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Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

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Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#161

Post by leeoniya »

cletusw wrote: post #95
jayd16 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can they be? I'm not sure they make NUCs designed for mobile power draw without the battery.

There are a good amount of lower power ones (e.g. with an N100 CPU) that draw ~15W usually and not that much more at full bore, and some of them are starting to come with USB-PD power inputs (even if they come with a DC power adapter some will accept USB-PD on another port). Look for "PD in" on this sheet for some examples (columns BW-BY): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SWqLJ6tGmYHzqGaa4RZs...

i have a passively cooled Quieter 4C [1] with N100 and a 4TB [dram-less] nvme [2] and it draws 4.5W total at idle running EndeavourOS w/ KDE Plasma. at full load (Handbrake 1440p transcode) it draws ~10W.

i left it at stock bios settings and did not put it into higher TDP mode though, since i use it as an htpc and it mostly idles, i'd rather it stay at more comfortable operating temps.

the nvme cost me more than the pc, which for $207 includes 16GB ram, 512GB nvme, and a Win11 Pro license. insane.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/MeLE-Mini-Quieter-4C-Astrophotography...

[2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLDJCBPG/

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#162

Post by tommica »

brookst wrote: post #72
choult wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the non-Brits, "sixth-form" means years 12 and 13 of school - equivalent to junior and senior years of high school in the US. The first and second yearsof sixth form are referred to as "lower sixth" and "upper sixth" respectively. It's a hold-over term from when secondary education (ages 11 and up) started in "first form" and worked up.

Thanks for the explanation but it shattered the narrative by mind was building about an alien intelligence that slipped up and posted about its memories of its sixth physical form, the result of its fifth metamorphosis.

I was thinking the poster was a JRPG boss

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#164

Post by wink »

DrillShopper wrote: post #60
2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if you’re travelling by air, space is a premium. And to a small degree, I will also, attempt to be hyper efficient with space. RIP GameBoy, I hope Nintendo releases an ultra small switch.

I have never had trouble carrying my Steam Deck in my relatively small and cheap travel backpack, but I usually also check a bag. If I was trying to carry EVERYTHING on then I probably would find that more difficult.

I'm not saying i's a problem but compare SteamDeck+case with a GameBoy Advance - especially as the latter is protected enough by any tight fitting cloth bag, it's nearly indestructible.

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#165

Post by [deleted] »

ok_dad wrote: post #108
swores wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> " which were just those companies’s normal hardware design " For Alienware (not sure about the others, but AW was Valve's lead partner on it anyway) you're right in that it was a computer designed by Alienware not Valve, however it was a) very different to other Alienware PCs, and b) Valve were genuinely part of the development process, they didn't just say "hey make a small computer". They also shipped with the fi…

> first gen of Steam controllers, which were created by Valve themselves The best goddamn controllers ever made, too, I still have one in a box somewhere around here and I won't use it because it's so awesome I don't want it to break. Pretty dumb eh? The two touchpads were the absolute best, I've never had control like that in an FPS and to this day I can't play any FPS with a stick because I was ruined on the Steam…

[deleted]

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#166

Post by javier2 »

leeoniya wrote: post #161
cletusw wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a good amount of lower power ones (e.g. with an N100 CPU) that draw ~15W usually and not that much more at full bore, and some of them are starting to come with USB-PD power inputs (even if they come with a DC power adapter some will accept USB-PD on another port). Look for "PD in" on this sheet for some examples (columns BW-BY): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SWqLJ6tGmYHzqGaa4RZs...

i have a passively cooled Quieter 4C [1] with N100 and a 4TB [dram-less] nvme [2] and it draws 4.5W total at idle running EndeavourOS w/ KDE Plasma. at full load (Handbrake 1440p transcode) it draws ~10W. i left it at stock bios settings and did not put it into higher TDP mode though, since i use it as an htpc and it mostly idles, i'd rather it stay at more comfortable operating temps. the nvme cost me more than the…

N100 is ok for video transcoding?

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#167

Post by Jolter »

SteveNuts wrote: post #56
spacemarine1 wrote: post #50

Interestingly, Steam’s first hardware product was a Steam Box: a little computer brick that could boot Steam on linux and let you play all your games on your TV (with a Steam controller or game controller of your choice). The cycle is now complete.

They really did a good job slowly experimenting with hardware working their way up to the Deck. First the steam box then the controller, I’m sure they learned a lot from both of those before they released the deck.

There were many years between the Steam Controller (2015) and the Deck(2022). I’m not sure how much of those learnings could still be applied, considering changing technology as well as staff changes.

Maybe Valve has such excellent staff retention that this would be a non-issue. At my previous employers, two years would have been enough to have to start over from 0.

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#169

Post by ch_123 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #133
ch_123 wrote: post #19

> TL;DR Well, the Steam Deck didn’t fit in my backpack… I'm not sure if this is meant to be taken literally, but I would have just bought a bigger backpack. In some ways, I think this makes me respect the author more.

Yeah, I got confused by that too. Steam Deck is a handheld, right? It should fit in your pocket , right?

It's about as wide as my 14" MBP

Re: Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port

#170

Post by smorrow »

choult wrote: post #28
andrewaylett wrote: post #6

This is brilliant. When I was in sixth-form, a friend built a portable case containing a micro-ATX motherboard. No battery, but he could sit down at any of the school computers, plug into the wall, and use its peripherals with his PC. That was more than 25 years ago, I feel old now.

For the non-Brits, "sixth-form" means years 12 and 13 of school - equivalent to junior and senior years of high school in the US. The first and second yearsof sixth form are referred to as "lower sixth" and "upper sixth" respectively. It's a hold-over term from when secondary education (ages 11 and up) started in "first form" and worked up.

What do you mean "hold-over"? In NI we still say "first year" through "fifth year". Is that not done in Britain?
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