Gamers were surprised recently when Valve revealed the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming device that looks to be a solid competitor to the Nintendo Switch. The Steam Deck will release in December 2021 and will come in three different models.

Valve is selling the Steam Deck as a device that allows "portable PC gaming." It will run on a new version of SteamOS and is designed so that players can play any game in their Steam library. As the Steam Deck is a handheld PC, players won't be limited to their Steam collection, but be able to access Steam competitors like Epic Games and Xbox Game Pass for PC as well. After the announcement of the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) disappointed many with its minimal upgrades from the base model, the Steam Deck appears to be an attractive alternative for handheld gaming.

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Valve has confirmed that there will be three models for the Steam Deck, and stresses that "There is no in-game difference in frame rates or graphics quality between the three models." Instead, the models can be distinguished primarily by the size of their internal storage: 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The 64GB model, however, uses an embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC), while both the 256GB and 512GB models use solid-state drives (SSD). Valve claims as a result that the 512GB will be the "fastest storage" model, while the 256GB will in turn be faster than the 64GB. These SSDs will help Steam Deck run games like Halo with minimal fuss. The 512GB model will be the only model to come with "premium anti-glare etched glass" to reduce the reflections that sometimes plague handheld gaming device screens.

What Additional Perks Come with Steam Deck

Steam Deck gives portable access to the entire Steam library

Besides the hardware, the three Steam Deck models differ in what bonus perks players receive alongside the device. All three models come with a carrying case, but only the 256GB and the 512GB models will give players an "Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle." While the specifics haven't been announced, it is likely that owners of the Steam Deck will receive special profile backgrounds, avatars, and stickers that they can use on their Steam account for features like chat. The 512GB Steam Deck also comes with its own set of exclusive perks. Besides the Steam Community profile bundle, players will get an "exclusive" carrying case (likely a different design than the one that comes with the lower tier models) as well as an exclusive theme for the Steam Deck virtual keyboard.

While the extra items are nice, hardware features like a faster SSD and premium glass are going to be the more important features for players to consider as they choose their Steam Deck model. There is, of course, also a price difference: the 64GB, 256GB and 512GB are $399, $529, and $649 respectively. And of course, this all depends on if players can successfully pre-order a Steam Deck when sales open on Friday, July 16th. Still, Valve has certainly caught the eye of many gamers who are interested in having more flexibility in where they play their PC games.

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Source: Steam Deck