Thursday, November 9th 2023
Valve Updates the Steam Deck with OLED Display, Overhauled Internals
Valve has announced an updated version of the Steam Deck and the headline feature is the new 7.4-inch OLED display. That's a mere 0.4-inches bigger than the original Steam Deck LCD display and it retains the same 1280 x 800 resolution. However, everything else related to the display has been improved and the refresh rate is now 90 Hz rather than 60 Hz. The display is also a lot brighter, with an SDR rating of 600 nits and an HDR rating of 1000 nits. Valve also claims a 110 percent P3 colour gamut, a one million to one contrast ratio and a sub 0.1 ms response time. On top of that, Valve has added what the company calls "high performance touch" which is said to improve the responsiveness of the display.
It's not just the display that has been improved, as Valve has moved to a 6 nm AMD Zen 2 based SoC which seems to allow the GPU to run at 1.6 GHz at all times, as Valve no longer lists a frequency range for the GPU. The power envelope remains the same though, with a range of 4-15 Watts. Paired with the new SoC is faster LPDDR5 memory at 6400 MT/s, up from 5500 MT/s, which should provide a small boost in gaming performance. An improved cooling solution is also part of the package, which is also likely a reason for the more constant GPU clocks. Gone are the entry level storage SKUs and the OLED version of the Steam Deck only comes with 512 GB or 1 TB of internal storage. The WiFi and Bluetooth module has also been overhauled and now supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. The battery has also been boosted from a 40 Whr pack to a 50 Whr pack and Valve now claims three to 12 hours of battery life during gaming, as well as faster charging times. Finally the weight has dropped by 29 grams, which might not be much, but still impressive considering the larger battery pack. The downside you ask? That would be the price, as Valve is asking for US$549/€569 for the 512 GB version, with the 1 TB coming at US$649/€679 when it becomes available on the 16th of November.
Source:
Valve
It's not just the display that has been improved, as Valve has moved to a 6 nm AMD Zen 2 based SoC which seems to allow the GPU to run at 1.6 GHz at all times, as Valve no longer lists a frequency range for the GPU. The power envelope remains the same though, with a range of 4-15 Watts. Paired with the new SoC is faster LPDDR5 memory at 6400 MT/s, up from 5500 MT/s, which should provide a small boost in gaming performance. An improved cooling solution is also part of the package, which is also likely a reason for the more constant GPU clocks. Gone are the entry level storage SKUs and the OLED version of the Steam Deck only comes with 512 GB or 1 TB of internal storage. The WiFi and Bluetooth module has also been overhauled and now supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. The battery has also been boosted from a 40 Whr pack to a 50 Whr pack and Valve now claims three to 12 hours of battery life during gaming, as well as faster charging times. Finally the weight has dropped by 29 grams, which might not be much, but still impressive considering the larger battery pack. The downside you ask? That would be the price, as Valve is asking for US$549/€569 for the 512 GB version, with the 1 TB coming at US$649/€679 when it becomes available on the 16th of November.
124 Comments on Valve Updates the Steam Deck with OLED Display, Overhauled Internals
www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/amd-confirms-7040hs-phoenix-apus-shipped-to-oems.308144/post-5008545
I am not kidding, Gabe literally must have seen my post. LMAO TY GOOD SIR TY SO MUCH
JOIN US!!!!!
www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/steam-deck-owners-clubhouse.291802/post-5138351
I am tempted to upgrade my Steam Deck but it really isn't worthwhile. I play really lightweight games on my Deck in bed and my heavy games on my desktop. I would get more value from a desktop GPU upgrade. The limited edition model looks amazing!They announced they are going to come out with a Steam Deck 2 in 2-3 years when their is a more substantial improvement in performance to be had within the same power envelope.The base model at $399 was already sold at a loss. We don't know how much of a loss.The hardware is designed to run very well at low power and doesn't run as well at 1080p. 800p is absolutely fine on an ~7 inch display at this price point.
100% buying this other Deck, I plan to use both and want both in my life long collection as well as the future Steam Deck 2. SteamOS is a game changer in my eyes. I am so happy they went with 800p 90hz, so many games can actually run that and still look great natively!!! This thing checks all my boxes.
Also, PCgamer has review up: gave it a 89/100
www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-oled-review/clunky bloated OS, horrible battery life, games that won't run as well cause 1080p still on APU at end day... I'll take Steam Deck any day over that. 800p OLED 90hz is literally the perfect trio for this form factor and APU. i am playing FFX HD Remaster at 5 watts and incredible 4-5 hr battery life... it took 10 seconds to dial in the watt usage needed. how long does that take on Ally?
My friend is a huge Steam Deck enjoyer and he'll be ordering this one right away, so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it with my own eyes.
But the price is so high, and i need only a portable OLED for 2D games, then i won't buy any.
8,8" is perfect (point & clicks games).