Valve Steam Deck, a new handheld gaming console has been launched to take on Nintendo Switch. Steam Deck, a compact PC cum console runs on custom SteamOS. Although the form factor is similar to other gaming consoles it is powerful than its rival Nintendo Switch.
Valve Steam Deck gaming console price, availability
Valve Steam Deck base version with 64GB will cost $399 (roughly Rs 29,800), the 256GB model comes for $529 (roughly Rs 29,500), and the high-end version with 512GB is priced at $649 (roughly Rs 48,400). The handheld gaming PC cum console will be available for purchase in December 2021 in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
Valve Steam gaming console specs, configuration
As for the core specs of the Valve Steam handheld gaming console sports a 7-inch 60Hz LCD display with 1280 x 800 resolution. The screen comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio and has touch support. The top-end model has an anti-glare etching glass for the display.
It is powered by a custom APU using AMD Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures which are said to be roughly equivalent to an ‘AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics card and a Ryzen 3000 processor.’ The custom AMD APU has a 4-core, 8-thread CPU paired with 8 RDNA 2 CUs GPU. Valve’s new gaming console offer 16GB of RAM and native memory starting at 64GB of eMMC storage. The gaming console also has the option to insert a microSD card.
As mentioned earlier, the Valve Steam Deck handheld gaming PC (or console) will run on a custom version of SteamOS which means you will be able to throttle your entire gaming library natively. Valve at an FAQ session with IGN cited that it won’t restrict what kinds of software users can run on the device, which means one can install the kind of programs, and might be able to swap SteamOS with Windows. Another aspect that sets Valve Steam apart from its competitors are the unique keys arrangement which are placed on the ‘same plane’ as the analog keys. Analog sticks are placed on either side of the display with ABXY keys on the right and a d-pad on the other part. The Steam Deck has a 6-axis gyroscope which means you will have swift movements while shooting and killing opponents.
The gaming console can be a hot pick for those who prefer racing games, as Steam Deck feature four analog triggers on top for comfortable usage. There are four additional buttons as well at the backside of the console which are customisable.
Notably, Steam Deck comes with Steam cloud support, so you can either play on PC or switch back to the console anytime you want.
