Steam Deck is Valve's Switch-like portable PC: Starting at $399 this December
Steam Deck is Valve's Switch-like portable PC, starting at $399 this December
On Thursday, Valve took the wraps off its new Switch-like portable PC, now dubbed the Steam Deck, confirming that it is indeed the hardware Ars Technica wrote about earlier this year. The device will begin shipping later this year at a starting price of $399.
The hefty-looking console, which is 11.7 inches long, will launch at three price points, differentiated by built-in storage capacity, SSD speed ratings, and differently tempered glass on its screen. Those particular upgrades will cost $529 (256GB) and $649 (512GB, "anti-glare etched glass"). Both pricier bundles include a carrying case.
Valve Announces the "Steam Deck", a Handheld Gaming PC
Valve has announced a handheld gaming PC, the Steam Deck:
[...] Valve promises that "your entire Steam Library shows up, just like [on] any other PC," when you load up your Steam account on a Steam Deck. The device will run on a "new version" of SteamOS, itself a Linux distro, with Valve's Proton compatibility layer used to ensure that Windows games function properly. Valve has been bullish about testing and expanding Proton compatibility over the years, and Steam Deck will be the initiative's biggest proving ground yet. If you'd rather roll with your own OS, Valve chief Gabe Newell has indicated that Deck owners can wipe the device and start with whatever they choose, including their own licensed copy of Windows.
Steam Deck has a 7-inch touchscreen with a 1280×800 resolution. The device will use the long-rumored "Van Gogh" APU from AMD, which has 4 "Zen 2" CPU cores and 8 "RDNA 2" GPU compute units. It also has 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM running at 5500 MT/s.
The base model includes 64 GB of eMMC storage for $400, while the more expensive models include larger and faster NVMe SSD storage and some other improvements. There is a microSD slot for expandable storage. The device will begin shipping in December 2021.
Also at Videocardz.
Previously: Valve Working on a Handheld Gaming PC Running Linux
Related Stories
Exclusive: Valve is making a Switch-like portable gaming PC
Video game and hardware studio Valve has been secretly building a Switch-like portable PC designed to run a large number of games on the Steam PC platform via Linux—and it could launch, supply chain willing, by year's end.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that the hardware has been in development for some time, and this week, Valve itself pointed to the device by slipping new hardware-related code into the latest version of Steam, the company's popular PC gaming storefront and ecosystem.
[...] In recent years, the "Switch-like PC" category has exploded. In early 2020, Alienware revealed its first Switch-like gaming PC, but the "concept" device has not yet turned into a commercial product. If you want to buy a similar device today, you're largely looking at products from Chinese OEMs like GPD, One-Netbook, and Aya, who have slapped ultramobile PC processors and parts into a Switch-like chassis.
Rumors point to an AMD "Van Gogh" APU (Zen 2 quad-core with RDNA 2 graphics and support for LPDDR5 RAM), 7/8-inch screen, at a $400 price point for a Q4 2021 release.
Also at Wccftech.
AMD + Valve Working On New Linux CPU Performance Scaling Design
Along with other optimizations to benefit the Steam Deck, AMD and Valve have been jointly working on CPU frequency/power scaling improvements to enhance the Steam Play gaming experience on modern AMD platforms running Linux.
It's no secret that the ACPI CPUFreq driver code has at times been less than ideal on recent AMD processors with delivering less than expected performance/behavior with being slow to ramp up to a higher performance state or otherwise coming up short of disabling the power management functionality outright. AMD hasn't traditionally worked on the Linux CPU frequency scaling code as much as Intel does to their P-State scaling driver and other areas of power management at large.
AMD is ramping up efforts in these areas including around the Linux scheduler given their recent hiring spree while it now looks like thanks to the Steam Deck there is renewed interest in better optimizing the CPU frequency scaling under Linux.
[...] AMD will be presenting more about this effort next month at [the X.Org Developers Conference (XDC)].
X.Org Developer's Conference: XDC2021, Virtual (formerly Gdańsk, Poland), September 15th through September 17th, 2021.
Previously: Steam Deck is Valve's Switch-Like Portable PC: Starting at $399 this December
Valve’s upcoming Steam Deck will be based on Arch Linux:
As Ars Technica confirmed in May, two months ahead of its official reveal, Valve is about to re-enter the hardware space with its first portable PC, the Steam Deck. This custom x86 PC resembles an XL version of the Nintendo Switch and will begin shipping to buyers by the end of 2021, starting at $399.
[...] Shipping on Linux cuts manufacturing costs for Steam, insulates the company from competition with the Microsoft Store on Windows, and avoids exposing Steam Deck players to the world's premiere malware ecosystem—which also runs on Windows.
[...] "The main reason [to switch to Arch] is the rolling updates [that support] more rapid development for SteamOS 3.0," Valve designer Lawrence Yang told PC Gamer. Yang says that Arch is a better choice given the massive number of updates, changes, and customizations Valve needs to make in order to provide the best gaming experience on the Steam Deck.
Valve promises that the Steam Deck will run "the entire Steam library" at 30+ fps, so that means a lot of customizations indeed.
Previously:
AMD + Valve Working on New Linux CPU Performance Scaling Design
Steam Deck is Valve's Switch-Like Portable PC: Starting at $399 this December
Valve Shares New Steam Deck Details, Proton Update Available For Testing
The recording from the livestream is embedded below for those interested, but some of the key takeaways from today's developer-focused Steam Deck event included:
- Steam Deck will use an immutable root file-system, albeit can be changed for developers/enthusiasts wanting more control over the system state. The immutable root file-system approach is similar to the likes of Fedora Silverblue.
- SteamOS 3.0 will be generally available in due course for those wanting to run the Arch-based Linux distribution on other hardware.
- SteamOS 3.0 is making use of PipeWire.
- Flatpak'ed apps will be supported.
- At least initially the Steam Deck is now making use of a global frame limiter but initially is being left up to the individual games to handle. We'll see how quickly such functionality or so is built into Gamescope.
- The AMD SoC powering the Steam Deck is codenamed "Aerith" and as previously reported is a quad-core Zen 2 design with RDNA2 graphics. The TDP range for Aerith is 4 to 15 Watts. The Steam Deck should support up to two 4K screens at 60Hz via the USB3/DP 1.4 DSC interface.
For Linux Enthusiasts Especially, The Steam Deck Is An Incredible & Fun Device
The most fun and promising Linux-powered gaming device for the masses though is launching today: Valve's Steam Deck. I've been fortunate to be testing out this Arch Linux derived handheld game console the past month and it has been working out very well -- both as a portable Steam gaming device but making it even more compelling from the Linux enthusiast angle is its "developer mode" that effectively turns it into a general Linux handheld and also being free to load your own Linux distribution of choice.
[...] [The] much anticipated Valve handheld gaming computer that features a 7-inch 1280 x 800 display, gaming-optimized controls, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, 64GB to 512GB of storage depending on model, and is powered by a custom AMD APU. The AMD APU is made up of four Zen 2 cores (8 threads) and an AMD RDNA2 GPU with 8 compute units.
[...] On the software side, the Steam Deck is using SteamOS 3.0 that in turn is based on Arch Linux. SteamOS 3.0 is a complete overhaul compared to Valve's prior SteamOS work that is based on Debian GNU/Linux. SteamOS 3.0 with Arch Linux is much more fast-moving and has been seeing near-daily updates in preparation for launch.
See also:
Valve releases Steam Deck handheld PC to select few
Steam Deck review: it's not ready
The Steam Deck is already the emulation system of my dreams
Steam Deck: The comprehensive Ars Technica review
Steam Deck Review: Valve's Handheld Has Big PC Energy
Gabe Newell talks Steam Deck, crypto risks and why the PC industry "won't tolerate" closed platforms
Developers praise the Steam Deck: 'It just works, for real'
Valve Steam Deck Hardware Review & Analysis: Thermals, Noise, Power, & Gaming Benchmarks (Gamers Nexus, 35m30s video)
Steam Deck Tear-Down: Build Quality, Disassembly, & VRM Analysis (Gamers Nexus, 34m24s video)
Steam Deck 1-Month Review: SteamOS Difficulties, Software, & User Experience (Gamers Nexus, 34m28s video)
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15 2021, @11:18PM
SN's .onion service needs to update to v3 from v2.
In addition, when I visit the .onion the top story is from July 5th of 2020.
Hope this helps! Thanks a lot!
--------------------
In addition: the dev .onion doesn't work (500 Internal Server Error)
The WIKI .onion works, but it might be outdated like the main .onion, I don't know.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15 2021, @11:18PM (3 children)
Don’t fool yourself. This is made in Chinese death camps by enslaved Uyghurs.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15 2021, @11:25PM
So is the device you wrote that comment on.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15 2021, @11:40PM
psst! We only care when it's Apple devices!!s
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @01:03AM
》 This is made in Chinese death camps by enslaved Uyghurs.
That's what my last fortune cookie said.
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Thursday July 15 2021, @11:52PM (10 children)
This device doesn't seem to be competing with the Switch given the price points. The top rated one, at $649, is getting into laptop territory.
But will it run Crysis?
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Friday July 16 2021, @12:25AM (9 children)
$400 is close to Switch's $300 and new $350 OLED version. The hardware inside is pretty old and Nintendo is making a killing. Probably saved the company. Steam Deck is an x86 PC that can run the OS of your choice.
There are a few Chinese companies that were making Switch-like x86 handhelds before Valve. Valve has undercut them all with the base model. AYA NEO [indiegogo.com] was $700+. GPD Win 3 [indiegogo.com] was $850+. ONEXPLAYER [indiegogo.com] was $900+ (maybe $819).
The Van Gogh APU only has 4 cores, not 6 like some of these have, but it should have more powerful graphics... than anything? Supposedly even the 5700G desktop APU at peak because RDNA 2 has more performance per "teraflops" than GCN (yes, the flops are sometimes meaningless). Van Gogh will also have better battery life than the likes of 6-8 core Renoir/Cezanne, which is kinda important for a handheld.
Steam Deck also compares well to laptops, at least on specs. At the $400 price point, you're probably not getting 16 GB of RAM, and some laptops/tablets approach that price point with just 4 GB of RAM. Quad-core Zen 2 is not bad, and every laptop will have worse integrated graphics until next year, not long after this launch I suppose.
The Achilles heel of the $400 Steam Deck is the storage. 64 GB of eMMC is not much and pretty slow. But slumming it there may be fine if the large, fast RAM can be used to compensate. A jump of +$130 just to upgrade to the 256 GB SSD is unpalatable, but I think Valve might be selling the $400 model at a razor-thin margin, if not a loss:
I cannot get over Valve’s aggressive pricing for the Steam Deck [venturebeat.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Friday July 16 2021, @12:39AM (4 children)
Another small problem is that if you want to use it as your tiny desktop PC, you'll probably need to buy a dock. That's because it only has one USB-C port and no other USB ports. So if you do display out over just a cable, you can't hook up peripherals or storage. Although you could use a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and a microSD card for extra storage.
Official dock pricing is unknown, 3rd-party USB-C docks should be usable but their quality can vary.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Freeman on Friday July 16 2021, @03:02PM (3 children)
Whether you purchase a Dock or just a USB-C Hub, having additional ports on the device itself would have been more costly. One could have hoped for 2 USB-C ports, just for redundancy sake, but I'm getting the distinct impression that this is being produced at very thin margins, if not at a loss. Traditional Console players have easy to control supply chains. You didn't purchase a PS4 game, you don't play it on the PS4, essentially, etc. The Steam Deck will likely be much easier to "hack" and may not be hardened against that kind of homebrew style attempt. It's a bit of a risk, but it could be a huge payoff for Steam/Valve. Straight-up, it's a Zero Performance compromises system that will rock the socks off any handheld device that has ever existed. As far as a strict console comparison goes, it's a very competitive system, with a large user base. Also, it doesn't suffer from the PS1/PS2/PS3/PS4/PS5 game exclusive issue. In fact, since it's based on Linux, it has much better support for old games than any Windows System in existence.
To put things into perspective, you can't run a title like Civilizaiton II on modern Windows systems, without hacks to the executable, etc. A community has done that, so that one of the best games ever created, could be run on a modern Windows system. Using PlayOnLinux (Awesome frontend for WINE), I was able to install and setup Civilization II on Linux and it runs like it was meant to run without hacks or other weirdness. Steam Deck / SteamOS has the potential to be the most Customer Friendly system ever. Just due to the fact that they can support games that weren't designed to run on current hardware. Thus, the Steam Deck is the best emulator that's not actually an emulator, ever designed.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 16 2021, @03:28PM (2 children)
Emulation will be hilarious on the Steam Deck. It's likely to be able to emulate the Nintendo Switch well, as the Yuzu emulator has been improving on low-end hardware. PS3 may be doable. And so on.
The $400 price point is attractive (wow @ that RAM), although I've stopped short of convincing myself to buy one. I'm looking at upcoming Rembrandt and Monet instead. It will be interesting to see if Van Gogh comes to any other products, and what the purpose of the follow-up "Dragon Crest" [notebookcheck.net] is.
They are working on getting at least 2 anti-cheat software things working on Linux. But the system is as open as any other x86 PC if not more so:
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamdeck/faq [steamgames.com]
I don't know too much about the effectiveness of anti-cheat measures on PC (as opposed to a locked down console) because I don't play any new games and don't really care. But I did read about this last week:
Cheat-maker brags of computer-vision auto-aim that works on “any game” [arstechnica.com]
At some point, anti-cheat measures will have to beat "robots" controlling computers through the analog hole. You could try to detect that a behavior pattern isn't human-like, kind of like detecting deepfakes, but it will just get refined until it's indistinguishable from a human of the desired skill level. Game over, man. Single player gaming will be safe, of course.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Friday July 16 2021, @03:41PM (1 child)
The only way to be sure would be live tournaments for things that matter. Otherwise, I'd imagine that robots controlling computers are a good ways off from being competitive and most definitely not affordable at this point.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 1) by Acabatag on Sunday July 18 2021, @01:16PM
Because the hardware ecosystem is known and controlled, it will probably be easier to make anti-cheat functions specifically for the hardware that it can be verified are in place than on general x86 hardware.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @02:42AM (3 children)
Every time Nintendo comes out with a new console/handheld/etc., there's all this sniffing and pooh-poohing about how underpowered and lame it is and how much it sucks. Then they just kill it with sales. And every house has a Switch or Wii or whatever, even though they are so "lame." It is amazing how every time they release something, they are yet again "saved" from going under! Most companies should be so lucky to teeter on the edge of going under like them!
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Friday July 16 2021, @03:06AM (2 children)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_U#Legacy [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Switch#Financial_impact [wikipedia.org]
AFTER THE FAILURE OF WII U, REGGIE SAYS SWITCH WAS A "MAKE OR BREAK PRODUCT" FOR NINTENDO [gonintendo.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @10:48PM (1 child)
Oh, I see. Really make or break there. [nintendotoday.com]
The Wii U put them back into the black, by the way. So their most terrible, horrible, no good very bad console still made them enough money to cover their R&D losses. But yes, Wii U is for lamerz, no "real" gamer would ever play Animal Crossing, blah blah blah, and just keep it rollin'.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday July 17 2021, @01:46AM
It was a commercial failure that they acknowledged, even if it could play Animal Crossing. They did not "kill it with sales". Two consecutive console failures could have led them to exit the console hardware business and just license out IP and develop games for mobile and other platforms. Nintendo Switch is underpowered hardware that is sold at the same price point that it launched at in 2017, and they have never sold the console at a loss. If that business strategy works, good for them.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]