Company Valve revealed one of the key differences between Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch: The optional docking station required to connect the portable PC console to the TV will not increase the performance of the hardware in desktop mode.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Steam Deck Designer Greg Coomer revealed that they really thought about implementing an enhanced performance mode when docked with the dock, however the company abandoned this decision, making the mobile scenario for using the Steam Deck a priority in the design of the device…
“And since we focused on that, we chose a threshold for this scenario where the device will perform well and deliver good frame rates in AAA games.”
“We didn’t feel the need to also target the Steam Deck docking scenario at higher resolutions as we wanted a simpler design and prioritization.”
It means that the previously announced target device performance (at least 30 FPS at 800p) will be the same regardless of which Steam Deck users choose to use… At the same time, when playing with a docking station, no one will prohibit setting, for example, a higher resolution, but you will need to take into account that the FPS in this case may be lower.
Valve clarified in July that 30 frames per second is the lower threshold of what the company deemed playable in performance tests that the Steam Deck successfully met and often exceeded. That being said, the device will also have an optional FPS limiter built into the device should players want a higher battery life.
The first Steam Deck shipments to pre-customers will begin in December.
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