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 that a computer needs, which usually tend to hiss as soon as we start a video game, so now close your eyes and imagine what a Steam Deck must do to maintain healthy temperatures inside your 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 example), Steam Deck buffers to start up that graphic quality that we ask for, but we can expect that when we are not doing anything relevant, just moving through the SteamOS menus or the store, let’s not hear the hum of the component that cools the essential elements of the system.
That is precisely what Valve is going to solve with version 3.2 of SteamOS , which 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 saving
With SteamOS 3.2 , users will be able to limit the framerate of games independently, creating specific profiles for each one 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.
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 weren’t enough, Valve has corrected that fan turn-on, letting it only become noticeable when we launch a title that requires pulling all the Steam Deck’s processing power. Away from those specific titles and moments, the machine will keep the fan off so as not to cause any inconvenience.
Other SteamOS 3.2 improvements include the ability to increase the maximum volume of the Steam Deck speakers, or the microSD card formatting tool, and the cool Remote Play Together that turns 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.