Tech

Does your Steam Deck make a lot of noise? The next update might fix it.

Steam Deck has been with us for almost three months and the truth is that Valve has been very helpful when users have asked it to improve certain things that they did not take into account before putting it up for sale. Now, with the machine in the hands of end users, updates arrive every so often with the aim of closing those small fronts that are opening up. And the noise from the console fan is one of those that keeps some owners up at night.

Too much fan noise

We all know the cooling needs of a computer, which is normally usually snort as soon as we launch a video game, so now close your eyes and imagine what a Steam Deck must do to maintain healthy temperatures inside its hardware. Obviously it resorts to a fan that in these first months of the machine for sale, has been the protagonist. And not exactly for the better.

It is obvious that we will not be able to avoid that at some point in a game with a new wolfenstein (for instance), Steam Deck bufe to launch that graphic quality that we ask for, but we can hope that when we’re not doing anything relevant, just scrolling through the SteamOS menus or the store, we won’t hear the hum of the component that cools essential system elements.

That is precisely what Valve is going to solve with SteamOS version 3.2, that comes to offer more customization options to users and, above all, so that the fan does not come on if it is not strictly necessary. And when is that?

Graphics, heat and battery saver

With SteamOS 3.2 users will be able to limit the framerate of games independently, creating specific profiles for each of them. Instead of the 60 that any gamer aspires to, it will be possible to reduce that rate to 40 and, from there, even lower like 20 or 10. This is obviously intended for games where the refresh is not so necessary, which allows us to the Steam Deck, not only demand less from the processor or the graphics card, but also preserve the battery to extend it for an extra time.

Remote Play Together Steam Deck.

This configuration is not general, but we can apply it game by game, leaving 60 frames per second for those cases where we believe that it is an inalienable requirement. As if that were not enough, Valve has corrected that fan switch-on, letting it only become noticeable when we start a title that requires throw of all the processing power of Steam Deck. Away from those specific titles and moments, the machine will keep the fan off so as not to cause any inconvenience.

Other improvements in SteamOS 3.2 are the ability to increase the maximum volume of the speakers from Steam Deck, or the microSD card formatting tool and the great Remote Play Together that converts games with local multiplayer into remote alternatives over the internet. Thanks to this technology, this will help transform a good part of the Steam store catalog into titles that we can enjoy with friends even if we don’t have them by our side.

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