I love my steamdeck and think it is great, but I do think the handheld pc’s in general suffer from not having the game optimized and ported specifically for the device unlike something like a switch 2.
My steamdeck is mainly for indie games specifically so I don’t need to be pressed about how a game runs as much
My steamdeck is mainly for Solitaire, so I don't need to be pressed about how games outside of Windows installation work.
It's also great for streaming games from your PC which is my main use case for it.
Regardless though, it is a bit of a jank experience which is why it will never be on the same level of a switch 2. Everything about a switch just works, that is far from the case with the steam deck.
Okay?
What in the hell did nvidia pull off on Samsung 8nm and still be so freaking efficient? T239 is a design from 2021 too
Aside from the low clocked CPU that would barely use any power, the NFS system storage also uses a lot less power than the NVME drives that PC handhelds are using.
Fact: GPU more power with hardware dlss, but weaker cpu.
advantage: switch 2 will have more native port, while steam deck basically a pc port via potron translation layer.
It depends on your library to choose device: if you already have a decent steam library and want do some retro emulation, than steam deck; if you have many interest in Nintendo games then switch 2 (if you are not hurry, just wait for the revision of the hardware for oled or lite version)
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Why ignore the cost to re-buy all the games on switch 2 when they are close to 90 dollars each.
It makes sense to get a steam deck if you already have a large library you want to play on handheld. I agree that the steam deck needs an update and it’s probably coming.
What games are 90 dollars on the switch 2 I have yet to see on
I dont get why these keep popping up. Its pretty common knowledge that the Switch 2 is more powerful than the steamdeck.
I imagine it keeps popping up because it's *not* common knowledge, and had Nintendo followed the same route they did with the original Switch, folks probably expect the Switch 2 to be older / slower hardware than other hardware available right now. Switch 1 was basically dated hardware when it was released.
Hate is great for farming engagement, and right now it's trendy to hate on Nintendo.
Switch 2 is technically "dated", most of the hardware is using components from at least 2 years ago, so people who just want to hate will hold on to that detail and turn a blind eye to any sort of nuance
This. Everything about the switch 2 has either been false or misinformation. 90 dollar games here in the US. False. All games being game key cards. False. Gamecube NSO controller only working on gamecube games. False. Eula saying that they will brick your system. Literally a non issue every manufacturer of hardware has the exact same thing. Joy con connection pins easily breakable. False. Switch 2 needs a day one update to work. False. Doug bowser saying buy a switch 1 instead of a switch 2. false.
Add switch 2 is dated to the list. The amount of online and false hate against nintendo is insane
So is Switch 2. It'll age the same way as well.
From the amount of people I see calling the console itself weak or overpriced (often while making direct comparison to the steam deck) I don't think it's such common knowledge.
Plus, the truly crazy thing I didn't realize before this vid is that the switch, in handheld, is doing this with about 1/3 the power draw of the deck. While mostly irrelevant since the batteries of the 2 devices are different, it's just a wild tech fact, idk.
The Xbox sub was dunking on it because it's weaker than a Series S. Like no shit a handheld is weaker than the Series S.
Me when the arm tablet gets outperformed by the 3 books thick stationary console
Docked Switch 2 actually has impressive performance.
Yeah and even if people say “it’s cheating” to count docked performance, it’s really not. Docked mode is the Switch 2’s true full power mode that isn’t limited by battery life.
I’ve seen so many people ignore docked performance and only count its handheld mode (which has lower clock speed) as its “true power” which is kinda BS. Like Steam Deck users often use the Switch 2 handheld mode as the basis for their claim that the hardware is “weaker” when it’s actually really good hardware (except for its CPU).
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I don't know. Series S + GamePass is the cheapest way to get a current gen gaming setup, outside of your smartphone. It has its use cases.
It started with the Switch 2 folks calling it stronger than a Series S
I'm sure it's powerful, but $500 is alot to ask for especially for $80 games on top of pricey accesories. This is where the steam deck or rog ally win the game. while not as powerful they atleast offer games on the cheap like steam sales, gog sales, and stuff like fanatical and humble bundle.
Thats like saying steam deck has 80 dollar games. Like what? the eshop has nothing else? lmao. Steam deck doesnt come with a dock either. Eshop literally has a summer sale right now, your logic is so flawed. Plus I get used switch games cheaper than even on steam
It’s just so weird. Their logic is always “well I don’t buy third-party games on Nintendo platforms so those sales on eShop don’t count!” If that’s case, why bother comparing pricing when they don’t refuse to check out third-party games on Nintendo platforms no matter what? At that point, it’s not even a sale problem (eShop has just as much sales as Steam). It’s an ecosystem investment problem. These folks are too invested into the Steam ecosystem to leave. They just don’t want to admit it because it’ll make them sound like a fanboy so they throw out some random excuse like “Nintendo platforms have no discounts for games!!!” that are blatantly untrue.
ok then explain the accesories then
I mean are SteamDeck accessories... free? U can buy third party accessories which are cheaper on both platforms, and frankly Switch 2 comes with more accessories in box (technically two controllers, wrist straps and a dock).
What accessories, the same 8bitdo controllers that work for both systems? Or are you talking about joycons which is something the steam deck doesn't have an equivalent of and is a huge reason why people like the switch.
Good thing they're asking $450 for it and only have 1 $80 game.
Btw, how many games $80 are there on steam?
See, your lies are the reason nobody takes you guys seriously. First, the Switch 2 is only $450 and the there's only one game that's $80. The Switch 2 also includes the dock, unlike the Steam Deck that you need to buy the $80 official dock separately. Steam also has $80 games like Outer Worlds 2. Nintendo also offer sales, so that's not unique to Steam.
Idk, online people seem to believe the Switch 2 is weak, Nintendo is evil, and gaming is dead.
I think they’re right because they’re very loud about it. Like, it must be true cause they simply won’t stop talking about it. /s
Oh yeah Nintendo is DOOMED (we're back in 2010 Wii era of people calling Nintendo doomed).
TBF Nintendo corporate are a bunch of pricks.
I agree in some respects, but I can't go full on saying they're evil.
They're still the only major gaming company to cut executive compensation to avoid mass layoffs. While others have cut thousands of jobs over the last year, Nintendo has only released 120 contractors.
Their other decisions are questionable, though still following industry trends, but the simple fact they aren't shitcanning people for shitty AI projects or because they put too much money into NFT's and Live Service means a lot to me.
Their legal department are goddamn yakuzas, and the top management seems to be slowly becoming like that, too
And they still offer better jobs than 90% of the gaming industry right now, hate them all you want, they are literally one of the last of their kind.
"they catch people breaking the law and apply the consequences society agrees upon to them, THEYRE LITERALLY A GANG KILLING PEOPLE FORM I REASON!!"
How do y'all ever expect to be taken seriously?
They're still the only major gaming company to cut executive compensation to avoid mass layoffs. While others have cut thousands of jobs over the last year, Nintendo has only released 120 contractors.
Isn't this because laws make it a lot harder to fire people in Japan and easier to cut executive compensation to keep shareholders happy?
Nintendo's employee retention is incredibly high even by Japanese standards so that doesn’t seem to be the case or at minimum the whole story. They're at 98.8% at last count IIRC, that or 98.2%, Japanese average is around 70%.
Most gaming companies are like that. This includes Steam.
Can't really compare the two since Valve a privately held company, while Nintendo is public.
No, you just keep supporting dorks online that break very well-known and obvious laws and then get mad when you're caught doing the thing you knew you weren't supposed to be doing.
You guys are always big mad because of some silly childish shit like you can't have a Smash Bros tournament at a Dave and Busters, or they closed your favorite piracy site.
Just get a real job
I don't think the "dorks" that made AM2R and other fan games (like the pokemon ones) deserved to be hunted legally for making free, fan games. I also don't think the fuckin Minecraft pokemon mod needed to be hunted down either.
There's nothing childish about promoting fan-made media and disliking corporate bootlicking.
I mean nintendo literally had a metroid remake the most after AM2R so what realisitically did they expect? Also why cant the fans make 'spiritual successors' to games instead of flat out using the IP?
Why don't people make entire new franchises instead of reusing asssets and modding existing games and giving them out for free (yeah screw those who did make money fair enough)? I dunno maybe because one takes many YEARS, costs 10's of thousands, needs a good knowledge in coding and the other is something you can drag and drop half the time and need barely any knowledge to do.
So i dunno, can you help me figure out why fans don't make their own 'spiritual successor' instead of reusing dead assets?/s
And funny cos palworld that is one of the only creature collectors to have threatened pokemon ever has been taken to court by nintendo, and not because their suspicious pal lookalikes, but because of vague mechanics such as summoning creatures and then riding them? Its not even a similar game and you want people to make a spritual successor to pokemon and hope they don't hit big incase nintendo comes over and smacks them with lawsuits over aggressive retroactive patents or worse if its anything like pokemon?
AM2R used all new assets so I dunno what you are trying to say lmao. Your logic is flawed. So your solution is to use assets already made by hard working people then cry fowl when the company who owns those assets dont want them to be used? Maybe show a little bit of respect.
You asked why people don't make a new ip, I told you.
All corpos are pricks.
I visited r/fucknintendo today and now have added it to my regular list of subs to visit and laugh at.
Steamdeck has the advantage in variety, but thats it. Even in sales its weak compared to any handheld Nintendo ever made.
Edit: Damn reddit sure is angry that Nintendo dominates in the hardware market. Sorry that Steam Deck can't compare to sales.
Aren't Steam Decks only available directly through Steam?
Yeah only available on the biggest gaming platform with more active users than Sony…..
That is correct. There's an argument there, but then there's also the argument that Nintendo just has vastly bigger name to advertise.
Steam deck could be available everywhere and still get obliterated. Sorry but everyone who wants a steam deck can get one this isnt 1992 anymore lmao
You forgot the price for games ;) Nintendo Switch both 1 and 2 sucks a lot because of game prices
Sure, but from their sales its clear most dont care. Remember that reddit boycott over the Switch 2 for 80$ games?
Tell me again how that worked out?
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I got downvoted in a steam deck sub for telling them they would never be able to emulate Switch 2 games because it’s not powerful enough
the steam deck is also a full linux desktop pc, comparing both systems is useless.
I was under the impression that the Steam Deck was decently more powerful still, as its CPU and GPU are built on a smaller node and are rated to use more power. If the Switch 2 is more powerful, that’s kind of amazing.
In a vacuum the steam deck has a better CPU and worse GPU.
But they don't exist in a vacuum. The switch 2's chipset is significantly more efficient, has DLSS to back it up, gets a boost when docked, and has the benefit of games actually targeting its hardware.
The result is that when docked, the switch 2 is clearly doing better than the steam deck, and when handheld the steam deck performs a little better, but the switch 2 gets better image quality.
The switch 2 achieved this while drawing 50% the power, which is why the switch 2 is able to be lighter and thinner while having comparable performance
The GPU is more powerful in the Switch, but the Steam Deck's CPU does manage to still perform better.
It's because Steam Deck owners are super salty about their 800p 30fps handheld with a 45 minute battery getting lapped by a "kids console"
And the Switch is often priced significantly cheaper. At least in my country.
Switch 2 is more expensive anywhere valve ships.
Switch 2 is more expensive anywhere valve ships.
Not in Australia. Valve Steam Deck go for $850 up to and potentially above $1399 depending on which version you get. Switch 2 can be had for less than $800.
Steam Deck users just don't wanna admit that a console handheld can be better than a PC handheld. It's the same reason they don't shit on other PC handhelds.
I mean its Nintendo. Most of their Handhelds have been amazing and top in the market.
I agree but the amount of switch 2 hate for no reason would make you think otherwise lol
It's also not impressive at all that it can run a 5 year old game.
Upvotes for this post where switch 2 is shown to have better performances than steam deck: 34 in an hour.
Upvotes for this post if the game had run better on steam deck: 9999999 with 263537 comments.
Also upvotes for this post if the title is “Switch 2 sucks ass, Miyamoto killed my dog and sued my mom. Is Nintendo finally going third-party???”:
Infinite upvotes with millions of comments stating how much they hate Nintendo and how they can’t wait to pirate Nintendo games.
It’s so easy to rage bait people nowadays.
I feel like something that often gets left out of these SD vs Switch 2 discussions is what a pain it is to connect a SD to a TV and have games play well. With S2 I can just dock the system and games play well on TV. This is not the case for the SD.
Also the fucking fan noise on the steam deck is insane. I love mine but I really only enjoy it when I'm playing a game that isn't demanding or streaming a game off my PC.
This is just completely untrue. You can get any usb c dock and use any controller and the steam deck runs fine on a screen.
hdr is fucking god awful and changing the resolution and aspect ration is shit
honestly expecting to use a 4K tv on a steam deck is asking abit much especially where it'll be 900p stretched to 4K. like get a 1080p monitor
I disagree. This is probably a problem that sits in front of the TV not an SD issue. I bought a docking station that has an external m2ssd slot and an ocu link port for my external GPU. All that for 50 bucks. Nintendo implemented an encryption chip into the switch 2 that encrypts the entire communication with dock and console, making third party hardware completely useless. The steam deck gets outclassed by the switch 2 in almost any category you can imagine, but not in this category (use of third party hardware). That's why it's "left out" I guess. Time to prepare for downvotes
He's not saying that the steam deck can't do it. He's saying that it can't do it as well and he's 100% right.
Basically what you just said is "I paid $50 for an accessory so that I could do what a switch does out of the box"
For your steam deck to offer an equivalent docked experience as a switch 2 you'd need to buy or already own:
And even after buying those things, it would still perform worse docked than the switch 2 does, and it would be a bunch of extra stuff to carry around to create that experience.
A more expensive brand-new system is more performative than a 3-year-old system? Shocker?
Other side was boasting how the steamdeck is more powerful than 7 year old hardware so the cycle continues
They are comparing Switch 2 to Steam Deck OLED, which is more powerful than og SD and more expensive than a Switch 2
Plus you can't say anything positive about Switch 2 online without a mob angrily telling you to get a Steam Deck instead, so it's not like we don't need to state the obvious
The OLED Steam Deck isn’t more powerful than the LCD one, the APU is basically the same but on a smaller process which makes it more power efficient but it’s still the same Zen2 and RDNA2 at the same speeds and core counts.
To be fair, on battery-powered devices there is not a (huge) difference between gains in efficiency and gains in performance if you are targeting a given wattage and battery capacity. These APU-type chips are power limited almost 100% of the time when unplugged, so having better efficiency lets you boost to higher clocks at the same power level
Did DF overclock their Steam Deck?
I would imagine not, when a device is operating at a low power limit it will be well below its stock maximum boost clocks during normal operation. The headroom here can and will get used up by a more efficient chip at a given power budget, no overclocking required. This is the same reason the switch and switch 2 chips clock so much higher when docked - they dramatically raise the power budget in doing so, enabling a higher frequency ceiling in the process. None of this is really overclocking though, this is usually described as ‘dynamic clockspeed’, although most clocking behavior across computing devices is somewhere along that spectrum, it’s not a binary.
Steam Deck OLED is how much more powerful than the original Steam Deck?
Very, very little. Maybe 1% more powerful than the original.
Benchmarks show it's between 1% and 8% more performance than the LCD. That said, it is possible to overclock the memory in most LCD models to match the memory speeds in the OLED, thus nearly matching the performance.
Ahh, so not worth mentioning really?
Active in 3 different nintendo subs and crying about your victim complex?
Nah, the new deck is more efficient but I wouldn’t call it «more powerful»
The OLED is what 7-9% faster than the LCD model? It's a better display and faster RAM only I thought.
Which is ironic since Steam Deck sales are pitiful when compared to Switch 1 sales. Even Switch 2 is rapidly catching up to Steam Deck sales.
There's no doubt the Switch 2 will destroy the Steam Deck in sales long term.
It's not even "long term" they've already outsold the Steam Deck. They did it in less than a week.
There are only ~4 million Stem Decks sold, and ~6 million portable PCs in total sold.(https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/05/steam-deck-sales-still-going-strong-over-three-years-later/)
Meanwhile, the Switch 2 sold 3.5 million units in 4 days, and was at 5 million units as of July 1st (https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2025/jul/01/switch-2-record-breaking-sales/)
But according to reddit, no one likes Nintendo and the Switch 2 isnt selling!
Personally I want Steam to release them to general stores so we can really see how popular they are. That would rid people of the argument steam deck is only losing due to no retail store sales.
That's crazy because people spent those past 3 years talking about how the 2022 Steam Deck was better than the 2017 Switch.
Edit: And it's being compared to the Steam Deck OLED, which is actually $100 more than the Switch 2.
Steam deck OLED retails at $100 more than a switch 2
This is gonna make Steam Deck dudes twist into a fit
Like I don't own either, but shouldn't it be expected that a device that is newer by years is stronger?
It wasn't for years when the Steamdeck was newer and more expensive than the Switch 1.
Not for Steam Deck users. They hate the Switch 2 and want to put it down because of console warring.
All 17 of em
They're different devices for different people, the comparisons are interesting, but also odd.
I beat CyberPunk ages ago on my gaming rig. It's not really something I'd want to play on a handheld. Need to appreciate it on a big screen or in VR.
I’ve played and beaten Cyberpunk multiple times on PS5 and I just don’t see the appeal of doing a whole playthrough of a game that dense on any handheld. It just seems like an objectively worse way to experience the game. If I bought a Switch i’d likely only play 1st party games, if I bought a SD i’d likely only play indie games.
The NS2 makes me super excited for a Deck 2. If this old 8nm hardware is so dang efficient already, imagine something on the newest nodes... Though I suppose the ARM CPU and UFS storage are also a big help in reducing the overall NS2 power draw.
For everyone that got offended when Switch 2 outperforms the Steam Deck.
Guys, that doesn't invalidate your purchase. If you're fine with your Steam Deck then have at it, both consoles have their pros and cons.
This confirms what everyone assumed pre-release. Docked the Switch 2 is easily better than the Deck, but in handheld the Deck pulls ahead due to Nintendo capping the power.
Does anyone already own this on PS5? I have a Switch 2 and my save file of Cyberpunk on PS5. I am thinking of buying it on Switch 2 also so I can play on the handheld as there are still loads I haven't done in the game.
I am always travelling for work so handheld would be great in my overnight stays at hotels. Does anyone know if the save file transfers cross platform without any issues?
Much appreciated
J
I own a pc, switch 2, and steam deck. Cross save works perfect on all 3 platforms, so I'm sure ps5 should work just fine. Just don't go in expecting PC graphics on the switch 2. It runs smooth for the most part, but can look a bit ugly as times, especially when you play the DLC. I bought it for my switch 2 and I love playing it in handheld mode.
Edit Also it has a cloud icon next to the save, letting you know it can be loaded on a different platform.
That's awesome thank you so much for the reply. Guess I will be buying it again lol
Amazing, so mods that affect save games are compatible too then. Like I tried on pc ver and Xbox ver. It simply sync over
Steam deck and switch 2 (handheld) are very similar in power, this just shows the benefits of a native port and how good dlss is
Who would have thought the newer product that gets games ported for it specifically would perform better than a device that is 3 years old and got games that werent intended for it to even run.
This is possibly the greatest porting job ever done. CP2077 has no right looking this good on a very underpowered device with a relatively old Switch 2 SoC.
I mean the switch 2 isn't that weak for a handheld. Only real issue is the CPU Beeing eh
Uh yea it is. It’s a very old SoC on an ancient node.
So.. Who is dumb enough to squander the Cyberpunk experience on handheld devices? It's like drag racing two snails on a horse track. The Steam Deck has sold what, around 4m units, and of the ones sold, the vast majority act as dust collectors. If DF wants to do a mobile comparison, they should do some real tests against tried and true decent mobile devices people actually use. Really scraping the bottom of the barrel for anything good to say about the Switch 2. Imagine paying $70 to watch a new lord of the rings trilogy on your phone. With cloud streaming, it's possible to have an RTX 4080 on mobile devices. But even if it's 1000 fps with path tracing, ultra low latency, very few would be interested if it's on the smallest of screens.
How efficient is a device that can hardly meet the absolute floor of 30 fps? Is 10W in docked mode that significant? I guess for someone who tests so many devices he has to have dozens of Switch 2s running at any given time. 100 Switch 2's with 10W less power draw per Switch = 1000W less per hour. With the bespoke price of electricity, that's a very substantial saving. At 70 cents per KWh, that's a savings of $17 per day, $50 a month, $600 a year. Switch 2 has just saved the planet along with Rich's wallet.
Overall a complete resource drain from so many parties involved. Nvidia, CDPR, DF, and more. Put those resources into improving DLSS4, the next Witcher/Cyberpunk, and quality video content.
What? 😂
What part is confusing to you?
Well the first sentence is a great place to start. Sorry people don't game according to your standards but there are a lot of people who can only game on a handheld. There are also a lot of people who can't or don't want to spend 1500 bucks on a gaming setup you deem worthy of cyberpunk.
Get over yourself dude.
Who are these "a lot of people" that can only game on a handheld? I'm genuinely curious. That's some sort of superpower right?
A $300 series S beats the ever living shit out of the Switch 2. Try making a half decent point instead of inventing strawmen. $1500 pc lmao.
Well you know that lots of people commute to work on a train or bus or travel a lot for work. Or they have siblings or loves ones that they share a tv with. Or any other situation that makes handheld consoles incredibly popular.
The switch or another handheld let's them keep there hobby of gaming when it best suits them or their life.
And we're just talking about the first sentence of your post, the whole thing is bonkers.
Valve wont brick your hardware for using 3rd party peripherals or modding the hardware that you own.
Fuck Nintendo
I just care about longevity of the batteries.
Then get a 3ds
Way ahead of you. Far superior.
Yeah I especially love how well it can run games like totk and cyberpunk
Yah it runs it about as long as Steam Deck and Switch 2 run them
Yeah at frames a minute
Correct..one frame for the Deck and Switch 2 then as well.
The 3ds battery is maybe a little better than the switches depending on the game you're playing. It got like 3 hours which is exactly what I'm getting playing Pikman 4 on the switch 2.
I'm sorry to hear your 3DS wasn't a good build. I'd send you mine, but I'm still playing it for hours and hours every recharge.
But enjoy your 3 hours of fun with the Switch 2.
Yeah I'd love you to send me your quantum 3ds dm me.
Here's a better take than anything performance related:
Do you want hardware where you can do what you want with it? Buy a steam deck.
Do you want a locked down machine with a far more limited games library and forced paid subscriptions but nominally better performance? Buy a switch 2.
forced paid subscriptions
Damn, m8. I forgot that Shiggy literally puts a gun to the temple of every Switch owner and says "I am FORCING you to subscribe to Switch online."
I mean most people don't really care about whether their gaming device is locked down to do nothing but gaming, and with the Switch outperforming the Steam deck surely a lot of the major AAA games are going to get ported over, not to mention all the great exclusives you'll have in the future.
Also while it is scummy practice to begin with, NSO is far cheaper than what Xbox and PlayStation charge for online services. And you are definitely not forced to buy it.
Yeah agreed. Everyday i see one of those PS+ cards in the grocery store I am happy I went with PC+switch
Can I play EA FC? Or Fortnite? Out of the box without any tinkering?
Switch is a vastly better party gaming device. I wager to guess playing Marioparty, Mariokart, Smash Ultimate, etc in local co-op using all the joycon features isn't possible on a Steam Deck even with piracy.
Three games = better gaming device? Bruh...I don't mean to be rude but the Deck is basically PC. A PC where you can quite literally access nearly the entire pantheon of human creation in the video game medium. lol
Not trying to be hyperbolic, it just is what it is. Now I'm not speaking to user experience, the Switch IS going to be easier to use for the most-part. You won't encounter weird proton issues, input quirks but the fact remains, you CAN tinker to solve those issues on the Deck.
Iunno, for me it's not really even a fair comparison, but to each their own. These are two different types of devices.
Read, don't skim. I said it's a "better >party< gaming device". AKA, better for local co-op/multiplayer titles of that genre which Nintendo largely dominates.
I have a PC and I also have a Switch. Nintendo is the less limited device of the two in terms of your average consumer simply wanting their Nintendo IPs. Piracy and emulation aren't practical for most, and co-op on PC is doable but generally ass. I can't imagine connecting 8 joycons to a PC is gonna fly well.
Does Steamdeck allow you to play GamePass titles?
legitimate question actually, if you sideload windows can you use gamepass?
Yes. But windows doesnt work properly on oled deck, works fine on lcd deck.
You might be less confused if you spent more time reading the comments you're replying to and less time angrily typing.
1st, the paid subscription was never mandatory. You dont need it to do anything with the switch other than playing online.
2nd, Switch 2 allows for Switch 1 games to be played on it. I believe the Switch 1 has well over 1000 games to play so to say thats limited is outright lying or ignorance.
3rd, the performance is the only thing you told truthfully about the Switch 2.
You're fucking weird, mate
Don't forget that the switch 2 actually launches games and provides a good experience every single time without any tinkering in settings. Oh and the detachable controllers are awesome. Oh and that limited library is actually pretty big. Oh and if you actually want to make use of that open platform you better know what you're doing. Oh and if you're an adult who pays for things it's the only way to play Nintendo games.
Or do what I did and buy both, why not. The steam deck is fun to fuck around with while the switch is fun to actually play.
Guys steamdeck is “Old tech,” now..we shouldn’t be surprised now.
Meh, for third party titles, I'd still prefer a Steamdeck OLED.
I.guess now that DF is singing Switch2's praises, the digital witch hunt has abated, for now.
Prefer to wait for a Switch 2 oled, and stick to third party stuff on steam.bc they're so overpriced on S2.
That's something that's really overlooked and 1 dimensional, you could buy a new or used cheap 64gb Steamdeck, and the amount you'll save on third party stuff alone, will make it pay for itself long term. Of course not ideal to lug 2 systems around, but I use my Switch oled on the couch or in bed, not in transit and I doubt I'm alone in that use case.
For thr record, I have 4 switch systems, 2 oled, 1 OG and 1 lite along with 100 physical games and no steamdeck of any kind but I do find it interesting, hopefully.a successor using the newer Zen2 is not far off, competition is a good thing, even if they aren't totally head to head .
switch 2 oled would require an extremely pricey display. they chose VRR over OLED and imo it was a good decision
TL:DR:
Switch is better for it being a native port and it also being a very efficient and optimized device in general with custom built DLSS that helps it tremendously. Steam deck suffers because it is using translation layers and is less power efficient than the Switch.
Also, this is my opinion; but in the Switch port Cyberpunk looked a lot better and also ran better so take that as you will.
Correct me if I'm wrong I rushed through the video.
Edit: Apparently the translation layer doesn’t affects performance.
Yeah that seems pretty accurate. all things we could have assumed without the video but nice to see it tested.
Looks like you already edited the translation layer thing but I just wanted to chime in that the reason proton has minimal to no negative impact on performance is because it's not emulating a windows environment it's just translating code to something Linux understands so there's practically no overhead for doing it. That's the overly simplified explanation.
Also, Steam Deck was more comparable to Switch in portable mode, and has 2.5x the battery capacity. However, Switch sips power, so battery life is pretty even.
Handheld mode is pretty much the only thing that matters to me, so this is the most important thing I care about.
Just makes me long for an arm-based Steam Deck someday.
I know a lot of the efficiency gains will be washed by the overhead of translating amd64 code, but I have to imagine it’ll still run shockingly cool and quiet, especially if games are ever compiled to run natively on it.
We live in a great time for handhelds.
Wouldn't you in this case have to both translate windows as well as x86?
WOA has been around since... Windows 8.
Native Windows for ARM is getting better.
We already do that stuff, combining tools like wine, proton and box64 has made apps like winlator possible with pretty great performance.
Yes. It’s already done in macOS. M4 Macs can run a large amount of games at decent framerates & settings through 2 translation layers (Crossover, the same devs as proton)
Ever since I saw Leela's arm computer in futurama, I've wanted one.
Wait steam deck isnt arm? how does it have more than like an hour of battery life?
Because it has a bigass chonky battery, same as the other portable PCs
Switch 2 can only afford to be so thin because the hardware is so efficient, otherwise it would also require a much bigger battery, draw more power and generate more heat, which at some point would require active coolong
Is see. I am aware of arm efficiency, I asked mostly because my 70000mAh laptop still emptys in 50 minutes streaming a movie. Guess the steam deck consumption just isn't thaaat high
The TDP of the Steam Deck's SoC is only 15W. The LCD model uses around 10W for everything else, including the screen. At full load with a brand new battery (40Wh on LCD models), that equals about 1.6 hours, or 96 minutes - which is almost exactly what Gamers Nexus measured, at 97 minutes.
A lot of super light games might only use 5W of the SoC, and the screen uses a lot less power at lower brightness levels (so, let's say 5W), which can get you around 4 hours of battery life.
steamdeck approaches OG switch level of battery life with the indy pixel games. IT's very good for an X86 device. Just not ARM level... yet. Give AMD time.
Still, until then, switch OLED wins the battery wars; but the switch 2 is still pretty phenomenal when running OG switch games. I get 4 to 5 hours on xenoblade chronicles, for example.
Both Steam Deck and Switch 2 have similar sized batteries at ~5200 mAh.
Incorrect - steamdeck OLED has about a 50WH battery, while the switch 2 sports a roughly 20WH battery.
The switch is about 2.7x more efficient, which the SD offsets by having 2.5x more battery - so they end up at around the same battery life. With the steamdeck having slightly more performance handheld, because it's ripping through nearly 3x the power.
The switch 2 wins when it's docked, and can use 15w of power.
It's some really fun tradeoffs right now.
Loving my switch 2, but also pretty excited to see what valve will do to raise the stakes on their next release.
Switch 2 has a 5220 mAh battery, LCD Steam Deck has 5200 mAh battery, OLED Steam Deck has a 6470 mAh battery.
mAh is a capacity of a battery, WH is a function of capacity x voltage. Unquestionably the Switch 2 is more efficient, but the Steam Deck isn't significantly bigger because of its battery, it's because it has big console sized grips and PC parts that are bigger and require more cooling than the mobile chips in the Switch 2.
You can't ignore the voltage, as it impacts tha actual stored energy in the battery. You're just giving half of the important information when you specify just mAh. The other half is 'the voltage that the current is supplied at'
Which is why Wh is preferred for this sort of comparison.
They might both be very similar mAh, but that only reflects how long the battery can supply a specific current, not the watts delivered.
There's a reason that your computers power supply is classed by 'watts', and not 'amps'. Because to measure the energy, you need both watts and amps.
This is important, because you say 'they have the same size battery because they have the same mAh'.
you can't draw that conclusion
These batteries are different sizes, as one needs to store more total energy. It may deliver it during the same timeframe (mAh rating), but it needs to drive it at a higher voltage, and is thus larger.
(simplest way to do this would be to slap two switch 2 batteries in series: Similar mAh, but twice the voltage, therefore twice the Wh... and twice the size)
The deck is chunky for a big reason.
It will never happen but a M4 steam deck running steamOS and proton is damn near the perfect hardware/software combo right now
Not really comparable. Switch 2 runs at higher resolution (1080p). The Steam Deck runs the game at 800p.
This has been the opinion lately on other forums. The Switch 2 is visually stunning and it performs very well. The SteamDeck isn't a native port and needs some customization. Some users said it runs good on Medium settings, but the Switch 2 is in "Full" settings.
There's also a difference in screen resolution, not that it really matters because we don't just care about graphics around here.
Long story short, whatever is available to you at a price you can afford, it's yours to buy and enjoy.
I travel quite a bit, so something portable like these is perfect for me, and because SteamDecks aren't sold where I'm from. So it's Switch for me, and the Switch 2 is honestly surprisingly good.
A lot of my old games run much better now.
For the record, the “translation layer” aka Proton doesn’t negatively affect performance (it can just bug something out if there’s a command not supported in the latest version).
As long as every command in the game is supported by Proton it runs the same as if it were native.
Yeah, that's the least of Steam Deck's issue, SteamOS has improved performance of other windows based portable PCs
But having to run a full PC OS in the background rather than something much simpler like consoles do requires more resources
Thank you for clarifying since I was just going of what the guy in the video was saying.
my problem with switch 2 with cyberpunk which im sure everyone knows by now is the low npc density and cars. The city feels very empty. Is this a problem with the steam deck as well when playing?
DF says the Switch 2 is equivalent to a PC medium crowd density setting. But, as you noted, most user consensus and some other comparison videos with low crowd density seems more active than the Switch 2.
The brief clip they showed for the crowd density setting (@3:30) appears more active than the high pc setting in the area they circled so it would’ve been nice to see more clips supporting their finding. But it’s just too random so I’m sure it’s hard to really account for in a video.
Example, this video seems to have more NPC and card on both the low and medium crowd setting than the Switch 2. https://youtu.be/QZTvz3zWIyo?si=sh-sQZFN_2Jlyd7x What’s your take on this example?
yea seems like the steam deck has better density, but yea it's cause you can change those settings on that device,I know you can't with the switch 2.
honestly I wouldn't be bitching as long as it runs given how lively 2077 is and the amount of detail going into it.
I think, to me, it also helps you get a finalized complete physical port.
Switch 2 has specialized core hardware to handle DLSS.. so it is this specific hardware that does heavy lifting for upscaling and dynamic res so it doesn't cost much and CPU and GPU that are fully available for the game itself.. DLSS with its AI model will always beat non AI equivalent in term of quality. it is also why 1080p screen res on switch is not costly, AI do the heavy lifting at low energy cost.
Using FSR3 or XSS on steamdeck is way more demanding cause it has no specific hardware to handle FSR3 so this comes in competition with power needed for the game itself .. FSR3 needs CPU and generic GPU to upscale and dynamic res. So it's less available for game and with limited power envelope, CPU and GPU compete with each other and that's the worst case scenario you should avoid at all costs on steamdeck.
That's why the low power usage at 8W is even worse for steamdeck on this game ... even at full wattage the FSR3 and dynamic res cost CPU and GPU cycles... Less energy won't make it better ..
Not to mention that Steamdeck runs a compatibility layer, the full pc game not optimized for the hardware .. This cost CPU and GPU cycles too ...
That why in native resolution without FSR3 and without dynamic res Steamdeck is working better than switch 2 even with dlss advantage see : https://youtu.be/SvGQik3m6ag?t=1351
In this case the steamdeck use CPU and GPU to run the game not for upscaling and it deliver its full potential and performance.. that's the normal usage of Steamdeck and that's where it shines.
And you could gain 10% more perf with a light downscaling and using gamescope upscalers.
I would argue that in 1080p (and even on handheld mode if you don't downscale too much and use a goood antialiasing) you should use the gamescope upscalers that are less demanding on CPU and GPU when the game needs max CPU and GPU performance.
you won't get DLSS image quality but you'll get less artifacts and it cost way less on CPU and GPU.
you missed the point in the video that when the steamdeck is running without FSR3 and at native res, it's also burning through 25w vs the switches 9 watts.
It still loses, massively, on the efficiency front. It's just that it doesn't matter, because it also has a battery that's 2.5x larger.