Discussion Handheld PC Gaming devices

[gorobei]

OneXplayer 2 pro. big chonker.
the company is another shenzhen laptop manufacturer, they have a few prior handheld products using older amd mobile chips. if i was looking for a do-it-all replacement for a travel laptop, this is up there. same apu as the Ally and Aokzoe. price will likely be $1200+

ryzen7 7840u 8c/16t 3.3ghz - 5.1ghz
up to 64gb lpddr5x
up to 4tb pcie gen4 m.2 2280
8.4" 2560x1600 ips display
65.5 Whr
win 11
wifi6
fast charging

detachable controllers and a keyboard dock-ish thing. accessory holder to turn side units into a controller with own battery pack.

video of evangelion special edition.

OneXPlayer 2 Pro EVA 3 in 1 Handheld Gaming PC AMD 7840U 32GB 1TB 2TB SSD

OneXPlayer 2 Pro EVA 3 in 1 Gaming Handhel PC AMD 7840U 32G+2T, buy best Onexplayer 2 pro gaming pc free shipping with 24 months warranty.

minixpc.com

it probably doesnt do much for sturdiness or longevity, but i really like the removable side controllers. custom 3rd party units would really allow for customizing.

 

[gorobei]

windows central reporting that Lenovo is coming out with an amd powered handheld similar to its unreleased android handheld project Legion Play.

EXCLUSIVE: Lenovo is working on a Windows PC gaming handheld called the 'Legion Go'

Another Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally competitor enters the fray.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[Muadib]

windows central reporting that Lenovo is coming out with an amd powered handheld similar to its unreleased android handheld project Legion Play.

EXCLUSIVE: Lenovo is working on a Windows PC gaming handheld called the 'Legion Go'

Another Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally competitor enters the fray.

www.windowscentral.com

Interesting...

 

[aigomorla]

So far i like the OneXplayer 2 the best.
I just wish it came in Asuka Red and not Evangelion purple.

 

[gorobei]

GPD latest models are coming out.
win mini

win 4 with latest ryzen 7X40 apu.

they seem to do more to address the issue with windows ui interaction and joystick cursor not being great by adding kb and a mini-touchpad. the slide up display is bringing up flashbacks of the nokia sidekick(that thing was lame and cool at the same time back in the day). i suspect the elevated screen may alleviate any neck or posture issues from long sessions.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

So many of these are simultaneously cool and ridiculous at the same time. It's like the Cambrian Explosion of PC hand helds right now: lots of weird stuff going on and eventually the market will settle to a handful of functional options.

 

[gorobei]

lenovo legion go pre-production preview

ryzen z1 extreme
16gb ram
512gb storage (up to 1tb)
49.2wh battery
8.8" display IPS 2560x1600 @144hz [16:10ar]
touchpad for win navigation on right side controller (removable)
hall effect joysticks
micro sd slot up to 2tb
$699
slated for october release

somebody got serious about competing with the Ally.

edit:updated details

the pseudo mouse adapter for the right controller and the android emulator in the launcher are nice touches.

 

[gorobei]

pcworld has a few more details.

size comparison with steamdeck/ally/switch. the 8.8" display size makes the others look kinda puny.

 

[KMFJD]

xreal air glasses work great with the steam deck

 

[gorobei]

they are growing ........

TJD T101

10.1" display 16:10 1920x1200 ips 60hz no vrr
7840u 8c/16
16/32 GB ram
1-2 TB ssd
hall effect joy/triggers
60 Whr
2.5 pounds (1.1 kg)

$600-950

Ally is a smol boy. this is their first product and no one should be rolling the dice on being an early adopter. but they sure did dial up the size and weight up to 11.

and

opensource homebrew using framework mainboard

 

[GodisanAtheist]

We're going to somehow recreate desktop PCs by continuously growing handhelds at this rate.

"Man, our biggest issues are the power and heat constraints! So what if, stay with me here, we make the monitor and the actual guts of the handheld two separate units, increase them in size so power and heat aren't as much of an issue anymore?!"

Actually leads me to kinda a kooky idea where the computer part is like an old walkman that clips onto your belt and it's connected to a really light screen controller set-up that can come in 7/9/11" sizes...

 

[gorobei]

We're going to somehow recreate desktop PCs by continuously growing handhelds at this rate.

"Man, our biggest issues are the power and heat constraints! So what if, stay with me here, we make the monitor and the actual guts of the handheld two separate units, increase them in size so power and heat aren't as much of an issue anymore?!"

Actually leads me to kinda a kooky idea where the computer part is like an old walkman that clips onto your belt and it's connected to a really light screen controller set-up that can come in 7/9/11" sizes...

i suspect some of the thinking on these larger units is influenced by asia gaming. gamingcafes and smartphone gaming means fewer desktop gamers. having something that can go anywhere so that you can game whenever you get a free minute vs having to wait until you get home to use your main rig probably has more demand than in NA or EU.

i actually put forward an idea in one of the future of pcs threads like a decade ago. all your personal data (phone/email/contact list, software applications, media, music, personal photos, browser settings and bookmarks, steam library, etc) would live on a ssd in a pico device soc that handled i/o like a server and wirelessly connected with dumb terminals that were just displays at whatever size was at hand. you would simply connect to the display and do whatever work or play on the handiest most appropriate size display around. wherever you went you would have your preferred pc setup with you.

 

[quikah]

I think ~1.5 lbs is about the limit for a handheld. The Lenovo somewhat mitigates that with the removeable controllers and kickstand.

 

[gorobei]

ayaneo's latest: kun

The Ayaneo Kun nearly doubles the Steam Deck’s battery for nearly twice the price

Official specs, release window, and more.

www.theverge.com

7840u ryzen
8.4-inch 2560 x 1600 ips
16-64 gb ram
512gb-4tb ssd, full size 2280 m.2 slot
hall effect joy/trigger, rumble, 4 backface buttons, 2 touchpads
4g slot
face recognition option
75 Whr batt

bad news: this is just a gaming laptop in a handheld package and they are charging like it is a gaming laptop. this is for someone who doesnt want a desktop in their life. the verge article indicates they have a habit of moving on to their next product pretty quickly so support become an issue.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Ruh-roh...

AMD has been on a roll in this sector recently, carving out a new niche, but hopefully the old hang-ups which bit them back in the Athlon 64 days don't come back and get them again (beyond Intel's shens, AMD also had a hard time supplying enough product to get the likes of Dell, HP, etc to sign with them, which only made Intel's shens hurt worse):

GPD blames AMD for delay in Win Max 2 handheld PC shipments

As spotted by VideoCardz, GPD apologized on its crowdfunding page to customers who ordered its Win Max 2 but have yet to receive the devices.

www.techspot.com

 

[gorobei]

Ruh-roh...

AMD has been on a roll in this sector recently, carving out a new niche, but hopefully the old hang-ups which bit them back in the Athlon 64 days don't come back and get them again (beyond Intel's shens, AMD also had a hard time supplying enough product to get the likes of Dell, HP, etc to sign with them, which only made Intel's shens hurt worse):

GPD blames AMD for delay in Win Max 2 handheld PC shipments

As spotted by VideoCardz, GPD apologized on its crowdfunding page to customers who ordered its Win Max 2 but have yet to receive the devices.

www.techspot.com

they are blaming amd because their intermediary distributor cant supply them at their (i assume) original order volume presumably negotiated a year or two ago. that could be ordinary supply chain issues or a backup at tsmc. given the number of products coming out listing the 7840u/Z1 this could just be gpd grumbling about allotment delay/priority because it disrupts their idiegogo schedule and potentially cost them some sales if other handheld makers do manage to get out some volume.

it sucks for gpd, but tossing out the term "breech of contract" on behalf of their distributor seems like a bit of a questionable move.

the phawx or someone else was on a podcast and mentioned that amd might have been cutting a deal with the handheld makers by selling them the 7840u as the Z1 because it had some of the specialized ai or enterprise features fused off so they could get to the lower ~$500-600 price. some of the handheld makers are listing 7840 rather than Z1 so they are competing with regular laptop makers for apu volume. if they were willing to use the Z1 they might not have those supply constraints.

 

[gorobei]

emdoor intel meteor lake handheld spotted.

Emdoor Unveils First Handheld Gaming PC With An Intel Meteor Lake CPU Inside

Another laptop ODM from China is entering the gaming handheld market with a pretty interesting device.

hothardware.com

seems to be some uncertainty if this is an official product or just a demo.

onexplayer seems to offer an intel version as well as amd, should be interesting to see benchmarks comparing the gpu performances.

gpd apparently retracted the win2max 'breech of contract' post and are saying they are getting some amount of apus.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

If intel get's its APU/embedded solution sorted out, its GG AMD in the handheld market.

Intel will just get back to their old tying shens + their capability to deliver large volumes will allow them to slowly gain dominance in the market.

 

[gorobei]

legion go teardown.

not bad for general access and disassembly, but getting to the battery or display is hardly simple. you more or less have to pull every part/board/subboard out to get to the battery which is secured with smartphone type one time use glue strips with the pull tab for removal. the display is glued to the main body frame so that will probably require a heatgun to remove.

the phawx did a video on the display being portrait and some of the more modern games that have issues with non landscape. that and the lack of VRR keeps the Go from being the top dog of the latest handhelds.

the reviews are a bit all over the place when it comes to the ergonomics and d-pad, but most recognize the build quality, power, and performance as being solidly near the top. i guess if everyone has a different gripe it means they hit the middleground of not pleasing everyone while getting most of it right.

 

[Mai72]

hmm, do i add the sony project q?

Nope. As others have said you need the PS5 to stream on this device.

 

[gorobei]

retrogamescorps did a roundup of older console emulation on the legion go.

some issues with the performance for various generations (saturn, ps3, xb) may require the emulators to be tuned.

i've seen on a few reviews that the powersaver and balanced profiles limit the cpu volts which allow the gpu to take up more power, leading to better fps. i assume someone will get custom tuning of cpu/gpu balance implemented.

 

[gorobei]

ifixit teardowns of legion go and oled steam deck.
(includes teardown of go controllers)

they even pull off the glued displays, not sure how destructive that is to the old panel. pre-production go's were laser mouse sensor but production appears to be optical.

the deck gets a slight edge on score because valve has made all parts available to buy, but i think lenovo has indicated they will sell parts, but we dont know which parts yet.

 

[Muadib]

Damn I want this new Steam deck!

 

[gorobei]

ayaneo's Slide
amd 7840u
6" 1080p 60hz
16-64gb ram
512-4TB ssd
hall effect sticks and triggers
46Wh battery
$900-1400 retail with 100off for indiegogo orders.

the screen slides up and then has the option to tilt up around 40 degrees. no indication of a touchpad or mouse cursor control like gpd, legionGo, or their own kun. it is nice to see more ergo innovations to the genre, but reviews indicate that the drivers and other tuning changes are very early stage and will need tons of updates. so it is another 1st gen iterate fast products that may not get all its issues ironed out later. does come in a fun retro packaging box that looks like a vhs cassette. (i wonder when we will see a proper clamshell design come out)

 

[gorobei]

Wendell from Level1techs goes over the Win GPD Max OCuLink connection and its non-gaming uses.

this may be another case where gaming hardware gets co-opted for professional use, like when video editors and programmers started using gaming laptops as mobile DTR.
i couldnt figure out why the chinese brands went for full fat 7840u vs the Z1 but if they toss in professional features like oculink, the $1k+ pricing starts making sense.