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Valve announces the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC starting at $399 | TechSpot
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Valve announces the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC starting at $399
The device is AMD powered, running SteamOS 3.0
By Shawn Knight July 15, 2021, 2:43 PM 48 comments
Highly anticipated: Valve says the Steam Deck is comparable to a gaming laptop and has the ability to run the latest AAA games. With it, the company says you’ll be able to play your Steam library wherever and whenever you want. And, since it’s a true PC, you can also install software and connect hardware as you would with any PC. It’ll ship running SteamOS 3.0, we’re told.
The developer, publisher and digital distribution platform has formally introduced the Steam Deck.
The system, previously referred to as the SteamPal, is a Nintendo Switch-style handheld PC powered by a custom AMD APU consisting of a quad-core (eight threads) Zen 2 CPU alongside eight RDNA 2 compute units. Collectively, the APU is rated to sip between four and 15 watts of juice.
There’s also 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and a 7-inch touchscreen display that operates at 1,280 x 800 pixels (16:10 aspect ratio) with a 60Hz refresh rate and up to 400 nits of brightness. It additionally boasts dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 and ships with a 40whr battery that’s good for up to two to eight hours of runtime between charges.
Models will be offered with 64GB of eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1), 256GB of NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4) or 512GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4) storage configurations. All models will also include a high-speed microSD card slot for additional storage.
The Steam Deck looks to be a full-on PC gaming console and Switch rival, as it will also get a dock so you can play your PC games on a monitor or TV. With more details to follow about that.
Valve’s Steam Deck starts at $399 for the 64GB variant and scales up to $529 for 256GB and $649 for the 512GB model. It is scheduled to ship in December 2021 in the US, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, hopefully in time for the holidays.
More regions will be added to the mix in 2022. Interested parties can reserve theirs over on the Steam Deck website.
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User Comments: 48
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Nice, so that‘s what Van Gogh was for. LPDDR5 should give this device pretty good bandwidth.
Here‘s hoping for good reviews and good Christmas availability.
Here‘s hoping for good reviews and good Christmas availability.
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Very nice stuff. I wonder how it does compare to the competition. And 800p is little low, is rather have 1080p to browse internet or use other apps without jaggy edges.
I took one look and thought, hell no.
Put a screen on a ps4 clone style controller.
I personally would like to play PC games from the couch but they fudged the steam link they fudged the steam box and this looks fudged from the outset
Put a screen on a ps4 clone style controller.
I personally would like to play PC games from the couch but they fudged the steam link they fudged the steam box and this looks fudged from the outset
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There is no Santa Clause on the evening stage...so far.Nice, so that‘s what Van Gogh was for. LPDDR5 should give this device pretty good bandwidth.
Here‘s hoping for good reviews and good Christmas availability.
July 15, 2021 3:24 PM
Dimitriid
While I would really want this to try I have to agree: this looks like a bust: unwieldy, cumbersome and yet at the same time, tiny for what we would want it for: 7 inch screen is too small for most Steam games you'd want to play to be nice and legible (Since remember: they were all designed to run on at least 21 to 23 inch class screen) and if that didn't hurt the chances enough, 1280 x 800 resolution? Sure the games probably wouldn't run at any higher res given the APU but regular use would benefit from a non-potato resolution that's legible on every day use and could bump up some of the classics you'd want to play like modded Skyrim at at least 1080pI took one look and thought, hell no.
Put a screen on a ps4 clone style controller.
I personally would like to play PC games from the couch but they fudged the steam link they fudged the steam box and this looks fudged from the outset
There's already better portable PC computer devices like the GPD Win 3 that all but match this specs, sorry but this ain't it Valve.
July 15, 2021 3:40 PM
Torrentius
At first I was in love, but price points don't make any sense - 130$ difference between 64GB eMMC and 256GB SSD is a price of a 1TB SSD for the consumer - not HW bought in bulk when manufacturing a device.
I'd be the first one to buy 399$ model if I was able to put my own SSD inside.
On the other hand - even the most expensive option is a kick to the balls for other x86 handhelds producers: 4500U based Aya Neo costs around 1k$... And as they confirmed you can install any x86 OS you want on it, with USB-C dock it can double down as an entry level workstation/streaming/study device.
I feel like everything but the storage options is amazing here.
Deck has slightly worse CPU (4/8 Zen 2 vs 11th gen 4/8 Intel), but most likely much better iGPU (8 RDNA2 CUs) that should give it an advantage in gaming scenarios. And with casual office/study/streaming applications you shouldn't see any difference.
I'd be the first one to buy 399$ model if I was able to put my own SSD inside.
On the other hand - even the most expensive option is a kick to the balls for other x86 handhelds producers: 4500U based Aya Neo costs around 1k$... And as they confirmed you can install any x86 OS you want on it, with USB-C dock it can double down as an entry level workstation/streaming/study device.
I feel like everything but the storage options is amazing here.
Win 3 starts at ~850$ - 200$ more than most expensive Deck model.There's already better portable PC computer devices like the GPD Win 3 that all but match this specs, sorry but this ain't it Valve.
Deck has slightly worse CPU (4/8 Zen 2 vs 11th gen 4/8 Intel), but most likely much better iGPU (8 RDNA2 CUs) that should give it an advantage in gaming scenarios. And with casual office/study/streaming applications you shouldn't see any difference.
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July 15, 2021 3:51 PMDimitriid
The screen resolution isn't: 720p (But on 16:10 instead of 16:9 but effectively the same res) might seem ok if *all* you want to do is stare at graphics, but as soon as text is involved it's just not very easy to read at all. I know that while inside many games (But notably, not all given the size of the Steam library) probably wouldn't work out too well with a 1080p screen at this size but come on: This is the same kind of screen you find on the bottom-of-the-barrel, ultra cheap tablets. Not even entry level phones in 2021 come with a 720p screen anymore and those are a full inch shorter than this screen.I feel like everything but the storage options is amazing here.
It is possible some people might not care at all about the screen if all you want is a PC Version of the switch that runs Steam games natively, but if I wanted a switch well, I'd get a switch. If I wanted mobile type games I'd use my phone of my tablet. If I get this device, I *want* to use it to replace a laptop when needed, and with this screen I just don't see this happening.
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July 15, 2021 3:54 PMTorrentius
I still use an old 1200x800 15-inch laptop from time to time, so I don't have any worries about the resolution, especially with a 7-inch screen. And I also think of it as a laptop replacement - but I'd pair it with a lapdock for that.The screen resolution isn't: 720p (But on 16:10 instead of 16:9 but effectively the same res) might seem ok if *all* you want to do is stare at graphics, but as soon as text is involved it's just not very easy to read at all. I know that while inside many games (But notably, not all given the size of the Steam library) probably wouldn't work out too well with a 1080p screen at this size but come on: This is the same kind of screen you find on the bottom-of-the-barrel, ultra cheap tablets. Not even entry level phones in 2021 come with a 720p screen anymore and those are a full inch shorter than this screen.
It is possible some people might not care at all about the screen if all you want is a PC Version of the switch that runs Steam games natively, but I I wanted a switch well, I'd get a switch. If I wanted mobile type games I'd use my phone of my tablet. If I get this device, I *want* to use it to replace a laptop when needed, and with this screen I just don't see this happening.
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July 15, 2021 3:59 PMDimitriid
You probably should worry if you don't want to wear glasses on your old age or have your prescription significantly worsen if you already do.I still use an old 1200x800 15-inch laptop from time to time, so I don't have any worries about the resolution, especially with a 7-inch screen. And I also think of it as a laptop replacement - but I'd pair it with a lapdock for that.
But jokes aside the point isn't that it's unusable, the point is that it's a really low resolution for a late 2021 device. Like I said: comparable devices are 20 dollar chinese tablets that are basically disposable.
It's just a hard pill to swallow, it feels like a really good APU trapped on a really inconvenient device.
July 15, 2021 4:22 PMTorrentius
The screen is good for gaming, as this really good APU wouldn't run games in higher resolution. And, honestly, I had 11-inch 1080p 2in1 once and reading was too inconvenient without scaling, unless it was used as a tablet, closer to eyes. Can't imagine how horrible it would be on a 7-incher with high resolution. I believe this will make an amazing handheld gaming device and a nice little PC, when used with a USB-C dock and peripherals.You probably should worry if you don't want to wear glasses on your old age or have your prescription significantly worsen if you already do.
But jokes aside the point isn't that it's unusable, the point is that it's a really low resolution for a late 2021 device. Like I said: comparable devices are 20 dollar chinese tablets that are basically disposable.
It's just a hard pill to swallow, it feels like a really good APU trapped on a really inconvenient device.
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July 15, 2021 5:25 PMLionvibez
800p is fine on a 7 inch display.Very nice stuff. I wonder how it does compare to the competition. And 800p is little low, is rather have 1080p to browse internet or use other apps without jaggy edges.
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If it lets me play old steam games I never play on my big rig while I’m on holiday somewhere then great. Seems fun
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July 15, 2021 9:22 PMbandit8623
but you are not going to be holding this as close as a phone. you cant see the difference. unless you hold your handheld gaming screens a foot away from your face?You probably should worry if you don't want to wear glasses on your old age or have your prescription significantly worsen if you already do.
But jokes aside the point isn't that it's unusable, the point is that it's a really low resolution for a late 2021 device. Like I said: comparable devices are 20 dollar chinese tablets that are basically disposable.
It's just a hard pill to swallow, it feels like a really good APU trapped on a really inconvenient device.
July 15, 2021 9:44 PMWatzupken
Screen size and resolution wise, I think it is not a problem. Even with the RDNA2 iGPU, I don't believe one can play games at very high resolution to begin with. My main issue is the storage space and potentially the heat.
Given the size of games nowadays, 64GB will be wiped out with 1 or 2 recent game titles. In fact, there are some games will not even fit in. So I feel the storage size is a big issue considering the games on Steam are optimized for PC, and not going to be storage friendly.
Heat is probably going to be the next big problem. 15W at full tilt is a lot to cool in a small chassis like this. Even the 2500U that I am using in my mini PC (NUC form factor) and with a chunky aluminum cooler is close to 50 degs Celsius with an ambient temp of 29 degs with very low load. And being small, means all the hot components will be closer.
Given the size of games nowadays, 64GB will be wiped out with 1 or 2 recent game titles. In fact, there are some games will not even fit in. So I feel the storage size is a big issue considering the games on Steam are optimized for PC, and not going to be storage friendly.
Heat is probably going to be the next big problem. 15W at full tilt is a lot to cool in a small chassis like this. Even the 2500U that I am using in my mini PC (NUC form factor) and with a chunky aluminum cooler is close to 50 degs Celsius with an ambient temp of 29 degs with very low load. And being small, means all the hot components will be closer.
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July 15, 2021 9:49 PMDimitriid
No but the further away from you, the harder it is to read small text if it's not really sharp, and that needs more dpi than what's available here.but you are not going to be holding this as close as a phone. you cant see the difference. unless you hold your handheld gaming screens a foot away from your face?
I get that the main concern here is the battery life which looks to be the limiting factor as it is (2-8 hours) but I think includying 1080p screen with variable resolution or resolution scaling options would be nice to have.
That being said I have been giving this device some more thought through the day and I think I might be a bit closer to being convinced on it as basically a portable thin client: If I have a solid internet I can phone home to my rig and really make that battery last a long time but if not it should still be capable of most things except maybe 2077.
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July 15, 2021 9:53 PM
Vrmithrax
I know they are trying to compete with the Switch as far as form factor, but I really wish they had gone for something more like the Razer Edge concept tablet. Bigger screen, more room for internals, etc. Would have been a higher price point, but might have been far more attractive for a "console" option to PC gamers.
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July 15, 2021 10:50 PMkoblongata
That's some huge bezel, would be nice to have a bigger screen
July 15, 2021 11:33 PMBao Nguyen
I am speechless at some of the comments as people can be so entitled these days. Steam released an actual PC at that form factor that gives out 2 Tflops which is about the same as the Xbox One & PS4 for the price of $399 and people is still complain about it?
I am for one that is extremely impressed at what Valve has achieved here to be honest, have a look at similar devices like the GPD Win 3 (5.5in 720p screen), or the Aya Neo (7in 1280x800 screen), and they are all in the $1000 ballpark.
I am for one that is extremely impressed at what Valve has achieved here to be honest, have a look at similar devices like the GPD Win 3 (5.5in 720p screen), or the Aya Neo (7in 1280x800 screen), and they are all in the $1000 ballpark.
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Heat might be a problem, but I don‘t believe both are in the same TDP class. 2500U is 15W base, boost can go higher. Seems like Van Gogh is 4-15W, I.e. 15W is boost.Screen size and resolution wise, I think it is not a problem. Even with the RDNA2 iGPU, I don't believe one can play games at very high resolution to begin with. My main issue is the storage space and potentially the heat.
Given the size of games nowadays, 64GB will be wiped out with 1 or 2 recent game titles. In fact, there are some games will not even fit in. So I feel the storage size is a big issue considering the games on Steam are optimized for PC, and not going to be storage friendly.
Heat is probably going to be the next big problem. 15W at full tilt is a lot to cool in a small chassis like this. Even the 2500U that I am using in my mini PC (NUC form factor) and with a chunky aluminum cooler is close to 50 degs Celsius with an ambient temp of 29 degs with very low load. And being small, means all the hot components will be closer.
Still, will be interesting to see how well the cooling solution works and what performance the device can sustain.
As for the 64GB version: I agree with you regarding the game size, unless someone plays many older / light titles.
It feels like this model mostly exists to show a lower Switch-like starting price. But if the storage is user upgradeable, that might make it interesting.
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July 16, 2021 1:33 AM
hahahanoobs
9.5/10 on the build quality and look of the device from what I've seen.
I'm not a customer for this, but I'm interested to see if it has a place in the market.
There are a couple things I don't like, but we'll see.
I'm not a customer for this, but I'm interested to see if it has a place in the market.
There are a couple things I don't like, but we'll see.
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Oh, that's simple. They want the cheap option so they can advertise how affordable it is ($400 starting! What a great deal) but they don't actually want to sell it for that price so they instead cripple the base model and hope people will go for the more expensive variants.At first I was in love, but price points don't make any sense - 130$ difference between 64GB eMMC and 256GB SSD is a price of a 1TB SSD for the consumer - not HW bought in bulk when manufacturing a device.
I'd be the first one to buy 399$ model if I was able to put my own SSD inside.
July 16, 2021 2:54 AMBao Nguyen
For people that intend to use the it as a game streaming device only, the $399 price tag is just perfect, there is no need to go for a higher model. The ability to browse the web is just the bonus.Oh, that's simple. They want the cheap option so they can advertise how affordable it is ($400 starting! What a great deal) but they don't actually want to sell it for that price so they instead cripple the base model and hope people will go for the more expensive variants.
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July 16, 2021 3:28 AMMjswooosh
I'll most likely be picking one up though I must confess I'm considering waiting until v2. 0 works out the kinks. Hmmm.
I also feel like the base model should be 256gb for that $400 price.
64gb is nigh unusable for anything beyond a streaming device (and low advertisement price).
I also feel like the base model should be 256gb for that $400 price.
64gb is nigh unusable for anything beyond a streaming device (and low advertisement price).
CPU-wise it's worse than a 5300U though, and it's certainly quite a bit more than slightly worse than GDP win 3, as those tiger lake parts have some great ST perf and etc. Certainly not as good as higher core parts from AMD but against 4c/8t Zen 2 then well, they are quite a lot better.Win 3 starts at ~850$ - 200$ more than most expensive Deck model.
Deck has slightly worse CPU (4/8 Zen 2 vs 11th gen 4/8 Intel), but most likely much better iGPU (8 RDNA2 CUs) that should give it an advantage in gaming scenarios. And with casual office/study/streaming applications you shouldn't see any difference.
Certainly a lot worse in iGPU, as Vega 8 already beats what Intel has anyway, even ir not by much.
But one thing that's disappointing aside from the storage prices is the memory bandwidth as despite it being LPDDR5, it's only 64b wide so ends up with significantly less than Win 3. RDNA 2 is certainly less dependent on bandwidth though but I don't think that 44GB/s will cut it.
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Games are often designed around a 90-100ppi screen density rather than a specific screen size and many older games (that are more likely to be run on 15w APU's) UI's don't scale well above 100ppi. That's why non-scaling UI's still look just right on 15.6" 768p laptops, 24" 1080p & 32" 1440p monitors. You can get away with stretching it a bit to say 110ppi (1440p @ 27") but trying to play such games with non-scaling UI's on a 1080p @ 7" (314ppi) is like buying a 14" 4K monitor and trying to use it at 100% scaling. No matter how ultra, ultra, ultra, ultra, sharp things may be, UI elements in many games will shrink to the point of becoming unusably small, as has been seen previously with 7" "Windows Phone" tablets.You probably should worry if you don't want to wear glasses on your old age or have your prescription significantly worsen if you already do.
"But jokes aside the point isn't that it's unusable, the point is that it's a really low resolution for a late 2021 device"
"(Since remember: they were all designed to run on at least 21 to 23 inch class screen)"
Dropping down from 40-50fps (720p) to 18-30fps (1080p) [link] along with a plummeting in battery life is not a good trade-off for extra sharpness. Too high a resolution on too small a screen just means they both run new AAA's badly due to performance and simultaneously run older ones poorly due to non-scaling UI's. So 720p overall is actually quite right for the screen size. People just need to step out of the "but mah moe-bye-ul fone is 65,536k 9000ppi" mindless marketing rat-race and understand the obvious Usability / Performance / Quality 3-way tradeoff a little better, along with the fact many thousands of Windows games are definitely not coded like iOS / Android apps.
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Everyone is concerned with 7'' screen when it is obvious that there will definitely be a 10'' followup called Deck Plus or Deck Max or something. That's how all devices are launched these days, basic version followed by costlier versions. So if this isn't your cup of tea then hang tight, next iteration will hit soon.
Where'd you get that? They don't specify the memory bus anywhere, from what I've seen.But one thing that's disappointing aside from the storage prices is the memory bandwidth as despite it being LPDDR5, it's only 64b wide so ends up with significantly less than Win 3. RDNA 2 is certainly less dependent on bandwidth though but I don't think that 44GB/s will cut it.
July 16, 2021 5:40 AM
envirovore
I can see myself dropping the money on the 512GB model.
Very tempting to put in a reserve today for it, think I'm gonna hold out for now. But damn, I want one.
Very tempting to put in a reserve today for it, think I'm gonna hold out for now. But damn, I want one.
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Cool to see these handheld computers/gaming systems coming out. It's not really my thing, I'd rather play on a monitor or television, but they are really neat nonetheless.
July 16, 2021 7:24 AMDimitriid
Just to clarify you might have missed my subsequent post in which I mention I indeed have been getting second thoughts about it that lean more towards the positive.Games are often designed around a 90-100ppi screen density rather than a specific screen size and many older games (that are more likely to be run on 15w APU's) UI's don't scale well above 100ppi. That's why non-scaling UI's still look just right on 15.6" 768p laptops, 24" 1080p & 32" 1440p monitors. You can get away with stretching it a bit to say 110ppi (1440p @ 27") but trying to play such games with non-scaling UI's on a 1080p @ 7" (314ppi) is like buying a 14" 4K monitor and trying to use it at 100% scaling. No matter how ultra, ultra, ultra, ultra, sharp things may be, UI elements in many games will shrink to the point of becoming unusably small, as has been seen previously with 7" "Windows Phone" tablets.
Dropping down from 40-50fps (720p) to 18-30fps (1080p) [link] along with a plummeting in battery life is not a good trade-off for extra sharpness. Too high a resolution on too small a screen just means they both run new AAA's badly due to performance and simultaneously run older ones poorly due to non-scaling UI's. So 720p overall is actually quite right for the screen size. People just need to step out of the "but mah moe-bye-ul fone is 65,536k 9000ppi" mindless marketing rat-race and understand the obvious Usability / Performance / Quality 3-way tradeoff a little better, along with the fact many thousands of Windows games are definitely not coded like iOS / Android apps.
That being said since this is a PC we know that having a 1080p doesn't means running a game at 1080p those can still be launched at 720p as needed and scaled up by the monitor itself if not the APU. This by the way should also help a lot with the battery life concerns which I also have acknowledged on subsequent posts.
Now the problem of text based games becoming unreadable on a 7 inch screen is true even with a 720p resolution. They might be lessen than 1080p sure (But as we established even with a higher resolution screen, running a lower resolution if/when needed is always an option for a pc) but it will still be far from ideal for many thousands of games that simply won't be updated to support a smaller screen experience whereas Nintendo certainly makes sure all the Switch games do get said updates.
So after all that I am now more in the "1080p screen would be nice to have yet not a deal breaker" camp so to speak: I'd like os UI elements that can look sharper when scaled up to take advantage of the extra DPI that such a screen would offer. However I also agree with the other user than mentioned a 10" tablet form factor would actually work out much, much better for me.
July 16, 2021 7:56 AMWatzupken
I get that, which is why I only considered the idle temp for the 2500U. At idle, I don't believe it is pulling anywhere near 10W. Conversely, chances for a console APU to go below 10W is quite unlikely in games which is what it is primarily built for. But I think it won't take long before we get to see this Steam Deck in action.Heat might be a problem, but I don‘t believe both are in the same TDP class. 2500U is 15W base, boost can go higher. Seems like Van Gogh is 4-15W, I.e. 15W is boost.
Still, will be interesting to see how well the cooling solution works and what performance the device can sustain.
As for the 64GB version: I agree with you regarding the game size, unless someone plays many older / light titles.
It feels like this model mostly exists to show a lower Switch-like starting price. But if the storage is user upgradeable, that might make it interesting.
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July 16, 2021 8:09 AMLionvibez
good list also add ONEXPLAYER to it.I am speechless at some of the comments as people can be so entitled these days. Steam released an actual PC at that form factor that gives out 2 Tflops which is about the same as the Xbox One & PS4 for the price of $399 and people is still complain about it?
I am for one that is extremely impressed at what Valve has achieved here to be honest, have a look at similar devices like the GPD Win 3 (5.5in 720p screen), or the Aya Neo (7in 1280x800 screen), and they are all in the $1000 ballpark.
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1.6Tflops at peak clock speed. I doubt that APU with limited TDP is going to hit the max GPU clock speedI am speechless at some of the comments as people can be so entitled these days. Steam released an actual PC at that form factor that gives out 2 Tflops which is about the same as the Xbox One & PS4 for the price of $399 and people is still complain about it?
I am for one that is extremely impressed at what Valve has achieved here to be honest, have a look at similar devices like the GPD Win 3 (5.5in 720p screen), or the Aya Neo (7in 1280x800 screen), and they are all in the $1000 ballpark.
Also, memory bandwidth is lower than Xbox one and PS4
If you look at 5500U (which has 1.6 Tflops at max clock) for example, it drops below 30fps even with most setting at low in Doom eternal If you watch 4:10 in the video, he uses 76% internal resolution and it still drops 3x fps
In other words, PS4 completely destroys this APU cause it can run the same game on better setting at higher fps.
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A couple friends of mine are excited about the Steam Deck because of the one press photo where they have two USB arcade sticks attached to the the dock. One of them told me that in the Guilty Gear Community they're having a debate/argument about what should be considered tournament standard... Because of the issues of availability they're currently turning away from PS5, and because of cost of parts, huge variance in performance, and "random acts of God" (updates, crashes, other events) they don't want to rely on PCs either, leaving only the aging PS4 and it's 3-4 something frame delay.
The Steam Deck on the otherhand, is a purpose build device like a console, but running SteamOS and practically speaking, "PC" versions of games (I know SteamOS is based on Linux), and because it has that dock, it is an attractive alternative to them against both dedicated gaming PCs and consoles.
The 720p display doesn't matter all that much if you're playing docked and plugged into a 1080p TV/Monitor, but whether this new APU and the Deck's cooling system is up to the task is another story that we will find out about in the future.
The Steam Deck on the otherhand, is a purpose build device like a console, but running SteamOS and practically speaking, "PC" versions of games (I know SteamOS is based on Linux), and because it has that dock, it is an attractive alternative to them against both dedicated gaming PCs and consoles.
The 720p display doesn't matter all that much if you're playing docked and plugged into a 1080p TV/Monitor, but whether this new APU and the Deck's cooling system is up to the task is another story that we will find out about in the future.
You can't just take different GPUs with different microarchitectures and memory bandwidth, compare their theoretical performance in TFLOPs and assume they'll perform equally in games. E.g. 5700XT has lower bandwidth, CU count and TFLOPs than Vega 64, yet it's up to 20% faster than that card, depending on resolution. These kinds of "comparisons" are worthless and misinforming.1.6Tflops at peak clock speed. I doubt that APU with limited TDP is going to hit the max GPU clock speed
Also, memory bandwidth is lower than Xbox one and PS4
If you look at 5500U (which has 1.6 Tflops at max clock) for example, it drops below 30fps even with most setting at low in Doom eternal If you watch 4:10 in the video, he uses 76% internal resolution and it still drops 3x fps
In other words, PS4 completely destroys this APU cause it can run the same game on better setting at higher fps.
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July 16, 2021 10:03 AM
terzaerian
All in all I'm just happy that competition in the hyperportable PC space is heating up.
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July 16, 2021 11:27 AMpersondb
Moore law is dead leaks on Van Gogh, he was right about everything, plus it was originally intended for a Surface tablet, so it can make sense to have that kind of memory bus.Where'd you get that? They don't specify the memory bus anywhere, from what I've seen.
No 8k on the ultra tiny 7 inch screen. What do they think we are?
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I just watched his latest leak and the only thing he says is that it has 4 channels of LPDDR5, but LPDDR5 channels can be both 16 and 32bit. Could you point more exactly to the source you're using?Moore law is dead leaks on Van Gogh, he was right about everything, plus it was originally intended for a Surface tablet, so it can make sense to have that kind of memory bus.
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The PPI @ 720 on a 7" screen is still pretty high. I honestly dont see that as an issue, and going 1080 would only be worth it if the memory bandwidth is there.
This is really going to be a niche product. If they really wanted to create a standard for entry level PC gaming they would have been better off waiting for a more integrated SoC. This really needs the Memory on the same package as the SOC. A single Standard for storage, SSD based non of that emmc crap. Then Dual Micro SD Card slot for expandable storage, that features the option for raid 0. Then something integrated to make the graphics look good on a 4kTV or 1440p monitor while rendering at native res.
$499 with dock and wireless controller. Steam Branded Keyboard/Mouse as a $49.99 option.
Would make for a better entry level machine.
This is really going to be a niche product. If they really wanted to create a standard for entry level PC gaming they would have been better off waiting for a more integrated SoC. This really needs the Memory on the same package as the SOC. A single Standard for storage, SSD based non of that emmc crap. Then Dual Micro SD Card slot for expandable storage, that features the option for raid 0. Then something integrated to make the graphics look good on a 4kTV or 1440p monitor while rendering at native res.
$499 with dock and wireless controller. Steam Branded Keyboard/Mouse as a $49.99 option.
Would make for a better entry level machine.
July 16, 2021 1:47 PMLionvibez
I was with you on that until you mentioned Dual Micro SD and raid 0...The PPI @ 720 on a 7" screen is still pretty high. I honestly dont see that as an issue, and going 1080 would only be worth it if the memory bandwidth is there.
This is really going to be a niche product. If they really wanted to create a standard for entry level PC gaming they would have been better off waiting for a more integrated SoC. This really needs the Memory on the same package as the SOC. A single Standard for storage, SSD based non of that emmc crap. Then Dual Micro SD Card slot for expandable storage, that features the option for raid 0. Then something integrated to make the graphics look good on a 4kTV or 1440p monitor while rendering at native res.
$499 with dock and wireless controller. Steam Branded Keyboard/Mouse as a $49.99 option.
Would make for a better entry level machine.
At the same price? can you share it please, I'm interested.While I would really want this to try I have to agree: this looks like a bust: unwieldy, cumbersome and yet at the same time, tiny for what we would want it for: 7 inch screen is too small for most Steam games you'd want to play to be nice and legible (Since remember: they were all designed to run on at least 21 to 23 inch class screen) and if that didn't hurt the chances enough, 1280 x 800 resolution? Sure the games probably wouldn't run at any higher res given the APU but regular use would benefit from a non-potato resolution that's legible on every day use and could bump up some of the classics you'd want to play like modded Skyrim at at least 1080p
There's already better portable PC computer devices like the GPD Win 3 that all but match this specs, sorry but this ain't it Valve.
Thats on 1920x1080, not 12xx by 800, so your analysis doesn't count.1.6Tflops at peak clock speed. I doubt that APU with limited TDP is going to hit the max GPU clock speed
Also, memory bandwidth is lower than Xbox one and PS4
If you look at 5500U (which has 1.6 Tflops at max clock) for example, it drops below 30fps even with most setting at low in Doom eternal If you watch 4:10 in the video, he uses 76% internal resolution and it still drops 3x fps
In other words, PS4 completely destroys this APU cause it can run the same game on better setting at higher fps.
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