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[yet_another_alt]

All this talk of powerful portables is just making me want the Flow Z13 more.

 

[Z O N E]

Still struggling to get one...

Trying multiple stores and always keep getting beat to the punch.

 

[BlackTron]

Since you'd be carrying the handheld in a backpack or luggage (unless you have a fitted carrying case with a strap? Ha so convenient all I have to do is wear this purse lol), a thinner lappy or tablet can actually fit better in the bag.

I agree. A backpack with one of those flat areas in the back...it's like it doesn't even exist.

BUT, I consider a controller and chunky battery necessary accessories for me and that adds to the weight and awkwardness quite a bit. A handheld does usualln need some kind of protective cae though and that bulks it up. The portable is easier to get around but I don't think the laptop too much worse once I leave with the whole kit.

Good thing the laptop fits so well because I pack both, but double dip by using the Switch pro controller on PC if I have to, along with its dock being a tiny flat C dongle. Also my laptop can get by using the 65w Nintendo charger so I don't have to carry the 240w brick all the time. The battery will still deplete if the game is heavy, but without the FPS slash and much slower than on battery alone. Switch is the more likely local mp candidate and you can detach the joycon in a pinch.

For efficiency's sake, if I would be away from an outlet that long, I don't see using laptop for gaming much...handheld uses ludicrously less watts. I'd probably save the power bank for my phone and move down to a GBA or something lol.

 

[Crayon]

I agree. A backpack with one of those flat areas in the back...it's like it doesn't even exist.


Good thing the laptop fits so well because I pack both, but double dip by using the Switch pro controller on PC if I have to, along with its dock being a tiny flat C dongle. Also my laptop can get by using the 65w Nintendo charger so I don't have to carry the 240w brick all the time. The battery will still deplete if the game is heavy, but without the FPS slash and much slower than on battery alone. Switch is the more likely local mp candidate and you can detach the joycon in a pinch.

For efficiency's sake, if I would be away from an outlet that long, I don't see using laptop for gaming much...handheld uses ludicrously less watts. I'd probably save the power bank for my phone and move down to a GBA or something lol.

Right, charger is also assumed and I didn't even include that. It's small but it all adds up. It's versatile with the battery, though. You can charge your phone or the phon and power the laptop at the same time or charge the battery fasts alone. Compared to just pulling out a handheld, that's a lot of parts floating around. But if you have a place to settle in like a hotel or somthing, it's pretty damn nice. And I use a switch pro controller too!

 

[Tobimacoss]

So is a used car if you get a bargain but fucking useless if you need to use it for gaming on the go, just like a thinkpad.

Jesus you are painful as fuck.

What if it's a used Tesla, or one of those cars with LG xCloud app?

Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) Coming to Select Vehicles in Partnership with LG - Xbox Wire

We are working to integrate the Xbox experience into select internet-connected vehicles, introducing a new way to bring more of what players love about Xbox into more places.

news.xbox.com

Forget the Xbox Ally X, just buy a car.

 

[clarky]

All this talk of powerful portables is just making me want the Flow Z13 more.

Nice bit of kit.

 

[Bernkastel]

Maybe if you play only just indies and older games. For newer titles there just isn't enough hardware grunt to power them to a satisfactory level. Fyi I have one.

I also have an Intel Lunar Lake laptop which performs similarly to the Z2 Extreme in the Xbox Ally X and the newer chips are another league when it comes to performance. Sadly the Z2E handhelds are considerably more expensive than Z1E that came before them. And only offer a modest bump in performance for over 50% cost in many cases, if not more. There's a lot of reasons to own an Ally X if you haven't got one already as it is one of if not the best PC handheld released so far and is a good starting point for normal, less tech savvy people. Like you can boot up and play new games like Battlefield 6 in a small form factor and on the go.. without the hassle of finicking about with the OS + peripherals as your would with a desktop/laptop.

Upcoming Playstation handheld will cover that with a reasonable price. Its supposed to be more powerful than Ally X.

I have a Steam Deck and put Windows on it, I would love an Ally X if I had the spare cash.

I use windows for games with anti cheat, the power boost from the Ally X would be great for emulating newer devices where the steam deck struggles too.

Steam Deck is nowhere near enough for a PC handheld. Not even close. (IT IS A great value machine though)

Why would anyone go from the superior Linux experience to the inferior Windows 11?
Regardless you probably would be able to play all those games in the upcoming Playstation handheld.
Or get any other windows handheld.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Upcoming Playstation handheld will cover that with a reasonable price. Its supposed to be more powerful than Ally X.

If it's going to be more powerful it won't be for a reasonable price. There is no magic here - you pay more for more powerful tech.

 

[Bernkastel]

If it's going to be more powerful it won't be for a reasonable price. There is no magic here - you pay more for more powerful tech.

I trust a reasonable price from the creators of Vita and PSP.

 

[Jetpac]

Completely different use cases, wtf? lol

It's Gaf he needed to bash the xbox somehow.

Let me join in.

Desktops are a better value than laptops.

 

[dgrdsv]

Shocking news.
I'd argue that this has always been the case as even against Steam Deck a laptop with a similar GPU would be a better overall buy.
These handheld devices are for people who like a very specific way of gaming which you can't do on a laptop - like play while you're commuting to/from the office.
For them the fact that you get more for the money from a laptop is irrelevant.

 

[DenchDeckard]

This deffo seems like IGN just sharing affiliate links.

I've got an awesome laptop but I am still interested in the Ally. Not gonna pull a laptop out on the plane or carry a laptop bag everywhere with me.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

And laptops are a much more of an easy "dockable" experience compared to these PC handhelds. Just plug a hdmi cable into your tv and you're good to go.

Thats been my setup since 2021

 

[hinch7]

Upcoming Playstation handheld will cover that with a reasonable price. Its supposed to be more powerful than Ally X.

Doesn't help if you need something now, PS6 is well over a year off. And that's if people want to buy into Sony PS ecosystem. Power doesn't help you if you want to boot up a game from Steam, EGS or whatever platform on PC. There's also the argument of PC verses consoles quirks but I won't go into that from a value point of view.

I would say that if you want a powerful handheld and PC rn, you might be better off waiting for Intel's next generation APU with Xe3 graphics next year. As that one sounds like its going to be a quite a big jump even from current PC handhelds and portables - outside silly expensive ones like AMD's Strix Halo portables with 8060s.

 

[brenobnfm]

And laptops are a much more of an easy "dockable" experience compared to these PC handhelds. Just plug a hdmi cable into your tv and you're good to go.

No it's fucking not, not even close lol

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Weird article...those two are not the same kind of products lol.

 

[Isurus]

This article comes off as out of touch with reality to me. I travel a lot for work. A couple years ago I bought a gaming laptop so I could have access to my Steam library and PC games while I was traveling. Honestly, it was miserable. Gaming laptops with any power are bulky and a pain to carry around. Additionally, you need a desk (even if it's a lap test) to play them effectively. I ended up ditching it. I currently use a Switch 2 instead for travel and it's a much better experience. I have a ROG Ally (original) that I used for a while too. I had ditched it as Windows 11 is a terrible mobile experience. When the costs get more reasonable ($1000 for a handheld is a bit much in my mind) and if the mobile experience MS has been working on gets solid, I'll likely take the plunge again. Long story short though, comparing a laptop to a handheld gaming device is foolish. They aren't targeting the same audience or experience at all.

 

[Bernkastel]

Doesn't help if you need something now, PS6 is well over a year off. And that's if people want to buy into Sony PS ecosystem. Power doesn't help you if you want to boot up a game from Steam, EGS or whatever platform on PC. There's also the argument of PC verses consoles quirks but I won't go into that from a value point of view.

I would say that if you want a powerful handheld and PC rn, you might be better off waiting for Intel's next generation APU with Xe3 graphics next year. As that one sounds like its going to be a quite a big jump even from current PC handhelds and portables - outside silly expensive ones like AMD's Strix Halo portables with 8060s.

Unless you are deep into the Xbox ecosystem, people don't go "I don't want invest in Playstation ecosystem".

No one would be able to beat the upcoming Playstation handheld and be reasonably priced. At that price there is nothing beating the Playstation handheld.

 

[hinch7]

Unless you are deep into the Xbox ecosystem, people don't go "I don't want invest in Playstation ecosystem".

No one would be able to beat the upcoming Playstation handheld and be reasonably priced. At that price there is nothing beating the Playstation handheld.

The target audience for Ally X and these type on PC portables are PC gamers. Nothing to do with consoles, like the Xbox ROG Ally is just an ASUS handheld with Xbox co branding. People that already have a Steam account, with many games on there and couldn't care less about consoles or their games.

PC gamers are kind of used to paying more up front for hardware. Whereas on consoles you'd expect them to subsidize on base hardware, but they make their money off you from software and accessories. Also for legacy stuff which they may or may not support games and simply just want you to rebuy games or pay for subscription services to access stuff you already paid for. See the amount of emulation games that could easily run on current PS5 hardware but choose not to. Same with Nintendo and their legacy content locked behind expensive pay walls or cash grab re-releases. That and consoles exclusives don't really exist anymore as they'll eventually make their way onto PC - outside Nintendo.

So yeah as I said before.. the Xbox ROG Ally X is overpriced. But I doubt something like the PS(P 2?) will convert people who mainly play on PC to buy one. PC gamers will pay a premium for hardware or none at all. And by the time that releases they'll very likely be a lot more competition. One being from Valve themselves with the Steam Deck 2.

 

[yet_another_alt]

I trust a reasonable price from the creators of Vita and PSP.

Those guys are long gone, what we have now are the creators of the Portal.

 

[Bernkastel]

Those guys are long gone, what we have now are the creators of the Portal.

yeah but they are working on a native gaming handheld.

 

[Bernkastel]

The target audience for Ally X and these type on PC portables are PC gamers. Nothing to do with consoles, like the Xbox ROG Ally is just an ASUS handheld with Xbox co branding. People that already have a Steam account, with many games on there and couldn't care less about consoles or their games.

PC gamers are kind of used to paying more up front for hardware. Whereas on consoles you'd expect them to subsidize on base hardware, but they make their money off you from software and accessories. Also for legacy stuff which they may or may not support games and simply just want you to rebuy games or pay for subscription services to access stuff you already paid for. See the amount of emulation games that could easily run on current PS5 hardware but choose not to. Same with Nintendo and their legacy content locked behind expensive pay walls or cash grab re-releases. That and consoles exclusives don't really exist anymore as they'll eventually make their way onto PC - outside Nintendo.

So yeah as I said before.. the Xbox ROG Ally X is overpriced. But I doubt something like the PS(P 2?) will convert people who mainly play on PC to buy one. PC gamers will pay a premium for hardware or none at all. And by the time that releases they'll very likely be a lot more competition. One being from Valve themselves with the Steam Deck 2.

Except their are much better PC handhelds than the Ally X.