The upcoming Steam Deck won’t get a boost in performance when docked and connected to a larger display monitor, much to the disappointment of players looking to hook it up to a 4K TV. When the Steam Deck was announced last month, it took many by surprise, but plenty of players are excited by the idea of taking their PC libraries with them on the go.
Indeed, the Steam Deck shows much promise, offering up the functionality and portability of Nintendo’s chart-topping Switch console without such problems as the joystick drift that sparked several lawsuits last year. However, there are still some concerns about the Steam Deck a few months ahead of its planned release date this December, such as limited storage space for particularly massive PC games and an awkward control layout that could lead to discomfort while playing.
Unfortunately, another drawback has been added to the list, as it was revealed that the Steam Deck will not boost performance when docked or connected to a monitor. In a recent sit-down with PC Gamer, Valve’s Greg Coomer explained that while his company considered implementing such a performance boost, Valve ultimately decided against it. “We felt that it was actually better all things considered to not modify based on docked status or mobile status,” he stated, going on to say that the development team behind the Steam Deck was more focused on the system’s mobile functionality. “And so since we were focusing on that, and we chose like a threshold where the machine will run well, and with a good frame rate with AAA games in that scenario.”
Previously, the Steam Deck was said to run at 30 FPS at 800p resolution, which has led to a smooth performance even with higher-end titles like DOOM Eternal. While this is great for on-the-go gaming on a smaller display, players tend to expect a higher performance when playing on a much larger and sharper screen, hence why the similar Nintendo Switch increases its resolution and framerate when docked. This is made possible by an increase in battery power, which no longer has to go toward running the system since it’s plugged in.
Players will be able to upscale the graphical resolution of the Steam Deck by hooking it up to a larger monitor or TV screen, but it looks like the framerate will stay the same whether the device is docked or not. This may be a disappointment for players hoping for a boost in performance while playing on the couch, but Valve has clearly set its priorities for the Steam Deck as a portable gaming device, something that will be a major selling point when the system hits store shelves this holiday season.
