New Steam Deck Third-Party Screen Boosts Resolution All the Way to 1200p

If you’re bummed that the Steam Deck’s display caps at 800p, you may have a solution. FX Technology Limited is looking to fix that problem with its own third-party display that provides a much-needed resolution boost to Valve’s portable gaming PC.

DeckHD is a 7-inch IPS display, with a refresh rate of 60Hz and 400 nits of screen brightness, the same as the Steam Deck. But the biggest difference is that it is a Full HD+ display (1920×1200 resolution) and it has a 95 percent sRGB coverage as opposed to the Steam Deck’s 67 percent sRGB coverage.

And just like the high-end Steam Deck model, it includes an anti-glare coating.

Though there are some concerns regarding the battery life, one of the moderators for the DeckHD Discord server told me the team plans to share its findings on how the display impacts battery life next week. 

Steam Deck’s screen has been a point of contention within the community since its release. While Valve’s device is able to run far more sophisticated games than the Switch, the Steam Deck’s large bezels and LCD tech have turned off some users.

In an interview with IGN, Valve business development executive Erik Peterson talked about the device’s screen and ergnomics in terms of trade-offs.

“Having a bigger screen is something… We can make it much smaller, we can make it the size of a watch, but you wouldn’t be able to actually play any games on it and have a positive experience. Because it’s a bit bigger and it has a bigger screen, for me, personally, I’ve noticed that it’s enabled another class of games to be played on it that just wouldn’t be a good experience if the screen were even a little bit smaller because it would just be too hard to see everything.” Peterson said last year.

Nevertheless, it’s one area that stands to be improved whenever Valve decides to release an updated version of the Steam. In the meantime, FX Technology Limited says its screen will cost about $99 on its website. While you can’t buy the product now, there is a waitlist for those interested in purchasing it when it releases. 

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.