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Steam Deck OLED

x86 with active cooling. The most capable option here and the least pocketable, and the only one where PS2 emulation is not architecture-limited.

Tested on 3 systems. 3 of them run well enough to play, topping out at Nintendo Wii.

Compiled from 3 publishers who had this hardware. Systems missing below have no published testing found, which is not the same as a confirmed failure.

Hardware

SoC
AMD Van Gogh (Zen 2 + RDNA 2), x86-64
RAM
16 GB LPDDR5
Screen
7.4" HDR OLED, 1280x800
OS
SteamOS (Linux)
Released
2023
Approx. price
$549

Specs from: Retro Dodo, NerdBurglars

What the Steam Deck OLED runs

3 systems with published testing, ordered from least to most demanding. Systems missing from this list have no testing found, which is not the same as a confirmed failure.

Nintendo GameCube

Full speed

Full speed with room for upscaling. Dolphin is well optimised for the hardware.

  • Expect 6-7 hours of battery in the sixth-generation era, against 9-10 for PS1 and N64.

Tested by: Retro Dodo, NerdBurglars

PlayStation 2

Full speed

Runs as it would on original hardware, upscaled to 720p.

  • Metal Gear Solid 3, Ratchet & Clank and Grand Theft Auto III perform exactly as on hardware.
  • x86 with active cooling avoids the sustained-clock problem that limits mobile SoCs on PS2.

Tested by: Retro Dodo, NerdBurglars

Nintendo Wii

Playable

Runs well, but the controller situation takes work.

  • Wii input variety means setting up per-game input profiles before things feel right.

Tested by: NerdBurglars, Retro Dodo, Held Games

Sources (3)

Every rating on this page traces to one of these. The compilation is ours; the measurements are theirs.

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