While Nintendo has traditionally reigned supreme in the world of handheld consoles, Valve’s Steam Deck has become a legitimate alternative to the Nintendo Switch. How do the two consoles differ, and which one actually makes sense to buy in 2023?
Steam Deck vs Nintendo Switch: Performance
| Steam Deck | Nintendo Switch | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System: | SteamOS | Nintendo Switch OS |
| Processor(s): | AMD Aerith APU system-on-chip | NVIDIA Tegra X1 system-on-chip |
| Memory: | 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM | 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM |
| Storage: | 64GB eMMC, 256GB NVMe SSD, or 512GB NVMe SSD (internal), microSD (external) | 32GB (internal, most models) or 64GB (internal, OLED model) eMMC, microSD or game cartridges (external) |
| Display: | 7-inch 1280×800 IPS LCD touchscreen | 6.2-inch 1280×720 IPS LCD touchscreen (most models), 7-inch 1280×720 (OLED) |
| Connectivity: | Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack | Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 1x USB-C, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack, 2x Joy-Con connectors, dock (incl. Ethernet for OLED model) |
In terms of performance, there’s almost no contest. The Switch’s Tegra X1 chip, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage were sub-par when the console shipped in 2017, and absolutely pale next to the Steam Deck, which shipped in 2022. You can play games like Street Fighter 6 or Cyberpunk 2077 on a Steam Deck — the Switch sometimes struggles with the low-detail (though still attractive) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Even then you have to slide the Switch into its TV dock to get maximum performance, since it throttles down in portable mode.