There’s nothing quite as exciting as a game as beloved as Fallout 4 being able to run this well on the Steam Deck. It’s a treat that we get to take all these fantastic games on the go with us. So in this article, we’ll discuss the best settings and performance for Fallout 4 on the Steam Deck.
Fallout 4’s best settings on the Steam Deck are 1280 x 800 resolution, TAA anti-aliasing, medium to high graphic options and Godrays turned OFF. The game performs between 40 to 60 FPS and has a 2-hour battery time on the Deck.
For more details about the best settings and the in-depth performance of Fallout 4 on the Steam Deck read the rest of this article.
Best Settings Fallout 4 on the Steam Deck
Fallout 4 has received a Gold rating from ProtonDB. This means the game runs exceptionally well on the Steam Deck and can be optimized to be one of the best experiences you can have with the game. Currently, our tests showed us that you can maximize FPS to 60FPS through certain tweaks. Though you might still receive 40 FPS in some areas.
To ensure that your image for the game is as sharp as possible whilst also ensuring that the game doesn’t overburden your Steam Deck system, I recommend that you set TDP to 10. This allows your fan to generate a consistent airflow to manage the gameplay. Setting Anisotropic filtering to 8 can be helpful as well.
TAA anti-aliasing is the best setting for Fallout 4 because it provides the best clean-up on poor graphical edges without costing you a lot of performance. However, the biggest system saver you can set up is turning off Godrays. They look very pretty, but ultimately take up too many resources to be an effective use of power.
If you’re looking for how I’ve set all the different options available to you in the graphics option for Fallout 4, check out the table below:
Steam Deck Settings
| Option | Setting |
|---|---|
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 Widescreen |
| Resolutions | 1280×800 |
| Anti-aliasing | TAA |
| Anisotropic Filtering | 8 Samples |
Fallout 4 Graphics Settings
| Option | Setting |
|---|---|
| Texture Quality | High |
| Shadow Quality | Medium |
| Shadow Distance | Medium |
| Decal Quality | High |
| Lighting Quality | High |
| Godrays Quality | Off |
| Depth of Field | Bokeh |
| Ambient Occlusion | SSAO |
| Screen Space Reflections | Off |
| Wetness | On |
| Rain Occlusion | On |
| Motion Blur | Off |
| Lens Flare | On |
Performance
Our best settings aren’t for show; in this section, I want to discuss the performance you can expect on a standard Steam Deck while playing the game with our best settings. These values that we provide may vary on your system based on various factors. So keep that in mind while reading through this section.
Framerate
Our best settings for Fallout 4 should give you perhaps the most consistent framerate of any other setting. While you might experience severe performance dips while playing on High settings alone. If you use our custom settings, you can expect a between 40 to 60 FPS.
You’ll experience 60 FPS for most areas and locations within the game. However, it has to be said that the game does dip into 40 FPS in certain areas and sections of the game. Especially, in heated battles with many AI enemies on the screen, this can be an issue.
However, this doesn’t mean that the game stutters or feels unpolished to play. Quite the contrary, the game feels quite smooth and responsive at all times whilst enjoying this epic journey. And I’d recommend our settings over any other preset.
Temperature
If you’re wondering what sort of Temps you can expect on your Steam Deck while playing Fallout 4, let me quickly answer your query. You can expect between 55 to 65 degrees while actively playing the game. The higher end of that range is expected for high-population dense areas or locations with lots of asset generation.
Battery Life
The battery life for Fallout 4 is quite good though. If you’re playing solely on the Steam Deck’s battery, starting from full charge to null, you can expect around 2 hours’ worth of playtime or 120 minutes.
GPU and CPU Usage
Finally, regarding GPU usage, Fallout 4 utilizes around 90 to 95% of Steam Deck’s GPU capacity. Conversely, the CPU will have a consistent usage of 30 to 35% of the Steam Deck’s CPU capacity. If you attempt to set the game at a higher framerate, these settings shoot up astronomically.
Fallout 4 might not be perfect when it comes to performance, but with these settings we hope you have a truly immersive experience in the game, and get to experience its vast splendor to the fullest. Trust me this is one open-world adventure you simply do not want to miss out on.