We have recognized for some time that Valve is engaged on a Steam Deck 2, however it’s ready for a chip that’ll present a “true next-generation” expertise. Now, although, a possible APU for the hand held has appeared on-line, sparking hypothesis that work is ramping up.
The benchmark was posted on OpenBenchmarking, and reveals an AMD APU codenamed ‘Gainsborough,’ with 6 cores and 12 threads, together with 24GB of LPDDR5 reminiscence. Nevertheless, whereas the the CPU facet of the leaked chip is far more highly effective, with 50% extra cores, there is no such thing as a details about the GPU, with even the graphics structure remaining a thriller.
It isn’t the primary time that the Gainsborough chip has appeared on-line. Earlier this month, Moore’s Law is Dead noticed import paperwork for the chip, utilizing the identical ‘GBR’ abbreviation because the leaked AMD engineering pattern. It’s potential that this may not be the chip used in the ultimate model of the Steam Deck 2, however the authentic Steam Deck APU was codenamed ‘Aerith,’ then the Steam Deck OLED received the ‘Sephiroth’ chip, so there’s clearly a theme going with AMD’s codenames for handheld chips.
At first look, the efficiency on the leaked Gainsborough chip would not look tremendous spectacular, clocking in with a FurMark rating of three,508 factors, in comparison with 3,323 factors on the unique Steam Deck, in accordance with TechPowerUp. Nevertheless, the brand new chip was examined at a decrease 768p decision than the Steam Deck’s 800p, which seemingly makes up for a few of the distinction. Plus, that is an engineering pattern seemingly operating on very early drivers, so there’s a whole lot of room for enchancment earlier than this chip ever sees the sunshine of day — if it even does.
These benchmarks do not actually say a lot about how the Steam Deck 2 will really carry out when it really comes out, both, however their existence suggests Valve’s subsequent handheld is nearer than I believed. However, if we’re on the level the place Valve is simply making an attempt to nail down the drivers earlier than it makes an announcement, I might see the hand held launching in the following 12 months or two.
Every time the Steam Deck 2 comes out, it’s going to launch right into a gaming {hardware} market that is vastly completely different than when the Steam Deck first got here out in 2022. Valve has stated that the continued RAM disaster hasn’t modified its plans for the sequel, so I would not be stunned if it finally ends up being far more costly than the unique handheld.
Valve has additionally needed to study the brand new {hardware} panorama the exhausting approach, launching the Steam Machine and Steam Body at costs a whole lot of players have balked at. Valve has even needed to elevate the value of the Steam Deck a lot that it makes it exhausting to suggest in the face of newer, extra highly effective handheld gaming PCs.