[Handheld] The Steam Deck

figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Squidleybits said:
It took a while as I found the desktop mode “interesting” without a mouse lol.
Click to expand...
That is a very common complaint about the Deck. One thing that can help is reconfiguring the Desktop control configuration (Steam -> Settings -> Controller -> Desktop Configuration), and having Steam open. It's kinda counter-intuitive that you need to open Steam in Desktop mode so that Steam Input can do its thing.

One of the best changes to make to the default config is to change one of the touchpads to work as a scroll wheel.
 
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Squidleybits

Squidleybits

I found the buttons worked opposite to how I expected them to. The left trackpad acted like a right click in windows. It took me quite a while to realize it.

The good news is that I have a mini Bluetooth keyboard
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

I ordered what I thought was an awesome beast of a power bank. It claimed to charge at 20W and has a 30,000 mAh capacity.

I plug it in and get the slow charging message. Evidently it’s only charging at 2.7W.


Are there power banks out there that charge fast enough to avoid this message?
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Squidleybits said:
I plug it in and get the slow charging message. Evidently it’s only charging at 2.7W.
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2.7W? Or 2.7A?
if you are plugging into a USB-A port (the “normal” rectangular one), you are probably going to be limited to around 2.7A (about 12W) max, because without proprietary shenanigans, that’s the most you’re supposed to be able to push through any USB-A port, by design.
If the power bank has a USB-C port (the smaller one with rounded ends), use that instead. Those things are rated for 90W and even beyond.

—Patrick
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

I have a powerbank with t two ports that charge at different speeds, check if there isn't either an indication or a switch/button of some kind perhaps.
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

GasBandit said:
Can you tell us the model of the bank?
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For sure, it’s this one. It claims to charge at 20W vs the smaller ones I have here for my Pokémon Go adventures.

** so I am a ding a ling. When I was getting the link for you all, I saw that the USB C input is also an output. It is now charging at 6.5W. I am still getting the slow charging message, but it does charge faster now.

Amazon product
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Squidleybits said:
** so I am a ding a ling. When I was getting the link for you all, I saw that the USB C input is also an output. It is now charging at 6.5W. I am still getting the slow charging message, but it does charge faster now.
Click to expand...
The cable you use matters, but I don't enough to know how to tell if that's what's causing issues in your case.

If you want to fully power the Deck, you'll want a power bank that can do USB PD 3.0 at 15v/3A, but I can't find information on what other charging voltages the Steam Deck supports, other than that it doesn't do 20v. Some comments on r/SteamDeck suggest it will still count 12v as fast charging, which matches up with Far's power bank working, but I guess the 12v/1.5A of your power bank is not enough amperage to satisfy the Deck (though that should still be 18W, not 6.5W)
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
USB's default voltage is 5v, and it can be negotiated higher depending on the capabilities of both the device and the power provider, and the quality of cable. It can go up to 20v, but for most things "fast charging" usually starts around 9.

Watts is just a measure of amps x volts. Volts always has to match exactly, but providing more amps than a device wants is ok because the device only draws the amps it can take safely. But what this may mean is that the wattage of power being used to charge may be lower than one would think.

For example, if your steam deck is unable to negotiate with the power bank to raise voltage above the default 5v, and it is only pulling slightly over 1 amp... that could work out to 6.5w.

Edit - reading the actual specs of the bank, it is in fact 3.7v... so it'd have to be pulling about 1.75 amps to get 6.5w. But the one Far recommended also said it was 3.7v, so I'm not sure what voodoo is going on for it to put out the 30w it says it provides in some circumstances.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
GasBandit said:
Edit - reading the actual specs of the bank, it is in fact 3.7v... so it'd have to be pulling about 1.75 amps to get 6.5w. But the one Far recommended also said it was 3.7v, so I'm not sure what voodoo is going on for it to put out the 30w it says it provides in some circumstances.
Click to expand...
You're looking at the voltage of the battery, not the output voltage at the USB port.

Squidley's is, for the USB-C port: 5V/3A , 9V/2.2A , 12V/1.5A

Far's is: 5V/3A , 9V/3A , 12V/3A, 20V/2.25A
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

Thank you all for looking at these power banks. I really appreciate all of your help with this

The one Far shared is unavailable sadly.

There is one that is made by Amazon and is on back order.

I will continue to look for one :)

 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
the one Far recommended also said it was 3.7v, so I'm not sure what voodoo is going on for it to put out the 30w it says it provides in some circumstances.
Click to expand...
I assume there's some kind of DC<->DC conversion going on, unless they're putting the internal cells in series.
Even on some of the Mophie banks, "fast charging" is listed as just 18W. I wish they'd get this all straightened out so it would be consistent for the customer to know exactly what they're...
arstechnica.com

USB-C naming to somehow get worse with USB4 Version 2.0

USB-C is getting yet another specification.
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
...oh COME ON NOW

--Patrick
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Squidleybits said:
How does Diablo run on the Deck?
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Diablo 2 runs fine, because the remaster also includes controller support for PC. Despite Diablo 3 being released on every console with controller support, the PC version has never had it, so if you want to play Diablo 3 on the deck you'll need to get creative with the controls (or use a community profile, I've seen one that works on D3)

You could also run the switch version of either if you have switch emulation set up
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

Do any of you know how to use community controller configurations?

There is a new game that just came out that I’d like to get, but needs one of these configurations
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Ooooh, nice update to the Beta:
Steam Deck client BETA update for 9/15/22 (9/16/22 UTC)https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search?q=flair_name%3A%22News%22&restrict_sr=1
Via the Steam Community:
Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Beta and Preview channels, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > Steam Update Channel.
Click to expand...
General:
  • Improved Media page performance for users with a large number of screenshots
  • Restyled the Media page to show more screenshots at one time
  • Fullscreen screenshots can now be scrolled through by pressing left/right
  • Fixed an issue loading game carousel items on the home recommended tab
  • Fixed an issue where the on-screen keyboard would not type into chat tabs
Overhauled the Virtual Menu feature in Steam Input:
  • The visual style of virtual menus has been updated
  • Virtual Menus can now be named and moved between difference sources or converted between menu types
  • Bindings such as keyboard keys or gamepad buttons will now display glyphs when the user has not manually picked an icon
  • Icons and colors can now be assigned in the configurator
  • Menu items can now be easily reordered
  • Responsiveness of the cursor and general performance has been improved

I'm looking forward to when all this stuff becomes the mainline Steam. Some of this stuff I've been wanting in Steam Input for a while.
 
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