Verdict
The Steam Deck OLED is a fantastical raise on the original , with an enhanced screen , longer barrage life and more generous storehouse options . The lack of a significant performance boost get an upgrade difficult to rationalize for possessor of the original Steam Deck , but the refinement have helped cement the new OLED modelling as the best all - orotund handheld gaming PC .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The original Steam Deck was a resounding achiever when it launched back in 2022 , to such an extent that it spark an avalanche of handheld PC organisation from various manufacturers .
Looking to take advantage of the boom of interest surrounding the portable , Valve has now launch a new variation : the Steam Deck OLED . This is n’t being cant as the successor to theoriginal Steam Deck , but rather a new gamy - end configuration that can coexist with its predecessors .
All of this comes at an added cost , putting the price more in line with rivals such as theAsus ROG Ally . So is the Steam Deck OLED worth it ? Here are my persuasion .
Design
front at Steam Deck OLED and Steam Deck side by side , many would assume the designs are identical . They are n’t . The Steam Deck OLED is 29 Hans C. J. Gram lighter , coming in at just 640 g. That does n’t vocalize like a large difference , but I can tell the two aside from weight alone with my eyes closed .
Despite the difference in weight , the dimension have remained the same . So , it ’s still significantly bulky than the Nintendo Switch , which has made me hesitant about using it on the go on a motorcoach or tube .
Valve has at least updated the bundled carrying pillowcase with a removable lining – this does n’t declare oneself as much protection , but is delightfully easier to wring inside a belittled bag .
The Steam Deck organic light-emitting diode has retained the phone jack for those who like to utilize wired earphone , whileUSB - Cmakes a comeback for both power delivery and showing output to an outside cover . There ’s even a microSD slot for expanding storage .
Controls
Valve has opted for the precise same Xbox - expressive style clit layout as before , retaining the handy trigger and rearward paddles too .
The analogue sticks now have deep vallecula , greatly improving the friction to keep your finger slipping off . The top bumper also have deeper press with improved feedback . you may now clearly get a line and feel the propulsion of each insistence , while the standard model feels mushier and less precise by comparability .
I also notice big improvements to the haptics and precision of the trackpads , which I found to be highly useful as someone who run Football Manager obsessively . They still pale in comparability to a keyboard and computer mouse , but they ’re the best substitutes you’re able to hope for on a portable .
The locating of the button are perfect too , all within easy reach without having to reach any of my digits . One underage critique , Valve has dulled the lettering of the front - face button , make them a little difficult to see in black kindling . This wo n’t be a problem once muscle retention kicks in , but it ’s nevertheless a backwards step compared to the original .
Screen
The new OLED concealment is the headline upgrade for the Steam Deck OLED , and it crap a expectant difference compare to the LCD show of its precursor .
OLED engineering science is ranking to LCD screens , as it ’s capable of replicating straight blacks by deactivate single pixel . This results in a importantly improve contrast , with shining coloring well able to stand out from a pitch black scope .
Jump into a game and the difference is stark , with the blue sky and lush green vegetation of Horizon Zero Dawn appear more outstanding .
Valve also claims the OLED venire is able to reach a high visor brightness , with SDR subject hitting 600 nits , and HDR contentedness subject of 1000 nits . For setting , the original Steam Deck is restrict to a 400 - nit brightness . The newfangled brighter filmdom work it easier to view the display in brilliant light conditions , while also adding more vibrancy to colours .
The covert has been expanded so it ’s now 7.4 inches diagonal rather than 7 in – that ’s not a Brobdingnagian difference of opinion , but it ’s still neat to see the screen eat into those dumpy bezels .
The refresh pace has been boosted from 60Hz to 90Hz , resulting in smoother on - screen motility where gambling performance is eminent enough . What ’s more , Valve has amend the touchscreen ’s polling rate to 180Hz , meliorate the response time and accuracy of your swipe and spurring .
The only surface area that the concealment has n’t been upgrade is the resolution , which remains at a grim 1280×800 . Many will be clamouring for Full HD , or even 4 K , but I do n’t retrieve it ’s a huge slew when you consider the functioning of the portable . Plus , the smallish screen reach a larger pel count less pressing .
The incorporate loudspeaker system are fairly ripe . Valve order it ’s made an effort to meliorate the bass offer , and that ’s noticeable when hearing the thundering stomps on the various automatic monsters in Horizon Zero Dawn . There ’s plenty of volume here too , although the utterer can sound a tad strained with eminent frequencies . I ’d still recommend using headphones , but the speaker system tone is still great for when you ’ve forgotten your bud .
Performance
The Steam Deck organic light-emitting diode has been treated to a new chipset in the var. of a 6 nanometre AMD APU , compared to the 7 nm architecture of the old Steam Deck . However , AMD has retain the same Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU , so there has n’t been a significant boost to the performance .
To hold back that out , I made sure to benchmark the Steam Deck OLED against the original , as well as some of its greatest rivals . you could crack out the results in the below graph , with all of the game tested at the highest preset at a 720p resolution .
The performance results came back identical for Horizon Zero Dawn , although the OLED model did see a 4fps improvement to Cyberpunk . This propose there has been a pocket-size performance jump , but not to the extent that it will make much of a difference of opinion to your experience .
The lack of a performance encouragement may come as a bitter disappointment for those who felt the Steam Deck was lagging too far behind other handhelds . However , it ’s important to call back that the new Steam Deck is still over £ 100/$100 cheaper than the likes of the ROG Ally , while feature superior specs elsewhere such as the OLED screen .
Nevertheless , it rule out playing highly demanding games , with the likes of Returnal ineffective to boot up without go down . I was impressed with the thermal performance of the Steam Deck OLED , as I rarely ever noticed it to get loud or quick , even when play AAA for extended period of time .
Valve has meliorate the entrepot offerings too , with the Steam Deck OLED available in both 512 GB and 1 TB flavours . This now allow me to instal multiple games on the Deck without issue , whereas the 256 GB capacity of the original experience measly by comparison . It ’s also potential to boom the reposition further with a MicroSD circuit board .
Connectivity is amend too . Valve has added a dedicated Bluetooth antenna to improve the connectivity for external controllers and headphones . The new chipset also unlock support forWi - Fi 6E – a immense improvement on Wi - Fi 5 of the original , although you ’ll need a compatible router to reap the add up benefits .
Battery Life
The stamp battery life is the achilles heel of every handheld microcomputer I ’ve test so far , and is often the trade - off when you crank up the big businessman . For lesson , the Asus ROG Ally and Ayaneo 2S can only muster up to 100 minutes when running AAA game .
The Steam Deck OLED certainly does n’t wow when it comes to barrage fire living , but it does do well than its rivals thanks to the new power - efficient chipping from AMD .
When playing Horizon Zero Dawn with performance preferences set to the max , I managed to squeeze two hours out of the portable – that ’s double the distance of clock time that the original Steam Deck managed .
I take over the battery drainpipe test but , this time , limiting the frame rate to 30fps and activating the TDP boundary . I also unload the graphics configurations from Ultimate to Original . Thanks to these tweaks , the Steam Deck OLED managed to hold 43 % of its bombardment after attain the two - hour mark , indicating that it could keep on going for over three hour . The original Steam Deck could only last up to two hour after making similar tweaks .
Battery life is also pendent on the game you ’re playing . When playing Football Manager 24 with full cover brightness and maxed - out performance options , I was able to keep meet for 4 hr and 40 bit .
I also tape how long it have to burden the Steam Deck OLED with the bundled charger . A 30 - minute charge took the battery life story from 6 % to 41 % , while a one - hour charge took the battery up to 73 % . This suggests you only need about 90 minutes to in full replenish the portable .
One small accession I appreciate is that the battery light indicant will turn from white to green once in full replenished . The bundled charger also has a retentive 2.5 - meter cable system , which made it a lot easier for me to play comfortably on my sofa with the Steam Deck plug into the mains .
Games and Software
The Steam Deck OLED runs on the precise same software as the non - OLED variate , which stand for it bring up up SteamOS . This is a simple and slick operating arrangement , making it feel like a polished gaming console like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation .
The Steam Deck OLED is far more intuitive than the Windows - based handheld arrangement uncommitted , which essentially force you to apply a small touch screen to navigate a Windows 11 . That said , the Steam Deck becomes a piffling more fiddly to apply when you want to play non - Steam game .
Booting up the screen background mode of the Steam Deck OLED allows you to get to the Linux background of the gadget , offering the same spirit level of functionality as a microcomputer . However , those unfamiliar with Linux may find it a little fiddly when installing the required storefront to run game outside of the Steam ecosystem .
It ’s also potential to install streaming apps for the likes of Game Pass – Microsoft even detail the steps involve to get it up and running . I do wish that Valve allowed you to access third - political party storefronts and streaming apps via SteamOS to make the process easier .
Buying and managing Steam games is incredibly easy , with the digital stock built into the operating system of rules . What ’s more , almost every game on the shopfront has been rated for Steam Deck compatibility , with a green check signifying a great experience , orange render that it ’s playable but not without issue , and red indicating that the game is unplayable on the portable .
Valve has also made it well-off to remap clitoris and assign functions to the rear paddles . It ’s also easy to message friends and tweak operation setting on the fly . This is certainly the most milled software I ’ve found on a hand-held personal computer yet .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
The Steam Deck is n’t the most muscular hand-held personal computer , but it can still execute the vast majority of personal computer games , has a great battery aliveness and a gorgeous filmdom . Plus , it ’s one of the most low-cost . This is my pet PC handheld yet.&bsp ;
Unless you’re able to find a cracking business deal - in mint , I do n’t think there are enough betterment to warrant an climb from the original . The OLED screen is outstanding and battery life encourage welcome , but performance stay the same as its predecessor .
Final Thoughts
Theoriginal Steam Deckwas already my personal favourite hand-held microcomputer due to its affordable price , but the Steam Deck OLED helps to fix many of its small fault to help cement itself as the Rex of the portables .
The OLED filmdom is a big raise for picture calibre , the new crisp help oneself to extend barrage fire life by an hour for AAA biz , and the memory options are far more reasonable now . You should n’t undervalue some of the conception tweaks either , such as the improved hairgrip on joysticks , enhanced feedback on triggers and marginally lighter chassis .
The increased cost does avowedly put the Steam Deck OLED in the same Leontyne Price angle bracket as theAsus ROG Allyand other more powerful systems . But thanks to the kick upstairs screen and battery life , as well as the more visceral software , I still call back the Steam Deck steal the edge . For more options , contain out ourBest Game Consoleslist for more options .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test the Steam Deck OLED by play a variety of different plot at different graphics options , while check the average frame rate either via in - game benchmarks or an FPS overlay .
We also used a tintometer to test out the screen , while also using our own judgement to see how well it compares to rival machine .
We also conducted various battery test by playing games for retentive stretches of clock time , trying out a form of graphics options to find whether they made an impact .
FAQs
The Steam Deck is marginally faster than the original Steam Deck , but only by a fine margin . You probably wo n’t notice a immense difference . The new poker chip offers a bigger improvement to barrage fire liveliness .
The new cover progress to a bountiful deviation to picture quality , while improvements to barrage biography tolerate you to keep playing for long . There ’s no performance advance though , so whether it is worth the ascent comes down to your own priorities .
