DeckSight offers a drop-in low-power OLED upgrade to the LCD Steam Deck

Shade Technik is nearing the end of its crowdfunding campaign for the DeckSight. This OLED screen upgrade is currently the only one available to LCD Deck users and is also the only competitor to the $99 DeckHD mod that has dominated the display modding scene. However, with a higher price point of $140 for the anti-glare screen and $130 for the glossy screen, modders have many factors to consider before attempting a display swap.

The display tech is the first significant difference between the DeckSight, DeckHD, and the stock Steam Deck LCD display. Both the Stock and DeckHD displays are IPS LCD panels, with the DeckHD having a slightly higher resolution of 1920 x 1200 vs 1280 x 800. The DeckSight claims it will support 1920 x 1080 and is capable of HDR, unlike the other two panels. Furthermore, the DeckSight has double the brightness of both other panels at 800 nits and the same contrast ratio as the Steam Deck OLED model. Unfortunately, the refresh rate is still 60 Hz, unlike the 90 Hz refresh rate of the Steam Deck OLED. Interestingly, the DeckSight reportedly uses less power than the stock LCD panel, which Shade Technik substantiates in a video on the product page.

In addition to the lengthy installation process, modders should know that DeckSight requires a custom BIOS to work on Steam Deck. This means that any future updates to the BIOS made by Valve could break the functionality of the device's display. DeckSight has stated that it will provide updates to the BIOS in such cases and is working on a BIOS patcher that will allow users to patch the stock BIOS themselves. However, these tools are still in the development stage.

The project's crowdfunding campaign on Crowd Supply will end on January 23rd, 2025. While the prospect of better visuals on the LCD Steam Deck is enticing, this mod is not for the faint of heart. The official page has more information on DeckSight, including estimated shipping times.