Adjusting the refresh rate on your Steam Deck can significantly enhance your gaming experience by optimizing performance and battery life. Whether you’re looking to reduce screen flickering, extend battery longevity, or fine-tune visuals, knowing how to change this setting is essential. This guide provides a step-by-step process to modify the refresh rate system-wide, ensuring smooth gameplay tailored to your preferences.
—
Ensuring Your Firmware Is Up to Date
Before modifying any display settings, confirm that your Steam Deck’s firmware is current. Manufacturers often release updates that add new features, improve stability, and fix bugs, including options related to display management. Keeping your device updated ensures you have access to the latest functionalities, such as more granular control over refresh rates.
To manually update your Steam Deck:
- Turn on your device if it isn’t already powered.
- Connect your Steam Deck to a stable internet connection.
- Press the Steam button located below the left touchpad to open the Steam menu.
- From the menu, select Settings.
- Inside Settings, navigate to the System section.
- Click on Check for Updates.
- Follow the prompts to download and install any available firmware updates.
Regular updates can also improve overall stability and performance. For detailed instructions and official firmware downloads, visit the Steam support page.
—
Accessing the Performance Settings
Once your firmware is current, you can proceed to adjust the refresh rate:
- Press the Quick Access button, identified by the three dots icon below the right touchpad.
- In the Quick Access menu, scroll down and tap the battery icon to open the Performance menu.
- Ensure the Performance menu is expanded; if not, select Advanced View to reveal additional options.
- Within this expanded menu, locate the Refresh Rate slider.
The refresh rate slider allows you to select from various Hz options, typically ranging from 40Hz up to 60Hz. Adjusting this setting helps balance visual smoothness with battery efficiency.
—
Configuring the Refresh Rate
The available refresh rate options include:
- 40 Hz
- 41 Hz
- 42 Hz
- 43 Hz
- 44 Hz
- 45 Hz
- 46 Hz
- 47 Hz
- 48 Hz
- 49 Hz
- 50 Hz
- 51 Hz
- 52 Hz
- 53 Hz
- 54 Hz
- 55 Hz
- 56 Hz
- 57 Hz
- 58 Hz
- 59 Hz
- 60 Hz
Select the rate that best suits your gaming needs. For example, lowering the refresh rate to 40Hz can conserve battery life, while setting it to 60Hz provides the smoothest visuals. Keep in mind that the actual performance may vary depending on your games and applications.
Setting Framerate Limits
In addition to the refresh rate, you can adjust the Framerate Limit slider within the same Performance menu. This setting caps the maximum frames per second (FPS) your system will attempt to render, which can help optimize battery life and prevent unnecessary strain.
When using a 60Hz refresh rate, the available maximum FPS options typically include:
- 15 FPS
- 30 FPS
- 60 FPS
- Off
Choosing Off allows games to run above 60 FPS, but since the screen refreshes at 60Hz, this may lead to unnecessary power consumption without visual benefits. If you opt for a 40Hz setting, the FPS cap options often include:
- 10 FPS
- 20 FPS
- 40 FPS
- Off
For better visual performance, enabling features like AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution may help improve image quality at lower refresh rates. If you encounter issues enabling such settings, consulting troubleshooting guides can be beneficial.
—
Additional Tips and Resources
For developers interested in creating optimized games for mobile platforms, exploring resources like the 2026 Unity mobile game development PDF can be invaluable. Furthermore, discovering the best tools for game creation on Android and iOS devices can be assisted by browsing through top mobile game development applications. If you’re considering outsourcing or collaborating, an Indian company specializing in iOS/iPhone game development might be worth exploring.
Adjusting the refresh rate on your Steam Deck empowers you to customize your gaming experience to match your performance preferences and extend your device’s battery life. With a few simple steps, you can tailor visuals and power consumption to suit your gaming style.