The Nintendo Switch (OLED model) wasn't the "Pro" upgrade many expected it to be with 4K support and new internals but before its announcement, other handhelds aimed to take the role of the "Switch Pro". The AYA NEO and GPD Win 3 are among those devices shooting for that nickname since they are able to run recent AAA PC games on the go, given that they are handheld gaming PCs. Their efforts and popularity, although niche, enticed companies like Lenovo and Tencent to make similar concepts or patents; indicating that these indie companies might have more serious competition in the future.

It seems like this will indeed be the case and these handheld gaming PC manufacturers will need to brace themselves as Valve is itself entering this market with a Valve-branded handheld gaming PC. This news was actually reported back in May and today we have the official confirmation. In a Steam post today, Valve revealed the Steam Deck, an AMD-based handheld gaming PC that is expected to begin shipping in December 2021 in select regions.

The software giant partnered with AMD to create a custom APU for the handheld that is said to be "optimized for handheld gaming". "It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope," reads the announcement.

It will run on SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based) and there will be several models of the Steam Deck, which differ on the storage capacity, with the base model starting at $399. However, every model will include a microSD slot for additional storage capacity. For more details about the models available and their price, refer to the image below:

You can find additional specs details in the images below (click/tap to enlarge):

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And just like the AYA NEO and GPD Win 3, the Steam Deck will also have a dock which will be sold separately. This accessory will provide ports for external displays, wired networking, USB peripherals, and power. More details about the dock's pricing will be announced at a later date but you can find some specs details in the thumbnail below:

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Valve says that the Steam Deck will start shipping this December to the United States, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, with more regions coming in 2022. However, to be able to purchase one, you will need to book a paid reservation which will let you pre-order when the time comes. This reservation fee will also count towards the Steam Deck purchase price.

"The main reason for reservations is to ensure an orderly and fair ordering process for customers when Steam Deck inventory becomes available," writes Valve in the announcement FAQ. "The additional fee gives us a clearer signal of intent to purchase, which gives us better data to balance supply chain, inventory, and regional distribution leading up to launch."

Reservations for the Steam Deck will open Friday July 16th, 10am PDT. For more details about the new handheld gaming PC, head to the source link and official Steam Deck website linked below.

Are you interested in getting one?

SOURCE
Steam Deck Official Website

 

[Chary]

The thing is darn ugly, and it looks way too wide or heavy to be comfortable to hold.

"2-8 hours" of gameplay is also concerning lol. I'd almost just rather clip my phone into a controller case and game stream with it instead, if only I had wifi in my house.

...that being said, time to pre-order it, I guess.

 

[pedro702]

those 4 buttons on top right corner seems to be very bad to hit since they are right next to the analogue stick and on the corner of the console itself, no idea why they putted the buttons so far away, either way this will end up like steambox stuff, because people who do pc gaming want 4k 120hz this days and make fun of console gamers for not having that much power so this wont satisfy most pc gamers imo.

 

[digipimp75]

i wanna slap my balls on it

 

[Xzi]

The thing is darn ugly, and it looks way too wide or heavy to be comfortable to hold.

The joy-cons have the opposite problem, do they not? Uncomfortable because they're so thin and have bad button placement. Steam Deck looks closer to the thickness of the Hori Splitpad Pro, which is obviously far more comfortable.

"2-8 hours" of gameplay is also concerning lol.

Attempting to squeeze every frame out of the latest AAA games versus playing 2D indie titles is what gives that big range.

 

[Shenrai]

Does it matter if the purchase on steam was free or not? My sister has an account with only one free game purchased so I was wondering if that satisfies the requirement.

 

[Chary]

The joy-cons have the opposite problem, do they not? Uncomfortable because they're so thin and have bad button placement. Steam Deck looks closer to the thickness of the Hori Splitpad Pro, which is obviously far more comfortable.


Attempting to squeeze every frame out of the latest AAA games versus playing 2D indie titles is what gives that big range.

I genuinely find the Joy-Cons to be comfortable honestly. Especially against the chonky Split Pad Pro. I'm the kind of person who thinks the Elite 2 controller is "heavy" though, so maybe I need to stop skipping arm day

Yeah the battery is probably fine, though I'm curious how skewed it is. 3-4 hours for 60fps mid tier AAA games should be fine, really. I just don't want launch Switch with its 2 hours for BOTW lol.

 

[BLsquared]

That's a nifty device.

 

[LightyKD]

I'm definitely picking up one of these babies! I'm kinda disappointed at the lack of a second USB-C port and it would have been nice to have e-GPU support via the dock but as long as I can play and charge from that USB-C port, I'll definitely be making more of those Steam Cards I'm using on my current Windows tablet. BTW, anyone reckon this device would be good for some basic VR gaming? I see that the dock only has one USB 3.0 port. I'm curious as to whether I can replace my gaming PC with this thing or if I still need to keep it around.

 

[ILuvGames]

I see very few UK gamers buying it because our beloved HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) are greedy bastards when it comes to import duty and taxes. That $649 for the most expensive model will inflate to about $830 (~£600) for us. And the extra money for the various SSD storage options above the base unit is extortionate. Think i'll stick with my Win 3 as it was certainly better value than this and from a company with shirt buttons for a net worth compared to Valve.

 

[Chrisssj2]

"Pirating" - You can install windows 10 onto the device.
"no DLSS" - DLSS is a Nvidia exclusive but Amd has something similar which will most likely be included (fidelityfx).
"no ray tracing" - Just like the PS5 and Xbox series x Zen 2 + RDNA 2 does support ray tracing.

How can you install windows 10?
Also.. it may support it, but without dlss i doubt it will have the needed performance.

 

[NoNAND]

Runs SteamOS 3.0, supposedly its now based on Arch Linux for some reason.
Game support thus relies on Linux and Proton support.

Apparently they said in a livestream that its not locked down and you can install Windows if you feel like it. Have no source except a friend watching a stream for that one.

Tl:dr.
Aya neo handheld is better

 

[Chrisssj2]

Not going to get one of these but portable Halo sounds very enticing.

Already have that with the switch. Moonlight baby!

 

[DarkCoffe64]

If you can mod this thing up and put yuzu or whatever in it, then it'll literally be a switch killer, lmao.

 

[Veho]

Tl:dr.
Aya neo handheld is better

It also costs twice as much.

 

[FlameSpeedster]

More options in the PC gaming handheld market is good.

 

[mspy]

How can you install windows 10?
Also.. it may support it, but without dlss i doubt it will have the needed performance.

Dude the thing is a portable PC and as such you can install any OS you like, it just comes with SteamOS by default. They mention this on their FAQ.
As for DLSS that's an Nvidia only technology, the good news is that AMD (which is powering this device) has a DLSS-like technology which may be even better because it's open source and does not require any special hardware to run (discounting very old GPUs) only thing that it needs is for the devs to update their games to support it which according to reviews of the thing its not that hard to do because unlike DLSS it doesn't even require your game to be trained with AI, the technology it's called FSR.

 

[Xzi]

How can you install windows 10?

By just...installing it. Put it on an mSD or USB drive. It's a portable PC, anything you can do with a laptop you can do with Steam Deck.

 

[gudenau]

I am happy that it's not an OLED, but I am disappointed that it's not ZEN 3.

 

[Owenge]

How can you install windows 10?
Also.. it may support it, but without dlss i doubt it will have the needed performance.

Valve: "
Do I need a Steam account to use Steam Deck?
The default Steam Deck experience requires a Steam account (it's free!). Games are purchased and downloaded using the Steam Store. That said, Steam Deck is a PC so you can install third party software and operating systems."

Source - https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

 

[Hanafuda]

1080p would have been nice but when it comes to more demanding modern games, 800p better suits the relatively weak spec (weak as in compared to a gaming rig with discrete GPU). With 800p you won't have to lower settings and / or upscale from sub-native resolutions quite so much, plus you can always downsample from a higher resolution if there's resource headroom.
In that context, I'd sooner 800p than a 1080p screen where I would more often need to compromise on settings and/or upscale from sub-native resolutions.

Yeah I know. It's a nit-pick, in the big picture.

 

[Chrisssj2]

Dude the thing is a portable PC and as such you can install any OS you like, it just comes with SteamOS by default. They mention this on their FAQ.
As for DLSS that's an Nvidia only technology, the good news is that AMD (which is powering this device) has a DLSS-like technology which may be even better because it's open source and does not require any special hardware to run (discounting very old GPUs) only thing that it needs is for the devs to update their games to support it which according to reviews of the thing its not that hard to do because unlike DLSS it doesn't even require your game to be trained with AI, the technology it's called FSR.

DLSS no longer also rquires training by A.I just so you know. And at this point DLSS is still superiour.