Valve Steam Deck

The Steam Deck can't yet play every game on Steam, but it's a great handheld gaming system nonetheless, says Wes Fenlon.

- Wes Fenlon

SPECS

CPU: AMD Zen 2, 2.4-3.5GHz

Cores: four cores (eight threads)

GPU: AMD RDNA 2 1-1.6GHz

GPU units: Eight

RAM: 16GB LPDDR5, 32-bit quad-channel

Storage: 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe. 512 GB NVMe

Display: 7-inch LCD touchscreen, 1,280x800, 60Hz

Audio: Stereo speakers, 3.5mm jack, dual mics

Comms: Wi-Fi 2.4/5GHz 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C (DisplayPort 1.4 support), microSD UHS-1

Battery: 40Whr

Size: 298x117x 49mm

Weight: 669g

The Steam Deck is a gaming system that Swiss Army Knife fans would love. Valve decided that a handheld gaming PC would only work if it had a big screen, two big analog sticks, trackpads, and access to a proper Linux desktop underneath its friendly UI. The Stream Deck isn’t immune to that archetypal jack-of-all-trades problem. After two weeks with it, it’s not a replacement for a desktop PC or as portable as a Nintendo Switch, but it’s something else, a sweet spot right in the middle. It’s the turbo-charged Switch Pro that Nintendo will never make…

For most new big-budget games, locking the framerate to 30fps is going to be mandatory for stable performance and practical battery life. With the framerate capped at 60, Deathloop drained the battery from full to 20 per cent in an hour and 10 minutes at about 60 per cent brightness.

Our other battery life tests had similar results. At an average of 51fps and 50 per cent brightness,