Is a Steam Deck OLED Worth It in 2025?

squeeze on 30/06/2025 - 11:23
Last edited 30/06/2025 - 17:32 by 1 other user

Need some opinions from the gamers… considering getting a steam deck OLED

  • Not currently a big gamer, only have. A ps4 and play war zone on my mobile
  • spend too much time doom scrolling, hoping to replace with gaming which i think is more productive and I have a big backlog to get through now
  • in the past been big on AAA games, haven't ventured into indie yet

Whats holding me back?

Its a fair investment at around 1k, I'm concerned about whether it's too much for older tech.. and especially whether it's future proof. Very keen to play GTA6 when it comes out, but will this even be able to run it? Will it be eorth waiting to see if a good competitor or successor comes out? Should I just get the thing?

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Comments

  • Ryanek on 30/06/2025 - 11:36
    +3

    Personally, if I'm spending 1K on anything, I'd need to be 100%.

    • John Barosa on 30/06/2025 - 14:05
      +2

      Man. That's my opinion on GPUs, but I got negged 30.

  • mboy on 30/06/2025 - 11:37
    +11

    Very keen to play GTA6 when it comes out

    For one, GTA6 isn't launching on PC. There's currently no indication of how soon after the PS5 / Xbox Series X launch the PC port will release, but I doubt it'll happen within the first year. And if that's the case, it means you won't see GTA6 on PC until at least mid-2027.

    but will this even be able to run it?

    Highly doubt it.

  • Porker on 30/06/2025 - 11:40

    I've been also considering buying one. I did have an LCD Steamdeck and then changed to OLED. However, I ended up selling both as I got a ROG Ally which just covered all the games I was playing at the time.

    The reason I'm considering going back to OLED Steamdeck is for the trackpads and where I'm at with some from my games backlog.

    In my experience though, in terms of performance, the Steamdeck is aging and based on frames etc, may fall behind some of the other recent releases.

    Hard to say if you should get one now or wait for next iteration (suggested to be in 2027). As for me, I'd get one but again it's for specific game types as opposed to performance.

  • beltdrive on 30/06/2025 - 11:55

    spend too much time doom scrolling, hoping to replace with gaming which i think is more productive

    maybe take up reading, it'll be more enriching

    gaming isn't exactly productive

    • Kozhutki on 30/06/2025 - 15:46
      -1

      reading isn't productive either though

      • Charmoffensive on 01/07/2025 - 11:28

        Develops your vocabulary, comprehension, acquisition of writing styles, broadens perspectives and in the case of non-fiction, expands your general knowledge. How is that not productive?

        • Jofzar on 01/07/2025 - 12:45
          +1

          IMO as someone whos one of my main hobbies is reading, its only productive up to a point, then its just enjoyment. (not that there is a problem with this).

          I probably read too much…

          • Charmoffensive on 01/07/2025 - 16:20

            @Jofzar: I get ya. Sometimes you're reading the equivalent of fast food books and it's just for some mindless fun.

        • Kozhutki on 01/07/2025 - 17:10
          -2

          and that does what exactly? nice man, you can learn some big words and formulate a sentence, that isn't productivity

          • Charmoffensive on 02/07/2025 - 15:28

            @Kozhutki: Some people do jobs that require good communication skills. Think of words like the tools in your little toolbox; Sure you could use a hammer to solve 90% of your problems, but a greater variety of tools allows you to employ more elegant solutions and navigate more complicated spaces.

            • Kozhutki on 02/07/2025 - 19:47

              @Charmoffensive: but you're moving the goal posts to whatever argument you're trying to make. change the subject to whatever you want and it can be productive or unproductive, i dunno what your motive is

              • Charmoffensive on 03/07/2025 - 00:06

                @Kozhutki: You not understanding the concept of expanding your vocabulary being a worthwhile productive exercise isn't me "moving the goalposts", it's you being a stunning example of the dunning-kruger effect.

        • mboy on 01/07/2025 - 17:32
          +1

          Okay, but in the same vein, gaming develops skills in problem solving, strategic thinking, hand eye coordination, decision making, persistence, etc.

          Both reading and gaming can be productive - it just depends on what you’re reading or playing.

          • Charmoffensive on 02/07/2025 - 15:28

            @mboy: I agree completely.

            • Kozhutki on 03/07/2025 - 18:17

              @Charmoffensive: how do you agree to this when that's entirely my point that you can't seem to understand?

              • Charmoffensive on 03/07/2025 - 23:24

                @Kozhutki: Because you lack the vocabulary to articulate your point in any coherent and logical way. You also fundamentally misunderstood their point and confused it with your own drivel.

                • jk82 on 04/07/2025 - 15:05
                  +1

                  @Charmoffensive: Maybe @Kozhutki needs to read some more books. Or perhaps reach a happy medium and play a "visual novel" on the steamdeck :)

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 30/06/2025 - 11:57
    +2

    gta 6

    …look man they can prob optimise it OKAY but even games like cyberpunk on basic settings chug a bit and thats been out for ages.

    I guess if i squint its mint - there's a novelty to playing AAA games on the couch handheld

  • CascadeHush on 30/06/2025 - 12:58
    +2

    It can run in Stellar Blade

  • Baa on 30/06/2025 - 13:32
    +5

    I would say now is a great time to buy on on the 2nd hand market as prices are great.

    So long as you are accepting you are not going to be playing AAA titles, or playing them at reduced specs you wil be fine. Realistically I have played anything on it that I have played on my PC (Helldivers 2, KCD2, RDR2, Cyberpunk 2077, BG3). If it wasn't for SD I likely would have never passed BG3, I tend to either fully play a game on SD or fully on desktop, and not cross over too much.

    SD is hard to beat in terms of execution, sure there are other better specced devices but the SD just works and I have had no issues in 3/4 years on my LCD model. I have been tempted to upgrade for the OLED - but I probably don't use it enough to justify.

    • trustnoone on 30/06/2025 - 15:09

      I would say now is a great time to buy on on the 2nd hand market as prices are great.
      So long as you are accepting you are not going to be playing AAA titles

      This is my feel as well, if you get it second hand in good condition and you want to play your backlog of slightly older games then i think its a fantastic device. Games are so well priced on Steam and there is so much great content to play and Steam OS really makes it easier then before in making sure a lot of them work well enough.
      If the hope is to get it at $1K so that you can play GTA 6 and other AAA games as they come out. I'm not sure if its specced well enough to be worth it, I'd personally go another route.

  • YeemaiI on 30/06/2025 - 13:52

    Got my 512GB OLED for $600 on Marketplace, I think that was a great deal for what it is.

    And by the time GTA VI releases on PC, there'll be much better handhelds out there, the SD will likely be obsolete.

    • theguyrules on 01/07/2025 - 09:30

      My brother paid around the same. Barely used. Literally half what I paid for mine.

  • jv on 30/06/2025 - 14:27

    I wouldn't get one.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 30/06/2025 - 14:48

      is it because you're more a switch 2 type of operator?

  • wetsandwich on 30/06/2025 - 15:01

    Doesn't sound like you really want one? So no, don't waste the money.

  • Nutrino on 30/06/2025 - 17:02

    You may find 1 or 2 videos about it on youtube.

  • jaejae69 on 30/06/2025 - 18:49
    +2

    I use my SD purely as a way to burn through my JRPG backlog as I lie in bed before sleeping and for this it has been a revelation for me. So many games like Persona, Fantasian etc where I don’t want to sit at my actual desktop or even sofa to play but I will happily get in 30-60 minutes in bed each night. For all the AAA stuff I have my 4090 desktop or PS5 pro.

    The suspend feature also means I don’t need to worry much about save points.

  • recentt on 01/07/2025 - 07:29
    +2

    You might as well just wait until the Xbox Rog ally X comes out, or get the current ally x or lenovo. I think spending that much on steam decks older hardware is a bit much. Unless you dont mind playing older titles, and no gta 6 wont look good on that thing

  • Kayrhcp on 01/07/2025 - 08:16
    +1

    I’ve had the steam deck since ‘day 1’ in the USA and brought it back to AUS and my answer would be no.

    It’s an incredibly well made device, looks and plays really well for a gen 1 product of its age, and I don’t regret getting mine, but my answer would be no for you. There’s too many limitations to make it worth 1k for you.

    I won’t go into too many detail because it’s all down to the user. But :
    - it’s just not quite powerful enough to be worth that money in 2025, it’ll play older AAA games fine but at slightly compromised graphics (eg I played all of RDR2 on it and enjoyed it) but new AAA I wouldn’t expect to be worth playing on it without reducing the graphics so much it would be distracting.
    - I’m fine enough with Linux, have used it on and off since I was a kid, but the Linux back end on the steam deck is incredibly frustrating to have to use sometimes.
    - Despite what a lot of people say, it’s still prone to frustrating little bugs and annoying problems every now and then with the Linux back end or Steam OS, requiring restarts (eg pads stop working properly, or bootups take 5 min for inexplicable reasons)
    - still massive workarounds to play non-Linux compatible games like Minecraft Bedrock and others that a windows enabled device would do easily without issue.

    • jk82 on 01/07/2025 - 09:21
      +1

      I dunno mate, I've had a steamdeck for a couple of years now and haven't found any of that to be a problem. I never go into the "back-end" and even when I do it's super easy to download whatever it is I want then jump back into gaming mode. There's no need to tweak anything anyway, it all just works. for what it's worth I've never used Linux before.

      Sure, newer titles are locked to low settings and 30fps but they still look and play great, and that's kinda what playing on the switch was/is like anyway. I upgraded to the OLED as soon as that came out and that was a game changer for me as the screen is just so much better, as is the battery life.

      I'd say it's worth it. Sure performance isn't like the new Xbox Ally X or whatever the new ones are, but I think the performance improvements are so incremental anyway, and to the detriment of battery life. And the performance and battery you do get out of the current steamdeck is probably just under what the switch 2 is doing - which is a brand new machine.

    • squeeze on 01/07/2025 - 09:22

      Appreciate the thoughts. And i think i agree.

      Might just get a pS5 (and maybe a PS PORTAL if im missing the handheld factor)

  • Oztx on 01/07/2025 - 09:38
    +3

    Really depends on what you are planning to do with it.

    I have a Gaming PC but since I got the Steam Deck OLED I barely use the PC.

    Steam Deck is just more comfortable as a pick and play gaming device. You have to manage your expectations though, new-ish Triple AAA games (>4-5 years old) run absolutely dog shit on steam deck. Older AAA games runs ok-ish with low-medium settings. e.g. Witcher 3 DX12 runs with a mix of low-medium settings runs stable 45fps, the game is gorgeous though even on low settings, other games might not fare so well.

    Indie games and emulation games run extremely well on the deck.

    So yeah, I do spend more time with the deck nowadays but i definitely wish it has more power. If you can wait until next year, I think we will see way more powerful devices that run steamOS

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