https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/i-used-to-be-a-frame-rate-snob-but-owning-a-steam-deck-has-made-me-realise-the-error-of-my-ways/
Turns out I'm the problem, it's me.
Smooth is smooth. There's nothing wrong with 30fps, so long as it STAYS at 30fps.
A sudden drop to 20 is a problem, as would be a 60fps dropping to 40.
But no drops? It's fine.
I think that's a really key point - back in the days of the PS2 to 360 era, it was all about Xx_Graphics_xX and there were so many 30fps games that dipped to 15 at times, making "30FPS" feel worse than it was.
That said, 30FPS can still be rough. IMO Dragons Dogma 2 running at 30 on the PS5 is pretty rough. Even excluding dips, but it has them. But the game Heroes Hour on the Steam Deck running at 30 is perfectly fine. Similarly, setting Red Dead 2 to get a consistent 30 is fine too.
Consistency is huge, for sure!
I don't know. I'm longing for a much faster handheld, especially at that 15-20 watts TDP range, where Z1 Extreme/7840U handhelds don't seem to have much of an advantage over the Deck.
As it is, I'm very picky about what I'm playing on my Deck. It's not my primary gaming device, but even then I'm struggling to play some games on it even for short sessions. It's not even about AAA vs. indie games. Some indie games are very demanding. Valheim to me is basically unplayable on the Deck, with framerates not only dropping but also just being in the teens in somewhat bigger bases. Newer titles like Enshrouded struggle from the get-go, even when turning everything to the lowest settings including FSR.
YMMW, but I just can't enjoy games when input lag varies frame-to-frame because of inconsistent delivery or when the "consistent" delivery is just consistently slow. I don't like it when performance is so low that it increases the difficulty of the game. Some games like Baldur's Gate 3 are the exception, but that's because combat is turn-based.
If this is called being a "frame rate snob", then I'm one of them I guess. I don't think it's a bad thing though.
Still waiting for AMD to release a low-power APU with 3D cache and more oomph in general, and then for Valve or another reputable brand to release a great handheld with that chip.
That's not OP. That's the thumbnail of the article.
Regardless you can get ~40FPS with everything turned to potato. That's how it is for most AAA games. But regardless these are also some of the most popular on Deck.