Valve took the world by storm when it revealed the Steam Deck in 2021, with the system happening to promote thousands and thousands of models over the following few years. Issues turned much more thrilling in 2023, when Valve launched the up to date Steam Deck OLED — fixing a lot of the authentic’s points whereas additionally bundling in a vibrant new show. Our Steam Deck OLED evaluation discovered it to be greater than only a minor replace to the hand-held PC, and it’s arguably probably the greatest methods to sport in 2024.
Nevertheless, the unique Steam Deck isn’t out of date simply but. A number of fashions of the unique Steam Deck are nonetheless up for buy, and so they’re seeing good worth cuts as they slowly get phased out. However do you have to go for the cheaper Steam Deck or the brand new Steam Deck OLED? And what precisely is the distinction between these two fashions?
Right here’s a better have a look at the hand-held PCs that will help you determine which is greatest.
Pricing and availability
The unique Steam Deck with an LCD show launched in February 2022, with a worth between $400 and $650, relying on whether or not you wished additional storage, a scratch-resistant display screen, and a few distinctive digital rewards. There have been initially three choices — 64GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage — however Valve will solely promote the 256GB mannequin transferring ahead.
On the time of writing, the 64GB and 512GB fashions are nonetheless obtainable, however Valve says it would solely promote them whereas provides final. All three of the unique fashions have new, decrease costs now that the Steam Deck OLED is out there. You’ll spend $350, $400, or $450 for the 64GB, 256GB, or 512GB fashions, respectively.
The Steam Deck OLED launched on November 16, and in contrast to the earlier model, it didn’t promote out instantly. Valve has two fashions obtainable. There’s a 512GB mannequin for $550 and a 1TB mannequin for $650. The 1TB mannequin additionally comes with an etched glass show that’s proof against glare.
On prime of the 2 fashions, Valve had a limited-edition model of the 1TB mannequin with a translucent shell obtainable for $680. Sadly, this has since offered out.
There’s not likely a foul alternative right here when it comes to pricing. If you need a deal, one of the best mannequin to purchase proper now could be the $450 LCD model with 512GB of storage. That’s one of the best bang on your buck. Nonetheless, the OLED fashions aren’t too costly. Valve really saved pricing the identical in comparison with the unique costs on the LCD fashions, all whereas boosting space for storing.
Specs
| Steam Deck LCD | Steam Deck OLED | Steam Deck OLED | |
| CPU | AMD Zen 2 CPU 4c/8t 7nm course of | AMD Zen 2 CPU 4c/8t 6nm course of | AMD Zen 2 CPU 4c/8t 6nm course of |
| Graphics | AMD APU RDNA 2 8c 7nm course of | AMD APU RDNA 2 8c 6nm course of | AMD APU RDNA 2 8c 6nm course of |
| RAM | 16GB LPDDR5 5500MHz | 16GB LPDDR5 6400MHz | 16GB LPDDR5 6400MHz |
| Storage | 256GB SSD | 512GB SSD | 1TB SSD |
| Show | 7-inch LCD, 1280×800 | 7.4-inch HDR OLED | 7.4-inch HDR OLED |
| Refresh Charge | 60Hz | 90Hz | 90Hz |
| Connections | Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Battery | 40 Whr, 2-8 hours | 50 Whr, 3-12 hours | 50 Whr, 3-12 hours |
| Weight | 1.47 kilos | 1.41 kilos | 1.41 kilos |
On the floor, the Steam Deck OLED feels like a Swap OLED-style improve with new show expertise, however that’s not the case in any respect. The Steam Deck OLED is rather more of a revision than its naming scheme may let on. Our preliminary teardown of the Steam Deck OLED revealed that Valve touched almost each facet of the system. It is a refresh, nevertheless it’s an enormous one.
There’s quicker reminiscence, assist for next-generation wi-fi applied sciences like Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3. The burden is down a bit of too, which is at all times welcome in a conveyable gaming machine.
One of many largest adjustments, although, is in battery life. With a much bigger battery and extra environment friendly parts, Valve has managed to extend total battery life by as much as 50%. It’s now claiming that, in best circumstances, the Steam Deck can run for as much as 12 hours, which is means past what you’d anticipate.
A giant a part of that’s the redesigned APU. The Steam Deck OLED makes use of the identical APU as the unique, nevertheless it’s constructed on a 6nm node. That permits it to be rather more environment friendly than the unique mannequin, which, coupled with a bigger battery, results in massive enhancements in battery life. It additionally permits the Steam Deck OLED to run a bit quicker, which we’ll dig into shortly.
Display
The standout characteristic of the Steam Deck OLED is, after all, the OLED display screen. Colours look beautiful, and that’s due in no small half to the truth that the OLED has a barely bigger display screen than the unique mannequin. It additionally will get a lot brighter, with assist for HDR and a peak brightness that’s near 1,000 nits. These are large specs for a handheld, making the unique display screen seem like a toy by comparability.
The show can also be 90Hz, relatively than 60Hz like on the unique mannequin, which ought to make something you play on it look a lot smoother in the event you can run video games at a excessive sufficient body charge to note it. That is arguably the larger change for gaming, as players are massive followers of excessive refresh charges, and with good purpose. In titles like Useless Cells the place you’ll be able to make the most of the upper refresh charge, the Steam Deck OLED is a game-changer.
The unique display screen is satisfactory, however simply barely. It’s a 60Hz LCD show that’s joyful cracking 300 nits of brightness, and it throws out all hopes of dealing with HDR content material. It’s not offensive, however players in search of probably the most immersive expertise ought to select the OLED mannequin.
Efficiency
One sudden advantage of the Steam Deck OLED is efficiency. It’s not so much quicker than the unique mannequin, nevertheless it’s nonetheless quicker. You’re taking a look at just a few frames in some video games, or put one other means, a efficiency enhance within the low single digits. That leap, mixed with the 90Hz display screen, can nonetheless make a ton of distinction.
Throughout our suite of video games, the Steam Deck OLED notched the biggest improve in Dying Mild 2, although it managed a lead of some frames in almost all of the titles we examined. One necessary sport to name out right here is Horizon Zero Daybreak. With the Steam Deck LCD, you had been struggling to hit 60 frames per second (fps), however the Steam Deck OLED achieves that mark.
That’s largely been our expertise with the Steam Deck OLED. It might solely supply just a few additional frames, however these frames actually matter. A great instance is Elden Ring. This sport runs tremendous on the Steam Deck LCD, however it would usually drop under 30 fps while you’re out within the open world. That’s not the case on the Steam Deck OLED, the place it usually runs above 30 fps. The most important enhance right here is consistency, with the additional energy of the Steam Deck OLED pushing video games over the sting.
The efficiency leap additionally will get the Steam Deck OLED a lot nearer to aggressive handhelds like the ROG Ally with the Z1 Excessive. When matching the decision, you’ll be able to see the Steam Deck OLED now will get inside spitting distance of the ROG Ally, whereas the LCD model struggled to maintain up.
The opposite massive profit for the Steam Deck OLED is the 90Hz show. Take a sport like Unusual Brigade for instance. It will probably run at near 80 fps on the Steam Deck LCD, however you received’t really discover that additional smoothness. In these less-demanding video games, the Steam Deck OLED offers a significantly better expertise by permitting you to really see all the frames which are being rendered.
Even when the Steam Deck OLED supplied an identical efficiency, it might be the winner right here. The truth that it’s quicker is simply the cherry on prime.
Battery life
The Steam Deck OLED comes with a much bigger battery than the unique mannequin, which mixed with a extra environment friendly APU, permits it to attain a lot increased battery life. We have to put these battery life enhancements in context, although.
They aren’t constant throughout video games, so the battery enhancements vary from an additional half-hour to a number of additional hours relying on what sport you’re taking part in. In a demanding sport like Diablo 4, you’ll be fortunate to get 90 minutes out of the Steam Deck LCD. On the Steam Deck OLED, you’ll comfortably cross the two-hour mark earlier than reaching on your charger.
The large enhancements are available much less demanding video games. With the Steam Deck LCD, there’s a bizarre higher restrict on battery life. Even in video games like Useless Cells or Vampire Survivors, you received’t get greater than five-and-a-half or six hours. The Steam Deck OLED massively improves right here, simply providing between eight and 9 hours of battery life in these much less demanding video games.
It was one of many first issues we seen with the Steam Deck OLED. In a run of Useless Cells, the OLED mannequin drained about 5% of its battery in half-hour. On the unique, you’d not less than drop 10% in that very same time.
The Steam Deck OLED is the brand new Steam Deck
It’s straightforward to put in writing off the Steam Deck OLED as only a Steam Deck with a nicer display screen, nevertheless it’s a lot extra. Enhancements in efficiency and battery life go an enormous means towards making the system really feel higher to make use of, and that’s backed up by probably the greatest shows yow will discover on a handheld.
Valve remains to be promoting the Steam Deck LCD, nevertheless it’s greatest to save lots of your pennies for the OLED mannequin if you would like a superior expertise.
Editors’ Suggestions
Supply hyperlink
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.