Take a look inside Steam Deck™!
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN praises its openness and respect for the customer, and cites it as a precedent for manufacturers showing internals.
What it is
Valve opens up a Steam Deck to show its internal components and explain which are replaceable or upgradable. It advises against self-repair but shares the details openly.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2021 to 2023.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec bspammer · 2021-10 · on “Valve opens up a Steam Deck to explain why it thinks you shouldn’t”
You need to watch the video: [this video] I haven't seen anything so pro-consumer from a major electronics manufacturer in years. It's so refreshing being talked to like an adult with agency.
Recommends druidsbane · 2021-10 · on “Take a look inside Steam Deck!”
The "teardown" video was quite well done: [this video] . Their openness is an interesting contrast with other manufacturers.
Cites chaorace · 2022-01 · on “Microsoft posts its own teardown and repair video for the Surface Laptop SE”
I wonder if this was influenced by Valve's recent "Deck" teardown video?[1] I'd love to see this become a trend in the "boutique" hardware space -- it's a lot harder to cut corners on the internals when you're shining a spotlight on them! [1]: [this video]
Cites dorveille · 2023-02 · on “Framework: 2TB SSDs for Steam Deck”
This right here is the core of the matter. When a Valve provides a detailed guide to replacing the SSD if you really want to, I trust the devs when they say we wanted to have higher storage capacities but heat dissipation was the constraining factor. [this video] You want a Samsung PM991a, a Sabrent Rocket SB-2130-1TB, or a Kioxia BG4, to keep the draw as close to 1 amp as possible. Or slay your battery and bake your internals. It's your hardware, do what you want.