I ordered a LE OLED Steam Deck for my husband for Christmas. We are going to be new parents early next year and I wanted to support his transition into fatherhood, while still supporting his love of games and also give him a treat yo’self moment for all the support he had provided me during my pregnancy. For real, he has been a complete gem and I am #blessed.

But, I want to make sure it works okay and there are no pixel issues or anything while I’m in the return window. The deck arrives tomorrow.

Is there anything I need to be aware of or check for specifically? Do I have to login with a steam account to do the check? I don’t want him to miss out on the perks from the buy if I login for the first time with my account. But I also don’t want him to find out early about it by logging into his Steam account.

Thank you, I really appreciate the help! Hoping he loves it.

  • Standard-Rip-6154@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    First, congrats on the baby and congrats on being a TOP TIER wife.

    Now, don’t open the Steam deck or the package it comes in because I feel like it’s all about the experience. The Steam Deck comes in the box that it is delivered so if you open it, you are pretty much opening the thing. I wouldn’t worry about dead pixels or things like that, Valve has been pretty good with the Steam deck and the way is protected.

    I’m a brand new baby (2yrs old lol) and SD OLED owner myself and this piece of technology is amazing just what I needed as a father. Props to you for acknowledging his love for games and the way he distresses himself. Spent as much time with the new baby because freaking time flies by WAY TOO FAST. Love each other, respect each other and enjoy your parenthood.

    • katelic@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Thank you! We have been together for a loooong time and I think I’m responsible for gifting every console he owns with the exception of VR. Honestly, it makes for easy gift ideas I know will enjoy. And coop games usually mean I get to enjoy too.

      Super validating to hear it has helped with your journey in fatherhood too!! We are eager to meet our little guy-- and I know he is looking forward to having a new little possible gaming buddy too. Got him a little PS5 controller shaped teether so he can get used to the shape early 😎

      Will for now plan to resist the urge to test it out, I certainly don’t want to decrease the experience for him, that’s the fun part of gifting!

      • nerdthatlift@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        He can take the night shift looking after the little one while playing Steam Deck and you can rest at night.

  • darkuni@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Any means to test it will ruin the surprise. You would have to do a full “set up” including logging into Steam to do anything of real value.

    As u/Standard-Rip-6154 said … part of the magic is opening the box … breaking the Valve seal on the case … all that jazz.

    Valve will handle any issues. I would, however, offer one recommendation - get the OLED 1TB (non-LE) edition. I know you want to be the top shelf wife and get him the “biggest and the best” but the differences are minimal AND it seems (based on the discussions here) that the LE has the BOE screen and has been far more likely to have dead pixels.

    I originally wanted LE - but I went with the non-LE 1TB and I’m still tickled to death.

    Good luck with everything!

  • Compton528@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Im all for the experience and everything, but id want my wife to check for dead pixels if it was me. Especially considering the specific device you have has been having issues. You cant rma outside of the return period for just a few dead pixels as that isnt considered defective. Experience is already ruined if your stuck with a less than perfect $700 device imo.