Technology 

Valve Announces the Steam Deck a $400 Handheld Gaming PC

Joe Ford

In July 2021 Valve surprised pretty much the entire gaming community by announcing their very own Handheld gaming PC known as Steam Deck. The rumors of Steam Deck were already going on for a very long time. Questions regarding its portability, performance, and design have been flooding the gaming community. Now that the entire hardware spec sheet, performance specification, and design is out the product does look quite promising. From the looks of it anyone can tell that it is a direct competition to the Nintendo Switch. Currently, the reservations are going on for devices and the shipping will begin in 2022. In this article, you will get a lot of interesting information regarding the design, specification performance, and availability of Steam Deck.

Everything you Need to Know about Steam Deck

The Steam Deck has a slight edge due to its form factor however as compared to Nintendo Switch it is bigger and powerful, It is a full-fledged gaming PC. You can even plug it into a monitor or a TV; you can install apps, software, stream video, etc.

Surely there are a lot of exciting things to talk about this all-new gadget in the gaming world. Be it software, hardware or design Steam deck is not going to let you down. It checks all the boxes when it comes to portable high-end PC gaming. Now let’s take a deep look at all that Steam Deck offers.

The Software

When it comes to the software department the Steam Deck is powered by Valve’s very own SteamOS. The SteamOS that you get on Steam Deck is more refined and optimized for the Deck so that you get very easy navigation and access to the Steam store and library. A lot of users were worried that it would be limited to Linux games only because SteamOS after all is a Linux-based OS.

But this is not the case; thanks to the developers of SteamOS they have implemented the Proton compatibility layer. For those who do not know, the proton compatibility layer will allow you to run Windows games that don’t have official Linux support. This prevents the headache of porting games for the Steam Deck. Since the Steam store and library is built-in with the SteamOS the chances of facing steam error issues like Steam won’t open Windows 10 are most likely to be highly reduced.

The Hardware

Now that we know about the Software, let’s see all the details of the Hardware.

The front of the Steam Deck features a large 7-inch large LCD touch screen. When it comes to the resolution you get 1280 x 800 resolution and a 16:18 aspect ratio.

The Steam Deck features a huge number of control options.  Each control has been placed correctly so that you get more precision and ease while you play games, especially the first-person shooter games.

  • Two thumbsticks (one on the left and the other on right)
  • Two small, Steam Controller-style trackpads at bottom of thumbsticks
  • ABXY buttons on the right beside thumbsticks
  • D-pad on the left beside the thumbsticks
  • Built-in gyroscope for motion controls
  • Two shoulder triggers on each side similar to that of Switch
  • 4 back buttons (2 on each side)
  • A built-in microphones

When it comes to the actual performance and power of the Steam Deck, well at the heart it runs on an AMD APU Quad-core CPU that is clocked at 2.4-3.5GHz. This chip is built around the two very powerful and popular AMD architectures namely Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 Graphics. To maximize the performance there is quad channel 16GB LPDDR5 RAM as well. There are multiple storage options to choose from 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB. In addition to that, you can also expand your storage with a MicroSD card also.

Talking of the battery Steam Deck comes with a 40 watt-hour battery which can give you several hours of playtime for the majority of the games. According to the valve, when used for general entertainment purposes like game streaming, playing smaller 2D games, web browsing, can easily give 7-8 hours of battery backup. Surely high-end games will not give you that much backup. Steam Deck offers a USB-C port for charging as well.

Below you will find all the Specifications and details:

  • CPU: AMD 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)
  • RAM: 16 GB LPDDR5
  • Storage: 64GB, 256GB, 512GB versions; expandable Storage With MicroSD card
  • Display: 7 inch LCD touchscreen (1280×800 Resolution and 60Hz Refresh Rate)
  • Audio: Stereo Speaker, Dual mics, 3.5mm Jack
  • Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Wired connectivity: USB-C with Display Port
  • Battery: 40W/hr
  • Body Size: 11.7 x 4.6 x 1.8 inch (298mm x 117mm x 49mm)
  • Weight: Approx. 1.47 lbs (669 grams)

Steam Deck Price, Variants & Availability

Steam Deck comes in 3 variants all the variants do not differ when it comes to design, size, performance, or power. The only difference between each variant is the Storage. The expensive two features NVMe storage. Depending upon the storage the Price also varies.

  • 64GB version for $399
  • 256GB version for $529
  • 512GB version for $649

When is the Steam Deck Release Date?

The product will begin shipping in December 2021 for U.S Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom. In all other countries, it will take time. The reservations for the Steam Deck are currently ongoing. The reservations do come with a price. However, due to the very high demand, the product may take some time to reach you.

Final Words:

Steam Deck seems like a capable new gaming gadget in this evolving era for gaming. Considering its specification and performance it is surely a solid rival for Nintendo Switch. There are some limitations of the switch that seems to be fulfilled by the Steam Deck. With the Steam deck, we are entering into the high-end portable PC gaming world. Hopefully, this article has helped you get a closer look at the Steam Deck. Thank you!