The key word is “estimated”. Notice it does not resemble the word “guaranteed”. Just means that the majority of people will receive theirs within the window, however there will always be cases where things are out of their control.

It’s a different WiFi and Bluetooth chip, so those won’t work at all without new drivers.

Sounds like they also tweaked the audio device, so you won’t be getting any sound, either.

I’d just wait until they post all of the supported drivers. It shouldn’t take more than a few weeks.

Managed to snag both Ori games and Guardians of the Galaxy for about $30.

God of War may be better since it’s a third person game.

Cyberpunk is all first person, so if you don’t mind playing those types of games at 30-40fps, then it’s also a very good game.

They already have the APU Windows drivers out for the OLED. I think we’re just waiting on the rest (WiFi, Bluetooth, audio, etc.). If it’s like the first launch, it could take a few weeks to get all the driver on their site, but they’ll come around eventually.

If you only care about playing games with Anti-cheat software, or just using other game launchers in an easier way, then I would look at the ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go. Otherwise, the Deck runs almost everything else in its default set up.

Two different devices for two different people. Steam Deck is a PC, while Switch is a dedicated console. If you’re wanting an open option to do anything you want, get the Deck. If you want a locked down system, but also want Switch exclusives, get the Switch. Games that are available on both systems will almost always be cheaper on Steam.

The Switch will have longer battery life with its exclusive games, while Steam Deck has the ability to play entire PC games, so battery life is anywhere from a couple of hours up to 8-10 depending on how demanding the game is. It takes more power to emulate the Switch than it does for the switch to run the game natively. Steam Deck OLED will be a bit closer than the LCD because of its larger battery and higher efficiency, but it’s still not quite at the level of the Switch OLED. Plus, as others have said, emulating is not a great replacement for the Switch itself. You’ll still have Shader Compilation stutter, some games don’t run or will have missing textures… you’ll be giving up convenience, for sure.

That being said, there’s still only really one legal way of obtaining Switch games anyway - dumping the ones you own yourself with your own exploited console.

I had a rattling sound a few weeks ago in mine. It turned out to be a screw that had come off of one of my back paddle buttons.

It’s really easy to get the deck open, and as long as you’re keeping track of which screws go where and keeping a neat little work area, you’re not likely to damage anything by just looking.

I did a full play-through a month or two ago solely on Steam Deck. I had a great time. Performance does get a bit iffy in Act 3 (sub 30fps in intense areas), but turning off dynamic crowds and turning FSR on helped quite a bit. To be fair, I don’t think Act 3 performs at a stable 30 fps on PS5 either. Not sure if that has been patched yet. If you’re used to the Switch, there shouldn’t be a terrible amount of concern here.

I’m actually looking forward to another play-through once my OLED comes in. There also should be a decent performance update once they release the Xbox version, as they found an optimization that reduces VRAM usage. Either way, I’m happy with the game and could recommend it if expectations are kept in check.

I think it comes down to managed expectations. Valve always said their performance goal was a minimum of 30 FPS for a “playable” experience. Also, it’s a handheld that has a shared CPU/GPU power draw of 15W.

That being said, the steam deck has the smoothest 30 FPS I’ve ever played. The Switch is a pretty close second. I think the smaller screen definitely helps with that. It takes quite a bit for me to adjust to 30FPS content on my TV.