Steam Deck receives a downgrade

It seems that Valve has for some reason downgraded the Steam Deck with certain models of the handheld gaming PC.

However, apparently, not all models of the Steam Deck have been downgraded. According to a report, the downgrade relates to the 256GB as well as the 512GB models.

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What has been downgraded?

According to reports, the SSD has been changed, compared to what was originally advertised by Valve. Initially, the 256GB and 512GB models were shipped with a PCI Express 3.0 x4 SSD. However, more recent models have instead shipped with a PCI Express 3.0 x2 SSD.

It is believed that the changes made to select Steam Deck models were adjusted to reflect changes to the system back in May. Furthermore, Valve claimed that testing the downgraded SSD did not have an impact on performance. Yet, there was no mention of loading times or performance.

Steam Deck Touch UI
Credit: Valve

At the time of writing, a storage section of the Steam Deck technical specifications reads:

  • 64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
  • 256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)
  • 512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)
  • All models use socketed 2230 m.2 modules (not intended for end-user replacement)
  • All models include a high-speed microSD card slot
  • *Some 256GB and 512GB models ship with a PCIe Gen 3 x2 SSD. In our testing, we did not see any impact on gaming performance between x2 and x4.
Steam Deck Press
Credit: Valve

When the Steam Deck launched, Valve owner Gabe Newell, delivered the handheld gaming PC to lucky customers. Oh, and that even included some that never even pre-ordered the Steam Deck!

What are your thoughts on the Steam Deck downgrade? Let us know what you think across our social media channels.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our video of the week. 10 of the scariest horror games of all time are shown off. What is your favourite horror game?

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Featured Image Credit: Valve/Source: Hardware Luxx via PC Gamer