Popular benchmarking tool OCCT is releasing an optimized handheld edition for the Steam Deck, allowing curious gamers to fully stress test their hardware with a natively ed app. According to the developers, this "portable handheld edition" will run "flawlessly" on the Steam Deck and be available for free on launch.
Benchmarking tools such as OCCT have been popular with hardware builders for decades, allowing you to check the stability of your machine. While it has always made sense to use OCCT on the Steam Deck is working properly.
While OCCT had already announced a Linux version that could technically run natively on the Steam Deck, it wasn't optimized for the hardware, nor was it easily accessible. According to OCCT, this new version is optimized to run on handhelds such as the Steam Deck, where it will be immediately accessible to gamers via the Steam store itself.
Like the PC release, using it on your handheld will allow you to check your handheld's U, GPU, RAM, and power supply, ensuring that it's working as expected during periods of heavy load. Detailed information about temperature, voltage usage, and power consumption will also be available through the handheld optimized version of the app. Given that this is a handheld-optimized release, it should also work on other Linux devices such as the Lenovo Legion Go S, although only the Steam Deck has been mentioned by the developer so far.
The handheld-optimized version of OCCT will be completely free to use once it launches, with an optional one-off purchase available to help its development. OCCT has confirmed that the Steam Deck release will be available from June, and you can wishlist it right now via Steam using this link here.
OCCT coming to Linux, let alone the Steam Deck, is another sign that gaming on Linux is becoming serious. Gamers who want to max out their hardware now have an easy-to-use tool to help them stress-test their hardware, while casual gamers now have a tool that will allow them to check if their handheld is working or if it's failing.
Good news for gamers, then, and we'll be looking forward to trying it out on the Steam Deck when it releases. If you're keen to dip your toes into the portable gaming arena, check out our best handheld gaming PC guide for our advice on the Steam Deck and a number of its competitors.
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