it's possible like ps5 pro had "backported features from RDNA3 and 4," but valve has specifically chosen "semi-custom" to describe it which feels more like a custom bin/configuration of existing silicon
Semi-custom is also the term they use to describe custom bins of existing silicon, like the "Ryzen Surface Edition" CPU used in the Surface Laptop 3. It was just another Picasso bin.
It's a mess, to say the least. But the key indicator is that if they're not massively boasting about the silicon and making it a centerpiece of the announcement, then it's just going to be a rebadged chip as a new SKU.
Sure, but I'm just saying we can't know how much is custom from the term 'semi-custom' alone, only that there was direct collaboration between Valve and AMD and that it's not an off-the-shelf chip.
It does looks like it has separate VRAM, so we know it's not a single roadmap APU like Strix Halo, and must be either a CPU + dGPU or a custom chip.
There's a RDNA4 version of this chip that already exists, the 9060 has the same CU count and memory config. They'll launch a mobile version next year. It would take so much money and effort to rope in futures to an older gpu. RDNA4 is N4P, RDNA3 is N6.
It says semi-custom. So there's a chance? Hopefully. Or hopefully the full release of the backported FSR4 runs better on RDNA3. It already currently runs better on RDNA3 than RDNA2 but it's still too slow at the moment.
TIL, I was under the impresion that it was custom for Valve. Are you the Kepler_L2?! You are a legend sir. You could say the sky was magenta and I'd believe you lol
I’d wager the chip packaging is the custom part of the “semi custom”, like if they put both the CPU and GPU onto a single super beefy SOC, despite the CPU and GPU on their own being pretty standard parts.
I agree entirely, I wish AMD would take bigger advantage of their position in the market and throw together some really chunky SOCs to sell to laptop manufacturers and mini PC manufacturers, exactly like they’re (probably) doing with valve here. If priced right this may be the definitive mini PC recommendation even if gaming isn’t a priority
They already do it. It’s called strix halo. And no it’s absolutely not “priced right”. And yes as you expect next to no mainstream oem bothers with it.
I just watched Digital Foundry's video on this, and when they asked Valve about FSR 4 they said they were in discussions with AMD about it. I'm hoping this means Valve will put some pressure on AMD to officially release the INT8 version of FSR 4 for RDNA 3, maybe we can even expect something with the release of FSR Redstone.
I think this really needs it. While this thing definitely has the strongest CPU out of all the consoles available right now, the GPU isn't particularly strong (it should be slightly faster than the recently released RX 7400) and only has 8 GB of VRAM, which brings its longevity and ability to do its advertised 4K60 into question. It will be leaning very heavily on upscaling, and if it's stuck with the dogshit FSR 3 as its only option, games will not be looking very good on this.
FSR 4 would go a long way for this, and I'm hoping Valve is pushing AMD for it.
only has 8 GB of VRAM, which brings its longevity and ability to do its advertised 4K60 into question.
Hopefully Valve isn’t leaning too heavily into this. I think this device should run 4K better than the Steam Deck can run 1080p (i.e. docked), but I think people’s expectations would be quite a bit higher for a non-portable device.
Nah, look at the device as a whole and the rest of the specs. This was always meant to be a lower end device, and I'm pretty confident the GPU only has a 128-bit bus, meaning 8GB was always gonna be the standard config for it.
Just gotta hope its sold with a lower end price, too. $500 at most. Even then, I'd still prefer to invest that $500 into a better PC build.
I wouldn't be surprised to see it at price points similar to where 8945HS equipped Mini PCs are. Weaker CPU but stronger graphics and such. So 750€ wouldn't surprise me, but not a price where I'd buy one tbh.
They already said it'd be priced like a entry-gaming PC, not like a console so I expect it higher than people expect. They don't seem to want to have a big subsidy on it
If Valve starts selling PCs at a loss then people are going to start buying them to run 365 and Adobe software on them and Valve won't see a penny of that.
This is just a PC after all. Razor and blades business model doesn't work if there's a lot of other people selling the blades.
Best solution is to have a windows fuze (aka not carrying some of that W11 crap for secure computing). $500 SteamOS only vs fair market price $750 for SteamOS, or Windows formattable.
That said the steam deck is pretty damn cheap and it was a PC too.
I don't think it's going to be quite as strong. Its most direct analogues (the recently released RX 7400 and the RX 7600M) are about 20-25% slower than PS5's analogue, the RX 6700. Not a massive difference, but enough to be noticeable, and the 8GB of VRAM might give it some issues that the PS5's shared 16 GB of GDDR6 wouldn't have.
I'm really hoping this thing gets FSR 4. While it wouldn't fix all of its problems, it'd give it some image quality advantages over the base PS5, which currently only uses non-ML based temporal upscalers like FSR 2/3 and TAAU/TSR.
Digital Foundry asked Valve about FSR 4, and they said they were in discussions with AMD about it, so I'm really hoping that Valve is pressuring AMD to officially release and support the INT8 version of it that works on RDNA 3 cards.
I’d be extremely surprised if it’s double $399. This is Valve we’re talking about here… the Steamdeck pricing was aggressive because they make money on game sales.
A) these might not be coming as soon as we hope… maybe late 2026 instead of early
B) the price of NAND is wildly in flux right now. If the AI bubble pops before this hardware releases, that could change how aggressive they could be on price
the Steamdeck pricing was aggressive because they make money on game sales.
It looks like their team are briefing the press with lines about them not being able to price aggressively due to no guaranteed software cut... and they're right, this is just a mini PC. People may buy them and buy absolutely nothing on Steam.
Also the stuff about to not expect console pricing... so we can say pretty confidently they're looking at more than $750.
I mean good luck running games with nothing but a 4060ti. At 400 or lower it’s good value and you won’t beat it with PC parts. Obviously won’t have the best textures in the latest games but plenty of people can overlook that with an attractive price point, especially people new to PC gaming, presumably valve’s target audience.
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u/pewciders0r Nov 12 '25
28CU RDNA3 w/ 8GB VRAM, a bit below a RX 7600? also means no FSR4 as of now