In this article, we make a performance comparison of the Steam Deck against its many rivals, including and especially the Nintendo Switch.
The Steam Deck is Valve’s latest and greatest piece of hardware designed to allow gamers to take AAA experiences that would typically be reserved for a PC or console on the go. You can now also purchase an official docking station for use on your TV with support for controllers, keyboards, and a mouse.
Steam Deck Tech Specs
The Steam Deck comes with decent hardware, and the three different models are priced based on internal storage. Regardless of which model you purchase, here are the general tech specs:
- GPU: AMD RDNA 2 (identical to the Xbox Series X/S and PS5)
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR5
- Screen resolution: 1280×800
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- CPU: 8 compute units
- Clock speed: Up to 1.6GHz
- GPU power: 1.6 TFLOPS
- Operating System: SteamOS (Linux) with Windows compatibility layer
How powerful is the Steam Deck?
As mentioned above, the GPU inside the Steam Deck is identical to modern consoles, including the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
However, the Steam Deck’s LPDDR5 RAM is much faster than traditional DDR4 memory commonly found in gaming PCs. Unfortunately, the memory is split between the CPU and GPU, which makes it less efficient than a dedicated graphics card.
How does the Steam Deck compare to other systems?
| Console | Compute units | Clock speed | GPU power |
| Steam Deck | 8 | 1-1.6 GHz | 1.6 TFLOPS |
| PlayStation 5 | 36 | 2.23 GHz | 10.28 TFLOPS |
| Xbox Series X | 52 | 1.825 GHz | 12.15 TFLOPS |
| Xbox Series S | 20 | 1.565 GHz | 4 TFLOPS |
| Nintendo Switch | 2 | 1.02 GHz | 500 GFLOPS |
The Steam Deck contains 8 compute units at a clock speed of up to 1.6GHz. By comparison, the PlayStation 5 includes 36 compute units at a clock speed of up to 2.23GHz, while the Xbox Series X/S has 52 compute units at a clock speed of up to 1.825GHz. The Nintendo Switch has only 2 compute units at a clock speed of up to 1.02 GHz.
- Read more: Alternatives To The Steam Deck
With respect to GPU power, the Steam Deck lags behind severely, at only 1.6 TFLOPS. It’s still better than the Nintendo Switch, maxing out at a mere 500 GFLOPS. By comparison, the Xbox Series S operates at 4 TFLOPS, the PlayStation 5 operates at 10.28 TFLOPS, and the Xbox Series X operates at 12.15 TFLOPS.
How good is the battery life on Steam Deck?
Depending on the quality of the game and application you are using, expect to get between 2 to 8 hours of battery life on your Steam Deck. By comparison, the Nintendo Switch offers more play time, between 4.5 to 9 hours of battery life.
Steam Deck Pricing
The Steam Deck is offered in 3 variations, with the more expensive models having identical hardware with the exception of superior storage. They are listed below.
| Price | Storage | Features |
| $399.00 | 64GB eMMC | Carrying Case |
| $529.00 | 256GB NVMe SSD | Carrying Case Faster Storage Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle |
| $649.00 | 512GB NVMe SSD | Exclusive carrying case Fastest storage Premium anti-glare etched glass Exclusive Steam Community profile bundle Exclusive virtual keyboard theme |