Louise

I was in pretty much the same position. 2017 gaming laptop but it was having hinge issues so I finally upgraded to the Steam Deck. I have dual boot into Windows, a dock and USB hub, a keyboard, mouse, external hard drive, and monitor and even a tiny desk fan for good measure on cooling and I just primarily use Windows and then will go to SteamOS for portable gaming time to time. It has replaced the laptop well and fits a (larger sized) purse, and I have nothing else to say besides that it works pretty well for me.

Of course, it looks weird using it, but I can still be productive on the tiny screen outside using a giant monitor. It is very doable, it’s just going to take accessories and be kind of weird in general. But I’ve been at it for a year, so… it’s possible if you’re willing to set it up and find a way you want to do this!

Awesome! Really glad to hear that it’s finally able to run properly and without risk!

Does it still bypass the anti-cheat? I know people say the risk is low and unlikely for bans, but I have seen Hoyoverse hand some out for Star Rail on it for use on the Steam Deck and am concerned of the risk when I already have it installed on Windows.

I do want to warn for the case of Genshin about Mihoyo banning people as the only way to get it working is with that one Anime Game Launcher that bypasses the anti-cheat.

The game still runs in SteamOS that way, and while I do know people often say it’s not often it happens or rarely gets reported of happening, it is still a risk and I remember seeing somebody having a breakdown on r/steamdeck a few months ago because they lost a ton of progress in Star Rail after doing the same thing for it on the Steam Deck.

The safest option (what I do personally) is just using it on Windows.

I don’t know if it works on SteamOS, but I use my deck in Windows very, very frequently due to using it as a main computer and I had a giant stack of years worth of code cards from the SUMO/XY era I never touched. I just used something called Camo to used my phone as a webcam and got through the stack pretty quickly.

I imagine there might be something similar for SteamOS, especially since you can use a phone as a mouse and keyboard with KDE Connection.

Main issue with that is that it requires bypassing the anti cheat which can get people banned. There aren’t many reports of this so most say it’s not really common, but bans do happen from Hoyo for doing so on the Steam Deck; there was a post on the Steam Deck reddit a while back with somebody who got banned on Star Rail for it even though they had got it running as well as Genshin. Was pretty rough, they quit all Hoyo games because of it even though they were a whale.

I wouldn’t risk it myself for that reason, so I’ve always played it on Windows. Though, since I use my Deck as my main computer, I’m most often in Windows since so much software I need either barely works or is broken on SteamOS.

In cases like those, I believe you’d be correct that they wouldn’t be too bad on difference, but from my understanding that’s not the norm for SD cards so for most people it’ll be a big risk. But that’s good pointing it out though, especially for anybody with an SD card of that power, thanks for mentioning that part!

I wouldn’t say it’s safer since it will significantly more quickly kill the SD card itself, but from a year of using Windows and SteamOS, the bootloader break can be solved pretty easily since there’s an easy script on SteamOS to fix it and you can always disable Windows updates if they are annoying. Ultimately a matter of preference on what’s preferred though, but just good to know the pros and cons of each option!

I wrote this comment for somebody else with a similar question so I’ll copy and paste, but I unfortunately am also a filthy Genshin player and the TLDR is it’ll work fine. One thing to note is I would recommend installing to the SSD if possible because installs on SD cards will significantly more quickly kill the SD card due to how much reading and writing Windows does. Copy and paste below, but feel free to ask questions!

I replaced an aging laptop with mine, and I have to say, Windows is fine on the Steam Deck. It’s obviously not going to have all the same bells and whistles but performance for most games is the same and it is more flexible on compatability since it runs natively instead of via Proton.

I’ve been using dual boot for this and started since I got my Deck in early July last year, and a lot of the hate is really overblown. It’s good if you just want to use the Deck the same way as any other computer or with applications that cannot work in Steam OS and it’s a completely fine experience, and applications like Handheld Companion or Steam Deck Tools make it simpler.

I would just say that it’s up to preference and need since it does need setup and tweaking, so if all you care about is playing a few games that work fine in Steam OS, there is not much reason to dual boot for Windows and Steam OS is simpler to set up. But if you want more freedom on application choices and compatability or even just to use it for more everyday purposes like any other computer, Windows runs perfectly fine on it. It will be ultimately up to preference and use case.

I replaced an aging laptop with mine, and I have to say, Windows is fine on the Steam Deck. It’s obviously not going to have all the same bells and whistles but performance for most games is the same and it is more flexible on compatability since it runs natively instead of via Proton.

I’ve been using dual boot for this and started since I got my Deck in early July last year, and a lot of the hate is really overblown. It’s good if you just want to use the Deck the same way as any other computer or with applications that cannot work in Steam OS and it’s a completely fine experience, and applications like Handheld Companion or Steam Deck Tools make it simpler.

I would just say that it’s up to preference and need since it does need setup and tweaking, so if all you care about is playing a few games that work fine in Steam OS, there is not much reason to dual boot for Windows and Steam OS is simpler to set up. But if you want more freedom on application choices and compatability or even just to use it for more everyday purposes like any other computer, Windows runs perfectly fine on it. It will be ultimately up to preference and use case.