When unique pieces of gaming history pop up on the market, they usually attract a hefty price tag, especially if they’re engineering samples with broad appeal. Recently, a prototype of a Steam Deck appeared on eBay, catching the keen eyes of users on the r/SteamDeck subreddit.
This one-of-a-kind prototype, which echoes images Valve previously shared, is powered by an AMD APU featuring Picasso silicon from 2019. Initially listed at a staggering $3,000, it eventually sold for a slightly more affordable price of $2,000.
Known internally as “Engineering Sample 34,” this particular Steam Deck stands out from the typical versions. It sports unique blue accents, a sleek curved design, circular trackpads, and a mysterious sensor located on the right joystick.
Despite the bold “Not for resale” warning emblazoned on the back cover, that didn’t deter the seller from putting it on the market.
Valve likely created many such samples during the initial design process to test functionalities. The use of older hardware indicates this unit was primarily for mechanical testing before finalizing the retail specifications, suggesting it dates back to 2019 or 2020.
The seller noted that the prototype lacks an operating system, as it doesn’t have SteamOS installed. According to images captured by Notebookcheck, the BIOS details show some fascinating specs. It seems Valve experimented with an AMD Picasso chip, known for its Ryzen 3000 mobile connection, featuring up to four Zen+ cores and a GCN 5.0 (Vega 3/8/11) integrated GPU. When compared to retail versions, these differences suggest a notable performance gap.
Moreover, this early model comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, falling short of today’s retail offerings that can reach 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, unless considering the 64GB eMMC variant. Modern AMD APUs like Aerith and Sephiroth would easily outperform this setup.
Now, the gaming community eagerly watches to see who snapped up this prototype. If it turns out to be a tech reviewer or hardware analyst, we might soon enjoy a detailed breakdown of this custom Picasso chip and its evolution into the Steam Deck we recognize today. Alternatively, a low-profile collector might just add this rare find to their private stash.
Valve has cautioned that those yearning for a new version of the Steam Deck will have to bide their time until more advanced processors are available.
