Tag: Gaming

Unlock the Ultimate Minecraft Experience on Steam Deck!

Paul

Portable Powerhouse

Can you install Minecraft onto the Steam Deck?  Yes you can.   Having been using Steam Deck to play Minecraft, I thought I would at least talk about how to be able to play it and make it portable.   Some of the ways I talk about doing this others have talked about but I have been playing around with it and It isn’t something that some people can do easily.  This won’t be a Step by step but it will at least help you to understand what you might have to do get to play on the Steam Deck.   You’ll need to have several things before you can do it on the Steam Deck like having a Minecraft License.  I already created an ultimate Gaming Shell Script for Linux Mint which you could use if you use Linux Mint as your OS while using your Steam Deck.  I’ve not really tried this but It seems like a good way to do it.  Other ways to use Minecraft would be to install Windows 11 to your Steam Deck.  I’ve also heard this be a possibility but I never found this to be very good.  I must be one of the few who doesn’t like using Windows 11 with the Steam Deck due to it just not working properly.  You can however Take your favorite block-building game anywhere with the handheld power of Steam Deck and that is where we will begin.

Install Minecraft

There are multiple ways to do it.   Install something like Prism Launcher in your Linux Desktop environment.  You’ll need to use the Desktop Mode, which is easy by press and Hold the power button until the power menu comes up and select Desktop Mode.  You’ll probably should use a mouse and Keyboard and you can even use small dongle connection to do it temporarily so you can do what you need in the Desktop Mode.   Once in the desktop Mode, You can either download Minecraft which would require some work around to keep you from having to login to Microsoft every time you launch the game or click on Discover and install one of the many Minecraft Apps available to install it.    I suggest trying one of those to see if it will keep your login credentials when you launch the game.   You’ll probably need to search for a work around on some of them to keep from having to login every-time.   I can’t remember how I did but I think I installed the key-ring credentials to use the java version.

Adding it to Steam

You’ll want to click on Add a Non-Steam game!

Some things you will need to find out is where the Minecraft launcher is on the Steam Desktop. If you did it right it should be on your desktop. However, if you didn’t do it right, you’ll need to track down where it is on your steam os file system. However, it shouldn’t be hard to find and it should be hard to direct steam where to launch the launcher and stuff.  I’ve done it on my Steam Deck and there are even instructions do it for Prism.  I’ve not used Prism so I don’t know how well this will but it should work in theory.

Seamless Integration

Discover how Minecraft seamlessly integrates with Steam Deck’s controls for an immersive gaming experience. This is something you should be done before you do anything is to customize how it looks. You will probably need to add a custom Background and Custom Logo.   You can easily do that by using clicking on the right mouse button and finding a background that would work for you.   I typically search for a good background and save it to the Steam Deck to use.   This helps when you leave the Steam OS desktop.  You’ll need to also probably also look for a good Logo that you want to use as a way to identify with it as being Minecraft.   This is something that can be easily done in the Desktop.   Also you will need setup the control by clicking on the little COG icon and selecting the proper controller setup for Minecraft.   I believe the WASP / Mouse settings work best for me and you will need to customize that to make it even more easy for you.   Play around with the settings to see what works well for you.

What games are you using with the Steam Deck?   Why not leave a comment and tell use what you are doing with yours and how you are using it?  it can be very useful to know which games work on the Steam Deck?  Don’t forget to subscribe for more Steam Deck tips and tricks.

3 Portable Gaming Consoles that Make sense!

Paul

The Nintendo Switch

Amazon Price: $349.99

Is everyone saying this is the most seen item in the USA. You’d probably seen it at parks or on long car rides. This isn’t nothing new when it comes to keeping someone occupied when there’s nothing to do. It has also been the most Go-to gadget of the last 6 years. It came out March 3, 2017 and has been something people grab because of the price and portability of games that you can bring along with you. Nintendo has so many different varieties of games to choice that it can allow any gamer to find a game that they can play on the go. This isn’t one to say that the graphics or speed of the Switch is anything to do with the price.   It’s been a staple for Christmas gifts that you almost have to know that someone is bound to get it for Christmas.   You’d have a hard time not saying this isn’t a good gift for people always on the go or in airports, or those who are traveling.  The price alone makes it a very good gift for anyone who loves to game.   The only draw back I see from this is that it hasn’t changed much over the years and it could be said it isn’t the newest portable gaming.

Specs:

  • CPU/GPU — NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor

Storage:

  • 64 GB Users can easily expand storage space using microSDHC or microSDXC cards up to 2TB (sold separately)

Video Output:

  • Up to 1080p via HDMI in TV mode
  • Up to 720p via built-in screen in Tabletop mode and Handheld modes

Steam Deck

Steam Price: 399$ up to 649$

In My eyes, this seems the next thing to become better than the Nintendo switch.  However, this is just a theory of mine.  I think the Steam could make it even harder for competitors to just not innovate and this will definitely bring in more people to challenge the competition.  Now it goes without saying that this isn’t anywhere like the switch because the graphics looks to be way better and more .   Some of the more pressing questions we should ask are “Will we see more titles come to the Steam deck?”  If they can pull this off the steam could be a good Mid Level gaming  for those who like a good intense gaming sessions.  I don’t know about the anything other than what I’ve seen but I do think this will make it’s way into the public in due to time.   I would love to test this out and have reserved mine.  So only time will tell, it however looks to be very user friendly and allows you to fix your own without much help.

Specs:

  • AMD APU
  • CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
  • GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
  • APU power: 4-15W
  • 16 GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (5500 MT/s quad 32-bit channels)

Storage:

  • 64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
  • 256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)
  • 512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)

Software:

  • Operating System — SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based)
  • Desktop — KDE Plasma

Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld

Amazon Price 349.99$

This one looks to require Wi-Fi but it still is a good idea and a good price.   It has a Nvidia gpu so that will make it even better with graphics.   I don’t know  about the small screen which is 7 inches and that is just the beginning.   The idea that you can go anywhere with a WIFI and be able to play your games seems a bit to constrained but maybe that’s just because most people aren’t always around some place that has Wi-Fi.  I just point this out that some people have said this is a weak gaming terminal, I tend to think they may be right but I at least wanted to bring to you a contender to the Nintendo Switch or even the Steam deck.   There are plenty of people talking about this but It at least comes with some interesting specs:

Specs: 

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (SD720G)
  • Octa-core CPU up to 2.3GHz

Display

  • Resolution: 1920 x 1080 FHD (16:9 ratio)
  • Type: IPS LCD
  • Brightness: 450 nits typical
  • Display Size: 7″ diagonal

OPERATING SYSTEM

  • Android™ 11, with Google Mobile Service

Which one are you likely to get and why?  Why not leave a comment and tell me your thoughts. I’d love to hear what people have to say which one is better or worse?   Got any idea’s of what I should talk about why not leave me a comment and tell me.

The Ultimate Gaming Shell for Linux Mint and Ubuntu!

Paul

Flickr API shell script

My Gaming Shell script!

I created this a few years ago because of my son who at the time wanted a system but we couldn’t’ afford Windows 10. So I installed Linux Mint.  I’ve found that this script should allow you to play almost any game that doesn’t require anti-cheat or the new DRM games.   Anything would run without much of a problem at least with stuff like Call of Duty and other games like that, I didn’t have much problem running them with this little shell script.   I am sure you’ve seen my Notepad++ shell script to install on your Linux system.  This is something similar and I thought it was high time to share with my readers.  If you haven’t already, you should go over and find out about shell scripting and learn some cool shell scripts yourself.   This however isn’t going to be very educational for some because it isn’t very complicated.

echo "Installing Wine"
echo y|sudo apt-get install wine-stable
echo y|sudo apt-get install winehq-stable

echo "Installing Playonlinux"
echo y|sudo apt-get install playonlinux

echo "Installing steam"
echo y|sudo apt-get install steam

echo "Installing Minecraft"
echo y|sudo apt-get install minecraft-launcher

echo "Installing Lutris"
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lutris-team/lutris
sudo apt update
echo y|sudo apt install lutris

read -p "Do you want to uninstall Firefox? (y/n)? " answer
case ${answer:0:1} in
y|Y )
echo y|sudo apt-get uninstall firefox
;;
* )
echo No
;;
esac
read -p "Do you want to install Chrome? (y/n)? " answer
case ${answer:0:1} in
y|Y )
wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
sudo apt update
echo y|sudo apt install -y google-chrome-stable
;;
* )
echo No
;;
esac
done

You can download it here along with the Notepad++ Script!

Explaining the script

So let’s first explain the top of the script and work our way down.   As you can see these are just installing the Wine and other utilities around on the internet to be able to play the games or maybe install the stuff you are wanting to install.  It doesn’t have to be games but I am sure it can be almost anything.   My son was always playing Minecraft on his Linux machine.  That game is so easy to install on Linux and runs without much o a problem, so that is why I included it here.  The Next one is obviously Lutris which can be installed on any Ubuntu and Linux Mint system without much problems and allows you to play all sorts of games that might be online games.   I’ve not tried it lately but I am sure these will work just as well as the next.

Finally the last part, I really like Chrome and I hate it that Firefox get’s installed most of the time.   So I put in a script to remove Firefox and install Chrome.   As you can see this one asks you the questions so if you like Firefox, then you need not worry and if you like Chrome you can install that and keep Firefox or remove it.   To each there own.

As you can see this isn’t going to be a big post but I did want to share with you my ultimate gaming script for Linux and even Windows 11 can’t hold me back if I ever do decide to do that.  After all, I did get Microsoft Flight Simulator to run on Linux Mint!  Are you going to use Linux more to play games on or are you going to stay with Windows?  Why not let me know and thank me for an awesome script that you can use anytime with your Linux system.

Amazon’s New World Makes your Graphics Processing Units a Brick!

Paul

New World and a NEW GPU!

According to reports from what I’m seeing,  Amazon’s New World MMO is bricking people Graphics cards.  I haven’t even tried this game on my system nor will I because I have other important things going on.  JayzTwocents on twitter said:

Fixing the MMO

Just cap your Frames Per Second to 60 or 70 at the most. It seems most are saying that is how to prevent the extra power draw from to your Nvidia 3060 or High GPU’s and stopping them from become bricks. Although it’s not just Nvidia but also AMD that seems to be having the problems. There are a few older cards that are also having problems with this but not to that extreme of bricking it. You should however be careful with this game and others and watching your heat and power draw using the MSI AfterBurner utility. Please don’t overclock your GPU while playing this game. Keep it at it’s defaults, that way you will less likely have issues.

Don’t be like other guys:

I think I’ll wait!

It’s time to put that on the burner. I won’t say I haven’t thought about trying this game when I first heard about it but I have been rather busy the last few weeks with school and about to move into my new place. I thought I would wait and maybe try it out later this year.   In any case, I am a little bit worried that if I did, my 1660 super would be fried.   So I am going to wait and see what Amazon does when it finally does fix this bug if it is one or fix this issue.   Happy Gaming all!

How to find a cheap graphics card to hold you over until you can get that high end GPU.

Paul
Picture by Ödeldödel

Graphics cards are expensive

Well with everything going on from bitcoin miners trying to make money and buying all the GPU’s lately, you’re probably like the rest of us and can’t find that really high end graphics card to play games with.   You could also just be wanting a better graphics for your graphical editing or even for programs like autocad that can be used for business.   Either way, you’re still waiting for the Low Hash Rates to come out or start being sold but until then you are probably like everyone else trying to get the cheapest graphics card you can for the price and buying those can seem very hard to get even if you do try to do the Newegg Shuffle.  Even then there is not much you can do for that system that needs that graphics card to run the programs or even just because the CPU doesn’t support any Graphical hardware on the motherboard.  What’s a person to do?

Buy a used low end GPU

The first way you can do this is to go searching for low end used graphics card.  I am going to talk about where you should look to buy that low end card and what you should look for when you finally find that card that will keep you going until the prices drop to where you can afford to buy the card.   This isn’t going to be a big list but it will be a list that I’ve used in the past and seems to work really well.

  • Buy it off of Facebook – Although you can find some really good cards that seem like they are good.  You still have to do your research and make sure the buyer has either some good ratings or maybe even has some good used GPU.
  • Mercari –  Is another site I like to watch and have notifications for products that either go on sale or even products that reduces their prices.   They have a great way to watch products that will allow you to watch for that GPU that might work for you.
  • Google Shop – You can look for that cheap GPU or find a really good used GPU that you can use until the price of the High end GPUs start to come down.   Either way you can get notified when there are new products that are for sale and or get notified when there is products in your area that is for sale.
  • Ebay – Although this is one that I don’t support anymore because of how much people have increased the price on GPU and made it extremely hard to buy good GPU’s.   I am just throwing this out for those who might want to check it out.  You might be able to find a low end GPU that will work for you until you can afford to get a good GPU.

Buy a High end GPU

So you’ve decided to buy a higher end GPU and you don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices that you are seeing from Amazon, or even other sites like that.   You want to get it for as cheap as possible but you don’t know how or where to look.  I’ve going to give you a few options that I know of but that will likely only be good for a small chance of getting a high end graphics card for cheaper than most.

  • NewEgg Shuffle – This is one those that I might get you a decent chance of getting a GPU that is closer to the MSRP or even at MSRP rates.   I just don’t like it when they bundle GPU’s with something that won’t work or you don’t need.   It sometimes does have the GPU’s that are sold by themselves and thus can be good sometimes.
  • Google Shop — Another good one because you can get notified when you find a cheap High end GPU that might work for your needs.  It however isn’t always accurate and thus you will need to keep that in mind when it comes to finding that high end GPU.
  • Shop Local Computer Repair Shops –  If you’re local shop has a website that will notify you when they have GPUs this would be a good time to keep watch on when they have a GPU.  You might even be able to find it closer to the MSRP.

Well these are just a few recommendations on how to either find a cheap Graphics card or if you are looking to try to find a high end gaming card for as cheaply as you can.  If you are really going to try to find a cheap Gaming Graphics card, this would be the ways I would do it.   Either way, you will most likely just always be looking until you find one that will work for you.

What’s some ways you have found a GPU that can work for your needs?  Why not leave a comment and tell people how you did it yourself.   I know these aren’t the only way to buy cards that are closer to the MSRP.  Like what you read, why not subscribe and find out more stuff that might help you with your computer parts.