DeckHD is a new custom screen mod for the Steam Deck. It promises improved color accuracy and a 1200p resolution increase. In this in-depth review, we cover ...

Summary of the main points:

  • Requires a custom BIOS, and it is not known (except for DeckHD) how to patch the BIOS. Future Valve BIOS will break the screen support and one is at the whim of DeckHD making patched BIOS in the future.
  • It is still possible to switch the resolution to 800p.
  • Can lock at 40 fps, but…
  • Spider-Man Remastered and Elden Ring will only reach 30 fps at 1200p, Final Fantasy XV 25–30 fps, so 40 fps lock is pointless.
  • 87.8% sRGB, 6258 K CCT (noticeably warmer) and γ = 2.12, vs. 71.9% sRGB, 7900 K CCT and γ = 2.11 of the stock LCD measured with Calman.
  • 439.5 cd/m² (noticeably darker) white luminance to 0.514 cd/m² black luminance, hence 854:1 contrast ratio (less contrast), and vs. 536.6 cd/m² to 0.507 cd/m², 1058:1 stock, and a darker game like Resident Evil 3 seems to suffer.
  • zurohki@aussie.zoneEnglish
    26·
    1 year ago

    Did they seriously go to all the trouble of replacing the screen and not use a screen with freesync?

    Variable refresh rate support means it doesn’t matter what frame rate a game can reach and locking is pointless. There’s no tearing or stutter ever, whatever rate a game renders at is what the screen runs at.

    VRR is incredibly useful for achieving a smooth experience on low powered hardware.

    • Ferk@kbin.social
      4·
      1 year ago

      This.
      Also, honestly I don’t think the screen is a problem with the current deck. No matter how good the screen is, higher resolution image is gonna both burn more battery and have a performance hit, I’d rather see an upgrade in terms of battery (and a proper system to attach it so it’s not just glued, maybe also some smarter chipset/bios that allows customizing the power margin to automatically disconnect the battery when docked, so it’s not periodically charging it to keep it full and degrading it in the long run).

      Looks are also subjective, I don’t really think changing a bit the colors is worth it (and it would likely be distorted anyway when using the night filter the software offers anyway), specially considering the price, effort, and the risk of messing things up in the installation. I guess for some people it might be an upgrade, but it’s definitely not for me.

  • FabulousAardvarkEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Thank you for the roundup, I was considering it after seeing a friend’s Ally screen (and feeling jealous), but that brightness hit, and the custom BIOS is a hard pass from me at this stage