Valve has released a rather substantial update to Steam OS 3.2, the operating system for its Steam Deck. On the program: less noisy fans, more refresh rate and definition options and easy microSD storage. Incidentally, Steam announces the arrival of 100% Remote Play Together.
There are the updates that nobody notices and those that greatly change the use of a device. The latest for the Steam Deck certainly belongs to those that matter.
SteamOS 3.2 indeed brings three notable improvements, detailed in a blog post on Steam: a quieter fan, a better controlled refresh rate and the arrival of Remote Play Together. We go around.
The fan becomes more frequentable
Among the sticking points that often come up between inveterate defenders of Valve’s new machine and its toughest critics, often comes the rather permanent fan noise. As we indicated in our test: “It makes noise the machine. Once pushed to the maximum in a greedy game, it is impossible not to hear the fan without headphones on the ears. »
According to Valve, the latest update makes it possible to better adapt the breath according to situations. The firm writes that its Maj “provides a completely new ventilation characteristic curve controlled by the operating system. This makes the fan overall smarter, more responsive to events happening on and in the Steam Deck, and quieter, especially in low-use situations. »
This solution has the advantage of avoiding the purchase of a quieter fan, sold on the iFixit store, but already out of stock. According to The Vergewhich launched various not very greedy titles like vampire survivors Where Rogue Legacy 2 with the new update, the Steam Deck is “radically quieter”.
A refreshing rate
Another novelty brought by this update, the refresh rate of the screen is now adjustable in game thanks to a dedicated option.
Two settings are offered: 60 Hz “with potential frame rate limits of 60, 30 or 15 frames per second” writes Valve, or “40 Hz (for limits of 40, 20 and 10 frames per second)” . Valve advises instead to use this second setting, described as “best compromise for responsiveness, consistency and fluidity”. In addition, it is possible to save different settings depending on the game, which will be useful for anyone who navigates between demanding 3D games and indie titles capable of running on a toaster.
Here again, this addition by a simple update seems to us quite interesting, since we precisely pointed out in our test that on a title like Elden Ring, we felt an impression of regular slowdowns, with a frequency going from 30 to 40 frames per second. Perhaps setting it to 40Hz could significantly improve the experience in such cases.
Extensive multiplayer options
Even if it’s not really an addition in SteamOS 3.2, but a Steam client update, Valve still wants to highlight the arrival of an important new feature. Remote Play Together, the system that lets you play a game with offline multiplayer remotely as if you were in the same room, is now available. “fully functional on Steam Deck”. A very good news for those who would like to share a part of Samurai Gunn 2 Where TowerFallamong other titles.
Small new features are also appearing, such as more internal screen resolution options for games, faster formatting for microSD cards or even an increase in the maximum volume of the speakers. Enough to skillfully regain the few decibels lost with less noisy fans.
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