Another day, another tease regarding the potential upcoming launch of Valve’s wireless VR headset, the Steam Frame. This time around, inspirational hope for a near release comes via Qualcomm’s Device Finder, which has listed the Steam Frame’s CPU. Valve has designed the Steam Frame not only for gaming but also as a VR solution for media streaming.
“Steam Frame is a streaming-first, wireless VR headset + controllers that can handle your whole Steam library. Step into immersive VR, or lean back and enjoy your non-VR catalog. And it supports stand-alone play too.”
– Valve
Qualcomm (via VideoCardz) has revealed that the wireless VR headset is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile processor. This older 4nm octa-core processor was announced in October 2023, capable of speeds up to 3.4 GHz, and its Adreno 750 GPU supports hardware ray tracing. Other features include support for WiFi 7, HDR, and Bluetooth connectivity.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Specifications
While it’s unlikely that Valve will leave the cellular functions of Qualcomm’s processor enabled, here are specifications regarding its CPU, GPU, and wireless capabilities.
- CPU Name: Qualcomm® Kryo™
- Architecture:64-bit
- Clock Speed: Up to 3.4 GHz
- GPU Name: Qualcomm® Adreno™
- APIs:OpenGL® ES 3.2, OpenCL™ 2.0 FP, Vulkan® 1.3
- Cellular Modem-RF Modem Name: Snapdragon™ X75 5G Modem-RF System
- Peak Download Speed: 10 Gbps
- Peak Upload Speed: 3.5 Gbps
- Cellular Modem-RF Specs: 4×4 MIMO (Sub-6), 2×2 MIMO (mmWave), 8 carriers (mmWave)
- Performance Enhancement Technologies: Qualcomm® 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite, Qualcomm® Smart Transmit™ Gen 4 technology, Qualcomm® 5G AI Suite Gen2, Qualcomm® 5G PowerSave Gen 4
- Cellular Technology:sub-6 GHz, HSPA, TDD, LTE, WCDMA, FDD, SA (standalone), NSA (non-standalone), TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM/EDGE, EN-DC, CBRS, NR-DC (mmWave-sub6 dual connectivity), SA (standalone) mmWave, mmWave
- Multi SIM: Global 5G Multi-SIM, Dual SIM support Qualcomm® DSDA Gen 2 (Dual Data)
- Wi-Fi/Bluetooth System: Qualcomm® FastConnect™ 7800
- Peak Speed: 5.8 Gbps
- Generation: Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 4
- Standards: 802.11be, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a
- Spectral Bands: 6 GHz, 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz
- Channels: 320 MHz
- Peak QAM: 4K QAM
- Features: TDLS, Passpoint, High Band Simultaneous (HBS) Multi-Link, Wi-Fi Optimized Connectivity, MU-MIMO (UL/DL), Wi-Fi Aware R3, Wi-Fi QoS Management, Miracast, Wi-Fi Location, OFDMA (UL/DL), Voice-Enterprise, XPAN Technology
Other configuration details for the Steam Frame already revealed by Valve include it having 16 GB LPDDR5X memory, a microSD storage option, a 21.6 watt-hour battery which can be charged via up to 45W USB Type-C connection, and possibly either 256 GB or 1 TB of storage. It is said to be launched using Steam OS 3. Pricing has not been announced.