{"id":20869,"date":"2022-07-21T04:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T04:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/its-getting-too-hot-to-play-the-steam-deck-or-switch-outside-makers-warn\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T04:00:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T04:00:39","slug":"its-getting-too-hot-to-play-the-steam-deck-or-switch-outside-makers-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/its-getting-too-hot-to-play-the-steam-deck-or-switch-outside-makers-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s getting too hot to play the Steam Deck or Switch outside, makers warn"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<figure class=\"intro-image intro-left\">\n  <figcaption class=\"caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-text\">enlarge <span class=\"sep\">\/<\/span> Even the shade may not be enough to save your Nintendo Switch in extreme temperatures.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside id=\"social-left\" class=\"social-left\" aria-label=\"Read the comments or share this article\">\n<\/aside>\n<p><!-- cache hit 99:single\/related:25bb711e82eaeff608e86d4189663d06 --><!-- empty --><\/p>\n<p>One of the main perks of portable consoles is the ability to play them outside the house, a use we&#8217;ve seen emphasized in multiple marketing campaigns over the years.  But as countries around the world have through record-breaking heat waves in recent weeks, two major portable console makers are warning players that their products don&#8217;t function well in ambient temperatures in excess of 35\u00b0 C (95\u00b0 F).<\/p>\n<p>Nintendo of Japan led off the warnings last week, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nintendo_cs\/status\/1546334176416514053\" target=\"_blank\">tweeting<\/a> that &#8220;if you use the Nintendo Switch in a hot place, the temperature of the main unit may become high,&#8221; according to a machine translation.  &#8220;If the temperature of the main unit becomes too high, it may sleep automatically to protect the main unit.&#8221;  The company also urged players to make sure the vents on the console and docking unit are not blocked by dust or debris, and to install that dock &#8220;in a location that does not retain heat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Valve joined in with a public heat warning yesterday, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OnDeck\/status\/1549467955754217473\" target=\"_blank\">tweeting<\/a> a reminder that the Steam Deck &#8220;may start to throttle performance to protect itself&#8221; in high ambient temperatures.  The Steam Deck&#8217;s internal APU starts scaling back performance when the chip itself hits a temperature of 100\u00b0 C (212\u00b0 F), and will shut down if it tops 105\u00b0 C (221\u00b0 F), Valve said.  After that, the system can limit battery charging rates, download speeds, and even SSD speeds to keep the GPU running as steadily as possible.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad_wrapper\" aria-label=\"In Content advertisement\">\n    <span class=\"ad_notice\">Advertisement <\/span>    <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>It&#8217;s getting hot in here&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>These heat warnings aren&#8217;t completely new for either company.  Nintendo and Valve have long published support documentation citing 35\u00b0 C as an upper limit for the &#8220;safe operational range&#8221; of their consoles (fun fact: Valve also doesn&#8217;t recommend you use the Steam Deck at altitudes more than 3,500 meters above sea level ).  Still, it&#8217;s notable that both companies felt the need to publicly reinforce these recommendations now, as temperatures exceed 40\u00b0 C in the UK for the first time and heat-driven wildfires force evacuations across France, Spain, and Portugal.<\/p>\n<p>For the Switch, we noted in early coverage of our initial review that the tablet can get noticeably warm during extended play sessions on high-end games.  That said, most Switch games are designed with a consistent hardware profile in mind, meaning they shouldn&#8217;t overtax the processor under normal thermal conditions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"video\">\n<p><div class=\"ast-oembed-container\" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I&#039;m shocked how well this worked\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-DUWTteit-0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<figcaption class=\"caption\">\n<p>Some hackers are already experimenting with extreme cooling solutions for the Steam Deck.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For the Steam Deck, on the other hand, thermal performance can depend heavily on how far the specific graphics and performance settings for a particular game push the processor.  While Valve includes a built-in frame rate limiter to reduce overall power draw (and processor heat), playing with the system settings and\/or game settings can help reduce that power draw in extreme conditions.<\/p>\n<p>And if outdoor temperatures continue to increase over the years?  Not to worry;  hackers are already experimenting with liquid cooling solutions that should ensure your Steam Deck keeps running even as airport runways melt in the sun.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>enlarge \/ Even the shade may not be enough to save your Nintendo Switch in extreme temperatures. One of the main perks of portable consoles is the ability to play them outside the house, a use we&#8217;ve seen emphasized in multiple marketing campaigns over the years. But as countries around the world have through record-breaking &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/its-getting-too-hot-to-play-the-steam-deck-or-switch-outside-makers-warn\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">It&#8217;s getting too hot to play the Steam Deck or Switch outside, makers warn<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20401,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nintendo-warns-gamers-dont-play-switch-amid-heat-waves\/","url_meta":{"origin":20869,"position":0},"title":"Nintendo Warns Gamers: Don&#8217;t Play Switch Amid Heat Waves","date":"July 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate change is making extreme weather events more commonplace, people's daily lives may change in unexpected ways. Prime example: Parts of the US and UK are currently experiencing merciless heat waves, with highs in London exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday. A warning from Nintendo states that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12215,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nintendo-gives-switch-warning-as-summer-temperatures-rise\/","url_meta":{"origin":20869,"position":1},"title":"Nintendo Gives Switch Warning As Summer Temperatures Rise","date":"July 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"photo: DrPixel \/ Nintendo \/ Kotaku (Getty Images)While there are many parts of the world more used to hitting the likes of 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the rapid increase in global temperatures means such heat is becoming a factor elsewhere. So much so that Nintendo has just issued a warning not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20572,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/valve-clarifies-safe-temperatures-for-steam-deck-amid-heatwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":20869,"position":2},"title":"Valve Clarifies Safe Temperatures For Steam Deck Amid Heatwave","date":"July 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Praise the sun, but stay the hell out of the heat with your expensive gaming hardware!Image: Valve \/ Kotaku \/ Andy Lyons (Getty Images)While Valve is no doubt happy that the Steam Deck is a hot commodity these days, it wants to make sure your Deck doesn't cross unsafe temperature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22797,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nintendo-warns-fans-to-immediately-stop-using-old-hardware\/","url_meta":{"origin":20869,"position":3},"title":"Nintendo Warns Fans to &#8220;Immediately&#8221; Stop Using Old Hardware","date":"July 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Nintendo has issued a warning to fans to \"immediately\" stop using some of its old hardware. If you're on the NES, SNES, N64, Game Cube, Game Boy, DS, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, or any Nintendo gaming console from yesteryear, you don't have to worry. This time, \"hardware\" does not refer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6936,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/steam-deck-review-a-game-console-for-the-quintessential-gamer\/","url_meta":{"origin":20869,"position":4},"title":"Steam Deck Review: A Game Console for the Quintessential Gamer","date":"July 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"There's a new hard-to-get game console this year that's not a PlayStation or an Xbox. It's sold online only. Most casual gamers probably haven't heard of it.It's the $400 Steam Deck, a console as utilitarian as it sounds. The hand-held device, a slab of bulky black plastic with a built-in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.arstechnica.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nintendosun-760x380.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}