According to Valve, Steam Deck has roughly the graphics power of a PS4 or Xbox One, with under 2TFlops total. That’s not bad at all for anything portable with a 7” screen, but driving games in 4K might be challenging in the case of graphics-intensive titles. Steam Deck should have no problem with 1080p even in high settings and high refresh rates. The custom AMD APU inside packs a significant punch, and with 16GB DDR5 Steam Deck likewise has four times the RAM of Nintendo Switch, which already proved itself as a capable 1080p platform. Hence, logic dictates Steam Deck won’t struggle with 1080p at all.
Right now, from what we know, we’d recommend a 1080p 144Hz or 1080p 165Hz monitor for external output when connected to Steam Deck. By our calculations, Steam Deck has enough power to run most Steam games in full HD at an FPS well above 120Hz, ideally via DisplayPort but also through HDMI. As a fully-fledged PC, Steam Deck avoids the closed system nature of consoles to effectively do everything your chungus desktop can do. Yes, Steam Deck runs MS Office, so obviously it supports unlocked frame rates unlike console versions of games, which typically aim for 30Hz, 60Hz, or 120Hz targets.
Still, expecting 4K out of Steam Deck may be asking too much. Pairing it with a 4K panel will work fine, but may result in visuals looking blown out and blurry, because you’ll have 1080p visuals on a 2160p screen. Which is why we’re recommending a 1080p monitor as a companion for Steam Deck. However, a 1440p monitor may also work well, as the gap between 1080p and QHD isn’t nearly as wide compared to 4K.
In any case, Steam Deck is an exciting new development and a good move by Valve. Pre-orders are open now but you can expect a challenge to get one by the official release timeframe of December 2021. Good luck, and happy portable gaming!