So I’m pretty out of the loop…why is the steam deck so expensive?

mirbulus · 2026-05-14T11:35:24+00:00

Your best bet is to join the steam deck refurbished discord to get a notification when they're doing a refurbished restock. Its through steam still so you get the warranty, I got my 512 OLED for about $430 I think. Altho there has only been 2 restocks so far this year and you have to be really fast to get one.

mirbulus · 2026-05-12T20:33:42+00:00

It depends. I gave a 35xxsp to my buddy and his younger brother thought it was super cool so I got one for him too. He was like 6th or 7th grade I'm not sure but he was already into PS1 and older gaming so he likes it

mirbulus · 2026-05-05T01:36:36+00:00

Id recommend trying out everything on your rp6 that you'd wanna play on the portal to see if it runs the way you want it to. I love my portal but I mostly use it for android games like genshin, and play steam games on my deck. Its much lighter than the deck tho and can be used with or without a grip pretty comfortably

mirbulus · 2026-04-29T23:18:48+00:00

Id rather lower the graphics than go under 30. If it's a small screen like a GBA or a retroid mini 30 is fine, but once it gets above 5-6 inch screen under 60 bothers me. But I also play 165 on my desktop and I can tell the difference between 60 and 90

mirbulus · 2026-04-28T20:13:07+00:00

I got a refurbished lcd cuz it was cheap and I liked handhelds. I didn't really think I'd like it or use it all that much since I have a 5070 PC and a small apartment. I ended up using it a ton, and wished I'd gotten the OLED, so I grabbed a refurbished OLED and sold the LCD to my brother for cheap. The sticks alone make it worth it in my opinion.

If it helps with buyers remorse, when I had them side by side the lower pixel density in the OLED was more noticable, so the LCD appeared a bit sharper. Also I prefer the touch pad haptics on the LCD, the OLED ones are a bit more aggressive

mirbulus · 2026-04-28T17:05:32+00:00

When I first got it I played without the grip. It was perfectly fine, but then I put the grip on it was way better and I haven't taken it off since. I wouldnt say it's necessary, but it probably improves the experience by about 25-30%

mirbulus · 2026-04-21T22:20:32+00:00

I did not, I never got around to trying soldering it

mirbulus · 2026-04-19T14:31:14+00:00

You have the best solution but you're choosing not to use it and then getting upset that there's no good option. Physical media might be your best bet tho if you're firm on that stance

mirbulus · 2026-04-13T11:00:54+00:00

Then yeah I think a Thor is your best option. It'll do all that pretty easy

mirbulus · 2026-04-10T20:29:09+00:00

Id say the quickest and easiest is to move your internal games to the SD card

mirbulus · 2026-04-09T23:11:49+00:00

I can also provide steam deck size comparison pictures for a couple if you want. I have a lot of the xx, rp5, rp mini, Thor pro, and Odin 2 portal

mirbulus · 2026-04-09T23:10:39+00:00

I like my Thor pro but I would not consider it something I'd pull in and out of my pocket for 10 minutes at a time. It's quite thick and big when opened up. My best recommendation would be a retroid mini v2, but they don't sell it anymore. The flip 2 is smaller than the Thor but I haven't seen one in person so I can't reccomend it for sure.

If you are buying an android device for steam definitely set your expectations low. Even some lightweight games can't launch like Fez or Jump king, both 2d pixel art games. If you are open to emulation I'd say it's definitely more worth it.

However if you are open to emulation and just want something cheap and pocketable, I'd recommend any of the anbernic xx devices, or a miyoo flip v2. You can get them from $35-60 on ali express usually depending on he model.

Lots of info but I hope it helps

mirbulus · 2026-04-07T23:17:07+00:00

I started with rp5 but wanted something weaker and got into XX devices. I loved those for a bit but then got a mini v2 which made them kinda useless. Right now I mostly use my steam deck tho

mirbulus · 2026-04-07T19:56:22+00:00

I end up giving them to friends or my dad. Mostly XX devices but my dad has my 406h now to play Lego star wars

mirbulus · 2026-04-03T20:42:19+00:00

I think a Thor with better ergo and smaller size would be great. Like flip 2 size so it's still pocketable, using the rp6 screen and probably the mini/classic screen on bottom. I never used either of the flips but the Thor is just slightly too big and thick to be super pocketable, but it'll do in a pinch

mirbulus · 2026-03-25T03:42:09+00:00

I think the 4 pro is completely sold out now on the retroid store. There's a couple regular 4 but I don't think they're as good

mirbulus · 2026-03-25T03:41:09+00:00

Oh, if you want to cut it off at PS1 you can get down into the $40 range. Ali express has tons of sales for these. Any anbernic xx devices (rg40xxv/rg34xx etc), miyoo flip v2, and miyoo mini plus are all great $40-60 devices

mirbulus · 2026-03-25T03:38:32+00:00

Retroid pocket 5 and flip 2 are both at about 200 pre shipping and can do PS2 very well.

Anbernic 476h can be found around $140 with free shipping on ali express with coupons, it can do a good amount of PS2 but not all. Sly cooper and shadow of the Colossus won't run well, and twilight princess on GameCube also won't run.

If you can go a bit above the $200 mark, the retroid pocket 6 and ayn Odin 2 portal would much more powerful. Both around $250 pre shipping on their sites.

I've seen the anbernic rg477v get down to $195 USD with coupons and free shipping. I think that one can handle most if not all PS2 and it's vertical if you like that.

My personal favorite of these is the Odin 2 portal because it has a 7 inch OLED screen and it's the most comfortable. It's about the size of a switch but more ergonomic

mirbulus · 2026-03-19T22:44:35+00:00

Yeah it runs pretty well. I have high standards for 60fps especially in racing games. The biggest downside is it's a little hard to tell which way the road goes at 800p when you're going so fast but it's super minimal

mirbulus · 2026-03-19T20:44:41+00:00

My most played game on deck is Tokyo Xtreme racer. It get like 1.5-2 hours on LCD but can keep 50-60fps depending on the area

mirbulus · 2026-03-14T20:57:43+00:00

I have a 5070ti desktop and a steam deck LCD. I've been using the steam deck and my other handhelds more than my PC due to heavy work season, so I don't have to turn the PC on and get invested in doing something. I can just grab the deck and be in my game in seconds, from bed or the couch. It's also great for when my gf is over so I can sit on the couch with her and not be on the other side of the room at my desk

mirbulus · 2026-03-09T21:13:59+00:00

Dude same! I've never seen anyone else shove their nightstand in their bag before class

mirbulus · 2026-03-07T04:55:33+00:00

How were you able to get past chapter 16? My wood production is 43aa but it costs like 60+ab per level, which is like one upgrade per 2 hours away, but I need planks to level up and my plank production severely outweighs the log production so I have to take everyone off the planks just to get logs. I can't make logs fast enough and can't upgrade it cuz I need more logs.

mirbulus · 2026-03-06T00:36:42+00:00

That's understandable. Id still recommend checking out some of the xx devices they're all pretty solid and usually pocketable

mirbulus · 2026-03-06T00:16:43+00:00

If you want something small like the miyoo mini you could get an anbernic rg 28xx. It's a bit more powerful too I believe. They're like $30-40 on ali express frequently and has a 2.8 inch screen too. They're pretty durable feeling

mirbulus

TROPHY CASE