Wednesday, December 11th 2024

Refurbished Steam Deck OLED Joins Original Valve Handheld With $130 Lower Price vs New

Refurbished Steam Decks have been a more affordable way to get into the handheld gaming PC space for a while now, but Valve just announced that it has now added the OLED version of the Steam Deck to its official refurbished device line-up. Now, you can get your hands on a Steam Deck OLED for as little as $439 for the 512 GB variant or $519 for the 1 TB version—a healthy $110 and $130 cheaper compared to new units, respectively.

Valve claims the refurbished Steam Deck units—generally customer returns—are functionally identical to new stock units, and it says that there is a strict inspection and testing process for all returned Steam Decks that go into the refurbished program. The only material difference between factory new and refurbished units are "cosmetic defects to be small blemishes or scratches (on the plastic casing, not the screen) generally caused from normal handling of the unit," and these will obviously vary from device to device. In case anything goes wrong, Valve offers the same warranty and support for the refurbished units as it does for its factory new Steam Decks. Unfortunately, the refurbished Steam Deck OLEDs are only available in Canada, the EU, the UK, and the US. Other regions are stuck with regular MSRP Steam Decks or third-party refurbished or used handheld consoles.
Source: Valve
Add your own comment

23 Comments on Refurbished Steam Deck OLED Joins Original Valve Handheld With $130 Lower Price vs New

#1
Dr. Dro
Unfortunately, the refurbished Steam Deck OLEDs are only available in Canada, the EU, the UK, and the US. Other regions are stuck with regular MSRP Steam Decks or third-party refurbished or used handheld consoles.
So, they're available in every region where Valve officially sells the Steam Deck? Anywhere else it's either an "import" or straight up contraband lol
Posted on Reply
#2
AsRock
TPU addict
But do you get the full warranty too ?.
Posted on Reply
#3
Cheeseball
Not a Potato
AsRockBut do you get the full warranty too ?.
Depends on the region, but Valve says yup:
Posted on Reply
#5
Scrizz
AsRockBut do you get the full warranty too ?.
Straight from the source.
Posted on Reply
#6
Gigaherz
This is a very great model and I think other manufacturers should adapt the same concept. Longer product cycles will benefit both manufacturer and consumer. Lower cost and increased lifetime support is always good. There are companies who by now, would have released the Steamdeck 4 and already dropped support for the first gen.
Posted on Reply
#7
HisDivineOrder
Dr. DroSo, they're available in every region where Valve officially sells the Steam Deck? Anywhere else it's either an "import" or straight up contraband lol
Japan has a third party partner that sells Steam Deck's officially.
Posted on Reply
#8
_roman_
There is a difference between a device from a factory where a factory worker does always the same step vs a repaired unit.

20 years ago I was also assembling mobile phone and other electronics for a while. We had automatic testing units for those smart phones.

I was unlucky with two refurbished lenovo laptops in past ~15 months. It depends heavily on the mindset of the person repairing the device and on the company policy.

--

#6 Post:
I want to see what a refurbished power supply is. Those brick power supplies sometimes dies very regularly for certain devices. I experienced that in my previous company.
I think they should write, you may get an used and tested (just if the device powers on) power supply or a new one according to availability. I really want to see how they refurbish a power supply.
Posted on Reply
#9
Vayra86
My experiences with Steam's Deck support have been outstanding, I have nothing but praise. Had a broken screen. One ticket, responded to within 24 hours, with clear questions to answer in a great tone of voice, and one response later a detailed quote is returned for the repair while honestly explaining the limits of the warranty and the options available to me - even the self-repair ifixit hint came across. I then said I wanted to consider other options, and the ticket was left open with a near-direct, kind response 'We'll wait for you to figure out what you want'.

Similarly, on refunding a game that was past the 14-day return period but played less than 2 hours: 'please explain why you still want the refund because its outside our normal allowed period/conditions'. A brief explanation, worded honestly: 'The game just isn't good, bores the shit out of me and I can't bring myself to get back to it' resulted in a full refund no less than 24 hours later.

If Valve says they refurbish devices, I have pretty good faith the refurb I get won't be a broken POS.
Posted on Reply
#10
Space Lynx
Astronaut
steam winter sale is in 7 days.

the oled model has been out over a year now and still not had a sale yet, so i am expecting maybe 50 off a retail new unit with the winter sale...

so $499 for a new unit or save 60 more for a used unit. i mean just get a new unit, because at end of day you don't know how much battery charge cycles the refurb has gone through. if they give refurb new batteries though... then yes i'd be all in for a refurb unit
Posted on Reply
#11
Vayra86
Space Lynxsteam winter sale is in 7 days.

the oled model has been out over a year now and still not had a sale yet, so i am expecting maybe 50 off a retail new unit with the winter sale...

so $499 for a new unit or save 60 more for a used unit. i mean just get a new unit, because at end of day you don't know how much battery charge cycles the refurb has gone through. if they give refurb new batteries though... then yes i'd be all in for a refurb unit
Battery is replaceable too right?

Still I agree, brand new feels a lot better, but if you consider the fact a battery can never cost more than 60,-, a refurb is really quite a good deal at that kind of discount. Because then you've got one battery that you can hammer until its dead, and still have the money to get a fresh one afterwards.
Posted on Reply
#12
freeagent
Gloves and a wrist strap.. whaaat?

Do they really operate like that or is it just for the camera?
Posted on Reply
#13
AsRock
TPU addict
CheeseballDepends on the region, but Valve says yup:
That makes a change :).
Posted on Reply
#14
Vayra86
freeagentGloves and a wrist strap.. whaaat?

Do they really operate like that or is it just for the camera?
I've managed to EMP a hard drive once, so I'm pretty sure they do that. Those gloves have rubber tips, too, or some kind of non conductive material
Posted on Reply
#15
Cheeseball
Not a Potato
freeagentGloves and a wrist strap.. whaaat?

Do they really operate like that or is it just for the camera?
Quanta and Foxconn do wear both in their factories. When I was still in Southeast Asia years ago, I do remember seeing technicians wear both or either one. I think @the54thvoid can confirm this further.
Posted on Reply
#16
Space Lynx
Astronaut
if they had made the 512gb refurb price $399, i honestly would have bit. i just feel like at this point you might as well wait for the first sale of the new 512gb version, which will probably be in the christmas sale
Posted on Reply
#17
the54thvoid
Super Intoxicated Moderator
CheeseballQuanta and Foxconn do wear both in their factories. When I was still in Southeast Asia years ago, I do remember seeing technicians wear both or either one. I think @the54thvoid can confirm this further.
Never been to Asia... You @ the wrong person?
Posted on Reply
#18
friocasa
ROG Ally(Z1 Extreme) costs in Europe 499€ at the official shop, new, while this Steam Deck OLED refurbished costs 469€. Both 512GB

ROG Ally has better GPU + double CPU cores(even if usually ain't needed for gaming), the only issue, Windows, but apparently Valve plans to support other devices on SteamOS, we'll see how it goes
Posted on Reply
#19
Zareek
friocasaROG Ally(Z1 Extreme) costs in Europe 499€ at the official shop, new, while this Steam Deck OLED refurbished costs 469€. Both 512GB

ROG Ally has better GPU + double CPU cores(even if usually ain't needed for gaming), the only issue, Windows, but apparently Valve plans to support other devices on SteamOS, we'll see how it goes
The Steam Deck is a seamless experience, to me worth way more than a Windows handheld. Even a Windows handheld running SteamOS. You know not everything is going to work, there is just too much variety in the handheld market to make SteamOS work perfectly on them all. Perhaps with time that will be the case. The Steam Deck software team is VERY good, at least on their own hardware.

The pricing/warranty are really tempting. Maybe enough for me to sell off my deck and grab one of these instead. I've wanted an OLED deck since they were announced. It doesn't seem like enough of an upgrade to warrant the cost. Especially considering how rarely I've been using the deck recently. I do love the option when I'm away from home.
Posted on Reply
#20
Cheeseball
Not a Potato
the54thvoidNever been to Asia... You @ the wrong person?
Probably LOL :laugh: I forgot who is the other dude (who is most likely older than me) who has had long extensive work in the tech industry who has also been to Taiwan and Malaysia. I don't remember forum names that well. :roll:
ZareekThe Steam Deck is a seamless experience, to me worth way more than a Windows handheld. Even a Windows handheld running SteamOS. You know not everything is going to work, there is just too much variety in the handheld market to make SteamOS work perfectly on them all. Perhaps with time that will be the case. The Steam Deck software team is VERY good, at least on their own hardware.

The pricing/warranty are really tempting. Maybe enough for me to sell off my deck and grab one of these instead. I've wanted an OLED deck since they were announced. It doesn't seem like enough of an upgrade to warrant the cost. Especially considering how rarely I've been using the deck recently. I do love the option when I'm away from home.
If you already have the LCD Deck at 512GB, it may or may not be worth upgrading to the OLED model. It does have better battery life and is more (not a lot more) efficient all around, but if you're already enjoying a Steam Deck then best to save for a future upgraded model.

ROG Ally X with Bazzite works really well though. Don't expect sub-13W TDP to go well, but it is more-or-less Steam Deck-like.
Posted on Reply
#21
Zareek
CheeseballProbably LOL :laugh: I forgot who is the other dude (who is most likely older than me) who has had long extensive work in the tech industry who has also been to Taiwan and Malaysia. I don't remember forum names that well. :roll:



If you already have the LCD Deck at 512GB, it may or may not be worth upgrading to the OLED model. It does have better battery life and is more (not a lot more) efficient all around, but if you're already enjoying a Steam Deck then best to save for a future upgraded model.

ROG Ally X with Bazzite works really well though. Don't expect sub-13W TDP to go well, but it is more-or-less Steam Deck-like.
Yup, I'm pretty sure I'll stick with what I have. I got the 64GB model during the winter sale 2023. I immediately upgraded it to 1TB myself.
Posted on Reply
#22
friocasa
ZareekThe Steam Deck is a seamless experience, to me worth way more than a Windows handheld. Even a Windows handheld running SteamOS. You know not everything is going to work, there is just too much variety in the handheld market to make SteamOS work perfectly on them all. Perhaps with time that will be the case. The Steam Deck software team is VERY good, at least on their own hardware.

The pricing/warranty are really tempting. Maybe enough for me to sell off my deck and grab one of these instead. I've wanted an OLED deck since they were announced. It doesn't seem like enough of an upgrade to warrant the cost. Especially considering how rarely I've been using the deck recently. I do love the option when I'm away from home.
It depends on how much you wanna tinker with the device and try stuff. I don't mind changing OS and testing it that much, and I sure would like to have double CPU performance and a little better GPU, it helps a lot to extend the device's lifespan, especially for other uses than gaming, like using it as mini-PC

But for using it just like a console, as it is... yeah, I get it, it's one of the best things about the deck

I also considered buying the OLED, but it's more of the same thing, now it's cheaper, but marks 3 years from the original Deck release, and what I would like, it's a successor using the latest tech

But who knows when it will be released the Deck 2, might take at least another year

I would try to sell the Deck LCD at a price that you would sell it to upgrade to the OLED, if people is willing to pay that price, I would go ahead, if not, I would keep it
Posted on Reply
#23
chrcoluk
1 year is decent for refurbished but meh for new.

The discount however is much better than I seen from others, many refurbished discounts now days I come across are less than 5% vs brand new, and dont match the warranty of new as a bonus.
Posted on Reply
Add your own comment
Jan 10th, 2025 21:06 EST change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts