Valve Announces Steam Deck OLED Lineup - Hardcore Gamer
10.11.2023 - 04:29
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Valve’s Steam Deck wasn’t the first portable gaming PC – but it was the first one to find a way to bring the technology into a price point that the general public could reasonably afford. As an early adopter, I’ve been overjoyed with my Deck for the past 18 months and now Valve has announced a whole new generation of the device with the Steam Deck OLED. It’s a great time for them to do so with the ROG Ally showing off the same kind of portable gaming tech to the mainstream with a far brighter screen, while the Lenovo Legion GO just launched and features a bright screen and detachable left and right controllers.
The whole Steam Deck lineup is getting a refresh, with the lone LCD offering being available after the refresh launches on November 16 will be $399 and offer up an upgrade in the form of a 256GB NVMe SSD instead of flash storage – so it’s basically just a first-generation unit with a big storage upgrade to 256 instead of 64 and using a faster SSD. Going to $549 gets you a 512GB NVMe SSD and the same 1280 x 800 overall resolution as before, but with an OLD display and a 7.4 inch display size instead of 7 inches. It will feature a smaller, more efficient APU with a massive improvement in wi-fi thanks to the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6E being supported for the fastest possible download speeds.
You can step up to a 1TB SSD for $649.00 – so it’s a nice jump in overall storage and you get a 50Whr battery – enabling up to 12 hours of battery life versus eight hours, with higher-end games getting three hours instead of the original unit’s two hours. Finally, for $679.00, you can get a limited edition unit with a limited edition carrying case and a printed liner. Both 1TB units offer up an anti-glare display, and with an HDR OLED, that should allow for better color without the issues faced by users of the original unit’s anti-glare screen.
When paired up with a dock, the Deck makes for a fantastic desktop PC and it was a fantastic way for me to get into Linux while also having fun tinkering with the OS to get things like Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast to work. Trial and error can be frustrating, but it was a lot of fun with the original Deck to see something go from not working at all to tinkering and getting it working was rewarding. Valve has also made the device easier to repair and it was already easier to work on than many devices with their retail partnerships enabling repairs to be done easier than any other portable on the market. It’s hard to believe that a new Steam Deck will be out in under two weeks – but it’s exciting to see improvements being made to the hardware already.
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