Next steam deck should have pcie for gpu module.

[BravO)))]

Since neither Valve, Sony, or Ms are making much off of their hardware, on top of fabs being at the limit of shrinking transistors, I feel that a pcie connection for a gpu module on consoles (including the deck) would be a great benefit to both the companies and consumers. Outside of a major physics discovery, the only big gains I see happening with gaming hardware are with die size increase, scaling up with more processors, or improved coding. And given that most cpus are already over adequate for a lot of gaming, graphics will be the main reason for any upgrade. If a Steam Deck could dock to a gpu dock that could deliver desktop gaming level graphics at the desk or TV, it would be way more marketable than any other console.

[ReBoot]

The issue is, this wouldn't be free. A dedicated connector costs money to develop, to manufacture and there's space needed around it to use it. If it was free, yeah, sure, it would be a benefit for everyone. As long as it's not free (which it isn't), it'd jack up the device price not benefitting a bunch of customers.

Also, it's plain & simple not needed as USB4 is on the way and it'll support external GPUs all by itself. What's the point of some PCIe connector (with all the additional costs) if you already have a plug that does exactly the same?

[@R+5]

also, considering that iGpu within processors are becoming more powerful and efficient, imo, in most cases a more powerful dedicated gpu would only make sense for professional tasks, like video editing or 3d art stuff. and sure, to have a minipc that can work for gaming and doing more, could be cool.

but also, for those reasons, i think the next step for "external enhancements" should be a dock that allows to plug a module to expand ram, which is what can limit more what you can do with large video files and digital art, as well as other "more mundane" but demanding operations.

imo, next generations of steam deck should follow the idea of the "framework laptops", which focuses in modular design and improved longevity. that can allow the same hardware to remain useful for longer, and also make easier to keep spare parts in the market.

then also, that could make even more attractive not only the deck, but maybe a "modular minipc" (ie without the controller integrated as part of the box) that could have also "modules" through a dock compatible with that "modular steam deck".

also consider that at some point good "fold-able screens" may become available, and maybe even flexible or elastic components that could allow to be "physically compressed", and make even easier to transport gadgets. but i guess this is still a bit scifi, but imo not for long considering there are already people researching meta-materials that could allow those things and even crazier stuff; and then, quantum computing, even if limited, will accelerate research in many fields, just like what happened with dna research (among others)