The Most Exciting Gaming PC in YEARS - WAN Show July 16, 2021

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centered on Valve’s Steam Deck as a major leap for handheld PC gaming, with the hosts praising its specs, price, and SteamOS/Proton strategy while criticizing only the name and some dock/ergonomic choices. They also covered TSMC’s research into on-chip water cooling, Intel’s rumored GlobalFoundries acquisition, AMD’s open-sourcing of FSR, Microsoft’s Windows 365 cloud-PC product, Alder Lake leaks, and GitHub Copilot’s AI coding assistant and its licensing concerns.

Main Topics: Valve Steam Deck reveal and market impact (Priority: 5/5): The hosts spent most of the show dissecting the Steam Deck’s design, specs, price tiers, Linux-based SteamOS 3.0, touchpads, gyro controls, back buttons, and replaceable NVMe storage. They argued it is a serious handheld PC rather than a gimmick and likely pushes the category forward. Steam Deck pricing vs. competing handhelds (Priority: 5/5): A long comparison was made between Steam Deck and devices like the Nintendo Switch, AYN/Aneo, GPD Win3, and OneXPlayer. The hosts defended Valve’s aggressive pricing, emphasizing that it is a full PC and that comparable x86 handhelds cost more. GitHub Copilot and AI-assisted programming (Priority: 4/5): The conversation shifted to GitHub Copilot, an OpenAI-powered code completion system that can generate lines or whole functions. The hosts were excited about its potential to lower the barrier to entry for programming but noted serious issues around training data, plagiarism, and licensing. TSMC research into on-chip water cooling (Priority: 3/5): They discussed a presentation on microchannel water cooling etched into silicon, highlighting its potential for dense 3D-stacked chips and future high-performance/server applications. The hosts saw it as an advanced but plausible path for future cooling tech. Windows 365 cloud desktop service (Priority: 3/5): Microsoft’s new Windows 365 offering was framed as a remote desktop/cloud PC service for businesses and education rather than a consumer subscription to Windows. The hosts saw it as potentially useful for low-spec clients and managed environments. Intel Alder Lake leaks and CPU competition (Priority: 3/5): Leaked Alder Lake-S specs suggested a big.LITTLE hybrid design with DDR5 and PCIe 5 support and potentially strong performance. The hosts welcomed renewed competition between Intel and AMD, hoping it would accelerate innovation.

Key Arguments: The Steam Deck is priced aggressively but reasonably because it is a full PC with custom engineering, not a subsidized console. Valve is trying to expand the handheld PC market, not just win a niche product launch, and its timing is ideal given recent handheld-PC progress. SteamOS 3.0 plus Proton is strategically important because it can make Windows games work on Linux and reduce the need for Windows on such devices. The Steam Deck’s control layout—trackpads, gyro, back buttons, and joysticks near the top—is likely to be more versatile than conventional handheld designs. GitHub Copilot could dramatically help new developers and hobbyists by turning comments or partial functions into working code. Copilot’s training on public GitHub code raises serious concerns about consent, licensing, and reproducing bugs or copyrighted snippets. TSMC’s on-chip water cooling is technically impressive and could become important for future stacked-chip designs, though likely first in enterprise and HPC. Windows 365 is not a consumer Windows subscription but a managed cloud desktop offering with practical use cases for businesses and schools. Alder Lake’s hybrid architecture may restore real competition between Intel and AMD, which is beneficial for consumers even if one vendor leads temporarily. Open-sourcing AMD FSR could broaden adoption and make upscaling more accessible to developers than proprietary solutions like DLSS.

Data Points: Steam Deck display: 7-inch, 1280×800, 16:10, 400 nits - Core display specs discussed for the handheld Steam Deck CPU: Zen 2, 4 cores / 8 threads, up to 3.5 GHz, 15W TDP - Base processing configuration Steam Deck GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs up to 1.6 GHz - Graphics capability for AAA gaming Steam Deck memory: 16 GB LPDDR5 - Unified system memory Steam Deck battery: 40 Wh - Battery capacity noted as impressive for the size Steam Deck weight: 1.47 lb / 669 g - Used to compare portability against Switch and other handhelds Steam Deck storage tiers: 64 GB eMMC / 256 GB NVMe / 512 GB NVMe - Three trim levels with replaceable M.2 storage Steam Deck base price: $399 USD - Entry-level model price Steam Deck mid price: $529 USD - Includes more storage and carrying case Steam Deck top price: $649 USD - Largest storage model with extras Touchpad latency: 55% better latency than Steam Controller touchpads - Valve’s claim about the new twin touchpads Steam Deck wireless: 2x2 Wi‑Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 - Connectivity specs Steam Deck video output: Up to 8K60 via DisplayPort 1.4 over USB-C - Dock/USB-C video capability TSMC cooling result: 2.6 kW dissipated with 63°C delta - Direct water cooling thermal test result Alder Lake PL1 / PL2: 125W / 228W - Power limits cited for leaked desktop CPUs Alder Lake i9 boost: Up to 5.3 GHz on 1-2 big cores - Leaked 12900K qualification sample data Windows 365 virtual CPU options: 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 vCPUs - Cloud PC configuration choices Windows 365 RAM options: 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 GB - Cloud PC memory tiers Windows 365 storage options: 64, 128, 256, or 512 GB - Cloud PC storage tiers Ayn/Aneo battery: 47 Wh - Competitive handheld PC comparison Ayn/Aneo chip: Ryzen 5 4500U - Compared to Steam Deck hardware Ayn/Aneo price: About $700 USD (roughly $880 CAD) - Used as a comparison point against Steam Deck pricing Steam Deck audience poll: Over 70% pre-ordered or thinking about it - A Strawpoll run during the show

Pivotal Quotes: "The name sucks. It's terrible." — Linus: Opening criticism of the Steam Deck name and confusion with the Stream Deck "This is a full computer for $400." — Linus: Defense of Steam Deck’s base price and value proposition "This is massive. ... This is just absolutely huge." — Luke: Reaction to GitHub Copilot’s potential impact on coding and education

Implications: The Steam Deck could legitimize handheld PC gaming and pressure competitors to improve value and ergonomics. Copilot may reshape coding workflows and education, but legal and licensing questions will matter. Cloud PCs, upscaling, and advanced cooling suggest computing is moving toward more flexible, specialized architectures.