The Steam Deck has always offered amazing value, but right now, Valve has taken it to a new level. Thanks to a 20% discount this Black Friday weekend, the 256GB Steam Deck LCD is now just $319.20, dropping Valve’s entry-level gaming handheld to its lowest ever price.
While the Steam Deck OLED might have wrestled the title of best gaming handheld overall from the original Steam Deck – now called the Steam Deck LCD – the changes are relatively small, and the Steam Deck LCD still offers almost identical performance. What’s more, with the cheapest Steam Deck OLED costing $230 more than the current Steam Deck LCD price, the difference in overall value is huge.
Not only does this discount make the Steam Deck LCD so compelling compared to other Steam Deck options, but it also makes a mockery of the price of other gaming handhelds. From the Lenovo Legion Go S and ROG Xbox Ally at just under $600 through the ROG Xbox Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go 2 at $1,000 to the ridiculous $2,000+ of devices like the Ayaneo Next 2 and GPD Win 5, the Steam Deck LCD is in a league of its own.
Yes, the Deck’s 7-inch LCD display with its 1,280 x 800 resolution is modest, but it’s absolutely fine for casual gaming. Likewise, the custom AMD APU inside this machine has long been surpassed for pure performance by other handhelds, but again it still delivers a solid gaming experience in a vast range of Steam Deck games.
Plus, any Steam Deck still holds its trump card of running SteamOS, which, despite significant improvements to Windows recently, still offers a far better overall experience on handhelds. The Lenovo Legion Go S is the only alternative handheld to run SteamOS officially, and it’s a considerably more expensive option.
There really isn’t much more to say on this. The Steam Deck is great and you can get one for an incredibly low price. Just go and grab one while you still can, via this link to Valve’s store page.