Steam Deck is at sale: 10% to 20% off

Out of curiosity... Anyone use the Steam Deck as a computer beyond just gaming? I don't play games that much but I'd love a decent spec portable computer that I can also use to play video games, the price is quite generous given what its specs look like so...

Yup. I got some JetBrains IDEs installed and do some dev work on it.
- Glad to hear that.
  
  I’ve been thinking about getting one for months. But between this sale and the ability to use it as a portable dev system, I think it is time to finally put my order in.
Yes, I've been using it as my PC for about a year now, I do game on it but my primary reason for purchase was that it was just a great deal on a Linux machine.
- I'm curious what makes it a great deal on a Linux machine? It seems like pretty niche (i.e. expensive) hardware for any other purpose than handheld gaming.
Yes, the KDE desktop works really well with a USB-C dock connected to a monitor with a mouse and keyboard. I use it when I need to do some work while not at home. The Steam Deck is beefy enough to be really snappy during desktop usage, even with multiple monitors.

There's no way to boot directly into the desktop with SteamOS without workarounds at the moment unfortunately.

I didn't bother installing another OS yet since I mostly play games but apparently the Steam Deck drivers are in the mainline kernel so it should be possible to install a normal distro that boots directly to desktop.
I mainly use mine for gaming because I have a desktop and a laptop too, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't use it as a decent semi-portable computer. It probably won't be as convenient is a laptop when it comes to typing on the go, and it certainly won't be as powerful as a desktop, but gaming on a Steam Deck is an absolute joy.

You'll definitely want some kind of dock, a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse.
I've used mine on the go with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Works great, although the screen is a little small in that use case.

Docked with an external monitor is much more useful for regular computing. I suggest use Linux as my daily driver OS, so easy enough for me. Only thing the Deck is really missing is CUPS for printing.

Sweet, the dock is on sale! Snagging that. Thanks for the tip!

The dock has been fantastic. Quick tip: make sure you go to your game preferences before launching and change resolution from Default to Native, otherwise it will still output with the Deck's resolution instead of 1080p+
- Thanks for the tip!
Damn, $71 is the sale price? That’s not what I was expecting.

They still don't sell it at my country
¯\(ツ)/¯

I wish I had a reason to get one of these. I have a switch I never play and a PC that I play a bit on. Never real play on the road :/

I don't have one, because it still isn't available in Australia.

You can buy it through Kogan or other online stores, but those are imported versions. I'm broke right now anyway, so I'll probably just wait until I can buy it through Steam itself.
- Yeah but I'm saving for a car rn... I might consider it once I get the car. Along with the laundry list of other things that I want to buy.
  
  Still would be nice to buy it through official options regardless of how many third parties decide to sell it for marked up prices.

I don't, but I want to get one for my husband for his birthday. If I get the dock, can 2 people play the same game of it's on a TV or do I need 2 decks?

No, you don't need two decks. You need:

Steam Deck

USB-C Dock with power delivery (for example, the official dock)

1 to 4 game controller (most bluetooth controllers will work fine)

However, there are not very many "Couch Multiplayer" games on steam. Most multiplayer games are online.
- I think there are a ton (of great) local co-op games on steam.
adding to @cron@feddit.de there is whole genre of indie games targeted for couch coop for couples. there aren't hundreds of excellent games but definitely a dozen. It would definitely deserve it's own post but on top of my head you have: portal 2, Lovers in dangerous space time, it takes two, a way out,
- Children Of Morta works for couples as well.

So, I guess there's no stupid questions: How future proof is it? How likely is it that in a few months / a year there's a new, better iteration of the steam deck? Also, if a new version was announced, can the current steam deck be upgraded?

Valve supports their hardware well, so I'd guess you can easily use it for 5 years or so. Probably have to replace the battery or sticks after a few years, but the good news is that most parts are replaceable.

I would like one if they sold those damn things in my country (Malaysia). On the flip side, the ROG Ally is officially launching here on July 1st.

Is this the first actual discounted price sale for Steam Deck?

It's the second time it's been discounted so far. The first time was on March 23rd this year, on Steam Deck's first birthday.
Second time

Im looking to switch jobs soon but ive been on the fence for the last 6 months about getting one. Shame i couldnt switch jobs sooner or id buy one now 😥

If they are on sale now, chances are they will be again later this year.

Figures I'd buy mine between 2 sales.

If you contact steam support they may give you a store credit for the difference

It sure is, because I bought one!

Wonder what games play the best on it

Tunic is a blast on steam deck, I highly recommend it. I've also been playing Vampire Survivors, Dishonored, emulated Nintendo games: Breath of the Wild (wii U), Super Mario Bros (switch) , Advance wars (ds). Basically anything that can be played with a controller works well, and some of what needs a mouse and keyboard is also good.
- Breath of the wild is amazing on the Steam Deck! As is Tunic.
Hook it to your TV and couch coop games like Stardew Valley, TMNT, and Tetris are a lot of fun.
So many, it's really impressive. Vampire Survivors to Elden Ring (with coop mod and Discord running in the background on SD), to No Man's Sky, to Diablo 4 (through installed battle.net added to Steam as a Non-Steam game on the SD) all run great.

Also, if you have a good pc you can run the game there and stream it to the SD, extends run time on battery by quite a lot.
My current favorites are gamecube games (Tony Hawk Games and 007 Nightfire) and Forza Horizon 5. Played quite a bit of minecraft aswell, but I find it hard to be efficient with a controller.

I don't. I looked at the sale page, and it screamed at me about there being no stuck and pre orders not being available in my country

Fellow Aussie, I understand your pain

Sick! I might have to snag a dock for mine...

Honestly, $95 for a dock is still pretty pricey for me. Months back I bought a cheaper $35 dock from Amazon and it's very good.
- I agree with you, but remember the official dock also comes with a second power adapter so that ads to the cost.
- The official dock has each of its ports fully fleshed out. These cheapie docks do things like connect the ethernet port to USB 2.0, use a "4K, but only at 30hz" HDMI spec, etc. You also get firmware updates from Valve.

The official dock is 20% off too.

@cron I just found about this deal today. Don't know how I missed this post. Got it 2-3 months earlier than expected.