this post was submitted on 01 Nov 2026
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Steam Hardware

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[Frame] The true cost of Steam Frame (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by NeryK@sh.itjust.works to c/steamdeck@sopuli.xyz
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Being one of the lucky few to get my Steam Frame a few weeks ago, I have been using it quite a bit since then. I have been buying some third-party accessories to mitigate some of its weaknesses.

First the obvious one: it is surprisingly light and small, but overall not comfortable enough due to my glasses. To solve that I went ahead and bought prescription lenses from VR Optician (119€ including fast shipping and additional prescription fee).

Then I figured I had better protect it against sunlight because I do not have one of those fancy head mounts nor do I want to pack it in its box between each use. Thus I got an AMVR lens cover that fits quite well (13€).

And finally the battery life situation is... Well it's bad. I got decent VR legs and can play for hours, but the battery only lasts at most 1h30 when running PCVR at 120Hz. So I got myself a UGREEN Nexode 145W 25000mAh Power Bank (56€), 2 short angled USB-C cables (24€), round magnetic USB-C adapters (16€) and a small fanny pack (10€).

I will also say there has been some trial and error regarding the magnetic adapter. The idea is to protect the headset port in case the cable snags on anything. I wanted to plug it directly in the headset port, but it tends to disconnect when I turn my head. The tradeoff I landed on is : one very short cable plugged in, magnetically coupled with a longer one that goes to the battery. The 240W-rated USB-C cables are also overkill but hey, not that much of a price difference (they are quite thick though and contributed some in my disconnect issue).

So there you have it, 238€ on top of the initial Steam Frame + ergonomic accessories kit purchase (which is a must-have if you ask me), not counting said trial and error.

Update: there are strong arguments in comments against using magnetic adapters. I'll be ditching that and keeping the 2 cables approach so that there is a straight connection (hopefully weaker than the angled plugs) that can unplug more easily than the battery or headset side if the cable snags on something.

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[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 137 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

[–] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 51 points 2 weeks ago

Me too Fanny Pack, me too.

[–] Hal@piefed.nz 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

My face when Steam Frame (or any Steam hardware) doesn't ship to my country.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

No steam frame in nz? Really? I thought Valve liked nz. Is there a reason why no frame there?

[–] Hal@piefed.nz 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Nah I don't believe any of the hardware has ever been sold in NZ. Just not a big enough market I guess.

I had an Index and had to use freight forwarding to get it here, and IIRC some sort of trick with the store to get it to think I was in the US and then I shipped to the US and freight forwarded on.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago

That's ridiculous and sucks, I'm sorry.

[–] DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 weeks ago

My paradolia was going hard as soon as I saw this

Mr. Popo

[–] Mercer@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 weeks ago

How long into wearing a fanny pack do you regain your virginity 😂

[–] bequirtle@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Steven??

[–] artyom@piefed.social 68 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I got LASIK so I can play Steam Frame without glasses. $1700! WTF Valve!? /s

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[–] JelleWho@lemmy.world 33 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Note that the magnet connector limits you to USB 2.0, because it does not have enough pins. This limit the charging speed at total maximum 15W* (5V 3A). This is enough to keep you streaming (around 11W usage), but not enough for standalone (19W usage or so)

*Not all chargers can go there, your usage may vary, and it might be lower

[–] Natanael@infosec.pub 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

FYI USB 2 data pins does not prevent use of Power Delivery on USB C for higher charging speeds, the real limit is you can't really certify a good safe connection on magnetic adapters without a shitton of work

[–] JelleWho@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You require to have the CC pins (CC1 for left and CC2 for right) to be able to use power delivery, these are the data pins that the device and adapter communicate on for highering the supplied voltage (and using power delivery).

I do not know what magic you use to get PD working on an USB 2 cable. So please share

I've attached a photo of the pins of an somewhat higher end magnetic cable, showing these pins are not available on an magnetic USB C cable Photo of magnetic cable

[–] Natanael@infosec.pub 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Passive USB C cables can use resistors to signal up to 20V 3A (60W) under Power Delivery with just USB 2.0 data pins (as compared to classic USB 2 which is capped to around 5V 2A). You can even do cables with the chip which only makes the 2.0 wires available for data while still getting 100W

That way a cheap manufacturer can put weakass cables in for negotiation rather than USB 3 data rate compatible ones

[–] JelleWho@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I think you got some things mixed up maybe? There is a resistor in an USB C to USB C cables but, this tells the power supply the max rating of the cable so it can respect this. This has nothing to do if both device and adapter actually agree on a higher voltage to change to.

Also my point was that most magnet connectors only carry 2, maybe 4 connections. Which is enough for power only (2) or USB 2 data (4-5 wires), but not enough for Power Delivery.

It can and will still charge, just at a slower speed.

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[–] Rozz@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I know it's not the same device, but mine keeps up with my steam deck

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[–] aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works 25 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Beware that USB-C extensions are unavoidably non-compliant to the USB spec

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 22 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (5 children)

Especially the magnetic kind. Have been known for frying stuff, even. Because conductive dust can be pulled into the connector by the magnet.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago

I gave up magnetic connectors for this reason. Nothing fried but the port got hot to the touch and that was it for me

[–] NeryK@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well shit, I had not thought of that. So basically it's a choice between risking damaging the connector with physical movement or damaging the electronics inside with conductive dust. I do not expect there is much metal dust floating around in my home but I'll keep that in mind.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

The entire head strap is technically replaceable, but the USB PD power circuit, as far as I know, is in the core module, not the headstrap battery thing. (When charging, the power goes first to the HMD itself, then loops back to the battery. This makes sense, as it would have to be this way for any future headstraps that run wired with no battery to be possible.)

So if you fry it, you'd be replacing/repairing the core module, not the head strap.

So I'm risking the port.

[–] NeryK@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Alright you have convinced me. I'm ditching the magnet connectors and taking my chances with regular angled cables.

[–] edible_funk@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What I did with my old quest was to plug the cable into the headset, leave a little loop of slack in a way that doesn't get in the way and secure the cable itself to the headset strap. So if anything yanks on the cable it'll yank on the headset strap and the slack loop will keep it from torquing the port. I used velcro cable ties and it worked pretty well. Make sure the cable is long enough to have slack at the battery end too to account for movement. I'd usually run the cable down my shirt and it did just fine.

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[–] Rozz@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I've used one with my steam deck for a few years and have had zero problems.

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Then you haven't been around metal dust. Which most people won't be.

I'm pointing out that magnetic connectors are not a part of the spec, which means the ways they can go wrong is NOT accounted for. And that I have seen what that can lead to.

Extensions are dangerous because they break the way USB C cables communicate their compatibility. If you extend a length of 100W cable with an 50W extension, the charger can try to push a 100W without knowing there is a section that can't handle that much.

Edit: Why would you downvote this? By all means, do whatever. But there is a real risk. Just because it's been fine for you, is no reason to downplay how careful one should be.

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[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Mrs. Noodle just got smaller frames with her new prescription so they'd fit better in the Steam Frame. And a long enough USB-C cable can let you plug in to the wall for indefinite play.

[–] NeryK@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 weeks ago

Lucky for her it was time to renew ! I would wager changing glasses to fit the Frame would be a lot more costly than the inserts for most people. In my opinion, using the Frame as a wired device kind of defeats its whole purpose (except for seated games). One might as well get a second-hand HP Reverb G2 or something like that for a fraction of the cost if it's to play wired.

[–] nialv7@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

i actually switched to contact lenses. from my experience lens inserts is a lot better than glasses but still stops you from getting maximum fov possible

[–] binarytobis@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I’ve been loving my frame, but I didn’t realize how much I needed those prescription lenses in there. I just ordered them for about $60. I was going to get a smaller pair of glasses that would fit in the headset, then I remembered seeing the lenses on the store page.

The ergo kit was out of stock unfortunately, but I can’t say it’s “mandatory” like some others do. I might buy it when it’s back in stock, but I’m not in a rush as it feels alright as-is.

The fanny pack is interesting, but I think I’d rather just get a long cable and tether to a wall. Maybe I’ll feel differently after some extended use.

[–] BigPotato@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I think I’d rather just get a long cable and tether to a wall.

Depending on what you're playing, it can be an option. If you're playing a high movement VR game - something like H3VR - that'll send you to yoink city eventually. I had to specifically lay out my Rift and Index cables with games in mind.

If you're on the couch or maybe playing Beat Saber, a game that doesn't have lots of 360° movement it might be doable.

[–] juipeltje@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

I also bought from VR Optician when i got my quest 2 years ago. Kinda sucks to make that extra investment when you wear glasses, but it is nice that they double as protection for the actual lenses underneath. For protecting it from sunlight i just put a microfiber cloth over the lenses when i'm not using it. I recently bought a new faceplate from amazon cause the original plate material started to flake

[–] plissken@piefed.social 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I always wondered, if I need trading glasses because getting older means you can't read close anymore, does it also mean VR needs me to wear those glasses?

[–] Thunderbird4@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I think the other replies are missing that you probably meant to type “reading glasses.” If all you need glasses for is reading up close, you may not need them in VR. Most headsets are designed to let your eyes focus as if the image was 2-3 meters away, so if you can read at that distance unassisted, you’ll probably be fine. In some cases all you can do is just to try it and see.

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[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes.

The optics mimic reality. If you need glasses to see normally, you will need glasses to see in VR.

[–] Natanael@infosec.pub 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Tldr the optics bend the relative angles of incoming light to mimic the relative angles of the same image coming from a screen a few meters away, closer to your eyes' natural "resting focal point" to not strain them.

[–] TrackenDaKracken@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'd only need the prescription lenses. There's no way I'd go for more than an hour in the thing.

[–] NeryK@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

For what it's worth, it's really comfortable without glasses, a step above all headsets I've owned (Vive, Index, Quest 3S). But if you mean you get VR sick... Well once you get the high refresh rate, stable frame pacing and in-game movement/vignette options sorted out, then it's up to your body to cope or not.

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