Please Don't Huff Fumes From Your Steam Deck - uh oh, stiiiiiinkyyyyyyyy

article: (https://gizmodo.com/valve-steam-deck-fumes-safetly-1851095728)
archive: (https://archive.is/ShNjM)​

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Please Don't Huff Fumes From Your Steam Deck​

Valve is telling some Steam Deck users its best to avoid getting high on their own supply.​

By
Kyle Barr
Published 5 hours ago

Are you enjoying that new Deck smell a little too much? Valve’s support staff are now telling users that they shouldn’t be huffing the exhaust from the Steam Deck’s grills for their health and safety, though there’s no recorded issue with folks taking a hit off their electronics’ cooling vents.


Does the new Steam Deck’s air taste better than before? We have to admit that wasn’t an aspect of our most recent tests with the device.Photo: Jorge Jimenez / Gizmodo

One of the newer memes to come out of Valve’s new OLED Steam Deck has been folks saying they enjoy taking a bump off the air streaming out of the handheld console’s exhaust grills. As IGN reported, one Steam Deck user on the r/SteamDeck subreddit posted a screenshot of a conversation with Valve’s support staff asking, “Is it safe to inhale the exhaust fumes from the top vent of a Steam Deck?” noting they actually enjoy the aroma of the warm gamer air. Steam support responded that it “is generally not recommended” that you take a pull from the Deck’s ports.

“While there are no safety concerns with general usage, directly inhaling the device’s vent fumes should be avoided,” the support account wrote. “We understand it may be a meme, but please refrain from this behavior for the safety of your health.”

The subreddit Steam Deck fans took this in stride, joking that “at least we truly lived,” while others said nothing would stop them from getting that next Deck hit. Gizmodo contacted Valve for additional comments on the potential risks of breathing in Steam Deck fumes, but we did not hear back immediately.

Now, on its face, the air coming from the Steam Deck shouldn’t be caustic or dangerous. The device doesn’t rely on any other cooling mechanisms than the usual heat sink, airflow, and cooling fan solutions. The new version of the Deck did advertise updated thermals and a more efficient APU. Teardown comparisons of the old handheld console to the new one show how Valve modified the Steam Deck’s heat sink and flipped one of the cooling fans upside down. None of that should make a difference to the overall breathability.

Valve’s response is generally expected from any company who doesn’t want to be responsible for folks sucking on their electronics’ air vents. Still, by talking up the meme, Valve might only help inspire more folks to join in. Just don’t start blaming us when users start reporting “Deck Lung” from taking a toke of that thick gaming air.

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editorial memery:


This article posted in Slow Times® by a TORnigger™

 

[Blamo2000]

Are you enjoying that new Deck smell a little too much? Valve’s support staff are now telling users that they shouldn’t be huffing the exhaust from the Steam Deck’s grills for their health and safety, though there’s no recorded issue with folks taking a hit off their electronics’ cooling vents.

 

[Skitarii]

Don't huff the Steam fumes

 

[Tsukasa Kadoya]

So these people just like the smell of electronics?

New electronics smell so fucking good.

 

[sadrefrigerator]

I can't fathom what they are talking about. It must be overzealousness... I hope.

Either way, heat management is largely why I won't buy a "gaming laptop" or a Steam Deck. We have tons of great tech but cooling solutions on the smaller scale are simply not where they need to be.

There's plenty of laptop models that have good enough heat management where you never have to worry about heat throttling. Usually it mostly affects the lowest end laptop models. With gaming laptops, you can't just look at specs.

 

[Dysnomia]

What could possibly be in the exhaust to make it unsafe? Is it not just a fan blowing over an aluminum or copper heat sink?

Well it's probably made at Foxconn by suicidal workers earning slave wages. The chinesium ink on that "Please help me" note tucked inside the shell will probably cause cancer.

 

[BikeLock]

You can't tell me not to huff Valve Internet Gas, you're not my supervisor!

 

[Toolbox]

Cars are tested to make sure the degrading plastics don't produce TOO much harmful gas.

How effective is this testing? Any papers going into detail? I only started hearing about the VOC shit within the last few years, if that concept is newer I doubt they really have a standardized way of determining the output of that kind of thing. I agree the harm is never going to be near something like lead in gasoline but it'd still be nice to see it broken down, if that has been done.

 

[The Last Stand]

Put a ping pong ball on top of your Series X vent

You'd be surprised. MS even had to publicly tell their consumers not to vape around their Series X consoles.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

It seems pretty cool. Warning: LTT video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdD0yMS40a0
But companies would rather invest in their own tech so they don't have to pay royalties for this company.

What about royalties? It's an expensive component, but if it's worth paying more for than a fan, companies will buy it just as they would buy from any number of nameless suppliers. That's a big "IF" because it can't dissipate enough heat yet for some applications.

Frore AirJet has been used in the Zotac Zbox Pico PI430AJ mini PC. It's an overpriced tech demo but proof that it can work. Steam Deck 2 is potentially 2-3 years away from being released, so it's possible that the technology could be mature and cheap enough to be used in it by then. We'll probably see it in a more expensive x86 handheld first, like Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, GPD Win, etc.

 

[TheDarknessGrows]

There's plenty of laptop models that have good enough heat management where you never have to worry about heat throttling. Usually it mostly affects the lowest end laptop models. With gaming laptops, you can't just look at specs.

For what it is worth, I probably need to update my perspectives a bit. We live in the future and I can build some really nice laptops that will run everything and cool well, just like you say.

My complaints also don't entirely reconcile when you consider that "AAA Gaming" or whatever left me behind over a decade ago and probably more like sixteen years ago (FUCK I did the math)... I don't even play most super high end games anymore. The only two that made me consider upgrades for were:

1. Cyberpunk because I wanted to see the 4K features and the new lighting technology.
2. Ready or Not because it straight up didn't run at what I considered an acceptable level.

Ultimately I waited until recently to upgrade but I haven't turned that system on for regular use in two months and have been playing New Vegas on my media PC in the living room.

The absolute state of the gaming and tech industries.

Anyway... they don't make games like they used to.

 

[Hokuriku]

So these people just like the smell of electronics?

It's like new car smell, it's one of those little things that make that big highly anticipated purchase feel that little bit more real. NGL I do like to take a quick huff while waiting for my Better Call Saul splash animation.

 

[Puff]

How effective is this testing? Any papers going into detail? I only started hearing about the VOC shit within the last few years, if that concept is newer I doubt they really have a standardized way of determining the output of that kind of thing. I agree the harm is never going to be near something like lead in gasoline but it'd still be nice to see it broken down, if that has been done.

No clue. Family member works in that kind of testing though, so I know about it peripherally. SAE (society of automotive engineers) will be the ones who make the standards.

 

[trevshoms]

"The Steam Deck fumes are bad for you because....THEY JUST ARE OK???"
nice try globohomo

 

[Mojo Thief]

 

[I've Seen Some More Shit]

The elites don't want you to know this but breathing in the Steam Deck Stank is how you open your third eye and find the way past the great ice wall that encompasses our flat earth and meet God.

 

[Halmaz]

Either way, heat management is largely why I won't buy a "gaming laptop" or a Steam Deck. We have tons of great tech but cooling solutions on the smaller scale are simply not where they need to be.

An acquaintance of mine refuses to buy a desktop PC, for some reason and keeps buying gamer laptops, which end up getting fried every 2-3 years.
I doubt this issue can be easily resolved, so I avoid powerful portable devices.

 

[frozen_runner]

 

[Instant_Pot_User]

if the australian government can't stop rama rama petrol dreamtime, Valve can't stop me from sniffing chinesium

 

[Drain Todger]

What makes Valve think they can stop me from inhaling all those sweet, sweet VOCs and obtaining superpowers?

 

[Echo_Ender]

The Deck is great for indie games and can play some older mainstream stuff well (X-Com 2 works amazing), but it'll struggle to get a stable 30FPS on newer stuff.

Of course if you have a decent PC too, you can stream to the Deck and have the best of both worlds. I'd recommend Sunshine/Moonlight instead of Steams janky Remote Play.

As for the exhaust... it's just the smell of warm plastic being blown by a fan. It probably isn't great for you, but it probably won't hurt you either.