Steam Deck: The comprehensive Ars Technica review

The Steam Deck, the brand new $399-and-up Change-like PC made by Valve, typically appears like essentially the most spectacular moveable gaming system ever made. Nevertheless it’s additionally not completed.

Like different sizzling electronics in 2022, Valve’s first bespoke PC launch—which resembles a supersized Recreation Gear however is, at its coronary heart, a Linux PC—is restricted by a strained provide chain and an ongoing chip scarcity. However if you would like to really feel higher about lacking the Deck’s first wave of preorders, or seeing a delayed delivery estimate of “Q2 2022” and past for brand new orders, this evaluation is for you.

When the Steam Deck works as supposed, it is simply the very best Nintendo Change-like PC in the marketplace. Its processing energy, construct high quality, software program flexibility, and Linux-to-Home windows wizardry can breathe new life into (a few of) your PC gaming again catalog. The Deck beats all different PC and Android choices on this area. The correct sport, working at a clean 30 fps with visible bells and whistles enabled (or 60 fps when potential), would possibly even persuade you to place your Change into storage.

As a first-generation piece of {hardware}, the Steam Deck appears to be like good, feels sturdy, and performs properly (particularly given its base worth of $399). However the software program aspect of the Deck is at present tough.

The Deck’s bugs, quirks, and outright failures stand in stark distinction to the Change. In too many conditions the place the Nintendo Change “simply works,” it’s possible you’ll end up saying to the Deck, “Simply work, please!”

Home windows and Linux assist

One of many largest caveats to this evaluation is that the Deck at present lacks one potential promoting level: compatibility with Home windows 10. After offering Ars Technica with evaluation {hardware}, Valve confirmed that sure Home windows drivers for the Steam Deck weren’t prepared. That remained the case as I wrapped up this evaluation.

Whereas I had the choice to dual-boot Home windows 10 and Linux in the course of the evaluation interval, it did not really feel honest to take action with out full OS-level assist for issues just like the CPU, the GPU, and audio playback. We’ll take a more in-depth take a look at the Steam Deck’s Home windows 10 expertise as soon as drivers are prepared, however based mostly on what I’ve discovered with the gadget’s built-in fork of Linux, I am not assured that utilizing Home windows 10 will likely be a clean expertise.

Talking of Linux, I’ve moved my testing of the Deck’s model of Arch Linux right into a separate article. Are you able to go into the command line and set up no matter you need? Are you able to carry Linux apps into SteamOS? Do you like Flatpak? Click on right here to dive into that stuff.

A historical past primer: Why the heck is Valve releasing a Linux PC?

The Steam Deck is Valve’s first stab at creating its personal PC kind issue. That separates the Deck from “Steam Machines,” i.e., desktop gaming PCs that Valve consulted on however did not produce. Each ideas arose from the identical premise: make the large ecosystem of Steam video games work on non-Home windows machines—and with out requiring that Steam sport devs patch or replace their present code.

In 2012, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell lambasted Microsoft’s more and more draconian strategy to software program set up on Home windows. On the time, Microsoft’s public statements and growth efforts prompt {that a} “closed backyard” would possibly come to Home windows—which, amongst different issues, would threaten Valve’s potential to freely promote video games on thousands and thousands of PCs.

Quick-forward a full decade, and Valve has a a lot cozier relationship with Microsoft’s gaming division. (At press time, Microsoft has dedicated to Steam simul-launches for many of Microsoft’s main Xbox video games. Final 12 months, Valve even went to the difficulty of sending Xbox head Phil Spencer his personal prerelease Steam Deck.) But Valve nonetheless likes the thought of gaming PCs that may run video games from its Steam storefront without having Home windows.

This most likely boils all the way down to cash. Valve has already sunk years of labor and tons of money into its Steam Proton initiative, which mixes a Wine compatibility layer and acceptable drivers besides Home windows video games inside Linux. If Valve can get most of Steam’s standard video games working on the Deck with out paying a per-device Home windows license payment, the corporate might make out like a bandit—or, on the very least, hold the Deck’s launch costs down.