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Why the Steam Deck Is the Perfect Mini PC for Hackers

I bought a Steam Deck OLED in 2024, and it has been a joy to toy around with. It's obviously a pretty neat device for handheld gaming, but it's also a fantastic mini PC for hackers. It has completely replaced my main desktop PC at home (though I still use a Lenovo ThinkPad for actual work).

Someone playing on their Steam Deck

Main reasons why hackers should seriously consider owning a Steam Deck:

It's unsurprising if you didn't know most of this. Marketing obviously focuses mostly on the gaming capabilities, and most communities online prefer to debates its merits compared to alternatives like the ASUS ROG Ally X or Lenovo Legion Go.

But let me break down why it's also a hackers dreams.

Linux support

Linux just works, if you use a recent kernel. SteamOS has a neat desktop-mode that will suit most users just fine. In addition to SteamOS, which is based on Arch Linux, Fedora 41 also works fairly well. Only the built-in speakers are unsupported in Fedora at the time of this writing. Other mainstream Linux distributions will likely gain support for the hardware as well in future releases (Ubuntu LTS still lacks WiFi support, for instance).

Easy to repair

Go to YouTube and find a video on how to open the device and replace a button or the speakers. You will see how easy it is compared to a modern smartphone. iFixit even sells all the tools and parts for cheap.

Storage can be upgraded

Yes, you can replace the SSD just like on an ordinary PC. You then just boot SteamOS recovery or any other OS from an USB pendrive and flash it from there. Easy peasy. Replace SteamOS with your OS of choice, if you like (though only Linux and Windows is officially supported).

iFixit demonstrates how easy it is to replace the SSD

Booting from a MicroSD card is easy and fun

This is part of what makes tinkering so fun! It's easy to pop MicroSD cards in and out of the slot at the bottom of the device—just like cartridges in a gaming console. And you can boot from them! I have one card with Windows 11, another with Fedora 41, and a third with some additional Steam games I couldn't fit on the device itself. It makes it easy to experiment and try different OS's without the hassle of partitioning or replacing SSDs—or the limitions of modern live-cds (flashed to USB pendrives).

It supports Windows

Windows 10 and 11 works fine, though you need to manually download the drivers directly from Valve. Hardware support and performance is on par with Linux, though it lacks optimization to battery life and UX.

Performance is surprisingly good

Single core performance won't blow your socks off, but for gaming and most ordinary tasks, the system feels quite snappy. Graphics performance especially is pretty good for a handheld at this price point. It obviously can't compete with my top-off-the-shelf ThinkPad for serious work, but for anything else, it's more than adequate. And it only uses 15 watts for it's CPU/GPU at most. 25 watts in total for the full system.

DisplayPort Alt Mode docking

This is the secret sauce that makes it all come together. I mean, the official dock is also an option, but being able to simply connect my Steam Deck to my modern ultra wide monitor using a simple USB-C cable and have all the following connected at once is quite something:

At the end of my work day, I simply remove my ThinkPad and plug in my Steam Deck instead. This is what technological progress is all about.

Small desk with my monitor and Steam Deck setup

Conclusion

If you like the idea of some handheld PC gaming, a small mini PC to tinker with, and its price point, then I think the Steam Deck is a pretty good purchase, as long as your don't expect it to replace a full workstation or high-end laptop.

#steamdeck #minipc #handheldpc #tinkering