Steam Deck can limit frame rates to give you longer battery life

Valve can boast that the Steam Deck will run games well, but you won’t have to worry about the Pocket PC running games too fast. Like The edge notes, Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais revealed that the Steam Deck will include a “built-in” frame rate limiter option that limits performance in exchange for longer battery life. If you’re playing a title that doesn’t require highly responsive visuals, you can swap unnecessary footage for extra game time.

Not that games will necessarily drag the system down. After Valve said IGN it was aiming for a 30fps goal, Griffais added that frame rate was the “floor” for playable performance. Every game the company has tested so far has “consistently met and exceeded” this threshold, the developer said. While you probably can’t run high-end 30fps games in maximum detail (after all, this is a $ 399 handheld), you might not have to. worry that a favorite game is too hectic to play.

The company is already waiting Gate 2 to last six hours at 30FPS versus four without frame rate restrictions. We wouldn’t be surprised if the effect is reduced for newer or more intensive games that are less likely to hit high frame rates.

The Steam Deck may not offer a completely seamless experience, even with the Limiter. Digital foundry warned that you might get a less than ideal experience with V-Sync active. And of course, the 30FPS goal usually only applies to existing games – don’t count on a cutting-edge 2023 game running at playable frame rates, at least not without drastically reduced detail. It’s more about making sure your existing game library is usable at launch.