Steam Deck OLED Review - 1 MONTH Later... is it worth it? 

Hey Chaps! Which would you buy? (Steam deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go?) - CORRECTION: Legion Go does not support VRR!

I got mine at launch and I literally fell in love. The best thing are the console-like experience, the quick resume and the battery life. For my backlog of not too demanding games, is absolutely gorgeous. Even though I have a PS5 and a couple of PCs, i started playing regularly thanks to it.

I recently bought the OLED steam deck and it really is an incredible piece of tech paired with steam OS. Unsupported games generally work and I ran my deck through a bunch of older PC ports around the 360/ps3 era with great results. Plays Yakuza and FromSoftware games with ease. Supports PS5 remote in HDR and can run Xbox game pass. I think this is the ultimate companion piece for gamers who have everything and an amazing console for the rest of us.

The trackpads are actually significantly different (at least between my two Steam Decks). The LCD feels very squishy and soft compared to the OLED which doesn’t move whatsoever. It’s very much reminiscent of the solid state trackpads that MacBooks have. It’s great.

I thought I would never getting into handheld gaming, but the oled has finally opened my eyes and I love it

Good review, but you're mistaken on the suspend feature. The quick resume feature is the main reason I prefer my steam deck over my Ally. You can just push the power button and it's back where you left it unlike the windows handhelds which are very unpredictable

The only annoying thing is that the steam deck is less available then rog ally. In some country's

What do you mean at 11:35? The Deck OLED does resume the game where you left off when you lock it

Sold my LCD 64gb to upgrade to the 512gb OLED when it came out. Best decision I've ever made. It's become my favorite gaming device and console of all time, beating my two previous favorites which were the LCD Deck and the Switch before that.

I got a 1TB OLED steamdeck a couple of weeks ago. I'm absolutely in love with it, especially the flexibility desktop mode gives me as a power user.

Just wanted to say, the way you opened the video with your honest opinions of the OG SD perfectly matched my own. I thought your opening was absolutely spot on.

For a proper apples to apples comparison you should've matched TDPs between deck and Ally as well. Sure you cab push the Ally to 25w but your battery is going to disappear in 40 mins. And that for me was the difference. The deck has similar performance to the Ally at 15w (better in some games worse in others) and way better battery life. This means that when traveling I can play over 4 hours of Witcher 3 or 6 hours of Vampire Survivors or Death Must Die.

Great video! 👍 I have been lucky and got the SD OLED for Christmas. I was super nervous as I have never touched anything PC related as it was daunting to me and only used to the Xbox or PlayStation.. plus I’m old(48) and not very tech savvy. However after watching lots of amazing RU-vid channels like yours, I have fallen in love with it. I love that I have been able to totally change the look of the Home Screen with Decky Loader and set up remote play with my PS5. I am converted and now can’t wait to try games like Cookie Cutter.. 👍

Thank you for this. This and another video you posted helped me decide on what to get. 😊

Had a question regarding the 512gb steam deck oled regarding the panel used and the dead pixels ? Also headphone jack issues ? Sorry for the bothering, these things are appearing on RU-vid alot and if I get one with these issues won't be able to get a replacement due my location. Would appreciate the guide

The amazon link of the product in the description, is this a trusted seller? saw some comments claiming they received the older version (not oled)

I’ve just ordered one and looking forward to playing some of my steam library again.

Is there a difference whether I get the anti-glare etched glass edition or simply putting on an anti glare screen protector on the glossy OLED screen?

I do love my 256GB LCD Steam Deck. Debated upgrading but held off for now. The trackpads are so nice for older PC games and navigating the desktop is awesome. SteamOS is lovely and is mostly pretty simple to get other games to run and add them to Steam. For intensive AAA games where the Steam Deck sometimes suffers from thermal throttling (because I like to push the graphics settings) on sustained high temperatures, streaming via Moonlight has been awesome. Since the Deck is only 720p, my modest RX 580 can stream AAA games at Ultra graphics settings to my Deck. No heat, more battery, and awesome graphics. Configured Wake on LAN to turn on my gaming PC and then activates Steam Big Picture. But then it's still running on my gaming PC, if I sleep my Deck. I am very curious though about the thermal improvements due to less power draw on the OLED. Without FSR, does your OLED thermal throttle at Medium/High on Spider-Man Remastered?

Hey, newbie to PC gaming here, and looking at the Steam Deck OLED as my entry: am I right in saying the Steam Deck plays Steam games (obviously), RetroArch/EmuStation for emulation, and Xbox Gamepass? All three?

Does the screen dim/black out when downloading? I am worried about OLED screen burn vs LCD.

Doesn't the overlay frame rate limiter add considerable input lag? I can't use it on my LCD model because of this issue.

I travel a lot for business. For me the Steam Deck OLED is great for ease of use and value, screen does look incredible, but the Ally is literally a mini PC (& only £100 or so more), can run any games library I want and has more power. So I went with the Ally, going to hook it up to hotel TVs and have a mini games/media station wherever I go,

I bought the Steam Deck OLED from the US. I live in India, but my wife traveled to the US for work, and she is bringing it. She is returning this weekend. So excited for the Steam Deck OLED. I was torn between the ROG Ally and Steam Deck OLED. I finally sided with the Steam Deck OLED due to ease of use that everyone is talking about, OLED screen, and terrific support that Steam is offering. However, I do like the ROG Ally for its more compact size, 1080p screen (which can come in handy when using Windows for other tasks), and 120Hz (again, while using Windows UI/apps). Maybe I will also buy the ROG Ally 2 when it comes out maybe in the next two years?

7:37 pretty sure that B button is sticking for most people, but people who actually use it on a daily basis know that that the B button will work itself out the more you play with it.

Still stuck between the Ally and Oled- almost the same price where I'm from. looking forward to your comparison to nudge me in either direction.

The Ally is more powerful, but I'd rather have OLED at 800p 90 than LCD at 1080p 120, and I'd definitely prefer to not have the battery life of a Game Gear, because I'm maxing out my Ally's possible power.

The fact the OLED can play Halo on 60fps constantly now is why I bought the OLED. Also, I can play all my other games no problem with the OLED. I play mostly higher fidelity games too.

Was a Q1 Steam Deck LCD user, then I upgraded to the Limited Edition Steam Deck OLED and my usage has gone up like 1000%. The OLED is a masterclass in handhelds. Handhelds are meant to be easy to use, less fiddling required, and to last as long as possible before recharging. Having games like Tales of Arise, give me 5+ hours of gameplay before dying as well as 6+ on emulated games means its perfect for visits to the mechanic, airport/airplanes, trains, basically any sort of long commute. I swear by my Steam Deck and as cool as the others are and as powerful as they are, the Steam Deck community also just works so much harder to continuously make this handheld godlike.

I feel like Cyberpunk was generally optimized for Steam Deck with recent updates and it runs better than before on both versions. Same with BG3 in Act 3.

I thought I wanted the OLED model, as I wasn't a fan of the screen on my 512gb LCD model with its thick bezels and it's lack of vibrancy. Turns out all I needed was a killswitch case and a screen protector as now the bezels feel perfectly proportioned with the beefy case and the screen protector has eliminated the frosted glass look, which I feel makes the display look all the more vibrant. Just something for those to consider if you've already got an LCD steam deck before you see the green eyed monster

How is the wifi connection compared to the ps5 portal? I recently bought a ps5 portal and man what a waist of money. I just keep lagging no matter what I do.... so I'm looking for something better

Whats the graphic setting on those performance test?

As someone with the deck, ally (have returned) and go, it’s fair to say the deck is my go-to when I want burn some time. It’s just amazing that I can get the urge to play older console games and have them loaded in seconds. The screen is beautiful and gives you great performance for emulation and indy games. I also really love how big and supportive the deck community is for the best possible experience. That being said, I could never recommend it to someone who enjoys a large variety of games that include AAA. The deck struggles to play big titles even at the lowest settings. The Ally/Go can actually play demanding games at above average settings, and with windows having far more functionality, can use it for a lot more than just gaming. I’d never replace my gaming PC with one, but I use my Legion Go as a PC tablet every day.

Is it as easy to control as a PS5/XBOX controller? If for example you play Destiny or COD are you going to be as accurate with your shots as you would using a standard controller? I’m slightly put off because of how far apart the controls are

Which mic do u use?

What did u mean about the framerate auto double? I’m confused

Can i transfer data from my laptop to steam deck to play my allready owned games ? Without steam?

Got my oled today and it’s awesome. The only problem with my ally is the card slot. It keeps failing.

This is the updated version i waited for. The first SD seemed like a work in progress and this seems like the product it was aiming for to be. Now im actaully really interested to get into handheld gaming 😮

I hope when Tom tests these handhelds he doesn't just slam them all to max power draw to compare them. How they function as portables away from power is a major part of how I made my purchase decision at least.

Please is this device better than rog ally for fifa 23 and EA24?

I don't get the statement at 2:05 regarding not being able to use a microphone in game on the original Steam Deck. I have a pair of ROG bluetooth earbuds and the microphone works just fine for chatting in game..Great video though, OLED looks absolutely class!

As a long time steamdeck owner I recently had the opportunity to hold and shortly test an ROG ally in a Big box store and I must say it did not feel premium to me. The steamdeck by comparison feels very solid.

Wasn't the battery of the first steam deck still much better than competitors? More specifically talking about low-power modes

Have an ROG Ally after gifting my OG Steam Deck to a friend. I now let my partner primarily use the Ally and I’ve gone back to the Steam Deck OLES as my primary. Quick resume is just too convenient for pick up and play sessions especially for JRPGs (Persona 5 atm) Hoping Steam OS comes to other handhelds so I can enjoy that crisp 1080p text again.

1. Saying a Lenovo product is future proof is the showing lack of knowledge about Lenovo post-release products' support. 2. 50 minutes battery on 25w and no sleep option make these Windows consoles totally impractical.

I can’t afford the new oled model, so I just bought the 512gb lcd model for $300. Is it still a good machine? Should I have waited until I could afford the oled or is the lcd model still great?

Don't forget the Ally can get a 2280 M.2 mod to add bigger ones and I suppose both the Ally and Go can use autoTDP if one only plays more indie style games. Doubling battery life in many games, like Hades. Plus EmuDeck essentially can turn these two into a deck clone in many ways. Requires more work to keep running, but once it's up it is pretty good experience!

I just ordered the OLED 1TB .. super excited for it !!!

i got a LE 1 tb oled steam deck and its amazing haven’t put it down since it came out lol the battery life is great too

Thanks for the quality content!

Still using the LCD Deck and loving it. While I'm used to PC gaming which doesn't need to worry about battery life, Steam Deck 2-3 hours battery life is enough for a dad with 3 months old baby like me.

How can you get the games??

i've heard that the anti-glare coating mutes the OLED screen a little bit...

Can it stream from PC - so I get full gaming-power of my RTX4080 at my couch?

I went with the 512gb since I personally don’t love etched screens, especially for touch screens. I’ll be upgrading the ssd when it arrives.

What racing game are you playing?

Not available in the southern hemisphere especially Australia, which is big market missed opportunity Valve. Lucky I was able to get one through a 3rd party supplier with warranty within the 3rd party. My reason buying the OLED is to clear the backlog I can’t bother sitting on a desk to games.

I told myself I wasn’t gonna get one… I got the 1tb model last week lol. It looks so damn good. I did some comparisons on Elden ring and other games and it looks beautiful. I think I’ll be keeping my LCD because it’s pretty damn cool tech.

What are the Games at 2:26 & 3:40, please. Thx

It won't be long before I have one but I really only see praise. Which is excellent. For me the icing on the cake is the battery life and the screen but from what I see it will be a great purchase.

Avid rocket league player here. How does it hold up on deck? I didn’t play it on my lcd but I’m considering it now that I have the OLED.

Literally been thinking about getting one

Bluetooth earphones with microphones wasn't a problem on the LCD Deck, it worked fine. The issue you may have gotten confused by on the LCD Deck was that you couldn't use "wired" headphones with the "internal" microphone. If you plugged in wired headphones on the LCD Deck, it would assume that there was an inline mic, with no ability to force it to use the internal mic. This is fixed on the hardware-side in the OLED Deck, but still a bit clunky currently on the software-side - it still defaults to assuming an in-line mic, and there is no way to switch it in Game mode (it's not the audio device itself, but like a sub-setting of the audio device), so you have to go to Desktop mode to switch it to use the internal mic whenever you plug in headphones.

Sticking with my original deck but would jump in on this OLED for sure if I didn't already have that.

I have the LCD model and im fine with it and also owned the rog ally but mine had way to many issues after 2 days retuned it.

Is it true that steam deck oled can last 3 hrs of playing triple a games like elden ring?

How are you playing rocket league i thought you cant run epic games store on here ? Is it possible to access my EGS library ?

I'm waiting for the Steam Deck 2, it will be much more worth it in my opinion.

While other devices may be slightly more powerful and I won't lie I'm a bit envious of VRR displays, but other than that the Steam Deck, to me, is a more complete device with a much better interface and more stable platform for the time being with more features. I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with Windows, just that alone is worth so much to me. The quick resume from suspend is vital to this kind of portable device, especially since I tend to play maybe 10-20 min then take a break (have a small kid at home).

How are you playing Rocket League on the Steam Deck? It doesn’t seem to be on Steam and so are you using an emulator?

Very interested in the Steam Deck OLED.. But I already love my original Steam Deck I may have to pass and wait for the next generation to release with faster CPU/GPU and hopefully with an OLED screen.

Probably an odd question but willl this be able to play GTA 6 when it comes out? I don;t want to buy a new console for a single game but if I do I need to be able to play it on planes or on the go.

Really want a steamdeck slim without touchpad and make it arround 1.2 lbs!

I gotta say what with work and such ive been gaming less and less. I picked up a used steam deck 512 and play red dead 2 with my wife now on the train. It only takes 30w to charge while gaming means i can take a small solar palel i have,100w, and a battery bank. I can ride my bike out somewhere secluded, put up a hammock in the shade and game all weekend. Its soo nice. Its my primary system now. I guarantee if you get any of the 3 and your a gameboy fan, youll love it.

5:55 The Legion Go isn't VRR why do so many people say this 🤦‍♂️ It takes two seconds to figure this out

hopefully next gen hendheld pc's use the new Snapdragon X Elite chip, curious how it performs

1:00 anyone know which game that is ?

I feel so betrayed by buying the 64GB LCD version when it first came out 😢 but I guess that how tech works, we can never catch up enough with it

Note that the removable liner in the carry case is ONLY available if you purchase the 1TB model. The 512GB comes with the standard case. Love my OLED, but still waiting on WiFi and sound drivers for my Windows partition :(

Went for the Ally hoping for SteamOS rollout in the future. 😅

I've had my 512oled for about a month now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Upgraded internal SSD to 2tb and have a 512gb SD card to run emulators. Fills gap nicely for me owing a PS5 and no gaming PC.

I love my original steam deck but an oled would be nice wish they got rid of the black bars around the screen aswell

Lime you I wasnt a fan if the first steam deck. I even returned it. But the new Oled i love. Been hooked

just can't imagine this already great battery life with an add undervolting of -20 mw on all 3 levels , wow

I have a 1tb Oled, kind of think they should of made these things out of aluminum, probably would come out to about the same weight

11:35 Bruh, both LCD and OLED Decks auto-resume games where you left them, even on emulators... And that's one of the significant advantages of Linux over Windows too.

My 2024 resolution is to play far more PC games this year (I was console-only until now). That being said I do kinda like the idea of having a SteamDeck as a sort of supplement. For example I have FF4 3D, which from what I can gather is stuck at 20fps. FF4 is also one of my favourite games. So then... PC for the big releases (FFXIV for example), SteamDeck for the smaller titles. That kinda deal. I'd also likely try to get emulators on there too. Dragon Quest 8 on the go that isn't on mobile or 3DS? Let's go!

To note, you seemed to imply you cant upgrade the 512gb steam deck storage other than using an SD card, you can change out the M.2 if I'm not mistaken Additionally you can install windows onto the steam deck if you want (although I have heard there are some issues lately involved in doing so)

Ordered Steam Deck OLED 512GB. Also have Quest 3 and RTX 3090 desktop gaming PC 😅

What's the other red phone to his left he never picked up? 😅

Ordered the 512GB OLED model, arrives this week. I’m very excited 🎉😁

Steam OS' suspend resume is the single most important killer feature a gaming handheld should have. Having a Windows laptop shrunk into a handheld is not what I'm looking for in a portable gaming handheld.

I've had an ROG Ally, Steam Deck, Legion Go.. And im going to be honest, the Legion Go is the best handheld PC i ever used.

If games adapt/apply the new FSR3 fps wont really be a problem anymore even if the chip is slower than the others.

Waiting on the OLED to go on sale to buy the 1TB.

These steam deck reviews that have gameplay of Rocket League should specify that it’s from their steam library before the epic buyout. Or that it was from installing epic via desktop and then added as a non steam game. I would recommend the windows portables if Rocket league is a game you choose to play on these devices and you’re coming from a console like the ps5 or Xbox series

If the ROG Ally had an OLED screen, and a touch of a better battery, it’d be my go-to.

Ah, I should've waited before jumping the gun on the first gen Steam Deck!