Valve's Steam Deck OLED: Bigger Display, New SoC, Faster Memory, More Storage, Same Performance
by Anton Shilov on November 10, 2023 4:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Consoles
- Valve
- Steam Deck
In a quite unexpected turn of events, Valve has introduced a revamped version of its Steam Deck console that got a larger OLED display, a more efficient system-on-chip, a higher-performance memory subsystem, a 1 TB storage option, faster Wi-Fi 6E, and higher-capacity battery. While performance target of the portable gaming device remained the same, the new unit might just be faster than the original one due to faster memory. Meanwhile, the cheapest 256GB version of the console, which retained an LCD screen, now costs $399.
The main difference between the new Steam Deck OLED and the original Steam Deck is the larger 7.4-inch OLED display. The new screen retains a 1280x720 resolution, but it has a 600 nits typical brightness (a major improvement) and also supports HDR with a maximum zonal luminosity of 1000 nits, according to Tom's Hardware. The new monitor can also cover 101.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, up from 48.5% in case of the original Steam Deck, our colleagues found out. Despite the larger display, the console retained dimensions of the original one, but got 29 grams lighter since OLEDs do not need a backlighting module and a display driver with all the appropriate circuitry.
Another major change from the original one is that Steam Deck OLED uses AMD's new semi-custom SoC with four Zen 2 x86 cores and an RDNA 2-based GPU with 512 stream processors that is now made on TSMC's N6 process technology. Usage of N6 made the SoC a little cheaper to produce and allowed to retain the original 4W – 15W power envelope without the need to vary GPU clock from 1.0 GHz to 1.60 GHz, which may have a mild positive effect on performance in certain games.
An interesting detail about the new unit is that it uses a 16 GB LPDDR5-6400 memory subsystem with a 102.4 GB/s of peak bandwidth, up from 88 GB/s bandwidth in case of the original one. We can only wonder whether a 16% memory bandwidth boost will significantly affect gaming performance, but we feel it could bring a boost in certain bandwidth-hungry scenarios. Alternatively, faster memory may be just a bit more power efficient.
Speaking of power, it should be noted that the Steam Deck OLED also comes with a 50 Wh battery, up from a 40 Wh battery in the original one, so expect the new one to have a longer battery life. Meanwhile, the new console comes with a longer 2.5-meter power cord.
Yet another notable improvement of the Steam Deck OLED is 1 TB storage subsystem (and the M.2-2230 drive can still be replaced with something different) on the range-topping model. Meanwhile, to download games faster, Steam Deck OLED comes with a Wi-Fi 6E adapter, up from Wi-Fi 5 on the original model.
Valve launches its Steam Deck OLED in time for the holiday shopping system and in addition to make the product more attractive overall, it also makes the platform more accessible. The older 64 GB eMMC model with an LCD screen will be available for $349 while supplies last, whereas the 256 GB LCD version will cost $399 from now on (down from $529). The new Steam Deck OLED 512 GB is priced at $449, while the Steam Deck OLED 1 TB carries a $649 MSRP.
Source: Valve
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PeachNCream - Monday, November 13, 2023 - link
Since the hardware is intended as a portable decive and tying it to a m.2 adapter to kludge a desktop GPU into the mix would make it effectively a chained-in-place console, I would expect barely anyone would care to invest in that use case.TheinsanegamerN - Monday, November 13, 2023 - link
Keep in mind, FWtrampoline is a user absolutely infatuated with OCuLink and the in win chompin, and regularly posts drivel to WCCFtech. He will defend OCuLink like its his firstborn, regardless of its issues, and insist there is a conspiracy meant to keep it down as the superior interface.FWhitTrampoline - Monday, November 13, 2023 - link
To actually have and allow folks here to attack and Attempt to intimidate and not have those posts removed is ridiculous! And still to this Day no one in the Tech Press has Thought to look at the Steam Deck OLED to see if that's PCIe 4.0 or still PCIe 3.0 for the M.2 slot and they have the OLED device in their possession.And really What's the matter with OCuLink as that comes from the very Standards Organization that's responsible for PCI and PCIe and the PCI-SIG folks are not someone to be ignored there. And look how OCuLink just slots right in there to any M.2 slot to extend that PCIe outside the case and no waiting for any TB5 or USB-4v2 protocol/controller IP to be adopted years later with OCuLink.
There is now one Mini Desktop PC maker that has a design that offers 2, M.2 PCIe 4.0 X4 slots whereby one of the M.2 slots has an OEM supplied M.2 to OCuLink Adapter that provides the end user with either a second M.2/NVM SSD option, or with that adapter, a nice case flush OCuLink Port instead and 64Gbs OCuLink connectivity.
So Try and at least answer both questions with the primary one being does the Steam Deck OLED still use PCIe 3.0 on its M.2 connection or does that support PCIe 4.0 instead!
FWhitTrampoline - Monday, November 13, 2023 - link
Really you and one other are now astro-turfing here as that eGPU usage is a valid usage for any Handheld gaming devices. And look at the ASUS Ally's solution that's partially proprietary but that device lacks any USB4/TB4 connectivity by design in favor of that semi-proprietary eGPU Plug/Port instead.And so The Steam Deck has an M.2 port but supports more than just an m.2/NVMe SSD and so why not when not on the Go make use of that even if one has to run Windows there for that use case because Steam OS currently lacks the support for eGPUs. Maybe the Chimera OS folks can solve that or maybe it's some unrelated issue. The Linux Kernel sure supports OCuLink as the Server Industry has been utilizing OCuLink for ages even though OCulink was originally envisioned by PCI-SIG for consumer market usage.
And now both GPD and One other have handhelds that support OCuLink connected eGPU solutions and both GPD and one Other now have Portable eGPUs that utilize a Radeon 7600M XT eGPU with that one other even offering some M.2 slot on the portable eGPU solution as well as the Radeon 7600M XT.
PeachNCream - Monday, November 13, 2023 - link
Calm down and take my comment independently of your need to defend yourself from another person's response. You're redirecting aggression and it's sort of silly.FWhitTrampoline - Tuesday, November 14, 2023 - link
It's not independently there as what you are trying to do is Dox there and also intimidate and there are definite legal implications to that. You have already done that several times in that past but the lack of moderation here is not catching that nor is there the ability to flag posts either. You are the one instigating that here and you need to be stopped at the IP address level from posting here. There's no way to block you either so that makes moderation more necessary here with you for each and every time you have violated the rules here!PeachNCream - Sunday, November 12, 2023 - link
Presumably the thumb sticks will be as easy to replace, but does anyone know if Valve went with hall effect sticks yet? If not, then I'd rather go with a native Windows competitor device that doesn't need proton.zealvix - Sunday, November 12, 2023 - link
Are you sure the dci p3 coverage is over 100%?Ryan Smith - Monday, November 13, 2023 - link
It is indeed. The official spec is 110% of DCI, though the one set of third-party measurements that have been published found 101%. Unfortunately, no one has published a chromaticity diagram showing where it's exceeding DCI.