With just a microSD card, you’ll be able to easily bring your games across the Steam Deck, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame.
https://www.theverge.com/games/818602/valve-steam-deck-machine-frame-microsd-card-game-cartridges
https://www.theverge.com/games/818602/valve-steam-deck-machine-frame-microsd-card-game-cartridges
58 Comments
cenariodantesco@lemmy.world · 50 pts · 264d
correct me if im wrong but you don't have to use this feature if doesn't suit you
The_Decryptor@aussie.zone · 22 pts · 264d
Yeah, it's got 256GB or 1TB of internal storage, so you can just use the microSD card to move the game from i.e. the deck to the frame.
Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz · 9 pts · 264d
It's also easily user replaceable, it comes with the same smaller size m.2 as the steam deck, but will work with full size m.2 cards as well.
dabaldeagul@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 264d
Does that go for the Frame as well? I've only seen this confirmed for the Steam Machine. But I could've just missed it.
The_Decryptor@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 264d
Going by the store page, the frame is using UFS, aka a hardwired SSD.
Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 264d
Sorry, I don't actually know about the frame. I should have clarified I was talking primarily about the Machine.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 263d
Yeah you can use the internal storage and if you still wanted to copy the games across you can always do it over the internet (or LAN). I think Steam does have a built in way to do this now as well or you can just send it yourself as a file with rsync or what ever tool you feel like copy/pasting with.
You could also store your games on a NAS if you hate yourself (read/write performance will be pretty bad and result in a poor experience for most games)
jokro@feddit.org · 21 pts · 264d
Alternatively i can just download them on each device and have better load times?
At least the games i play are small enough (<150GB each). And i dont need more than few them, one is enough usually.
anguo@piefed.ca · 41 pts · 264d
You consider 150GB small?!? The biggest games I have downloaded were around 80GB, and I found that excessive.
sundray@lemmus.org · 31 pts · 264d
jokro@feddit.org · 4 pts · 264d
I dont think it's small, but small enough so that several of them fit on the 512GB SSD
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 263d
Anything over 35GB is luxury
darkreader2636@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 263d
I still find tf2 at 32gb enormous
Orygin@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 263d
Considering the amount of maps and models added over the years, I don't really find that enormous
vrighter@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 264d
call of duty player, probably?
mereo@piefed.ca · 21 pts · 264d
1 Gbit internet connections are not yet universal. And some parts of the world still have slow internet.
ashughes@feddit.uk · 5 pts · 264d
Yup! Sitting here on 70 down / 18 up, fastest money can by around here. If I’m going to play a game I haven’t downloaded yet I usually have to plan a day in advance.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 263d
Copy it over the network instead so its on the internal memory of both devices. Uses your fast LAN instead of slow internet.
ElectroLisa@piefed.blahaj.zone · 15 pts · 264d
Steam supports local network transfers, they added this feature a few months after the Steam Deck was announced.
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 264d
Or if they implement a copy feature, move the SD card over and copy a game to internal, so you can more quickly transfer over a game without removing it from the SD card.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 264d
Steam also supports local file transfers for game downloads. Like if your PC has a game downloaded and you start to download it on your Deck, the Deck will ask if you want to download it directly from your PC. It means your download speed is primarily limited by your LAN and PC hardware, (which is probably at least gigabit these days), instead of whatever arbitrary speed cap your ISP has implemented.
But technically speaking, carrying an SD card across the house would likely have higher data speeds. The latency sucks, but the bandwidth is only limited by the size of the card and how quickly you’re able to walk across the house. Hell, if you have a stack of large hard drives and it only takes you a few seconds to walk across a small living area, your total measured bandwidth could be measured in tens of terabytes per second. There’s an old joke that a carrier pigeon flying across town with a stack of SD cards would have higher bandwidth than any modern network.
UltraMagnus@startrek.website · 2 pts · 263d
It's good for rural areas and areas without many internet options. Even my internet isn't really that bad, and it would still take a few hours to download a game that large. It would be convenient to just take an SD card from one device and put it into another.
I'm glad that they're thinking about these edge case scenarios. Valve is good about this- for example, I've never needed any of steam's accessibility options, but I'm glad they are there.
scala@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 263d
Correct. You can also share the download from one machine to another on your WiFi. And even across your friends(for faster torrent-like download).
You can also use your PC as a cloud host and the frame/machine streams the game off that PC rather than needing all the graphics powered the device itself.
SatyrSack@quokk.au · 12 pts · 264d
Is there a Steam Frame community on the fediverse?
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 264d
I think this one is the default. You could make one, though
vinnymac@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 264d
Given the size of communities here, it might be better to start a steam hardware community, rather than a niche one that will surely have few contributors.
Goodlucksil@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 264d
I believe you can't rename communities, if not, we could rename this one to steamhardware.
Edit: it's being proposed https://sopuli.xyz/post/36802780
kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 263d
The biggest problem with microsd cards is they're stuck in 2013, yeah microsd express technically exists but nobody produces cards so no OEMs are willing to support it (except Nintendo)
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 5 pts · 265d
This is peak but at the same time i hate SD cards. Idk how to feel about it 🥀
Kushan@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 264d
It's an option that you do not have to use.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · -9 pts · 264d
Yeah and? I am not making a critique about using it, i am making a critique to SD cards themselves because they are not very reliable and slow
Kushan@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 264d
That's fair but honestly for most games they're just fine. Also this will work with more than just as cards, any usb drive should act the same, SD cards are just a bit more conventional.
echodot@feddit.uk · 0 pts · 263d
I mean, I've been running Linux off it on a Pi for years without issue.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 0 pts · 263d
A single year, at long it may have problems
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 265d
My experience with playing games off an SD card in Steam Deck was... lackluster, shall we say (performance-wise).
I share your feelings about SD cards.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 13 pts · 264d
I've had issues with installing games being slow, but I don't think I've ever noticed any difference in performance during actual gameplay.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 4 pts · 264d
I hope someone make something tiny but as good as a SSD in future, SD cards are absolute shit. For me it doesn't even have to be as tiny as SD card, even a credit card sized memory is good
nori@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 264d
Uh that already exists, MicroSD Express. It’s essentially a PCIe Gen 3 x1 NVMe SSD under the hood
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 0 pts · 264d
Are they as reliable as an SSD? If not then the problem is still there
NightFantom@slrpnk.net · 8 pts · 264d
I remember people saying that about SSDs vs HDDs, SSDs were the unreliable newfangled junk. Am I old?
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 3 pts · 264d
SSDs are less reliable than an HDD if we speak about lifespan (which is still pretty high) but it's not really a problem for the avarage joe plus they got better in the years and can't be recovered if they break. SD cards are waay less reliable than a SSD and it's a concern for me
NightFantom@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 264d
Oh yeah I just found it amusing that the old "unreliable" thing is now being used as a gauge for "reliable enough"
I luckily have no experience with either breaking for me over 15ish years of active computer usage, so I have no fears or trust issues there yet. I also use cloud saves on steam for everything and I'm lucky enough to live in an area with good internet, so worst case I play a different game while my big game is downloading again after I broke something.
squaresinger@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 264d
Depends on what metric you look at.
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 264d
I've had several die on me in Raspberri pi's after prolonged use.
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 264d
There's already small NVMe drives the size of, say, four SD cards with up to 1-2 TB capacity. So it shouldn't be long I reckon.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 2 pts · 264d
Crazy, i hope that companies start to adopt them instead of SD cards soon
UnbrokenTaco@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 264d
Xbox series s/x has ssds like this but they're pretty expensive. Not sure if the price is high because of the tech, the specs or the licensing
lavenderleague@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 263d
I feel that. When I got my 512 deck I was worried about SD cards and game performance for my more demanding games. I haven't tried it yet but I've seen those NVME enclosures with PD pass-through. Have you ever considered those before? I know it's capped at what USB-C ports can deliver but I'm pretty sure it's better than an SD card...
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it · 1 pts · 263d
Seems interessing, i should give a look
moonburster@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 263d
My deck got a new hard drive and ate my SD. Which is my fault, but I just never bothered to get a new one. SD card load times were insane
lambda@programming.dev · 2 pts · 263d
It depends on the game. I typically don't do AAA games on my Steam Deck. So, most of my games go on an SD Card. The games that need lots of HD assets, I put on my SSD.
ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 262d
Wait, what do you mean ate it?
moonburster@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 262d
Left it in when taking off the shell to replace the SSD.
ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 259d
Oh, so it destroyed it, damn.
Jankatarch@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 263d
Not cloud. I love it.
commander@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 263d
on a deck for me a microsd is for old emulated games. Everything else I'm fine deleting and restoring over the local network from my desktop or from a NAS especially when I plug the thing straight into the router