For those eagerly awaiting Valve’s next release steam deck handheld console, which launches on February 25, the variety of previews that have just surfaced will likely make the wait even more agonizing – while also causing a bit of concern.
Several YouTube channels got a chance to take a look at the Steam Deck ahead of its release, and so far most of the coverage seems to be very positive, with Valve apparently making a gaming device that brings some of the best pc games already made for a portable machine.
However, there have been reports that while Valve has promised around two to eight hours of battery life depending on usage, it looks like the battery might drop faster than Valve’s claims.
GamersNexus found that when playing Devil May Cry 5 with an unlimited frame rate and Vsync disabled, the Steam Deck only lasted 87 minutes.
YouTube channel Phawx also found that playing Control with similar settings also drained battery life by just 85 minutes.
Both YouTube channels also claimed that they never managed to get eight hours of battery life as Valve had promised. This news could be a blow, then, for anyone who expected to play the Steam Deck on long journeys, for example.
Analysis: Don’t panic!
So, should we be concerned about Steam Deck battery life? While these numbers don’t sound great, since the Steam Deck is essentially a PC, there are plenty of options that can help extend your battery life when gaming.
For starters, both YouTube channels found that when enabling V-Sync and limiting the frame rate to 60fps, battery life increases by around 30 minutes. Since the Steam Deck display is 60Hz, it doesn’t make sense for games to try to run at higher framerates.
You should also be able to adjust the graphics settings to be less taxing on the hardware. While these graphically impressive games are likely to drain the battery quickly, simpler 2D games indian gamesfor example, it won’t run out of battery life as fast.
So with a little fine tuning, you can extend your Steam Deck’s battery life. Keep in mind that these are the first previews with software that hasn’t been finalized, so it could look like Valve pushes future Steam OS 3.0 updates that further improve battery life.
However, investing in a portable charger It might be a good plan too. We will test the Steam Deck in our next full review and we will definitely check out how the battery performs.
Via PC player
