I’ve been really impressed by my new Steam Deck OLED. I was looking for some specific charging speed information online, but couldn’t find it, so I measured myself.
Specifically, I wanted to know:
- How long does the Steam Deck charge at maximum speed?
- What is the “sweet spot” to charge the battery up to? 80%? 90%?
- How full is the battery when charging slows to 20w? 15w? 10w?
- How charged is the Deck when the LED turns green?
I used the included 45w charger and my USB-C power meter, charged while the Deck was sleeping (rather than off), and turned the screen on every five minutes to check the charge percentage. I ran the Deck all the way down to start (until it turned off), so it was off for the first five minutes).
Here is a summary of charging times and speeds - the first two rows are the results after 30 and 60 minutes, and the rest are times to get to specific charge levels.
| 0% -> | Time | End Watts |
|---|---|---|
| 37% | 0:30 | 41w |
| 72% | 1:00 | 40w |
| 80% | 1:08 | 30w |
| 85% | 1:15 | 22w |
| 90% | 1:25 | 15w |
| 95% | 1:40 | 10w |
| 100% | 2:10 | - |
If you’re using a USB power meter to monitor charging, here is how charged the Deck is when the charging speed slows to different rates:
| Watts | % |
|---|---|
| 41w | 0-70% |
| 35w | 76% |
| 30w | 80% |
| 25w | 83% |
| 20w | 86% |
| 15w | 90% |
| 10w | 95% |
| 7w | 97% |
| 5w | 99% |
To answer my above questions:
How long does the Steam Deck charge at maximum speed?
The Steam Deck OLED charges at the maximum 41w from 0-70%, which it reaches in just under one hour.
What is the “sweet spot” to charge the battery up to?
I think waiting 1:15 for the battery to reach 85% is about ideal. Charging speeds are less than half of peak speeds above that.
How full is the battery when charging slows to 20w? 15w? 10w?
Charging slows to 20w at 86%, 15w at 90%, and 10w at 95%
How charged is the Deck when the LED turns green?
The Steam Deck OLED charging LED turns green when the battery is 95% charged, after which charging is very slow. It’s another 30 minutes to reach 100%.