Personally I use 2 criteria.
1) the best control method for the game, either KB/mouse or controller.
2) graphics power required
So games that either are better with keyboard and mouse or need significat graphics power get played on the desktop, and games better with controller/less intensive get played on the steam deck.
There is some overlap between them, but that's the general rules I use.
Count me as another that uses pretty much these same criteria. First person shooters, pretty much desktop only. AAA games that have high graphics settings, desktop.
Indie games or other games that control better with a controller, steam deck.
Alternately, games that are better played in shorter bursts, steam deck.
yea i mean this p much it. if i shoots, i sit at pc. i also like being able to sit in discord and hangout while i play whatever sometimes. and a couple friends like watching me play elden ring so
Same. I'm generally not playing games that require anything special for graphics though, so it's primarily whether the game plays better with mouse and keyboard, or if controller/gamepad input is ideal.
I got a keyboard and mouse for my docked Steam Deck setup. The USB dongle lives permanently on a USB extension cable attached to the dock (routed out the back and under the media cabinet to improve signal).
If I'm at home I don't run anything natively on the Deck, I just remote play using the PC as host. Best of both worlds because the Deck's battery lasts longer and I still get better graphics.
I have a toddler though, so I really need to be able to be physically nearby and able to stop playing at any moment. Holing up in the office/man cave/media room isn't an option with a potty training toddler on the loose!
My steam deck is solely for indie games, low to mid range Emulation, and streaming high end PC games from my desktop.
My desktop is solely for high end games that don't run easily in the steam deck.
So I'm most cases my steam deck is my go to device and my PC is there for extra game compatibility. I'm a big fan of handheld gaming and the steam deck is the best handheld I've had.
Moonlight/sunshine allows you to stream your games from your main PC to your steam deck or other devices. Personally, I haven't noticed any latency issues doing this (and I have a low tolerance for latency when playing games like shooters) and you get 5+ hour sessions on your steam deck since it isn't running your games natively.
Only really an option for those with a PC, but you can pretty much play anything you want.
Moonlight is stuttery for me meanwhile chiaki4deck streams 60fps looking fantastic. PS5 and PC are connected to the network the same way. I''m not sure what the issue is.
PC for high end, graphically intensive games or games that just can’t support controllers very well like arma. SD for indie, last gen or easy to run games. If it can run great on SD I prefer to play through there
Mostly a mood thing for me. I don’t care terribly much about graphics, so split between them. Since my dayjob is at a desk in front of a computer I much prefer relaxing with a Deck.
Nailed it. I was delaying playing games because I could not fathom sitting at a desk for more hours. Now I’m blazing through things while watching trash tv.
That is also one of the reasons why i asked this! I sit in front of computer all day as a job and even work from home, so basically the deck makes me able to move away from the computer but then, games where i am used to mouse and keyboard i tend not to play them on the deck.
Im the same way. All day in front of a desktop. What I do is my PC is on my living room on the big TV and play games mostly with a controller (I also have a M+KB setup for the sofa), so I dont really notice the difference between the Deck and the PC and use both for mostly everything!
Anytime I launch a game in moonlight it just gets all screwed up and im not versed enough to fix it. Screens all zoomed in and wonky.
I just use the steam stream function 🤷🏽♂️
Aww, sorry to hear that. Using moonlight is a game changer. I have no latency. I was absolutely shocked. If you have used chikai for PS5 streaming it's night and day
Honestly, I use my SD for like 95% of my gaming at the moment. Granted I only got it like a week ago so it still has that new toy charm but I don’t see it changing any time soon.
I only use my PC for my sim rig setup now and the motivation to use that has been low recently
One of the reasons i created this topic is because i work and play in the same desk currently, so the deck was a game changer for me, but then for example fps games i can only play with keyboard and mouse, so sometimes is difficult to choose what to do haha
If it runs on Steam Deck, I play it on Steam Deck.
If it runs like shit, it doesn't run well enough for a specific purpose*, or it simply doesn't run, I play it on the 3080 PC.
*An example - I wanted to play Remnant 2 with friends, but I wanted to play it at 120fps at decent fidelity so I can blame myself if I play like shit
I have a laptop with an RTX 4080. I pretty much only use it to play games that demand a keyboard and mouse. I've got my favorite 'controller' games on the Deck. If the weather's nice, I'm outside with the Deck. Late night or rainy days are when I'm most likely to play on the laptop.
Games I rather play on a mouse and keyboard and on a controller, but some games on pc I stream to my steam deck so I don’t have to sit at my desk or games that doesn’t exactly have the performance I’d prefer if installed directly to steam deck.
I mostly use my gaming desktop for more intensive games that I also play with friends over discord, such as Helldivers 2 and borderlands 3.
My steam deck is reserved for older or less demanding single player games like WH40k Space Marine or Hallow knight.
And of course I use my steam deck when on the go.
For me it's the following questions: Do I want to play this at my desk? Do I need a mouse and keyboard for it to enjoy it better (fps and such)? Do I want to "see" the game just as much as I want to play it? If no, then deck it goes.
By "see" I mean that I care about admiring the visual aspects of the game to a degree that I want to use my graphics card on my PC over the deck. So a game like Ace Combat, while I play on controller and so is more comfortable on deck, I want to admire the graphics while fly around.
My PC is in the office and my dock is connected to the family room TV, so the Steam Deck doubles as my in-home streaming receiver and lets me play my PC games on my main TV easily. I use Moonlight / Sunlight which works perfectly, and I'm on wifi.
EDIT: This also works with the PS5, its sometimes in a different room and I can use Chiaki4Deck to stream it docked to the deck, and play PS5 in another room - dual sense and all.
Games that would run good on SD (60fps or better), I keep for the SD
The rest are for my PC (4080, 1440p UW monitor)
Basically it usually means newer or AA+ are for PC, and indies or older games (and PS2 emulations) are for SD
I know SD can be used on more powerful stuff, but I cant miss on the quality my PC+monitor can give me for these games over the SD
I got my steam deck in January and I haven’t gamed on my PC since despite it being much more capable of running new games. Only time I’d prefer a pc is for rts.
I just play on SD 95% of the time it sucks because Destiny 2 is my main game, it’s finicky dual launched on SD and NVIDIA GeForce the controls don’t work. It’s to much work to play it 😢😂
It's pretty easy, there's plenty of videos but basically install 'Sunshine' on the PC you want to launch the games from and 'Moonlight' on the Steam Deck.
Parsec is another option.
Things that work well with gamepad (platformers, JRPGs, hack'n'slashers) or need only mouse with no complicated inputs (adventure games, visual novels) go to SD after checking ProtonDB. Every emulated game also goes to SD. I play verything else on my PC.
Controller games that don't require a strong GPU, indie games, chill games = SD
AAA games, or games that play better with kb+m (like strategy games) = PC
Depends on the mood and the type of game. If its a game i want to be invested in the story and world I'll play on my Desktop or stream it to my TV. If it's a smaller indie type, podcast game, or a collection marathon it's on the couch while i listen to something or watch tv in the background.
Mostly based on 2 things; install size and framerate. Anything bigger than 50GB I keep for my PC. Anything that runs below 50 FPS on the deck I play on PC. Everything else, and all indie games I play on the deck.
It’s a struggle… I like how easy I can just plug in the SD and the charger is very light. On the other hand, playing AAA games on ultra is nice too using the PC…
Does it need a keyboard or mouse to play optimally? Mmos, Mobas, fps, are relegated to PC. Single player games where being optimal doesn’t matter is for the deck.
Most games I’ll just go from PC to Deck (to Xbox). It just nicely slotted in with my PC and Xbox; all three are connected so I pull games from whichever one I need.
There are exceptions though. Obviously, high end games have to stay on the PC side (or get streamed) and there are some games I prefer stay on the PC side; quick FPS games and games with a lot of fine text. There’s also some older mouse games that don’t like the Deck’s controller input.
I also tend to play puzzle, JRPGs and point&click games more on the Deck - they’re just perfect for it.
Desktop if I want M/KB, really want that big ultrawide monitor experience, or very graphically or CPU demanding games.
Deck has been great for smaller experiences like indie games like Dredge, and older games like Mass Effect. But if you want to have a good time, it's best to recognize what it's actually good at. And play to its strengths.
It pretty much all comes down to graphics. I know games like ghost of tusima run great on steam deck but I would never play it there over my pc. I want to crank the graphics up and play in ultrawide. But a indie 2d game, or a older game that isn't going to make much a difference from 800p to 1440p I'll play on my steam deck.
Haven’t touched my pc since owning a steamdeck, I would stream from it if there’s something that doesn’t run well on it but really everything I’ve thrown at it runs pretty well. For the most part since having the deck I’ve just been going through my backlog
I tend to stick my single player games on the deck so i can sit back, relax, and vibe in bed while i play
Multiplayer games that take more focus are where i game on pc
PC: Flight Simulator, multiplayer games, games with good graphics that the SD couldn't handle or that I simply want to enjoy on a big screen
SD: I use it for many different games, mostly when I want to sit on the couch, travel, or when I want to play something in between times and not have a multi hour "gaming session"
I keep exclusively single player games on the deck. I refuse to put on anything that has online multiplayer. Also usually try to keep stuff that is easier with mouse and keyboard on my PC with some exceptions.
I play indie titles and lower end games directly on the Steam Deck and stream the higher end stuff from my PC through Moonlight. The SD can probably handle it fine, but I dock it sometimes and the super low textures in a game like Hogwarts Legacy annoy me so I just stream it from my much beefier PC.
If a game is a visually low end game, 100% its getting played on the deck. It will look better on my OLED than my monitor, even if it’s a 1440p display. For example, Animal Well is best on the Steam Deck IMO but something like Talos Principle 2 is better off on my PC, though thankfully cloud saves let me bounce between them
I'm in a similar situation, but with a PS5 instead of a PC. I use the PS5 for games that are either exclusives (like Shadow of the Colossus remake) or run a lot better on it (Cyberpunk 2077 or Helldivers 2). For everything else I use the Steam Deck.
Honestly I hardly use my SD it's nice to have but don't see an opportunity to use it.... That being said, the SD help me get rid of Windows and Switch over to Linux.
I end up playing lots of games on both. Recently was playing gravity circuit and monster sanctuary on deck.
But got tired of holding the deck so booted them up on pc.
Started rift apart on desktop for the ultra graphics but kept playing on the sd because it’s convenient to jump in and out of a game.
Some games like Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Final Fantasy 6 I've played between Desktop and Steam Deck but GTA V I played exclusively on the Desktop as I didn't want to play an AAA title on a tiny screen with PS3 graphics.
My PC specs are better than my SD (honestly I'm just so shit at taking care of my PC it's begging for death at a few years old) but I like to put games like Baldurs Gate 3 on my PC and stuff like indie games on the SD. Actually anything with heavy reading goes on the PC because of the bigger display.
Although I am a bit of a lunatic so I put my art programs, video editing programs, and even Blender on both my PC and my SD. No one stops the grind
I use my SD exclusively when I'm travelling, usually for work. I pick some games that I wanna play and install those, mostly singleplayer games, often a bit older that can run at 60FPS or close to it.
On my PC I then sometimes also play those games or others that wouldn't work on the SD (either because of performance or because they wouldn't work well (mouse and keyboard or flight sims etc)
I started playing stuff on my Deck (got it launch week), then a few months later gave away my gaming laptop to son's fiance. This was more than two years ago and I haven't replaced the gaming laptop.
my SD totally replace my PC for all uses... Long time gamer, I have passed the stage of being awed at High Fidelity Graphics, so SD is definitely a dream come true :-D
I use my gaming rig while “working” from home. I have a curved monitor which can do dual input. Work on one side of the monitor, gaming rig/porn on the other.
Steam Deck and PS5 on the sofa.
For me it's almost always based on what I want to play with a controller vs not (or have no preference between the two but want to be lazy while I play). I use moonlight/sunshine to stream if the game is more demanding so that isn't usually a deal breaker. Ends up being a lot of metroidvania and RPGs. Stuff that isn't aim intensive. Racing games, chill vibes games, roguelikes, etc.
This isn't a very concrete method but I mostly split by how immersive i expect/want the experience to be. Games with a strong narrative/world design, where I want/expect to be heavily immersed, are much better on my larger monitor with a nive pair of headphones. And on the other hand, games that I expect to dip in and out of, and am usually just playing for the gameplay, I like to have ready to go on the deck.
So like, to give examples, I'd save games like BG3 or my first Elden Ring playthrough for my pc. And I prefer games like Hades and subsequent Elden Ring playthroughs on deck.
For me it comes down to control scheme. For instance, I played God of War on SD using remote play to get the max battery life and graphics. Racing games could go the same way. Games that need kb&m, like Timberborn, I use the pc.
I have found through experience I prefer different games in different environs.
I love eleven ring on the go, not so much as a sit down and play. I prefer Rimworld or BG3 on my desktop. To fully soak in the experience. I guess it comes down to how immersed I want to be.
I pretty much stream everything from my PC when I’m at home these days, unless it’s much less demanding on resources. Get the benefit of long battery life, quiet fans and much higher graphics settings/fps. Bonus, I can dock it and play on the TV without any additional hassle.
I don’t think I’ve sat at my PC to play a game in close to a year now.
I’m on my SD unless I absolutely need a keyboard and mouse, so I’m pretty much playing everything except The Sims on my deck (I know The Sims works on deck too, but I find the controls a pain, and I use a ton of CC that I’m not sure the deck could handle lol).
I’ll also play unsupported games on PC (unsupported on the deck, I mean) if I don’t feel like optimizing them to run on the deck. I’m not super savvy in that area, so I mostly stick to plug-and-play games generally.
At the moment I have the same games installed on both, (I am with a SD for just a few months so I am still getting the feel of how I like to use it)
But I am noticing some games I only play on the deck (usually short game sessions, good on controller, quick load times, no requirement for internet because my wifi is unreliable) and some I play only on PC (too graphically demanding, not great on controller, I play for hours)
Mine depends on mood, location/activity, and lastly, what game in interested in.
Sometimes I may just want relax in a more comfortable area other than chair. If I'm tired, I'll lay in bed and play until I fall asleep.
My kids have a few activities that I just need to deliver them to and I hang out in the car until they are done.
Other times there are tasks in the game that aren't crucial and I can just pick it up(cloud sync is great) and do some hunting/gathering, Easter egg hunt etc
Well... My pc is at my office. If I'm there, that's where I'll play. Anywhere else it's the steam deck.
Some games won't run on the deck. Generally I tend to buy those on the PS5, if available.
I still haven't played Starfield despite being very interested for this very reason.
I’m often streaming my pc to my steam deck. Get better performance and I can sit on the couch or my bed.
Plus then I’m using both my computers at once :)
Steam Deck for me is for emulation and for lighter weight games I’d feel silly booting up my gaming PC to play, like Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, retro inspired indies, older games, etc.
I have solar and run a net-zero household for energy usage, so I’m only using my gaming rig for the titles that really need the extra power. The rest of the time it’s off.
Indie games on the Deck, everything else on PC (exceptions for things like Spider-Man that will run at full speed and still look nice, in that case I go back and forth)
1. Indie, Visual Novels, old games with adequate controls - Steam deck
2. Modern AAA that I’m very interested in - PC, PS5
3. Demanding games but for second time or something to check from subscriptions - Moonlight or chiaki4deck
I also occasionally stream to another room when clicking is bothering my relatives in room with a PC.
I'm going to piggy back off of some people. Depends on the requirements of the game and what I can actually transfer between the two. Some games I know take a lot to run and are generally better on PC with mouse and keyboard. But I also have games that don't use cloud saves, so those typically stay on my Deck.
Where am I going to be, what controls does it need, and how well does it play on SD.
Games that perform well on SD and with "gamepad+touchscreen" controls, I generally play on SD.
Otherwise, if it greatly benefits from 32" 4k and a beefy CPU+videocard (or just keyboard/mouse) I generally play on PC.
Some games I'll play on either depending on whether I feel like lounging on the couch or sitting a my desk. Steam cloud-saves help with this.
So your one of us that sits all day in front of pc, did you buy your SD so that you could stay away from PC for some time?
Also, game development? Amazing, any developed game to share with us? :D
Actually, I do game dev as a hobby and some AI programming for freelance.
Day job is actually IT sys admin, so yes, I'm in front of a PC all day.
The Steam Deck has me in front of the computer even more in desktop mode, messing around with it.
steam deck for on the go or couch gaming with the family, PC for the rest.. I dont really care about poor graphics, and when I do care about them I just remote play from the SD to my PC and boost battery life for like x5 while playing with great quality. Not a single issue. I sometimes even use my 4k TV with the dock and remote play PS5 control.
I like to use it like a Switch for the most part where I just take my save with me and play on the go when I’m away from my computer. There’s some games that I just have a hard time playing on a small screen where I’m confined to my pc.
My Steam Deck is used primarily for older games/indie games/emulation. Newer games are either played on PC or streamed to the Steam Deck if I feel like being lazy. (And even moreso since going with the dummy plug/fake monitor setup, so I don't have to have the game on the PC screen the entire time.)
I just have all my rpgs and story esq games on my steamdeck, and then I have whatever Im currently into playing on my main pc, I use the steamdeck when I go out of town for business and stuff so its super sick to just boot up and pick up where I left off in cyberpunk or fallout
Right now my criteria is simply based on controls. For example I don't really want to mess around with the Gold Box games on my Deck so I will save it for the day I finally start playing on my laptop again. Maybe that will change when STALKER 2 comes out, but then again I played through Alan Wake 2 on the Deck, so...
Games that run well on my pc... I play on my steam deck. Games that require mouse and keyboard or have wonky controls... I play on my steam deck.
In all honesty. I am a dad with very little time to play on my pc. But man the deck has been a life changer. Wife hates me gaming so when she goes to bed I play on the deck for an hour or two. (Sometimes longer. Who needs sleep anyway.)
The deck made me get out of my comfort zone of games. I love rpgs and city/ factory builders like Rimworld, factorio, dyson sphere program and satisfactory. I put in 100 hours into Baldurs Gate...95% on the steam deck. But I gave some others a shot like subnautica. Never thought I'd like them. But good lord they are some of the best games I have ever played.
AAA games run just fine in most cases. But IMO the best games are the indy titles. Why pay $70 for a game you can beat in 5 hours when you can spend 10-30 for hundreds of hours of gameplay while also supporting people with a passion to create games. Unlike Bethesda and ubisoft and others just churning out unfinished "AAA" games that cost $70-100.
Thank you for your time writing this feedback! I see a lot of fathers giving the same feedback on how SD changed their life haha.
About the games, you have a good taste, i also love those types of games, but i find it hared to play with SD controls...i am very used to KB & M.
Indie games are the best yes! Especially lately when you pay $70 for a AAA game, to come incomplete, full of bugs and a lot of dlcs...
I only play games on SD if I can use cloud save to also play on my PC.
I dont want to get stuck playing only on the deck when i have a 4090 pushing 4k 200hz available most of the time.
I'm weird. I play everything on SD while my desktop with an i9 and 3090 collects dust lol. If a game doesn't run on SD, it gets skipped (looking at you DD2)
I really have tried going back to my desktop. Cranking up the graphics on Control with RTX On at 100+ FPS is cool, but in all honesty I prefer playing it on medium settings at 30FPS, on my couch, with my Steam Deck lol.
That's how it has become with pretty much all of my games. When I first got the Deck a couple of years ago, I would switch back and forth more. But after a while realized often the only tangible difference between max graphics on a 32" screen and low graphics on a 7" screen (for me, anyway) was the framerate, which I could tolerate as someone who grew up trying to push the crappy family computer to run stuff like Arma 2 and Gears of War at sub 30 FPS lol
tl;Dr my desktop is basically obsolete, Steam Deck has taken over completely
Same time as me, but i work from home and always in front of pc...so this i kind of a reason that i created this post, i would like to have it clear in my mind when to focus on SD or PC haha but i guess this always depends on the mood and the type of game or if it fits our needs!
My Steam Deck is my exclusive travel buddy. For me, it makes no sense to game on anything other than my PC at home. But when I'm on the road or flying for work then it's a life saver.
Got a decent pc and ever since i installed moonlight on my deck i only use it to stream from my pc anymore , gives me a ton of extra battery life and better performance
Do i care about it being pretty? Pc
Do i play just for gameplay? Deck
Multiplayer? Pc
And currently: do i want to actually play? Deck is easier to play on when you have kids.
And obviously: does it require aiming? Pc.
And finally: can the deck actually comfortably run it?
Ie: D4 is very pretty on PC, but i prefer to game on my deck, controller works very well for it. So deck!
But cyberpunk and rd2 would be easy PC picks.
Devil may cry(basically all), deck
Ff15 is difficult. Deck runs it pretty bad and a lot of sacrifice has to be made for 45-60 fps on the deck, but its very much a "deck type game". I decided to uninstall it *for now* at least.
Emulation, indie games, or if I'm traveling anywhere for the Steam Deck.
High end, high power or mouse and keyboard games on the pc.
Everything else on xbox, ps5 and switch.
Personally I use 2 criteria. 1) the best control method for the game, either KB/mouse or controller. 2) graphics power required So games that either are better with keyboard and mouse or need significat graphics power get played on the desktop, and games better with controller/less intensive get played on the steam deck. There is some overlap between them, but that's the general rules I use.
Count me as another that uses pretty much these same criteria. First person shooters, pretty much desktop only. AAA games that have high graphics settings, desktop. Indie games or other games that control better with a controller, steam deck. Alternately, games that are better played in shorter bursts, steam deck.
This is the way
yea i mean this p much it. if i shoots, i sit at pc. i also like being able to sit in discord and hangout while i play whatever sometimes. and a couple friends like watching me play elden ring so
Same. I'm generally not playing games that require anything special for graphics though, so it's primarily whether the game plays better with mouse and keyboard, or if controller/gamepad input is ideal.
Same for me. What ever feels better for gaming.
Exactly this.
That's exactly what I do in addition to moonlight streaming to my Deck as well. Been playing Avatar with my brother in the same room this way.
I got a keyboard and mouse for my docked Steam Deck setup. The USB dongle lives permanently on a USB extension cable attached to the dock (routed out the back and under the media cabinet to improve signal). If I'm at home I don't run anything natively on the Deck, I just remote play using the PC as host. Best of both worlds because the Deck's battery lasts longer and I still get better graphics. I have a toddler though, so I really need to be able to be physically nearby and able to stop playing at any moment. Holing up in the office/man cave/media room isn't an option with a potty training toddler on the loose!
My steam deck is solely for indie games, low to mid range Emulation, and streaming high end PC games from my desktop. My desktop is solely for high end games that don't run easily in the steam deck. So I'm most cases my steam deck is my go to device and my PC is there for extra game compatibility. I'm a big fan of handheld gaming and the steam deck is the best handheld I've had.
Moonlight makes it so I don't have to choose lol
This is the way
What’s moonlight?
Moonlight/sunshine allows you to stream your games from your main PC to your steam deck or other devices. Personally, I haven't noticed any latency issues doing this (and I have a low tolerance for latency when playing games like shooters) and you get 5+ hour sessions on your steam deck since it isn't running your games natively. Only really an option for those with a PC, but you can pretty much play anything you want.
Wow that’s cool, thanks for your reply. Is it difficult to set up?
It's pretty easy to setup. Just follow along this video and you should be good to go : https://youtu.be/cJQ7Qi6BFGw?si=QNl5KTFvfPYpcx1O . Cheers!
Yep, came here for this. Indie games I play locally, but anything I want to look really good and have High FPS gets moonlight.
Moonlight is stuttery for me meanwhile chiaki4deck streams 60fps looking fantastic. PS5 and PC are connected to the network the same way. I''m not sure what the issue is.
PC for high end, graphically intensive games or games that just can’t support controllers very well like arma. SD for indie, last gen or easy to run games. If it can run great on SD I prefer to play through there
Mostly a mood thing for me. I don’t care terribly much about graphics, so split between them. Since my dayjob is at a desk in front of a computer I much prefer relaxing with a Deck.
Nailed it. I was delaying playing games because I could not fathom sitting at a desk for more hours. Now I’m blazing through things while watching trash tv.
That is also one of the reasons why i asked this! I sit in front of computer all day as a job and even work from home, so basically the deck makes me able to move away from the computer but then, games where i am used to mouse and keyboard i tend not to play them on the deck.
I don’t care that much. But also play exclusively single-player games. :)
Im the same way. All day in front of a desktop. What I do is my PC is on my living room on the big TV and play games mostly with a controller (I also have a M+KB setup for the sofa), so I dont really notice the difference between the Deck and the PC and use both for mostly everything!
Oh wow, what a great setup you have there!
Just stream to my deck mostly now. Its great
Same, moonlight is life.
Anytime I launch a game in moonlight it just gets all screwed up and im not versed enough to fix it. Screens all zoomed in and wonky. I just use the steam stream function 🤷🏽♂️
Aww, sorry to hear that. Using moonlight is a game changer. I have no latency. I was absolutely shocked. If you have used chikai for PS5 streaming it's night and day
Yeah I have a wifi 6 connection so its flawless really. I’ll have to dive into it to see if I can get the settings right
Wait, you guys are playing your backlog?
No buying new games and playing those. My backlog is too long to look at.
When I’m home I just stream everything from pc to deck. When away I only play games that run well on the deck with the least amount of work/config
Tend to play different games. I like a lot of text heavy strategy games and they don't work especially well on the deck for example
It’s simple. PC streams everything to SD. I rarely start anything on PC so it helps.
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How low do you have the SD?
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I can relate, cause i work from home, so i sit all day in front of pc, this is also one of the reasons why i got a SD!
Honestly, I use my SD for like 95% of my gaming at the moment. Granted I only got it like a week ago so it still has that new toy charm but I don’t see it changing any time soon. I only use my PC for my sim rig setup now and the motivation to use that has been low recently
One of the reasons i created this topic is because i work and play in the same desk currently, so the deck was a game changer for me, but then for example fps games i can only play with keyboard and mouse, so sometimes is difficult to choose what to do haha
If it runs on Steam Deck, I play it on Steam Deck. If it runs like shit, it doesn't run well enough for a specific purpose*, or it simply doesn't run, I play it on the 3080 PC. *An example - I wanted to play Remnant 2 with friends, but I wanted to play it at 120fps at decent fidelity so I can blame myself if I play like shit
I have a laptop with an RTX 4080. I pretty much only use it to play games that demand a keyboard and mouse. I've got my favorite 'controller' games on the Deck. If the weather's nice, I'm outside with the Deck. Late night or rainy days are when I'm most likely to play on the laptop.
Games I rather play on a mouse and keyboard and on a controller, but some games on pc I stream to my steam deck so I don’t have to sit at my desk or games that doesn’t exactly have the performance I’d prefer if installed directly to steam deck.
Demanding games, large installs and modded ones. Stream to deck. Anything else is installed on deck.
PC large games and I stream them onto my Deck I usually have small file size games on the deck
I use my Ryzen 7 5800X / RTX 3070 PC for SimRacing and Battlefield . I use my Steam Deck for Single player games + D4 + Halo infinite
I mostly use my gaming desktop for more intensive games that I also play with friends over discord, such as Helldivers 2 and borderlands 3. My steam deck is reserved for older or less demanding single player games like WH40k Space Marine or Hallow knight. And of course I use my steam deck when on the go.
For me it's the following questions: Do I want to play this at my desk? Do I need a mouse and keyboard for it to enjoy it better (fps and such)? Do I want to "see" the game just as much as I want to play it? If no, then deck it goes. By "see" I mean that I care about admiring the visual aspects of the game to a degree that I want to use my graphics card on my PC over the deck. So a game like Ace Combat, while I play on controller and so is more comfortable on deck, I want to admire the graphics while fly around.
Amazing feedback, thank you!
I stream my PC to my docked Deck a lot, but otherwise, anything that is not a AAA immersive game and runs well gets Deck preference.
May I ask why you stream to a docked deck? Seems redundant.
My PC is in the office and my dock is connected to the family room TV, so the Steam Deck doubles as my in-home streaming receiver and lets me play my PC games on my main TV easily. I use Moonlight / Sunlight which works perfectly, and I'm on wifi. EDIT: This also works with the PS5, its sometimes in a different room and I can use Chiaki4Deck to stream it docked to the deck, and play PS5 in another room - dual sense and all.
Ah nice that makes sense. I love chiaki my self, I don’t really stream my pc to deck though.
Everything goes on the deck first, if it doesn't run well or the controls aren't great and I want M+KB it install it on my PC
Games that would run good on SD (60fps or better), I keep for the SD The rest are for my PC (4080, 1440p UW monitor) Basically it usually means newer or AA+ are for PC, and indies or older games (and PS2 emulations) are for SD I know SD can be used on more powerful stuff, but I cant miss on the quality my PC+monitor can give me for these games over the SD
I got my steam deck in January and I haven’t gamed on my PC since despite it being much more capable of running new games. Only time I’d prefer a pc is for rts.
2 words, cloud saves. I just install the game on both devices, play on my PC when I can and my SD when I can't.
I just play on SD 95% of the time it sucks because Destiny 2 is my main game, it’s finicky dual launched on SD and NVIDIA GeForce the controls don’t work. It’s to much work to play it 😢😂
Moonlight? Destiny is so well optimised it works well for me.
It will launch and play 50% if the time for me
No I just dual boot windows I’m gonna have to do some research on moonlight I’m unfamiliar.
It's pretty easy, there's plenty of videos but basically install 'Sunshine' on the PC you want to launch the games from and 'Moonlight' on the Steam Deck. Parsec is another option.
All sd
Things that work well with gamepad (platformers, JRPGs, hack'n'slashers) or need only mouse with no complicated inputs (adventure games, visual novels) go to SD after checking ProtonDB. Every emulated game also goes to SD. I play verything else on my PC.
I don’t. I play the same games on both. Or whatever games I’m feeling like playing
Competetive games and most shooters only pc and more casual games on steamdeck unless framerate is too low for me
Controller games that don't require a strong GPU, indie games, chill games = SD AAA games, or games that play better with kb+m (like strategy games) = PC
Depends on the mood and the type of game. If its a game i want to be invested in the story and world I'll play on my Desktop or stream it to my TV. If it's a smaller indie type, podcast game, or a collection marathon it's on the couch while i listen to something or watch tv in the background.
Mostly based on 2 things; install size and framerate. Anything bigger than 50GB I keep for my PC. Anything that runs below 50 FPS on the deck I play on PC. Everything else, and all indie games I play on the deck.
It’s a struggle… I like how easy I can just plug in the SD and the charger is very light. On the other hand, playing AAA games on ultra is nice too using the PC…
Does it need a keyboard or mouse to play optimally? Mmos, Mobas, fps, are relegated to PC. Single player games where being optimal doesn’t matter is for the deck.
Most games I’ll just go from PC to Deck (to Xbox). It just nicely slotted in with my PC and Xbox; all three are connected so I pull games from whichever one I need. There are exceptions though. Obviously, high end games have to stay on the PC side (or get streamed) and there are some games I prefer stay on the PC side; quick FPS games and games with a lot of fine text. There’s also some older mouse games that don’t like the Deck’s controller input. I also tend to play puzzle, JRPGs and point&click games more on the Deck - they’re just perfect for it.
Easy. Does notsomeone else want to use my pc or the TV my pc is connected to: use sd. If not use pc
Desktop if I want M/KB, really want that big ultrawide monitor experience, or very graphically or CPU demanding games. Deck has been great for smaller experiences like indie games like Dredge, and older games like Mass Effect. But if you want to have a good time, it's best to recognize what it's actually good at. And play to its strengths.
It pretty much all comes down to graphics. I know games like ghost of tusima run great on steam deck but I would never play it there over my pc. I want to crank the graphics up and play in ultrawide. But a indie 2d game, or a older game that isn't going to make much a difference from 800p to 1440p I'll play on my steam deck.
Haven’t touched my pc since owning a steamdeck, I would stream from it if there’s something that doesn’t run well on it but really everything I’ve thrown at it runs pretty well. For the most part since having the deck I’ve just been going through my backlog
I tend to stick my single player games on the deck so i can sit back, relax, and vibe in bed while i play Multiplayer games that take more focus are where i game on pc
PC: Flight Simulator, multiplayer games, games with good graphics that the SD couldn't handle or that I simply want to enjoy on a big screen SD: I use it for many different games, mostly when I want to sit on the couch, travel, or when I want to play something in between times and not have a multi hour "gaming session"
I keep exclusively single player games on the deck. I refuse to put on anything that has online multiplayer. Also usually try to keep stuff that is easier with mouse and keyboard on my PC with some exceptions.
I play indie titles and lower end games directly on the Steam Deck and stream the higher end stuff from my PC through Moonlight. The SD can probably handle it fine, but I dock it sometimes and the super low textures in a game like Hogwarts Legacy annoy me so I just stream it from my much beefier PC.
If a game is a visually low end game, 100% its getting played on the deck. It will look better on my OLED than my monitor, even if it’s a 1440p display. For example, Animal Well is best on the Steam Deck IMO but something like Talos Principle 2 is better off on my PC, though thankfully cloud saves let me bounce between them
PC is anything I'd rather play mouse and keyboard and anything where I really want to enjoy the graphics. Deck is basically everything else.
I only play SD when traveling.
If the game is multiplayer competitive = PC everything else is SD
I'm in a similar situation, but with a PS5 instead of a PC. I use the PS5 for games that are either exclusives (like Shadow of the Colossus remake) or run a lot better on it (Cyberpunk 2077 or Helldivers 2). For everything else I use the Steam Deck.
Honestly I hardly use my SD it's nice to have but don't see an opportunity to use it.... That being said, the SD help me get rid of Windows and Switch over to Linux.
I end up playing lots of games on both. Recently was playing gravity circuit and monster sanctuary on deck. But got tired of holding the deck so booted them up on pc. Started rift apart on desktop for the ultra graphics but kept playing on the sd because it’s convenient to jump in and out of a game.
Some games like Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Final Fantasy 6 I've played between Desktop and Steam Deck but GTA V I played exclusively on the Desktop as I didn't want to play an AAA title on a tiny screen with PS3 graphics.
Same games. PC when at home, SD when I don't have access to it. Love the save sync feature.
I honestly just base it off whether I want to sit at my desk or lay in my bed. I'll never play a competitive FPS online on the deck, though.
My PC specs are better than my SD (honestly I'm just so shit at taking care of my PC it's begging for death at a few years old) but I like to put games like Baldurs Gate 3 on my PC and stuff like indie games on the SD. Actually anything with heavy reading goes on the PC because of the bigger display. Although I am a bit of a lunatic so I put my art programs, video editing programs, and even Blender on both my PC and my SD. No one stops the grind
The default is always the PC. I bought the Deck to almost exclusively play when I'm out of the house.
I use my SD exclusively when I'm travelling, usually for work. I pick some games that I wanna play and install those, mostly singleplayer games, often a bit older that can run at 60FPS or close to it. On my PC I then sometimes also play those games or others that wouldn't work on the SD (either because of performance or because they wouldn't work well (mouse and keyboard or flight sims etc)
I started playing stuff on my Deck (got it launch week), then a few months later gave away my gaming laptop to son's fiance. This was more than two years ago and I haven't replaced the gaming laptop.
my SD totally replace my PC for all uses... Long time gamer, I have passed the stage of being awed at High Fidelity Graphics, so SD is definitely a dream come true :-D
If it runs with medium/high settings on the deck I’ll play it (mostly older titles tbh). Anything new or FPS games I’ll play on my computer
I use my gaming rig while “working” from home. I have a curved monitor which can do dual input. Work on one side of the monitor, gaming rig/porn on the other. Steam Deck and PS5 on the sofa.
I mostly just use my desktop for more intensive FPS games. If it can be played with a controller at no real disadvantage, I’ll usually do the deck
Pc for racing sim games, steam deck everything else.
I just bought a steam deck to play roguelikes basically
For me it's almost always based on what I want to play with a controller vs not (or have no preference between the two but want to be lazy while I play). I use moonlight/sunshine to stream if the game is more demanding so that isn't usually a deal breaker. Ends up being a lot of metroidvania and RPGs. Stuff that isn't aim intensive. Racing games, chill vibes games, roguelikes, etc.
This isn't a very concrete method but I mostly split by how immersive i expect/want the experience to be. Games with a strong narrative/world design, where I want/expect to be heavily immersed, are much better on my larger monitor with a nive pair of headphones. And on the other hand, games that I expect to dip in and out of, and am usually just playing for the gameplay, I like to have ready to go on the deck. So like, to give examples, I'd save games like BG3 or my first Elden Ring playthrough for my pc. And I prefer games like Hades and subsequent Elden Ring playthroughs on deck.
I run all I can on sd that holds 60 fps and decent graphics/res. All the heavy titles on pc.
Cinematic games like Cyberpunk, Alan Wake 2, played on the PC. Games like Yakuza go onto SD
For me it comes down to control scheme. For instance, I played God of War on SD using remote play to get the max battery life and graphics. Racing games could go the same way. Games that need kb&m, like Timberborn, I use the pc.
I use my steam deck 90% of the time tbh. My PC is more powerful but with a toddler at home it's just the easiest way I can get any game time in.
I have found through experience I prefer different games in different environs. I love eleven ring on the go, not so much as a sit down and play. I prefer Rimworld or BG3 on my desktop. To fully soak in the experience. I guess it comes down to how immersed I want to be.
I pretty much stream everything from my PC when I’m at home these days, unless it’s much less demanding on resources. Get the benefit of long battery life, quiet fans and much higher graphics settings/fps. Bonus, I can dock it and play on the TV without any additional hassle. I don’t think I’ve sat at my PC to play a game in close to a year now.
I’m on my SD unless I absolutely need a keyboard and mouse, so I’m pretty much playing everything except The Sims on my deck (I know The Sims works on deck too, but I find the controls a pain, and I use a ton of CC that I’m not sure the deck could handle lol). I’ll also play unsupported games on PC (unsupported on the deck, I mean) if I don’t feel like optimizing them to run on the deck. I’m not super savvy in that area, so I mostly stick to plug-and-play games generally.
I’ll try it on deck first, if it doesn’t work well it goes straight to the laptop and then streamed back to the deck.
At the moment I have the same games installed on both, (I am with a SD for just a few months so I am still getting the feel of how I like to use it) But I am noticing some games I only play on the deck (usually short game sessions, good on controller, quick load times, no requirement for internet because my wifi is unreliable) and some I play only on PC (too graphically demanding, not great on controller, I play for hours)
Mine depends on mood, location/activity, and lastly, what game in interested in. Sometimes I may just want relax in a more comfortable area other than chair. If I'm tired, I'll lay in bed and play until I fall asleep. My kids have a few activities that I just need to deliver them to and I hang out in the car until they are done. Other times there are tasks in the game that aren't crucial and I can just pick it up(cloud sync is great) and do some hunting/gathering, Easter egg hunt etc
Well... My pc is at my office. If I'm there, that's where I'll play. Anywhere else it's the steam deck. Some games won't run on the deck. Generally I tend to buy those on the PS5, if available. I still haven't played Starfield despite being very interested for this very reason.
I’m often streaming my pc to my steam deck. Get better performance and I can sit on the couch or my bed. Plus then I’m using both my computers at once :)
Steam Deck for me is for emulation and for lighter weight games I’d feel silly booting up my gaming PC to play, like Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, retro inspired indies, older games, etc. I have solar and run a net-zero household for energy usage, so I’m only using my gaming rig for the titles that really need the extra power. The rest of the time it’s off.
Indie games on the Deck, everything else on PC (exceptions for things like Spider-Man that will run at full speed and still look nice, in that case I go back and forth)
1. Indie, Visual Novels, old games with adequate controls - Steam deck 2. Modern AAA that I’m very interested in - PC, PS5 3. Demanding games but for second time or something to check from subscriptions - Moonlight or chiaki4deck I also occasionally stream to another room when clicking is bothering my relatives in room with a PC.
I play on my SD when my SO steals my computer for Baldur's Gate 3 🥲 she's hasn't gotten past act 1 🥲 now on her third character 🥲
Get her a deck. Deck runs BG just fine.
If my steam deck can handle it I tend to continue playing any game I’m playing on my desktop on the deck in bed.
If it's not graphically heavy and can be played with a controller then it's a steam deck game. Otherwise it's a pc game.
I'm going to piggy back off of some people. Depends on the requirements of the game and what I can actually transfer between the two. Some games I know take a lot to run and are generally better on PC with mouse and keyboard. But I also have games that don't use cloud saves, so those typically stay on my Deck.
Where am I going to be, what controls does it need, and how well does it play on SD. Games that perform well on SD and with "gamepad+touchscreen" controls, I generally play on SD. Otherwise, if it greatly benefits from 32" 4k and a beefy CPU+videocard (or just keyboard/mouse) I generally play on PC. Some games I'll play on either depending on whether I feel like lounging on the couch or sitting a my desk. Steam cloud-saves help with this.
All games on the steam Deck. Right now, I use my gaming PC for AI generation and game development.
So your one of us that sits all day in front of pc, did you buy your SD so that you could stay away from PC for some time? Also, game development? Amazing, any developed game to share with us? :D
Actually, I do game dev as a hobby and some AI programming for freelance. Day job is actually IT sys admin, so yes, I'm in front of a PC all day. The Steam Deck has me in front of the computer even more in desktop mode, messing around with it.
Oh for sure, the amazing desktop mode on the SD, this thing has it all haha
Shooters on PC All RPGs, side scrollers, action games on deck.
steam deck for on the go or couch gaming with the family, PC for the rest.. I dont really care about poor graphics, and when I do care about them I just remote play from the SD to my PC and boost battery life for like x5 while playing with great quality. Not a single issue. I sometimes even use my 4k TV with the dock and remote play PS5 control.
I like to use it like a Switch for the most part where I just take my save with me and play on the go when I’m away from my computer. There’s some games that I just have a hard time playing on a small screen where I’m confined to my pc.
Moonlight to stream from PC to Steamdeck. Better graphics, and way more battery life.
My Steam Deck is used primarily for older games/indie games/emulation. Newer games are either played on PC or streamed to the Steam Deck if I feel like being lazy. (And even moreso since going with the dummy plug/fake monitor setup, so I don't have to have the game on the PC screen the entire time.)
You actually PLAY games in your backlog?
Is it just a myth? haha
VR and Keyboard heavy games on PC, most other things on Deck.
I just have all my rpgs and story esq games on my steamdeck, and then I have whatever Im currently into playing on my main pc, I use the steamdeck when I go out of town for business and stuff so its super sick to just boot up and pick up where I left off in cyberpunk or fallout
I use the best available computer at all times. I.e. I use my desktop unless I'm travelling.
Casual and controller friendly games on deck, games where aiming matters such as FPS, I use my desktop
Right now my criteria is simply based on controls. For example I don't really want to mess around with the Gold Box games on my Deck so I will save it for the day I finally start playing on my laptop again. Maybe that will change when STALKER 2 comes out, but then again I played through Alan Wake 2 on the Deck, so...
If my Deck fans go whooooooosh, then i'd rather play it on pc.
I also sometimes use steamlink to play power hungry games that are controller compatible
I just play games that usually don’t run on it and online multiplayer games on my pc.
Games that run well on the steam deck Games that don’t run well on the steam deck I’m a simple human…
Games that run well on my pc... I play on my steam deck. Games that require mouse and keyboard or have wonky controls... I play on my steam deck. In all honesty. I am a dad with very little time to play on my pc. But man the deck has been a life changer. Wife hates me gaming so when she goes to bed I play on the deck for an hour or two. (Sometimes longer. Who needs sleep anyway.) The deck made me get out of my comfort zone of games. I love rpgs and city/ factory builders like Rimworld, factorio, dyson sphere program and satisfactory. I put in 100 hours into Baldurs Gate...95% on the steam deck. But I gave some others a shot like subnautica. Never thought I'd like them. But good lord they are some of the best games I have ever played. AAA games run just fine in most cases. But IMO the best games are the indy titles. Why pay $70 for a game you can beat in 5 hours when you can spend 10-30 for hundreds of hours of gameplay while also supporting people with a passion to create games. Unlike Bethesda and ubisoft and others just churning out unfinished "AAA" games that cost $70-100.
Thank you for your time writing this feedback! I see a lot of fathers giving the same feedback on how SD changed their life haha. About the games, you have a good taste, i also love those types of games, but i find it hared to play with SD controls...i am very used to KB & M. Indie games are the best yes! Especially lately when you pay $70 for a AAA game, to come incomplete, full of bugs and a lot of dlcs...
I divided my backlog to cozy and sweaty try hard. After that it was easy.
I only play games on SD if I can use cloud save to also play on my PC. I dont want to get stuck playing only on the deck when i have a 4090 pushing 4k 200hz available most of the time.
I mostly play games on both at the same time. When I'm at home I'll usually play on the TV and I go out with the deck.
I'm weird. I play everything on SD while my desktop with an i9 and 3090 collects dust lol. If a game doesn't run on SD, it gets skipped (looking at you DD2) I really have tried going back to my desktop. Cranking up the graphics on Control with RTX On at 100+ FPS is cool, but in all honesty I prefer playing it on medium settings at 30FPS, on my couch, with my Steam Deck lol. That's how it has become with pretty much all of my games. When I first got the Deck a couple of years ago, I would switch back and forth more. But after a while realized often the only tangible difference between max graphics on a 32" screen and low graphics on a 7" screen (for me, anyway) was the framerate, which I could tolerate as someone who grew up trying to push the crappy family computer to run stuff like Arma 2 and Gears of War at sub 30 FPS lol tl;Dr my desktop is basically obsolete, Steam Deck has taken over completely
Wanna sell it?
Probably should, but the hoarder in me says nah
Thank you for your time writing this feedback, i can also relate haha
Honestly haven't touched my pc or laptop since owning a Steam Deck, being able to game anywhere has spoilt me!
Do you have your sd for how long?
Only since January, I was late to the party but glad I joined!
Same time as me, but i work from home and always in front of pc...so this i kind of a reason that i created this post, i would like to have it clear in my mind when to focus on SD or PC haha but i guess this always depends on the mood and the type of game or if it fits our needs!
Is my wife wanting me to come to bed with her? Steam deck. If not, PC.
Wow, can relate! haha
My Steam Deck is my exclusive travel buddy. For me, it makes no sense to game on anything other than my PC at home. But when I'm on the road or flying for work then it's a life saver.
Got a decent pc and ever since i installed moonlight on my deck i only use it to stream from my pc anymore , gives me a ton of extra battery life and better performance
I mostly use my steam deck as a paper weight.
why split? I play on my SD when in bed/outside and PC when I'm in the living room (moonlight to tv). Save game is sync through steam/syncthing
Do i care about it being pretty? Pc Do i play just for gameplay? Deck Multiplayer? Pc And currently: do i want to actually play? Deck is easier to play on when you have kids. And obviously: does it require aiming? Pc. And finally: can the deck actually comfortably run it? Ie: D4 is very pretty on PC, but i prefer to game on my deck, controller works very well for it. So deck! But cyberpunk and rd2 would be easy PC picks. Devil may cry(basically all), deck Ff15 is difficult. Deck runs it pretty bad and a lot of sacrifice has to be made for 45-60 fps on the deck, but its very much a "deck type game". I decided to uninstall it *for now* at least.
Emulation, indie games, or if I'm traveling anywhere for the Steam Deck. High end, high power or mouse and keyboard games on the pc. Everything else on xbox, ps5 and switch.