Valve opens a Steam Deck to explain why he thinks you shouldn’t

Valve has released an official teardown of its upcoming portable gaming PC, the Steam Deck. Before we dive into teardown, however, the company spends about a minute strongly warning about teardown unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing.

“Even if it’s your PC – or it will be after you receive your Steam Deck – and you have every right to open it and do whatever you want, at Valve we really don’t recommend to open it, ”a representative for Valve said in the video. “The Steam Deck is a very well designed system, and the parts are carefully chosen for this product with its specific construction, so they are not really designed to be interchangeable by the user. “

Image: Valve

Despite its warnings, however, the company probably understands that people are going to take the Steam Deck apart anyway, so this video could be a handy resource for people considering doing so.

In the video, Valve shows how to swap two parts of the system. First, Valve shows how to replace the throttles. The company warns they’re fully custom, but says it will be offering a source of “spare parts, controllers, SSDs and maybe more” in the coming months.

After that, Valve shows how to swap out the SSD, which might be useful for people who may have booked the cheaper version of the device with an eMMC hard drive in an attempt to upgrade it themselves. Be aware that all versions of the Steam Deck use an m.2 connector, including the version with the eMMC reader, so if you plan to trade you will need to reinstall the operating system and bring any games you may have. got loaded on your other drive.

Valve says the Steam Deck will start shipping in December, although initial reservations quickly flew off virtual shelves. If you book one now, you will have to wait until at least Q2 2022 for the opportunity to place an order.