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Steam Deck 2- Is It Even Possible Now?

Arsic

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
I love my deck oled, but I got it on release when pricing was more sensible.

I look at steam machine pricing, rising costs on other mobile/handheld devices, rising costs of everything, and is a Steam deck 2 even worth doing anytime soon?

What would you want the device to do? What kind of specs? Then take that and consider what you're willing to pay for that upgrade.

I don't think we will see a deck 2 for at least another 5+ years. Why? It isn't because pricing will come down it's because pricing will become more "normalized" as astronomical bull shit so they don't look out of pocket asking for a kings ransom like with the steam machine.
 
To be quite honest I'm fine with Steam Deck as is. I don't want to play Forza Horizon 6 and Cyberpunk on a handheld. The type of games I do want to play on a handheld run totally fine and look great on OLED.

I don't think AMD has even talked about iterating on the Z2e so who knows what their next handheld will be like. Maybe an ARM device?
 
Its not only pricing. There's still no sensible hardware solution in terms of the jump in performance Valve wants at an acceptable power draw (Around 15W). SOC technologies have to mature a bit more in order to have new hardware that makes sense.
 
There are new handhelds coming out every year with newer APUs, you can look at those to get an idea.

Currently devices that come close to PS5 performance (with AMD 8060s iGPU) cost $2000-3000 and have a ridiculous battery life.

They need an external battery because of temperature and capacity issues.

The actual Steam Deck 2 will probably use an ARM APU instead of x86 but the software is not fully ready yet. Steam Frame will be a step in that direction.
 
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Arsic said:
I look at steam machine pricing, rising costs on other mobile/handheld devices, rising costs of everything, and is a Steam deck 2 even worth doing anytime soon?
Click to expand...
There is no "rising costs of everything", only the memory is inflated right now.
As for whether SD2 is possible - sure, why not? We already have faster APUs at similar prices to what's in SD1. In a year or two we'll get even faster options, with better RT and AI h/w.
 
As _oni_ _oni_ said, at least other manufacturers are releasing gaming handhelds, and SteamOS being open and more generally available recently will help people kind of pick what they'd like their own successor to the Steam Deck be, if they choose to upgrade.

Valve themselves said they wouldn't even start designing the Steam Deck 2 until there's a radical shift in the hardware. An ARM APU might be the answer. Solid-state batteries are getting closer to mass production too, which would provide a huge benefit (80Wh battery with the same size and weight, 0-80% charge in under 15 minutes, no swelling or fire risks, etc.) which realistically is about 4-5 years out from being viable(?)

Whatever comes next is likely to be expensive no matter how you slice it though. But possible? Sure.
 
Hardware isn't there, and doesn't look like it will be for at least several years.

The price as it stands is too high and newer architecture will only reinforce that.

I was there day 1 for the first deck. I won't be this time.
 
If Steam Deck isn't possible, neither is PS6 or Helix, unless they are $1000.
Sony and Microsoft could make it work with an unconventional approach in a digital only world. It's been tried before!

1122899838-2.jpg
 
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Not anytime soon if you dont want it to cost same or more as steam machine. I honestly would rec getting 2nd hand z2 extreme handheld. Its more than enough for now - if not just get laptop if need to game on the go. 5070 ti 12gb, 32gb and 275hx laptop costs same as new intel g3 and g3 extreme handhelds
 
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If people don't adjust their price expectations on gaming hardware *no* new hardware will be "possible"

The price floor has increased. What $500 once got you now takes ~$1000.
 
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Arsic said:
I love my deck oled, but I got it on release when pricing was more sensible.

I look at steam machine pricing, rising costs on other mobile/handheld devices, rising costs of everything, and is a Steam deck 2 even worth doing anytime soon?

What would you want the device to do? What kind of specs? Then take that and consider what you're willing to pay for that upgrade.

I don't think we will see a deck 2 for at least another 5+ years. Why? It isn't because pricing will come down it's because pricing will become more "normalized" as astronomical bull shit so they don't look out of pocket asking for a kings ransom like with the steam machine.
Click to expand...
No
 
They should wait a while longer honestly. Like a previous poster said, there really isn't a SOC on the shelf that provides enough boost without killing the heat and battery. As someone who mostly streams to the thing Im sitting pretty for the foreseable future.
 
BennyBlanco said:
To be quite honest I'm fine with Steam Deck as is. I don't want to play Forza Horizon 6 and Cyberpunk on a handheld. The type of games I do want to play on a handheld run totally fine and look great on OLED.

I don't think AMD has even talked about iterating on the Z2e so who knows what their next handheld will be like. Maybe an ARM device?
Click to expand...
I mean I'm one of those x86 till I die kinda folks for home computing but arm for mobile is the clear move here.
 
Realistically it won't be until early 2028 or 2029. That'll be 6-7 years since the original. That's a generational leap in terms of performance. Hopefully drop down to a 3 (or even a 2?) nm process. Hopefully by then all of the ram pricing nonsense will be sorted out.

I really don't see them making a major switch to ARM unless the translation layer is basically flawless. It also feels like it adds another level of complication when it comes to long term wide support. I do think ARM is probably the future of computing, but right now, it just feels like Valve would be shooting themselves in the foot with ARM based computers in their infancy.

Ideally my perfect Steam Deck 2 would be as close to the same physical size as possible.
  • 8" 1200p OLED with VRR.
  • UDNA GPU with 32-40 CUs
  • Ideally 32GB of ram, but I'd settle for 24.
  • 70Wh battery
  • 20W TDP limit
  • 1 USB C and 1 Thunderbolt port
With the bigger battery, the Steam Deck 2 could sustain a higher TDP. Let me choose. Power or efficiency. I would happily pay $799-999 for a device like this in 2028-2029.

More than that and we are getting into boutique handheld PC prices and then you just have to ask yourself why even get a Steam Deck? We'll see what the rampocalypse has in store for us the next few years.
 
Arsic said:
I love my deck oled, but I got it on release when pricing was more sensible.

I look at steam machine pricing, rising costs on other mobile/handheld devices, rising costs of everything, and is a Steam deck 2 even worth doing anytime soon?

What would you want the device to do? What kind of specs? Then take that and consider what you're willing to pay for that upgrade.

I don't think we will see a deck 2 for at least another 5+ years. Why? It isn't because pricing will come down it's because pricing will become more "normalized" as astronomical bull shit so they don't look out of pocket asking for a kings ransom like with the steam machine.
Click to expand...
no
 
Arsic said:
I love my deck oled, but I got it on release when pricing was more sensible.

I look at steam machine pricing, rising costs on other mobile/handheld devices, rising costs of everything, and is a Steam deck 2 even worth doing anytime soon?

What would you want the device to do? What kind of specs? Then take that and consider what you're willing to pay for that upgrade.

I don't think we will see a deck 2 for at least another 5+ years. Why? It isn't because pricing will come down it's because pricing will become more "normalized" as astronomical bull shit so they don't look out of pocket asking for a kings ransom like with the steam machine.
Click to expand...
I simply want a Steam Deck OLED but with "next gen" power handheld wise.

I'm not paying anything over current pricing though so like $800. Maybe $900.
 
Not sure it will be another 5+ years, but I can see it being another 2-3 before a new piece of hardware makes enough sense. For the kind of games I'd prefer to play on the go with good batter life, OG LCD Steam Deck still handles everything I throw at it, and for the heavier games I'm most likely just gonna locally stream it at home from my desktop anyway.

BennyBlanco said:
To be quite honest I'm fine with Steam Deck as is. I don't want to play Forza Horizon 6 and Cyberpunk on a handheld. The type of games I do want to play on a handheld run totally fine and look great on OLED.

I don't think AMD has even talked about iterating on the Z2e so who knows what their next handheld will be like. Maybe an ARM device?
Click to expand...
All depends on how fast the Steam Frame's translation layer with ARM and android stuff turns out. Might take a few years before it can catch up to Proton's 90+ % of the PC library compatibility on x86.

If Valve can work their magic to make ARM as viable a thing, then they'd have more flexibility in chips, on top of retro handhelds, and other android devices being on the table.
 
Possible? Maybe. Problem is, it's largely pointless. Its entire thing was being affordable and reasonable. If it can do that no longer, then there's no point.

lmao at shit like the AYANEO. Some of these companies have no idea why the Steam Deck was a success.
 
hououinkyouma00 said:
I simply want a Steam Deck OLED but with "next gen" power handheld wise.

I'm not paying anything over current pricing though so like $800. Maybe $900.
Click to expand...
Which is the point of the thread. What we want for this deck 2 isn't viable anymore due to costs.

Therefore is it even possible or is there a point to making a deck 2? I think it'll be much higher priced but we won't see it for 5+ years until other stupid pricing products make deck 2s price seem normal compared to the other shit out there.
 
Arsic said:
Which is the point of the thread. What we want for this deck 2 isn't viable anymore due to costs.

Therefore is it even possible or is there a point to making a deck 2? I think it'll be much higher priced but we won't see it for 5+ years until other stupid pricing products make deck 2s price seem normal compared to the other shit out there.
Click to expand...
I think Valve is probably working on something and probably have since shortly after the OLED, but when it releases who knows.

I think Steam Machine proved that Valve can't release a high priced device, and OLED sales dropped 80% after the price increase.
 
Not worth segmenting the market for the upgrade to be had. My thing is, a lot of these available upgrades aren't unlocking any new games that were unplayable on the Deck. At least not in the genres I look to when I pick mine up. Basically, if the game works for the handheld form factor, it will run great. There are lean running modern games that do well on it, and I don't think the performance is the problem. It's just not an experience I want in my bed on a 6" screen. That new Castlevania though? It's basically a Steam Deck first party exclusive. Hollow Knight 2 etc. That kinda stuff does better for me there than at the desk or on the big screen.
 
Will valve subside the machine? it will come around late 2028 (or later), a semi-customized soc. Price range consider the arc g handhled: at least 999$ (512gb ssd+16gb ram), valve is also not mass production its product, bom will way higher than traditional handheld console maker or OEMs. The next new amd gpu handheld with RDNA5 (unda) will be PS handhled (with customized cpu-gpu + chip for de-compression, audio and e.t.c), then some PC handheld after AMD release new handheld soc with iGPU beyond RDND3.5
 
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cafecat said:
Will valve subside the machine? it will come around late 2028 (or later), a semi-customized soc. Price range consider the arc g handhled: at least 999$ (512gb ssd+16gb ram), valve is also not mass production its product, it bom will way higher than traditional handheld console make or OEMs. The next new amd gpu handheld with RDNA5 (unda) will be PS handhled (with customized cpu-gpu + chip for de-compression, audio and e.t.c), then some PC handheld after AMD release new handheld soc with iGPU beyond RDND3.5
Click to expand...
200w.gif
 
BlackTron said:
I always thought the Deck was cool but wanted to wait for version 2...I chose wrong. The time for it to really shine is over and 2 just never happened.
Click to expand...

I'm with you, it's unimpressive hardware to me and not worth the price. I suspect if there is a Deck 2 it will be egregiously priced. Sticking with Switch 2 for my portable needs unless I can find a bargain bin Deck.
 
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