this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2024
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Steam Deck

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A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.

Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.

As Lemmy doesn't have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
[Flair] My post title

The following is a list of suggested flairs:
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[Meta] - Discussion about this community.

Some more Steam Deck specific flairs:
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cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/3922769

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/RevolutionaryAd8204 on 2024-09-14 15:50:43+00:00.

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[–] OwlPaste@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (13 children)

Can you actually use steamdeck as a desktop PC though? Can it drive dual external monitors? Is it a reasonable "minipc" type thing? How much power does it munch on in idle?

Can I maybe put some other linux distro on it? So many questions

[–] Zangoose@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago (6 children)

I have a Steam deck, here's the answers to my knowledge:

  1. Yes, you can connect a keyboard and mouse, and even in SteamOS they let you access KDE in a separate "Desktop mode"

  2. Not sure about multiple monitors but you can connect at least one. There are docks made for it to do just that (the USB C cable has display port support I think)

  3. It runs a 4 core/8 thread AMD laptop chip so assuming you get a mouse/keyboard it should work pretty well.

  4. It has a 5W mode in the power settings in SteamOS so I'm assuming around that much at idle.

  5. You can put other distros on it, it's completely unlocked. You could even put Windows on it if you wanted. I'm not sure how easy the install process is though since I've just left SteamOS on mine.

[–] yukijoou@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not sure about multiple monitors

Most usb-c ports with DP alt mode support up to 1 monitor at 4k@60Hz, or 2×1080p@60Hz, and I believe 2×1440p@30Hz. It comes down to bandwidth, so I think that as long as you're fine with one monitor running at a slower refresh-rate or lower resolution, you can have your primary screen displaying in high-res.

Of course, you have to also take into consideration the GPU performance, running higher resolutions will usually degrade performance!

[–] Zangoose@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Probably not great for games but it could totally drive a 1440p or even 4k monitor if you're only using it for web/office/media playback. I'm curious to know if other people are using it as a general computer.

Edit: some people are totally using it as a general computer: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/09/frame-of-mind-developer-ended-up-coding-the-game-on-steam-deck-for-a-year/

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