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.
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, 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
T he 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 Steam 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.