The Steam Deck dominates most conversations about PC gaming. What used to be “But can it run Crysis?” is now “Does it play on the Deck?” Valve’s handheld PC is a powerhouse that utilizes your Steam library anywhere but your desk. Nearly a year after the OLED model has been released, and it’s just as impressive as ever. Having spent the past month with it, I’m confident this is the future of PC gaming. This isn’t just a hardware revision; it’s a refinement that elevates the entire Steam Deck experience.
Editor’s Note: My only experience with other handheld PCs was the ASUS ROG Ally X, as I also have never used the LCD variant of the Steam Deck. Bear that in mind with this review.
Let’s get the star of the show out of the way: that OLED display. It’s a revelation. Blacks are impossibly inky, colors explode with vibrancy, and contrast is off the charts. This translates to a gaming experience that’s simply stunning. Every detail in games, from the shimmering scales of a dragon to the flickering flame of a torch, pops with a clarity that LCD screens just can’t match. It’s especially noticeable in darker environments, where the OLED’s ability to truly turn off pixels creates an immersive atmosphere that sucks you right into the game world.
But the benefits extend beyond aesthetics. The OLED panel boasts a faster response time, leading to smoother gameplay with minimal ghosting or blurring. Paired with the Deck’s already respectable refresh rate, the OLED display elevates the overall responsiveness to a level that feels truly premium. It’s really great to re-experience games in a new light. On my gaming PC, it’s not an OLED but it as an ultrawide. It’s so great to play games on the Steam Deck that don’t support ultrawide, it’s a different experience.
Thankfully, the internal hardware hasn’t been sacrificed for the OLED upgrade. The Steam Deck (OLED) retains the powerful AMD processor and RDNA 2 graphics that made the original a mobile gaming marvel. This means you can tackle demanding AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 (with some graphical tweaking) or explore the vast landscapes of Elden Ring with smooth performance. However, it’s important to manage expectations. This is still a handheld PC, and reaching desktop-level performance isn’t always realistic. Expect to adjust settings in newer titles to maintain a stable frame rate. The good news is that the Deck’s user interface makes tinkering with graphics options a breeze. Plus, the vibrant OLED display often makes even slightly scaled-down visuals look fantastic.
Battery life remains a bit of a double-edged sword. On lighter indie games or tasks like browsing the web, you can expect a decent 4-5 hours. However, crank up the graphical fidelity in a demanding title, and that number can dip closer to 2 hours. Luckily, Valve has included some clever power management tools that allow you to prioritize battery life over performance. These tools let you squeeze out some extra playtime when you need it most.
One of the Steam Deck’s greatest strengths remains its seamless integration with the Steam ecosystem. Your entire Steam library is readily accessible, with a surprising number of titles already boasting “Deck Verified” status, indicating smooth compatibility. Even non-verified games often run surprisingly well with a bit of tweaking through the Deck’s Proton compatibility layer. While it’s not immediately apparent because of the native Linux installation, but the Deck isn’t just for Steam. With its openness, you can install launchers like Epic Games launcher or even emulators for retro gaming. This broadens the Deck’s horizons considerably, making it an emulation station of it its own.
The recent update to SteamOS adds further polish. The interface feels slick and intuitive, especially when navigating your library and in-game settings. New features like custom button mapping and improved controller profiles offer a level of customization that caters to even the most particular gamer. Plus, the Deck seamlessly integrates with the Steam Deck mobile app, allowing you to remotely manage downloads, view achievements, and even stream games from your PC directly to the Deck.
In a rare move, there’s an included hard case to hold the Steam Deck. It’s surprising because with ASUS, if you wanted to have a case, you need to shell out $50 for theirs. Here, Valve just gives you one (and how it should be).
I received the 1TB model, and I was able to get nearly 90 Steam games installed before I started running out of free space. Now a lot of these were games not very big in size, but there’s a lot of games you can cram into this little machine.
The bigger, more graphically intense games require some tweaking to get working, if they aren’t already optimized from the start. Games like The Witcher 3, Days Gone, God of War, or Horizon Zero Dawn are not ideal, but they work.
There’s an on-screen display you can enable from simple framerate to more advanced statistics like what each aspect is doing, to include battery time left.
My Steam Deck (OLED) Specs
– SteamOS 3 (Arch-based)
– Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
– 16 GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (6400 MT/s quad 32-bit channels)
– 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.6GHz (1.6 TFlops FP32)
– Steam Deck 1TB NVMe SSD
– HDR OLED (16:9 @ 1280 x 800)
The Steam Deck (OLED) isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a significant step forward for mobile PC gaming. The stunning OLED display elevates the experience, and Valve has outdone themselves with this one. Battery life may hinder you when wanting to play the more graphically intense games, but it is no doubt a fantastic companion for travel or simply being away from your traditional gaming PC. The ease of use from Valve to ensure that you have to do as little as possible cannot be understated. The Steam Deck (OLED) is brilliant handheld that is the benchmark for others to be measured against.
A Steam Deck (OLED) was provided by Valve for review purposes
