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Comment by criddell | Hacker News Reader

I want a small, inexpensive gaming computer to connect to my TV and have been thinking about the Steam Deck or a mini pc like the Minisforum HX99G (Ryzen 9 6900HX). Would the two computers be roughly comparable?

I'm looking for something small because I don't have room for anything bigger. The Steam Deck is appealing because it doesn't seem very computer-y. What I want is a console that plays PC games. I've tried SteamLink between my desktop computer and AppleTV but it was a terrible experience.

Is there something better than the Steam Deck that isn't expensive (ie not more than $2000).

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SteamOS is a controller-first environment, which will give you that console feel. It's just so well done.

I can't speak to performance but I've heard game streaming works really well on the Deck.

I play a lot of "couch co-op" games with my kids while docked to a TV. Low requirements and very console-oriented. Compared to the Switch, here are some things that I bump into:

1. If you have 4 identical controllers, figuring out which is "1", "2", etc is hard. The Switch uses colors and LEDs to make this easy.

2. You need to walk over to wake it up. A controller can't wake it up if it's sleeping.

3. If you pair one of your identical controllers to something else, pairing it back is clunky since you don't know which one needs reconnecting.

But on the positive side, my young kids aren't put off by the leaky abstraction over PC gaming. They actually kind of marvel at the wide range the little device has but admit the advanced wizardry (game mods, desktop mode) can only be wielded effectively by Dad.

> 2. You need to walk over to wake it up. A controller can't wake it up if it's sleeping.

If you have a Steam Controller you can do this, as long as you use the USB dongle and not Bluetooth to connect. I have the official dock with the dongle plugged into that, and the Deck wakes up with the controller just fine.

There are a very wide variety of Windows based handhelds more powerful than the Steam Deck. AyaNeo seems to crank a new one out every 4 months!

I came across a google doc a while back where people were obsessively cataloging them. There are many which have come out in the last 2 years. You have your pick of options. They usually run from 400 - 1200.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1irg60f9qsZOkhp0cwOU7...

ETA: This list has gotten out of hand, lol

ETA: ETA PRIME on YouTube reviews basically everything that comes out.

As someone who doesn't know much about this stuff and isn't looking for a project, that list is a bit nuts.

I wish they would summarize with some recommendations. Maybe a $500 recommendation, $1000 recommendation, $1500 recommendation, and the best overall.

lol. I don't think anyone has tested all of these to be able to make such a recommendation.

If you want one which also docks and is a serviceable PC, filter that list for stuff which can run Windows/Linux and also comes with a Ryzen 5/7. Bigger number is better CPU (you'll notice above the 7k Ryzen series, it gets an A on Switch emulation).

Take a look at the spread of prices and battery capacity and decide what candidates are important for you, and lastly check the reviews to see if any of them have quality/usability issues.

No, the minisforum will be much more powerful. I think that CPU will be roughly twice as powerful and the GPU included (6600M) similarly roughly twice as powerful.

As the other commenter said, there are other handhelds, some getting better chips. But for your use case, you could also choose a small gaming pc or a laptop.

If you would get use out of a gaming laptop separate from attaching to your TV then that's pretty attractive choice because it does everything the mini PC does without that much more space.

The 6900HX has an RDNA2 GPU with 12xCU, compared to the Deck's RDNA2 with 8xCU. The Steam Deck is also limited by the power usage, the TDP is hard capped at 15W, while the 6900HX gets 45W TDP.

My issue with using the Deck as the benchmark is that it is designed for 720p. Even connected to a 4K TV, the Steam Deck by default will force the game to run at 720p, and upscale it to 4K.

If you're okay with a bit bigger, AM5 APUs are rumored to be coming out soon with BIOS updates that added support recently. I expect those to have RDNA3 like the laptop 7840HS and other chips. It'll be the first GPU update to desktop APUs since the 5600G. I'm excited and might build a new mITX to replace my own HTPC

If you had a good experience with the steam link would you use it instead? Game streaming from desktop beats any small gaming computer.

Definitely would. I tried to use my PS5 controller linked to my Apple TV 4k and it was super laggy and looked bad.

Have you tried either Nvidia's or AMD's? I used moonlight on my phone for Nvidia it's free. You need fast wifi or Ethernet. I am planning on doing this for all my future purchases as a server to stream my media to all devices with as much performance as possible. I think this is a much better route than another dedicated device, unless you plan to use it outside a lot, and even then with good enough data and internet you can stream it from your computer.

There's an Xbone mount/clip that I really liked for $3ish (it's like $20 official) and they might have done the same with the PS4 or 5 designed just to add a BT/USB-C controller to your phone.

No, I haven't tried the NVidia or AMD version.

When I tried it (about a month ago) I was able to connect easily enough, but then the Steam interface went away for some reason and I was left staring at my (remote) desktop. I restarted Steam and started a game but the controller lag was noticeable and the framerate seemed low. It looked like a VNC connection. After about 30 minutes I gave up and started to look at Steam Decks and other very small computers.

You could use the Steam Deck, and for more demanding games you can use Steam Remote Play from your main PC (it's great!).

I hadn't heard of Steam Remote Play so I googled it and it looks like it's using Steam Link. I tried Steam Link to my Apple TV and it was a terrible experience. Is the Steam Deck going to be a better client than the Apple TV?

I've used it with Forza, Ride, and some emulated games and it's been great for me.

Maybe I’ll have to give it another try. There are all kinds of people who say it works great. I must have had something misconfigured because it was not playable when I tried it.

Steam Deck has RDNA2 architecture which is pretty old now. They're probably getting rid off the last chips currently. I'd get at least Zen4/RDNA3 or, if you're in no hurry, even wait for what they release in the coming year. Especially if you want it to drive a high resolution screen...

In your opinion, are the mini pcs even worth considering? I kind of hesitate because I don't want another computer. I want a console experience that looks decent on a 55" tv (probably 1080p). The Steam Deck seems a little lo-res.

Hard to say since I never had a mini PC, but something with a 7840hs/hx minimum. Or better, wait for the next generation.

> What I want is a console that plays PC games.

Yeah, the Steam Deck is exactly that and I've been extremely happy with mine.

Just be aware of some caveats:

- It's not powerful enough for the most demanding games

- Some games have evil anti-cheat or is otherwise not supported by proton yet (unless you install Windows, which you totally can)

Why not get a minipc with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS or Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU? Both of those have an integrated Radeon 780M GPU which should be better than steamdeck. Price wise they will be come out similar. The HX99G is more expensive than something like the UM780 (7840HS)

Valve may be working on a console based on SteamOS, so I'd wait and see.

Didn't they already do that a while back? I'm sure this time around would be different given their traction now.

Kind of, they did the Steam Link which was local streaming only. They also had the Steam Machines which were made by third parties. From what I recall the Steam Machines were overpriced for what they were and SteamOS + proton weren't nearly as good as they are now.

I did a quick search for this and didn't find much. Is it a serious rumor? I'd probably preorder if I could...

I think that rumor was mostly based on an old screenshot from a documentary and the korean filings for a new WiFi6e device, which turned out to be this deck revision, so I'd put less weight on those now.

Are there any other clues about them working on the console?

I have been very happy with my Minisforum Venus UM790, though I use it as a mobile computer since I can just throw it into my backpack. It's been great to have access to AVX512 on the go.

I have been really happy with my steam deck - I would strongly consider it if you don't mind that the hardware isn't cutting-edge. I rarely use it connected to a TV, so the relatively weak GPU might look worse than it does on the small screen, but otherwise it has been fantastic.

It "just works," like a console. Which would be another good option.

HX77G is a LOT cheaper than the HX99G ($650 barebones instead of $740 for basically identical performance).

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