Steam Deck’s GPU is totally outdated, and this low-cost AMD mini PC proves it

When Valve launched the Steam Deck in 2022, it wasn’t a cutting-edge gadget by any means, and that was a deliberate selection. Valve rigorously balanced efficiency, energy consumption, and value to create a machine that was virtually completely suited to its meant objective.

However, the GPU specifically was already fairly borderline at launch, and whereas it does a high quality job of taking part in most video games that had been out there on the time of its arrival, playing later releases ranges from unpleasant to impossible when it comes to the gaming expertise. Everyone is waiting for a Steam Deck 2, and when you have a look at what’s come out because it’s painfully clear simply how rapidly the creaky Steam Deck GPU has fallen behind.

Valve upgraded the display screen, however saved the outdated GPU design

Playing the (very) lengthy recreation

The Steam Deck has obtained precisely one refresh, and that comes within the type of the OLED mannequin. This is actually the identical console when it comes to efficiency and options, however refined with a a lot better show.

New (albeit rather more costly) handheld PCs blow the GPU efficiency of the Steam Deck away, though it is a testament to Valve’s foresight that the Steam Deck nonetheless retains up and even beats these newer PCs whenever you restrict it to that 15W or decrease window it is advisable get usable battery life from it. The newer methods have compensated in some circumstances by integrating huge battery capacities, however there is a (literal) restrict to how far you possibly can push that.

We additionally should carry the Nintendo Switch 2 into the dialog right here. I bought my much-loved Lenovo Legion Go after getting my Switch 2, as a result of I noticed that every time I wished to play a handheld recreation, it was my thinner, lighter Switch 2 I reached for. The Legion Go is already rather more highly effective than the Steam Deck, and even then I discovered that for a similar video games I owned on each, the Switch 2 expertise was merely higher general. Considering how less expensive a Switch 2 is than a Steam Deck, and the later addition of handheld Boost Mode for Switch 1 video games, the SD now comes throughout as clunky to make use of for little if any actual profit over Nintendo’s newest console. Especially with using DLSS on Switch 2.

A finances mini PC can provide extra with no graphics card

The backside has risen

What actually made me understand that the Steam Deck’s “Aerith” GPU is effectively previous its prime is a evaluation of the GMKtec NucBox that I read on TechRadar. At the time, the 32GB config value round $550, however as of this writing you are going to pay $880 for the 32GB/512GB K12.

That’s near the value of a 512GB Steam Deck OLED proper now, although that system has half the RAM. Yes, it is not an apples-to-apples comparability, since one is a conveyable handheld. However, the K12 comes with a Radeon 780M, which presents practically twice the uncooked efficiency of the Aerith GPU within the Steam Deck.

I really feel that when you eliminated the price of the 16GB of RAM distinction right here, you are in all probability nearer to creating up for the addition of the display screen, battery, and different Deck-specific bits. Even worse, the 780M is a GPU from 2023, which is one main cause why it is in sub-$1000 mini PCs now. Also, I hate {that a} “low-cost” mini PC is one which prices lower than a grand now. Especially since this identical pc was virtually half as costly a yr in the past, however I digress.

Again, this is not some ridiculous argument {that a} mini PC is a alternative for a Steam Deck. They do not do the identical job in any respect. It’s simply illustrative of how a lot we have moved on. A standard iGPU in an entry-level PC will smack it round.

The Steam Deck 2 wants to meet many extra wants

Valve has brazenly stated that it is in no hurry to make a Steam Deck 2. After all, the Steam Deck has at all times been a base template for different producers to work from. It’s why we now have all of those high-performance, ultra-expensive handheld PCs.

Valve has said {that a} Steam Deck 2 must be a generational leap, and to me that signifies no less than a tripling of efficiency at a given wattage. Less than per week earlier than I wrote this, Digital Foundry reported on the rumored “Gainsborough” GPU, which is probably what will likely be in a Steam Deck 2. That’s Aerith from Final Fantasy 7’s final title, by the best way.

The rumors say that this can be a 12CU RDNA 4 GPU and, so, I would not be shocked if it presents considerably extra energy than that 780M within the K12 mini PC. However, identical to the K12 advantages from being plugged in, and the Switch 2 will get an enormous efficiency uplift when docked, a Steam Deck 2 wants a a lot greater efficiency delta between battery and plugged-in operation. Valve won’t really feel the know-how has moved on sufficient to justify a second-generation Steam Deck, however personally I believe the time is ripe. The Deck would possibly nonetheless be good for indies and older AAA titles from the PS4 period, but it surely virtually feels retro at this level.