Sweltering temperatures have currently gripped Europe and the United Kingdom (UK) in heatwaves creating wildfires and temperature-induced deaths. As a result, Steam Deck manufacturer, Valve has issued a warning to owners of the handheld console to not game on their devices outside amidst the blistering weather.
Valve posted an update on its Twitter account informing users that the portable gaming device performs best in temperatures between 0°C and 35°C (32°F – 95°F). If the temperature gets higher, the Steam Deck’s in-built mechanism may decrease its performance to protect itself from severe overheating.
“For our friends in the midst of a heatwave, a quick note about Steam Deck in high temperatures. Steam Deck performs at its best in ambient temperatures between 0° and 35° C. If the temperature gets higher than this, Steam Deck may start to throttle performance to protect itself,” the company tweeted.
Valve explains that Steam Deck’s custom quad-core AMD APU (CPU and GPU combined in a single chip) runs well at temperatures up to 100°C. Once the temperature exceeds 100°C, the Steam Deck will throttle the chip and decrease its overall performance to avoid damage. However, at 105°C, the handheld device will shut down completely to prevent overheating and safeguard the integrity of the unit as well as protect the user.
“A bit more detail about this – Steam Deck’s APU runs well at temperatures up to 100°C. At 100°C, it will start to throttle performance, and at 105°C it will shut down. Again, this is to protect itself (and you) from damage,” it added.
A bit more detail about this – Steam Deck’s APU runs well at temperatures up to 100°C. At 100°C, it will start to throttle performance, and at 105°C it will shut down. Again, this is to protect itself (and you) from damage.
— Steam Deck (@OnDeck) July 19, 2022
In simpler words, do not play games on your Steam Deck in such a hot environment right now to avoid damage to the device. Valve is not the first gaming manufacturer that has suggested to its customers to refrain from using devices outside in the scorching environment.
A similar warning was issued recently by Japanese manufacturer Nintendo against operating Switch in environments with temperatures higher than 35° C. “If the temperature of the main unit becomes too high, it may sleep automatically to protect the main unit,” the company added.
The UK on Tuesday breached the 40 degrees Celsius mark with temperatures reaching 40.3° C (104.5° F) in eastern England, a new record high for the UK.
