Steam Deck: Configuration details, price and launch time

Valve is about to enter the handheld gaming segment. If the rumors are true, the Steam Deck will launch this year. This controller can play any game in your Steam library. It’s seen as a Nintendo Switch for the PC market, but the Steam Deck can do a lot more than just play Steam games.

In short, the Steam Deck is not a console game but a mobile PC. You can plug it into a monitor or TV, install apps and software, use it to watch movies online – or even install games from other platforms. The machine will run on the new SteamOS, Valve’s Linux-based operating system. Although based on Linux platform, Steam Deck can still play Windows games that are not supported by Linux thanks to Valve compatibility technology called Proton. Thanks to this technology, we can also remove SteamOS and install Windows on the machine.

Here are the general details about the Steam Deck

DELIVERY TIME BILLION

Steam Deck will begin to reach users in December 2021.

However, that doesn’t mean that if you pre-ordered it, you’ll get it this year. According to the current Steam Deck website, “estimated availability” will begin in Q1 of 2022 for the 64GB version, Q2 of 2022 for the 256GB version, and Q3 of 2022 for the 512GB version. And it also depends on where you live.

So we can pre-order the Steam Deck?

Currently, the Steam Deck can be pre-ordered with a $5 deposit, but Valve’s servers were overloaded when the order page opened. Some booking attempts have failed while those who have tried multiple times have had trouble trying to “buy multiple times in the last several hours.”

Some even have an error that your Steam account is too new to reserve, even though that Steam account has been around for many years.

This error occurs to prevent people from ordering multiple Steam Decks and then reselling them, which happened to the GPU, PS5. New accounts can only book the Steam Deck starting Sunday, July 18.

A $5 deposit will be added to the price of the Steam Deck in case you decide to order it, but it’s still refundable if the buyer changes their mind and cancels the pre-order.

“Once the item is available, the customer will be notified of the order to proceed with payment,” Valve said.

The Steam Deck is currently only available for pre-order in the UK, US, Canada, and the European Union. The first Steam Decks will ship in December, but the completion date has been pushed back to 2022 due to a spike in pre-orders.

PRICE

The Steam Deck price depends on the version you want to buy, and it comes in three different versions based on the capacity of the machine. Steam Deck Price:

• $399 for 64GB version
• $529 for 256GB version
• $649 for 512GB version

The more expensive version uses a fast NVMe SSD, while the 64GB version is an eMMC (embedded multi-media card). All three allow to increase the capacity with a MicroSD memory card.

If you’re planning to upgrade storage, you’ll want to invest in a faster MicroSD card so you don’t have to wait for the game to load. Some MicroSD cards are incredibly slow compared to super fast SSDs.

CONFIGURATION

Steam Deck configuration has been announced by Valve. The most important point is that the Steam Deck runs an AMD APU – this APU has never been seen anywhere else. This chip is built on two key AMD architectures: Zen 2 and RDNA 2.

The Zen 2 architecture is included in the AMD Ryzen 3000 processors. The Steam Deck will feature four Zen 2 cores, eight threads, enough for your console gaming needs.

The RDNA 2 architecture takes care of the graphics. Steam Deck has 8 CUs (Compute Unit) for a total of 512 cores. This is not a huge number because the Xbox Series has 20 RDNA 2 CUs – it seems that the Steam Deck can only run 720p without much difficulty.

As mentioned above, there are three different capacities for the Steam Deck: 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB.

Ideally, we would choose the 512GB version. PC games are getting heavier and heavier, so any smaller capacity will feel inadequate. Not to mention the large capacity using the high-speed NVMe SSD hard drive, allowing the maximum bandwidth to reach 3,000MB/s. However, everything depends on what SSD Valve chooses. Speed ​​depends on SSD model.

The same 256GB version, for those who don’t mind a hard drive with an acceptable capacity

However, the 64GB version is still a big question mark. It uses an eMMC drive, which can’t be as fast as NVMe SSDs, but the most important point is that the 64GB capacity is too little for PC gaming. Maybe they only play indie games, but if so, you’d be better off buying a Nintendo Switch.

All three can increase hard drive capacity with MicroSD, and of course the faster the MicroSD, the better the game load time.

Valve chooses a 1280 x 800 screen to play on the go. The 60Hz LCD with 400-nits of brightness isn’t ideal. Du2, with a size of only 7-inches, the weaknesses of the screen are difficult to perceive.

FAQ SECTION

Is the Stream Deck louder than the Nintendo Switch?

A little bigger. The default version of Nintendo Switch is 9.4″ x 4″ x .55″ and weighs about 0.42kg. The Steam Deck is a few inches longer, half an inch taller, and slightly thicker and heavier than the Switch.

What should buyers worry about?

Information about battery life is quite vague. “The battery lasts about 2-8 hours, depending on what you do,” says Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais. You can play Portal 2 in four hours. If the configuration is limited to only 30 fps, you can play up to 5-6 hours.”

This is not too much play time if you have to carry it around a lot and many high-end games will consume more battery than Portal 2 has been on the market since 2011. This can be a real problem if you want to play Steam Deck while traveling or without a power source nearby.

Does the Stream Deck have a dock like the Nintendo Switch?

There is a Dock, but it is sold separately. Like the Switch, the Steam Deck will have a Deck for you to connect to a TV or computer monitor. The USB-C deck has DisplayPort and HDMI connections, an Ethernet port, and three USB ports.

However, the dock will not be available in the Steam Deck. Valve has not yet announced how much the dock will cost or when it will be available to order.

Besides playing Steam games, can I use the Steam Deck for something else?

Possibly – a lot of potential on the other hand. Like computers, the Steam Deck is seen as an open platform. You can install Windows on the Steam Deck and install games from another party like the Epic Store (you probably already own dozens of Epic free games) or Xbox Game Pass. We don’t really know how non-Steam games run on the Steam Deck, but the fact that you can play games from other parties on this device is a very interesting idea.

You can completely remove SteamOS from the Steam Deck and just use Windows if you want. Pierre-Loup Griffais says the Steam Deck “can do anything you can do on a regular PC.”

“We don’t think people should be limited in the orientation or the software they can install,” said Valve’s Lawrence Yang. “If you buy a Steam Deck, it’s a PC. You can put whatever you want on it, you can plug in any peripheral you want on it.”

You can even run VR on the Steam Deck, but “it’s not the most optimized thing” for the machine, according to Valve.

If the above information is not enough, you can visit the official Steam Deck website here.

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