It’s a given that the Steam Deck 2 will outperform its predecessor, but the gap between the two handhelds could be substantial depending on Valve’s choice of chip. With this in mind, new performance estimates for upcoming AMD processors, sporting RDNA 3+ integrated graphics, look like a perfect fit for a high-performance Steam Deck successor.
For now, the Steam Deck firmly holds on to the crown of best handheld gaming PC, despite competing devices offering higher levels of performance with more powerful AMD chips. However, Valve can’t hold this position indefinitely, and it’s only a matter of time until the Steam Deck 2 emerges from the shadows, armed with more powerful specs.
The majority of handhelds, including the Steam Deck, pack AMD APUs, which are CPUs with performance-driven dedicated graphics, save for a few mavericks like the MSI Claw. This trend doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon, especially if these reported performance estimates for upcoming ‘Strix Point’ processors are representative.
According to leaker Xinoassassin, as reported by WCCFTech, the next batch of APUs from AMD will be comparable to some dedicated laptop GPUs, specifically the GeForce RTX 3050 and Radeon RX 6400. This is based on 3DMark Time Spy results, where the flagship chip achieves a result of 4,000 in the benchmark, which is only 800 points behind the RTX 3050 and 500 points ahead of the RX 6400.
It’s unclear whether an APU of this caliber would find its way into the Steam Deck, given its presumed high cost and Valve’s current pricing strategy for the system. However, given that the 512GB model was the biggest seller of the three configurations, the approach for the Steam Deck 2 may be markedly different.
Failing their appearance in a Steam Deck, though, there’s every chance we could see the GPU power of these APUs inside a successor to the ROG Ally or Legion Go, given their higher asking prices. After all, Lenovo has already shared its desire to launch a Legion Go 2 in the future.
In addition to their RDNA 3+ graphics, these ‘Strix Point’ APUs are also likely to feature AMD Zen 4 cores, further boosting performance, and possibly efficiency too, relative to the AMD Z1 Extreme and Aerith/Sephiroth chips that are currently being used.
While we’re waiting for the next would-be challenger to the Steam Deck, give our Steam Deck OLED review a read to acquaint yourself with the current ruler of the roost.