Steam Deck is much more powerful than we thought, per spec correction

By Andrew Zucosky July 20, 2021

Valve has clarified the technical specifications for the Steam Deck on its website. The site now properly displays that the Steam Deck has a quad-channel 32-bit LPDDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 88 GB/s.

Originally the site claimed that the handheld console had a dual-channel LPDDR5 memory with only about 44Gbps of data transfer. This correction properly reflects the true power of the Steam Deck and practically doubles its power compared to the initial announcement.

Steam Deck — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When the Steam Deck was first announced, many people dived right into the technical specifications for the product. The original specs raised some concerns, as players expected the console to be more powerful. Initially, the Steam Deck would be more powerful than the Nintendo Switch’s 25.6Gbps data flow, but would still be outpaced by even some laptops. Most laptops hover around the 68Gbps of data transfer, which would mean that the Steam Deck would be less powerful than hardware that is not even fully dedicated to gaming.

With this correction, Valve’s upcoming handheld is more in line with what we would expect from a PC gaming-focused company. The newly clarified technical specs show that the Steam Deck will be able to handle game performance better than initially expected.

While the console still will not be as powerful as many dedicated gaming PCs, the Steam Deck is still an impressive piece of hardware. People who were concerned about potential bottlenecking with this console can rest easy now as we now properly understand what to expect for the performance and hardware for the Steam Deck handheld.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Andrew has been playing video games since he was a small boy, and he finally got good at them like a week ago. He has been in…

Computing

The most common Steam Deck problems and how to fix them

A Steam Deck sitting on top of a PC.

The Steam Deck is packed with excellent features, has solid performance, and has decent battery life. But as our review noted, it does still need some work. Fortunately, Valve has been regularly posting important software updates to fix issues and add new features that gamers have wanted, and it's slowly becoming a more stable, versatile device for it.

But if you’re still running into problems or bugs that make you want to throw your Steam Deck across the room, hold on for a minute. We’ve collected the issues that people are running into, and the solutions that we’ve found can make things much better. Let’s do a little troubleshooting.

Computing

You just can’t kill the Steam Deck

Steam Deck held between two hands.

Ever since Valve released the original Steam Deck, the PC gaming world has been on the hunt for a Steam Deck killer. Asus went first with its ROG Ally, and Lenovo followed shortly after with the Legion Go. That's not to mention the swath of smaller brands that have been chipping away at handheld gaming PCs for years, such as Ayaneo and GPD.

You can't kill the Steam Deck, though, at least not with the current offerings. Valve has a particular advantage with the Steam Deck that it's been building for years, and it will be hard for a true competitor to emerge in the growing market of handheld gaming PCs.
Priced for everyone

Computing

If I’m not supposed to smell the Steam Deck vents, why do they smell so good?

Someone smelling the fumes from the Steam Deck.

Candles? No. Potpourri? Not for me. Essential oils? They aren't that essential. The only thing that can soothe my olfaction is the sweet smell of the Steam Deck vents. It's the smell of burning plastic, the sweet and honey-like aroma of ozone, and the sense of dead brain cells.

But now, here's Valve saying I shouldn't smell my Steam Deck vents. Steam support is saying to "please refrain from this behavior for the safety of your health." That's even after Steam support told Reddit user Metapod100 that it "understands that it may be a meme." I guess you shouldn't smell your Steam Deck vents, at least if you want to follow Valve's official guidance.