Latest Steam Deck Update Aims to Solve the Noisy Fan Problem
Valve just released SteamOS 3.2 for the Steam Deck, and with it potentially solved one of the biggest complaints about the handheld: fan noise.
The internal fan used to keep the Steam Deck components cool is rather distracting due to the loud and high-pitched sound it generates. This is why the Steam Deck Fan(Opens in a new window) offered as a replacement part by iFixit has sold out so quickly—owners really want a better audio experience and are happy to replace the fan to get it.
The good news is, Valve may have solved the problem in software(Opens in a new window). The Steam OS 3.2 update includes an "all-new OS-controlled fan curve," which allows the fan to respond quickly and smartly to the temperatures inside the Steam Deck. Valve claims this leads to a quieter experience, especially "in low usage situations."
You can turn the feature off by switching back to the old BIOS if you prefer, but keep in mind that work is continuing to improve the fan curve feature so it should only get better with subsequent OS updates.
Other new features SteamOS 3.2 introduces includes in-game on-the-fly screen refresh rate adjustment with per-game saves, the speaker volume can now be pushed higher, microSD cards can be quickly formatted, and there's more internal screen resolution options.
There's also a new Remote Play Together(Opens in a new window) feature being released alongside the SteamOS update. It "allows a friend to join your game remotely as if they are sitting on a couch next to you" and works properly on Steam Deck now. There's a growing list of games(Opens in a new window) on Steam that support the feature.
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