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Valve’s Steam Deck has been a breath of fresh air for handheld gamers, giving fans a more powerful system that runs games the Nintendo Switch often struggles with. However, as the generation continues, Valve’s handheld is reaching its limits, but a new fan-made mod for the console has shown a big performance boost despite some caveats.
Fans have been looking for ways to play more powerful games on the Steam Deck, with GeForce Now proving to be a good streaming option. While fans would love to hear that a new Steam Deck 2 is coming soon Valve has already said it will take years to make this successor.
Steam Deck performance improves with Aluminum backplate
On the Steam Deck Modded subreddit, one fan boasted about their handheld getting a decent performance boost from an Aluminum backplate. Moderators ended up taking down the original post but tech site Notebookcheck was able to write down how much more powerful this mod was.
- Fan usage was 35% less
- GPU boost clock +38 MHz (+2.6%)
- GPU temps 12 °C lower
- CPU temps 13 °C lower
- FPS: +11%
It’s a seemingly easy process as well since fans have to unscrew the old backplate and screw in the Aluminum one. Average gamers might not be able to do this, while those used to tinkering with their systems can screw in the new backplate with ease. The mod is a bit costly, but it will give a performance boost for some of these AAA PC games.
While fans can comfortably play most AAA games on Valve’s handheld, recent releases like Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 and Dragon’s Dogma 2 have struggled with performing on the device. Although the Steam Deck OLED was able to upgrade the system’s screen to 90Hz, performance is mostly the same.
Aluminum isn’t all that
Gamers might be tempted to upgrade their Steam Deck with this aluminum backplate, but some issues come with this console mod. Price is the most obvious example, as it comes at a whopping $120, which is a lot of money just to make this handheld run a bit better.
The original post also points out how this aluminum backplate didn’t initially jive well with his system, with the L1 and R1 buttons not responding until the system’s screws were loosened. Fans in the comments also showed concern over the additional ventilation holes, which might prevent the airflow from cooling the internal systems and make charging hotter than it should be.
Unless fans are willing to pick up more powerful handheld PCs like the ROG Ally X or the Lenovo Legion Go, sticking with the default Steam Deck or Steam Deck OLED is the best option. It’s still a relatively powerful system that can run games on the same level as a PS4 Pro, which is nothing to sneeze at.
Players curious about the performance of various games on the Steam Deck can check out our guides on Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Payday 3, and Forza Motorsport.
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