Everything There Is To Know About The Steam Deck
Valve, the company behind the gaming platform Steam, as well as a handful of famous titles, has long attempted to break into the hardware sector of the gaming world.
Previous tries have proven to be unfruitful, but the latest announcement of a portable console/PC hints at the possibility that Valve might be a new player in the hardware wars.
The Steam Deck is being advertised as the next generation of portable gaming, complete with full access to the Steam platform, while also giving the owner the chance to customer the device in whichever way they please. Here we will break down everything we know about the Steam Deck so far.
It’s Technically a PC
When it comes to portable gaming, most people probably picture the Nintendo Switch, an incredibly popular handheld device that has made the transition from stationery console to portable platform.
But the Switch is still a console, while the Steam Deck is technically a portable gaming computer.
One of the factors that sets it apart is how it’s being built: it’s using the Linux operating system as a base, where their custom SteamOS will be used as the main interaction point for gamers. What this also means is that the Steam Deck is highly customisable, with Steam explaining that the owner is able to install whichever operating system they choose, even Windows.
It’s Using Arch Linux
Within the Linux community, Arch Linux is well known for being an extremely powerful, lightweight, and customisable distribution. It runs a special “rolling release” update cycle, meaning that it offers users access to the very latest in bleeding edge software. This is great news for the Linux world in general, and the Steam Deck will undoubtedly give more people a taste of how flexible and powerful Linux really is.
The Hardware Specs
The Steam Deck will ship with a 7-inch, high-definition touch screen display that will output at 1280×800, and while not technically full high definition, it should be more than enough for most games. Along with this, it contains an AMD Zen 2, which is a 4 core and 8 thread CPU that boasts clock speeds of up to 3.5Ghz.
More interesting, it will also have the new line of DDR5 RAM that’s currently hitting the market, specifically LPDDR5 that will come in 16 GB. In terms of storage, the base model will come with a 64GB eMMC module, but it’s also possible to upgrade to an m.2 NVMe SSD thanks to the m.2 port that can be found inside the device.
The Release Date
Valve has not confirmed a specific release date so far but have said that it will be available at the end of the current year, so it might be worth making money through casinos online Dubai for when it’s ready.
It’s possible to reserve it so long to be picked up at a later date once it has been released, but Valve has warned that even having a reservation might not mean that it will be available by the time that December rolls around.