Steam Deck achieves 4K resolution and 60 frames per second using an external graphics card

One Steam Deck user has achieved something great: Make your console run at 4K and 60fps, using an external graphics card. It’s a cool feat, but yes: he doesn’t recommend you do it.

YouTuber ETA Prime posted a 10-minute video showing the steps he took to make everything work, noting that Not a very practical solution and was implemented simply to see if it was possible. By opening the console and removing SSD storage from its M.2 expansion slot, ETA Prime was able to replace it with a Radeon RX 6900 XT GPU.

for this too I had to connect the GPU to an adapter to make it fitThen plug it in and connect it to an external power source. Below, the video that shows how he did it.

Why would you do this with your Valve laptop? Well why yes?

As ETA Prime explains, “It’s definitely overkill, and with the GPU plugged into the Steam Deck, it’s no longer a portable systemThe first question would be ‘why.’ It really boils down to “because we can”.

With the SSD card removed, ETA Prime then had to boot the console with a copy of Windows 11 saved on a Micro SD card, while Your games are stored on an external SSD with a USB-C connection.

After the Steam Deck is connected to a monitor and turned on, I was able to run The Witcher III in 4K with Ultra . settings It will reach a frame rate of around 108fps. It was also able to run Grand Theft Auto V at 70fps on very high 4K settings.

However, it also indicates that the results are ultimately limited by Steam Deck’s internal CPU, and this Newer games will be somewhat limitedregardless of the power of the connected GPU.

to prove, Elden Ring display runs at maximum 1080p settings, only reaching around 46 frames per secondwhile the photo rate Cyberpunk 2077 movie It varies greatly from 40 to 80 frames per second. In the end, the impractical nature of the experience means that ETA Prime doesn’t think anyone else should try it. “It’s not something I would recommend,” he says. “Steam Deck is designed to be portable. This was just a test to see if it worked, and yes, it definitely does.”

We, at the moment, are in no hurry to try to do that. and much less so with no console available, because if we had one in our hand, I highly doubt we’d risk spoiling it on a whim.

What do you think about what this guy did with Steam Deck? Do they dare to try it?

source: VGC