No, Steam Deck won’t be limited to 30Hz – that’s just a targeted minimum
Valve clarifies new FPS goals for the handheld gaming PC
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
A few days ago, Valve claimed its upcomingSteam Deck console could handle any game you could throw at it, with the info coming via a tech breakdown in aninterview with IGN.
Today, one of the Valve employees that conducted the interview, developer Pierre-Loup Griffais, hastweeteda clarification of one of the key points of concern raised in the video – a capped refresh rate of 30Hz.
The “30 FPS target” refers to the floor of what we consider playable in our performance testing; games we’ve tested and shown have consistently met and exceeded that bar so far. There will also be an optional built-in FPS limiter to fine-tune perf vs. battery life.July 25, 2021
Griffais has made it clear that the “30Hz target” that he mentioned in the video isn’t an upper limit for the refresh rate of games running on theSteam Deck, but rather an ‘acceptable’ minimum goal. In actuality, the games the team have tested so far have “consistently met and exceeded” this target.
This means that we should be looking to see games run anywhere between 30fps and 60fps on the console’s 800p, 60Hz display when it does launch, even current AAA titles, if Valve’s testing proves accurate.
On top of this clarification, Griffais' tweet also sheds light on some user-customization when it comes to FPS rates, allowing the player to enable a limiter to eke out longer battery life or better performance if a game is struggling.
In a tweet reply fromDigital Foundry, it’s also been confirmed that theSteamDeck’s display doesn’t supportvariable refresh rate (VRR). Unless V-sync is enabled, this means that if a game’s framerate fluctuates significantly, it may result in some tearing on the display’s 60Hz refresh rate. At lower framerates, it can also result in issues with frame pacing, which can make any onscreen movement look decidedly stilted and unpleasant.
To infinity?
A lot of the language used to describe the performance capabilities of Valve’s Steam Deck revolve around current (or at least recent) games, and for good reason – it’s tricky to test games that haven’t been made yet.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
While it’s hard to judge, if we assume that some of the current PC titles will push the Steam Deck to its limits, we expect it won’t be too long before AAA titles releasing for PC will have to undergo some major performance or visual cutbacks in order to run smoothly on Valve’s handheld console.
While hardware optimization can help, as can the reduction of certain demanding attributes (like limiting the game to outputting an 800p resolution rather than4K), some games are likely to play ball better than others.
At this point, will the games still be enjoyable? When you look at the success of theNintendo Switch port of The Witcher 3, it’s clear that good games can still be plenty worthwhile even with some severe concessions to graphical prowess, so we suspect the Steam Deck to have a healthy future regardless of its fixed place in time.
Valve is bringing much more than an “incrementally better” update to the Steam Deck - here’s what we know about the handheld’s huge tech upgrade
Amazon Prime member? Then hurry and download these 40+ free games on your Steam Deck
5 must-have Android apps
