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Lastly, while it’s true that AMD does have a newer CPU core design in mass production on desktop and mobile, what was easy to miss up-front if you were dunking on Zen 2 is that the pairing of Zen 2 and RDNA2 is well-proven as next gen, given that it is the foundation of both the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. ![]() #Sidenotes for windows 720p#On top of that, LPDDR5 at 5,500 MT/s is still plenty fast and should work very well at 720p while also offering low latency for the Zen 2 CPU cores, which need that lower latency to offer top speed. However, at 720p, the bandwidth requirements aren’t nearly as high, so the whole reason desktop RDNA2 has Infinity Cache (making high resolutions work better) is sort of moot. #Sidenotes for windows portable#Next-Gen Hardware? By Most Definitions, YesĪn easy thing for hardware snobs, including myself, to dunk on about the announcement was calling the APU at the heart of the system “next-gen,” since AMD launched a better CPU core design…last year, and while RDNA2 is cutting-edge modern graphics hardware, it also is memory-bandwidth hungry, so a portable design doesn’t necessarily feel that great using standard LPDDR5 memory. It’s a system made on compromises, but the compromises are intelligently-made for the form factor and price target in mind. Controlwise, sure, it has the Steam Controller touchpanels, but they’ve made smarter plays by including standard twin-stick controls and a standard d-pad to round things out. In such a form factor, some of the concerns of the system melt away – a 720p render target sounds bad in 2021 until you realize that at that screen size, no one save the snobbiest pixel snob is ever going to notice. Playing games on the go or in easy form factors is popular, and it appeals to a broad audience precisely because people don’t always want to be chained to a desk or couch at home for gaming. The enduring appeal of the Nintendo Switch is an object lesson in this, as is the fact that mobile gaming remains the industry’s most profitable market, and it should have informed the flip in reaction here. Portable Gaming Is Like, So Hot Right Now What’s the big deal, anyways? How did opinion change so rapidly on this little thing? However, something funny then happened – on pre-order day, it wasn’t such a joke anymore, and Valve sold so many reservations on the unit that an order placed today shows delivery estimates in Q2 or Q3 of 2022. It was being panned for claiming “next-gen” hardware despite not having Zen 3 CPU cores, it was slammed for a limited 720p display, and the base eMMC storage model was dissed for being too slow to enable proper “next-generation” gaming as Valve was promising. It combined Valve’s two worst hardware failures – the Steam Controller and the Steam Box – and it seemed like a non-started based on that. In theory, and the first news cycle after its announcement, it was an object of derision. #Sidenotes for windows Pc#Rounding out the specs are a 1280×800 display, which renders at native 720p and has the remaining margins for other visual elements of the OS, the integrated controls which takes lessons from the ill-fated Steam Controller, using two touch panels but then also pairing them with twin analog sticks, a directional pad, and a robust mix of face, shoulder, and rear buttons, and then rounding out with a USB-C port that can be paired with an optional dock to make the unit a PC all unto itself, effectively. Paired to 16GB of LPDDR5 system memory and one of 3 storage options, the system starts at a lean $399 for the 64 GB eMMC storage model and goes all the way up to $649 for a unit with 512 GB of NVMe storage. ![]() Valve unveiled the Steam Deck, a portable custom PC built on an updated version of the Debian-based SteamOS and a semi-custom AMD APU with 4 Zen 2 CPU cores and 8 RDNA2 GPU cores. ![]() This last week, something of a surprise emerged and had what was perhaps the quickest hate-to-love news cycle ever. ![]()
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