Many Steam Decks have the misfortune to carry a very noisy fan, which can be replaced at iFixit.
The group of extreme repairers has indeed put on sale a fan installation kit specially dedicated to the Steam Deck, offered at less than 30 euros (but for the moment out of stock in Europe). The delicate maneuver is also detailed point by point on the iFixit site, and should take between thirty minutes and an hour.
The Bad Delta
One thing is certain, the distribution of Steam Decks since the release of Valve’s PC / console hybrid at the start of the year has not been a long calm river. Many players were unable to pre-order the device in time, and Gabe Newell’s company is still struggling to please everyone.
What’s more, even the lucky owners of a Steam Deck were able to draw the wrong number in the lottery. The console originally came with either a Delta fan or a Huayng fan. The first, an inferior product, would tend to literally scream when the device overheats, while the second turns out to be more suitable for its task.
A very damaging error on the part of Valve, which tried to correct it with an update last May. But the defective Delta fan continues to do its thing despite this, a sign that it is mainly a hardware problem.
While the Huaying Fan seems more suited to the Steam Deck, it’s worth noting that it’s not a silver bullet either. The fan will continue to be loud, but at least it will be more discreet or in any case less expressive than its lower counterpart.
iFixit has the solution (but not yet in Europe)
For example, iFixit recently received a shipment of “good” Huaying fans and supplied them with a repair kit that makes it relatively easy to replace the “bad” screaming fan in the Steam Deck. This kit is offered for the modest sum of 29.95 euros, and a complete guide concocted by iFixit accompanies it so that the maneuver is done in the cleanest possible way.
Note however that the iFixit European Store, unlike the American Store, unfortunately does not currently have stocks, neither for its installation kit, nor for the fan alone. It will therefore be necessary, for Europeans with a Steam Deck, to wait for iFixit to find stocks.
It should also be noted that replacing the Steam Deck fan inevitably requires digging into the bowels of the beast, removing screws and labels, removing the shell of the device and undertaking delicate manipulations such as disconnecting the battery. Such a maneuver can therefore mean the lapse of the guarantee.
Between supporting an extremely noisy fan and pulling out the elbow grease to replace it, risking the passage of voiding the warranty, you will therefore have to choose. You’ll find the kit via their dedicated page on iFixit’s European Store, along with the full fan replacement guide from them, both of which are sourced below.
Source : iFixit Store, iFixit Guide
Valve Steam Deck
Game consoles
release date: 2022
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