Try as I might have in the past. When it comes to gaming; I just could never get into using a controller. I’ve always been a Keyboard and Mouse man. I’ve predominantly used a Microsoft Windows based computer for the majority of my life. I’ve since experienced the freedom of using Linux as my 99.9% only daily use Operating System. Including gaming!! I couldn’t be happier 😁
Then I got hit with a double hernia surgery. Stuck sitting in comfortable chairs and not my office chair. I got a hair-brained idea. Since I now use Steam to play games on my desktop PC, I figured I could build a console from a mini gaming PC that I had laying around from my server setup. This way I can sit in my comfy living-room chair and play games on my TV (pictured below).
So I created my own Steam Deck console using a mini gaming PC. Picked up an Xbox controller. Hoping that I could game while on my 2 weeks plus recovery from surgery.
Home Made Steam Deck
Sadly my homemade steam deck failed. I tired with both my mini PC’s I had. The first box booted fine, but when installing large files. They seemed to become corrupt large. Likely due to a bad SSD controller. The drive itself tested fine.
The second box, the blue tooth goes spastic turning on and off rapidly. Hence the controller wouldn’t stay connected. I could’ve just used a keyboard and mouse wirelessly, but that would’ve mean being uncomfortable while my body heals.
Also with both of them having problems, it proves the Mini PCs I bought on Amazon are junk. No wonder they were so cheap. Ah well, still might have some use. But only had the CPU integrated graphics anyway. AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
When I used keyboard and mouse to test the games, they actually played decent. But only at medium settings. If I’m gonna only have that, may as well use my desktop.
Looking into the cost of building a decent box is the same as buying the 1TB Steam Deck OLED itself. So I’ve decided to order one after I return to work. Just would’ve been cool to pull it off before my recovery. If it wasn’t for the blue tooth controller, I think I could’ve.
Let’s see if I take to playing my favorite games using a controller in the next couple of months!