As 1 of the astir almighty handheld devices retired there, the Steam Deck is simply a great, one-of-a-kind gaming platform. While immoderate games mightiness necessitate you to fiddle astir with the graphical settings to get the champion show retired of them, the acquisition of playing a crippled connected the Deck is often frictionless. That said, determination are ways to get much retired of Valve’s mini-PC that aren’t instantly obvious. Here are immoderate tweaks and different tips to see erstwhile mounting up and utilizing your Deck.

You don’t request to beryllium a powerfulness idiosyncratic to marque the astir of these settings and features. Some, similar the screenshot shortcut (Steam + R1) are beauteous handy, portion others similar the fastener surface settings are indispensable to configure if you privation to enactment connected apical of who has entree to your device.

As with galore portable devices, you astir apt privation to person immoderate benignant of fastener surface to support unwanted users retired of your Deck.

Hit the Steam button, navigate to Settings and nether Security you’ll find options for the Lock Screen. You’ll acceptable up a number-based pin, which you tin usage the Deck’s gamepad buttons to enter. It becomes truly speedy to get successful erstwhile you memorize it.

The astir unafraid enactment is to marque definite each 3 options successful Security are switched on. But you’ll person a prime arsenic to whether you privation your Deck to punctual a password surface whenever you aftermath oregon powerfulness connected the device, erstwhile you power to desktop mode, oregon erstwhile the login surface appears.

You tin instrumentality the Steam Deck anywhere. But arsenic galore Deck owners person discovered, 1 of the increasing pains successful turning Steam into a portable level has been dealing with games that necessitate online authorization, launchers, oregon different functionality that demands an net connection. There’s thing much frustrating than getting connected a level and discovering the rubric you had planned to walk the adjacent respective hours with won’t enactment due to the fact that there’s nary internet.

Obviously if you’re readying a travel wherever you won’t person a connection, you shouldn’t beryllium trying to play a multiplayer crippled oregon thing wherever online functionality is essential. But sadly, connected Steam adjacent galore azygous subordinate games necessitate immoderate benignant of internet-based authentication process.

To marque definite your games volition enactment offline, trial thrust them successful offline mode. Hit the Steam button, and navigate to Internet. There you’ll find an “Enter Offline Mode” button. Then occurrence up the crippled you’re hoping to play to marque definite it works without the internet. I urge doing this for each crippled you program connected playing earlier a trip. Actually get into a crippled and tally astir oregon something. Don’t conscionable fto it beryllium astatine a menu. You privation to marque definite your crippled is playable, not conscionable that it launches and volition aboriginal punctual you with immoderate net issue.

If you’ve got a travel coming up, you astir apt should permission the Deck successful offline mode erstwhile you cognize it works, conscionable to beryllium safe.

Valve pushes retired updates for SteamOS, the Deck’s operating system, beauteous often. You tin cheque what updates are disposable by hitting the Steam fastener and navigating to Settings.

In Settings, you’ll find a “Check For Updates” fastener nether “System.”

If you similar to experimentation with caller features earlier they launch, however, you tin opt into 2 alternate OS branches, Beta and Preview. Note: Experimental features mightiness origin strategy instability oregon pb to crashes, truthful if you privation to guarantee the astir reliable of imaginable experiences connected the Deck, conscionable double-check that you’re connected the “Stable” channel. For an mean user, this is the champion option.

The System country of the settings is besides wherever you’ll find the enactment to format an SD card.

Annoyed by each those notifications astir what games your friends are playing and erstwhile they’re playing them? Easy! Head connected into Settings (Steam > Settings) and nether Notifications you tin either prime a wide “Disable non-critical notifications” setting, oregon crook circumstantial ones off, with options for some the ocular and audio indicator.

If you similar your “Accept” fastener to beryllium your right-most look fastener and your “Cancel” fastener to beryllium the lowest look button, similar it is connected Switch (and galore aged PSX games), simply flip connected “Use Nintendo Button Layout” nether the Controller enactment successful the Settings.

Note: Though this alteration volition beryllium reflected successful immoderate games, fastener prompts connected surface won’t ever lucifer the carnal hardware. For example, if you prime “Use Nintendo Button Layout” and occurrence up The Witcher 3, the carnal A-button volition marque you jump, though the crippled volition usage the B-button punctual connected surface to bespeak “Jump” (B is the leap fastener successful that crippled connected a modular Xbox controller).

Nintendo Button Layout conscionable sees the Steam Deck swap these buttons internally, which tin beryllium a small confusing game-to-game.

Under “Keyboard” successful the Settings, you’ll find a fewer antithetic keyboard themes. You tin adjacent get immoderate much themes via Steam Points, which you’ll gain by buying games.

Note: If you’re not connected to the internet, your Deck volition default to the basal keyboard theme.

Like galore gaming consoles, the Steam Deck has a useful mode to instrumentality screenshots, but it’s not obvious. Simply deed R1 + Steam and you’ll instrumentality a screenshot. To find those screenshots, deed the Steam fastener and navigate to Media.

Note: While R1 + Steam is simply a precise speedy mode to instrumentality a screenshot, determination are 2 things to consider. If, for example, you’re playing a crippled wherever R1 is simply a melee attack, taking a screenshot volition trigger the melee attack—which whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium seen successful the screenshot. Also, if you instrumentality a screenshot portion the notification for taking a erstwhile screenshot is inactive active, your representation volition person the notification. If you privation to fell screenshot notifications, power connected “Disable non-critical notifications” oregon “Hide non-critical notifications erstwhile successful game” successful the Notifications settings, which you tin entree by hitting the Steam button.

Sadly, you can’t customize these shortcuts close now. Holding the Steam fastener volition amusement you a surface with each important screenshots. Here are a mates to perpetrate to memory:

Device Functionality

Screen brightness: Steam + Up oregon Down connected Left Analog Stick
Force Game Shutdown: Steam + B (long press)
Show Keyboard (on Desktop Mode): Steam + X (launches aft release)

Keyboard Keys

Enter Key: Steam + Right D-Pad
Tab Key: Steam + Down D-Pad
Escape Key: Steam + Left D-Pad

The location surface connected the Steam Deck mightiness deficiency immoderate much-needed customization features, but speech from the main enactment of recently-played titles, scroll down a spot and you’ll get a speedy summary of precocious updated games and apps. Further down, you tin get a consciousness of what games your friends are playing.

But deed R1 doubly connected your location surface and you’ll beryllium taken to the Recommended tab. Here you tin motorboat the Discovery Queue. If you’re caller to Steam, this is simply a large mode to find games that mightiness suit your taste. You tin rapidly wishlist, oregon sojourn the store leafage of immoderate crippled connected there.

Just beneath the Discovery Queue, however, you’ll announcement a conception called “Play adjacent from your library.” Your Deck volition item games you haven’t yet played, lining up a queue of titles for games you already own. For immoderate of us, that mightiness beryllium fractional our libraries. But it’s a bully mode to person the Deck suggest thing caller that you already own.

Further down connected the location screen, you’ll spot a enactment of games that you’ve wishlisted and are presently connected sale. So if you’re looking to prevention immoderate currency connected a crippled that caught your oculus previously, this is simply a bully spot to cheque often.

If you deed the Steam fastener and navigate to Library, you’ll get a bid of tabs starting with “Great On Deck.” This leafage lists each the games successful your room which are verified by Valve to enactment good connected the Deck. There are a batch of great games connected the Steam Deck, but this is simply a useful mode of seeing what you already ain that’s expected to tally well. You tin besides navigate to “Installed” for a speedy overview of what’s taking up abstraction connected your Deck.

Beyond this, you tin benignant your games manually successful 2 antithetic ways: Favorites and Collections. By hitting the Sandwich fastener (the 3 lines stacked vertically, listed arsenic Options connected the Deck’s UI) connected a circumstantial game, you tin either nonstop it to your favorites (a bully mode to support way of games you’re presently moving on) oregon you tin make customized Collections based connected genre, year, developer, oregon nevertheless you’d similar to benignant it.

If you’re a Steam veteran, you apt person a ample room connected the platform. Collections volition besides look connected Steam’s desktop client, truthful it’s a large mode to benignant and navigate your increasing integer library.

If you’re coming to the Steam Deck from a console background, bully news! The Deck volition often conscionable consciousness similar utilizing immoderate console erstwhile it comes to launching and playing games. However, the Deck genuinely is simply a PC successful a console signifier factor, which tin mean immoderate roadbumps erstwhile it comes to playing older titles (as it often does connected a fully-fledged PC). But it besides affords you immoderate advantages, namely erstwhile it comes to getting your games to play the best.

The show overlay is simply a beauteous useful acceptable of tools and you don’t request a grade successful machine subject to marque usage of it. The first, and astir simple, is learning to usage the framerate counter, arsenic this volition assistance you dial successful the cleanable settings for your games.

On the right-hand broadside of the Deck, you’ll find the “...” menu. Valve calls this the “Quick Settings” button. I telephone it the ellipsis button. Forgive me, I’m a recovering English major.

Under the Battery icon, you’ll spot the Performance menu. Move the Performance Overlay Level to the archetypal presumption connected the slider to get a elemental fig that shows however galore frames-per-second your crippled is getting.

If you’re caller to counting framework rates, mostly the higher that number, the amended your crippled volition run. Granted, determination are antithetic settings to see similar solution and circumstantial graphical options, but if a crippled isn’t looking oregon playing the mode you want, the archetypal happening to cheque is however galore frames your crippled is hitting. Generally speaking, thing 30 frames and supra volition bash the job, but you besides privation to marque definite that mean fig is comparatively stable. The Deck can’t transcend 60 frames per second.

Every crippled connected PC and Steam Deck is different, truthful graphics settings are often champion determined connected a case-by-case basis. If you’re caller to tweaking graphics settings, however, present are 3 wide steps to instrumentality if a crippled isn’t performing good (and is different Verified oregon of Playable status).

1. Check if there’s a per-game show profile

Hit the Quick Access fastener portion moving a game, navigate to the Battery Icon and nether “Performance Settings” you whitethorn spot a “use per-game profile.” One specified crippled that offers this is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If you spot this option, you apt won’t request to set overmuch beyond accepting this setting. The crippled volition apt tally conscionable fine.

Note: In bid to entree this section, you’ll request to prime “Advanced View” nether the Performance Overlay Level slider successful Quick Settings. Advanced View shows assorted show settings specified arsenic Framerate Limit, Refresh Rate, and options to toggle on-screen tearing oregon half-rate shading, among others

2. Adjust different Quick Settings

Using the frame-rate antagonistic I mentioned supra arsenic the metric for bully show (you’re looking to deed a comparatively unchangeable fig determination betwixt 30 and 60, connected average), you could see dialing backmost the framerate bounds successful the Performance paper of Quick Settings. This is simply a slider that stops astatine 15, 30, 60, and Off (sometimes called “uncapped” successful PC gaming spaces).

If you’re fluctuating wildly betwixt 30 and 60, determination that slider to 30. You tin besides little the Refresh Rate of the surface betwixt 40 and 60. This changes the existent complaint that the surface refreshes itself (because each moving images are an illusion of respective inactive images moving successful order), but for that diagnostic to enactment best, you’ll privation to beryllium definite that V-Sync is moving successful the game’s ain settings.

Other settings specified arsenic Allow Tearing, Half Rate Shading, and Manual GPU Clock Control are champion untouched if you don’t recognize what these do. We’ll screen those different time.

3. Change cardinal settings wrong the crippled itself

Every crippled is different, truthful a cosmopolitan acceptable of tips for graphics settings is tricky, but present are the ones you should look retired for if you’re caller to PC gaming:

Resolution: The Steam Deck’s surface is simply a autochthonal 1280x800 resolution. You’ll privation to marque definite that your crippled matches this solution and isn’t supra oregon beneath this number.

Shadow quality: Different games are going to person antithetic settings for shadows, truthful this volition alteration wildly. However, 1 of the archetypal places to see dialing backmost the settings to amended show is shadiness settings.

Many modern games person a assortment of settings for shadows. Dialing these backmost to a “Medium” mounting volition often prevention a fig of frames.

Motion blur, chromatic aberration, movie grain, etc.: These are often disfigured words successful PC gaming. I, personally, similar a bully exertion of chromatic aberration and movie grain. The cardinal words determination are “good application.” It’s often an effect, arsenic is question blur and movie grain, that tin muddy up the image, peculiarly erstwhile connected a tiny surface similar the Steam Deck. While it mightiness not effect successful a boost to show (though sometimes it can) it tin cleanable up the image.

For example, I hap to similar utilizing movie atom and chromatic aberration successful Cyberpunk 2077 connected a desktop PC (sue me). I find it adds a bully furniture of texture and extent to the image. But erstwhile playing connected the Deck, I’ll unopen this mounting disconnected for 2077 arsenic it conscionable doesn’t construe to a tiny surface truthful well.

This doesn’t adjacent scratch the aboveground of graphics settings, but they are bully places to commencement if you’re caller to tweaking specified options. Honestly, erstwhile successful doubt, doing a speedy Google of “best Steam Deck settings for X game” is often a bully mode to spot what’s worked for different users.

To spot however overmuch clip you person disposable connected your battery, deed the Quick Settings fastener and navigate down to the artillery icon. Enable the Advanced View and scroll down to Diagnostics. The cardinal readouts present are your battery’s existent capableness and its clip to empty.

As akin functions connected laptops and smartphones work, your battery’s “time to empty” is an estimation astatine champion and mightiness not ever afloat enactment up with the magnitude of clip you’ll really get, but the Deck is usually reasonably close successful this regard.

The Steam Deck is simply a wildly awesome and almighty machine, particularly considering that it’s secretly a Linux-based operating strategy stealthily tricking your Steam games into reasoning they’re moving connected Windows. Most of the time, you’ll person a large gaming acquisition connected the Deck, but these tips volition assistance you tailor the acquisition a spot much and get a grip connected immoderate much unwieldy games.