfit this thing entirely. Thumbs up for valve!
@@FanTheDeck That's totally fair. Most of us non-Americans have just gotten used to hearing American accents and adjusting our expectations accordingly. Something about the US school system causes many Americans to be a little US-centric. It's not your fault. I appreciate that you are trying. That's more than can be said for a lot of Americans.
Oooh those Anker hubs might be just what I need. I bought a japanese Nreal Air off eBay and it's the ultimate steam deck accessory IMO. I need a way to charge while using the video out however. Add that power bank into the loop and that's the _dream_ set up for traveling. If only my younger self playing a PSP on a plane could have imagined 😂
I got the case thanks to this video but there was something wrong with the affiliate link. Sorry for you to lose out on your cut but you sold me on it.
No worries at all. Do I need to update the link? A couple questions if you have a moment: - Did you buy on Amazon or the official Tomtoc page? - What country are you on? - What was the delivery date for you?
I'm going to get my email to order the deck any time this month. So, I may be buying some of these in advance. Love videos like this, been watching them non-stop.
Can you do a video about using lutris on the steam deck? The vast majority of my games launch with an error that my graphics card doesn't support dx12 (if dx12) or shader model 5.0 if dx11. These same games work fine on manjaro using same settings where possible and wine-ge versions. I found a setting to get them to launch (disable prefer system libraries), but the games have no audio.
So far I only use Lutris for Amazon games and it's working for me. But I honestly haven't had to tinker much. I'll do some more testing and see what I come up with. What games (and from what stores) are you playing?
@@FanTheDeck Questionable sources mostly. Not piracy, I own the games, but I don't like launchers so I use versions of games that have these things circumvented if I can. For example gta trilogy can target both dx12 and dx11. Both modes will give me the errors in the OP. If I disable the lutris setting under system options "prefer system libraries" it works without audio. DX9 and 10 games seem to be fine with "prefer system libraries" enabled, but also have no audio with it disabled. Maybe I need to install dxvk or vkd3d to the system, but if I do that, whenever an update comes to steam os, it will get overwritten by the new image. I'll try it anyway though.
Hell I have a gig and it isn't enough! I've heard bad things about those magnetic charger connectors as this puts the tiny connections that are in your USB socket (inside) and leaves them exposed on the outside of the unit and put the unit at risk of a shock or short circuit if anything touches it.
For the skin, I'd love so see one that shines in darkness. At least around the controls. I find difficult to press the steam and menu buttons at night.
I used a 128GB A1 U1 when I first got my Steam Deck while waiting for my 512GB A2 U3. As far as I can tell there is no difference in speed and load times.
I use a few microsd cards, one for emulation, a couple for AAA gaming, and a couple for file transfers. I only have the A2 cards for AAA gaming. Mainly because I keep games on them so I dont have to redownload.... they can be transferred from my linux pc faster that way too (I save all my steam games on my linux pc... I have a lot, only install what Im playing regularly at the moment)
I do not recommend getting the Ivoler dock for anyone wondering I had a serious issue with one game in particular (Terraria) were my screen would turn off randomly every 3-5 minutes I thought it was the game at first and spent days/hours trying to figure out what was wrong as none of the other games I was running had this issue. However although you would think it was the game it turned out to be the docking station as the minute I got my JSAUX docking station I never had the issue again so my guess is the Ivoler dock doesn't do good with higher power draw.
I bought the Jsaux Docking Station HB0603 a while ago and I can't recommend it. While the Steam Deck is nicely docked, there are still some problems. - There is a big issue with using multiple USB's at the same time on this device. Some devices disconnect, distort or just don't work when you use more than one usb port. EDIT: *Issue is resolved, had a faulty USB peripheral* - The docking experience hooked up to a TV is good but not great. The output is excellent and provides a nice clean 4k 60hz or 1440p at 120hz. However there are some issues. Whenever you go from desktop mode to game mode you have to replug the USB-C adapter to get a signal again. And the same goes for restarting the Deck and wake from sleep. I have to walk up to the Jsaux Dock everytime and replug the USB-C to get the signal back to work. NOTE: The official Dock from Valve has similar problems, this is not necessarily related to Jsaux. * Pros are that the Docking Station is pretty affordable and of great build quality.
This is a good review. I can try testing some of this stuff or passing along feedback to JSAUX. Couple questions: - Anything more you can say on USB problem? Like what accessories you were using. I'll test this one again but I had no problems with like one storage device and one input peripheral both plugged in. - Yeah the sleep thing is a problem with the Steam Deck itself, I'd say. The Valve docking station doesn't improve this in any regard. I do sometimes have problems that force me to reconnect as well (on any docking station, unfortunately)
@@FanTheDeck Thanks. I have just recieved the Valve official dock. One difference between this dock and the dock from Jsaux is that it immediatly returns signal after waking it from sleep. The signal issue with restarting and switching from desktop mode is still there as you have mentioned. The USB peripherals I used on the Jsaux dock were not very standard to say the least. I hooked up a normal wireless keyboard and a PS2 buzz controller. My wife and I love to play some retro quiz games on the Deck. The keyboard stopped working while using the USB-Buzz controllers. Perhaps they share power, or the Buzz controllers just takes too much and is too old :P. I also tested some other normal peripherals and I still had the problem. After some more in-depth testing I found out that one of my used pheripherals was just faulty, which was a coincidence. Always blaming the device! This issue can be marked as resolved and I shall edit it in my original post. Aside from that I encountered an error while trying to update the firmware of the Dock. It has failed one time and it didn't pop up again after. It works as intended though. I really hoped that the signal issues were a fault of the dock from Jsaux, but I discovered that it doesn't make a difference and then I read your message also saying that it's a Deck thing and not a dock thing. I believe that this will be updated in the near future. Thanks for the video @Fan The Deck you never let me down!
I'd love to see someone to make custom steamdeck game boxes to keep individual or collections of games in. You could have a collection then. Even if it was just the games you really like. I find myself playing my switch more as I have more physical copies of game for it.
I'd love to see a comparison of thumbstick caps for the Steam Deck. My main controller is the ELITE Series 2 and I hated giving up my thumbstick customization. I bought some Skull n Co thumbstick caps and they were ALMOST great, the smallest domed one slips off with the way I push the left thumbstick up, sadly.
@@FanTheDeck I have 870gb of 912gb free I haven't installed any AAA titles yet. I just received my SD 1 week ago today and went with the 512gb modely ssd has 442gb free.
Amazon Basic 1tb cards regularly go on sale for £100 which makes them better value than the Samsung Evo select .. plus beyond any expectations has better performance as well. Believe me when I say nobody was more shocked than me.
Do you notice any changes in temps with the vinyl skin? I've never had a vinyl skin on any device before, so I'm not sure if would make the steam deck run hotter when applied.
Ok so this may be a dumb question, but I’ll be getting a steam deck email this month and I’m just trying to prep ahead… what does a hub do in terms of the steam deck? Do you find it helpful?
If I get one, I'll be sure to let you know. I can definitely see the use for it (especially with travelling). One thing to note is that it doesn't have analog triggers.
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No 20% off coupon on Amazon :-( Great vid though!!!
@@tycotech are you outside of the US? I can check if there's another link I can provide.
@@FanTheDeck I got it to work. Showed up on my phone but not my laptop for some reason. Thanks!!
I can not find this powerbank in the Netherlands amazone store are here a link fore?
Personally, Anker has done something I can't say about any other accessory company.
Every single Anker product I own has been exceptional. Multiple speakers, batteries, cables and dongles. All excellent. I have a battery bank that's almost 10 years old and still works absolutely perfectly
This is why every single accessory in my "deck accessory" case is made by Anker.
Yeah it's a bit of a premium but so are the products. I'm always impressed by Anker.
@@FanTheDeck yep! Stay golden deck gang!
True, although when it comes to high power USB chargers, their form factors here in Germany are totally nuts. They specifically designed them so that when you plug them into the socket, they block up the sockets on either side of them. Whereas ugreen has a sensible design that expands the brick into the empty space, not into the adjacent sockets, so I went with that and I'm really happy with my choice. I guess they went with the form factor to look different from all the cheap alternatives, and didn't consider the practical implications.
Ugreen looks like a good alternative and tend to be a little cheaper than Anker
Also don't forget Anker's excellent warranty service! Totally worth paying a few bucks more in my opinion.
In regards to the A1 vs A2 SD card speeds - from what I remember, the Linux kernel doesn't actually support A2 yet, so A2 cards are treated essentially the same as A1
This could be why there's no difference in practice! Fascinating.
@@FanTheDeck yup! But I believe its just software/kernel level, so in the future it could and likely will be updated so there may be a performance increase
@@kjfang5825 I'll be ready to test haha!
Not true. I had an A1 card and downloads would take forever to finish. Got an A2 last week and my downloads finish in minutes. Not too sure about loading speeds but downloads are significantly faster. I’d highly recommend A2 only cards for the steam deck.
@@FanTheDeck I'd wager there's much less difference between game loading times due to valves secret sauce under the hood keeping things very consistent across the board. It would be terrible PR if the SD card performance wasn't consistent. I think the biggest advantage going for A2 cards is downloading/installing games and physically copying games/files over from external storage.
As someone who has also tried a lot of different docks for the steam deck, I find it a bit frustrating that most reviews don't mention that not all docks work without being plugged into a charger. The anker 4K60 hub for example, does not work unless you plug in the charger. The only docks that have worked without a charger connected for me have been 4K30 ones. This is important because I'd like to have an option in situations where I cannot plug into a charger but I'd still like to connect some peripherals.
I'm getting mine today, I'm really excited!
Yes!!!
Lucky
Got my email yesterday 😊 so another week for me... I borrowed one for a few days in order to try it out so I know exactly what I am missing
I'm super excited bc I didn't expect it for another month
Mine comes tmmr supposedly unless delay
Great video. You're far better than others I've seen. No cringe comedy and fair reviews on things and easy to follow. Thank you!
Another pro of smaller cards: You can have fun creating mix cards of games, like one just for your collection of Lego games, another for your valve collection, another for emulation, etc. And have fun feeling like you are Nentendo getting to make the game cartridges. 😋
Are you me? I love my boomer shooter cad.
Or, you could have everything on a single card.
@@TheRealHeavyG I mean - some people certainly can. I can't fit everything on a single card.
I have a mix with the most played games and that card will fail fast because i tend to replace games on it once i fully play them
@@FanTheDeckNot everything, but I'd rather have a single 1TB vs 4x 256GB cards. Just my preference.
Every time I watch your videos I find myself buying something new for the Deck!
What are you thinking of picking up this time?
3:17 I appreciate your use of the Watt-hour unit instead of the typical mAh. Respect.
My docking station is just some random amazon hub and the gamepad stand from my Wii U. It works perfectly I see no reason to get anything better.
I have the same powerbank and I love it. It’s capable of recharging deck at full speed via PD port and once powerbank itself is depleted I can recharge it in under two hours with 65wt adapter. These sepeeds were unheard of just a year or so ago and now we can do it and pay only budget price. One thing I don’t like about Baseus powerbank is that display shows voltage and current instead of showing wattage. I really don’t want to constantly multiple V*A to see what power it gives out. Kind of a stupid limitation on their part.
I finally got my email today and placed my order! Now the next few days / week will feel like an eternity waiting for my Deck to arrive! I will be taking a look at your recommendations - thanks for another good vid!
Ah you're welcome! And congrats! What are you going to do first with your Deck?
Aye I got my email yesterday still waiting on tracking info you're not alone in the wait bro stay strong!
When did you originally register ?I reserved mine April 17 and still haven’t got my email
@@bean-whipped864 when did you originally reserve?
@@Shadybiglpac I reserved mine March 2nd got my email Monday
I have that tomtoc case and I love it. However I face mine the opposite way. I want the thumb sticks protected by the wings and not mashed into the back of the case
Yea the official website says exactly that. He has it in backwards
I just got done traveling with my Tomtoc bag and between the strap to carry it around my back (I'm a big guy so the I can say the strap size is good) and the strap on the back that attaches it to suitcase handles, I can say it was an absolute joy to travel with my SteamDeck.
Fan the deck skin would be all purple with lighter purple grips and the logo on the track pads
🤤🥰
They dont make these skins, they get this skins from aliexpress and just trying to sell it for 4x up the price. Scam!!
THANK YOU for explaining what the U/1 vs U/3 meant. I had no idea and never looked it up, because I never thought about it! Very helpful! Subbed
A word of warning with the magnetic couplers. I used them for the first few weeks that I had my Steam Deck but one evening when I went to plug it in, the screen went dark and I could no longer turn it on. The couplers bricked my system. After my RMA I don't use them anymore.
Been waiting on an updated accessories video from you, thanks.
You know I secretly thought that once I got my Deck I wouldn't watch as much Steam Deck videos and that I wouldn't participate as much on Steam Deck social media and forums, but if anything, I'm doing a lot *more*. I'm on week three now with my Deck and am loving it more and more and more and more! And I consume ever more Steam Deck content. So keep up the great videos, I wouldn't mind seeing them more frequently TBH. I'm really happy when I see new Steam Deck videos from my top Steam Deck UA-camrs: Fan The Deck, Deck Ready and Gardiner Bryant. There's a few more regulars I like and watch often but I don't remember their names. Anyway, thanks again!
The Steam Deck SDC reader tops out at UHS-1 (100mbs). So it doesn't matter if you buy faster SD cards, their speed is limited by the Steam Deck's drive capabilities.
So U1 and U3 both use the UHS-I interface (source: www.kingston.com/en/blog/personal-storage/memory-card-speed-classes )
Practically speaking, I've absolutely seen a difference in write speeds during downloads and transfers on the Steam Deck with U1 vs U3.
@@FanTheDeck placebo effect.
Some U1 cards aren't capable of their maximum spec speed. Similar to USB, WiFi, or any other standard.
The baseline for U3 is faster than the baseline for U1.
To make a fair comparison, you'd need to buy the best U1 card and compare it to the best U3, the performance should be identical.
Because of the Steam Deck's limitations.
@@kewlztertc5386 What you're saying is a limitation is not a limitation though. U1 and U3 are both UHS-I and I've gone over 10MB/s
For clarification:
> U1 = 10MB/s
> U3 = 30 MB/s
> UHS-I is a bus interface that allows up to a theoretical 100MB/s
@@FanTheDeck well, this may be a good video topic. Prove it!
Such information would appeal to everyone, not just Steak Deck users.
@@kewlztertc5386 Agreed! I've had some hurdles with making a video like this but I definitely think it's time.
You didn’t talk about mini keyboards, some of them are bluetooth and include a small touchpad section instead of using a mouse and the virtual keyboard to navigate the desktop mode as gaming mode is easy to use with a controller anyway (I use a bluetooth one and it’s very thin and small to carry around)
I would love a Fairy Ocarina design for the Steam Deck. So far the closest green design I have liked is a camo design and I'm not very happy with that- either people go with too bright of green or it's not a pure enough green. Forest greens and army greens are great.
I disagree with the smaller cards being cheaper due to leaving some empty headroom on each card. A SanDisk 256GB Ultra microSDXC is $27 and a $124 SanDisk 1TB Ultra microSDXC is $124. 10% free space (25GB headroom) on a 256 card leaves 230GB per card. 230x4 cards = 921GB at $108 or $.11 per GB. The same 25GB headroom on a 1024GB card leaves 1000GB. 1000GB at $124 is $.12 per GB. Or very close to the same cost and a lot more convenient.
agree, except convieniance.....I use different cards for emulators, files, and steam games
.....I have my file transfer cards as exfat so my windows and linux pcs, as well as steam deck can read them... my steam games are native ext4.... for me, much more convieniant
Honestly, I rather have everything on just one card, maybe have a backup card just in case. I couldn't justify carrying around all those little cards, I'd be scared I'd lose them. The most I'd do is have one card with all my Steam games, and have another with all my ROMs for emulation.
The A2 cards have significantly faster write speeds. That said, I think it’s only noticeable if you have fast internet or are transferring from internal to external. Read speeds are going to be similar (on the deck, in my testing) between A1 and A2, so for most users they probably won’t ever notice the difference.
I do wish the Steam Deck would allow background updates and continued downloads while plugged in and in sleep mode. Maybe even an option to do a fake sleep with the screen off if the deck has >95% power, is plugged in, and has downloads queued.
So do random write speeds matter when downloading from Steam? Doesn't Steam download sequentially? Anecdotally, I haven't noticed faster downloads from Steam but I also think it's hard to have a good test for this because like you said - it's more dependent on your internet speed at the time.
I've also tested transfers to and from the SD card but I find that the Steam Deck is unreliable when doing this. It'll sometimes get 90% of the way through a transfer and then fail without any helpful error message. So that hasn't been a reliable test either.
(Great comment btw)
@@FanTheDeck A2 relies on either specialized hardware or specific drivers to use the CPU for acceleration. The steam deck doesn't have said hardware to take advantage of A2 speeds, nor does Valve indicate they will write those drivers. Valve themselves sent out A1 chips to reviewers. Performance between A1 and A2 should be the same on the Steam Deck (or A2 be actually be slightly worse).
@@FanTheDeck Random I/O doesn't matter for downloads, but it does for unpacking. However, I believe another commenter was right when they said A2 isn't actually supported on Linux currently, so I guess there's no difference either way, at least here.
ua-cam.com/video/DYy4gItzVeg/v-deo.html The A2 tested here did appear faster.
@@jeffreytong It was faster because it was a V30 chip, not because it was A2. The A1 chips he tested were V10. I stand by the statement that A2 will not benefit the steam deck.
I used a powerbank with the quest 2, since it has a low battery life itself I strap it on t he back, and that power bank shall work with the steam deck, but I haven't really needed it staying at home most of the time, it's a super good accessory for any wireless electronic.
Awesome video. Thanks for the recommendations. I've just noted that you put the Steam Deck the wrong way round in the Tomtoc bag.
love your videos man. Pretty sure I found your channel when I first got my deck, either on my alt channel or this one and you're always so informative. Keep it up dude.
Getting my deck this week, finally. Earbud and headphone recommendations would be nice.
Problem with magnet connectors is the hold isn't super strong. I got some for my controller to plug to my pc. But i have to hold the cable with my hand or else the cable will come off. So I'd only use it for something stationary. Like a dock or just when you are leaving the deck to charge. Not for when you are holding and playing the deck.
The dock makes a lot of sense. And yeah that was my exact concern! Good to know - thanks!
A matte screen protector is pretty nice - the glossy display is *glossy*.
That Tomtoc bag does look neat, like a good travel option!
You can carry more than 1 batterybank.
The maximum capacity only counts for single enclosures i thought.
So a single battery cant be bigger than 100WH
I found an micro sd case where you can also put in the sd adapters, and you get a microsd sd card reader (usbc, usba, microusb connectors) thats sits snugly in the case. So nice.
The magnetic cables are useful, but one point of friction of that the magnetic stud remains in the jack and will put pressure on the usb jack if bumped, used them with a female female usb A socket to extend a racing wheel on a desktop PC and someone walking through the cable became harmless which was a great upgrade, but on mobile devices you are best using a magnetic adapter cable only if the jack are recessed somehow.
The deck isn't ill suited, but I'd be wary about leaving it up when used in the official case, HOWEVER the kill switch recesses the steam deck's jack and is perfect for a rectangular magnetic cable like the one you showed, if it fits.
Like how you explained the SD card speeds. I didn't know about that before.
Steam Deck has been "shipping soon" for a full week now... Valve likes to tease people it seems.
Hey! Valve says that if it has been on "shipping soon" for five or more business days then you should contact their support.
@@superqwerty I didn’t know that! I will send one in now. Thanks so much! 🙂
The Samsung EVO 256 card is $19.99 today on Amazon. I just bought two today.
Amazon has Samsung Evo Select microSDs on sale right now. $47 for 512GB, $20 for 256GB. Bought a few myself in preparation for my Deck about to ship.
I have a steam deck but I also have a ton of Micro SD cards that credit card-sized storage device looks perfect compared to using an adaptor and storing them in an older full-sized SD card holder.
The Deck Mate is awesome!
fyi for the magnetic connections, they can make your stuff short circuit if grime comes in there, i had my phone instareboot when plugging it in via magnetic, so be careful
You can build a decent gaming rig that can outperform the Steamdeck if you add up all these accessories. I love my deck and I use it when I travel or if I want to watch something on tv but that is about it.
Just finished copping the carrying bag. Honestly I’m hyped. I thought I wouldn’t need it until I’ve come across the issue of a carrying case twice now so I decided to go ahead and buy it. Looks awesome
Sick! I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I do. The Steam Deck case is great. But since the Steam Deck is the main thing I play, this is just so much more practical for me.
man theyre no longer available, missed it by one day ffs
@@KenETa2
Yeah ... me, too ... 😕
have the Deck for two weeks now, and have one of those ivola docks. It works so gar fine, just wish it would have a bit more rubber protections where the Deck sits in. I also paid 35 (EUR) for it, was the only one available here, the jsocks was out of stock.
My 512er does have a issue with the display, some resedue or something like that is on the screen. Only slightly visibile when ultra clean but with finger prints it gets more visible... couldn't get it clean. Valve does suggest cleaning with ipa or white vinegar essence... anybody similar issue?
Hmm so the frosted glass is a gunK magnet?
@@rajgill7576 no, at least compared to smartphone, can't compare to non 'lasered' versions of the steam deck, it's a flaw during production. Valve seems to know about it. I'm torn about RMA or not. Can be cleaned and with display on not visible even with fat/finger touches on the screen. With the 419 EUR version I would have much less issues with such a flaw, but 680 EUR version, it's annyoing...
One more use case for a more "portable" hub: You can connect a LAN cable to stream games off your PC with a more stable connection. Though I do wish Valve would just support streaming over USB 3.1 the same way the Oculus Quest does.
usb c is based on usb 3.2..... which is much faster
given usb c is essentially 3.1
I have a 128GB U1 Sandisk SD card I purchased back on black friday in 2019.I have played Red Alert 3 on it and Portal 2 on my Steam Deck and had zero issues,I have the 256GB Steam Deck.
I ordered the Moskeeto Cyberpunk skin in the past. The skin is beautiful and with time and patience it is totally doable to apply it to the Steam Deck, but I didn't like the feeling of the texture - it was too smooth/slippery for me. Additionally, the bright yellow color was distracting me while gaming.
I ended up removing it from the front and the top and left the back skin on the Deck, which is a nice compromise.
That is a good compromise actually. I love the back.
Love, love, LOVE, my Steam Deck, mine is all protected & tricked out, Its so, awesome, I bought a 1 Tb. and its already gone, they need to come up with a better solution.
I see God Hand as the showcase game, I knew this guy is the real deal.
D brand is coming out with a sick case on the 25th
Thank's Allison !
I did not have great luck with that power bank so YMMV. Great vid though!
Just got the tomtoc bag, I love it!!
5:32 i haven't tested it but i think using something like this might make the usb port on steam deck last year or two longer before it breaks. :)
I got my Steam Deck today and it was lighter than I thought it would be.
I’ve also heard/seen that A1 Micro SD cards can bottleneck downloads if you have fast enough wifi. Something to consider
a2 also check for v60 with A2 certification
I'd love to see a test of this in action for sure.
I just got moved from q4 to q3, so here’s hoping I’m able to order my deck soon!
I just got mine, this is perfect! Thanks!
That station I felt didn’t bother to accommodate adequately for a case. For this reason, as well as a hardware defect on my particular unit, I had to return it.
This is a good point and you can probably tell from this video that I've opted to not use a case. I wonder if the official dock will allow for cases.
@@FanTheDeck I sure hope so.
Subscribed, you seem extremely connected with your community and passionate about what you do! You have my support :)
Typing this on a steam deck lol,got mine today!!!😁
I want to buy literally everything on this list.
Regarding JSAUX products - If you use “JS15” it gets you 15% off a single item purchase or you can use “JS20” if buying 3 or more items for 20% off. That said, I’m still waiting for mine to arrive. Going on three weeks. At least it is in the states now.
What really blows my mind is that for such a relatively niche product, it looks like I won't have to buy ANY accessories, adapters or peripheries specifically for it (at last I hope so). I'm not even someone who owns a lot of tech accessories to begin with, and yet my limited selection will outfit this thing entirely. Thumbs up for valve!
You should probably clarify that Moskeeto only has free shipping for other US customers. I'm in the UK so I have to pay for shipping
Ah thank you for that point! I'm still working on getting better with worldwide considerations.
Not just shipping, some purchases from the US there can be a sizeable import duty to pay, Because of this, buying from the US can be very expensive.
@@FanTheDeck That's totally fair. Most of us non-Americans have just gotten used to hearing American accents and adjusting our expectations accordingly.
Something about the US school system causes many Americans to be a little US-centric. It's not your fault.
I appreciate that you are trying. That's more than can be said for a lot of Americans.
Cool suggestions man! I have been playing Hades the past few days on steam deck and I can't recommend it enough. It feels tailor made for deck.
Oooh those Anker hubs might be just what I need. I bought a japanese Nreal Air off eBay and it's the ultimate steam deck accessory IMO. I need a way to charge while using the video out however. Add that power bank into the loop and that's the _dream_ set up for traveling. If only my younger self playing a PSP on a plane could have imagined 😂
I would like to see Doughnut and Zombie themed skins!
I've got that same SD Card case. Peeled that ugly sticker off of it straight away though
I got the case thanks to this video but there was something wrong with the affiliate link. Sorry for you to lose out on your cut but you sold me on it.
No worries at all. Do I need to update the link? A couple questions if you have a moment:
- Did you buy on Amazon or the official Tomtoc page?
- What country are you on?
- What was the delivery date for you?
Unless you have uhs-2 card readers, which most don't, including the steam deck, all of these will cap out at 90/mB anyway
I would like to see more keyboard options/suggestions.
I'm going to get my email to order the deck any time this month. So, I may be buying some of these in advance. Love videos like this, been watching them non-stop.
Can you do a video about using lutris on the steam deck? The vast majority of my games launch with an error that my graphics card doesn't support dx12 (if dx12) or shader model 5.0 if dx11. These same games work fine on manjaro using same settings where possible and wine-ge versions. I found a setting to get them to launch (disable prefer system libraries), but the games have no audio.
So far I only use Lutris for Amazon games and it's working for me. But I honestly haven't had to tinker much. I'll do some more testing and see what I come up with. What games (and from what stores) are you playing?
@@FanTheDeck Questionable sources mostly. Not piracy, I own the games, but I don't like launchers so I use versions of games that have these things circumvented if I can. For example gta trilogy can target both dx12 and dx11. Both modes will give me the errors in the OP. If I disable the lutris setting under system options "prefer system libraries" it works without audio. DX9 and 10 games seem to be fine with "prefer system libraries" enabled, but also have no audio with it disabled. Maybe I need to install dxvk or vkd3d to the system, but if I do that, whenever an update comes to steam os, it will get overwritten by the new image. I'll try it anyway though.
Well I finally joined the Deck gang. I just got mine today 😎.
Check out the SanDisk 400GB Extreme it’s UHS-1 and A2, much better balance of price and space.
Tomtoc actually makes a few really nice switch cases. I think they were discontinued tho. Nervous if i dont pick it up they will discontiue it.
Hell I have a gig and it isn't enough! I've heard bad things about those magnetic charger connectors as this puts the tiny connections that are in your USB socket (inside) and leaves them exposed on the outside of the unit and put the unit at risk of a shock or short circuit if anything touches it.
For the skin, I'd love so see one that shines in darkness. At least around the controls. I find difficult to press the steam and menu buttons at night.
I used a 128GB A1 U1 when I first got my Steam Deck while waiting for my 512GB A2 U3. As far as I can tell there is no difference in speed and load times.
those magnetic ones are pretty weak they have bigger ones like iskey that support everything usb C has to offer
Would love more Borderlands themed skins, I would immediately buy one thay was Jakub's themed.
Did you ever get to using the magnetic cables
Moskeetogang ftw :) got the cyberdeck as well
It's beautiful!!
I use a few microsd cards, one for emulation, a couple for AAA gaming, and a couple for file transfers. I only have the A2 cards for AAA gaming. Mainly because I keep games on them so I dont have to redownload.... they can be transferred from my linux pc faster that way too (I save all my steam games on my linux pc... I have a lot, only install what Im playing regularly at the moment)
I do not recommend getting the Ivoler dock for anyone wondering I had a serious issue with one game in particular (Terraria) were my screen would turn off randomly every 3-5 minutes I thought it was the game at first and spent days/hours trying to figure out what was wrong as none of the other games I was running had this issue.
However although you would think it was the game it turned out to be the docking station as the minute I got my JSAUX docking station I never had the issue again so my guess is the Ivoler dock doesn't do good with higher power draw.
The 65w basseus is not allowed on the plane unfortunately, unless it is just the plane co. Unless its a case to case basis
4PM
Godhand spotted! Good taste, my dude.
Salute to you for being a real one lol
I bought the Jsaux Docking Station HB0603 a while ago and I can't recommend it. While the Steam Deck is nicely docked, there are still some problems.
- There is a big issue with using multiple USB's at the same time on this device. Some devices disconnect, distort or just don't work when you use more than one usb port.
EDIT: *Issue is resolved, had a faulty USB peripheral*
- The docking experience hooked up to a TV is good but not great. The output is excellent and provides a nice clean 4k 60hz or 1440p at 120hz. However there are some issues. Whenever you go from desktop mode to game mode you have to replug the USB-C adapter to get a signal again. And the same goes for restarting the Deck and wake from sleep. I have to walk up to the Jsaux Dock everytime and replug the USB-C to get the signal back to work.
NOTE: The official Dock from Valve has similar problems, this is not necessarily related to Jsaux. *
Pros are that the Docking Station is pretty affordable and of great build quality.
This is a good review. I can try testing some of this stuff or passing along feedback to JSAUX. Couple questions:
- Anything more you can say on USB problem? Like what accessories you were using. I'll test this one again but I had no problems with like one storage device and one input peripheral both plugged in.
- Yeah the sleep thing is a problem with the Steam Deck itself, I'd say. The Valve docking station doesn't improve this in any regard. I do sometimes have problems that force me to reconnect as well (on any docking station, unfortunately)
@@FanTheDeck Thanks.
I have just recieved the Valve official dock. One difference between this dock and the dock from Jsaux is that it immediatly returns signal after waking it from sleep. The signal issue with restarting and switching from desktop mode is still there as you have mentioned.
The USB peripherals I used on the Jsaux dock were not very standard to say the least. I hooked up a normal wireless keyboard and a PS2 buzz controller. My wife and I love to play some retro quiz games on the Deck. The keyboard stopped working while using the USB-Buzz controllers. Perhaps they share power, or the Buzz controllers just takes too much and is too old :P. I also tested some other normal peripherals and I still had the problem. After some more in-depth testing I found out that one of my used pheripherals was just faulty, which was a coincidence.
Always blaming the device! This issue can be marked as resolved and I shall edit it in my original post.
Aside from that I encountered an error while trying to update the firmware of the Dock. It has failed one time and it didn't pop up again after. It works as intended though.
I really hoped that the signal issues were a fault of the dock from Jsaux, but I discovered that it doesn't make a difference and then I read your message also saying that it's a Deck thing and not a dock thing.
I believe that this will be updated in the near future. Thanks for the video @Fan The Deck you never let me down!
I think a Resident Evil skin would be cool. Mostly white/off white so it looks dirty with blood spatter all over it and the Umbrella log.
A Fallout/Pip boy theme skin would be awesome
I'd love to see someone to make custom steamdeck game boxes to keep individual or collections of games in. You could have a collection then. Even if it was just the games you really like. I find myself playing my switch more as I have more physical copies of game for it.
I'd love to see a comparison of thumbstick caps for the Steam Deck. My main controller is the ELITE Series 2 and I hated giving up my thumbstick customization. I bought some Skull n Co thumbstick caps and they were ALMOST great, the smallest domed one slips off with the way I push the left thumbstick up, sadly.
i'm 99.9% sure they intended on the steamdeck to be facing the other way in the bag.. the areas that are a void are to protect the sticks.
I like how you accent the back light behind/under the deck and even when its docked. Are you just using a LED strip or is it something else?
I didn't want to have to swap sd cards so I picked up a "Lexar Play 1tb Micro SD" It a nice fast card and it was on sale for $115.
That's fair! That's a solid price for a 1tb also. How full is it?
got an nvme for a little over 50 on ebay. cant rule them out (512 gb)
@@FanTheDeck I have 870gb of 912gb free I haven't installed any AAA titles yet. I just received my SD 1 week ago today and went with the 512gb modely ssd has 442gb free.
@@PongbyAtari Oh yeah that's gonna last you a nice long time!
Amazon Basic 1tb cards regularly go on sale for £100 which makes them better value than the Samsung Evo select .. plus beyond any expectations has better performance as well. Believe me when I say nobody was more shocked than me.
Color me intrigued. I'll check it out!
Do you notice any changes in temps with the vinyl skin? I've never had a vinyl skin on any device before, so I'm not sure if would make the steam deck run hotter when applied.
No not at all from what I've seen.
Ok so this may be a dumb question, but I’ll be getting a steam deck email this month and I’m just trying to prep ahead… what does a hub do in terms of the steam deck? Do you find it helpful?
the V is the more important it's mean sustant write speed usually meant for video recording but it's a pretty good indicator go for v60 cards
Perhaps I havan't looked into V enough! Off to the lab haha
quick note: the GuliKit King Kong 2 Pro will not ever suffer from joystick drift because of the stick design
Idk if anyone has said this but a2 isn't utilized w the steam deck. If u spend extra on an a2 know it's not being utilized.
Hey can you get the 8bitdo lite 2 and try it out on the steam deck this would be very helpful
If I get one, I'll be sure to let you know. I can definitely see the use for it (especially with travelling). One thing to note is that it doesn't have analog triggers.