I bought the CHEAPEST Steam Deck 😬 

Quick tip for anyone wanting to upgrade themselves, use the top half of the Decks included case to sit the Deck in for a flat working surface so you don't put pressure on or potentially damage the analog sticks.

"Bruh" to the person who broke their steam deck to end up in Austin's hand.

If I'm not mistaken Gulikit sells Hall Sensing joysticks for the steam that DON'T involve soldering. I believe that's the new version they have

I got the 512 Refurbished model and it is just completely clean and new. I am honestly surprised by Value's efforts of making their products good for the price, especially for the refurbished models.

Austin, the black sticker on the inside of the original steam deck back cover is a graphite pad specifically for heat dissipation. So there is already heat dissipation in the original cover.

I bought a refurbished 256G Steam Deck, and mine looked pristine and works great. The only issue I had was that Valve forgot to include the charger, but they shipped one out to me immediately. I have been having a great time with it.

320$ is perfect. I would not pay 350$ for refurbished. Been burned to many times buying refurbished when i could have just spent the extra 30 -50$ to just have working new

I’m still amazed at how easy it is to replace parts in the Steam Deck!

That relief he showed when the fan fix worked is so relatable, I'm scared to death to mess with stuff like that but a few years ago my laptop had a serious fault so I had nothing to lose. I opened it fixed the two things that were wrong and I felt like a God damn genius.

This is one of the best things about the Steam Deck compared to other handhelds is that you can easily upgrade or fix components on the Deck.

My favorite part of the JSAUX back is the other sets of back buttons - I put in the highest set and it has made those buttons SO much more usable for me.

It's a shame Austin did not try and diagnose the fan issue, it could have just been hitting a wire that was in the way.

I like how you ran into some issues during your customization process. It portrays an accurate refurbished version experience.

I bought the 64gb model new and upgraded to a 1TB ssd for cheaper than the 250 model. Totally worth it.

There was a couple possibilities gong on with the fan. First, it would have been good to know if it was happening before it was opened up. Always good to establish a known state before doing work on something. It sounded like the blades were rubbing on the fan housing when it was in motion. The back shell could have caused a bit of extra pressure on the main board that carried over to the fan housing, slightly warping it. The bearing on the fan may have been going bad. Those fans usually have a few years in 'em at least before they start to fail, but maybe it was an overlooked failure. It's also possible that the refurb tech may have over-tightened the screws for the fan. Best case scenario for that would be unscrewing it and putting it back. If it were really over-torqued though, it's possible that the fan housing got slightly dented in and that was the cause of the rubbing. Still fixable, but annoying to remove the housing and flattening it out.

The wires on the joysticks aren't supposed to stick out like that, you're supposed to make them sort of wrap around the module, otherwise the wire is going to be rubbing against its surroundings whenever you move the joystick.

Austin I highly doubt you will see this comment but over the course of multiple accounts i have had I have been watching you about 2 years prior to the house fire and im just so glad to see how you jumped back in and are still seeing just so much success. I particularly love the surprise item videos where your crew orders you stuff

So I also bought a refurbished 64GB Steam Deck from Steam. Mine also had a missing screw internally. The other two was able to keep everything in place without issues. I upgraded it immediately with a Micron 2TB SSD for $149.99 from Amazon. It was so worth it and the upgrade itself was fairly easy!

Fans have been an ongoing topic for the Steam Deck. On release, they were a bit loud, and Valve eventually patched it up with a software update. Much better. But then the Dbrand Killswitch was releasing soon (which is a Steam Deck case), and just before release, somebody noticed that the magnet on its kickstand was interfering with its fan, and causing some fan slowdowns. It turned out that this issue was only on a chunk of Decks, but Killswitch redesigned the case to not use magnets. If I'm not mistaken, they eventually gave all their customers the non-magnetic case after release months later, but gave their preorder customers the magnetic one earlier at no cost as well. It does make me wonder if you could have been an update away from a better fan, but I would doubt it if you got Apex Legends to play. You'd probably have to avoid the updates, which seems farfetched if you fiddled with it continuously over the weekend.

My co-worker already had one of these refurbs 3-4 weeks ago, shipped from Germany to the Netherlands. Could've been a mispicked item, it happens :)

7:03 those are finger cots, to put on your fingers while removing screws and components without causing static electricity spikes

The gullikit joysticks come with solder in place? That's so slick! I hate trying to add solder, well, honestly I hate soldering at all, but mostly because trying to get just enough solder is a nightmare for me. Also, is anyone else old enough to remember blower fans that size sounding like jet engines? I'm seriously impressed at how far fan technology has come in 30 years.

Cool to see you doing this! It would be cool to make some "modding" to my new steamdeck, but no way I would see so much effort. I would happily pay for someone to do this for me. Time will tell.

I wonder if some of their refurbished Steam decks are ones that got damaged during the manufacture process. Perhaps a box of shells got scratched or something. They can't sell them at full price. I can't imagine a lot of people are returning them.

This was a great video and I might actually have to check out that backplate since it adds a little functionality to its form. Not just all looks.

Would love to see the temps for both stock and new back cover...

As far as the fan, it will always sound higher than you would think that it should. At least that is what I noticed with mine.

Austin got one as good as almost new. A light scuff on the back wouldn't bother me. I'm not OCD about things like in my teens and 20s. I don't expect perfection from refurbs. As long as I'm saving $80 and the screen looks clean. I buy used all the time because I don't game as much as before. I find it a waste buying new if I hardly will play it. I only game maybe 30 minutes per day or sometimes not at all for weeks. My Vita slim and Switch Lite are both used and I love them more than any previous console/handheld I had. As long as they work like say the charging port, I could care less about cosmetic blemishes.

You can purchase a brand new Steam Deck 64gb for £314.00 at present in the UK

The fan issue was probably because something was stuck in it. My laptop fan used to sound like that and started shutting down on its own. I thought the fan was dead but Taking it apart and checking it out, I found that it was a plastic bit that was getting stuck there. I removed it and my laptop wasnt shutting itself down anymore. I guess it was making the fan not spin at a certain point and the laptop was shutting itself down to protect itself from overheating

damn editing effects are wild

Der workpro sieht den Lux-Tools sehr ähnlich. Die Ladestation ist identisch. Kannst du ggf. LUX-Tools mal checken? War bisher ganz zufrieden mit Metall-Bohrfutter und guter Akku-Laufzeit.

Is it possible to have a link to Austin´s last shirt? Thanks!

I'm just wishing retailers(scalpers) dont gobble up the 2nd hand then slap don't open if something goes wrong.

the internal build & layouts way cleaner than the Ally does.

Cryobytes suggested not using that shell because the plate can actually burn you. And instead to use the newer jsaux one with the fan cutout.

Kind of bummed the fan issue got by reman. Id imagine there is a test in place where cooling is ramped up and checked. It could be a fluke, but id suspect more so on it got by the team.

Thank goodness they have a no solder kit now.

I bet the tape on the original backing muffled the fan noise when it spins faster.

The screw missing is basically my spirit animal, any time i open anything i am always left with screws out

You have to realize that needed this person that had it before how to screen protector on a or the screen got broken on it so they sent it into steam and since the screens broken they're obviously going to replace it with a new screen so maybe that's why it looks so good.

i myself have done all of those mods myself as well, just with tthe non soldering needed version of the sticks and a purple plate with different backbuttons and a 2 tb ssd

I’ve looked every day for a certified refurbished steam deck since this video came out and every time they’re sold out. How do you obtain one?

The PSP has no ventilation, the scratching noise was the umd disc

Interesting bit about 'refurbished' tech like this - the user can send back the item unopened to the vendor, and it will still be classified as refurbished. Dell Outlet stores operate in this manner.

Always inspect and test prior to disassembling. "As far as I know it was fully functional out of the box." = the most famous last words ever.

2TB SSD can be placed inside it and you can get the Steam Deck SSD Upgrade kit with it too

very good deal I may purchase a second one as a backup unit incase I ever have to RMA my og release unit!

Maybe they are planning to do some sort of buyback program or something. I mean they cant have that many returns right? I guess they could be reselling the ones that come in on like warranty fix stuff but considering how repairable all the things are on these and if you are refurbishing them then there would be no reason to give someone a new steam deck on a warranty claim and then repairing and selling the other one for a refurbished model ... idk but I do want one lol

Reminds me of the first refurbished PSX systems from the 90's. At least for the first few years we were told they were from Sony, and the quality was excellent.

I got myself a brand new 512GB summer 2022. And my fan also was making that same noise. So I replaced the fan. So in other words. This happens to new units as well. You’re just as safe getting a refurb model.

FYI - that version of the JSaux back case ceased manufacturing (or is) because the exposed metal plate gets too hot for a device that is held. They have a new one that doesn't have the exposed metal plate and open airvents.

Bro it's been so long and I forgot Austin & his team moved

My refurb shipped without Steam OS, other than having to re-image, everything has been flawless.

I got the refurbished one.. the high end version. Nothing was wrong with it. It was only an open box.. so good deal for me

next time u try opening a steam deck, u can squeeze the sides after taking out the screws and it just comes off, no need to pry it open on the top and scuff it

0:25 its funny they made more work on that and its cheaper xD

That fan sounded like it could do with a quick clean and some grease. Can they be opened up to allow for that? It would be a really nice option, still $25 isn't bad at all. Yes I would 100% get a refurb one.

I’m wondering how a larger sample size is with the results of the refurbished models cause I might just buy the refurbished model and replacing the SSD

i'd want want the "frosted"screen from the maxed out one most of all

The Nintendo 64 controller has a similar setup for the joystick, undo a cable and you can swap it right out. Very nice if you want to upgrade to a GC style joystick

Other option, instead of buying a clear backplate, the amount can be used to double the ssd instead. 😁 and it will still be under the target budget

The Guli Kit has a v2 where you don't need to solder and are compatible with both types of steam deck models (if you uncertain, Google). Also JSaux has transparent fron shells and an RGB back shell, too.

So they did "100 tests" on the refurbished unit and didn't notice a defective fan. Interesting.

Aye yooo you ain't have to do DK oldies like that lol

Where can I get that floating Book shelf in the back

Got mine on the summer sale 64gb after the deck a 512gb ssd and 512gb sd card I was just over the original 399 price tag for a 1tb deck such a deal that’s new imagine the referb price discounted in a sale to that would be wild

Most the steam decks they end up with are likely returns barely if at all played. I know someone that bought one, powered it on for an hour and returned it weeks later to valve for a refund.

Just know Austin skipped a lot of steps not shown in his video to upgrade the SSD.

Sadly when trying to replace the back my last screw got strip. And i was being extra careful and diligent.😢

Gullikit makes a non solder Hall effect joy stick kit now, also jsaux has a better version of the clear backplate now too

04:24 Speaking from Norwegian perspective, apparently a store here in Norway has been selling the Steam Decks with an American charger that constantly gives warning of "Slow Charging Detected" and isn't capable of charging the battery while the device is in use, and the Steam Decks hadn't been delivered to their customers with a proper Norwegian power adapter or charger. I doubt this would warrant a return to Valve by the store when they get them in return from the customers, but it may be a possible case of what might be the cause for some returns to Valve elsewhere.

Heh, obviously a missing screw isn’t a big deal, but it does make me slightly question how diligently they’re inspecting this. Apparently 100 tests doesn’t include a thorough “once over” before shipping to confirm that everything is in the right place. Put another way, you wouldn’t expect a new unit to be missing a screw, right?

Will the refurbished models come back in stock ever again!?

I think a good Austin catchphrase is "Legitimately a good deal"

It really doesn't make sense to get anything else than the 64GB if you are planning on upgrading the SSD or just don't like the shiny screen (and won't use a screen protector, since that would completely invalidate the matte coating in the 512GB version)

I always thought the 64GB model had the storate solderer, kinda like the 4GB Xbox 360 Slim back in the day. Kind of surprising its an actual separate unit.

Anyone else notice his shirt is a perfect color match to the chair in the background!?! 😂

I think the newest version of those sticks come with the sticks already soldered.

I have seen 1tb nvme for like 60 bucks, im sure they aren't the fastest around but hey it is what it us and still within the $80 bucks margin.

I personally have 3 micro sd cards i use and treat as game cartridges/libraries

Been a tech for 20 years. The plastic spudger is the best tool for opening things

I have never opened any electronics and put all the screws back in😂

where are your steamdeck and rog ally ultimate build videos?

sooooo. did you addd in the cost of that soldering station to your 80 dollar budget

Shouldn't the new joysticks be calibrated or is that already done in the factory?

A very realistic video when you try to upgrade something might go unexpectedly wrong like the fan. Nice job on the video!

just got a refurbished steam deck from gamestop for about $250 the other day so this is exactly the kind of content i needed

$320 that’s nothing.. I got my steam deck 256gb for £70 in cash converters. All I seen was a hard shell case in the cabinet, at first I thought it was for the switch and asked about it, description was gaming handheld. Asked to see it they said it’s being sold as spares or repairs as it came into the store with a fault. I asked what was wrong they simply said the touch screen didn’t work. I bought it thinking maybe it needs a new screen or whatever but ended up needing to get into the bios by pressing volume + and the power button and putting it on battery mode. Worked fine since 😊

Does upgrading ssd require any kind of install?

Aah I have found the one flaw " There's no screw in it" 😂

So for people thinking on buying/upgrading the Steam Deck, I actually did some mods on my Steam Deck, now that "refurbished" are available I would go with 64gb and then spend 80$ on 1tb 2230 ssd. Then the backplate to run the steam deck cooler, it can decrease temp by 10 degrees! and fan noise obviously. For the joysticks I don't recommend the upgrade until you have joystick drift as it's not actually a noticeable upgrade, at least for me.

If your planning on replacing the shell refurb seems like such a good deal

Bought an 1TB M2 for 90€ at amazon. now my old 64GB got an HUGE upgrade

I love the pokemon box holding the SD up lol

9:19 " thats what she said"

What does he use to test the output on the battery?

Damn, so those 100 or so tests don't include making sure the fan is good or making sure the gpu works properly? Still waiting on my rma on my refurbished deck.

If you can get a new steam deck for $360 during the sales, it's only a $40 difference to the refurb and I don't think it's worth going refurb at that price.

Just ordered the 64gb refurbished for $279 I’m hyped