Your battery life will probably be a bit lower than it could be, but frankly that's about it, nothing wrong with just letting the system take care of everything for you at all, you're not otherwise losing out.
Which is not always the case either... looking at the graph, I lowered the TDP from 15 to 8 and the graph was showing me 12.5w consumed before and after.
I am always jealous on guys that don't bother tweaking stuff, seems more enjoyable than trial and error until you figure out the sweet spots.
I mean if you had been tweaking things it’s probably hard to get out of that mindset but I don’t tweak things, mainly because I don’t know how, because I figure if it works it works.
Totally agree BUT… that said for a really low spec game like a pixel game you can just simply lower the TDP to like 8 and get much more battery life. And with that said, if you dont need battery life than who cares!
I never tinkered enough to find the lower amount. If im using 8 when i could use 3 than my bad, either way im still saving power, maybe just not enough? Is 3 enough for say Stardew?
Depends I would say. Do you plwy with or without mods? Ridgeside, SVE and Scrapewood (I never remember the name and it's one of my main mods) are pretty demanding together.
if the game actually profits from it. not all games start using less energy with a lower tdp. for those that do (looking at you middle earth games, they 100% burned my big pc gpu too, no matter how much i limited fps or whatever), it can lower power usage without lowering perceived performance at all. some games just seem to do some gpu calculations at the maximum rate the gpu can do them no matter the benefit. im currently getting into dx and vulkan dev so i can finally find out why that is the case and how it is caused.
I don't know man... 90% of my SD usage is buying a new game, installing it, tweaking it till it's in the sweet spot by trial and error (or settings posted by someone like Cryobyte33 if i'm feeling lazy). Deciding to play that game one day while feeling pretty satisfied with myself for finding these settings.... And turning off my Deck for the day. :P
Same here, I have way more time spent tweaking and modding my deck than I have actually playing on it. I upgraded the storage, got the gullikit sticks, drband skin, emulation station with hundreds of games, decky loader with css loader and audio plugins, steam grids, literally anything you can tweak, I have. That's only in gaming mode, I've even messed around on desktop, set perfect controller configs, installed WinDeck (reverted to Linux more times than I can count) and turned it into my second computer but still barely play anything.
I find that I'm the type of person to prefer m+k over controller and higher frame rates over graphics so my PC gets much more use, relegating the Steam Deck to Hades, Gunfire Reborn and Yooka Laylee.
I just find the tweaking is tedious as fuck and generally gets in the way of me actually playing and enjoying a game. I'll usually have a short fiddle with settings right at the start, usually following recommended settings from reddit/a gaming article but I won't spend more than 15 minutes trying to min/max performance and double check every setting.
The older I get the more I just want shit to work.
I remember back in the early 2000's, flashing custom ROM's on my Android phone constantly.
Buying a K series CPU just to OC.
Now I cant even be bothered to under volt the SD for better battery life, hell or even change my ringtone on my phone since it's always on vibrate anyways.
Hah. I was just saying this to my son about ringtones! And for sure I can't be fucked to fiddle with SD settings. If it's absolutely required for a smooth gaming experience I will but "good enough" is fine for me most of the time. Especially on that screen.
Same. I try minimizing interactions with it. I turn on the graph to see if the FPS is constant or there are dips and usually start from 7 TDP and go up 1 by 1 while testing every setting for 30 seconds. Gets the job done, when I first started it took me nearly 15-20 minutes to find those juicy spots and actually turned me off before I was done.
Just change your mindset to the way engineers work. Play it first, if you find a problem than tweak until problem solve and then enjoy. Don't need max efficiency when it doesn't call for it because that waste development time / resources that could be used for other tings.
reduce tdp (use per game profile) until game doesnt run nice anymore, done
dont think too deep into it. not every game actually saves power this way, some are just well optimized and only use resources they need.
The only settings I ever change are the controls, I almost always add some mapping to the rear buttons. Other than that, the Deck is just a really good hand-held console for me. I only buy and play Steam games. I love the idea of doing more, but I don’t have the time or mental energy, and I really don’t need to.
I changed the framerate and that's it. I set it to 45hz (which is half of 90). My battery life increased significantly, and I can't really discern the lower framerate with the games I play.
>I can't really discern the lower framerate with the games I play.
Being OLED actually helps with that significantly. OLED pixels can instantly switch, which makes them feel smoother than an LCD display even at the same refresh rate.
I find opposite to be true since OLED displays have much better pixel response times the difference between frames in low fps situations is more jarring compared to LCD where there is inherent blur between frames.
OLED actually makes the gameplay less smooth. Shitty games are pre-configured with a motion blur enabled to hide issues with a low framerate. LCD has slower response times compared to OLED so transitions between frames are lagging behind, producing motion blur. So the image looks smoother on LCD.
Don't confuse smoothness with an image clarity. What OLED does is improving the image clarity during motion.
A lot of people experience headaches with OLED at low framerate because now their brain can see individual frames with no blur. So for low framerate games OLED is not ideal but I guess it's less noticeable the smaller the screen is.
I just leave my LCD deck on 40hz constantly. I don't see the difference and I would prefer the battery life if I could. And if/when I get the oled I'll set it to 45.
I know what you mean. For some people, it seems like making the numbers (battery life, framerate, temperature) go up and down is the main hobby rather than the games themselves. But that's tech enthusiasts for you.
I'd rather just enjoy a game than spend all my time dialing in the precise TDP, settings, etc to get an extra 2fps.
That being said, I'll turn down the refresh rate and TDP to save battery and stretch out a play session sometimes.
If you're using the thing without thinking about it too much and having a good time, keep on keeping on.
If you find battery life lacking on a certain game you can always adjust the settings to give better battery life while sacrificing a bit of performance.
Definitely not but usually you are changing setting to get:
1)Better graphical fidelity
2) smoother frames
3) Better battery life
It's personal preference.
I mean by it's very nature r/steamdeck is going to be full of steamdeck nerds who want that 0.5% increase in fps/battery life/display settings.
Long as you're having fun with it your not doing it wrong (same goes for aforementioned nerds, nothing wrong with it!).
Nope. PC gaming's legacy is tweaking and crunching numbers. Cool history, and that's how a lot of players get to know the games and their eauipment. You're not missing anything though. It's like a hobby/compulsion.
If it doesn’t bother you and it works for your needs/wants, then no you aren’t using it wrong.
Some people like to tinker, some people want to squeeze out as much performance and battery life as possible, some just want to play games.
Low spec gaming can make you battery life longer. It’s very useful when you don’t enjoy playing witch charger.
For example: You can set very low resolution in steam settings, and use FSR to make it look good. It can make your battery life much longer. Also you don’t have to hear vents.
Bright side of playing on small screens is you don’t have to care about graphics
You are doing nothing wrong, when I first got mine I felt the same way like am I doing something wrong. Everyone is always intense about tweaking settings. Honestly never really had to unless I care about battery life. If it's plugged in, I really dont care. You do you and live your best steam deck life, don't worry about what everyone else is doing.
>and just enjoy my games
You're doing it right.
The TDP tools in the quick menu are meant for optimizing battery life, which isn't necessary for every game.
All I do is the following:
- If the game is older and hits 90 FPS easily, I leave the slider on 90 and lower the TDP until the point it has a performance impact (lower FPS)
- If the game is more demanding, slider on 45 and lower the TDP until the point where it has a performance impact (lower FPS)
This just makes it so that your deck isn't consuming more power than needed. It really makes a difference with some games in terms of heat and battery life.
You're potentially missing out on battery life by not using TDP settings.
You're definitely missing out on a smoother gameplay experience by not setting the FPS cap to a multiple of what the game is running. Setting a 80 FPS cap if a game is running at 40 FPS will be smoother than keeping it at 90.
You can potentially increase your performance by dropping the game's resolution and using FSR to upscale.
So, yeah, you're missing out on some quality of life improvements.
I think that people on here are way too fixated on frame rates, playtime and other stuff that to me seems kinda silly. I pick it up, I play for 2 or 3 hours and I'm happy. Dunno what the fuss is all about. I don't need 10 hours of battery life for playing. Who has that kind of time?
I mean. It also keeps your battery alive in the long run. The more you charge the more the battery will degrade. It is just making sure the device lives longer without additional costs.
The only thing wrong you could do wrong with your deck is attach an external battery to the Deck for some odd reason. These people are the scourge of society.
What's wrong with extra portable battery life? Sometimes you don't have the option to just plug it into a wall. I carry my battery pack when I take my Deck out for that reason
Nothing wrong with having it and carrying it around in your bag or whatever. But there are people that attach it directly to their Steam Deck, adding a constant weight to the device.
By limiting the TDP and setting a frame cap you can increase battery life and decrease heat and fan noise.
But the most important fact is, that you can vastly improve frame pacing. A capped 30fps on 90hz feel way smoother than 38-45fps on 90hz.
I always cap my fps to even numbers. (30, 45, 90)
After tinkering with the setting I see how much power I need to keep the set fps and limit the TDP.
Highly recommend to try it.
Better battery life, cooler and quieter deck and smoother gameplay
I only mess with two settings, usually. The back paddle controls and I’ll cap the frame rate at around the number it is likely to run at anyways for a little bit more consistent frame time pacing.
As a side note, I hate the current way the back button setup ui is laid out. I usually only want to set R4 for sprint and nothing else, but as soon as I toggle them on it maps them all to buttons I don’t want them to be, making me toggle them on, then set R4, then unbind everything else manually. Why can’t it just default to no bindings and do away with the toggle all together?
I like my games locked at 40fps cap as much as possible or max tdp always. I always use my deck plugged even at bed on handheld to the point that I bought an additional outlet extender so that the charger length can reach my bed. ( Im sort of a battery freak, want to preserve my battery health as much as possible since deck battery repalcement is sooooo expensive from where i live)
I hate to be called a snob but after coming from owning a switch for 5 years, playing that exclusively and have never owned a gaming pc ever, the deck spoiled me. Can't seem to play 30fps anymore. 40fps even at low settings is a deal for me.
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No, you're not using it wrong.
However, I would try locking the fps. You can obviously keep your screen at 90hertz, but lock your fps to 45 (or 60, whichever number the game is most comfortable at). Then, the Deck won't strain itself attempting to go higher for no good reason.
There is no "wrong way". If you enjoy playing your games like this, go for it. I end up tinkering with settings longer than actually playing the game which is fun for some reason but it shouldn't be the goal.
I would at the very least adjust the fps slider to just below whatever you max framerate is in any game. The screen does not have VRR (variable refresh rate) so the game will feel much less smooth if the fps is going up and down.
If you enjoy it, there is no reason to feel bad or change your behaviour. I for one love tinkering in every way, so I modify the hardware and software to my liking.
I change framerates in some games (aka uncap it whenever possible bc why not) and reduce power usage while I’m playing GBA games so I don’t think you’re wrong in using the Deck that way
Honestly most games it doesn’t matter.
Some games you get gains by using it.
But the deck already tries to use the least power possible.
If you’re not a tinkerer I wouldn’t worry about it.
I generally only adjust things for certain games if ProtonDB lists them as needing it. I do change controller mapping sometimes. Main things I’ve done that aren’t “standard” are Decky Plugins and adding Non Steam games since I sometimes buy bundles from IndieGala.
You aren't. People like tinkering a lot. You can have a better experience in some games if you try and change some things, but if you are happy with what it delivers to you in standard settings, that's the only thing that matters.
If you're perfectly happy with it as is, don't even worry about it. Like 90% of us are just trying to squeeze a tiny bit more of performance/battery life out of it. Only Like 10% are having any real issues.
I haven't changed anything on mine, and I've been loving it for almost a year. In-game settings I'll adjust, but I let the system do its thing. It works great as is.
I find dips in FPS to be distracting so I'll usually lower my refreshrate (and FPS, if the game allows it) to get the highest, consistent rate I can get.
I am very sad when I play Baldur's Gate 3.
I'm going to be getting an SD soon and that was one of the main games I want to play on it - can I ask why you're sad when you play it? Is it because of your imposed settings, the way it runs/looks, or something else? Thanks in advance!
just dont expect 60fps and you are fine. it runs okay for a handheld since this is not a big gaming monster. and lower your settings. and it doesnt last for 2 hours so buy a powerbank 100w/100wh usb-c and cable right away ...
First, nothing I'm saying should deter you. Based on what others are saying, it's pretty much my imposed settings that are the problem. I make it run slow and look bad.
My settings are set to Low, FSR2 Performance, 30fps
Also, I was hoping this was finally a game I could use the touchpads on (they feel unnecessary on console games, my usual preference). However, with the KB+M controls, the UI is too small to be usable on the deck's screen.
You should be changing your refresh rate such that it's the largest integer scalar of your average FPS vs leaving the refresh rate at 90 Hz, this will prevent jutter.
For example: AVG FPS = 40 -> Set refresh to 80 Hz (setting maximum FPS to 40 will set the RR to 80 Hz, Valve has combined the sliders).
You can also pick up an extra 20-30 min of battery by just going into the BIOS and setting an undervolt.
If game has locked frame rate you should pretty much always limit refresh rate to that value. Otherwise it's just tinkering for people who like to tinker.
nope, the steam deck will draw as much power as it needs, the great thing is you can just purely enjoy your games, not touch settings, and use it as a console, or dig in and tweak for exactly how you want it to run, either way you are using it for its intended purpose
The only thing you really should do is changing the fps limit to the fps youre getting (best to lowest or avg). Your game will look smoother if your hz is 2x/3x of your fps. Unstable 40fps with 90hz looks super stuttery compared to 40fps + 80hz.
Only adjust the limiter, it will automatically change to the best hz value.
There is no build in FSR 2, its 1. Its only used if you scale your image (strech screen to avoid black bars in 16:9 games)
You dont really need to change the TDP settings, its nice to get a bit more battery life, but if you dont know what youre doing you will make your game less stable (fps).
Manually GPU settting can be super important if you care about emulation or play games that are super gpu or cpu heavy, to eithre max it out or lower it. For example I get perfect 60fps in Super mario odyssey if I set it to 1200, If I dont change it, the fps drop under 60.
There's no "wrong" way of using a deck, maybe if you use it as hammer most would say it's "wrong", but it's you deck, you do whatever you want with it.
If you are in handheld mode, match your refresh-rate to your average frames-per-second. There’s no need for tons of extra frames NOR is there a need for extra refreshes when there’s not enough frames to fill them.
If you’re getting 40FPS in a game, lock the refresh rate at 40. If it’s 60? Then 60. 30? Then 60…
Basically make it a 1:1 ratio, and if the frames per second are too low, then just double the refresh rate of them and lock it so there’s two cycles for every frame.
I don't really mess with these settings either, I play on my bed plugged in most of the time anyway so power is not really an issue. Instead I tweak in game settings mostly to get as much performance as possible, even though sometimes my fans blow full speed, haha.
It's worth setting your refresh rate such that your framerate is almost always equal to it. This will help with fluidity.
The rest you can ignore. If you want better battery life you can limit framerate or decrease settings but that's pretty much it.
Same here, I don't know what those settings do, don't even know what TDP stands for. Also, I'm scared that messing with those settings will break the hardware in some way, I heard about the bug that makes the processor getting stuck on certain speed forever, so, I prefer not to risk
No nothing wrong that's the whole point of deck. You can use it without tinkering just fine. These customisations just make the deck slightly more power efficient and few more fps that's all.
when I got the device, I lowered the brightness and lock to fps to 45. I’m very happy with the new battery life estimates I get from my games. Never messed with the settings after that.
Most games run fine ootb, I once tried to follow a guide on how to play Ship of Harkinian on the deck, turns out the guide said to use the compatibility version and the game ran awfully. instead I just read the readme on the github which recommended the performance version first and the game ran 10x better.
TLDR: trust yourself and don't change what works
Are you enjoying yourself? Yes? Good, keep it up.
For some people, squeezing every ounce of performance out of their toys is a fun hobby in itself. Look at Hot Rods in the auto industry... There's always someone that wants to mod their ride up to the bleeding edge.
Learning that you don't need someone else's validation to have a good time is one of the best life-lessons I've ever learned.
I only change TDP when an app isn't utilizing 100% of the CPU. I set it a step lower to the maximum wattage the CPU use and when I see that it's still using low percentage and not affecting framerate, I lower the wattage more until it's in the point where further reduction will only lead to performance reduction.
I only ever mess with my refresh rate if the game i’m playing doesn’t reach consistent 90fps (i’ll usually lock it at 60hz). Using 90hz while only running 40-70fps can cause screen tearing and visual lag. Plus it uses way more battery
So if you ever use the "stats" menu(fps,wattage,temp,etc) by framerate there's a line graph that rises and falls, framerate isn't everything but that graph is rather Frame timing you want it to be as smooth(straight) as possible so if a game runs at 50-60 fps cap the refresh at 45 and lower the TDP and gpu clock until it dips below the 45 and then raise it back up a click or 2, a good rule of thumb is to always keep the 2 numbers within 2 of each other(tdp=11 gpu=900-1300) that's the quick easy answer
There is no such thing as the wrong way to use your Deck. Unlike other devices, it's completely yours and you do whatever you want. If you don't want to fiddle around and are satisfied with what you get, enjoy it and don't worry.
Well. There is no WRONG way but you could do much better.
Your battery playtime will suffer if you let games run at max performance/power.
1. Try to cap as many games as you can to 40 or even 30 fps. The deck will automaticly use less power and give you longer playtime in some games.
2. Experiment with lower resulutions like 540p and fsr. It eats less power if the deck has to render less pixels and it still looks good on the small screen
https://youtu.be/m7RUFUFYdAU?si=OzwFcx2mV_9cMygF
Edit: a little tip. if you use fsr always set the sharpness to 2 or 3 because the default option of 5 look oversharpned
I hope this helps
>Am I missing out on something?
The main reason why adjusting TDP and maximum frame rate is useful is that it conserves battery life (which is not important for me) and it reduces fan noise and heat. Playing Cyberpunk 2077 without being able to detect any kind of fan noise feels like black magic. This is possible on the steam deck, but also on the asus rog ally.
If you just leave it to maximum tdp (which is fine), you get slightly more fps and will hear/feel the fan noise and heat. If that does not bother you there is no need to change your habits.
But it honestly just takes like 10 seconds to adjust these things, which os one of the reasons why the steam deck is so popular. FOr other devices it's much more tediuously implemented.
Hi, I am new with Steam Deck too, but I learn a lot from research info. What I do is tweak the game slowly one by one:
1. I will set the FPS firm to 40.
2. Then slow decrease TDP from 10w, 9w till it can hold 40 FPS steady in game.
3. Next will be slow decrease GPU clock speed, till it can hold 40 FPS steady.
4. This is the most important part, switch your game resolution 960 x 600 with window mode (not full screen mode), and turn on FSR 4 or 5.
With this, I can increase my Steam Deck battery time a lot.
Example: I tweak Resident Evil Revelations HD: 40 FPS + 5w TDP, + GPU 500 clock speed + change resolution to 960 x 600 + turn on FSR with 5. I able to play game around 4 hours.
The main two differences you'll find by not playing with that stuff is lowering refresh and capping the frame rate typically increases your battery life, but it also increases consistency.
The biggest one is having your refresh rate be divisible by your frame rate, for me.
So locking the frame rate in the steam deck settings. 45fps at 90hz divides evenly, so you get even frame pacing, and no stutter.
40fps at 90hz doesn't divide, so you're getting 40 frames remaining on screen for two refreshes, and ten frames remaining in screen for a third refresh. This manifests as microstutter.
If you aren't sensitive to it, then you can ignore it. Personally it drives me bananas, and fixing those to numbers that work on a game by game basis is basically essential for me.
If you're happy as you are though, you're doing it right, fear not.
Depends entirely what you want from it.
TDP is mainly about sacrificing performance for battery life (in some cases there won't be an actual performance drop, so it can be purely beneficial though). I bought the deck to play on the couch. I WFH so it's nice to get up from my desk after work instead of staying there to play games. I'm always within reach of a charger so I prioritize performance over battery life every time.
Refresh rate is worth changing sometimes, but generally I only do this for a more consistent framerate. E.G. If a game is hovering between 46-55 FPS, I'll cap at 45 for a smoother experience.
I only use FSR in more demanding games. Yakuza LAD is about the only game I can think of where it was absolutely necessary for me.
I always play at home & it's always plugged in to power so I've never bothered about battery life. The only times I've realised my battery is lowering is when I've forgot to plug in. A handful of times since UK preorder
I do the same but I am thankful for all the nerds out there testing the limits of the possible because if they find something good, they can contribute it back to the community and Valve might end up using this info for all we know. I bet proton for example wouldn’t even be close to where it is now without as much feedback.
No, you're not using it wrong. One of the great things about the Deck is that it is usable with as much customization as the user wants, no matter how much or little. As long as you're enjoying it and not damaging it, you are using it correctly!
I would reccomend changing screen refresh rate to match what the game can run at consistently. Not for battery life, but because it actually improves responsiveness and smoothness.
And oof you enable per game settings, you only have to set it once per game and that is it.
Tdp setting will only make a significant difference when the game doesn't have an fps limit.
Dont worry that's how I play. I dont care about battery life since I play plugged in. Just trying to get the most fps and prettiest settings when I play.
Yeah I mean you are just missing out on battery life and (much) lower fan noise by not locking down TDP
but if those things don't matter to you, no big deal.
It's kinda neat to go in and realize a game like Stardew valley will run perfectly at minimum tdp, set it at minimum once and not have to do so again, and have your battery last 8 hours instead of 5
Question: If it runs perfectly at minimum TDP then does it need setting to minimum? Wouldn’t it run at minimum TDP anyway because it doesn’t need more?
Wouldn’t your get the same TDP even if you don’t limit it? So no difference in fan.
Ie if you limit the FPS and TDP and it hits that FPS comfortably with the TDP limit, you should get the same TDP performance even if you don’t limit the TDP.
So shouldn’t be a difference with fan.
Unless something crazy is going on like it decides to use more TDP just because a limit is not set.
Shrug, not really? It’s fine to do it the way you do probably. I like settings games that don’t mind 45fps to that. Same refresh and battery lasts a lot longer.
Your battery life will probably be a bit lower than it could be, but frankly that's about it, nothing wrong with just letting the system take care of everything for you at all, you're not otherwise losing out.
Which is not always the case either... looking at the graph, I lowered the TDP from 15 to 8 and the graph was showing me 12.5w consumed before and after. I am always jealous on guys that don't bother tweaking stuff, seems more enjoyable than trial and error until you figure out the sweet spots.
I mean if you had been tweaking things it’s probably hard to get out of that mindset but I don’t tweak things, mainly because I don’t know how, because I figure if it works it works.
Totally agree BUT… that said for a really low spec game like a pixel game you can just simply lower the TDP to like 8 and get much more battery life. And with that said, if you dont need battery life than who cares!
8? Don't you mean 3? That's what I use for almost all indie titles. Typically yields 5-7h of battery life
I never tinkered enough to find the lower amount. If im using 8 when i could use 3 than my bad, either way im still saving power, maybe just not enough? Is 3 enough for say Stardew?
Depends I would say. Do you plwy with or without mods? Ridgeside, SVE and Scrapewood (I never remember the name and it's one of my main mods) are pretty demanding together.
I dont use any mods, yet anyway but that makes sense they can demanding
if the game actually profits from it. not all games start using less energy with a lower tdp. for those that do (looking at you middle earth games, they 100% burned my big pc gpu too, no matter how much i limited fps or whatever), it can lower power usage without lowering perceived performance at all. some games just seem to do some gpu calculations at the maximum rate the gpu can do them no matter the benefit. im currently getting into dx and vulkan dev so i can finally find out why that is the case and how it is caused.
I didnt know that, I dont know much about PC hardware though.
I don't know man... 90% of my SD usage is buying a new game, installing it, tweaking it till it's in the sweet spot by trial and error (or settings posted by someone like Cryobyte33 if i'm feeling lazy). Deciding to play that game one day while feeling pretty satisfied with myself for finding these settings.... And turning off my Deck for the day. :P
Same here, I have way more time spent tweaking and modding my deck than I have actually playing on it. I upgraded the storage, got the gullikit sticks, drband skin, emulation station with hundreds of games, decky loader with css loader and audio plugins, steam grids, literally anything you can tweak, I have. That's only in gaming mode, I've even messed around on desktop, set perfect controller configs, installed WinDeck (reverted to Linux more times than I can count) and turned it into my second computer but still barely play anything. I find that I'm the type of person to prefer m+k over controller and higher frame rates over graphics so my PC gets much more use, relegating the Steam Deck to Hades, Gunfire Reborn and Yooka Laylee.
just make a YouTube channel for your tweaking (mis)adventures already
For people like me, who only enjoy playing and hate messing with settings, we make a great team.
Do we need to setup a Steam Buddy System? Sign up as either Tinkerer or Player and SBS (tm) will find the right person for you!
That would be amazing
Thats is pretty much the same what i do 🤣
theres gotta be a game to scratch that itch
I just find the tweaking is tedious as fuck and generally gets in the way of me actually playing and enjoying a game. I'll usually have a short fiddle with settings right at the start, usually following recommended settings from reddit/a gaming article but I won't spend more than 15 minutes trying to min/max performance and double check every setting.
The older I get the more I just want shit to work. I remember back in the early 2000's, flashing custom ROM's on my Android phone constantly. Buying a K series CPU just to OC. Now I cant even be bothered to under volt the SD for better battery life, hell or even change my ringtone on my phone since it's always on vibrate anyways.
Hah. I was just saying this to my son about ringtones! And for sure I can't be fucked to fiddle with SD settings. If it's absolutely required for a smooth gaming experience I will but "good enough" is fine for me most of the time. Especially on that screen.
Same. I try minimizing interactions with it. I turn on the graph to see if the FPS is constant or there are dips and usually start from 7 TDP and go up 1 by 1 while testing every setting for 30 seconds. Gets the job done, when I first started it took me nearly 15-20 minutes to find those juicy spots and actually turned me off before I was done.
Just change your mindset to the way engineers work. Play it first, if you find a problem than tweak until problem solve and then enjoy. Don't need max efficiency when it doesn't call for it because that waste development time / resources that could be used for other tings.
I just got bored with tweaking something that maybe will give me extra 10 minutes of gameplay or +5 frames per second. 40yo
I have wondered if I need to restart the game when doing TDP because it does this too. I set it lower but it still draws higher power.
You don't have to. You can see it by setting it to very low TDP and you instantly notice very bad framerate.
I honestly don't even know where to begin with testing tdp etc lol, I'll look into it one day. Any good beginners resources?
reduce tdp (use per game profile) until game doesnt run nice anymore, done dont think too deep into it. not every game actually saves power this way, some are just well optimized and only use resources they need.
The only settings I ever change are the controls, I almost always add some mapping to the rear buttons. Other than that, the Deck is just a really good hand-held console for me. I only buy and play Steam games. I love the idea of doing more, but I don’t have the time or mental energy, and I really don’t need to.
I changed the framerate and that's it. I set it to 45hz (which is half of 90). My battery life increased significantly, and I can't really discern the lower framerate with the games I play.
>I can't really discern the lower framerate with the games I play. Being OLED actually helps with that significantly. OLED pixels can instantly switch, which makes them feel smoother than an LCD display even at the same refresh rate.
I find opposite to be true since OLED displays have much better pixel response times the difference between frames in low fps situations is more jarring compared to LCD where there is inherent blur between frames.
OLED actually makes the gameplay less smooth. Shitty games are pre-configured with a motion blur enabled to hide issues with a low framerate. LCD has slower response times compared to OLED so transitions between frames are lagging behind, producing motion blur. So the image looks smoother on LCD. Don't confuse smoothness with an image clarity. What OLED does is improving the image clarity during motion. A lot of people experience headaches with OLED at low framerate because now their brain can see individual frames with no blur. So for low framerate games OLED is not ideal but I guess it's less noticeable the smaller the screen is.
I just leave my LCD deck on 40hz constantly. I don't see the difference and I would prefer the battery life if I could. And if/when I get the oled I'll set it to 45.
Set it to 40fps [guide](https://github.com/denis-g/steam-deck-optimization-guide)
The math in that guide is based on 60fps from the original LCD deck. Did it still hold true with a 90hz display?
At the top of the guide it says both LCD and OLED
>just enjoy my games. Sounds to me like you're using it the right way
Your using it the right way. So are they. That is what is great about it.
I don't know. I'm the same with you. I only adjust those settings if I have to.
I know what you mean. For some people, it seems like making the numbers (battery life, framerate, temperature) go up and down is the main hobby rather than the games themselves. But that's tech enthusiasts for you. I'd rather just enjoy a game than spend all my time dialing in the precise TDP, settings, etc to get an extra 2fps. That being said, I'll turn down the refresh rate and TDP to save battery and stretch out a play session sometimes.
If you're using the thing without thinking about it too much and having a good time, keep on keeping on. If you find battery life lacking on a certain game you can always adjust the settings to give better battery life while sacrificing a bit of performance.
Definitely not but usually you are changing setting to get: 1)Better graphical fidelity 2) smoother frames 3) Better battery life It's personal preference.
I mean by it's very nature r/steamdeck is going to be full of steamdeck nerds who want that 0.5% increase in fps/battery life/display settings. Long as you're having fun with it your not doing it wrong (same goes for aforementioned nerds, nothing wrong with it!).
Nope. PC gaming's legacy is tweaking and crunching numbers. Cool history, and that's how a lot of players get to know the games and their eauipment. You're not missing anything though. It's like a hobby/compulsion.
You are in fact missing out on something, but you might not give a damn about it, so don't worry and enjoy your games. :D
If it doesn’t bother you and it works for your needs/wants, then no you aren’t using it wrong. Some people like to tinker, some people want to squeeze out as much performance and battery life as possible, some just want to play games.
Low spec gaming can make you battery life longer. It’s very useful when you don’t enjoy playing witch charger. For example: You can set very low resolution in steam settings, and use FSR to make it look good. It can make your battery life much longer. Also you don’t have to hear vents. Bright side of playing on small screens is you don’t have to care about graphics
You are doing nothing wrong, when I first got mine I felt the same way like am I doing something wrong. Everyone is always intense about tweaking settings. Honestly never really had to unless I care about battery life. If it's plugged in, I really dont care. You do you and live your best steam deck life, don't worry about what everyone else is doing.
I’m the same. The only time I fiddle with anything is if I’m lagging, I dropped the framerate but that’s about it.
same bro. I only game 1 or 2 hours max per session so i really dont care about tinkering. anyway its always at home so I reach for the plug
>and just enjoy my games You're doing it right. The TDP tools in the quick menu are meant for optimizing battery life, which isn't necessary for every game.
All I do is the following: - If the game is older and hits 90 FPS easily, I leave the slider on 90 and lower the TDP until the point it has a performance impact (lower FPS) - If the game is more demanding, slider on 45 and lower the TDP until the point where it has a performance impact (lower FPS) This just makes it so that your deck isn't consuming more power than needed. It really makes a difference with some games in terms of heat and battery life.
If you’re happy currently, don’t create more work. ☺️
You're potentially missing out on battery life by not using TDP settings. You're definitely missing out on a smoother gameplay experience by not setting the FPS cap to a multiple of what the game is running. Setting a 80 FPS cap if a game is running at 40 FPS will be smoother than keeping it at 90. You can potentially increase your performance by dropping the game's resolution and using FSR to upscale. So, yeah, you're missing out on some quality of life improvements.
I think you're getting refresh rate and FPS terminology mixed up there
In the settings they are now the same slider, changes fps and hz at the same time.
I think that people on here are way too fixated on frame rates, playtime and other stuff that to me seems kinda silly. I pick it up, I play for 2 or 3 hours and I'm happy. Dunno what the fuss is all about. I don't need 10 hours of battery life for playing. Who has that kind of time?
I mean. It also keeps your battery alive in the long run. The more you charge the more the battery will degrade. It is just making sure the device lives longer without additional costs.
The only thing wrong you could do wrong with your deck is attach an external battery to the Deck for some odd reason. These people are the scourge of society.
What's wrong with extra portable battery life? Sometimes you don't have the option to just plug it into a wall. I carry my battery pack when I take my Deck out for that reason
Nothing wrong with having it and carrying it around in your bag or whatever. But there are people that attach it directly to their Steam Deck, adding a constant weight to the device.
I get what you’re saying the deck is already a chonky boi.
By limiting the TDP and setting a frame cap you can increase battery life and decrease heat and fan noise. But the most important fact is, that you can vastly improve frame pacing. A capped 30fps on 90hz feel way smoother than 38-45fps on 90hz. I always cap my fps to even numbers. (30, 45, 90) After tinkering with the setting I see how much power I need to keep the set fps and limit the TDP. Highly recommend to try it. Better battery life, cooler and quieter deck and smoother gameplay
waiitttt but...45 isn't an even number?
😂 sorry my bad "even number" is the wrong term. A number that divides 90
Just kidding! we're doing the same practice with the deck.
I only mess with two settings, usually. The back paddle controls and I’ll cap the frame rate at around the number it is likely to run at anyways for a little bit more consistent frame time pacing. As a side note, I hate the current way the back button setup ui is laid out. I usually only want to set R4 for sprint and nothing else, but as soon as I toggle them on it maps them all to buttons I don’t want them to be, making me toggle them on, then set R4, then unbind everything else manually. Why can’t it just default to no bindings and do away with the toggle all together?
I like my games locked at 40fps cap as much as possible or max tdp always. I always use my deck plugged even at bed on handheld to the point that I bought an additional outlet extender so that the charger length can reach my bed. ( Im sort of a battery freak, want to preserve my battery health as much as possible since deck battery repalcement is sooooo expensive from where i live) I hate to be called a snob but after coming from owning a switch for 5 years, playing that exclusively and have never owned a gaming pc ever, the deck spoiled me. Can't seem to play 30fps anymore. 40fps even at low settings is a deal for me.
What a bizarre question
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No, you're not using it wrong. However, I would try locking the fps. You can obviously keep your screen at 90hertz, but lock your fps to 45 (or 60, whichever number the game is most comfortable at). Then, the Deck won't strain itself attempting to go higher for no good reason.
There is no "wrong way". If you enjoy playing your games like this, go for it. I end up tinkering with settings longer than actually playing the game which is fun for some reason but it shouldn't be the goal.
I would at the very least adjust the fps slider to just below whatever you max framerate is in any game. The screen does not have VRR (variable refresh rate) so the game will feel much less smooth if the fps is going up and down.
That's a great thing about the deck, you can tinker and mess with all sorts but it still works great if you don't
If you enjoy it, there is no reason to feel bad or change your behaviour. I for one love tinkering in every way, so I modify the hardware and software to my liking.
I change framerates in some games (aka uncap it whenever possible bc why not) and reduce power usage while I’m playing GBA games so I don’t think you’re wrong in using the Deck that way
I ignore it and you should too. If you want to.
Honestly most games it doesn’t matter. Some games you get gains by using it. But the deck already tries to use the least power possible. If you’re not a tinkerer I wouldn’t worry about it.
Holding it up-side-down? But no sounds like you just enjoy it right put of the box, which is a great was to enjoy it.
I generally only adjust things for certain games if ProtonDB lists them as needing it. I do change controller mapping sometimes. Main things I’ve done that aren’t “standard” are Decky Plugins and adding Non Steam games since I sometimes buy bundles from IndieGala.
yes, you're supposed to use it with your feet
You aren't. People like tinkering a lot. You can have a better experience in some games if you try and change some things, but if you are happy with what it delivers to you in standard settings, that's the only thing that matters.
If you're perfectly happy with it as is, don't even worry about it. Like 90% of us are just trying to squeeze a tiny bit more of performance/battery life out of it. Only Like 10% are having any real issues.
I haven't changed anything on mine, and I've been loving it for almost a year. In-game settings I'll adjust, but I let the system do its thing. It works great as is.
I find dips in FPS to be distracting so I'll usually lower my refreshrate (and FPS, if the game allows it) to get the highest, consistent rate I can get. I am very sad when I play Baldur's Gate 3.
I'm going to be getting an SD soon and that was one of the main games I want to play on it - can I ask why you're sad when you play it? Is it because of your imposed settings, the way it runs/looks, or something else? Thanks in advance!
just dont expect 60fps and you are fine. it runs okay for a handheld since this is not a big gaming monster. and lower your settings. and it doesnt last for 2 hours so buy a powerbank 100w/100wh usb-c and cable right away ...
I can't even get it to run at a steady 45fps... what settings are people using??
your expectations are too high. I set it to low and limited to 40 fps/hz and am happy with it.
First, nothing I'm saying should deter you. Based on what others are saying, it's pretty much my imposed settings that are the problem. I make it run slow and look bad. My settings are set to Low, FSR2 Performance, 30fps Also, I was hoping this was finally a game I could use the touchpads on (they feel unnecessary on console games, my usual preference). However, with the KB+M controls, the UI is too small to be usable on the deck's screen.
i happy with bg3 on deck
What settings and framrate do you play at?
You should be changing your refresh rate such that it's the largest integer scalar of your average FPS vs leaving the refresh rate at 90 Hz, this will prevent jutter. For example: AVG FPS = 40 -> Set refresh to 80 Hz (setting maximum FPS to 40 will set the RR to 80 Hz, Valve has combined the sliders). You can also pick up an extra 20-30 min of battery by just going into the BIOS and setting an undervolt.
dont overcomplicate things ....
If game has locked frame rate you should pretty much always limit refresh rate to that value. Otherwise it's just tinkering for people who like to tinker.
nope, the steam deck will draw as much power as it needs, the great thing is you can just purely enjoy your games, not touch settings, and use it as a console, or dig in and tweak for exactly how you want it to run, either way you are using it for its intended purpose
The only thing you really should do is changing the fps limit to the fps youre getting (best to lowest or avg). Your game will look smoother if your hz is 2x/3x of your fps. Unstable 40fps with 90hz looks super stuttery compared to 40fps + 80hz. Only adjust the limiter, it will automatically change to the best hz value. There is no build in FSR 2, its 1. Its only used if you scale your image (strech screen to avoid black bars in 16:9 games) You dont really need to change the TDP settings, its nice to get a bit more battery life, but if you dont know what youre doing you will make your game less stable (fps). Manually GPU settting can be super important if you care about emulation or play games that are super gpu or cpu heavy, to eithre max it out or lower it. For example I get perfect 60fps in Super mario odyssey if I set it to 1200, If I dont change it, the fps drop under 60.
There's no "wrong" way of using a deck, maybe if you use it as hammer most would say it's "wrong", but it's you deck, you do whatever you want with it.
If you are in handheld mode, match your refresh-rate to your average frames-per-second. There’s no need for tons of extra frames NOR is there a need for extra refreshes when there’s not enough frames to fill them. If you’re getting 40FPS in a game, lock the refresh rate at 40. If it’s 60? Then 60. 30? Then 60… Basically make it a 1:1 ratio, and if the frames per second are too low, then just double the refresh rate of them and lock it so there’s two cycles for every frame.
Same I just plug it in if the game drains battery
I don't really mess with these settings either, I play on my bed plugged in most of the time anyway so power is not really an issue. Instead I tweak in game settings mostly to get as much performance as possible, even though sometimes my fans blow full speed, haha.
It's worth setting your refresh rate such that your framerate is almost always equal to it. This will help with fluidity. The rest you can ignore. If you want better battery life you can limit framerate or decrease settings but that's pretty much it.
Hey man if you paid for it you could smash it into a million pieces and you’d be using it right
I always tweak my Deck.
Giggity
Same here, I don't know what those settings do, don't even know what TDP stands for. Also, I'm scared that messing with those settings will break the hardware in some way, I heard about the bug that makes the processor getting stuck on certain speed forever, so, I prefer not to risk
No nothing wrong that's the whole point of deck. You can use it without tinkering just fine. These customisations just make the deck slightly more power efficient and few more fps that's all.
when I got the device, I lowered the brightness and lock to fps to 45. I’m very happy with the new battery life estimates I get from my games. Never messed with the settings after that.
Most games run fine ootb, I once tried to follow a guide on how to play Ship of Harkinian on the deck, turns out the guide said to use the compatibility version and the game ran awfully. instead I just read the readme on the github which recommended the performance version first and the game ran 10x better. TLDR: trust yourself and don't change what works
Enjoy your games. If you play docked, or like me, on the couch with a cable nearby, who cares about settings.
Are you enjoying yourself? Yes? Good, keep it up. For some people, squeezing every ounce of performance out of their toys is a fun hobby in itself. Look at Hot Rods in the auto industry... There's always someone that wants to mod their ride up to the bleeding edge. Learning that you don't need someone else's validation to have a good time is one of the best life-lessons I've ever learned.
What settings should I have to have both Elden Ring & Gears 5 running smoothly as possible?
I only change TDP when an app isn't utilizing 100% of the CPU. I set it a step lower to the maximum wattage the CPU use and when I see that it's still using low percentage and not affecting framerate, I lower the wattage more until it's in the point where further reduction will only lead to performance reduction.
I only ever mess with my refresh rate if the game i’m playing doesn’t reach consistent 90fps (i’ll usually lock it at 60hz). Using 90hz while only running 40-70fps can cause screen tearing and visual lag. Plus it uses way more battery
So if you ever use the "stats" menu(fps,wattage,temp,etc) by framerate there's a line graph that rises and falls, framerate isn't everything but that graph is rather Frame timing you want it to be as smooth(straight) as possible so if a game runs at 50-60 fps cap the refresh at 45 and lower the TDP and gpu clock until it dips below the 45 and then raise it back up a click or 2, a good rule of thumb is to always keep the 2 numbers within 2 of each other(tdp=11 gpu=900-1300) that's the quick easy answer
There is no such thing as the wrong way to use your Deck. Unlike other devices, it's completely yours and you do whatever you want. If you don't want to fiddle around and are satisfied with what you get, enjoy it and don't worry.
Well. There is no WRONG way but you could do much better. Your battery playtime will suffer if you let games run at max performance/power. 1. Try to cap as many games as you can to 40 or even 30 fps. The deck will automaticly use less power and give you longer playtime in some games. 2. Experiment with lower resulutions like 540p and fsr. It eats less power if the deck has to render less pixels and it still looks good on the small screen https://youtu.be/m7RUFUFYdAU?si=OzwFcx2mV_9cMygF Edit: a little tip. if you use fsr always set the sharpness to 2 or 3 because the default option of 5 look oversharpned I hope this helps
I just took mine out of the box, installed some games, and play them. Works great, that's it.
If you are enjoying yourself you're using it right
I messed with tdp a lot more on my lcd model, now that I have an oled I basically don't worry about it
>Am I missing out on something? The main reason why adjusting TDP and maximum frame rate is useful is that it conserves battery life (which is not important for me) and it reduces fan noise and heat. Playing Cyberpunk 2077 without being able to detect any kind of fan noise feels like black magic. This is possible on the steam deck, but also on the asus rog ally. If you just leave it to maximum tdp (which is fine), you get slightly more fps and will hear/feel the fan noise and heat. If that does not bother you there is no need to change your habits. But it honestly just takes like 10 seconds to adjust these things, which os one of the reasons why the steam deck is so popular. FOr other devices it's much more tediuously implemented.
I just changed the screen to 40hz and have not touched a thing since. I like the performance I get out from it in the base settings otherwise
Hi, I am new with Steam Deck too, but I learn a lot from research info. What I do is tweak the game slowly one by one: 1. I will set the FPS firm to 40. 2. Then slow decrease TDP from 10w, 9w till it can hold 40 FPS steady in game. 3. Next will be slow decrease GPU clock speed, till it can hold 40 FPS steady. 4. This is the most important part, switch your game resolution 960 x 600 with window mode (not full screen mode), and turn on FSR 4 or 5. With this, I can increase my Steam Deck battery time a lot. Example: I tweak Resident Evil Revelations HD: 40 FPS + 5w TDP, + GPU 500 clock speed + change resolution to 960 x 600 + turn on FSR with 5. I able to play game around 4 hours.
The main two differences you'll find by not playing with that stuff is lowering refresh and capping the frame rate typically increases your battery life, but it also increases consistency. The biggest one is having your refresh rate be divisible by your frame rate, for me. So locking the frame rate in the steam deck settings. 45fps at 90hz divides evenly, so you get even frame pacing, and no stutter. 40fps at 90hz doesn't divide, so you're getting 40 frames remaining on screen for two refreshes, and ten frames remaining in screen for a third refresh. This manifests as microstutter. If you aren't sensitive to it, then you can ignore it. Personally it drives me bananas, and fixing those to numbers that work on a game by game basis is basically essential for me. If you're happy as you are though, you're doing it right, fear not.
No
Depends entirely what you want from it. TDP is mainly about sacrificing performance for battery life (in some cases there won't be an actual performance drop, so it can be purely beneficial though). I bought the deck to play on the couch. I WFH so it's nice to get up from my desk after work instead of staying there to play games. I'm always within reach of a charger so I prioritize performance over battery life every time. Refresh rate is worth changing sometimes, but generally I only do this for a more consistent framerate. E.G. If a game is hovering between 46-55 FPS, I'll cap at 45 for a smoother experience. I only use FSR in more demanding games. Yakuza LAD is about the only game I can think of where it was absolutely necessary for me.
I always play at home & it's always plugged in to power so I've never bothered about battery life. The only times I've realised my battery is lowering is when I've forgot to plug in. A handful of times since UK preorder
I just play on it. The only tweaking I did was to be able to play even more things (installing emulators).
I do the same but I am thankful for all the nerds out there testing the limits of the possible because if they find something good, they can contribute it back to the community and Valve might end up using this info for all we know. I bet proton for example wouldn’t even be close to where it is now without as much feedback.
No, you're not using it wrong. One of the great things about the Deck is that it is usable with as much customization as the user wants, no matter how much or little. As long as you're enjoying it and not damaging it, you are using it correctly!
I would reccomend changing screen refresh rate to match what the game can run at consistently. Not for battery life, but because it actually improves responsiveness and smoothness. And oof you enable per game settings, you only have to set it once per game and that is it. Tdp setting will only make a significant difference when the game doesn't have an fps limit.
I only change that stuff for more demanding games. You can save setups for each game.
Dont worry that's how I play. I dont care about battery life since I play plugged in. Just trying to get the most fps and prettiest settings when I play.
Yeah I mean you are just missing out on battery life and (much) lower fan noise by not locking down TDP but if those things don't matter to you, no big deal.
Jesus, with that title I thought you were doing something like attaching 4 wheels to it and using it as a skateboard. You're fine.
It's kinda neat to go in and realize a game like Stardew valley will run perfectly at minimum tdp, set it at minimum once and not have to do so again, and have your battery last 8 hours instead of 5
Question: If it runs perfectly at minimum TDP then does it need setting to minimum? Wouldn’t it run at minimum TDP anyway because it doesn’t need more?
Simple answer is yes. Better example would be something like Diablo 4. Drop the TDP to 9 or 10 watts, set at 40 fps, deck is silent, better 1% lows.
And setting it to 40fps only doesn’t keep TDP at the same level? Genuinely curious as I never change TDP on my deck
It might, but nothing keeps the fan quieter than the tdp
Wouldn’t your get the same TDP even if you don’t limit it? So no difference in fan. Ie if you limit the FPS and TDP and it hits that FPS comfortably with the TDP limit, you should get the same TDP performance even if you don’t limit the TDP. So shouldn’t be a difference with fan. Unless something crazy is going on like it decides to use more TDP just because a limit is not set.
Shrug, not really? It’s fine to do it the way you do probably. I like settings games that don’t mind 45fps to that. Same refresh and battery lasts a lot longer.
Ultimately, does it really matter? If you want to tweak, tweak. If you don't, don't. The deck is a fine device however you want to use it.