Tutorials
All guides for Steam Deck, newest first.
Handheld Gaming Price Crisis 2026: Switch 2 / Steam Deck OLED / ROG Xbox Ally X Full Comparison + Should You Still Buy
Every 2026 handheld price hike in one place — Steam Deck OLED 512GB $549→$789 (+43.7%) and 1TB $649→$949 (+46.2%), Nintendo Switch 2 $449.99→$499.99 (+11%) effective September 1, ROG Xbox Ally X $899, PS5 Pro $899, plus PS Portal and Steam Machine. Decision tree for buyers in the back-to-school 2026 window. RAMageddon / DRAM shortage explainer included.
Steam Deck OLED Price Increase 2026: What Changed, Back-to-School 2026 Buying Guide, and the Best Alternatives (Updated 2026-09-02)
Valve hiked Steam Deck OLED prices by 43-46% on 2026-05-28 (512GB from $549 to $789, 1TB from $649 to $949) and discontinued LCD new units. 2026 comparison vs ROG Ally X vs Legion Go 2 vs Xbox Ally. Updated 2026-09-02 for the back-to-school 2026 window — confirms Nintendo Switch 2 also raised $50 on 2026-09-01, putting the 1TB Steam Deck OLED into a direct price triangle with PS5 Pro ($899) and ROG Xbox Ally X ($899).
Steam Deck: Decky Loader — Install, Must-Have Plugins, and Plugin Workflow (2026)
How to install Decky Loader in desktop mode, the must-have plugins (CSS Loader, PowerTools, SteamGridDB, Decky Recorder, Animation Changer), the plugin marketplace, and how to keep Decky and plugins auto-updated.
Steam Deck: Proton Per-Game Overrides — Proton GE, Force-Specific Versions, Common Fixes (2026)
The deep dive on Steam Deck Proton that goes past the badges — install Proton GE via ProtonUp-Qt, force a specific Proton version per game, real examples (Batman: Arkham Knight, FFXIV, Warframe), and the Visual C++ runtime fix.
Steam Deck SSD Upgrade: Form Factor, Drive Picks, Cloning & Recovery Image (2026)
Internal SSD upgrade for Steam Deck LCD and OLED — 2230 single-slot, Valve's verified 2TB support on OLED, drive picks (WD SN740, Sabrent Rocket 2230, SN770M 2TB), and a step-by-step Clonezilla + Valve recovery image workflow.
Steam Deck: Complete First-Time Setup, SteamOS Tuning & Per-Game Performance (2026)
The definitive first-day guide for your Steam Deck (LCD or OLED) — initial SteamOS setup, the settings to change before you play, per-game TDP and frame caps, battery tuning, microSD strategy, Proton and compatibility, plus desktop mode and the tweaks we wish we'd known on day one.