Surprise! Dune: Awakening Runs Smooth on Steam Deck & ROG Ally – See How!

At last, the release date for Dune: Awakening is here, and it’s not far off! Not just any date, but one that players have been eagerly waiting for, a chance to dive into the game itself. In addition, before the main event, a useful benchmark tool has been made available, allowing people to preview its performance well in advance and gauge what kind of gaming experience they can anticipate.

This information is especially valuable to those who own gaming handhelds such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, along with other similar devices. As of now, there’s no definitive word on compatibility from Steam, but that’s not a problem since you can test the benchmark for free and find out for yourself.

We’ve tested these devices (Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and new Lenovo Legion Go S) with our benchmark tool, and the performance has been more impressive than expected. However, it’s essential to remember that the final game experience could vary greatly, and factors such as server latency may further influence gameplay. At this moment, we don’t have information about these additional elements; these results are based solely on our benchmark tool, which we trust provides an accurate representation of their capabilities.

Can you play Dune: Awakening on Steam Deck?

The results on the Steam Deck are perhaps the most surprising. Here are the settings tested.

  • Resolution: 1280 x 800
  • Graphics settings: Low
  • FSR 3: Performance
  • Frame Gen: On
  • Vsync: Off
  • Proton version: Experimental

With the given settings, the Steam Deck typically delivered a frame rate of approximately 67.7 frames per second, which is truly impressive. This high frame rate means you can try tweaking the settings slightly for even better visuals, while still ensuring a smooth gaming experience.

Although the frame rate is decent, there are some bumps along the way. The performance on the Steam Deck isn’t consistently smooth, with occasional drops to 35-40 FPS in certain areas. This could be due to Frame Gen, which unfortunately can’t be adjusted in the benchmark. Similarly, the FSR 3 setting is fixed at Performance, and it seems to only allow Balanced on desktop computers.

As I write this, we’re more than two months away from the launch, and it’s quite possible that we can still refine aspects of the game and our platform, Proton, further.

Switching to Proton Experimental instead of Proton 9.0.4 has already led to a substantial boost in the average frame rate, with an increase from 57.7. As we inch towards launch, I am optimistic that additional refinements will provide a smooth user experience. It may appear that we’re depending on Frame Gen to achieve this, but rest assured, it’s just one of the tools we’re utilizing for optimization.

Can you play Dune: Awakening on the ROG Ally, Legion Go, and Legion Go S?

Currently, the Steam Deck ranks at the bottom in terms of raw performance compared to other devices. Since it operates on Linux, it needs Proton to run games, whereas a Windows 11 portable device like the ROG Ally can deliver good or better performance on Steam Deck compatible titles due to native support.

We tested it on both the ROG Ally X, similar to the standard Ally since they share the same chip, and the Lenovo Legion Go S powered by the new AMD Z2 Go chip.

First up on the Legion Go S, these are the settings tested.

  • Resolution: 1280 x 800
  • Graphics settings: Low
  • FSR 3: Performance
  • Frame Gen: On
  • Vsync: On

The Legion Go S’s performance is comparable to the Steam Deck, consistently maintaining a frame rate between 67 and 76, albeit with occasional drops below 40 FPS. Given that the AMD Z2 Go’s APU, on paper, represents a slight upgrade over the Steam Deck’s, this performance alignment seems reasonable. Interestingly, the Legion Go S allots 8GB of VRAM, while the Steam Deck utilizes slightly less than 4GB.

On the ROG Ally X you would expect more, and that seems to be the case. Here are the settings:

  • Resolution: 1280 x 720
  • Graphics settings: Medium
  • FSR 3: Performance
  • Frame Gen: On
  • Vsync: On

The ROG Ally X’s exceptional power is evident as it smoothly runs at top-tier settings while maintaining a high frame rate of up to 103 FPS, with occasional drops as low as 56 FPS. It’s highly probable that you can continue playing at even higher settings and consistently achieve 60 FPS.

It appears that Frame Gen might be affecting the situation, and unfortunately, we can’t deactivate it, so we can’t fully understand how things would look without it. This raises some worries, especially since Dune: Awakening is based on Unreal Engine 5, which has been quite demanding on many hardware systems up until now. Could Avowed face similar challenges?

For now, we still have some time ahead before we fully understand the overall gaming experience. However, based on the benchmarks, it’s promising that we can certainly try playing it on our portable devices.

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2025-02-20 21:39