When it comes to engineering samples of popular consoles or accessories, there’s always a significant market buzz, often leading to hefty price tags. Recently, a keen-eyed member of the r/SteamDeck community spotted a Steam Deck prototype popping up for sale on eBay.
Interestingly, this prototype was quite reminiscent of the images Valve had previously teased. Equipped with an AMD APU containing Picasso silicon from 2019, it hit the auction block with an initial price of $3,000. However, the buyer smartly negotiated it down to $2,000. Quite a steal for a piece of gaming history!
Labeled internally as “Engineering Sample 34,” this prototype stands out from the standard Steam Deck. It sports some unique features like striking blue accents, a more pronounced curved design, circular trackpads, and what looks like a sensor attached to the right joystick.
Despite a bold “Not for resale” sticker plastered on its back, the seller didn’t hold back from letting it see the light of day. During its production phase, Valve churned out several such prototypes for testing, making it somewhat challenging to determine exactly when this unit was developed. However, the older APU hints it was likely crafted to test mechanical designs before the final retail specifications were determined, possibly around 2019 or 2020.
Another interesting tidbit from the seller is the absence of an operating system on the device. Notebookcheck snagged some listing images showing the BIOS, revealing that these early units ran on an unnamed AMD Picasso (Ryzen 3000 mobile) chip. This chip features up to four Zen+ cores and a GCN 5.0 (Vega 3/8/11) based integrated GPU. It’s a stark contrast to the configurations in today’s market-ready Steam Decks, offering a fascinating glimpse into the device’s evolution.
Moreover, this prototype’s 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD are considerably smaller compared to the current 16GB and 512GB options, unless you’re eyeing the 64GB eMMC version. In terms of performance, AMD’s newer Aerith and Sephiroth APUs would easily outpace this vintage setup.
As we play the waiting game to find out who the lucky buyer is, there’s speculation. If they’re a reviewer or hardware analyst, we might just get a detailed report on this unique Picasso chip and how the Steam Deck’s design journey unfolded. On the flip side, a collector might prefer to keep this rare gem under wraps.
Valve has also mentioned that for those eagerly anticipating a new Steam Deck iteration, patience will be necessary until more advanced processors are available.
