For multi-tasking, you’ll find 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and, as mentioned back at the beginning, you can configure this with up to a 512GB PCIe Gen 3 SSD. The Steam Deck is powered by a custom AMD APU: featuring a Zen 2 CPU with 4 cores and a max 3.5GHz clock speed, alongside an eight-core RDNA 2 GPU. That’s where desktop mode comes in, which (as you can guess from the name) is a full Linux desktop mode for extra tinkering! However, once you get into tinkering like this, you get that itch to do much more. However, if you crank the framerate limit down to 40 fps and the refresh rate to 40Hz too, not only do you get a smoother experience, but you can squeeze a little extra juice out of the battery. For example, Marvel’s Spider-Man without any interaction with the Performance menu runs at up to 60 fps, but can be victim to regular slow downs. It’s all intuitive and easy to use once you get acquainted with which stats matter from the performance overlay level. You don’t need to tinker with these, as the out-the-box performance is good enough, but it’s a great way to learn to make the most of your Steam Deck. It even goes as far as to give you an unmatched level of direct control over game performance - whether it is to push the internals to their limits or optimize the frame rate and display refresh rate for longer battery life. Once you learn the quick button shortcuts, you’ll be zooming around menus at lightning speed.
Let’s start with the first chapter, which (no exaggeration) is a far superior console-esque UI than most game consoles offer.įrom the home screen to menu screens, everything is laid out logically with plenty of functionality to tune it to your liking, such as the ability to pin games to your recent games row and being able to filter titles by specific criteria. Steam Deck’s software is a tale of two halves: the SteamOS UI and the Linux-based desktop mode. Sound-wise, the small speakers are predictably tinny, but they are fine for odd moments of gameplay without headphones.They manage to handle complex moments of gameplay without a hint of distortion, such as the orchestral swell of Peter Parker’s final fight with Doc Ock atop the skyscraper in Marvel’s Spider-Man. However, I get this comes as part of the balance of strengths and compromises to hit this price point.Īnd credit to Valve.The display is bright enough for outdoor use (but be careful, as this is not IP rated for water or dust resistance), colors are vivid enough, and the contrast ratio is as deep as you can get on an LCD. Of course, in a world where the Nintendo Switch OLED exists and smartphones pack refresh rates far above the standard 60Hz, I would have loved to see a better-quality panel. For audio, you have the 3.5mm headset jack up top or the stereo speakers below the front panel. The Steam Deck packs a 7-inch 1280x800-pixel IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 400 nits of brightness.
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