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Valve’s Steam Deck in our hands

Switch-like Steam portable is coming this December


two people playing co-op with two Steam Deck units



The Steam Deck is a new handheld device from Valve for playing PC games on the go, the company announced Thursday. The Nintendo Switch-like device is set for release in December starting at $399.

Previously rumored as the “SteamPal,” the Steam Deck is a portable PC that’s slightly larger than the Nintendo Switch. It features a 7-inch touchscreen, two thumbsticks, a D-pad, and a four-button layout. There are also two trackpads — one on either side of the machine, under the thumbsticks — to allow for increased precision. The Steam Deck has eight triggers on its back: four on the device’s shoulders and four more where the ring and pinky fingers rest.

The Steam Deck will run games from players’ existing Steam libraries. Players will simply log into their account, and their friends and catalog should follow them onto the handheld. The Steam Deck is capable of running PC games on its own hardware, without the power of the cloud. Videos released by Valve show people using the Steam Deck to natively play games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Crusader Kings 3, Disco Elysium, Hades, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Players can also purchase a dock that allows the Steam Deck to run on a TV.



Inside, the Steam Deck boasts an accelerated processing unit (APU) built by AMD. Its CPU is based on the company’s Zen 2 microarchitecture and tops out at 3.5 GHz. The GPU contains eight RDNA 2 compute units running at up to 1.6 GHz, delivering peak performance of 1.6 teraflops. The system packs 16 GB of RAM and a microSD card slot, allowing users to expand upon the built-in storage. The Steam Deck’s 7-inch screen is an LCD with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 60 Hz refresh rate at a 720p resolution of 1280x800. The Steam Deck also features a dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio — it’s compatible with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks — and Bluetooth 5.0 for controllers, accessories, and (unlike the Switch) audio.


At launch, the Steam Deck will be available in three models with different storage options. Valve says there are no performance differences between the three versions — aside from the speed of the flash memory, which will provide varying read and write speeds.

The $399 base model offers 64 GB of storage in the eMMC format. The next model up costs $529, and packs faster storage courtesy of a 256 GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD; it also comes with an “exclusive Steam Community profile bundle.” The top-tier Steam Deck, at $649, includes a 512 GB NVMe SSD that Valve refers to as “high-speed,” although it is still a PCIe 3.0 drive. In addition, this model’s screen features “premium anti-glare etched glass.” The unit comes with an exclusive carrying case and exclusive virtual keyboard theme, on top of the cheaper models’ bonuses.

Steam users will be able to reserve any of the three Steam Deck models (for a fee) starting at 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 16 — as long as they made a purchase on the Steam Store at some point before June 2021. If not, they’ll have to wait until 48 hours later.
 
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Necrokiller

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Apr 16, 2009
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technically i played god of war chains of olympus etc on my psp so that was the first handheld that played owned and developed by sony to play god of war.
lol technically I was talking about the same God of War that was released for a console i.e. God of War 2018. But since you mentioned Chains of Olympus, worth pointing out that Steam Deck will be the only handheld where you can play all God of War games 🙂
 
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Necrokiller

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Apr 16, 2009
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This is kinda unfair. That other handheld, even if it ever gets the same fighting games, doesn't even have a DPAD 🤣
 

Necrokiller

Expert
Apr 16, 2009
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Someone has spotted a UI update to Half-Life 2 for the Steam Deck that can tested on desktop as well.

 

CerebralTiger

Expert
Apr 12, 2007
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Islamabad
Ah yes, let the handheld expert share his insight on handheld gaming devices 🤣

This behemoth has a bigger footprint than a lot of tablets 🤦‍♂️:LOL:
 

Necrokiller

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Apr 16, 2009
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I'm not looking for that sort of convenience. Most of my time spent on the Switch is in docked mode 🤷‍♂️
Yeah, but I carry it over to other places to play in docked mode.
Ah yes, let's listen to the pocket expert who uses Switch in docked mode 🤣

What's the next terrible take on your agenda CerebralTiger? Laptops aren't portable because you can't fit them in your pocket? 🤦‍♂️🤣
 

CerebralTiger

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Apr 12, 2007
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Islamabad
This behemoth doesn't even come with a dock. Good thing for Necrokiller that he already has a spare one lying around for whatever reason 🤣

Gaming laptops are pretty bulky and a chore to carry around, even in a bag 🤷‍♂️:LOL:
 

Necrokiller

Expert
Apr 16, 2009
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Why does it have to come with a dock when it is supposed to be a handheld device? Does the Switch Lite come with a dock? Whats with these daft takes? 🤣

Not sure how old CerebralTiger's bulky gaming laptop is but even my non gaming laptop came with a usb-C adapter 🤷‍♂️🤣
 

CerebralTiger

Expert
Apr 12, 2007
19,839
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Islamabad
Post meri quote ki jis mein dock mentioned hai as a preference, then calling it daft when I point out there's no dock with the Deck. That's an approach 🤣

The lack of modularity really hurts this behemoth of a device. No way to detach the left and right controllers means you can't:

- use it as a table-top device (without carrying an extra controller)
- use 3rd party options (it's good to have options)
- replace faulty buttons/sticks without opening up the thing (the Steam controller's build quality is quite reassuring /s)

🤷‍♂️:LOL:
 
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Necrokiller

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We can also conclude, based on CerebralTiger's logic, that lack of CPU/GPU/RAM upgradeability really hurts the behemoth of PS5/XSX consoles :ROFLMAO:
 
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    Consoles can't even catch a break in titles developed exclusively for them 😢
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    "All of this lends the game distinctly last-gen look at times, which is compounded by image quality and frame-rate issues."
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  • Chandoo Chandoo:
    no jokes.
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  • Chandoo Chandoo:
    faraany3k said:
    So while Playing Control, I found a journal which said that a bathroom is missing in Islamabad Beurue of Control. With Alan Wake and Control seems to be connected worlds. Even our city is in the universe as well. No wonder those Trail 5 and Trail 6 are haunted.
    did you know you can see @NaNoW credited in the game too ? :p
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  • faraany3k faraany3k:
    So while Playing Control, I found a journal which said that a bathroom is missing in Islamabad Beurue of Control. With Alan Wake and Control seems to be connected worlds. Even our city is in the universe as well. No wonder those Trail 5 and Trail 6 are haunted.
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  • EternalBlizzard EternalBlizzard:
    faraany3k said:
    What is peoples obsession with Battle Royale genre. 6 minutes to find a match, 3 minutes to setup a match, 2 minutes to land, 10 minutes for scavanging maybe 2 3 gunfigts and its over. Multiplayer landscape is looking absolute dogshit.
    I tried playing Apex Legends once. Couldn't find a gun for 5 minutes straight. If I found a gun, I couldn't find the right ammo for it. Got killed fighting with my fists. Uninstalled it the next day.
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  • faraany3k faraany3k:
    What is peoples obsession with Battle Royale genre. 6 minutes to find a match, 3 minutes to setup a match, 2 minutes to land, 10 minutes for scavanging maybe 2 3 gunfigts and its over. Multiplayer landscape is looking absolute dogshit.
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  • M muneebjahangir:
    skip the villain arc
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  • EternalBlizzard EternalBlizzard:
    iampasha said:
    I usually stay away from animes. Vinland saga changed the way i look at my life, and my experiences within. I recommend every breathing human being to watch this animated masterpiece at least once fromstart to finish.
    After I watched it, I never felt like i watched a show. It was a friggin journey. I got way too attached to Thorfinn and seeing him grow up and find himself and get rid of all the negativity inside of him was just pure bliss.
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  • iampasha iampasha:
    EternalBlizzard said:
    Vinland Saga > Berserk
    I usually stay away from animes. Vinland saga changed the way i look at my life, and my experiences within. I recommend every breathing human being to watch this animated masterpiece at least once fromstart to finish.
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    Crapcom's RE Engine expose hogaya saaeen. This shit ain't worth experiencing on any platform. 🤷‍♂️
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  • Chandoo Chandoo:
    When a $399 console provides the same experience as a 4090. Yikes indeed saeen :sneaky:
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    that's a yikes saaaen
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    " Both PS5 and Series X have an unlocked frame-rate here, with performance that generally lies between 30fps and 45fps. That makes for a stuttering and inconsistent output in general play, no matter what you are doing at any given time."
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  • EternalBlizzard EternalBlizzard:
    Vinland Saga > Berserk
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  • faraany3k faraany3k:
    I absolutely hate parry and Sekiro made me love it, i hate sci fi and Mass Effect made me love it. This is the definition of genre defining experiences.
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    Forbidden West Complete Edition now available on your fav websites. And Nixxes showed Crapcom how it's done 👍
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    RE Engine is just utter shit for anything other than corridor design remakes
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    This is a console first developer. LMAO
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  • faraany3k faraany3k:
    With how great cod warzone has translated onto mobile. Mainstream Consoles have lost its value even further. Maybe console gaming was associated with TVs and how TV is not the primary source of media consumption anymore, consoles will lose its 200 million core audiences even further.
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    Even VRR can't rescue it 🥲
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  • Necrokiller Necrokiller:
    And yet PC version has the highest score. RIP who plays it on consoles.
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    Necrokiller Necrokiller: Consoles can't even catch a break in titles developed exclusively for them 😢