Valve was very clear when talking about Steam Deck 2. The Gab Newell-led company confirmed that its launch is a matter of timeand he also openly said that he will not introduce this model until the time is right. They are not in a hurry, but they are not going to rest on their laurels either.

When will the right time come? Well, when it is possible to shape Steam Deck 2, which really improves a lot compared to the original model, and when it already shows clear signs of exhaustion and is far behind its direct rivals. This will be the perfect time for Valve to complete the launch of their new portable console.

Let’s be clear on one thing, just because Valve isn’t going to launch Steam Deck 2 in the short term doesn’t mean it’s no longer in development, in fact it’s very likely that said console has already passed the conceptual design stage and that it is in a fairly advanced preliminary stage. After all, it takes several years to complete the development of a console of this type.

Ever since Valve confirmed that there would be a Steam Deck 2, a lot of information has surfaced, some as alleged leaks and others as rumors. I know you are very interested in this console, so I have researched and sifted through all this information to offer you this special article where I will share with you only the most reliable and interesting information on said console.

Steam Deck 2 design and finishes

Valve will not attempt to resolve the issue. You can be sure that the design of Steam Deck 2 will be very similar to the design of the original model and that any possible changes that will be introduced will be aimed at Improve ergonomics and user experience.

With the Steam Deck, the Valve team has done an excellent job in this regard, as it is a console that offers an attractive design and has a very careful and functional design. The integration of two touch panels has been successful because it allows you to enjoy specific PC games that They cannot be played optimally without a mouse.

I think Valve should look for a design that keeps the touchpads but allows them adjust the position of the crosshead and analog sticks. I’d like to see the D-pad in a lower position and not parallel to the left analog stick. I’d also like the right analog stick to be a little lower than the left and the four buttons (A, B, X, and Y) to not be parallel to the right analog stick.

The layout used in the ASUS ROG Ally feels like one of the best I’ve tried on a console of this type, and I wish Valve would adapt it to the Steam Deck 2. I understand that it’s difficult to do without sacrificing two touchpads, but personally andI would be willing to accept an increase in console size if these adjustments are made in return.

As for the quality of the finishes, we can assume that Valve repeats the use of plasticand that Steam Deck 2’s materials will be very similar to those of the original model. This is completely logical and necessary to maintain a limited price.

Possible Steam Deck 2 specs

The first rumors about the possible specifications of this console said that Valve is going to repeat its bet on AMD and that it will use an APU with A six-core, twelve-thread CPU based on the Zen 4 and Zen 4 architecturesC. Two of these cores would be Zen 4 and four would be Zen 4c.

With this configuration, the jump in performance compared to the original model would already be significant, since it uses an APU with four Zen 2 cores, which is capable of working with eight threads. The truth is that this information makes sense because Valve launched the original Steam Deck in 2022 and It didn’t choose AMD’s state-of-the-art architecture.

They can repeat their bet with Steam Deck 2 and use APUs with Zen 4 and Zen 4c CPUs to better improve the price-performance ratio of the chip and also maintain good autonomy with this duality of cores. They have Zen 4c cores the same CPI than Zen 4 cores but running on a much reduced speed.

However, I think it would be ideal for Valve to use an APU Zen 5 and Zen 5c CPUs, because it would allow it to better compete with its future rivals, and because it would thus offer a much greater improvement in performance compared to the original model, without giving up balanced costs and good autonomy, since these cores are kept at a lower frequency and with lower consumption. It will not make sense to mount more than 8 cores and 16 threads.

It’s unclear whether Valve will use a Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU or opt for a semi-custom APU like they did with the original Steam Deck, so both options are now open. Considering how well Valve has done with the Steam Deck, I think so I’m more likely to go to the semi-custom model again. better differentiate yourself from your competitors.

The GPU will be another of the most important keys for Steam Deck 2 and in this sense I think it is quite clear that Valve will most likely use a graphics engine based on the RDNA 4 architecture Steam Deck uses GPU RDNA 2 with 512 shadersso it’s pretty easy for Valve to raise the bar with its successor.

Nothing final yet, but Steam Deck 2 with GPU RDNA 4 configured with 768 or 1024 shaders It would thus achieve a huge performance improvement over the original model, so much so that it would be able to offer a good experience in games with 1080p resolution. This GPU will be able to accelerate ray tracing and will be compatible with all of AMD’s top technologies.

In order for this new GPU to be able to develop the maximum possible performance, Valve will have to use very fast memory in Steam Deck 2. AMD has recently been rumored to be working on an APU it will have integrated GDDR7 memory, and this may be precisely aimed at the next generations of consoles.

It makes sense because the integrated GPU based on RDNA 4 and configured with 1024 shaders will have a significant bottleneck with current LPDDR5X memory configurations due to their low bandwidth. This wouldn’t happen if said GPU came with its own GDDR7 memory, as its bandwidth would be much larger and allow it to perform much better in games.

Speaking of which, how big will Steam Deck 2 be? Since the Steam Deck has 16GB, it makes the most sense that its successor has between 24 GB and 32 GB of memoryof course depending on the final system configuration. If Valve uses an APU with integrated GDDR7 for the GPU and integrates separate RAM, an 8GB + 16GB configuration would be optimal.

In case you only use unified LPDDR6 memory to share between GPU and CPU, the 24GB configuration can also be considered optimal because the system you can reserve 8GB for GPU and use the remaining 16GB for CPU.

With 32 GB of memory, the console would be more than enough and could have a longer life, but it wouldn’t matter to guarantee a good performance, because in the end we are talking about a system designed for 1080p, a resolution in which having 8 GB of graphics memory is enough to play with guarantees.

When jumping to the screen, it says Valve it will use an OLED panel on Steam Deck 2 and that it will have 900p or 1080p resolution with a refresh rate of 90 Hz or 120 Hz These types of panels are more efficient and offer generally higher image quality, so they are the best choice for a portable console.

For the rest, we can expect Steam Deck 2 to take advantage SSD storage disk of at least 256 GB in its basic configuration and that this unit offers higher sequential read and write speeds than the original model. It should also be compatible with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Estimated power and raw power

Steam Deck 2 will have a CPU with more cores and a higher IPC than the original console, so games that are more CPU dependent will run much better and have more consistent and stable performance. However, the most important improvement will come from the GPU, which will be more powerful and will have all the improvements of the RDNA 4 architecture.

If Valve uses an RDNA 4 GPU with 1,024 shaders at a stable 1.9 GHz, its performance 7.78 TFLOPs in FP32 thanks to dual emission shaders. The Steam Deck GPU has top performance 1.63 TFLOPs as it lacks dual-emission shaders as it uses the RDNA 2 architecture.

In games, the performance difference between the two wouldn’t be as large as these raw performance figures suggest, but the Steam Deck 2 should Enough power to move 1080p games with guaranteesand you can use scaling and frame generation to offer more fluidity.

TFLOPs suggest that the Steam Deck 2’s GPU could be much more powerful than the Xbox Series S, but in reality it’s most likely that both are at a similar level due to restrictions which the portable console format requires in terms of frequencies, consumption and heat generated.

Be aware that the Steam Deck 2 APU will be TDP limited and depending on the mode used, its performance will vary greatly. I don’t think this APU will go over 30 wattsIf confirmed, this value will be the “maximum power” mode, and the 15-watt mode will be the “balanced” power-to-consumption mode recommended for gaming when the console is not connected to power.

The increase in available memory and its increased bandwidth will also have a very positive effect on performance compared to the original Steam Deck. That’s because on the memory consumption of the integrated GPU use as graphics memory. This reduces the amount of memory available to the system, so for example if we have 16 GB and the GPU reserves 4 GB, only 12 GB will be free.

This number is sufficient for most current games, but we are already seeing titles that can take up much more memory and whose performance will improve if we have 16 GB of RAM. For example, Alan Wake 2 needs 16 GB of RAM to work, if we don’t have a free amount, we will get a low memory warning.

It goes without saying that this new console will use SteamOS again as an operating system. This has proven its worth both functionally and in terms of optimization, and will continue to be a big draw for Valve’s new console.

Possible Steam Deck 2 release date and price

Valve is considering two big launch dates for this console, 2025 and 2026. AMD has confirmed that the Ryzen Z2 Extreme will be ready in 2025, but did not specify whether it will launch in the first or second quarter. This will affect the plans of Valve’s direct rivals, who could have their new consoles ready between mid-2025 and early 2026.

I think a lot of it will depend on Valve’s strategy, so I don’t dare to specify the exact release date, although I would bet on late 2025 or early 2026. I think this is a reasonable range as it would give Valve plenty of time to clean out the stock of the original model and fine tune all the keys for Steam Deck 2.

And what about the price? Well, I am very much afraid that the price of Steam Deck 2 It will be better than Steam Deck at the time of its release. This would be the most logical considering all the improvements it will bring at the hardware level, as well as other possible minor changes in the design and quality of the finishes.

The cheapest Steam Deck with an OLED screen available today is priced at €569. With that in mind, I think it’s very likely that the starting price of the Steam Deck 2 with 256GB SSD will be in 599 euros or a maximum of 649 euros. These numbers are reasonable considering the price levels of other consoles which, as I said, are their direct rivals.