The Steam Deck battery can drain fast under wrong settings. (Image credit: Valve) The Steam Deck is just weeks away from launch, and testers on YouTube have had their hands on the device and shared their opinions. On common tidbit coming from reviewers is regarding the battery life, or rather, how quickly it drains under specific settings.
Officially, Valve has stated that the battery for the Steam Deck could last anywhere from 2 to 8 hours depending on how heavy it is being used and the general settings on the game. Test from YouTuber Gamers Nexus has proven this range to be accurate to a degree, though, he was not able to hit the upper 8-hour limit.
In fact, under heavy loads – playing Devil May Cry 5 with uncapped framerate and Vsync turned off, he was able to empty the battery in under 90 minutes. The results improved slightly, hitting the bare 2-hour mark while running the game with capped 60fps and Vsync enabled.
Less demanding titles, or rather, 2D games demonstrated by Valve such as Hades, Dead Cells, or any older ones served considerably better battery life – 6 hours, which is still 2 hours off the advertised units.
Gamers Nexus’ test also proved that the Steam Deck charged fairly quickly, hitting 80 percent in under 100 minutes while turned on and idle. The handheld device is equipped with Lithium batteries (like your phones), and therefore slows down the flow rate to avoid damage to the cell.
Another popular YouTuber, Linus Tech Tips’ review has proven ultra-fast load times, even on the base 64GB microSD card variant – almost similar to the amount you would expect on a standard SSD (solid-state drive) on a computer. Those looking to have tons of games ready on the go can easily invest in a 1TB microSD card, and expand storage without having to worry about performance loss.
Reviewers have also noted that the Steam Deck might be a bit finicky for those with smaller hands as some of the buttons are far apart and that it has decent cooling for a miniature gaming PC.
Valve’s Steam Deck is scheduled to launch on February 25, 2022, following a two-month delay due to component shortages. The handheld device is essentially a gaming PC that emulates the Steam OS to run games from your library. Its range of features includes remote play, vibration, ergonomic thumbsticks, and the ability to plug it into a TV display. It is available in three models – 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB, with options to expand storage using an external microSD card.
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