The Nintendo Switch (OLED model) wasn't the "Pro" upgrade many expected it to be with 4K support and new internals but before its announcement, other handhelds aimed to take the role of the "Switch Pro". The AYA NEO and GPD Win 3 are among those devices shooting for that nickname since they are able to run recent AAA PC games on the go, given that they are handheld gaming PCs. Their efforts and popularity, although niche, enticed companies like Lenovo and Tencent to make similar concepts or patents; indicating that these indie companies might have more serious competition in the future.

It seems like this will indeed be the case and these handheld gaming PC manufacturers will need to brace themselves as Valve is itself entering this market with a Valve-branded handheld gaming PC. This news was actually reported back in May and today we have the official confirmation. In a Steam post today, Valve revealed the Steam Deck, an AMD-based handheld gaming PC that is expected to begin shipping in December 2021 in select regions.

The software giant partnered with AMD to create a custom APU for the handheld that is said to be "optimized for handheld gaming". "It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope," reads the announcement.

It will run on SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based) and there will be several models of the Steam Deck, which differ on the storage capacity, with the base model starting at $399. However, every model will include a microSD slot for additional storage capacity. For more details about the models available and their price, refer to the image below:

You can find additional specs details in the images below (click/tap to enlarge):

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And just like the AYA NEO and GPD Win 3, the Steam Deck will also have a dock which will be sold separately. This accessory will provide ports for external displays, wired networking, USB peripherals, and power. More details about the dock's pricing will be announced at a later date but you can find some specs details in the thumbnail below:

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Valve says that the Steam Deck will start shipping this December to the United States, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, with more regions coming in 2022. However, to be able to purchase one, you will need to book a paid reservation which will let you pre-order when the time comes. This reservation fee will also count towards the Steam Deck purchase price.

"The main reason for reservations is to ensure an orderly and fair ordering process for customers when Steam Deck inventory becomes available," writes Valve in the announcement FAQ. "The additional fee gives us a clearer signal of intent to purchase, which gives us better data to balance supply chain, inventory, and regional distribution leading up to launch."

Reservations for the Steam Deck will open Friday July 16th, 10am PDT. For more details about the new handheld gaming PC, head to the source link and official Steam Deck website linked below.

Are you interested in getting one?

SOURCE
Steam Deck Official Website

 

[lordelan]

Oh boy I hope this runs Ryujinx well. If it does, you can literally play a local multiplayer game with one of you using Steam Deck + Ryujinx and the other using a real Nintendo Switch:

 

[machomuu]

Totally won't be a Switch killer but my Switch finally has a buddy <3

Excited to play FFXIV on this, and I hope more companies hop on the trend because it's a good one to shape up and refine. In fact, more likely than not I'll just wait until a better competitor is announced and jump on that train (which will probably happen before this is even released, in all honesty).

 

[masagrator]

n fact, more likely than not I'll just wait until a better competitor is announced and jump on that train

This IS a better competitor in comparison to other PC handheld devices which can be twice or more expensive and don't provide this much performance to cost ratio.

 

[tpax]

Why couldn't they have made it so you can just insert an M.2 drive as you would an sd card? Any technical reason? Also, wonder what would happen if you plugged an external gpu...

You can upgrade the M.2 according to Gaben. M.2's are not designed being switched frequently, it's not something that is hotpluggable by design.
As to the eGPU, I really doubt that there is a Thunderbolt 3 with 4 PCIe lanes (or even 2 lanes) attached to the USB-C port, so it would be a total waste and would probably perform even worse than the on board GPU. But technically, it should be possible.

 

[Taleweaver]

Okay... I paid for a reservation (middle tier model).

While on paper it has everything I want (I like the WiiU model size, firm factor and have a huge as steam backlog waiting for something like this), I'm not 100% on it.

Most notably : steamos. Since it's release in 2015, it mostly vanished with the steam machines. It had a 2.0 version about a year later, but a version 3 as never appeared (Valve tradition, I guess ).
Proton is a different story. I've seen that improve from 'it plays some games' to 'it plays most games'... But it still often requires you to jump through hoops.
I won't lie : the ambition to play all games in their store (as good as windows) isn't a pipe dream. It's more about streamlining the different Proton version and configurations. Okay, and there'll be exceptions, if course. They aren't partnering with anti cheat software for a reason.

But to circle back to steamos... Proton users tweaking most likely didn't do that on this system(I certainly didn't) ... It's currently ranked 89 on distrowatch, and while not definitive... that's saying something. From what I remember it was functional (as in : you could use the desktop)... But that was about it.

Of course it's relatively easy to massively tweak the experience, but I still predict at least half the users will try to install windows on it within a month.

 

[Vila_]

Yeah? So can Switch. I didn't point out they had "little memory" the other guy did.

they can both be expanded through a micro sd card slot so I beg you stop crying

 

[GhostWolf]

nice, I know valve have a habit of bringing something to market then quietly dropping it, but at least with a big company behind it you know the quality is going to be consistent and not pushed to the limit where it dies within a few months and the warranty process being such a pain it becomes impossible to even bother with, here hoping there is just user accessible M.2 slot to upgrade the storage on the base model as M.2 SSD's are pretty affordable at this point and you could pick up a 1TB M.2 drive for cheaper than difference between the base model and the 512gb model

The only problem is as you said, it's valve so you don't gotta worry about it dying and having to deal with a shitty warranty, but if you open it to manually change the SSD, you won't have a warranty here either XD But I agree overall, and if it is user upgradable SSD I'm definitely doing this route, the 399 model is where the value truly lies and that's what I reserved, I was optimistic basically about handling storage in a cheaper way and hopefully upgrading the SSD is one viable answer, but time will tell.

 

[tech3475]

The only problem is as you said, it's valve so you don't gotta worry about it dying and having to deal with a shitty warranty, but if you open it to manually change the SSD, you won't have a warranty here either XD But I agree overall, and if it is user upgradable SSD I'm definitely doing this route, the 399 model is where the value truly lies and that's what I reserved, I was optimistic basically about handling storage in a cheaper way and hopefully upgrading the SSD is one viable answer, but time will tell.

I think Valve missed a potential selling point by not making it officially user serviceable, unless it was an intentional decision to push people onto more profitable SKUs or more difficult to manufacture.

They could have even just sold 2 SKUs IMO, improving availability.

At £349 for the base SKU and officially user expandable internal storage, this would be a no brainer, where as the 256GB and to greater extent the 512GB model is a more questionable decision.

I went with the 512GB model mainly because at the time I was not aware of the M.2 slot.

 

[Noctosphere]

I think Valve missed a potential selling point by not making it officially user serviceable, unless it was an intentional decision to push people onto more profitable SKUs or more difficult to manufacture.

They could have even just sold 2 SKUs IMO, improving availability.

At £349 for the base SKU and officially user expandable internal storage, this would be a no brainer, where as the 256GB and to greater extent the 512GB model is a more questionable decision.

I went with the 512GB model mainly because at the time I was not aware of the M.2 slot.

There's still time to change of model you know

 

[subcon959]

The best I can figure out from the specs is that it's the equivalent of a Ryzen 3 3300X CPU with 20% of a Radeon 6700XT GPU.

That does make the GPU seem a little weak for something coming out a year from now, even if it's only 720p. I really wish they had pushed it to 16 CU's instead of 8.

 

[chrisrlink]

wonder if the new steamOS on the steamdeck is exclusive or if they're trying to reboot steamOS for PC too?

 

[Horvi]

Are scalpers already buying all of these?

 

[tpax]

Are scalpers already buying all of these?

Take a look at eBay and you will have your answer

Scalpers sell the 512GB model for around 1100 €, with the delivery date being December.

I went with the 512GB model mainly because at the time I was not aware of the M.2 slot.

Don't forget, that the 512GB model is the only one with an anti-glare screen, which was my main selling point.

 

[AirbusX]

but if you are a pc gamer and you are in your house you could just you know use your pc?

this is for people who regularly play steam games and pc in general and im preety sure 99% of pc gamers already have a rigg at home more powerful than this so why would they choose to play this docked?

Yea I agree with you, for me for example, being a pilot a system like the Steam Deck is a godsend because of its size.

I have a switch I hacked but being able to do anything I want with the system without the need to hack it (emulators) and also be able to play my ever growing steam library is perfection.

I’ll keep my switch for Zelda (new ones) since I can play the older ones via emulators.

 

[Noctosphere]

Take a look at eBay and you will have your answer

Scalpers sell the 512GB model for around 1100 €, with the delivery date being December.

Actually, those aren't the real scalpers
Scalpers usually buy ALL the stuff to resell at gold price
Those are just the people who sell their unique preorder

Scalpers haven't started yet to buy ALL the stuff
Right now, you have to had bought a game before june 2021 to be able to preorder one, so scalpers will be limited to one per account with a game bought before june 2021, so that limit considerably their possibility to buy more than one

Later today, they'll be able to buy one per any account, even if they dont have any game on it.
But yea, those scalper you see on ebay arent real scalper, just random people selling their unique preorder, they don't have many preorder like regular scalpers

 

[barnhilltrckn]

Another great use for this is streaming our PC to it. For us with a gaming rig and a decent home network we can stream games or emulator this device struggles to run. I can't wait till these start shipping. I'm putting back 50 bucks or so each paycheck into saving so I know for sure I can pay for it when the bill comes due.

 

[Kioku]

Actually, those aren't the real scalpers
Scalpers usually buy ALL the stuff to resell at gold price
Those are just the people who sell their unique preorder

Scalpers haven't started yet to buy ALL the stuff
Right now, you have to had bought a game before june 2021 to be able to preorder one, so scalpers will be limited to one per account with a game bought before june 2021, so that limit considerably their possibility to buy more than one

Later today, they'll be able to buy one per any account, even if they dont have any game on it.
But yea, those scalper you see on ebay arent real scalper, just random people selling their unique preorder, they don't have many preorder like regular scalpers

They're still scalpers. That's what scalpers do.

 

[Xzi]

Scalpers don't seem like a real concern here with the reservation system. Everybody who wants one knows when they can expect to have an order available for them. And nobody should be paying more than $20 to get a better spot in line.

 

[Noctosphere]

Scalpers don't seem like a real concern here with the reservation system. Everybody who wants one knows when they can expect to have an order available for them. And nobody should be paying more than $20 to get a better spot in line.

actually, scalper do are a problem
Starting today, scalpers are welcomed by Steam to create many account with different credit card each and preorder one per account
Easy for them to do that and delay all the queue for those who really wants one
Like... if you want one in 2022 Q2, you'll have to pay double or wait until like 2023

 

[tech3475]

There's still time to change of model you know

I had thought about that possibility, but if I change my mind and still want the 512GB the orders are already up to Q3. Bearing in mind we probably wont see teardowns until this thing is released or Valve gives full details on what the procedure entails (which I doubt).

Getting the reservation in the first place was also a pain and as pointed out:

Don't forget, that the 512GB model is the only one with an anti-glare screen, which was my main selling point.

That and the case does offset some of the cost.

Looking at the math again, the Dell 512GB 2230 card is ~£133.

So to manually upgrade would end up being about £87 cheaper, so it's not too bad (case likely being £10-20).

That said, Dell does sell a 1TB drive for around $180/£227, so that would be £576.

Most notably : steamos. Since it's release in 2015, it mostly vanished with the steam machines. It had a 2.0 version about a year later, but a version 3 as never appeared (Valve tradition, I guess ).

This will ship with Steam OS 3...oh correction, it's version 2.999999999