Steam Deck engineer says part replacements still “best left to pros” Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Steam Deck engineer says part replacements still “best left to pros” Upgrade at your own risk News by James Archer Hardware Editor Published on March 1, 2022 7 comments Valve haven't changed their collective minds on DIY Steam Deck upgrades and repairs; although the portable PC is finally on its way to the earliest reservers, it's still the company's stance that you shouldn't open it up and make hardware changes yourself. That's according to Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais, who spoke to us at length on the making of the Deck and its future prospects. Valve have previously made the peculiar move of showing exactly how to open a Steam Deck and remove individual parts, complete with video, while simultaneously declaring it something owners should refrain from. On pain of borking components, personal injury, and even death, apparently. Watch on YouTube I asked Griffais if, a few months on from that video's release, it remains Valve's stance that internal tinkering should be avoided. "Yeah, I think it's best left to professionals," he replied. "At the end of the day, it's a PC that that you own, and so we were very cognisant of that fact that people wanted to have all the data on what's in there. But we recommend repairs are left to pros or returned to Valve for anything that goes wrong, if that comes up." As I found in my Steam Deck review, there's plenty that puts the Steam Deck closer to PCs than the closed-off consoles that form its handheld competition. Griffais explained that Valve were aware of the role that hardware customisation has in PC ownership, but ultimately needed to balance those concerns with the limits of portability. "It's definitely a tradeoff. We recognise that there's a big desire for people to be able to upgrade their PCs and we looked at it really hard, but at the end of the day, the goal of having the portability and the handheld form factor was pretty at odds with a lot of that. So we got in what we could, and we made it as modular as possible, given the goal of being portable, but it's definitely a big tradeoff that that we had to walk there." Despite this stance, Valve have named teardown and self-repair specialists iFixit as an authorised reseller of Steam Deck replacement parts, though nothing appears to be for sale on their site just yet. There'll be other ways to customise the exterior of the Deck as well, as Valve have also released its CAD files. For what it's worth, there's nothing physically stopping you from unscrewing the Deck's rear cover and getting in there; Valve are mainly suggesting it would be safer not to. Our full interview with Graiffais, along with Valve designer Jake Rodkin, will be posted later this week. We've also interviewed Gabe Newell on the Steam Deck, NFTs and more, and are maintaining a list of all the Steam Deck Verified games you can play. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 22 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here