Valve has issued a warning about using the Steam Deck in more extreme temperatures, in response to the heat wave and record levels the UK and Europe have experienced.
A tweet from the Steam Deck account reminds owners that the device works best between 0 and 35 °C (95 °F), and if the internal temperature exceeds this temperature, throttling can occur.
For our friends in the midst of a heat wave, a quick note on Steam Deck in high heat. Steam Deck works best in ambient temperatures between 0° and 35° C. If the temperature exceeds this value, Steam Deck may begin to reduce its performance to protect itself. July 19, 2022
Read More
Throttling is where the Steam Deck's APU (processor with integrated graphics) limits its speed and therefore performance level, speeding things up to prevent overheating and protect itself.
The specific point where throttling occurs with respect to the temperature of the APU itself is at 100°C, and if it reaches 105°C, this will cause the bridge to shut down, to prevent the silicon from being damaged from running too hot for a time. Extended period of time. time frame.
The weather has cooled down at least a bit in the UK today, but it's still hot - and across Europe, too - and elsewhere, with the potential for further heatwaves as summer continues, forecasters say.
It's good to see that Valve is open to heat-related issues and provides exact temperature design specs to boot. It's not the first company to do so, though, as Nintendo already issued a similar warning to Switch owners last week, and interestingly enough, the handheld's upper temperature limit is 35 degrees Celsius, as is Steam Deck.
Of course, these issues aren't unique to handheld gaming devices. Of course, the truth is that the scorching sun and very high temperatures can negatively affect any material. While that doesn't mean these warning messages for individual devices aren't worth posting, the dangers of high temperatures are worth pointing out, especially when accompanied by details provided by Valve and Nintendo. And especially in situations where temperatures are typically not that high in a particular region, so people who live there may not be used to considering hardware thermal limits.
When more extreme heat comes into play, it's best to exercise common sense and pay extra attention when, for example, devices start to feel very hot in your hands; that is a red flag to give rest to this material. Likewise, be more mindful of, say, using your laptop on a duvet, for example, or other situations where the vents may become blocked and cooling may be affected.
And it's not a bad idea to use temperature monitoring utilities to closely monitor your desktop's thermal performance (you can get basic temperature information in Task Manager, under the Performance tab), keeping in mind that the more you work device, the hotter the components will get.
So a heat wave is not a good time for impromptu stress tests, for example, and playing more demanding games is also much more taxing on GPUs and CPUs (we've written about this and possible countermeasures you can take). Recently).
Therefore, playing Elden Ring on the Steam Deck will be much more demanding on the APU in terms of workload and time than, say, Cuphead.
Today's best gaming laptop deals
Via Tom's Hardware (Opens in a new tab)
