For those who purchase a chunk of shopper expertise, then it skyrockets in worth properly after it initially launched — like a transportable PC that may double up as a PS5 — it is best to go to mattress dreaming of sheep perpetually leaping over fences with huge greenback luggage beneath their wooly bits, proper?
Unsuitable! Within the case of the Steam Deck OLED, I used to be fortunate sufficient to purchase one throughout its launch week again in mid-November 2023 for its decidedly cheap MSRP of $649 for the 1GB mannequin. Quick-forward 2.5 years later although, and Valve’s handheld PC would now price me in extra of $1300 on Amazon.
That’s as a result of Steam Decks have been unavailable as a result of inventory shortages on the Steam Retailer for months at time of writing. And it’s all “RAMaggeddon’s” fault. On behalf of everybody who can’t at the moment get their palms on a Deck, it makes me indignant that international reminiscence shortages have inspired extortionate third-party costs.
Associated
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Why is the Steam Deck at the moment so costly?
As soon as once more, AI is in charge for {hardware} shortages
Credit score: Dave Meikleham MakeUseOf
The lengthy and in need of it’s this: Steam Decks are at the moment out of inventory as a result of RAM and storage shortages. As such, with Valve being unable to fabricate new items, used Decks are being peddled on eBay and thru Amazon third-party sellers at embarrassing costs.
The principle cause Valve can’t produce the Steam Deck at time of writing is as a result of international RAM shortages are at an all-time excessive. With firms hoovering up reminiscence in bulk to maintain AI knowledge facilities consuming all the knowledge, RAM costs have predictably gone by means of the roof.
Producers aren’t simply prioritizing promoting RAM to firms closely invested in the way forward for AI, they’re additionally promoting these corporations lots of SSD storage. That is one more reason why making an attempt to search out a Steam Deck is at the moment as difficult as making an attempt to beat a cheetah in a footrace once you’re weighed down by lead clogs.
Yet one more issue making an attempt to choose up a Steam Deck in 2026 is a nightmare? Valve discontinued the launch LCD fashions in late 2025, which means the one model you’re going to have the ability to purchase going ahead is the superior, and costlier Steam Deck OLED.
Valve have to restock ASAP
If Steam Deck is to maintain momentum, it must grow to be available once more
As I write this, the Deck has been unavailable on the Steam Retailer for months. Annoyingly, Valve hasn’t up to date its storefront to mirror these inventory shortages. Whether or not hopping onto Valve’s retailer in your laptop computer or a PC that prices greater than a automotive, it’s irritating to see the Home that Gordon Freeman constructed so closely leaning on Deck promotion, despite the fact that it is aware of it may possibly’t fulfill orders.
An enormous a part of the rationale the Steam Deck caught everybody without warning when it catapulted to success shortly after launch in early 2022, is as a result of it was each accessible and reasonably priced.
Skip ahead 4 years, and whereas the fantastically intuitive SteamOS ensures the previous stays true, third-party retailers making an attempt to half you with $1320 for a secondhand OLED mannequin means the worth proposition has since been obliterated.
The Steam Deck is a incredible funds handheld PC. But it surely’s additionally precisely that: a dyed-in-the-wool funds system. The OLED model may sport a powerful 7.4-inch, 90HZ HDR display, however mentioned panel can also be solely 800p (1280 x 800). Its 6nm AMD Zen 2 APU (with 8x RNDA CUs and 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM) is hardly cutting-edge both.
At present costs, the Steam Deck is not value it
The complete handheld PC market is at the moment tousled
Credit score: Dave Meikleham MakeUseOf
If the 512GB Steam Deck OLED was at the moment accessible on the $549 worth level it first launched at, I’d advocate it with out hesitation. That’s merely not the case, although. Valve’s handheld PC is rattling tough to advocate within the present local weather, merely since you ought to by no means pay far above the official launch MSRP for any tech machine.
I can’t even advocate a viable different. As I proceed to write down this piece, my eyes need to water each time I open up an Amazon or Greatest Purchase tab and see that both the Asus ROG Ally X or Lenovo Legion Go 2 are both out of inventory or are going for foolish third-party costs.
There are huge causes it is best to assume twice earlier than upgrading your GPU proper now, and due to RAMaggedon, you additionally should not choose up a handheld PC whereas costs are so skewed by outdoors components. Worldwide reminiscence shortages have ensured it’s at the moment ludicrously tough to choose up a Steam Deck for cheap market worth. That makes me legitimately indignant as somebody who paid a good worth for his palm-friendly Valve machine.
Don’t purchase a Steam Deck till the market ranges out
In some unspecified time in the future sooner or later — hopefully earlier than Skynet positive aspects sentience and nukes us into oblivion — RAM costs will fall again to Earth. When this occurs, the Steam Deck OLED ought to return to the kind of worth bracket that it launched at in 2023. If it does, that’s once I’ll counsel you purchase essentially the most accessible handheld PC available on the market. Within the meantime, I’ll proceed to really feel responsible about proudly owning an OG OLED mannequin that’s at the moment value over $800.
