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(Pocket-lint) - Valve's long-rumoured Steam Deck is present official. Well, almost. The Switch-like handheld gaming instrumentality was owed to merchandise aboriginal this twelvemonth successful the US and the UK, but Valve is delaying the motorboat by 2 months.
Here's what you request to know.
What is Valve Steam Deck?
Ever privation you could play much of your favourite PC games connected the Switch?
Well, successful July 2021, Valve unveiled Steam Deck, a handheld PC for gaming that could shingle up the portable marketplace successful a large way.
With the Steam Deck, you tin entree your full existing Steam library instantly upon logging in. It runs a modified SteamOS, allowing you to download and play games specified arsenic Doom Eternal. It besides lets you instal and run PC bundle connected it, including a web browser, different crippled stores similar the Epic Games Store, and video-streaming services. It adjacent connects to a show and gaming peripherals similar a keyboard and mouse, oregon a controller.
And, due to the fact that of its cloud-saving feature, you tin seamlessly prime up crippled prevention files betwixt your Steam Deck and PC.
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What does Valve Steam Deck feature?
Display
Steam Deck features a 7-inch 1280 x 800 touchscreen for 720p gameplay. It's touch-enabled to fto you power suitable games that way, too.
Specs
In presumption of power, each Steam Deck offers the aforesaid powerfulness 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and an AMD APU containing a quad-core Zen 2 CPU with 8 threads and 8 compute units’ worthy of AMD RDNA 2 graphics. There are 3 antithetic retention tiers available, though: 64GB eMMC storage, 256GB NVMe SSD storage, and 512GB of high-speed NVME SSD storage. You tin besides grow the retention via microSD connected immoderate of the models.
Other features see built-in mics, a gyroscope for question controls, and a "40 watt-hour artillery that provides respective hours of playtime for astir games". We've besides present heard that it'll beryllium targetting 30FPS connected games arsenic the minimum expected performance, though that'll surely alteration by title.
Controls
Steam Deck has 2 thumbsticks and 2 Steam Controller-style trackpads beneath the thumbstick that tin mimic the feeling of utilizing a mouse. The beforehand of the handheld instrumentality besides has ABXY buttons and a D-pad. Similar to the Switch, Steam Deck comes with 2 enarthrosis triggers connected each side, and determination are 4 backmost buttons (two connected each side) for adjacent much options.
Software
Steam Deck offers entree to the Steam room and runs a mentation of Steam OS that's optimized for mobile gaming. The OS is really based connected Linux. In fact, Steam Deck tin beryllium utilized arsenic a full-fledged Linux machine by much precocious users. Valve said you’ll beryllium capable to plug successful a mouse, keyboard, and show - positive you tin instal PC bundle connected it, browse the web, and usage it to entree different crippled stores. It features unreality saves for the syncing of files betwixt devices, and it has a suspend/resume diagnostic to unit the instrumentality into slumber mode.
Other features see chat, notifications, and the quality to watercourse games to Steam Deck straight from your PC via Valve’s Remote Play feature.
Accessories
Valve plans to merchantability a dock that you tin usage to prop up a Steam Deck to plug it into outer displays oregon TVs. It's not required, however, and besides volition merchandise a small aft the console, since it hasn't been shown disconnected yet. Valve said Steam Deck tin beryllium plugged into your TV, monitor, oregon "even your aged CRT if you person the close cables.” The Stem Deck comes with USB-C ports that incorporate HDMI, Ethernet, and USB data, arsenic good arsenic Bluetooth.
How overmuch does Valve Steam Deck cost?
- 64GB eMMC retention for $399
- 256GB NVMe SSD retention for $529
- 512GB of high-speed NVME SSD retention for $649
There are antithetic Steam Deck models priced astatine $399, $529, and $649 successful the US. In the UK, those models are astatine £349, £459, and £569.
The models and their prices standard up based connected your preferred retention and processing speed.
Valve
When volition Valve Steam Deck launch?
Steam Deck was primitively expected to statesman shipping successful December 2021 - conscionable successful clip for Christmas. But Valve present estimates the archetypal bid availability volition beryllium successful February 2022. "We’re atrocious astir this - we did our champion to enactment astir the planetary proviso concatenation issues, but owed to worldly shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities successful clip for america to conscionable our archetypal motorboat dates", Valve said successful a blog post.
Valve elaborated successful the Steam Deck FAQ: “Material shortages and delays meant that components weren’t making it to our manufacturing facilities connected time. Missing parts on with logistical challenges means delayed Steam Decks, truthful we needed to propulsion retired shipping by 2 months to February".
How to reserve Valve Steam Deck
Reservations archetypal opened successful July 2021, initially, for users who had made purchases connected Steam earlier June 2021. All 3 options were disposable to reserve. They inactive are available, successful fact, though the transportation day is present a far-off 1 - you'll get your console sometime aft Q2 2022 if you reserve 1 astatine present.
There’s a refundable $5 preservation interest and a bounds of 1 preservation per person. Keep successful caput this isn't a preorder; it simply puts you into a queue to bid the device. When inventory is available, customers volition beryllium notified successful the bid reservations were made to marque their purchase.
Where volition Valve Steam Deck beryllium available?
The archetypal units of Steam Deck volition motorboat successful the US, Canada, the EU, and the UK, with different areas pursuing successful 2022.
Writing by Maggie Tillman. Originally published connected 15 July 2021.
English (US) ·