As a person who owns both switch and deck. Buying a switch might be the worst investment. I bought the deck first and i have been playing on it for like 2-3 hours daily and then i said lets see what the hype is about and bought the switch oled and believe me i have only used it for like 2-3 hours total in 11 months so but a steam deck hands down. Or go for the rog ally or Lenovo legion go
The biggest difference between the 2 is their purpose. Both can play games but only the Steam Deck is a handheld PC. The Switch is designed for portability and games. The Steam Deck takes everything that you can get in a PC and puts it into much smaller form factor. Comparing these two isn’t an apples to apples comparison. Compare the Steam Deck to the ROG Ally instead.
Battery is shit, it gets hot, loud, HEAVY, and ugly, the colors don’t pop like on OLED, and overall its stutters and it’s very Finnicky, I’d rather just get a switch, and if I wanna play pc games, I’d rather just get a pc LOL
@@jeffrey1296-rl1miyour nintendo switch dies after you try to play cod LOL and only 4gb ram🤣😂 30 fps max and shitty graphics It explodes after you play god of war 5 😂
Thank you so much. I love my switch, but games are quickly becoming more sophisticated than the switch can handle. I'm trying to figure out what will be the best upgrade for me without going for a super expensive pc. There are plenty of variables aside from performance, but the switch just vastly underperforms. Thanks for a solid review of the pros and cons of each.
Thinking getting steamdeck but with the new switch on the horizon im hesitant and thinking about waiting. Also with pc handhelds always coming out with new versions every year or two years thinking on waiting.
There is always something new coming out. I've had the steam deck LCD for a year. It's been awesome. Do you have an existing digital library that favors one device over the other? Good luck in your choice!
Except everyone who says this doesn’t mention the fact that most third party stuff runs at 720p 30fps. While on deck I can tweak settings and get way better performance.
Takeaway comparisons Steam deck oled: (Pros) 1. Better graphics 2. Slightly bigger screen 3. Can run AAA games better than switch (Cons) 1. Battery life isn’t great when playing demanding games (can last around 2-3 hours) 3. Higher price than switch by 200$ 4. Can’t play some of the switch exclusives Switch oled: (Pros) 1. Cheaper by 200$ 2. Can play exclusives (Mario, Zelda, animal crossing ect) 3. Better local play (local multiplayer) (Cons) 1. Poorly runs Triple A games 2. Less storage than steam deck 3. Slightly smaller screen Conclusion: Even though I like the idea of playing Triple A games in my hands with decent graphics… is it worth it if I can only play them for a few hours before the battery dies? At that point why not just get a low end gaming laptop… I’m sure you can find a decent gaming laptop for around 600$ and probably have it run for a little longer. Price wise switch is the obvious winner… but graphically it can be quite poor at times.
Just emulate the switch exclusives, easy Also if you already have a lot of steam games owned, the switch will cost you more because of the games (if you don't already own those games which you likely won't)
@@detectivefischer6396 emulating can sometimes be a headache. It takes a lot of work to setup and run properly Example: I tried getting silent hill 2 on pcxs2 emulator but that was easier said than done. It took me hours to figure out how to properly install bios and then the game itself didn’t run too smoothly. The button configuration was all out of touch and ridiculously hard to setup. Not sure if all emulators are like that but i thought it’d be a lot simpler
@@danielchoy7030 I heard a rumor that it’s not good to play while charging because you could get the “black screen of death”. Which could really mess up your steam deck
I know its not a HUGE difference, but i feel its wortg noting that the oled steam decks screen is 7.4 inches, not 7..... .every bit extra counts mate. LoL
The steam deck emulate switch games better than playing switch games on the original harddware with 60fps and higher resoltion So that makes the switch a better option
switch has a ton of aftermarket joycons and grips. Id say if you have a good gaming pc already, then get the switch for the exclusives and better battery life and multiplayer. and the dock. Especially now that nintendo cracked down on emulators. But switch 2 is coming next year so maybe wait for that
Your comment is incorrect in so many levels. Steam Deck OLED boasts way better battery life - 2.5h-9h vs. 2.5h-6h (LCD boasted 2.5h-6h which is even on par with the NS OLED) - Nintendo Switch OLED revision also did improve in battery life like the Steam Deck OLED - The minimum battery life can be increased up to 50% by lowering TDP from 15W to 11W or below with little performance hit (everyone does this) - Some report that Steam Deck could go anywhere from 3h-12h, but I can't really confirm the validity (nor have I gotten anywhere close to 10h). Steam Deck also supports more third-party multiplayer games OOTB (many in this list are boasted as "Great on Deck"): - Minecraft: Java Edition (and Bedrock Edition atst) - War Thunder - Tekken 8 - Diablo 4 - Sea of Thieves - Factorio - ARK (you can make it playable in SD by disabling volumetrics via in-game console commands) - Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 (can take tinkering to work flawlessly) - VRChat - Phaspmophobia - Star Citizen (surprisingly) - some others I haven't probably even mentioned, like World of Warcraft, which does not work OOTB but does work flawlessly from what I heard - and way more when you dual-boot Windows (you can also optimize it by yourself, or even put Windows in an SD card) Steam also has a free service to play with other players in co-op and it's seamless to join another player's session. And they will normally run better either way. - All of the games above - Terraria - Cuphead - Portal games (yes, released in NS) - No Man's Sky - Don't Starve Together - Party Animals - It Takes Two - Grounded - Resident Evil 6 - Dying Light 2 Ignoring the statements above, I know you're also talking about the fact you can split the controller into two and play 2-player games that way. It's nice-to-have but then everyone gets over it quickly. - Not to mention that only a handful (like 30?) of games support it. - Not impossible to do in Steam Deck. Simply plug in two controllers, two 8BitDo Ultimates at a price of a new pair of L+R Joycons (and something else with your leftover $20). - With a gaming PC, Steam Deck could act as a controller if you know how to (GadgetDeck on GitHub). Even the dock point, if you use a laptop then there's a very good chance you have a third-party dock with a USB C end. Steam Deck works flawlessly with any of them and will not net you $70 for a new one. I have a good gaming PC and I don't really see the point in getting the Switch for the exclusives if I can dump those (personally bought) exclusives in a friend's Switch and play them in Ryujinx on my gaming PC or even the Steam Deck. It's also a mini laptop (or if you love DIY: it can be a laptop, or it can connect to something that turns your Deck into a laptop). It's a tinkerer's dream, it's just so versatile like PCs are. Even if it's a gaming console primarily, any game is moddable and you can actually put a lot of mods in Skyrim alone. You can't play Skyrim without mods. For all of the good points that you can think of coming up with the Nintendo Switch, only exclusives are worth anything. And even then, you can emulate them in the PC, and you don't need to play them everywhere you go. The same will apply to the Nintendo Switch 2 if they decide they want it to be backwards compatible with the first one (and honestly it seems that way for certain). Get the Steam Deck or wait for Nintendo Switch 2. Though it will then be another bit of waiting until Nintendo will even release a substantial amount of exclusive first-party games for NS2, which will then be eventually emulated anyways. In either case, the second iteration likely won't have a stable ground like it used to with the first iteration, considering that there's more eyes now for portable consoles (and PC handhelds alike). Not only there was an offficial teaser for an "XBOX handheld," there was even a leak for "PS Vita 2" that could "run PS4 and PS5 games." It's going to become a very competitive market again very soon.
There is no comparison. If you got PC SD is as good as useless and Switch has incredible library of exclusive games. Battery life is a lot better too and its cheaper. I got 256GB sd card and it was cheap. I would never consider any future handheld pc releases as my Laptop with 4060 is 5 times faster and these toys will never catch up. I will just upgrade to 5080 laptop and switch 2 on release and SD players can stay miserable.
Do you like playing the switch handheld or is it normally docked? It sounds like the steam deck really doesn't have a use case for you. But if you are trying to passively hang around family in a living room, the steam deck is an awesome handheld when you have your 4060 laptop streaming to the deck.
As a person who owns both switch and deck. Buying a switch might be the worst investment. I bought the deck first and i have been playing on it for like 2-3 hours daily and then i said lets see what the hype is about and bought the switch oled and believe me i have only used it for like 2-3 hours total in 11 months so but a steam deck hands down. Or go for the rog ally or Lenovo legion go
The biggest difference between the 2 is their purpose. Both can play games but only the Steam Deck is a handheld PC. The Switch is designed for portability and games. The Steam Deck takes everything that you can get in a PC and puts it into much smaller form factor. Comparing these two isn’t an apples to apples comparison. Compare the Steam Deck to the ROG Ally instead.
I bought a steam deck oled this winter because it emulates my Switch Games better than they play on switch.
Nice fair enough didn't realize you could emulate switch games that's pretty cool
Even without that….Steam Deck is still the winner for me.
Battery is shit, it gets hot, loud, HEAVY, and ugly, the colors don’t pop like on OLED, and overall its stutters and it’s very Finnicky, I’d rather just get a switch, and if I wanna play pc games, I’d rather just get a pc LOL
@@jeffrey1296-rl1miikr
@@jeffrey1296-rl1miyour nintendo switch dies after you try to play cod LOL and only 4gb ram🤣😂 30 fps max and shitty graphics It explodes after you play god of war 5 😂
Thank you so much. I love my switch, but games are quickly becoming more sophisticated than the switch can handle. I'm trying to figure out what will be the best upgrade for me without going for a super expensive pc. There are plenty of variables aside from performance, but the switch just vastly underperforms. Thanks for a solid review of the pros and cons of each.
Switch 2 is around the corner and will be significantly more performant. :)
steam deck can definitely emulate switch
i got both, and honestly i got tired of the choppy experience of switch, I still love it but also wish there was a new improve model.
Switch 2 will be announced in few months time, most likely by March 2025
4:11 you can just use suyu
1) Moderne COD are not SplitScreen.
2) Older ones does have SplitScreen even on PC
3) You can connect both JoyCon on Deck.
you can play splitscreen on modern COD (ps5) my brother...
@@dghostx539 On what mode ?
@@Zer01neBDTDev online multiplayers, each one with his own account...
I love both. I have the Switch OLED and Steamdeck and have just ordered the Steamdeck OLED.
Can you play split screen if you dock your steam deck and plug it into a tv?
not on most games, but a few like lego games have it
@@2003andre100 what are you talking about , most local coop games support this
@@GunRG it's not as common in modern times. Mostly on Switch. The PC games tend to be a bit more limited
Switch for Pokémon games
Steam for PS2 and PC games!
Do people still buy 64GB micro sd cards???
Me ☝️🤓
Thinking getting steamdeck but with the new switch on the horizon im hesitant and thinking about waiting. Also with pc handhelds always coming out with new versions every year or two years thinking on waiting.
There is always something new coming out. I've had the steam deck LCD for a year. It's been awesome. Do you have an existing digital library that favors one device over the other? Good luck in your choice!
@@JessicaNeidingHaverly i do have steam account but i do not have any games that i bought on it.
Definitely wait for the switch 2
Even though Nintendo Switch can only play low graphics games, but it looks cool.
Definitely the steam deck. Sold all my switches after getting one. 😂
For triple A games Id rather my powerfull PC, its more comfortable on 42 LG Oled.
Biggest disadvantage of the deck is the amount of fiddling you have to do to get even verified games to work. On the switch, everything just works.
Not everything. Warframe works like shit on my switch lite.😢
Just don't be low iq and follow guides?
I’ve done zero fiddling for over 30 non verified games… they just work (with better graphics and fps, feels better in the hands) I own two switches
Nintendo games are lame and for thumb sucking toddlers
Except everyone who says this doesn’t mention the fact that most third party stuff runs at 720p 30fps. While on deck I can tweak settings and get way better performance.
Takeaway comparisons
Steam deck oled:
(Pros)
1. Better graphics
2. Slightly bigger screen
3. Can run AAA games better than switch
(Cons)
1. Battery life isn’t great when playing demanding games (can last around 2-3 hours)
3. Higher price than switch by 200$
4. Can’t play some of the switch exclusives
Switch oled:
(Pros)
1. Cheaper by 200$
2. Can play exclusives (Mario, Zelda, animal crossing ect)
3. Better local play (local multiplayer)
(Cons)
1. Poorly runs Triple A games
2. Less storage than steam deck
3. Slightly smaller screen
Conclusion:
Even though I like the idea of playing Triple A games in my hands with decent graphics… is it worth it if I can only play them for a few hours before the battery dies? At that point why not just get a low end gaming laptop… I’m sure you can find a decent gaming laptop for around 600$ and probably have it run for a little longer.
Price wise switch is the obvious winner… but graphically it can be quite poor at times.
Just emulate the switch exclusives, easy
Also if you already have a lot of steam games owned, the switch will cost you more because of the games (if you don't already own those games which you likely won't)
If you're playing at home just get a very long USB charger, battery life won't be a problem.
@@detectivefischer6396 emulating can sometimes be a headache. It takes a lot of work to setup and run properly
Example: I tried getting silent hill 2 on pcxs2 emulator but that was easier said than done. It took me hours to figure out how to properly install bios and then the game itself didn’t run too smoothly. The button configuration was all out of touch and ridiculously hard to setup.
Not sure if all emulators are like that but i thought it’d be a lot simpler
@@danielchoy7030 I heard a rumor that it’s not good to play while charging because you could get the “black screen of death”. Which could really mess up your steam deck
Do not buy a gaming laptop over a handheld it’s not the same thing. It’s WAY bigger extremely loud and heavy and unusable in most public settings
I know its not a HUGE difference, but i feel its wortg noting that the oled steam decks screen is 7.4 inches, not 7.....
.every bit extra counts mate. LoL
Actually steam deck could emulate switch most of the games run at 60-50 out of the box
The steam deck emulate switch games better than playing switch games on the original harddware with 60fps and higher resoltion
So that makes the switch a better option
Ehhh doesn't it make the SD a better option?
@@Tinez87 he's confused but he's got the spirit
@@Aki-ow9hd Lmfaoo!!! he definitely meant to write SD at the end
Buy both
Steam deck can emulate switch game
Can it emulate the whole switch library or only a select few?
@@blueseaturtle6031 it can emulate most of the big games first party games great
@@blueseaturtle6031 probably all except TOTK and some third-party games (that you can play natively on SD anyway).
easy pick, the one that can play pc games and switch games with an emu.
Who was on the phone? 😂
👀👀 secret
Me
@@simolsen sthu
switch has a ton of aftermarket joycons and grips. Id say if you have a good gaming pc already, then get the switch for the exclusives and better battery life and multiplayer. and the dock. Especially now that nintendo cracked down on emulators. But switch 2 is coming next year so maybe wait for that
Your comment is incorrect in so many levels.
Steam Deck OLED boasts way better battery life
- 2.5h-9h vs. 2.5h-6h (LCD boasted 2.5h-6h which is even on par with the NS OLED)
- Nintendo Switch OLED revision also did improve in battery life like the Steam Deck OLED
- The minimum battery life can be increased up to 50% by lowering TDP from 15W to 11W or below with little performance hit (everyone does this)
- Some report that Steam Deck could go anywhere from 3h-12h, but I can't really confirm the validity (nor have I gotten anywhere close to 10h).
Steam Deck also supports more third-party multiplayer games OOTB (many in this list are boasted as "Great on Deck"):
- Minecraft: Java Edition (and Bedrock Edition atst)
- War Thunder
- Tekken 8
- Diablo 4
- Sea of Thieves
- Factorio
- ARK (you can make it playable in SD by disabling volumetrics via in-game console commands)
- Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 (can take tinkering to work flawlessly)
- VRChat
- Phaspmophobia
- Star Citizen (surprisingly)
- some others I haven't probably even mentioned, like World of Warcraft, which does not work OOTB but does work flawlessly from what I heard
- and way more when you dual-boot Windows (you can also optimize it by yourself, or even put Windows in an SD card)
Steam also has a free service to play with other players in co-op and it's seamless to join another player's session. And they will normally run better either way.
- All of the games above
- Terraria
- Cuphead
- Portal games (yes, released in NS)
- No Man's Sky
- Don't Starve Together
- Party Animals
- It Takes Two
- Grounded
- Resident Evil 6
- Dying Light 2
Ignoring the statements above, I know you're also talking about the fact you can split the controller into two and play 2-player games that way. It's nice-to-have but then everyone gets over it quickly.
- Not to mention that only a handful (like 30?) of games support it.
- Not impossible to do in Steam Deck. Simply plug in two controllers, two 8BitDo Ultimates at a price of a new pair of L+R Joycons (and something else with your leftover $20).
- With a gaming PC, Steam Deck could act as a controller if you know how to (GadgetDeck on GitHub).
Even the dock point, if you use a laptop then there's a very good chance you have a third-party dock with a USB C end. Steam Deck works flawlessly with any of them and will not net you $70 for a new one.
I have a good gaming PC and I don't really see the point in getting the Switch for the exclusives if I can dump those (personally bought) exclusives in a friend's Switch and play them in Ryujinx on my gaming PC or even the Steam Deck. It's also a mini laptop (or if you love DIY: it can be a laptop, or it can connect to something that turns your Deck into a laptop). It's a tinkerer's dream, it's just so versatile like PCs are. Even if it's a gaming console primarily, any game is moddable and you can actually put a lot of mods in Skyrim alone. You can't play Skyrim without mods.
For all of the good points that you can think of coming up with the Nintendo Switch, only exclusives are worth anything. And even then, you can emulate them in the PC, and you don't need to play them everywhere you go. The same will apply to the Nintendo Switch 2 if they decide they want it to be backwards compatible with the first one (and honestly it seems that way for certain).
Get the Steam Deck or wait for Nintendo Switch 2. Though it will then be another bit of waiting until Nintendo will even release a substantial amount of exclusive first-party games for NS2, which will then be eventually emulated anyways. In either case, the second iteration likely won't have a stable ground like it used to with the first iteration, considering that there's more eyes now for portable consoles (and PC handhelds alike). Not only there was an offficial teaser for an "XBOX handheld," there was even a leak for "PS Vita 2" that could "run PS4 and PS5 games." It's going to become a very competitive market again very soon.
@@Aki-ow9hd 😐
Not me
Switch Oled👌
Switch hands down play games last longer no where near power drain plus big n exclusives I
have a legion go rog ally an steam deck
Same like you, i have Legion go, rog ally, all 3 switches and i am thinking of steam deck oled
There is no comparison. If you got PC SD is as good as useless and Switch has incredible library of exclusive games. Battery life is a lot better too and its cheaper. I got 256GB sd card and it was cheap. I would never consider any future handheld pc releases as my Laptop with 4060 is 5 times faster and these toys will never catch up. I will just upgrade to 5080 laptop and switch 2 on release and SD players can stay miserable.
Do you like playing the switch handheld or is it normally docked? It sounds like the steam deck really doesn't have a use case for you. But if you are trying to passively hang around family in a living room, the steam deck is an awesome handheld when you have your 4060 laptop streaming to the deck.