I replaced my Steam Deck’s noisy fan and am so happy I did

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

160 hours into Elden Ring, I am pretty sure that the most annoying thing about my steam deck is its fan. There is a way to fix it. Depending on where you live, it can take 15 minutes and $30 to install a new fan.

I bought a fan after the repair company got a large shipment. The small screech of my steam deck is gone.

The fan is still loud. It is, but it is not a whine. I like to think of it as the sound of air escaping the Deck's vents, but most of the time I don't think about it. The whine always got my attention even after Valve adjusted its software to bring the fan noise down.

The electrical tape trick I showed you in April has less noise than the new fan has. The new fan measured 2 to 2.5 decibels lower than the old fan in the quietest room in my house, and I did an unscientific test against it.

I let the Deck's chip heat up to over 90 degrees Celsius and nearly maxed out its power draw at 28 watt to make sure the fan was blowing as much as possible, which is similar to how it runs when I play Elden Ring.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Replacing a fan can make a difference. The Valve handheld was shipped with one of two different fans. The Delta fan is thought to be an inferior part that Valve didn't initially design for. Valve has tried to address the issue with software, but it is still a hardware problem.

Last month, both fans were put to the test and given audio samples of what the "whine" actually sounds like in practice.

There was reason to be excited when iFixit said it had a supply of the fans. Is it possible to fix it by buying a better fan, popping the deck open and changing the fans? I think the answer is yes.

Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

I won't attempt to re- write iFixit's fan replacement guide, which you can find right here, but I will say that it was quick and easy with those instructions and the kit.

It took a couple tries to figure out how to use those blue picks to open the case, and I found it easier to remove the fan's electrical connection with my fingernails, but I didn't need anything that wasn't in the box.

I like to play the deck in quiet rooms where family members are sleepy. $30 is a good amount for me. The fan isn't the intended experience and I wonder why Valve isn't doing anything about it.

When I returned my 64 gigabyte model, it came with another Delta, despite the fact that some steam deck owners have lucked out with the better fan. I'm only going to try it now.

If you want to hear some of my audio samples, you will need to turn the sound up and/or wear headphones.

Fans of Delta.

The Delta fan is going up.

A fan with electrical tape whines.

It's called the good one.

The steam deck replacement fan is still in stock at iFixit.