Before we start reviewing Steam Deck, a little history. Portable consoles have gained unprecedented popularity in the early stages of the development of the gaming industry. The ability to take a set-top box with you is a more important factor for the power of the device. Nintendo has long held a monopoly with its Game Boys.
Over time, rival Sony joined the fight for the portable market. The wonderful Sony PSP/PS Vita didn’t get a sequel and the Nintendo Switch was the only modern console you could take with you. Mobile phones and miserable consoles on Android OS are not even worth considering. There “gaming” for a slightly different audience. And now Valve releases its Steam Deck game console. Millions of PC gamers have been waiting for it. And what did they get? Let’s break it down in a detailed review of the most powerful handheld console on the market.
Complete set and configuration
The review involves the simplest version of Steam Deck 64 GB. eMCC memory, while the 256/512 GB versions use an NVMe SSD. Also, the flagship model has an improved screen coverage and small virtual chips (sets for Steam profiles). The small amount of console memory can be compensated by a Micro SD card (we used a 256 GB model in the review). Processor AMD APU 0404, 4 cores and 8 threads at up to 2.8GHz. RAM as much as 16 GB, of which 14.5 is available. For a compact operating system, SteamOS Holo is more than enough.
The resolution of 1280x800p for such a screen (7 inches) is not a hindrance at all. Image and clarity during the game at a high level. Funny of those ignoramuses who cry all the time about the need for high resolution on phones. Let’s be frank and as objective as possible: Deck’s screen is better than 90% of Android devices. The exception will be rare flagships with Amoled matrices.
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The set includes the console itself, a charger, a case and a minimum of documentation. The protective case looks very simple, but it is by far the best that could be invented. It is comfortable to wear and over time you can forget that the console is overall. It’s hard to imagine how you can operate a Steam Deck without this bundled accessory.
The cooling system is active. Under high load, the temperature easily passes the limit of 80 degrees. The console case also heats up, but not to critical values. In absolute silence, high frequency fan noise can be heard. A dual speaker at medium volume will easily drown out the cooling system and the player will not be distracted by anything (almost).
With the price and detailed technical characteristics of the product, you can follow the link .
View and controls
After the Xbox Series X Gamepad controller, the portable Deck feels decent enough. The quality of the sticks, cross, triggers and other controls is at a high level. The keys are pleasant, analogues are sensitive.
There are additional buttons R5 / R6 and L5 / L6 as in the Xbox Elite Controller. This allows you to use all your fingers while playing. Helps in active games where many keys are used. Among stationary gamepads, such controls can only be seen in the most expensive, top-end, elite models.
Touchpads are located under the analog sticks. They are used for navigation, typing, game control, etc. These miniature touchpads have a pleasant vibration feedback. A slight vibration improves control and you quickly get used to it, although at first it seems like an odd feature.
There is a gyroscope that allows you to aim more accurately by moving the console itself in different directions. It is activated immediately after touching the right stick. For some, this will become a tool for better immersion. In the game Desk Job, the gyroscope works fine.
The Steam key launches the main menu, from which you can access the game library, store, settings, and more. Also, the combination Steam + R2 takes a screenshot. On the right side, the “…” button is used to open a sidebar where the user can adjust the volume, screen brightness, select a performance mode, configure monitoring, etc.
You can adjust the volume using the mechanical keys on the top panel. Near them is a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the other side is a USB Type C charging connector and a power button. The screen is touch sensitive and easily picks up fingerprints. In the presence of touchpads and sticks, you can use the touchscreen only under exceptional circumstances.
Console dimensions relative to Nintendo Switch
Software
The console runs on the proprietary SteamOS Holo operating system. The interface is well adapted and thought out. A person who has never used such a technique will figure it out in 5 minutes. The system offers hints when you turn it on for the first time. For more information, see the manual or the help site.
If you compare it with how difficult it is for a “teapot” to start playing games on Windows here, then this is a very big difference. A few clicks and the Steam store is in front of your eyes. The Ukrainian language is supported, as in the desktop launcher from Valve.
The library can sort games by compatibility. The system will automatically suggest those toys that are well optimized for Dec. They will be guaranteed to work without technical difficulties. The store also highlights similar games. The user gets hints everywhere. This approach allows Deck to be used even by those people for whom this prefix will be the first. Easier already nowhere.
The only thing that is stupidly implemented is the system for importing screenshots. I had to upload each screenshot separately to the Steam Cloud, then save them to my PC and use them in this review. No bulk import or even bulk selection of screenshots.
video games
The console was tested in different performance modes. For the vast majority of games, a TDP limit of 10-15W is enough. We offer readers a gallery of several popular games that we managed to check out.
Desk job
The game is designed specifically for Deca. Portal-style humor, simple gameplay and nice visuals are what you need to get acquainted. Moreover, the game teaches the basic controls on the console and will be the perfect prologue to the world of Steam Deck. 10W is enough for the toy to work stably at 60 fps. With a decrease in the frequency of the GPU, drawdowns already begin, and this does not affect autonomy too much.
Portal 2
An old, but relevant and interesting puzzle Portal 2 works flawlessly. Low CPU+GPU load, perfectly smooth framerate on ultra graphics settings. Electricity consumption is also low. A 100% charged battery will allow you to go through almost the entire game of Portal 2, which is quite possible to do in 4-5 hours. Games of this type are ideal for Steam Deck, although it is able to handle more demanding AAA projects. They will be discussed below.
Apex Legends
Multiplayer shooter in the style of Battleroyale. The game is very well optimized. With a TDP limit of 15W, it will be possible to play at high settings, but there may be rare drawdowns of up to 50 frames. Without TDP limits, the game is slightly better. Switching to low graphics settings raises the FPS to 75-85. The picture does not lose much detail, but at high it is more pleasant. Recall that on Nintendo Switch this game runs at 30 FPS at very low graphics settings (with reduced render scaling). Dec demonstrates better performance several times.
Shatterline
Online game from Ukrainian developers. A good enough first-person shooter that is worth a try. In PvP mode on medium graphics settings, Deck produces about 60 frames per second. The game has higher requirements than Apex, so it will be worse with a 15W limit. There are drawdowns up to 50 FPS, but this does not prevent you from killing real opponents. Shatterline eats up battery very quickly.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher feels great on medium-high graphics settings. But 60 fps is hard to achieve. Power consumption is considerable, the battery is melting before our eyes. When limiting the frame rate (up to 30), autonomy doubles. Still, Deck is not the kind of device on which you want to put up with a terrifying 30 frames per second. You can also go down to medium-low profile (with ultra textures).
F1 2018
Dynamic car racing simulator works great on high settings. The game automatically picked up a low graphics profile, the load on the graphics adapter was low, so you can easily raise the bar for image quality. No frame rate drops or freezes. In F1 2018, we get smooth and pleasant gameplay with good tactile vibration feedback.
Doom Eternal
Incredibly, in this game, we managed to set the textures to the maximum quality of Ultra Nightmare, and the rest of the parameters to high. In this mode, Deck gives out 50-60fps. The game used over 7GB of VRAM. This is a scenario in which a portable set-top box can squeeze out much more than a conditional NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti 4Gb.
Unified memory and a capacity of 14.5 GB (available) allows you to set ultra-quality textures in all games. The remaining parameters can be reduced and get a very high-quality picture. Textures have always been the main factor influencing the overall perception of the image in the game world. Doom Eternal runs smoothly and steadily, although after two hours of gameplay, the battery is almost completely depleted.
Let’s summarize the gaming experience. The performance of the console is enough for most AAA toys. It is much more powerful than the nearest “competitors”. The Switch will have to endure 30 fps, a soapy picture, high prices for games, etc., although the console itself is 2-3 times cheaper. The owner of Deca will be able to play cool and graphic games with a high frame rate (60+). All indie and casual video games are under the power of Steam Deck in maximum energy saving mode.
This is not a stripped-down portable for retro emulators, but a full-fledged entry-level gaming laptop in a slightly smaller case. The Steam Deck is the highest performing portable gaming device (full AAA games, not mobile junk) in 2022. But we still have to tell a few interesting nuances.
Additional features and disadvantages
You can install third-party programs on the console. The system offered the Google Chrome browser. The web browser works well, the speed is at the level of an inexpensive laptop. Entering text is inconvenient, but over time you can get used to it. Below are the results of Speedometer 2.0 and Google Octane benchmarks.
Enthusiasts install Windows 10 on Steam Deck. This will open up a lot of opportunities, but will significantly increase the number of bugs, reduce autonomy, etc. It’s nice to be able to use different Steam competitor stores (UPlay, Origin, EpicGames, BattleNet, Microsoft Store, etc.), but why use them when many games won’t work properly? Even on the official Steam Deck firmware, there are games that do not perceive the console correctly.
If the user has a powerful computer, but he is too lazy to get up from the couch, then the game broadcast mode will come in handy. The toy is launched on the computer, and the image is transmitted via Wi-Fi to the game console. Thus, the conditional Cyberpunk 77 will go to Deck with ray tracing at ultra settings at 60 fps, if the computer allows. You can launch another game (not with Steam) by cunningly minimizing to the desktop, but the control is tied to the running game from Steam. Therefore, Valve provided such a loophole.
The console can be used in stationary mode. Just connect a USB Type C to HDMI cable. There is a special mode for the desktop. With a wireless keyboard and mouse (Deck supports Bluetooth), you can play any game. Best suited for strategies. It is also easy to work in Google Docs through a browser.
The disadvantages include small and large firmware bugs. During testing, for no apparent reason, the memory card once “broke down”, it had to be formatted, almost 200GB of games were lost, which had not yet been tested.
And immediately we smoothly move on to the next drawback: the screen does not turn off when the download is in progress. The console will always be on until the game is installed. Unpleasant, and this could probably be fixed by the developers themselves programmatically.
Autonomy and heating
In casual games, the console will easily last 5 hours. Demanding AAA designs will drain the battery much faster. And here we immediately remember the overlay, which gives access to quick performance settings. The prefix offers to limit FPS (15, 30, 60), limit the TDP of the graphics accelerator, adjust the GPU frequency, etc. In practice, it has been verified that most games work fine with a TDP of 10-15W. The growth of energy consumption and productivity is close to an exponential or quadratic law. We can get 10% more frame rate for the price of double the TDP.
In conclusion, a few words about heating. As readers have seen on the screenshots, the APU easily warms up to 80+ degrees. In this mode, a tiny fan is clearly audible. The successful design of the Deca does not cause discomfort to the player, because the heating on the back wall is much less. The main part of the heat is removed by the cooling system. Modern Chinese smartphones of the “top for the money” class on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 warm hands much more. The cooling system in the Deck is generally not bad, but it’s hard to say what will happen in the summer heat.
