I'm a student at university, this summer I took a programming class as per requirement for my major and a fellow student was using his Steam Deck as basically a miniaturized desktop for taking notes and running code for the class instruction and assignments... this really is a valuable tool for those needing a laptop, but wanting to preserve space. I'm putting in an order within the next month! Update: I have purchased the Steam Deck as of August 28th this year, I've already taken notes for 2 of my classes and have written a combined total of 6 assignments. This is an amazing piece of tech!
It does work really well. A lot of Linux distros are much more performant than Windows. I have both RetroArch and Kodi installed on my Ryzen 2500U laptop. If I click on any of the applications they launch instantaneously in Manjaro FXCE. In Windows it takes several seconds to do the same thing (My Desktop. 16-threaded Ryzen 2700X, 32GB RAM, 3500MB/s nvme SSD)
@@igorgiuseppe1862 Definitely not a desktop Linux distro ;) Under the hood, yes, you can clearly see that when tinkering with rooted device, but its user land is not at all like a classic GNU/Linux OS.
@@dominik2327 i know, its just that its a bit stupid to think that linux is hard, when there isnt a "single linux", there are plenty with tons of interfaces.
@@igorgiuseppe1862 It's silly to compare Android to desktop Linux distros as well. That's like comparing cheese to yogurt just because they're both made from milk.
As someone who owns a gaming desktop, gaming laptop and now steam deck, I can 100% say that the steam deck really is the most amazing thing to be released in years. I really hope this thing takes off and helps change the market, because what this device can do for its price point is bonkers. Bless you Gabe and everyone at Valve.
What's up dude, I own a gaming desktop and 2 gaming laptops. One of them is my work laptop, nice and light (Razer Blade Stealth) but w/ a GTX 1650 so I don't think I'd use the SteamDeck much. How much less do u use your gaming laptop now that u have the SteamDeck? And are u happy w the gaming performance?
@@zerocal76 I hardly use my gaming latop after I got the steam deck. It's so much easier to just sit down with the steam deck and play some games or even go into desktop mode and browse the web or watch videos. I'll still have uses for my laptop but overall the steam deck was totally worth it, especially considering that the SD only cost me $529 (256GB model) compared to my laptop which was over $1200.
@@Arphila Very interesting. I can see myself eliminating my Ultrabook gaming laptop (Razer Blade Stealth). I already have another ultrabook but I wanted to game when traveling. Thanks for the mini-review of the SD! Last question, what games do you play on it most? I know it would be a bit hard to game on that for certain games like fighting games, maybe some FPSs
@@zerocal76 I haven't tried out a lot but, I've played Cyberpunk 2077, BL3 and FFXIV so far. I've also emulated a couple games ranging from gameboy advance up to PS2. Aiming in FPS games takes a little bit of getting used to (Mostly cause I've been playing on keyboard and mouse for so long) but it's hardly uncomfortable. It all feels really nice either and responsive.
What programs you run. I'm trying to explore programs but don't want to break it. I see debian 32 64 or portable archive for example as versions I can use of the program. Unified remote is what I'm trying to install.
This is it. I'm buying a steam deck. The versatility along with being a gaming system is all I need. If they market this right, it could be a mainstream hit
Maybe one day, but valve would have to let stores sell them for that to happen. Switch is popular due to how accessible it is to get. I don't think valve are that forward thinking to make it happen. I do believe they have a limited production crew. Can't see them investing to increase production. Valve index was sold out for a very long time and that was before COVID. How all valve products are. To meet store demands they'd have to ramp it up and lose direct sales. Deck gonna be an internet word of mouth collective, valve skipping middle man. Valve index is one of the best PC VR headsets. They never allowed that to go in stores either.
Can confirm that GIMP is pretty powerful, the only advantage of photoshop when it comes to some light hobby photo editing is that cutting out backgrounds, some colour tweaking etc is all manual in gimp while photoshop has a lot of automated tools.
Yeah, but that's pretty much it's only weakness. GIMP pretty much parallels Photoshop in all other fields. Not only that, but I've actually found it to be more stable than Photoshop. Photoshop crashes on me every once in a while, while GIMP almost never does.
I second this. There are a lot of people who use Gimp as their editor of choice instead of Photoshop, and others FOSS alternatives to the adobe suite or others closed source tools for their job and creative endeavors!
_"light photo editing"_ lol yeah okay, you can do entire 3D composites and Effects on Photoshop, let alone when you combine the entire suite of tools (Student here).
Good news is that there is a port of Photoshop CS6 that works on linux by Gictorbit. Alternatively if you have a subscription of CC, you can do a work around in Wine and then transfer all the Photoshop files manually and it will work that way too; Wine just cant run the actual setup executable as it crashes with blank inputs later on
1000% agree. This is Linux way of being used by the masses. This is history making and golden opportunity for handhelds period. Nintendo definitely is going to be looked at as a puny toy now next to this grown up bonafide powehouse machine. Steam deck does what nintendo won't
Brand new to Linux and you’re the only person who has made a worthwhile video that helps walkthrough the basics of desktop mode for people like me. Thank you so much
I'm speechless, I spent a long time wanting a capable gaming pc, and I've just found out you can just get a steam deck and play almost every compatible steam game on it? amazing
@@gagostrong6735u can probably just download the launcher and then boom. personally i play fortnite on my steam deck through xbox cloud gaming but idk about other epic games
Ever since i got my Deck i didn't turned on my PC, ill do all desktop stuff on Deck and then when I go to bed I just plug it off and continue with whatever I was doing.
@@ivangarcia6789 yes, it'worth it but if you need to use as a desktop it's better if you know Linux and you have to own games on steam bcs it's really difficult to install other games from lutris but it's duable
Since you´re doing a lot of Steam Deck videos you should probably put a Public Service Announcement at the beginning of the next one: there are reports of users getting their units bricked because they're using usb-c docking stations that are powered (So that one cable both charges the unit and gives you video and USB ports on the hub, in the style of thunderbolt docks but for usb-c) and while this is something a firmware update on Valve's side can probably address to just not attempt to charge on certain devices that are pumping far too much for the unit it's still kind of bad if users have to send their units in to Valve so they can replace the fuses blown by these powered usb-c hubs of dubious rapport
Yup, my batch 2 deck died like this, I didn't even power it, it didn't like something about the dock it shut off and won't boot, no lights, no nothing, I'm still waiting for RMA to ship it back to me.
KDE Plasma has been and still is the draft for upcoming features in Windows 😆 Latest example is tabs in a file browser. I could list dozens of features which drafted "new" stuff in Windows. And for anyone who want's to know the possible upcoming feature: Press F3 in Dolphin 😉
Hoooly shit, they do tabs in explorer now?! I've always said that this is the biggest missing features of Windows as well as the lack of ability to replace the explorer with something else. Even 15 years ago it was really weird that it is missing.
every gui file manager i know of that isn't file explorer or finder has tabs EDIT:: i have seen 1 more file manager that doesn't have tabs called eagle mode but that one is very unique & i have been informed that finder does in fact have tabs i guess apple users might be annoying but they aren't animals
@@TheMasterOfSafari Why are you spoiling? 😂 It's easier to introduce bad stuff along good stuff. They'll love it, I'm sure! They could also introduce split views and you can use it after watching a commercial on one of those splits. I guess times have changed, so that developers are going to write more userfriendly applications then these programs that are marketing driven 😀
For video player, the absolute best for Linux in terms of decoding performance and also very lightweight is MPV. It by itself doesn't have a friendly UI, but there are front-ends like Haruna or Celluloid.
I got Celluloid from Flathub and it is by far an improvement from plain MPV. It's not a _huge_ improvement but it makes all the difference to have an actual toolkit in use.
If we talk about lightweight, "mplayer" wins, which does not have a pretty interface either. But in general terms, between beauty, speed and compatibility between formats, for me the best is VLC.
I've got mine on order: third quarter. One of the main reasons WAS the capability to be a desktop/laptop replacement. It will be easy in offices, where are are usually open PCs with monitor and keyboard: just unplug the PC. But the thing I've been looking into is a laptop type assembly (just monitor keyboard in a clamshell) that would be super slim and light. I'm not sure if we are there yet, but a review of those types of devices would be great.
Still the best video showing the Desktop. Most RUclipsrs skimp over it to fasttrack Emulators or be disappointed they can not easily edit videos. Audio Tests done with YT Videos instead of any Creative Commons music. All I need is VLC/Foobar, Libre Office, Firefox, Discord and sometimes Gimp/Krita. Happy you showed some of these basic applications
Through your videos, I got the TDP at 30000 mW through using that custom UEF or whatever it's called custom BIOS setter thing, it was in one of your previous videos, and set the GPU to 4GB in the Steam bios... Now I'm using the Steam Deck as my main Windows 11 Unity game development computer, I make 2.5D games at 1080p with lots of screen effects like bloom, color grading, fog, etc... The Steam Deck sits on a dock underneath my monitor, so I can use it as a vertical dual monitor setup. I've got the 512GB SSD setup and it does pretty much everything I need.
KDE Plasma is the desktop environment I use on my desktop and laptop, nothing beats it imo! So awesome that the Steam Deck comes with it by default. Some personal recommendations from a daily Plasma user: You can turn off mouse acceleration in Settings -> Hardware -> Input devices. (But keep it on for laptop trackpads imo) Have a peek in Settings -> Workspace -> Workspace Behaviour -> Desktop Effects. "Blur" and "Background Contrast" might be worth turning off if you're hurting for performance; but I don't think the Steam Deck will struggle with those settings. Just keep them in mind. (I personally like "Dim Screen for Administrator Mode"!) You can find a more "familiar" task switcher (alt+tab) in Workspace -> Window Management -> Task Switcher. Does "Thumbnail Grid" remind you of anything? I highly recommend configuring Workspace -> Shortcuts -> Shortcuts to your liking. In Workspace -> Startup and Shutdown -> Autostart, you can make stuff start with your machine. Also look at "Background Services" to see if there's anything you don't need, and disable it. I know I don't need "SMB Watcher" for example. I would love to use Kdenlive and Pinta as replacements for Vegas Pro and Paint dot net, but they just don't cut it for me. So I use Vegas and Paintdotnet in a Virtual Machine; it works great! I bet the Steam Deck can handle that too. An alternative to LibreOffice I think has a better UI is "OpenOffice", worth checking out. Works on Windows too. Good luck, have fun with KDE software!
Thank you so much! Recently started using linux again and picked up KDE Manjaro. It's been a headache at times, but the learning experience is priceless. Cant wait to get everything stable and working.
@@RidgeRacer Thank you again! You really start learning a new thing every hour with linux. If anyone has issues and is on the brink of switching back to windows. Just drink some tea, coffee, smoke, etc and take a break. It's very easy to become fixated on one problem and have it enrage you. I just have one question, have you noticed any problems recently with the steam ui on desktop being laggy and unresponsive? Seems to be an issue on my nvidia desktop. And if so are there any fixes? Hoping to switch to AMD in the future.
This is an excellent way for a Windows gamer like me to learn a Linux desktop OS because: 1. It comes pre installed on a unique piece of hardware 2.All the hardware drivers are already installed 3.It's supported by an actual company instead of a group of unpaid developers in their free time 4. It's focused on making sure gaming is the number one priority of the OS and hardware
I love it! If all you is the basics, email, web browsing, light photo and video editing and even light 1080p gaming, The 4-core Zen 2 processor is MORE than capable, and can last you a long time. Much better than Nintendo's locked down bullcrap...
Tbf, it's a 4-core, 8 Threads processor. But yeah, basically plenty fast for Desktop stuff. No Video editing or 3D Workstation, but for 500$ this wouldn't be possible anyway.
@@te0nani im sure you can do some 3d work with blender since blender is extremely well optimised for linux. I wouldnt render on it but for some light modeling/sculpting work it will probably be fine
@Astrocat 3D @Florianski _ What I mean with "Workstation" is basically, you earn your Money with it. So 4K/60hz HDR Video editing with Davinci Resolve or 3D Artist using Blender. Both need a lot of computing power, especially from the GPU. Blender is heavily optimized for Nvidia-cards, and if you work with Blender, you want to user Optix to reduce Rendering time. The Steamdeck can't provide that. Davinci Resolve is the same, it needs at least OpenCL which is a absolute pain on AMD/Linux atm.16GB of RAM/Video Memory is also not sufficent for these task, not to mention the size of the internal Storage. It is okay for hobbyists, casuals or basic desktop usage. I plan to use it that way, but please don't advertise it as something it simply can not be.
I was thinking of upgrading my Microsoft Surface Pro 5 to get Windows 11 but now having recently purchased a Steam Deck, I can use it as a full fledged PC connecting it to a monitor, keyboard and mouse and boot Windows 11 from a micro SD card. Beautiful! Thank you Valve.
I know people say steam deck is overrated but 👀 it's just so much more enticing than anything out there it's multi purpose makes it more attractive than android in some aspects.
i had an android tablet and still dont know why i need one, its just an phone with an bigger screen. this thing on the other hand, can run blender and godot, that alone make it more usefull than any ios/android device.
Only people that call the steam deck overrated are purest gamers who thinks everything needs to run at 4K ultra settings and have ridiculously long battery life basically impossible expectations.
Also another video idea that I would love to see, try playing an online game on your steam deck outside via USB-tethering and phone hotspot! That'd be dope :D
I have given up on Android desktop mode, it's way to locked down and limited for me. My next phone will be a cheap one and for everything else the Deck will get the job done.
@@TheMichaeveli I'm into Linux and all the privacy and security around it, so my next one will be the normal PinePhone (150$). Not a choice for most people but for me it's nearly perfect. An e-ink display like the Hisense A5 or A7 would be the thing to make it perfect for me, because I mostly read on my phone. For media I'll have the SteamDeck in the future. Really niche devices, but you asked so that's my answer. If you want Android phones there are of course even cheaper good ones, as low as 100$. After all my phone 5 years ago cost only 135€, then I got baited with desktop mode in a 300-400€ device, but I learned from it.
KDE Plasma on Arch is actually what i used for 2 years as software engineer. i switched to a macbook just for comfort and update-reliability reasons. But with the steamdeck arriving next week for me (yay!) im considering selling my pc as i dont play that much and i dont really play big hardware intensive games.
Whats the likelihood of this version of Linux becoming a kind of standard for developers? Would be interesting to know how much this will affect development of other things on Linux. Would be awesome to ditch windows entirely.
Not very high. At least not untill they will address all the usability issues any Linux distro has. But it can become a good OS for 3rd party consoles.
A lot of developers already use Linux, because it's easier to use CLI tools and IDEs. It depends on what your use-case is though, for some people Linux is a viable replacement. For others not so much, even if Linux has everything to offer. They're too comfortable in Windows.
SteamOS is a enduser OS. There's a reason why there is a "developer mode" that unlocks everything that you have unlocked from the start in other Linux distributions. So as a dev you are better suited with other distros for developing and SteamOS for testing specific things.
I've seen you do a lot of the mini PCS where you use the m.2 slot for external graphics. I would love to see the steam deck opened up and used in the same way.
Great video and nice coverage of the Linux desktop on the Steam Deck! With Microsoft on a rolling update cycle (you have no real control over) along with their move toward "managed" desktops, I'm using Linux more and more since I can have real control over my OS again. Thanks for this!
It is pretty impressive that a device meant to be used as a portable gaming console can be used as a full fledged PC. What a time to witness technological advances.
I was afraid I just made a mistake when I ordered a steam deck online today. BUT this video definitely made me feel a lot better about my purchase. I didn’t just buy a game console. I bought a full blown computer that can do most of the things I would ever need or even want to do if I need a replacement for my laptop which is already falling apart.
I would LOVE to use this as a desktop. Its small and I could pull it off for when I have to leave and want something to do on the train. My only issue is that Adobe apps aren't natively supported and with my current workflow that makes the steam deck pretty much unusable as a desktop for me. Still such a really cool product
Yeah. If you work flow involves Adobe apps, you'll have to use either a virtual machine or a Windows dual boot. Basically things get more complicated. If you are however using Adobe software on a more amateur level, it might be worth it to try out a few alternatives that do work on Linux. That's however a niche case
@@shariarrahman7562 If your workflow requires adobe to the point your thinking of cracking open .psd files on the train , I'm sorry to say but Tomas is looking at the wrong type of device
@@samuelmatheson9655 GIMP can open and export PSD files, tho. I assume they meant some other Adobe app, not Photoshop. Almost all art programs support PSDs lol
@@samuelmatheson9655 psd is the tip of the iceberg. i remember back in the days i was using flash at college and things were like: ok this computer lab has flash CS6, wich can open files created in CS6, CS5.5 and CS 5.0 the other computer lab has flash CS4, wich can open files created in CS4, CS 4,5 and CS 3.... in other words, if i start working on a project in this lab, i cant open in the other to continue my work, and if i start in the other, i still will need to borrow notebook or something with CS5 installed, just to open this file and save it again in the CS5 format so i can open in the computers from this lab. sigh. why the hell adobe cant support their own file format for longer than 3 versions is beyond me, probably they made things harder on purpose to difficulty the job of people reverse enginering the format to create an compatible program, and end up harming their own customers in the process, or simply they are quite bad at sofware enginering. so yeah, even adobe products cant open adobe file formats, the best thing you can do for yourself is migrate to open source programs and formats as soon as possible to save your future self from all the troubles you gonna have.
The graphics processor on it is JUST powerful enough for its built in screen. It will suffer trying to run games at 1080p, you'll be stuck at low settings on a lot of games.
Depends on the age/complexity of the game these days. And with FSR, depending on your tolerance for upscaling, you might be able to squeeze out 1080p 30 with reasonable graphics. But for something like Dead Cells or Stardew Valley, or emulating older titles, 1080p will be just fine.
There are thousands upon thousands of games that will run easily at 1080p. You may want to specify “AAA” games when you make those sort of sweeping statements.
The best thing I've ever bought. I had to leave the country to pursue further studies in New Zealand and def could not bring my gaming pc with me. I bought the SD OLED at the last minute before boarding my flight not knowing its capibility. Now it feels just like having a gaming pc with me with just a few setups. HOLY HAIL VALVE AND GABE.
Wow, wasn't aware that the Steamdeck had this build in!! I started using my phone (FP4) as my desktop every other day for a couple weeks now. It's bare android 11 with the Taskbar app and thus is a little rough here and there ngl. But it honestly works okay for a bit of reddit, youtube, twitch. Apps don't necessarily have all the functionality as the websites, which is a little sad. I am missing lots of Firefox addons e.g. This is a big step up tho, pretty impressive.
The Steam Deck desktop is basically as feature rich as Windows is. The only difference is that this version of the Linux OS has a write protected file system. With other words you can only touch your home directory (documents, images, videos etc) and external devices. Apps are installed through the "Discover" app. And it is VERY feature rich. It's really only the niche applications that do not exist on Linux. And for most of those you can find work-arounds like "installing" the web-versions (it gives the web app an icon, and it removes the chrome interface, although the app is still essentially using chrome... this works great for Microsoft Office, Spotify etc)
It's basically just a desktop version of Linux using the KDE Plasma desktop. You can get a similar experience on a PC by installing any desktop version of Linux, and there's a variety of desktops to choose from. KDE Plasma, as KDE in general, focuses on having lots of features and simplicity. GNOME Shell focuses on simplicity, integration, smoothness, elegance. Elementary OS with the Pantheon desktop tries to also be simple, smooth, etc, but in a way that is more mac-like. Budgy is built to configurable but integrated. LXDE and Xfce are simple, old fashioned, configurable, but resource efficient. Cinnamon is a more Windows-like take on GNOME. MATE is basically the previous version of GNOME, but kept up to date. It's configurable and light on resources. There's more, but they're less well-known. There's also the possibility of using a window manager instead of a full-fat desktop, and kind of building your own desktop out of components.
Don't know if many people will read this but while I prefer libre office myself, if someone's goal is simply to gain compatibility with Microsoft office, only office actually does a slightly better job. If you haven't bought into either of these options, check them both out
it looks like one of those 75% mechanical keyboards with low-profile keycaps and possibly switches... if it's not a membrane (hope not but he did say it was cheap)
That's amazing that you can use steam deck as a desktop PC. I can just imagine when these get even more powerful in the future and you could even replace your gaming pc with just a steam deck. You would essentially have extremely portable desktop PC. But I reckon we are not yet at a point where a steamdeck can run games at 1440p or 4k at 144+ fps. But in future, maybe? I mean the tech is improving fast and so is FSR + DLSS.
Audio - Audacity Compression - PeaZip (I love this tool) Antivirus - ClamAV (yes even Linux has malware) Also consider showing how to enable/teach people to add video conferencing like zoom or slack. As well, how to enable snapcraft or flatpak for other tools like MS Teams. Great video... really great! Exactly what I see the steam deck as... my daily driver (using Windows 10 in a virtual box if needed), a mobile gaming handheld, and an easy to move gaming console that I can take can connect anywhere. Please don't realize this is a Switch, Xbox, and PC rolled into one.
@gilkesisking he doesn't know Linux lol. I wouldn't recommend too that stuff as you install on windows. and if you don't install stuff from super user is almost impossible that.
Great video, thank you! I was not aware steam deck had a desktop mode, that's another pro when deciding to buy. One little correction: GIMP is not easy to use 😂
6:06 Probably Discover downloaded gimp from the beta branch because its version (2.99) is newer than the stable one (2.10.30). Does Discover let you choose the version to install? You can disable the "beta" remote, but it's needed in order to download some apps like Edge and other chromium based browsers.
Thank you for this video man, it really helped me understand why my deck would always just show my windows desk top whenever I plugged it in. It does mean I need a dongle for HDMI ports but I planned to get that anyway down the line, this just helped me with knowing that I need, for when I go on the road, and maybe because of this I won't need to bring my heavy brick crap top. Thanks again.
Was searching for stuff like this today. Good timing! I'm wanting to try Linux and if I could get used to it, switch to it full time. Was considering Steam OS funnily enough because I figured it would get the best game support going forward. However my main PC is a Nvidia card not AMD so I guess it's not super applicable to me.
With an Nvidia card I can wholeheartedly recommend Pop!_OS. They have a separate installer for PC's with an Nvidia card so that the correct drivers will be installed right away. Like SteamOS, Pop!_OS also makes heavy use of Flatpaks so you'll have the same software available on both and Pop!_OS also works well for gaming, at least for me. The desktop looks different though, since the Pop!_OS desktop is based on Gnome instead of KDE. If you're feeling more adventurous or really want KDE you can also give Manjaro a try. It's based on Arch, just like SteamOS 3.0
I wasn’t even looking at the video. (Was listening while driving) Even though it was only a few seconds I knew right away that was Altered Beast in the intro. Hell yeah! I love that game. 👍👍
So I’ve had my steam deck since Friday…. An I have to say I’m sooooo fucking proud of steam an their development team for this device….. I’ve used it in desktop an gaming mode an both modes work flawlessly! An absolute dream to use. An I mean to run cyberpunk(my go to right now) at a constant 50fps is great. 30 frames if I want to save battery lol. I actually moved my gaming desktop to use this as my daily driver. So worth the 400 bucks . I have 1.5T of storage too an run most of my games off of an SD card. Including cyberpunk an I notice no issues or long loading times! *This is MY experience with the device. I bought the 64g ver.
Linux on the Steam Deck is no different from Windows... It's the same. Click apps and install and click to open and use. Terminal is not needed for normies.
@@sixdroid You aren't getting his point... there hasn't been a way to enjoy PC left 4 dead 2 on a handheld 15 years ago. That was around the ear of Nintendo DS and PSP....so ya that's wasn't possible.
@@gogereaver349 I wish that was the case for me. My personal experience with Linux is that it still has driver problems, which I hope will be resolved with the steam deck.
@@famnyblom6321 It's true that it's a pain if a manufacturer of your existing hardware doesn't properly support Linux. But if they do it's much better experience than on other OS's. I always check if all stuff I buy runs well on Linux before I buy it and I could not be happier. Steam Deck obviously has 0 issues with drivers.
@@novh4ck the steam deck drivers are actually better on Linux than on Windows because they don't officially support Windows and only release the drivers to be nice for the windows fans
I just wish the second Steam Deck has 32GB of RAM and USB 4 for external GPU, then I can ditch my PC altogether and use SD for VR as well. Or maybe valve releases Deckard by that time 🤔
VLC for me has always been very buggy, like if a close a video while it's playing it's process would hang and when I try to play another file it wouldn't play because the vlc process is still running. For Linux MPV is recommended.
@@MegaManNeo no. vlc has bugs on windows too for example strange artifacts when you skip forward or green videos. you can't play RUclips videos too without changing something. on Linux works better but is slower then smplayer and on windows runs good without that green bullshit or the skipping stuff. ask why you're the only one who recommend vlc instead mpv. and you have full hardware acceleration on old hardware while doesn't work the same with vlc.
This might force me to like flatpaks lol For those here as gaming people first and know nothing of Linux, hi. Welcome to a weird crossroads of interests for a lot of computer nerds. Please bear with us while we have a hit of a moment where we consider what mass Linux adoption means. Anywho, You might be aware of this third option of desktop operating systems called Linux. Linux is technically just part of the operating system and lots of folks have put software on top of Linux to make their own version of Linux. we call these distros, shirt did distribution. Ubuntu is a Linux distro and so is Steam OS. The most important job of an OS is the ability to launch and use software. Traditionally software in Linux has been packaged in non compatible ways. So some distros would use .deb packages. And others would use .rpm packages This over time created fragmentation in the Linux ecosystem and forced developers to do extra work to make their software available on all Linux distros. So, various projects came about to solve this issue. Among them is flatpak, which is a great solution because the apps are also containerized. So it keeps your OS and applications separate, which leads to less issues if something changes in your OS. It works well for Steam OS because it uses an immutable file system, meaning that you can’t really install software in the traditional way anyways. Embrace flatpaks.
I got used to Flatpaks during the past few weeks, having flatseal installed makes handling permissions a breeze. Not that it's necessary for me as I use a rolling release distro (openSuSE Tumbleweed, thank you very much) but some programs like SteamLink exist first and foremost as Flatpak.
Can't imagine with steam deck 2 in the future, with improvements hardware & software, for now its already great imo, for now VALVE need to push steam deck into SEA market 🙏 My question, when steam deck docked it will charging the battery or it just turn on the power? But skipping the battery charging? Like a laptop? I don't know what exactly the tech name, like a laptop maybe, surpassing the battery charging it is possible, so its save the battery life?
Modern Lithium Polymer batteries with a good quality charging circuit don't really degrade much from running a device while simultaneously being charged, so it's not really an issue.
I mean, it should work the usb-c can transfer digital video output (everything from 480p to 4K, HDMI/DisplayPort etc). So I guess it depends on what kind of input your projector has. :)
Got mine yesterday, couldn't help but think that I'd opened a new Sega game gear. Seriously got that game gear vibe about it. The valve game gear lol. Maybe game gear was just before it's time. I loved it.
Just gotta say, GIMP is not easy to use. It's unintuitive and janky--and I say that as someone who used it for thumbnail editing for like three years. Strongly dislike that piece of software. At this stage, I either use Krita or Photopea for any photo editing, because at least the UI is responsive. Steam Deck looks pretty cool, though.
There are Gimp theme packs that make Gimp's interface match Photoshops. I also agree that Gimp in it's standard form is very unintuitive, but that is just because I've been a heavy Photoshop user for a couple of decades.
u still can run photoshop on linux(steam OS too i guess, might have to disable read-only doe), a guy name gitorbit made a github rep that makes it ez for to install it, just install wine and a couple other dependencies and a then run a script and ur good to go, might still be unstable sometimes. Other way w'd be on a VM, just vmware running windows xp, 7 and 10 should get u by.
I’ve gotten so paranoid launching up desktop mode because I got discover to break and not work a few weeks ago and I don’t want to do nothing because I’m so afraid but this video helped me just little bit it’s like me having ptsd from steamdeck 😂
You know what, this came as a game console, out to compete with switch. But actually its gonna kill Windows. First time in history a company as big as Valve behind a Linux OS. I am really looking forward to this, and non deck version.
I’m currently borrowing a PC from my school esports team that I’m on and if I get a steam deck it could actually become my main PC once I have to return mine. The PC I actually own is pretty outdated… rx 560 and fx 6300, and from what I’ve seen the steam deck performs better
So could you edit your videos or something like that on this? Like could I pay for adobe on this? I know you showed an app for editing but can I download other ones most people have on computers and laptops?
Thank you for this video! I set up everything and even got the jseaux dock for the steamdeck to plug in the monitor, mouse, keyboard and even ethernet.
I'm a student at university, this summer I took a programming class as per requirement for my major and a fellow student was using his Steam Deck as basically a miniaturized desktop for taking notes and running code for the class instruction and assignments... this really is a valuable tool for those needing a laptop, but wanting to preserve space.
I'm putting in an order within the next month!
Update: I have purchased the Steam Deck as of August 28th this year, I've already taken notes for 2 of my classes and have written a combined total of 6 assignments. This is an amazing piece of tech!
Can you elaborate on your setup? Are you using a 2nd monitor? Are you using a keyboard?
@@kinein Just a Bluetooth keyboard, the USB 3.0 port does work with USB 3.0 to HDMI cables to displays though.
is it better than a intel iris Xe laptop?
How is it for test and assessments
Can you get word on it ?
Guess its become "Steam Desk" now ...
Dang I wish I thought of that!! 😂
Ok, you made my day sir :)
don't give em ideas.
@@bawatakdir wat
Dont give Valve any ideas. Theyll only give you half a desk and wont make the rest lmao
Seeing this Man using that OS, Everything just work Smoothly, No Lags or Stuttering (well, that's what I saw)
Love it, after so many videos of running windows on the deck
It does work really well. A lot of Linux distros are much more performant than Windows. I have both RetroArch and Kodi installed on my Ryzen 2500U laptop. If I click on any of the applications they launch instantaneously in Manjaro FXCE. In Windows it takes several seconds to do the same thing (My Desktop. 16-threaded Ryzen 2700X, 32GB RAM, 3500MB/s nvme SSD)
Linux is smooth since years or are you talking about animations?
@@LastChain hahaha, yeah it kind of takes off the edge of Arch with SteamOS. Now everybody's an Arch user 😅
@@PixelShade nooooooooooo.... not my supiriority complex, I need to be the only one running arch, gotta switch to gentoo now ;)
This is glorious. As a high school student who just got a job I could have this setup for less than like 600 bucks in the next 2 weeks
do you have it yet?
@@williamgray9692 I think he died
@@suryaya441 rip to him
@@suryaya441lol wtf
The real world was to much for him
It took many years, but thanks to Valve, I think people will finally realize that desktop Linux isn't scary.
imagine when those people realize what android is...
@@igorgiuseppe1862 Definitely not a desktop Linux distro ;) Under the hood, yes, you can clearly see that when tinkering with rooted device, but its user land is not at all like a classic GNU/Linux OS.
@@dominik2327 i know, its just that its a bit stupid to think that linux is hard, when there isnt a "single linux", there are plenty with tons of interfaces.
@@igorgiuseppe1862 It's silly to compare Android to desktop Linux distros as well. That's like comparing cheese to yogurt just because they're both made from milk.
@@nodezsh this really sums it all up, thanks
As someone who owns a gaming desktop, gaming laptop and now steam deck, I can 100% say that the steam deck really is the most amazing thing to be released in years.
I really hope this thing takes off and helps change the market, because what this device can do for its price point is bonkers.
Bless you Gabe and everyone at Valve.
What's up dude, I own a gaming desktop and 2 gaming laptops. One of them is my work laptop, nice and light (Razer Blade Stealth) but w/ a GTX 1650 so I don't think I'd use the SteamDeck much. How much less do u use your gaming laptop now that u have the SteamDeck? And are u happy w the gaming performance?
@@zerocal76 I hardly use my gaming latop after I got the steam deck.
It's so much easier to just sit down with the steam deck and play some games or even go into desktop mode and browse the web or watch videos.
I'll still have uses for my laptop but overall the steam deck was totally worth it, especially considering that the SD only cost me $529 (256GB model) compared to my laptop which was over $1200.
@@Arphila Very interesting. I can see myself eliminating my Ultrabook gaming laptop (Razer Blade Stealth). I already have another ultrabook but I wanted to game when traveling. Thanks for the mini-review of the SD! Last question, what games do you play on it most? I know it would be a bit hard to game on that for certain games like fighting games, maybe some FPSs
@@zerocal76 I haven't tried out a lot but, I've played Cyberpunk 2077, BL3 and FFXIV so far. I've also emulated a couple games ranging from gameboy advance up to PS2.
Aiming in FPS games takes a little bit of getting used to (Mostly cause I've been playing on keyboard and mouse for so long) but it's hardly uncomfortable. It all feels really nice either and responsive.
mines commmimg next week, I dont have an RTX card so i cant wait to get it so i run that DOOM 1993 Mod RTX DOOM thru source port on steam deck
I'm so happy seeing you teaching how Linux works to everyone, you're a great teacher!
I have been using Steamdeck as my main PC and it is fantastic. And learning more about Linux is always plus.
Can you tell your experience?
What programs you run. I'm trying to explore programs but don't want to break it. I see debian 32 64 or portable archive for example as versions I can use of the program. Unified remote is what I'm trying to install.
@@santiagocg8561 0+
Sae question hr!
Could I use it in desktop mode as a home computer for school work? Will it handle zoom meetings, writing papers, ect ect?
This is it. I'm buying a steam deck. The versatility along with being a gaming system is all I need. If they market this right, it could be a mainstream hit
Maybe one day, but valve would have to let stores sell them for that to happen. Switch is popular due to how accessible it is to get. I don't think valve are that forward thinking to make it happen. I do believe they have a limited production crew. Can't see them investing to increase production. Valve index was sold out for a very long time and that was before COVID. How all valve products are. To meet store demands they'd have to ramp it up and lose direct sales. Deck gonna be an internet word of mouth collective, valve skipping middle man. Valve index is one of the best PC VR headsets. They never allowed that to go in stores either.
Can confirm that GIMP is pretty powerful, the only advantage of photoshop when it comes to some light hobby photo editing is that cutting out backgrounds, some colour tweaking etc is all manual in gimp while photoshop has a lot of automated tools.
Yeah, but that's pretty much it's only weakness. GIMP pretty much parallels Photoshop in all other fields. Not only that, but I've actually found it to be more stable than Photoshop. Photoshop crashes on me every once in a while, while GIMP almost never does.
I second this. There are a lot of people who use Gimp as their editor of choice instead of Photoshop, and others FOSS alternatives to the adobe suite or others closed source tools for their job and creative endeavors!
you can use Photoshop with cloud or with proton
_"light photo editing"_ lol yeah okay, you can do entire 3D composites and Effects on Photoshop, let alone when you combine the entire suite of tools (Student here).
Good news is that there is a port of Photoshop CS6 that works on linux by Gictorbit.
Alternatively if you have a subscription of CC, you can do a work around in Wine and then transfer all the Photoshop files manually and it will work that way too; Wine just cant run the actual setup executable as it crashes with blank inputs later on
I love that the Steam Deck is going to expose more people to Linux. This could be a turning point in Linux user history!
valve bought the dxvk stuff two years ago and invested in the Linux kernel for that you can hand this performance
What you are saying is that this could be the year of Linux on the desktop?
@@afederdk Yes, that is why I am following Deck news every day. :) I am hoping that Linux can infiltrate the OS market
Before ordering my Steam Deck I had 0 interest in Linux even as an enthusiast tech user - but now I’m wanting to learn everything about it
1000% agree. This is Linux way of being used by the masses. This is history making and golden opportunity for handhelds period. Nintendo definitely is going to be looked at as a puny toy now next to this grown up bonafide powehouse machine. Steam deck does what nintendo won't
Brand new to Linux and you’re the only person who has made a worthwhile video that helps walkthrough the basics of desktop mode for people like me. Thank you so much
I'm speechless, I spent a long time wanting a capable gaming pc, and I've just found out you can just get a steam deck and play almost every compatible steam game on it? amazing
It plays switch games, xbox games, PlayStation games too... It can run games from the late 70s all the way up to modern games of 2023...
@@DreamyAbaddon what about epic games?
@@gagostrong6735u can probably just download the launcher and then boom. personally i play fortnite on my steam deck through xbox cloud gaming but idk about other epic games
Ever since i got my Deck i didn't turned on my PC, ill do all desktop stuff on Deck and then when I go to bed I just plug it off and continue with whatever I was doing.
Thank for sharing
I pre-ordered it and it says that it will arriva in Oct 2022
Is it worth it? I can’t decide wether to buy a ps5 or steam deck
@@ivangarcia6789 yes, it'worth it but if you need to use as a desktop it's better if you know Linux and you have to own games on steam bcs it's really difficult to install other games from lutris but it's duable
Hi Pingley, can you update how’s steam deck conditions after you’re using it as a PC for months ?
This handheld keeps on giving...you sold me on it.
Can't wait to get mine! Great Video ETA.
this will be a starting point to introduce KDE desktop to more users
It will be for me and I was on board with steam os 3.0 from the get go. Hopefully they'll offer a desktop iso, that would be awesome
Does it come with KDE out the box? oh well bet it'll run Gnome just fine.
@@Dracossaint they said they would
@@reezlaw i know (ty), but it will take a while and sometimes stuff like that fall to the wayside.
@@Dracossaint wasn't there a beta floating around?
I absolutely love the versatility of this device. Two nitpicks for QOL: options to disable charging light & touch feature on screen.
You should be able to disable the touch screen part of it from the settings menu. You going to inputs and touch screen
Since you´re doing a lot of Steam Deck videos you should probably put a Public Service Announcement at the beginning of the next one: there are reports of users getting their units bricked because they're using usb-c docking stations that are powered (So that one cable both charges the unit and gives you video and USB ports on the hub, in the style of thunderbolt docks but for usb-c) and while this is something a firmware update on Valve's side can probably address to just not attempt to charge on certain devices that are pumping far too much for the unit it's still kind of bad if users have to send their units in to Valve so they can replace the fuses blown by these powered usb-c hubs of dubious rapport
Yup, my batch 2 deck died like this, I didn't even power it, it didn't like something about the dock it shut off and won't boot, no lights, no nothing, I'm still waiting for RMA to ship it back to me.
I hope he sees this comment and makes a video about usb docs that can be used safely.
It’s the Switch all over again.
Which is probably what led to them releasing their own docking station last September.
I got my Steam Deck on Friday. It's absolutely an impressive piece of tech! Makes my Switch feel like a children's toy. lol
Because it is
tbh to me the switch always felt flimsy especially compared to the switch lite due to the detachable and fragile joycons
KDE Plasma has been and still is the draft for upcoming features in Windows 😆 Latest example is tabs in a file browser. I could list dozens of features which drafted "new" stuff in Windows. And for anyone who want's to know the possible upcoming feature: Press F3 in Dolphin 😉
Hoooly shit, they do tabs in explorer now?! I've always said that this is the biggest missing features of Windows as well as the lack of ability to replace the explorer with something else. Even 15 years ago it was really weird that it is missing.
every gui file manager i know of that isn't file explorer or finder has tabs
EDIT:: i have seen 1 more file manager that doesn't have tabs called eagle mode but that one is very unique
& i have been informed that finder does in fact have tabs i guess apple users might be annoying but they aren't animals
@@dominik2327 not yet lmao, it is a Beta/Insider feature, and they were also testing ads... ADS IN FILE EXPLORER.....
@@TheMasterOfSafari Why are you spoiling? 😂 It's easier to introduce bad stuff along good stuff. They'll love it, I'm sure! They could also introduce split views and you can use it after watching a commercial on one of those splits. I guess times have changed, so that developers are going to write more userfriendly applications then these programs that are marketing driven 😀
Bro that split screen feature in Dolphin is the one I like the most. It's literally so cool!
For video player, the absolute best for Linux in terms of decoding performance and also very lightweight is MPV. It by itself doesn't have a friendly UI, but there are front-ends like Haruna or Celluloid.
I got Celluloid from Flathub and it is by far an improvement from plain MPV.
It's not a _huge_ improvement but it makes all the difference to have an actual toolkit in use.
If we talk about lightweight, "mplayer" wins, which does not have a pretty interface either.
But in general terms, between beauty, speed and compatibility between formats, for me the best is VLC.
I've got mine on order: third quarter. One of the main reasons WAS the capability to be a desktop/laptop replacement. It will be easy in offices, where are are usually open PCs with monitor and keyboard: just unplug the PC. But the thing I've been looking into is a laptop type assembly (just monitor keyboard in a clamshell) that would be super slim and light. I'm not sure if we are there yet, but a review of those types of devices would be great.
Still the best video showing the Desktop. Most RUclipsrs skimp over it to fasttrack Emulators or be disappointed they can not easily edit videos. Audio Tests done with YT Videos instead of any Creative Commons music.
All I need is VLC/Foobar, Libre Office, Firefox, Discord and sometimes Gimp/Krita. Happy you showed some of these basic applications
Thank you for all your videos. Your dedication to teaching people the many ways the Steam Deck can be used has been a god send.
Through your videos, I got the TDP at 30000 mW through using that custom UEF or whatever it's called custom BIOS setter thing, it was in one of your previous videos, and set the GPU to 4GB in the Steam bios...
Now I'm using the Steam Deck as my main Windows 11 Unity game development computer, I make 2.5D games at 1080p with lots of screen effects like bloom, color grading, fog, etc...
The Steam Deck sits on a dock underneath my monitor, so I can use it as a vertical dual monitor setup. I've got the 512GB SSD setup and it does pretty much everything I need.
KDE Plasma is the desktop environment I use on my desktop and laptop, nothing beats it imo! So awesome that the Steam Deck comes with it by default.
Some personal recommendations from a daily Plasma user:
You can turn off mouse acceleration in Settings -> Hardware -> Input devices. (But keep it on for laptop trackpads imo)
Have a peek in Settings -> Workspace -> Workspace Behaviour -> Desktop Effects. "Blur" and "Background Contrast" might be worth turning off if you're hurting for performance; but I don't think the Steam Deck will struggle with those settings. Just keep them in mind. (I personally like "Dim Screen for Administrator Mode"!)
You can find a more "familiar" task switcher (alt+tab) in Workspace -> Window Management -> Task Switcher. Does "Thumbnail Grid" remind you of anything?
I highly recommend configuring Workspace -> Shortcuts -> Shortcuts to your liking.
In Workspace -> Startup and Shutdown -> Autostart, you can make stuff start with your machine. Also look at "Background Services" to see if there's anything you don't need, and disable it. I know I don't need "SMB Watcher" for example.
I would love to use Kdenlive and Pinta as replacements for Vegas Pro and Paint dot net, but they just don't cut it for me. So I use Vegas and Paintdotnet in a Virtual Machine; it works great! I bet the Steam Deck can handle that too.
An alternative to LibreOffice I think has a better UI is "OpenOffice", worth checking out. Works on Windows too.
Good luck, have fun with KDE software!
Thank you so much! Recently started using linux again and picked up KDE Manjaro. It's been a headache at times, but the learning experience is priceless. Cant wait to get everything stable and working.
@@jay227ify I'm so glad my comment could help you, makes the time it took to write it all worth it. Hope you have lots of fun with the learning curve!
@@RidgeRacer Thank you again! You really start learning a new thing every hour with linux. If anyone has issues and is on the brink of switching back to windows. Just drink some tea, coffee, smoke, etc and take a break. It's very easy to become fixated on one problem and have it enrage you.
I just have one question, have you noticed any problems recently with the steam ui on desktop being laggy and unresponsive? Seems to be an issue on my nvidia desktop. And if so are there any fixes? Hoping to switch to AMD in the future.
For those wondering, the Keyboard is a NuPhy Air75. They are approx $110
Thank you so much
hero
appreciated
This is an excellent way for a Windows gamer like me to learn a Linux desktop OS because:
1. It comes pre installed on a unique piece of hardware
2.All the hardware drivers are already installed
3.It's supported by an actual company instead of a group of unpaid developers in their free time
4. It's focused on making sure gaming is the number one priority of the OS and hardware
I love it! If all you is the basics, email, web browsing, light photo and video editing and even light 1080p gaming, The 4-core Zen 2 processor is MORE than capable, and can last you a long time. Much better than Nintendo's locked down bullcrap...
Tbf, it's a 4-core, 8 Threads processor. But yeah, basically plenty fast for Desktop stuff. No Video editing or 3D Workstation, but for 500$ this wouldn't be possible anyway.
It's 4 Cores and 8 Threads just make sure.
@@te0nani im sure you can do some 3d work with blender since blender is extremely well optimised for linux. I wouldnt render on it but for some light modeling/sculpting work it will probably be fine
@Astrocat 3D @Florianski _
What I mean with "Workstation" is basically, you earn your Money with it. So 4K/60hz HDR Video editing with Davinci Resolve or 3D Artist using Blender. Both need a lot of computing power, especially from the GPU. Blender is heavily optimized for Nvidia-cards, and if you work with Blender, you want to user Optix to reduce Rendering time. The Steamdeck can't provide that.
Davinci Resolve is the same, it needs at least OpenCL which is a absolute pain on AMD/Linux atm.16GB of RAM/Video Memory is also not sufficent for these task, not to mention the size of the internal Storage.
It is okay for hobbyists, casuals or basic desktop usage.
I plan to use it that way, but please don't advertise it as something it simply can not be.
@Astrocat 3D Then how about you start reading my post correctly before arguing against it?
Finally someone did this video. Awesome!!
I was thinking of upgrading my Microsoft Surface Pro 5 to get Windows 11 but now having recently purchased a Steam Deck, I can use it as a full fledged PC connecting it to a monitor, keyboard and mouse and boot Windows 11 from a micro SD card. Beautiful! Thank you Valve.
Oh, so Windows can be installed on a microSD card? I never know that. How did you do it?
I know people say steam deck is overrated but 👀 it's just so much more enticing than anything out there it's multi purpose makes it more attractive than android in some aspects.
i had an android tablet and still dont know why i need one, its just an phone with an bigger screen.
this thing on the other hand, can run blender and godot, that alone make it more usefull than any ios/android device.
Only people that call the steam deck overrated are purest gamers who thinks everything needs to run at 4K ultra settings and have ridiculously long battery life basically impossible expectations.
Also another video idea that I would love to see, try playing an online game on your steam deck outside via USB-tethering and phone hotspot! That'd be dope :D
I have given up on Android desktop mode, it's way to locked down and limited for me. My next phone will be a cheap one and for everything else the Deck will get the job done.
Samsung Dex it's actually pretty nice
Im thinking the same, curious which cheap phones you lookin to get?
@@TheMichaeveli I'm into Linux and all the privacy and security around it, so my next one will be the normal PinePhone (150$). Not a choice for most people but for me it's nearly perfect. An e-ink display like the Hisense A5 or A7 would be the thing to make it perfect for me, because I mostly read on my phone. For media I'll have the SteamDeck in the future. Really niche devices, but you asked so that's my answer. If you want Android phones there are of course even cheaper good ones, as low as 100$. After all my phone 5 years ago cost only 135€, then I got baited with desktop mode in a 300-400€ device, but I learned from it.
KDE Plasma on Arch is actually what i used for 2 years as software engineer. i switched to a macbook just for comfort and update-reliability reasons. But with the steamdeck arriving next week for me (yay!) im considering selling my pc as i dont play that much and i dont really play big hardware intensive games.
Whats the likelihood of this version of Linux becoming a kind of standard for developers? Would be interesting to know how much this will affect development of other things on Linux. Would be awesome to ditch windows entirely.
Not very high. At least not untill they will address all the usability issues any Linux distro has. But it can become a good OS for 3rd party consoles.
Lol, ditch windows? Lol
The install base of linux isn't even a blip on the radar. So, the likelihood is nonexistent.
A lot of developers already use Linux, because it's easier to use CLI tools and IDEs. It depends on what your use-case is though, for some people Linux is a viable replacement. For others not so much, even if Linux has everything to offer. They're too comfortable in Windows.
SteamOS is a enduser OS. There's a reason why there is a "developer mode" that unlocks everything that you have unlocked from the start in other Linux distributions. So as a dev you are better suited with other distros for developing and SteamOS for testing specific things.
I've seen you do a lot of the mini PCS where you use the m.2 slot for external graphics. I would love to see the steam deck opened up and used in the same way.
It's good that valve made the GUI more familiar to windows than a lot of other distros. Should make it easier for people just starting out.
Valve didn't do anything lol, that's the work of KDE, as in KDE plasma
@@JoeHoeDoesSomething then good work kde plasma. A lot of distros are not very good looking...
Litterally default KDE with Steam deck icon...
I just saw your channel as the third result after a google search, and I totally forgot that I used to enjoy your content. Cool to see you again.
Great video and nice coverage of the Linux desktop on the Steam Deck! With Microsoft on a rolling update cycle (you have no real control over) along with their move toward "managed" desktops, I'm using Linux more and more since I can have real control over my OS again. Thanks for this!
It is pretty impressive that a device meant to be used as a portable gaming console can be used as a full fledged PC. What a time to witness technological advances.
@@thatguyalex2835 it was already possible 10 years ago with phones. There was Ubuntu for Android and Ubuntu Touch.
@@Lestibournes Yeah, but this is a powerful PC compared to a 400 MHz phone.
@@thatguyalex2835 doing it on a phone 10 years ago is more impressive than doing it on PC hardware today.
@@Lestibournes Yeah, tech stagnation is real, but the Deck is still cool nonetheless.
I was afraid I just made a mistake when I ordered a steam deck online today. BUT this video definitely made me feel a lot better about my purchase. I didn’t just buy a game console. I bought a full blown computer that can do most of the things I would ever need or even want to do if I need a replacement for my laptop which is already falling apart.
I would LOVE to use this as a desktop. Its small and I could pull it off for when I have to leave and want something to do on the train. My only issue is that Adobe apps aren't natively supported and with my current workflow that makes the steam deck pretty much unusable as a desktop for me. Still such a really cool product
Yeah. If you work flow involves Adobe apps, you'll have to use either a virtual machine or a Windows dual boot. Basically things get more complicated. If you are however using Adobe software on a more amateur level, it might be worth it to try out a few alternatives that do work on Linux. That's however a niche case
@@shariarrahman7562 If your workflow requires adobe to the point your thinking of cracking open .psd files on the train , I'm sorry to say but Tomas is looking at the wrong type of device
@@samuelmatheson9655 GIMP can open and export PSD files, tho. I assume they meant some other Adobe app, not Photoshop. Almost all art programs support PSDs lol
@Alex Bolidov Breh my previous reply explains what I meant
@@samuelmatheson9655 psd is the tip of the iceberg.
i remember back in the days i was using flash at college and things were like:
ok this computer lab has flash CS6, wich can open files created in CS6, CS5.5 and CS 5.0
the other computer lab has flash CS4, wich can open files created in CS4, CS 4,5 and CS 3....
in other words, if i start working on a project in this lab, i cant open in the other to continue my work, and if i start in the other, i still will need to borrow notebook or something with CS5 installed, just to open this file and save it again in the CS5 format so i can open in the computers from this lab.
sigh.
why the hell adobe cant support their own file format for longer than 3 versions is beyond me, probably they made things harder on purpose to difficulty the job of people reverse enginering the format to create an compatible program, and end up harming their own customers in the process, or simply they are quite bad at sofware enginering.
so yeah, even adobe products cant open adobe file formats, the best thing you can do for yourself is migrate to open source programs and formats as soon as possible to save your future self from all the troubles you gonna have.
I don't own of the things this man plays with here but it's intriguing just watching him do this stuff.
Big up man
The graphics processor on it is JUST powerful enough for its built in screen. It will suffer trying to run games at 1080p, you'll be stuck at low settings on a lot of games.
Depends on the age/complexity of the game these days. And with FSR, depending on your tolerance for upscaling, you might be able to squeeze out 1080p 30 with reasonable graphics. But for something like Dead Cells or Stardew Valley, or emulating older titles, 1080p will be just fine.
There are thousands upon thousands of games that will run easily at 1080p.
You may want to specify “AAA” games when you make those sort of sweeping statements.
1080p cost the battery endurance, so not today, 800p is perfect for now.
The best thing I've ever bought. I had to leave the country to pursue further studies in New Zealand and def could not bring my gaming pc with me. I bought the SD OLED at the last minute before boarding my flight not knowing its capibility. Now it feels just like having a gaming pc with me with just a few setups. HOLY HAIL VALVE AND GABE.
Wow, wasn't aware that the Steamdeck had this build in!!
I started using my phone (FP4) as my desktop every other day for a couple weeks now. It's bare android 11 with the Taskbar app and thus is a little rough here and there ngl. But it honestly works okay for a bit of reddit, youtube, twitch.
Apps don't necessarily have all the functionality as the websites, which is a little sad. I am missing lots of Firefox addons e.g.
This is a big step up tho, pretty impressive.
The Steam Deck desktop is basically as feature rich as Windows is. The only difference is that this version of the Linux OS has a write protected file system. With other words you can only touch your home directory (documents, images, videos etc) and external devices. Apps are installed through the "Discover" app. And it is VERY feature rich. It's really only the niche applications that do not exist on Linux. And for most of those you can find work-arounds like "installing" the web-versions (it gives the web app an icon, and it removes the chrome interface, although the app is still essentially using chrome... this works great for Microsoft Office, Spotify etc)
@@PixelShade Interesting, thanks!
It's basically just a desktop version of Linux using the KDE Plasma desktop. You can get a similar experience on a PC by installing any desktop version of Linux, and there's a variety of desktops to choose from.
KDE Plasma, as KDE in general, focuses on having lots of features and simplicity.
GNOME Shell focuses on simplicity, integration, smoothness, elegance.
Elementary OS with the Pantheon desktop tries to also be simple, smooth, etc, but in a way that is more mac-like.
Budgy is built to configurable but integrated.
LXDE and Xfce are simple, old fashioned, configurable, but resource efficient.
Cinnamon is a more Windows-like take on GNOME.
MATE is basically the previous version of GNOME, but kept up to date. It's configurable and light on resources.
There's more, but they're less well-known. There's also the possibility of using a window manager instead of a full-fat desktop, and kind of building your own desktop out of components.
It's no surprise this is possible, since the steam deck is a fully featured PC!
You can do everything on here :)
@@PixelShade or even go into rw mode install gcc and make you own flatpack
Thanks a lot for the review! Seems like this minipc has a lot of possibilities. That L4D looks horrendous though xD that ghosting, omg
I'd love a laptop with these specs and price point
Same! Guessing it doesn't exist yet
I wish I hadn't reserved mine 30 minutes late last year, the day they first became available. Those 30 minutes cost me 3-4 months of waiting.
Bluetooth: exists
Every wireless peripheral maker ever: "Let's make it require a dongle."
Don't know if many people will read this but while I prefer libre office myself, if someone's goal is simply to gain compatibility with Microsoft office, only office actually does a slightly better job. If you haven't bought into either of these options, check them both out
i personally love this keyboard eta has, i gotta get me one.
it looks like one of those 75% mechanical keyboards with low-profile keycaps and possibly switches... if it's not a membrane (hope not but he did say it was cheap)
That's amazing that you can use steam deck as a desktop PC. I can just imagine when these get even more powerful in the future and you could even replace your gaming pc with just a steam deck. You would essentially have extremely portable desktop PC. But I reckon we are not yet at a point where a steamdeck can run games at 1440p or 4k at 144+ fps. But in future, maybe? I mean the tech is improving fast and so is FSR + DLSS.
Audio - Audacity
Compression - PeaZip (I love this tool)
Antivirus - ClamAV (yes even Linux has malware)
Also consider showing how to enable/teach people to add video conferencing like zoom or slack. As well, how to enable snapcraft or flatpak for other tools like MS Teams.
Great video... really great! Exactly what I see the steam deck as... my daily driver (using Windows 10 in a virtual box if needed), a mobile gaming handheld, and an easy to move gaming console that I can take can connect anywhere. Please don't realize this is a Switch, Xbox, and PC rolled into one.
@gilkesisking he doesn't know Linux lol. I wouldn't recommend too that stuff as you install on windows. and if you don't install stuff from super user is almost impossible that.
You don't need antivirus at all, its just makes your computer slow
Ironically, 99% of the malware ClamAV scans for/detects is Windows malware.
@@xyz3702 IF your AV is makes your PC slow, how old a machine are you running on?
Great video, thank you! I was not aware steam deck had a desktop mode, that's another pro when deciding to buy.
One little correction: GIMP is not easy to use 😂
I'm not particularly surprised that you can use a PC as a PC.
most people don't know read the comments lol
This video is good for no tech enthusiast or even portable lover
Have been using Libre Office for years on my PC. Highly recommend it as well.
6:06 Probably Discover downloaded gimp from the beta branch because its version (2.99) is newer than the stable one (2.10.30). Does Discover let you choose the version to install?
You can disable the "beta" remote, but it's needed in order to download some apps like Edge and other chromium based browsers.
Thank you for this video man, it really helped me understand why my deck would always just show my windows desk top whenever I plugged it in. It does mean I need a dongle for HDMI ports but I planned to get that anyway down the line, this just helped me with knowing that I need, for when I go on the road, and maybe because of this I won't need to bring my heavy brick crap top. Thanks again.
Was searching for stuff like this today. Good timing! I'm wanting to try Linux and if I could get used to it, switch to it full time. Was considering Steam OS funnily enough because I figured it would get the best game support going forward. However my main PC is a Nvidia card not AMD so I guess it's not super applicable to me.
With an Nvidia card I can wholeheartedly recommend Pop!_OS. They have a separate installer for PC's with an Nvidia card so that the correct drivers will be installed right away. Like SteamOS, Pop!_OS also makes heavy use of Flatpaks so you'll have the same software available on both and Pop!_OS also works well for gaming, at least for me. The desktop looks different though, since the Pop!_OS desktop is based on Gnome instead of KDE.
If you're feeling more adventurous or really want KDE you can also give Manjaro a try. It's based on Arch, just like SteamOS 3.0
It'll work perfectly fine with NVIDIA
I'm a grad student and put windows on an SD for my steam deck. slowly just migrating over to Linux for everything. it's working perfectly.
Would be nice to try out modern stuff on the monitor while using the built in FSR to upscale from 720p!
Check pc-gaming it channel. His gameplay videos showcase FSR on external monitor
I wasn’t even looking at the video. (Was listening while driving) Even though it was only a few seconds I knew right away that was Altered Beast in the intro. Hell yeah! I love that game. 👍👍
So I’ve had my steam deck since Friday….
An I have to say I’m sooooo fucking proud of steam an their development team for this device…..
I’ve used it in desktop an gaming mode an both modes work flawlessly! An absolute dream to use. An I mean to run cyberpunk(my go to right now) at a constant 50fps is great. 30 frames if I want to save battery lol. I actually moved my gaming desktop to use this as my daily driver. So worth the 400 bucks . I have 1.5T of storage too an run most of my games off of an SD card. Including cyberpunk an I notice no issues or long loading times!
*This is MY experience with the device. I bought the 64g ver.
I'm glad you went the linux way instead of keeping windows on the system. Have a like
Linux on the Steam Deck is no different from Windows... It's the same. Click apps and install and click to open and use. Terminal is not needed for normies.
It is awesome to see it running left 4 dead 2 so nicely on the big display ☺️ that’s perfect for me.
you can do this since years with a 15 years pc lol
@@sixdroid Really? What handheld PC from 2007?
Oh right, you didn’t actually account for that.
@@johnbuscher every handheld since they exist. there are many don't you know? I think even with Geforce now on Android you can run this
@@sixdroid You aren't getting his point... there hasn't been a way to enjoy PC left 4 dead 2 on a handheld 15 years ago. That was around the ear of Nintendo DS and PSP....so ya that's wasn't possible.
@@FinalNightmare1992 on the big display he said. you can play on the big display since years. he didn't say on the handheld
Seeing that text editor was hilarious to me.
Forget working form home, I'm now gaming from the office.
I haven't found Linux that useful nor enjoyful yet except on servers. I sure hope that the steam deck will change that.
Old think. Linux is fully ready for anything
@@gogereaver349 I wish that was the case for me. My personal experience with Linux is that it still has driver problems, which I hope will be resolved with the steam deck.
@@famnyblom6321 being its all the same hardware on there own custom arch base i say thats a non issue.
@@famnyblom6321 It's true that it's a pain if a manufacturer of your existing hardware doesn't properly support Linux. But if they do it's much better experience than on other OS's. I always check if all stuff I buy runs well on Linux before I buy it and I could not be happier. Steam Deck obviously has 0 issues with drivers.
@@novh4ck the steam deck drivers are actually better on Linux than on Windows because they don't officially support Windows and only release the drivers to be nice for the windows fans
I just wish the second Steam Deck has 32GB of RAM and USB 4 for external GPU, then I can ditch my PC altogether and use SD for VR as well.
Or maybe valve releases Deckard by that time 🤔
VLC for me has always been very buggy, like if a close a video while it's playing it's process would hang and when I try to play another file it wouldn't play because the vlc process is still running.
For Linux MPV is recommended.
yes or smplayer gui is way better. vlc is buggy with windows too
I never had issues with VLC, neither under Windows or Linux.
mpv is nice though if you have a good graphical interface
@@MegaManNeo you're the only one
@@sixdroid Yea, probably the only sane Linux and Windows user on this planet too.
@@MegaManNeo no. vlc has bugs on windows too for example strange artifacts when you skip forward or green videos. you can't play RUclips videos too without changing something. on Linux works better but is slower then smplayer and on windows runs good without that green bullshit or the skipping stuff. ask why you're the only one who recommend vlc instead mpv. and you have full hardware acceleration on old hardware while doesn't work the same with vlc.
love linux t has came along way ive been using it for an year and i cant imagine going back now
I was thinking of using the steam deck as a laptop replacement. Just need a portable display with a mouse/keyboard.
It's actually a pretty great laptop replacement!
Look up the espresso display
@@berrymckockiner5883 - Doesn't look like they are in production anymore. I like the design, though.
@@Zoyx do you mean they have no available stock or they went out of business? because I DMed their Instagram a month ago and they responded
@@berrymckockiner5883 - Did they say they are going to make more? If so, when will they be in stock?
Watching this on a PC I've owned for more than 7 years... It's giving me the side eye, while glaring at the Steam Deck on my bed...
This might force me to like flatpaks lol
For those here as gaming people first and know nothing of Linux, hi. Welcome to a weird crossroads of interests for a lot of computer nerds. Please bear with us while we have a hit of a moment where we consider what mass Linux adoption means.
Anywho, You might be aware of this third option of desktop operating systems called Linux. Linux is technically just part of the operating system and lots of folks have put software on top of Linux to make their own version of Linux. we call these distros, shirt did distribution. Ubuntu is a Linux distro and so is Steam OS.
The most important job of an OS is the ability to launch and use software.
Traditionally software in Linux has been packaged in non compatible ways. So some distros would use .deb packages. And others would use .rpm packages
This over time created fragmentation in the Linux ecosystem and forced developers to do extra work to make their software available on all Linux distros.
So, various projects came about to solve this issue. Among them is flatpak, which is a great solution because the apps are also containerized. So it keeps your OS and applications separate, which leads to less issues if something changes in your OS. It works well for Steam OS because it uses an immutable file system, meaning that you can’t really install software in the traditional way anyways.
Embrace flatpaks.
I got used to Flatpaks during the past few weeks, having flatseal installed makes handling permissions a breeze.
Not that it's necessary for me as I use a rolling release distro (openSuSE Tumbleweed, thank you very much) but some programs like SteamLink exist first and foremost as Flatpak.
Fantastic video, thank you very much. Great narrating voice & delivery, too. Well done.
Can't imagine with steam deck 2 in the future, with improvements hardware & software, for now its already great imo, for now VALVE need to push steam deck into SEA market 🙏
My question, when steam deck docked it will charging the battery or it just turn on the power? But skipping the battery charging? Like a laptop? I don't know what exactly the tech name, like a laptop maybe, surpassing the battery charging it is possible, so its save the battery life?
Modern Lithium Polymer batteries with a good quality charging circuit don't really degrade much from running a device while simultaneously being charged, so it's not really an issue.
@@RudyBleekeri heard laptop can surpass the battery charging like a custom pc when plugged, its similiar like it or not?
This is amazing. I went from playing duke nukem on an iMac G5 as a kid to a Steam Deck.
I prefer to use krita over gimp otherwise this is very close to my pc is like using linux with a kde desktop
What a clear instructions video and very to the point without being too fast. Thank you so much 😊!!
I like your videos so much its always detailed, got a question though can you use a portable projector?
I mean, it should work the usb-c can transfer digital video output (everything from 480p to 4K, HDMI/DisplayPort etc). So I guess it depends on what kind of input your projector has. :)
It depends if your portable projector support USB-C display support. If not, USB-C to HDMI converter is needed as shown in video.
Got mine yesterday, couldn't help but think that I'd opened a new Sega game gear. Seriously got that game gear vibe about it. The valve game gear lol. Maybe game gear was just before it's time. I loved it.
Reminds me of the Xbox duke controller. The big beefy one.
What is the keyboard your using?
While far from ideal? It is good to know that if need be, you can use the thing to get some work done.
Just gotta say, GIMP is not easy to use. It's unintuitive and janky--and I say that as someone who used it for thumbnail editing for like three years. Strongly dislike that piece of software. At this stage, I either use Krita or Photopea for any photo editing, because at least the UI is responsive. Steam Deck looks pretty cool, though.
There are Gimp theme packs that make Gimp's interface match Photoshops. I also agree that Gimp in it's standard form is very unintuitive, but that is just because I've been a heavy Photoshop user for a couple of decades.
u still can run photoshop on linux(steam OS too i guess, might have to disable read-only doe), a guy name gitorbit made a github rep that makes it ez for to install it, just install wine and a couple other dependencies and a then run a script and ur good to go, might still be unstable sometimes.
Other way w'd be on a VM, just vmware running windows xp, 7 and 10 should get u by.
gimp was quite un intuitive with multi window mode, but i dont have much of a problem anymore since they added the single window option
I’ve gotten so paranoid launching up desktop mode because I got discover to break and not work a few weeks ago and I don’t want to do nothing because I’m so afraid but this video helped me just little bit it’s like me having ptsd from steamdeck 😂
Can it be hooked upto a external GPU?
No you can't the deck has no thunderbolt 4 or 3 but you can hook up a egpu sill by the pcie slot
Has a Pcie x4 slot so technically it should be able to
why in gods name did they not put a thunderbolt 4 port on it.... missed opportunity.
Cheers for this mate. Ordering mine on Wednesday. Think I’ll start browsing monitors.
You know what, this came as a game console, out to compete with switch. But actually its gonna kill Windows.
First time in history a company as big as Valve behind a Linux OS. I am really looking forward to this, and non deck version.
new to steam deck, this video was very helpful and informative, thank you!
Just use Linux instead of windows
Kubuntu or fedora KDE would do just fine
Man, I just want one of these SO BAD!
I’m currently borrowing a PC from my school esports team that I’m on and if I get a steam deck it could actually become my main PC once I have to return mine. The PC I actually own is pretty outdated… rx 560 and fx 6300, and from what I’ve seen the steam deck performs better
Man, I'm going crazy. My steamdeck needs to hurry up. This system seems so cool
Its even easier to launch applications, just press alt+space
The steamdeck is amazing best purchase I made anyone thinking about buying one don't think just buy it it's awesome.
You can also use wps office or onlyoofice instead of Libreoffice, Krita is better than gimp in some aspect.
Onlyoffice if you want more of a MS Office clone in terms of looks, Krita is definitely better for painting and animation
So could you edit your videos or something like that on this? Like could I pay for adobe on this? I know you showed an app for editing but can I download other ones most people have on computers and laptops?
Thank you for this video! I set up everything and even got the jseaux dock for the steamdeck to plug in the monitor, mouse, keyboard and even ethernet.
can u display 1080p and 144 hz ? bc some games run defently better than 60 fps even on the dektopmode