In these periods of high temperatures, the use of the smallest electronic device is subject to worries of all kinds, heat being one of the number 1 enemies of our machines. The manufacturers then take the floor to specify the behavior of their devices during heat waves. After Nintendo who advised against using the Switch during a heat wave, it’s the turn of Valve to bring his stone to the building by detailing which are the thresholds not to be exceeded for his Steam Deck, and the consequences of too much heating.
The Steam Deck is hot-blooded
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
It is on Twitter that Valve has manifested itself in these periods of high heat, in anticipation of user problems to come this summer, or in response to pre-existing complaints.
“For our friends in the middle of a heat wave, a quick note on the high temperature Steam Deck. Steam Deck works best in ambient temperatures between zero and 35°C. If the temperature exceeds this threshold, the Steam Deck may begin to reduce its performance to protect itself”
We therefore learn that Valve’s portable console restricts its performance to protect its integrity when the ambient temperature exceeds 35°. This maximum seems to be a standard since the Nintendo Switch is also housed in the same boat.
Valve continues:
“A little more detail on this The APU (accelerated computing unit) of the Steam Deck works well in temperatures up to 100°C. At 100°C it will start to reduce its performance and at 105°C it will stop. Again, this is to protect themselves (and you) from harm”.
If these figures may seem completely absurd to you, they do not occur so rarely in the field of computing, whose components are known to heat up 2 or even 3 times more than the outside ambient temperature. Some CPUs can easily reach 90° or more in hot gaming sessions.
So Valve’s Steam Deck begins to restrict its performance when its components reach 100°, then stops altogether at 105°.
Make sure that the ventilation holes are always well ventilated, and we wish good luck to our machines as well as to you in this period of well-established heat wave.