This looks like a good price for the Steam Deck, not the best price but it isn't too shabby given this is local stock with support from a brick and mortar store if you live in Sydney. Personally, I think the Steam Deck is surprisingly well optimized for PC games so this is great value if you are into mobile gaming.
I don't think JB and EB sell grey imports. Since Valve doesn't even have an Aussie official release date, I wouldn't be holding out hope for it being in the next few months.
Yes
If it ever officially comes to Australia would be most likely EB exclusive. The Index eventually came out here over a year later only through EB. From memory the steam link and steam controller were also.
Could the weakening Aussie dollar have something to do with it?
Yes
Doesn't make it a non-deal
Just had one delivered this week.
Absolutely love it. Build quality and feel is exceptional. Added a nice protective Spigen case too.
Startup time a little slow, unsure if there's anything you can do about that.
You shut down your SD every time you use it?
Just put it in sleep. Wake time is like 3 seconds.
Yep - literally no need to ever shut it down, unless you're booting between desktop and game mode.
Saps barely any power in sleep.
Thanks, I haven't mucked around with much yet.
Though have a micro sd with batocera so switching between the two is a little cumbersome
Will check the sleep option though, much appreciated.
I only recently heard of Batocera - not sure I totally understand the best use case for it.
I've an SD card (only 64gb, but with a 512gb on order) which has Emudeck installed on it and stores my ROMS, and it works great alongside my 512GB internal drive that stores my PC games.
I get Batocera keeps everything separate, but I don't see the point of that really?
In SteamOS, in game mode, Steam ROM Manager separates your games into collections (ie. Switch, WiiU, SNES etc) so they're separated as much as you'd need without ever having to reboot or do anything like that.
But if that's not your thing, you can have just 1 entry in your Steam library for Emulation Station where it can house all your ROMS and you just load up that and it lists all your ROMs from in there instead.
Maybe there's something Batocera can do that I'm overlooking here, like if you have a mammoth amount of ROMs you want to keep on separate SD cards or something.
@Deviner: It's big advantage…. You can dl an image, flash it, and be done.
No setup required. No manually configuring anything, no adding games etc etc
I don't mind both options personally, but basically it's a flashier retropie that can work independently on its own SD card. I've setup launch box and others, but this is pretty simple…
I've actually ordered another 1tb Micro SD today and I'll just switch between that and using another for Steam, with possibly the odd rom….
@scuderiarmani: Ahh, interesting!
That's a good explanation that I was missing.
It sounds like it's the ideal solution for a big collection of retro games.
I might give this a bash on a spare sd card to see what it's like.
It looks like it officially supports Cemu but not Yuzu, so I think that's the main difference.
A really high level understanding is, It's likely a cleaner/better experience for retro stuff, but maybe not as much for the newer stuff possibly.
@Deviner: Mine did have Switch on the 1tb build. But not much… Likewise Wii U. Definitely not officially supported.
I'll add more of those under Steam.
Arcadepunks, quick and so easy. Had to change some folder names but that was listed on the page. No big deal.
For the older platforms though, just to easy not to use it…
Kogan Sells it for $824 for First Member, and you can obtain 2% giftcard from shopback with ease, or you can obtain 5% off from RewardGateway if your work have it.
AU$ is making these worse. Kogan First version was down as low as about $758 about a month ago. Was $798 just last week.
Mmmmm tempting
Yes
Price fluctuates almost daily on Kogan, if you aren’t in a rush it might be worth keeping an eye out as it does drop below $800 at times.
Yeah I got mine around $760 from Kogan. Delivery took ~1 week but ymmv.
decent price but i'd spend more on the 256gb due to better ssd
however probably i'll wait for the official one maybe same time as GTA6 release
Most people just get the 64GB model and swap it out themselves as it's cheaper
I got a 256GB 2230 SSD off of eBay for $30 and a toolkit that was posted here for like $8 and swapped it myself. Easy as and cheaper.
Wow, how did you find one for $30?! Cheapest I can find is $50 off Amazon but with international shipping it'll take over a month to get here
Used! Sorry. Should have said that. So many cheap low capacity ones as people just sell em off to stick bigger ones in their Dell and HP laptops.
It still says “ This item is not available for reservation in your country” at the bottom
Apparently Valve has JUST updated the Australian Steam Deck page to say "out of stock" rather than "not available in your region".
Someone lied to you.
I dont hear much about the deck. Not because I think its bad but maybe.. just maybe, its the same price as a functional desktop and the switch is enough for that odd holiday.. Is it just me but playing oldschool 2d platformer switch games is my go to when Im relaxing on a comfy 5* bed in Taz
when Im relaxing on a comfy 5* bed in Taz
Next to your sister or mom
both.. of course
Yes
what are you implying?
This guy has no idea whats going on in tassie
You can do that on the Steam Deck as well though.
With Emudeck (Cemu for WiiU and Yuzu for Switch), you can still play your oldchool 2D platformers from Nintendo.
how well it runs and how is the control feel like compared to actual switch etc?
Some games run better on the SD than Switch supposedly lol.
It's twice the price though, and weighs 50% more than the OLED Switch. You get a ton of benefits, but if only playing old 2D platformers, then it's not really worth it vs a Switch.
If you are doing anything else with it, it's great.
I bought the 512GB last week from them when they had the 10% only because i can go through them for warranty rather than through kogan.
I want one of these things so bad but I know I'd use it in handheld as often as my Switch (never). Glad you guys are enjoying them! Funny how the future of PC gaming looks so bright despite the current GPU market thanks to devices like this.
Funny how the future of PC gaming looks so bright despite the current GPU market thanks to devices like this.
why you say that?
this device is as expensive as a new desktop pc (prebuilt from one of those deals post here)
I previously bought a 64GB and upgraded to 512GB from a previous deal. Strongly recommended.
I wanted something to play through my backlog of games on the train or couch.
I am playing mainly older games along with some newer AAA games. There is massive variation in battery life depending on what you're playing. I've also streamed games from my Desktop PC. Along with Steam, I have Epic Games setup using Lutris for a few games.
If you are less technical, there are verified games which require no or very little tweaking. If you know what you're doing or prepared to Google, you can tweak older games, mod easily, and run emulators.
I've used my setup with a Thunderbolt dock to set up the SteamDeck. Along with a portable monitor or lapdock, the SteamDeck will make a great travel device and will likely replace my MBA on holidays.
How well would you say it plays older mouse driven games, if at all? E.g. old RTS games and the like?
Most of the games I've tried have controller support. The closest game that I have tried is Worms Armageddon and even then, only briefly. It seemed playable. I do eventually plan to try AOE 1 or 2 on the device.
It's basically a Linux laptop - it copes fine with mouse driven games.
You can hook up a mouse and keyboard either via bluetooth or through a dock (while you charge) and it'll behave exactly like a desktop.
I fantasized about owning a deck and reliving childhood, particularly even stuff like Syndicate.
I want to be able to move the mouse with the right touchpad BUT scroll the screen itself, with the left touchpad (that kind of clever design) to make the device lack of a real mouse a little less painful.
I think a lot of games using that isometric design could be helped with a change like that but patching that in to hundreds of games over the last 30 years sounds incredibly difficult, if not impossible.
I've played a number of mouse driven games using the touchpad as a mouse. Works great for me, though you probably wouldn't be playing competitive RTS that requires twitch reflexes and high APM.
When you say upgraded did you put in an SSD or swap for the 512 GB model? If you swapped, what's your opinion on the different glasses?
SSD upgrade. I didn't need the better screen as most use will be indoors. So far, I haven't had any issues.
I got mine about $775 of eBay. Paid an extra $300 for 2TB SSD. Overall paid $1075 for a brand new 2TB system
which ssd did you get?
Sorry didnt see this message till now lol. But i got Western Digital https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004901239395.html
2TB 2230 drive? Didn't know that existed.
Seen one at a quick look reasonably priced, for $270 on ebay in Victoria.
Many others seem far more expensive on a VERY quick look.
Thinking about it, though I'd prefer a proper store. The upgrade does seem ever so slightly more unfriendly than your typical pc related improvements. Built and upgraded computers for over 2 decades, so normally wouldn't bat an eyelid.
BUT I'm a bit scarred after modifying a New SNES 3DS when I cracked the back panel a little. Given its not something you just easily replace.
Not sure if it's allowed but any chance you can link that? Cheapest ones I can see are $300+
@OfficialBaKa: WD SN740 2TB. Price fluctuates a lot with currency, but right now I see it for AU$271.32. I happened to spot it ~2 weeks ago for AU$263.35.
@TimeOrMoney: Thanks for the link! Prefer not to order from AliExpress but there's not many other good options for these it seems…
$800 vampire survivor machine
(Seriously that game is soooo addictive)
Ha, keep seeing that mentioned. Purchased.
When you get bored of that. Try brotato
Perfect, thanks for the recommendation.
It's on Android too.
It's on Android, and is free (you can optionally watch an ad for a single free revive, or at the end of the run for some extra free gold, but that's it in terms of ads/monetisation)
Orz, $5 USD in IOS and its preorder
i would happily pay $5 - in fact i was looking to see when the dlc was coming to ios. base game was free.
I ordered one for $650 from Jack Deal on the 4th of Feb. Arrived like a week and a bit later, great machine. I'd keep an eye out for a lower price.
Damn that's cheap! Is that overseas?
It says it's a .au store but it came from Hong Kong I believe, and they packed an adaptor for the charger in.
Yeah it ships from Hong Kong. I also got one from Jack Deal. Absolutely love my Steam Deck. Shipping was really fast. I received it within 1 week shipped to Brisbane.
I'm well impressed at that price, damn. Add a 1TB SSD and 1TB MicroSD and set for life I reckon
what deal, and same as this model?
Just wondering, between all the current suppliers of the steamdeck: Kogan, expansys, mobileciti, Jackdeal, are any of them better than others for warranty or potential issues where you need to send the unit back to the seller?
Or is much the same? They're all grey importers so just roll your dice and hope for the best?
Thanks in advance.
Some of them ship from overseas. You'll want a seller who has a local presence. Kogan, Mobiliciti, some eBay sellers, etc.
Jackdeal ships from HK.
I've had nothing but headaches with Kogan warranties in the past, but YMMV.
if mobiciti had stock at the time i would have went with them but went kogan as it was easily the only choice that had some tangible australian presence
Just buy it! Its well worth it even if its a grey import.
You know all those games you have in backlog from all those deals, specials and humble bundles? Literally me finally deciding to play through them. The SD is amazing and can also emulate all your favourites from the NES to the Switch (some games)
The issue is warranty with grey imports. I'd rather wait than take the risk.
I've seen a lot of people posting about buying the 64GB version, and just buying a big SD card to use in it? Dumb question - is there a big difference between using an SD card for storing and playing your games, v.s. the SSD? I'm assuming the SSD is faster, and you want to put your high end games on there, and the SD card for emulators / smaller games?
Edit: Found the answer online ——- "Generally speaking, microSD cards are a little slower than the eMMC storage found in the base Steam Deck, so you’ll want to keep all your favourite games on the device itself. That said, microSD cards let you take more games, movies, TV shows, and software on the go."
UPDATED QUESTION: To those of you that have installed bigger SSDs into the Steam Deck, how hard was it for you?
There's no soldering so that makes it, to my skill level , a moderately easy upgrade. The hardest part is removing the back cover.
Watch a couple of YouTube tutorials and you'll be golden.
Legend. And what SSD size did you put in, if you don't mind me asking?
Walram 1tb from AliExpress. $140.
Cant find non-referral link.
It works but I've seen WD drives for similar prices.
I'd go WD.
I followed the iFixit guide. I put a 512GB BC711 into mine.
I found it reasonably easy, though, I've taken laptops apart for repairs, upgrades or cleaning.
Ah, amazing! And the only "limitation" of the 64GB model vs the higher models is the slower SSD, is that right? So putting in the 512GB your Steam Deck has the exact same performance as the higher models?
Essentially, yes. Though, there is some variation between drive performance.
@ihfree: Of course. That's understandable. Do you mind me asking how much you paid for your 512GB SSD?
@redgymhero: Would have been about $82 off eBay - pulled from a new laptop. That price excludes postage as I used mail forwarding with consolidation to buy the Steam Deck.
@ihfree: Amazing! Thank you! So close to pulling the trigger on a 64GB model.. To wait or not to wait for another mobileciti deal.. Hmm..
The factory 512 also has a different anti-glare etching on it's screen, and a different coloured case. Otherwise, performance wise, they're the same.
Upgraded my 64gb to 1tb. Very easy just follow guides.
Word of warning though, make sure you use a good quality and correct size screwdriver. The screws have a bit of threadlock and are very soft metal.
One of the backplate screws started to strip on mine, quite tense trying to get it out. Had to use a flat driver and some rubber to get enough grip on it.
But other than getting that single screw out, it was very easy to upgrade and there are tons of guides and videos on it.
Thanks for the warning!! I'll have to make super sure I use the correct size screwdriver. Seems like the "hardest" part is opening the Steam Deck up.
Oooh also remember to eject the SD card before trying to take off the back plate. It could be pretty easy to forget and I think you risk breaking the card.
Also use the carry case it comes with is useful to work on it, i.e. put it face down on the top part of the case and it will stay in place and be nice and protected.
The 64gb will fill up fast as the shader cache can't be easily moved to the SD
Portable wii u
Portable games-I-missed-out-on-when-I-was-addicted-to-WoW-circa-2006-to-2012.
will the steam deck be available in jb-hifi or ebgames?