One in every of our favorite items from the previous 12 months. Initially revealed Could 4, 2022.
Valve hasn’t confirmed whether or not it is genuinely engaged on a follow-up to the Steam Deck (opens in new tab), its handheld gaming PC. Nevertheless, it’s positively wanting into one thing akin to a Steam Deck 2. Firm president Gabe Newell advised Edge (opens in new tab) that transport the primary technology unit “helps body our pondering for Deck 2”, and that the corporate want to see the brand new handheld as a “everlasting addition (opens in new tab)” to PC gaming. Whether or not Valve makes the next-generation PC handheld or it lends its SteamOS to another person to do, we’ve loads of concepts as to what we might prefer to see make the lower.
A few of our solutions are pretty real looking: enhancements we might prefer to see after spending a while with the Steam Deck ourselves, and a few arguably much less so. In the case of pushing the boundary of what is potential with at the moment’s know-how, our pie within the sky dream decks are positively wild sufficient to make a Valve engineer sweat. However hey, a PC gamer can dream.
Finally, Valve will not have any rapid plans to improve the Steam Deck—like a lot of you, we’re nonetheless ready for our unique orders to be fulfilled, and who is aware of when there can be basic availability of the moveable PC. However meaning there’s loads of time to determine what’s subsequent for the hand-held, as a result of whether or not the Steam Deck is the very best model of it or not, there’s a complete lot of potential for handheld PC gaming.
Jacob Ridley, Senior {Hardware} Editor: There is a main shift in built-in GPU energy on the way in which. A shift that would see each AMD and Intel providing far more efficiency in a compact system on chip bundle. For Valve, or simply handheld gaming PCs on the whole, that may very well be a option to supply far more than 720p efficiency on the go. We’re speaking discrete graphics card efficiency from a single chip incorporating CPU, GPU, and different essential methods.
For the reason that Steam Deck is already powered by an AMD processor—a four-core, eight-thread Zen 2 chip with 8 CUs of RDNA 2 graphics energy—I might assume a comply with up would additionally play ball for the crimson staff. AMD has confirmed two new APUs, often called Phoenix and Dragon Attain, which might reportedly come sporting the upcoming Zen 4 structure—additionally destined for Ryzen 7000 processors on desktop. Hearsay has it even the low-end Phoenix chips might include as much as 24 CUs from both the prevailing RDNA 2 or upcoming RDNA 3 graphics architectures. The precise GPU specification we are able to count on to see in these chips is but to be confirmed by AMD, however we’re speaking a serious improve in body charges at larger resolutions right here—even on the low-end one thing akin to the efficiency of the Radeon RX 6500 XT (opens in new tab).
Arguably this can be a pipe dream, of kinds. The facility calls for of such a chip would probably be fairly appreciable for a conveyable handheld. Up to now we all know it intends to drop Phoenix chips all the way down to 35W, which is already fairly a bit thirstier than the present Steam Deck’s max 15W chip. And that is the extra parsimonious of the 2 next-gen APUs. Let’s simply skip over the half the place somebody has to determine cool the factor and hope for the very best, yeah?
Katie Wickens, {Hardware} Author: Half a month with the Steam Deck has transformed me from craving probably the greatest gaming laptops (opens in new tab) to being a little bit of a Deck head. Whereas a laptop computer would let me pander to my system useful resource hungry metropolis constructing behavior, I’ve discovered that I nonetheless get pleasure from RPGs and strolling sims simply sufficient to warrant shopping for a Steam Deck. However over my time with it, there have been just a few niggles popping up, luring me again towards a lifetime of lidded luxurious.
At round 1.5lbs (660g) the Deck is a little bit tough to deal with. Resting it in your lap means you are caught hunching over it for hours (opens in new tab), and if you wish to give the choice gyro controls a go in Euro Truck Simulator 2 (opens in new tab), your arms are going to finish up fairly drained after only a few minutes for those who do not raise. I might love for the subsequent iteration of the Deck to be a little bit lighter, although I get that it will not be simple becoming what I count on to be upgraded specs right into a lighter machine.
Failing that, just a bit much less top so I might press the topmost buttons whereas cradling my Deck, that may be fab. I might even be pleased with a little bit kickstand connected to the again so I can put the factor down with out going through it towards the ceiling and lacking the upcoming cutscene solely. Thanks, daddy Newell, you are the very best.
Wes Fenlon, Senior Editor: Colours!! I am with Katie in that my ‘needs’ for the second technology are principally bodily. It is inevitable we get a extra highly effective chip in there, so I am not even daydreaming concerning the new tech. What I actually care about is a tool that is lighter and extra wieldy, although as I mentioned in my evaluation I feel Valve made the best trade-offs with this one. I might prefer to see Valve lower about 30% of the burden right here, and shrink the general system only a bit to make it a extra moveable moveable.
The Steam Deck might positively be extra fashionable. It looks like {hardware} designed by engineers, and I might like to see a tool designed with the stylishness of a Swap Lite or Playdate. The bezel across the Steam Deck’s show is kind of massive, so there’s potential there for Valve to maintain the identical measurement display whereas tightening up the general system dimensions. The Swap OLED is the proper case examine for a gen two Steam Deck display, although Valve must be sure that an OLED can deal with the refresh price adjustments it is simply beginning to introduce on the Steam Deck proper now. Having the ability to lock a recreation’s framerate and the show’s refresh to 40 or 50Hz provides a lot flexibility when efficiency and battery life are always at odds.
Chris Livingston, Impatient Shopper: Perhaps I’ve simply been spoiled, possibly I am simply one other instance of the moment gratification, I-Need-It-Now Veruca Salt mentality, nevertheless it’d be good if the Steam Deck 2 might arrive within the mail just a few days or every week after I order one as an alternative of, y’know, one million years later? At present, for those who reserve a Steam Deck right here in Could it’s important to wait till October “or later” to get it. October? That is the distant future. Or later? That is much more distant. We’ll most likely be residing on Mars and utilizing telepathy to play video games by the point “or later” rolls round.
Hopefully, Valve will manufacture extra Deck 2’s upfront than they did with their first run—it is not like the corporate will wind up in monetary smash if just a few Decks go unsold, proper? Or, possibly it is on me to cease anticipating to get the issues I would like the second I would like them. Onerous to say.
Alan Dexter, Senior {Hardware} Editor: I am torn in terms of the dream Steam Deck. A part of me needs extra energy to make larger resolutions and higher body charges a actuality, however on the identical time, I do not need to need to cope with even noisier followers. So if we’re within the realm of fantasy, then an RDNA 3 GPU core with 24 CUs can be nice. Hook that as much as a 1080p display so you do not have to mess with any bizarre resolutions, and we’re good.
On high of that, I might additionally love a extra premium chassis. The OG Steam Deck does really feel fairly respectable, however quite a few high-end laptops have given me a style for a high quality, CNC-machined chassis, and if this might assist with the cooling of the subsequent Steam Deck, then that is all for the higher. Clearly, such circumstances do have a notable affect on pricing, however that is for the engineers at Valve to work out.
The ultimate factor I might like from the Steam Deck 2 is a bit trickier to resolve—I would like a greater controller. I merely do not get on with the inputs provided by the prevailing Steam Deck. That is partially all the way down to the truth that the PC video games I are likely to play work greatest with mouse and keyboard, and I’ve all the time seen console controllers as being poor cousins to the may of the PC’s inputs. I do not know what the answer is, nevertheless it is not a thumbstick and a trackpad.
In abstract: I would like higher efficiency, a premium chassis, and an entire rethink of the controllers. And all for roughly the identical value as the unique Steam Deck—the one factor that Valve completely nailed with the first-gen units.
Dave James, {Hardware} Lead: Silence. That is all I really need from the second technology Steam Deck. The quantity of the factor is what has most put me off utilizing it in public, and even sat on the couch subsequent to my spouse mainlining Under Deck like the truth TV opium it’s. Really, it is principally the pitch of the followers moderately than the amount that has aggravated me, however even the insistent whoosh of the Deck’s cooling nonetheless will get to me after some time. The dream can be passive chip-chilling that by some means retains the RDNA 3-powered APU at its coronary heart nonetheless capable of run at peak efficiency. However I do know that is a pipe-dream. Or a dream the place the warmth pipes are so damned large the Deck 2.0 turns into three inches thick.
That is the primary factor, however there are additionally some nice-to-have options I might be up for, too. The customisation on the Deck means I can tweak it to make sure I get respectable battery life on most video games, however I might love a battery meaning I haven’t got to. Once more, I do not know if that is potential throughout the tight confines of its chassis, a minimum of not with out the system drawing a lot much less energy than it does proper now.
Lastly, I might need Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. Having the ability to dock the Deck has been an extremely pleasurable expertise; I wrote everything of my tech evaluation on the Steam Deck itself whereas plugged into my workplace monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Nevertheless it would not essentially do nice on a better spec display for video games, although for those who might plumb it into an exterior GPU dock, you’ve got received a cellular gaming machine that may turn into a full desktop PC again house.