TheSteam Deckcould receive a curious new solid-state cooling system that has no fans of any sort, it would seem. While piezoelectric fans aren’t a new invention by any meaningful measure, these flat devices haven’t historically been used in small-scale handheld computing devices, making the proposed use of the new system all the more interesting.
After theSteam Decklaunched, users quickly began reporting overly aggressive fan curves that led to a loud, high-pitched whine in some use cases. Though Valve ended up tweaking the fan curve and alleviating the problems to great effect, a newcomer to the cooling tech niche promises a solution that could offer a capable alternative to classic heat dissipation systems used in small devices.
RELATED:Hogwarts Legacy Will Be Steam Deck Verified
Frore Systems presented its solid-state piezoelectric fan earlier this year at CES. While its AirJet and AirJet Mini coolers sounded plenty interesting on their own, the most curious of all the proposed uses for the technology came as part of one of the Frore Systems' official documents. Notably, they include a pointed reference to “Hand Held Gaming Devices” that sustain 15 watts of processing power, with the included render clearly being that ofValve’s remarkably popular Steam Deck. According to the provided documentation, the Frore Systems' solid-state fan should be capable of handling the Deck’s heat output just fine, all the while significantly reducing the device’s noise level.
Piezoelectric cooling systems use a small, rapidly blowing blade to move air across the cooled area. Historically, they haven’t been able to outright outperform classic fan-based cooling platforms, but they provide far better reliability in harsh environments. Frore Systems is the first company to leverage this technology in anew piece of consumer-grade gaming hardware, and while its applicability is yet to be proven, it certainly presents an interesting new set of cooling possibilities.
Though it’s unlikely that piezoelectric fans would come as part of theSteam Deck’s next official version update, the diagrams provided by Frore Systems posit that installing one of the company’s coolers shouldn’t be a huge problem for the end user. The Frore Systems' representative at CES 2023 said that the first real-world implementations of its solid-state cooler should be coming in a matter of months, which will either confirm or deny the company’s admittedly lofty claims.
And, of course, it’s worth underlining the fact that Frore Systems is currently yet to prove that its solid-state coolers provide an appropriate solution to the issue of heat dissipation. Without seeing the system in action, it’s hard to imagine it outperforming tried-and-true fan-based coolers. If Frore Systems' claims end up being verified, it’s going to be interesting to see whether these new coolers could assist in situations where theSteam Deck throttles performance during heatwaves, for example.
MORE:Call of Duty Zombies Fans Should Consider Grabbing a Steam Deck
