Discussion Handheld PC Gaming devices

[gorobei]

Rather than drag the steamdeck thread offtopic, I thought a general catchall handheld pc thread would be better.

Ayaneo is the bigger name in this space, along with GPD. Most of these grew out of the handheld linux/android devices running emulators, so when laptop x86 cpus got low power enough this market formed. Unfortunately these were small production run items and the price was in the 1000-2000 dollar range. The primary raison d'etre for these things is windows compatibility and with that the ability to play multiplayer games that require drm.

Valve managed to shave down production costs to the $400-650 range which is what brought all the attention and funding to the space. Other companies like logitech and razor have done products like this but now the bigger names seem to be committing to large production such that microsoft is coming out with a handheld mode for windows.

So that people can be aware of what is out there now, here is a rough breakdown.

brand	model	soc	screen	os	price
Ayaneo	2	amd 6800u	7" 1920x1080	win 11	$1100
GPD	Win 4 series	amd 6800u (2023 models w/7840u)	6" 1920x1080 60hz	win 11 home	$900
Valve	Steamdeck	amd custom 4c/8t zen2 rdna2	7" 1280x800 60hz	steam os	$400-650
Asus	Ally	amd z1	7" 1920x1080 120hz	win 11 home	$600-700
AOKZOE	A1 pro	amd r7 7840u	8" 1920x1080	windows unspecified ver	$800-1160 indiegogo
OneXplayer	2 pro	amd r7 7840u	8.4" 2560x1600	win 11	n/a yet
Lenovo	Legion Go	amd z1	8.8" 2560x1600 @144hz ips	win 11	$700-800+
MSI	Claw	intel meteorlake 6p/8e/2lp	7" 1920x1080 120hz	win 11	$700-800

The asus ally is the current hotness but other big name oems could jump in.

My main interest is that some of these can run Zelda Breath of the Wild on emulation better than the Switch, dont have noisy fans, and store your gamesaves locally so you can back them up.

 

[thilanliyan]

My perfect device would be the Steam Deck with a 8" 1080p screen, 65Wh battery, and Z1 Extreme. Which is kinda what the AOKZOE is, but I've heard after sales support from those companies are a nightmare. I had to have the fan in my deck replaced and the RMA process in Canada was painless and quick (10 day turnaround from shipment to getting it back, which isn't bad at all). I'm not sure I'd have the same experience with one of these less known manufacturers.

I have an Ally on pre-order...and will likely sell the Deck unless it is very uncomfortable to use with my big hands. The Ally's grips don't look anywhere near as substantial as the Deck's, which I find very comfortable.

 

[gorobei]

hmm, do i add the sony project q?

 

[aigomorla]

Hmmm.... im wondering if this belongs in consoles as it almost fits the same definition of a switch, only its on linux.
The others on windows 11 may qualify... but i still feel these things are closer to consoles then PC.

 

[quikah]

hmm, do i add the sony project q?

It is a streaming only device, so no.

 

[Muadib]

Hmmm.... im wondering if this belongs in consoles as it almost fits the same definition of a switch, only its on linux.
The others on windows 11 may qualify... but i still feel these things are closer to consoles then PC.

I haven't done it, but you can put Windows on a Steamdeck if you wish.

 

[gorobei]

Hmmm.... im wondering if this belongs in consoles as it almost fits the same definition of a switch, only its on linux.
The others on windows 11 may qualify... but i still feel these things are closer to consoles then PC.

i posted a LTT vid in the steamdeck thread, these things are pc's first and consoles maybe third.

they are going to have all the headaches and bugs of a pc laptop for years to come if nothing else from update patches. asus and whoever else jumps into the space will also be contending with their own software launchers and updates. these are absolutely not turnkey systems like the switch. the fact that people will be running discord/voip and obs streaming software guarantees there will be windows software questions and massive tweaking of all kinds of lower api layer settings.

there will be the same headaches of installing steam, EGS, etc and windows security. asus pre-installed and configured a bunch of that stuff on the ally review units they sent out.

i would be really curious what happens when one of these things get hacked by a rootkit. most IT folks just scrap the drive and motherboard since they wont bother to pull out and solder in a new eprom. for something like a gaming handheld i wouldnt be putting anything important on it, but game stores will store credit card numbers if you arent disciplined about that stuff. do you send the whole thing back to asus when it is compromised?

 

[aigomorla]

I'll leave it as it is then seeing how it seems most of you guys want to leave it here.
If anyone has issues please feel free to contact the moderating staff.

If it picks up more interest i'll even sticky it so it stays on the top.

 

[JujuFish]

Hmmm.... im wondering if this belongs in consoles as it almost fits the same definition of a switch, only its on linux.
The others on windows 11 may qualify... but i still feel these things are closer to consoles then PC.

Both gaming forums are practically dead and should just be combined. We're beyond this PC vs console BS by now, right?

 

[aigomorla]

Both gaming forums are practically dead and should just be combined. We're beyond this PC vs console BS by now, right?

nope... there are still many console exclusives unfortunately, and both consoles and pc have cult followers....
But they have convinced me to leave it be in PC, as it is more like a PC in the way it handles then a console.

 

[JujuFish]

nope... there are still many console exclusives unfortunately, and both consoles and pc have cult followers....

I don't see how that's a valid argument for keeping them apart.

 

[gorobei]

I don't see how that's a valid argument for keeping them apart.

the console forum threads are generally going to be about a specific game and reviews/reactions, future hardware, or playing old retro games. they dont want to see a dozen troubleshooting threads a month about getting some game to work on different variations of cpu/gpu/mb/os or trying to increase fps on a low end gpu.

if a sub forum is cluttered with a bunch stuff you dont want to see, people stop bothering to check/respond to that forum.

besides, with reddit and the api lockdown there could be a flood of old timers coming back here.

 

[JujuFish]

they dont want to see a dozen troubleshooting threads a month about getting some game to work on different variations of cpu/gpu/mb/os or trying to increase fps on a low end gpu.

I don't know what forum you're referring to, but it sure isn't this one.

 

[aigomorla]

I don't see how that's a valid argument for keeping them apart.

Welp your more then welcome to start a thread in here:

Forum Issues and Feedback

If you have an issue with your forum account, or technical problem with the forums in general. We cannot guarantee a response.

forums.anandtech.com

And lets stop derailing @gorobei collection post.

Moderator Aigo

 

[WhiteNoise]

I'll be picking up the Asus ROG Ally on release day. I preordered it a while back.
I'm not a big portable gamer and I certainly don't need this to play games at home since I do have a solid gaming rig, but I do like the idea of this, and a battery bank for when I travel and occasionally when I don't feel like walking to my game room and maybe lounging in the living room while my Wife watches TV.

 

[Oyeve]

Got my Asus Ally a couple of days ago. Loving it so far but some games I cant get the controller to work. Skyrim and Red dead redemption 2.

 

[WhiteNoise]

First I installed Diablo IV (which plays great) and I too had issues with the controller at first but then I updated the firmware and all other updates and it just starting working. There is an option to set the system/controller mode to "Auto" and this might help if you haven't tried it. Or just manually set controller mode while in game by pressing that button that slides out the mini control center.

 

[Oyeve]

First I installed Diablo IV (which plays great) and I too had issues with the controller at first but then I updated the firmware and all other updates and it just starting working. There is an option to set the system/controller mode to "Auto" and this might help if you haven't tried it.

Yeah, I literally figured this out about an hour ago. I had to change from auto to controller mode. All working ok now. I am holding off on doing more as I ordered a 2tb drive to replace the 512gb in the Ally.

 

[DigDog]

my perfect non-desktop desktop would be a desktop. the ergonomics, or "accessibility" are the only thing separating these computers, it's pointless to find a solution that replaces them without replacing them.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Yeah, I literally figured this out about an hour ago. I had to change from auto to controller mode. All working ok now. I am holding off on doing more as I ordered a 2tb drive to replace the 512gb in the Ally.

Which 2TB did you go with? I want to do this as well but I was thinking about waiting for the warranty period to run out. I think it's 11 months. Then again I'm not sure if swapping out the SSD would void the warranty. I need to look into that. if Asus doesn't care then I'd do it soon.

 

[Oyeve]

Which 2TB did you go with? I want to do this as well but I was thinking about waiting for the warranty period to run out. I think it's 11 months. Then again I'm not sure if swapping out the SSD would void the warranty. I need to look into that. if Asus doesn't care then I'd do it soon.

I went with this one:

https://www.newegg.com/micron-2tb-2400-series/p/0D9-0022-000N1?item=9SIBHPYJHA4236&utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email&cm_mmc=TEMC-Shipping-Tracking-Notification-USA-_-9SIBHPYJHA4236&utm_campaign=TEMC-Shipping-Tracking-Notification-USA-_-9SIBHPYJHA4236

I also researched and swapping the drive will not void the warranty. There are some warranty stickers in there that will trigger a void but according to Asus swapping the drive does not.

 

[gorobei]

AYN has done some previous products, the latest is the Loki Max.

apparently one thing about these types of handhelds is the the screens. the Loki and some others use phone/tablet portrait-orientation displays which can cause problems with windows games that cant figure out they need to rotate the video. the asus Ally has a landscape display so is 100% compatible.

 

[Oyeve]

I went with this one:

https://www.newegg.com/micron-2tb-2400-series/p/0D9-0022-000N1?item=9SIBHPYJHA4236&utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email&cm_mmc=TEMC-Shipping-Tracking-Notification-USA-_-9SIBHPYJHA4236&utm_campaign=TEMC-Shipping-Tracking-Notification-USA-_-9SIBHPYJHA4236

I also researched and swapping the drive will not void the warranty. There are some warranty stickers in there that will trigger a void but according to Asus swapping the drive does not.

Well, the drive swap was one of the easiest updates i've ever done. Took a while to reinstall everything but it went smooth.

 

[WhiteNoise]

I will do the swap at some point but for now I will keep the 512Gb in there. I'm pretty impressed with this handheld and using a dock, it upscales to 4k and looks fantastic on my OLED TV.

 

[gorobei]

ifixit teardown of the Ally. pretty good repairability assuming you can get parts.

some tamper stickers which are irrelevant to USA, single use foil on screwed in battery for dealing with heat, and separate pcb for the potentiometer thumbsticks which are disassembleable. biggest issue is the glue used to mount the lcd panel. still waiting for official word on availability of spare parts.

i'm sure there will be 3rd party hall effect thumbstick modules in the future.

given how roomy the ally is inside, the steamdeck seems claustrophobic given how crowded the components and restrictive the cooling solution.