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

 

[9hundred]

I'm switching to steam.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Unfortunately, the Steam Deck is running on a compatibility layer which is Proton and Proton does not run games perfectly as opposed to when running on a Windows machine. Unless you grandma and her dog knows how to install Windows, this handheld will massively require a Steam Deck optimized support from devs.

You can install pure complete vanilla Windows if you want. It is a windows machine if you want it to be.

PS: I would prefer not to install Windows, but the option is there.

 

[ertaboy356b]

You can install pure complete vanilla Windows if you want. It is a windows machine if you want it to be.

PS: I would prefer not to install Windows, but the option is there.

Like I said, unless your average consumer knows how to install Windows, then good for them. If Valve wants this to sell as much as possible, they should streamline every game, make it plug and play as possible and to do that, they needed the support of the Devs. Unfortunately, Proton just won't cut it. Not everyone is as tech savvy as the people here.

 

[Xzi]

Unfortunately, Proton just won't cut it. Not everyone is as tech savvy as the people here.

In what sense won't Proton "cut it" with 80% to 90% compatibility on launch?

 

[Goku1992A]

Best comparison of all the portable PC devices

https://liliputing.com/2021/07/comp...-max-and-win-3-onexplayer-and-onegx1-pro.html

 

[ertaboy356b]

In what sense won't Proton "cut it" with 80% to 90% compatibility on launch?

They need to streamline it more to make games work out of the box, no tweaking, etc. As far as I can tell, lots of games will need minor tweaks (setting proton version / installing the GE version, etc.)

 

[Xzi]

They need to streamline it more to make games work out of the box, no tweaking, etc. As far as I can tell, lots of games will need minor tweaks (setting proton version / installing the GE version, etc.)

I'm pretty sure SteamOS 3.0 handles all that in the background. Or if it doesn't now, it will by the time Deck's launch rolls around. Of course, you don't want to limit even casual users too much, so the option will be there to customize your settings.

 

[sarkwalvein]

They need to streamline it more to make games work out of the box, no tweaking, etc. As far as I can tell, lots of games will need minor tweaks (setting proton version / installing the GE version, etc.)

I believe they just need to add a "Steam Deck" compatible symbol for games into steam, as they do with the platform symbol. That would be good enough for your average Joe.

PS: I mean, the symbol is there for games fully supported/ tested/ no tweak needed.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

supposedly its now based on Arch Linux for some reason.

Rolling kernel updates. As long as their front-end is decent, should be as user-friendly as the Debian versions were. This is a good move, in my opinion. Ever since the advent of simple package managers like flatpak, the appeal of Debian-based operating systems has decreased substantially, imo.

 

[Kioku]

Unfortunately, the Steam Deck is running on a compatibility layer which is Proton and Proton does not run games perfectly as opposed to when running on a Windows machine. Unless you grandma and her dog knows how to install Windows, this handheld will massively require a Steam Deck optimized support from devs.

I'm well aware of what Proton is and what it does. You're downplaying its worth. It's in a significantly better state now than it was even a year ago. You're also acting like installing Windows isn't as easy as making a bootable drive. If anything, installing your preferred flavor of Linux and getting it up to snuff for gaming takes more work... But I digress.

Granted, I do see your point. I can't help but imagine that there will be a handful of customers who will be more than disappointed in what this will do out of the box. That, however, would more than likely be for games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, etc. Which, if the anti-cheat companies work with Valve (Bungie won't, they don't seem interested in allowing Linux gamers into their garden), wouldn't be as much of an issue.

 

[2shizukasensei88]

Epic, I wonder how hard would it be, to install a m.2 ssd, and yeah I also live in a third world country, I doubt that I'll see this in msrp for a while.

 

[subcon959]

If you did wipe it and install Windows, where would the various drivers come from? Even if it is just a PC it still needs dedicated support for gaming performance, I doubt the standard AMD driver suite will just work?

 

[Goku1992A]

If you did wipe it and install Windows, where would the various drivers come from? Even if it is just a PC it still needs dedicated support for gaming performance, I doubt the standard AMD driver suite will just work?

More than likely not because it's mainly designed to optimize steam games. It has the ability to play other games but it's going to have to co-exist with the hardware.

 

[djpannda]

The Proton compatibility is going to make it or break it. Valve is claiming its at around 70% as of now and it still being worked on. It it does get released at 80-90% it would be a hit. In fact it can be under that as long as Valve is able to just make acouple of high profile anti-cheat and multiplayer games work 1day. As the preorders are now at Q2-Q3, Valve has plenty of time to work on it before the general pop gets it and If youre a early adaptor and still bitch about it, your own fault.

 

[sarkwalvein]

If you did wipe it and install Windows, where would the various drivers come from? Even if it is just a PC it still needs dedicated support for gaming performance, I doubt the standard AMD driver suite will just work?

It's mostly AMD hardware custom made for Valve but based on standard AMD stuff. With Valve stating they won't make it intentionally hard to put any system you want on it because they are going for openness, the PC way; I believe the drivers will be provided by either AMD or Valve; quite possibly the standard AMD driver suite will indeed work.

 

[Paolosworld]

Selling pre-orders for astronomical prices is still scalping. Those were not regular users selling their reservations, since some of the eBay listings had like "10 items available" behind a single listing. Professional scalpers somehow were good prepared for Valve's terms on how you could pre-order a Deck. Fortunately, eBay banned all those listings as of yesterday.

Pre-orders are technically free. The $5 you pay to reserve it is part of the complete steam deck price.

In other words, if you reserve the $399 model for $5, you pay the $5 up front, and then when supply is ready, you pay only $394.
They say this in the FAQ on the steam page for it.

I guess the $5 reserve is just a way to make sure people don't spam reserves without being serious about buying it, so there's a $5 pacifier.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

You can install pure complete vanilla Windows if you want. It is a windows machine if you want it to be.

PS: I would prefer not to install Windows, but the option is there.

Windows takes up like 37gb, so it's probably not the best idea unless you have the gangster model or sd cards

 

[subcon959]

It's mostly AMD hardware custom made for Valve but based on standard AMD stuff. With Valve stating they won't make it intentionally hard to put any system you want on it because they are going for openness, the PC way; I believe the drivers will be provided by either AMD or Valve; quite possibly the standard AMD driver suite will indeed work.

I'm sure they will work it out, but it would be pretty cool if support was added to standard AMD drivers. The only reason I went for the 256GB model is because I want to install Windows and use it as a mini PC so it would be nice if the performance wasn't gimped in that mode (although it's possible it could actually be better until proton is fully optimised)

 

[Daggot]

I believe they just need to add a "Steam Deck" compatible symbol for games into steam, as they do with the platform symbol. That would be good enough for your average Joe.

PS: I mean, the symbol is there for games fully supported/ tested/ no tweak needed.

Considering that part of the early Steamdeck leaks called it Project Neptune(back then everybody thought it was a controller) and the info that came from steamdb showed out that steam started creating tags for "Neptune optimized games" a few months ago I'd say that's already the plan.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

If you did wipe it and install Windows, where would the various drivers come from? Even if it is just a PC it still needs dedicated support for gaming performance, I doubt the standard AMD driver suite will just work?

Why would the standard AMD drivers not work? It's using the same architecture from AMD's mainstream GPUs. It'll be supported just as much as any of AMD's other APUs are, I imagine, even if this one is a special case and designed specifically for this device. And what other various drivers would be an issue? Other than graphics, I don't see what part would be of any concern.

 

[mattyxarope]

The Proton compatibility is going to make it or break it. Valve is claiming its at around 70% as of now and it still being worked on. It it does get released at 80-90% it would be a hit. In fact it can be under that as long as Valve is able to just make acouple of high profile anti-cheat and multiplayer games work 1day. As the preorders are now at Q2-Q3, Valve has plenty of time to work on it before the general pop gets it and If youre a early adaptor and still bitch about it, your own fault.

To be clear, 70% of 50,000 is 35,000.

So 35,000 games (Steam games) work to some degree right now.

I think most people will be fine. It's more important that they get anticheat working which is preventing big games like pubg from working properly.