Best Handhelds?

The Infectious Paradox

The Infectious Paradox

Gold Member
A while back I was considering buying a steam deck OLED, but I changed my mind. I'm back to wanting one again and have downtime to use it. However, I've heard rumblings here and there that there are many other ones that are better these days. Any recommendations?
 
deez nuts GIF
 
The Switch Lite is the best bang for buck @ £170 regularly.

Deck 64gb official refurb at £249 is also insane.

Those are the 2, wouldn't be looking at anything else with successors inbound.
 
The Infectious Paradox said:
I'm not looking for much else besides playing my steam library for reference. I guess screen quality/resolution and performance .
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You could get ASUS ROG Ally return at BestBuy on the cheap, but with their "support" crap and likelihood of non functioning SD card, have to take it with a grain of salt.

Honestly Steam Deck OLED is still probably best device overall especially if you aren't looking to play the latest stuff.
 
Without having tried it myself, I would currently rank the upcoming Rog Ally X as the best handheld out there. It sports a whopping 80Wh battery, it has Windows OS which means perfect compatibility with your existing game library and it has a superior Z1E chip. With a battery of 80Wh, you can play games with ease at 18-20W and the Z1E vastly outperforms the Steam Deck OLED when you're at those wattages. The display is also a 120hz VRR. It has good future proofing in terms of a good CPU and RDNA3 GPU which allows the latest frame gen/FSR3 solutions to work without much hassle. Seems to have good fans aswell and good buttons. Personally I can't find any fault with it except its price tag, which is absolutely premium.

If that higher price tag is not an option, I would recommend getting a used Rog Ally or a used Steam Deck. The market is abundant with those. But you'll have to compromise with worse battery and performance.
 
The Infectious Paradox said:
A while back I was considering buying a steam deck OLED, but I changed my mind. I'm back to wanting one again and have downtime to use it. However, I've heard rumblings here and there that there are many other ones that are better these days. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
For Steam games it's probably going to be the Steam Deck or the ROG Ally X. The X has the bigger battery and better proccessor which makes the best option on paper, but the Steam Deck has far better support and a larger community.

If you just want to emulate games, there are dozens of Chinese devices that do the job well.
 
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Steam Deck OLED is the outstanding choice however I am tempted by the rog ally x. I had the ally and the windows experience was disgusting. Battery was useless too. If you wanted to use the extra power you'd basically get 45mins out of it I think the battery issue has at least been resolved a bit.

sd olded just works and has a great interface
 
Banjo64 said:
The Switch Lite is the best bang for buck @ £170 regularly.

Deck 64gb official refurb at £249 is also insane.

Those are the 2, wouldn't be looking at anything else with successors inbound.
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It's a great value but fuck my old man eyes for having to stare at the tiny screen.
 
I'm a huge fan of the Analogue Pocket, if anyone is looking for a retro handheld that has a gorgeous screen and the build quality of old Nintendo handhelds.
 
Just to put it out there, with the exception of the Steam Deck, many newer handhelds use the AMD Z1 chip, which is a variant of the 780m mobile GPU, which itself is only a smallll performance bump over the 680m, which came out january 4th 2022.

AMD's next generation integrated GPU, the 890m is literally around the corner, coming in the next few days. Early looks at the 890m seem to show about a 35% ish performance improvement over the 780m.

TL;DR - Get whatever you want, but friendly warning - expect a new wave of handhelds within the next 6-8 months that will drastically outperform whatever you can buy today. Even a successor to the steam deck will be here before you know it. Professional recommendation: If you haven't gotten anything yet, either get something really inexpensive like maybe a second hand steam deck or just wait for the next generation. Unless money is no issue for you I suppose.
 
Comandr said:
Just to put it out there, with the exception of the Steam Deck, many newer handhelds use the AMD Z1 chip, which is a variant of the 780m mobile GPU, which itself is only a smallll performance bump over the 680m, which came out january 4th 2022.

AMD's next generation integrated GPU, the 890m is literally around the corner, coming in the next few days. Early looks at the 890m seem to show about a 35% ish performance improvement over the 780m.
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I highly doubt that. It's still on the same die node and they've merely rebranded it into RDNA3+. I see nothing in this that would result in a 35% performance gain at the handheld-appropriate wattages. Last I saw from 890m that it was a laptop-class iGPU due to sort of high power demands. Got a source?
 
tMuuDG8.jpeg


In another timeline when Sony actually supported it and didn't charge stupid money the memory cards.
 
Klosshufvud said:
Without having tried it myself, I would currently rank the upcoming Rog Ally X as the best handheld out there. It sports a whopping 80Wh battery, it has Windows OS which means perfect compatibility with your existing game library and it has a superior Z1E chip. With a battery of 80Wh, you can play games with ease at 18-20W and the Z1E vastly outperforms the Steam Deck OLED when you're at those wattages. The display is also a 120hz VRR. It has good future proofing in terms of a good CPU and RDNA3 GPU which allows the latest frame gen/FSR3 solutions to work without much hassle. Seems to have good fans aswell and good buttons. Personally I can't find any fault with it except its price tag, which is absolutely premium.

If that higher price tag is not an option, I would recommend getting a used Rog Ally or a used Steam Deck. The market is abundant with those. But you'll have to compromise with worse battery and performance.
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This reads like an ad, but if they fix many of the issues with the OG Rog Ally in the X then I'll back your opinion

For now... IDK. Get an oled deck
 
Anyone who tells u an X system is better than the other is a bias.

It always comes down the price of the item ( especially used )

Even an LCD steam deck is worth it if you got it for cheap. or a Chinese brand like anbernic.

I got my asus rog ally modded to 1tb with LCD screen protector and 2 cases for around 300$ US. regardless of the ally X, the ally at this price for what it does for example is an excellent price.

overall in general IMO, the Ally X at this point is the best system to buy. simply because it can play pretty much all your PC games and emulators, the same can not be said about the OLED steam deck even though it has a better interface. you can start Steam in big picture mode at boot up with the ally, but its not 100% the same.

I do think that next year upgrade is much worth it with Strix Point apu because the performance jump is just huge.


so my advice is if you can get something cheap till strix point then go for it. if money isn't a concern, it's either Oled Deck or Ally X. depending on what games u play. With that being said, avoid the Steam deck if you are heavy FPS online player because that thing is no good for these type of games.
 
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TGO said:
tMuuDG8.jpeg


In another timeline when Sony actually supported it and didn't charge stupid money the memory cards.
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How about this? it's got the same form factor and a MiniLED screen (a bit expensive though)

www.ayntec.com

Odin2 Mini

Odin2 Mini: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8Gen2 CPU | 1080p 5" MiniLED Touch Screen | Android 13 | 5000mAh Battery | Hall Sticks | 320g
www.ayntec.com
 
For me it's Steam Deck, especially if you have a PC. You buy a game on your PC , and you can take it with you. No need for overpriced proprietary cartridges that may cease to be supported in future hardware.
 
Topher said:
Suspicious Futurama GIF
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U know what I mean . In general if money isn't an issue . Obviously the ally X and deck oled are the way to go. However, in terms of power and games compatibility? Yeah ally x run over the deck.

Doesn't necessary means is the best platform for every person. Many would avoid the ally x simply because its windows
 
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I have OG LCD Deck and Legion Go.

The Go smashes the Deck on performance but the ergonomics and ease of use of the Deck make it the system I reach for probably 8/10 times.

I really only use the Go for things that are Windows only or performance on the Deck is truly abysmal.
 
//DEVIL// said:
U know what I mean . In general if money isn't an issue . Obviously the ally X is the way to go along with the steam deck oled. Just in terms of power and games compatibility? Yeah ally x run over the deck.

Doesn't necessary means is the best platform for every person. Many would avoid the ally x simply because its windows
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lol....I'm just being a dick. I know what you mean bro.
 
I would personally recommend the Steam Deck OLED if ease of use matters to you because the OS and the way it controls is more intuitive than Windows, along with trackpads + gyro for games.

SteamOS has an actual suspend state, so when you hit the power button while a game is on, it goes to a lower power state than Windows sleep, and will boot back to where you left off on your game. I think every handheld should have that, so hoping Microsoft figures out a way on Windows.

Otherwise if best performance matters ROG Ally X has that with support for playing multiplayer games with anti-cheat.
 
I like Anbernic handhelds for retro emulation on the go. I've ended up loving the Steam Deck way more than I ever thought I would.
 
Forget modern games, get yourself a Miyoo Mini and install Onion OS. Enjoy never having to worry about the pitfalls of the modern gaming industry.
 
With the stick drift issues, I'd be worried about investing in a Switch Lite. I'd recommend just saving up and going for an OLED Switch instead. The Steam Deck OLED is pretty nice but it can often be a cumbersome experience and makes you appreciate closed platform system...though frustration while vary depending on your tolerance for tinkering.
 
3DS.

I wanted to say the PSP, because as a hardware, It's great!
But the library of games is 90% portable ports of existing (and better) PS2 or PS3 games.

The DS and 3DS are the exact opposite. 90% are actual games made for them, and 10% are ports.
 
I think the Steam Deck is still the best bet out there. I messed about with an Asus ROG and frankly Windows is still very poor for devices, and their apps and tools are awkward.

The Deck is streamlined, it's trivial to get emulation going on it, and it's plenty powerful enough to run everything. Even if you end up needing to run a game at low settings it still looks fine on that smaller screen IMO.

And the latest version of the ROG, according to stuff I've read online, still has heat and SD slot issues.
 
Heimdall_Xtreme said:
Verdict, best portable console for emulation?

And also use for steam
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My dude, Steam Deck.

You get Steam, just make sure to check proton.db for compatibility and tricks on how to improve you experience.

For emulation, unless there's something newer, just go for emudeck.
 
MarkMe2525 said:
Forget modern games, get yourself a Miyoo Mini and install Onion OS. Enjoy never having to worry about the pitfalls of the modern gaming industry.
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Pitfalls like... Tekken 8, Elden Ring and Hi-Fi Rush?

Nah no thanks. OP clearly wanted PC.

If you want a small PC handheld, consider getting an Ayaneo Air or a GPD Win 4. Not as small as a Miyoo Mini but will do you good

AYANEO AIR - AYANEO

Founded in 2020, AYANEO is a revolutionary brand for portable gaming consoles. Our team consists of passionate gamers and tech-savvy experts who want to provide gamers with the most advanced and up-to-date gaming experiences. We’ve developed a line of powerful and portable gaming handhelds, with...
ayaneo.com
 
BadBurger said:
I think the Steam Deck is still the best bet out there. I messed about with an Asus ROG and frankly Windows is still very poor for devices, and their apps and tools are awkward.

The Deck is streamlined, it's trivial to get emulation going on it, and it's plenty powerful enough to run everything. Even if you end up needing to run a game at low settings it still looks fine on that smaller screen IMO.

And the latest version of the ROG, according to stuff I've read online, still has heat and SD slot issues.
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Yep, while I did buy ROG Ally, that was before their SD card, overheating issues and more importantly absolutely scummy handling of support requests.

I would never buy an ASUS now unless it was at a huge discount and I would expect to throw it or have to fix myself if things broke.
 
Switch lite
first gba model with backlit mod
Analogue pocket
3ds
Switch oled
psp
Psp vita
Playstation portal not really portable
Steam deck not really portable
 
Depends what you wanna play. Get an oled steamdeck if you only rock indies and mid gen ps4 games. More demanding than those, streaming either locally or cloud via geforce now are valid options.
If you want compromised (talking about battery life or visuals) state of the art AAA games, the rog ally x is a beast.
 
Steam Deck all the way. Does emulation as well effortlessly. The PC counterparts are on paper stronger but if you are going to have windows on your device, prepare it to come with all the same jank and bugs it has on desktop. They are literally PCs with all their problems in portable mode. SD has UI made specifically for portability.
 
Atari lynx….. with chips challenge and gauntlet.


What?….. look at the vivid 16 bit graphics and stereo sound. It's just like the arcade!
 
Comandr said:
Professional recommendation: If you haven't gotten anything yet, either get something really inexpensive like maybe a second hand steam deck or just wait for the next generation. Unless money is no issue for you I suppose.
Click to expand...

Also, get something comfortable. A massive handheld with killer power isn't going to do you much good if you can only hold its weight for half an hour and it sounds like an air conditioner running and you're just playing NES and PS1 games.

Get something maybe with a nice square-screen 4:3 if you can for 'emulation'. (You'll probably use it way more for what it's made for and won't run into as many widescreen regrets as you think.) Enjoy an everlasting supply of classics. Then when the next cycle of portables comes along not too long from now, or you find one of the ones out that just calls out to you on a good deal, you'll have the best of both worlds and will have a second device to reach for (which, again, works out more often than you might expect.)
 
RickMasters said:
Atari lynx….. with chips challenge and gauntlet.


What?….. look at the vivid 16 bit graphics and stereo sound. It's just like the arcade!
Click to expand...
Darn tootin'

XTQVRz7.jpeg


Protip: Don't turn on your Lynx for the first time in years with old batteries inside. My Christmas 1992 unit fried. At least I got this replacement for ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS NEW from some guy with a mailing list on the internet in the 2000s.

*realizing the lynx i had "forever" was only like 13 years old when it "the incident" took place.





...I'll get on securing a copy of Gauntlet.
 
Deck is best bang-for-buck. Ally X might become the best handheld overall. We'll see. I really like the design of some of the other handheld like GPD Win4, but I'd be nervous about their support and return policy. Hell, ASUS was straight up fucking people over with the Ally until Gamers Nexus caught them and gave them a curb stomping.

For my family and friends I've purchased 4 Decks so far. I had issues with a couple of them and Valve came through with brand new units twice. Steam Support is awesome. That's a factor that can't be overlooked.
 
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