Valve reveals his handheld Steam Deck -apkrig
After a series of hints and data obtained from Steam updates, Valve introduces its gaming handheld. The Steam Deck is a powerful laptop that looks like a Nintendo Switch, starting at $ 399 and going on sale in December this year. The device boasts some of the features of the latest consoles, such as a fast SSD, a system similar to the Quick Resume function from the Xbox Series or the ability to connect the Steam Deck via a docking station to a TV or monitor.
The biggest advantage of the newly introduced handheld is, of course, the library of games on offer – in the case of the Steam Deck, it’s quite simple, because that library is – logically – Steam itself. Given that this is a computer, of course, there is no need to buy special versions of specific titles, or buy them twice, so it will depend mainly on the performance of the Steam Deck, whether the games in handheld form pays off play. But Valve says on the device’s official website that the games are running very good and underlines this with a detailed listing of available models with different configurations.
Differences in storage bring with them a different price, but above all different technologies, so if you would like to use the power of NVMe SSD, you must reach for at least 256GB variant.
“Steam Deck is the most powerful gaming handheld in the world,” says the official presentation. “In collaboration with AMD, we have created our own APU for Steam Deck, which is optimized for pocket gaming. It is a powerful Zen 2 processor based on the RDNA 2 architecture, which provides enough performance to play the latest AAA games with low battery consumption, ”Valve further defines. If you want more accurate numbers, the mentioned 4-core processor will range between frequencies of 2.4-3.5 GHz and the graphics part of the APU will rely on 8 RDNA 2 computing units with a total power expressed as 1.6 teraflops. The RAM module will have 16 GB of DDR5 and the size of the internal storage ranges from 64 to 512 GB with the possibility of expanding it using a MicroSD card.
The differences in storage bring with them a different price, but above all different technologies, so if you would like to use the power of NVMe SSD, you must reach for at least 256GB variant for 549 euros, or 512GB variant with an even faster SSD for 679 euros. The cheapest variant – 64GB model – costs 419 euros and uses eMMC as a technology, which unfortunately does not reach the parameters of SSD, especially when working with large files. The equivalent of the Czech price is not known at the moment, but Gabe Newell himself indicated after the announcement of the Steam Deck that pricing the equipment was one of the most difficult things and it is likely that Valve will subsidize it for at least some time.
As for the handheld as such, it is already obvious that it is a gaming device. Two analog sticks, a joystick on one side, standard buttons on the other, four shoulder buttons and also two trackpads. On the back, below the grips, there are four more buttons that offer additional functions, similar to the capabilities of the Elite controller for the Xbox, and there is also a gyroscope for motion control. Of course, there is also a set of service buttons, including a Steam button for calling up the library. The device is dominated by a 7-inch display with support for touch control and a resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels, ie in an aspect ratio of 16:10 and the highest frequency that the included LCD reaches is 60 Hz. The weight of the device is 669 grams, which is largely signed by the battery, which should be able to power the Steam Deck for 2-8 hours, depending on the difficulty of the title.
This potentially offers the possibility of using Steam Deck also in combination with one of the streaming services and further expanding the library of available games.
With connectivity, the Steam Deck is standard – it offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and one USB-C with an integrated display port. The reason is obvious and comes from the first confirmed periphery, which is the docking station. It will be sold separately, but will offer connection to a television or monitor with an output resolution of up to 8K at 60 Hz, or 4K at twice the refresh rate. The usability of the Steam Deck in this way is another of a number of questions, but Valve suggests in promotional materials that a handheld could be used as an alternative to the desktop, especially after connecting a keyboard and mouse.
In this respect, the device tries not to limit the user and the new version of the SteamOS operating system will also allow standard use of the handheld as a computer, including office work or a full-fledged Internet browser. This potentially offers the possibility of using Steam Deck also in combination with one of the streaming services and further expanding the library of available games. Also for developers, everything should be straightforward and without the need for any intervention in the already released games, but even here we remain cautious and we are just waiting for specific lists of compatible titles, respectively. some exceptions. In any case, it should be possible to remove SteamOS from the device completely, simply install Windows and run, for example, the ic Epic Games Store library!
More information about Steam Deck is coming from leading gaming websites, which have already been able to try out the device, and there is no doubt that the still surprising news will be discussed in the coming days. But if you are already interested in Steam Deck, do not run today’s booking. In addition, Valve tries to fight resellers by having to confirm a reservation with a $ 5 fee, logically you need a Steam account, but also at least one payment transaction made by June 2021, if you do not want to get to the reservation until 48 hours after launch. Pre-orders start our time today at 7 p.m.
