Valve has invited websites such as GameStar or PC Gamer and YouTube channels such as Linus Tech Tips to a hands-on event in Seattle to try out the new handheld PC Steam Deck. This also allows a closer look at the performance.
Unfortunately, we ourselves were unable to accept the very short-term invitation due to the corona situation, among other things, but the aforementioned Youtube channel Linus Tech Tips offers in a new video (see above), among other things, concrete FPS values in Doom Eternal.
In the following article you can find out how well the new hardware from Valve has been received by us in the editorial office after the official launch:
more on the subject
Steam deck: top or flop? That’s what our experts say
Steam Deck meets Doom: 60 FPS at medium details
In direct comparison with the handheld PC that is already available Aya Neo Valve’s Steam Deck does significantly better. While Aya Neo is just under 40 FPS, Steam Deck comes in at around 60 FPS. According to the information in the video, the game mostly ran with medium details.
In the exact scene at 10:00 the game character stands still, but fighting scenes can also be seen in the video embedded below, which show a performance on a comparable level (e.g. at positions 6:30 and 9:15).
Link to YouTube content
An important addition: The native resolution is 1280×800 in each case. The demands on the hardware are significantly lower compared to playing in Full HD (1920×1080) because only about half as many pixels have to be calculated.
Thanks to the small seven-inch display, the pixel density on the Steam Deck, which is important for the impression of sharpness, is still higher than on a Full HD monitor with 24 inches: Steam Deck achieves around 215 ppi (“Pixels Per Inch”), the aforementioned Full HD -TFT only comes to about 91 ppi.
Another important factor, however, is the distance to the display. When using the Steam Deck, it will usually be lower than with a normal PC monitor. Linus Tech Tips still judges the display to be well suited for games, but would prefer a full HD resolution for films and series (which should be manageable with a gaming handheld).
Unequal duel: RDNA 2 against Vega
The significantly better performance compared to the Aya Neo is not surprising, because the hardware of the Steam Deck is partly based on newer components:
- Aya Neo: Vega graphics chip (6 CUs, up to 1.5 GHz), LPDDR4x RAM
- Steam Deck: RDNA2 graphics chip (8 CUs, up to 1.6 GHz), LPDDR5 RAM
We are very excited to see how Steam Deck will fare in other titles with this hardware and how the handheld PC performs in other important areas such as battery life.
All details about the technical data of Steam Deck and an assessment of the performance compared to current consoles such as Nintendo’s Switch or the PlayStation 5 can be found in the following article:
more on the subject
Steam Deck: Specs and Performance Compared
At the same time, Valve does not have too much time for tuning. The first orders should be possible in December 2021. But this only applies to the very first reservations.
You can currently visit the Steam page for Steam Deck As usual, only reserve one order, but the order itself should then only be possible “After the 2nd quarter of 2022”.
How do you rate the performance values of the Steam Deck in Doom Eternal? A good performance, too little for your taste or something in between? Feel free to write it in the comments!
