// PC GAMER — GAMING
Steam now lets you see exactly what frame rate you should get in games using a Steam Deck
Valve opens up the doors to the data it's been collecting.
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The Steam Deck is the most popular handheld gaming PC, and no doubt a lot of you own one already. It's also far from the most powerful handheld on the market, meaning devs have to get optimisation just right to allow the Deck to maintain 60 or even 30 fps. Now, Valve is letting everyone see exactly how well those optimisations are made by listing average Steam Deck frame rate data on game store pages.
Valve explains that this applies to any game that's been tested for Steam Deck compatibility, not just Verified ones. It applies to 'Verified', 'Playable', and 'Unsupported' ones. Apparently that means thousands of games right now.
The data is based on what different users have opted in to provide, which, despite only being for opt-inners, presumably still gives a big sample size. We've known about Valve collecting this kind of data since at least February this year, and we heard about Valve handing it over to game devs just last month.
Now, Valve is letting us all get in on the action. To look at a game's average frame rate data, go to its store page, look on the right-hand side for where it lists its 'Steam Deck Compatibility', and click 'Learn more'.
Once there, you're shown the average fps, and if you click the down arrow, you can view a "framerate histogram... breaking down the percentage of data samples at each framerate." The bigger a particular bar, the more of the game session (on average) is enjoyed at that frame rate.
I checked the Elden Ring data, for instance, and found that the Steam Deck OLED averages 42 fps and the Steam Deck LCD 38 fps. The latter seems mostly split between 60 fps and 30 fps, with most at 30 and little in between, leading me to believe most players lock their frame rate for more stable gameplay.
The biggest benefit, though, will probably just be the ability to quickly view the average frame rate. It will mean less guessing exactly how well a game should perform on your Steam Deck before you decide to purchase. And that can benefit other handheld gamers, too, as if you have a more powerful handheld, you'll know you can achieve at least that frame rate or higher.
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