Steamed RAM

How does the hardware perform?

The Steam Deck is one of the most versatile, most intriguing gaming PCs I’ve ever played with. It’s a handheld device that will draw immediate, probably unfair comparisons with Nintendo’s Switch, but is 100% PC in both the best and worst ways.

It’s important to note I’m writing this before launch, with a 512GB version of the Steam Deck that still has to be considered unfinished. But that’s only in relation to the software side of the equation and, while that is absolutely vital to the smooth running of the device, the hardware itself is final. And really impressive.

Core to the whole thing, and the piece of the puzzle most responsible for the Deck actually being a genuine gaming PC, is the AMD silicon sizzling away at its heart. The custom-designed AMD Aerith APU (heavily based on the long-rumored AMD Van Gogh design) is using the same GPU cores as those in the outstanding RX 6000-series graphics cards. Yes, the ones you’re still struggling to buy.

One of the keys tenets of the chip is its sustained performance. There’s no throttling here. Whether you’re getting your juice from the mains or roaming free, sucking on the 40Whr battery inside the Deck, you will get the same performance no matter watt. And that sustained performance is great, too.

STACKED DECK

At the reveal event I listened with some scepticism as Valve devs claimed the Deck would be able to run your entire Steam library and they had yet to find a game the hardware couldn’t handle. But, while we’ve found some Windows games in our libraries that won’t run on Valve’s custom SteamOS Linux distro, the majority do, and run well.

I’m not just talking about having StardewValley and FTL running like a dream either (though they obviously do), I’ve had TheWitcher3 looking great locked at 30fps, with Deathloop on high between 30 and 45fps, and even Forza

OUT OF THE BOX, THE GAME WAS LOOKING GREAT AND RUNNING AT AN UNBELIEVABLY SMOOTH 81FPS