Our PCGamer friends got a hands-on preview hardware of the Steam Deck before the big launch at the end of February. Here’s what they learnt…

SPECS

CPU: AMD Zen 2, 2.4–3.5GHz

Core: 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, 512GB 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-I

Battery: 40Whr

Size: 298x117x 49mm

Weight: 669g

The Steam Deck isn’t just a games console. It’s a PC, which means you can plug it into a monitor or TV, hook up controllers or a mouse and keyboard, install Linux or even Windows if you prefer.

As with any PC, you can use launchers other than Steam and even take it apart if you want to. But the Steam Deck has some unique features that give it a more streamlined, console-like experience. The new version of SteamOS, Valve’s Linux-based operating system, will be able to seamlessly play games that were built for Windows thanks to the Proton compatibility tool. The system can suspend and resume games, too, and supports some fancy new AMD graphics features.

“Launch” in this case doesn’t quite mean you’ll be getting a Steam Deck in your hands on 25 February. On this day Valve will begin emailing everyone who preordered a Steam Deck. “Customers will have three days (72 hours) from receipt of their order email to make their purchase, before their reservation is released to the next person in the queue. The first units will be on their way to customers starting the 28th, and we plan to release new order email batches on a weekly cadence," Valve says. So if you’ve not pre-ordered don’t expect to get your hands on the hardware any time soon.