Valve had their attempts at the console market by releasing multiple console-esque systems called Steam Machines. It was supposed to cater towards a lot of different demographics around 2015. Problem was, it was an odd attempt of them selling their proprietary operating system, SteamOS. Back to today, Valve has released a handheld system called Steam Deck. Could it be a Switch killer or something more?
More Than A Switch
Packed with a lot of features, additions, and more powerful hardware. To start off, it is kind of like the Nintendo Switch. With the distinction of having two front speakers, and two trackpads. And a few more buttons. Just controller isn’t detachable, much like the Joy-Cons. The Deck looks a bit cluttered, but that’s not the first time Steam tried that design. The Steam Controller being the reference here.
D-pad is pushed to the left of the left analog stick. It’s a weird placement, but judging by the design of the system, they expect people with large fingers to reach everywhere. But it is not only a widely functional system, it has serious hardware within.
So Much Power
This is a powerful machine, compared to the Switch. It sports a 4 core, 8 thread Ryzen 3rd gen CPU, 8 RDNA 2 CUs (by comparison, it is almost 25% as powerful as an RX 6700), 16 GB LPDDR5, and 64 GB built-in storage, that is expendable with microSD card storage. There 3 variant models with different storage, base model uses slow 64 GB, that runs at 500Mbps. With capacitive touchscreen display, 7 inches diagonal.
Hell, this has proper Bluetooth support. The one thing Switch kept confusing people about. How you justify your purchase is based on whether you like to play your Steam library, travelling, or you’re just tired of Nintendo’s nonsense. Though, you better hurry up now, there’s already a lot of people preordering.
