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[Mythoclast]

In the market for a PC handheld but with so many choices, I'd love to hear some of your experiences, especially if you have owned one, some or all of them.

Steam Deck LCD 256 GB will retail for $399 USD, the most affordable option but it is more like a handheld console with no way to run GamePass natively, not to mention its overall weaker hardware.

Steam Deck OLED for $549 USD with slightly better performance, better battery life and OLED screen, but it doesn't change the fact that the system is underpowered. In my case, I would probably go for the OG and save $150.

ROG Ally with a 120Hz screen and VRR, Z1 Extreme, with Windows that can run GamePass natively. Could probably grab it for $600 USD during Black Friday, which again, is just $50 USD than the Deck OLED for a chip that is a generation ahead of the Deck. However, ASUS has a spotty track record with quality and long-term support of their products. They might just release a MUCH better Ally 2 in 6 months.

Legion Go: Has the Lenovo brand attached to it, bigger screen and probably more comfortable to hold. No VRR though. Could probably use it as a Windows tablet and portable workstation as well. However, $749 USD, making it $150 USD more expensive than the Ally for similar specs.

 

[diffusionx]

the only one i would consider buying right now is the Steam Deck OLED, woudn't even look at the non-Valve ones.

 

[IFireflyl]

The Steam Deck OLED, and it isn't even close.

 

[Portugeezer]

I would say Steam deck because it's more pick-up-and-play and has Valve support for compatibility.

If you prefer tinkering, then I'd consider the other ones.

 

[Klosshufvud]

Personally I think the Legion GO is the best one out of the conventional handhelds. It has a magnificent 8,8' display which is really important for modern HD games. It sports a 4nm Phoenix Line APU which is a pretty drastic upgrade from the Deck chip and also more future proof due to its 8-core Zen 4 CPU. However its size may be too big for some. Also of course it's Windows so no issues with any launcher.

 

[FalconPunch]

I do not think the non-steam deck devices can even be considered as handhelds. They're handhelds in form factor only and do not adhere to the other tenets associated with handhelds. An example would be the ease of use or the ability to sleep and resume, etc. The battery life of the other non steam deck devices is laughably bad. Even the steam deck barely fits in the handheld category because it's size is rather large.

 

[Dacvak]

This thread is not helping my FOMO…

 

[OverHeat]

Steam deck oled or bust

 

[Klosshufvud]

I do not think the non-steam deck devices can even be considered as handhelds. They're handhelds in form factor only and do not adhere to the other tenets associated with handhelds. An example would be the ease of use or the ability to sleep and resume, etc. The battery life of the other non steam deck devices is laughably bad. Even the steam deck barely fits in the handheld category because it's size is rather large.

Let's not pretend that sleep/resume is a flawless SD feature. And let's not pretend handhelds have existed for the longest without sleep/resume. I manage just fine without the function. It takes less than a minute to boot the device into the game. Hardly a deal breaker. Regarding your other points, Steam Deck before OLED had the worst battery life out of the popular PC handhelds for the longest. OLED is better but its battery is not any bigger than the one in Legion GO. And way smaller than several other Chinese handhelds of its size. I personally think size/battery/fan noise/performance is basically what makes or breaks a handheld. There is something for every taste.

 

[Darko]

Refurb steam deck lcd if you’re cheap.. oled if you can afford it

 

[CrustyBritches]

Best value would be the $349 64GB model upgraded to 512GB for a total of $384, or 1TB SSD for a total of $427. Well, technically the refurbished models are the best value since they come with a 1yr warranty, but the availability is rare.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I doubt that the Steam OLED or whatever is the strongest, I haven't looked into it, but I'd expect it at the least to work the best and be the standard obviously for Steam and with the nature of it being a handheld, I'd want whatever platform gave me the least headaches.

Whatever anyone does, don't rush into it. There's nothing exclusive to any of them, and really unless you are a hardcore public transit person or have some crazy commute, you're probably gonna want to play most of your games from whatever comfortable gaming set up one may have anyways.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Wish anyone around here was willing to buy my lcd 512GB steamdeck so I can order that oled version. I'm not mailing it anywhere.

 

[AndrewRyan]

Research your favorite games on (protondb.com) to verify they're supported on SD. If so treat yourself to an OLED if you can afford it. Otherwise some great deals on used right now if you're comfortable going that route.

 

[rodrigolfp]

but it is more like a handheld console with no way to run GamePass natively

Not a console and you can run gamepass natively.

 

[Mythoclast]

Im considering the Go more rn, just for the sake of the screen size and power. Just like with TVs, you can’t go wrong with bigger size.

 

[Darko]

Im considering the Go more rn, just for the sake of the screen size and power. Just like with TVs, you can’t go wrong with bigger size.

with portrait screen .. yuck

 

[Ozriel]

I do not think the non-steam deck devices can even be considered as handhelds. They're handhelds in form factor only and do not adhere to the other tenets associated with handhelds. An example would be the ease of use or the ability to sleep and resume, etc. The battery life of the other non steam deck devices is laughably bad. Even the steam deck barely fits in the handheld category because it's size is rather large.

What a weird argument. Seems deliberately skewed towards the Deck. ‘Handheld’ here is defined largely by the form factor.

choice of handheld depends on multiple factors, and performance and compatibility are all part of that mix.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

You can keep your VRR 120hz 1440p whatever. The OLED HDR display of the new Deck makes all that meaningless. Anyone who has played on a Switch OLED immediately recognizes that it makes all games just plain better.

PS: who in their right mind wants to set up Windows on their gaming handheld? I mean it still prompts you to install Microsoft office. It’s embarrassing.

 

[Mister Wolf]

They just need a VRR screen and the Deck OLED would be perfect.

 

[Hohenheim]

Legion Go. Perfect size, FPS mode and hall effect sticks. Feels great to hold.
Had a Rog Ally, but replaced it with the Legion Go.
Would be hard to go back to lower specs and SD now, although the OLED screen on the new one looks very nice. But i'm very happy with the screen on the Legion Go.
The Ally had better sound, but the audio in the Legion can be adjusted to be very close. I use headphones 90% of the times anyway, so that's not really an issue for me.

 

[64bitmodels]

I do not think the non-steam deck devices can even be considered as handhelds.

They will soon when SteamOS gets released for all handhelds.

 

[StereoVsn]

If you don’t have anything right now I would either buy Steam Deck OLED or ROG Ally (especially used in excellent condition from BestBuy).

If most of your library is in Steam or you are going to emulate, go Steam Deck. If you really want to use GoG, Epic, EA or say Ubisoft stores, go Ally.

Also, if you are going to play decent amount docked, go Ally. If you really want that extra 20% power on stuff like SpiderMan but are ok with an hour or so battery life, also go Ally.

If you actually want your device to last 2.5-3 hours even playing Cyberpunk, go Steam Deck.

Lenovo software is too underbaked right now, IMO. Not worth the price.

Edit: Note at 13w, Deck will generally meet or beat Ally/Lenovo at 15w. Ally at 15w will beat or meet Lenovo as well.

 

[Topher]

If you don’t have anything right now I would either buy Steam Deck OLED or ROG Ally (especially used in excellent condition from BestBuy).

If most of your library is in Steam or you are going to emulate, go Steam Deck. If you really want to use GoG, Epic, EA or say Ubisoft stores, go Ally.

Also, if you are going to play decent amount docked, go Ally. If you really want that extra 20% power on stuff like SpiderMan but are ok with an hour or so battery life, also go Ally.

If you actually want your device to last 2.5-3 hours even playing Cyberpunk, go Steam Deck.

Lenovo software is too underbaked right now, IMO. Not worth the price.

Great post. To add to your suggestions, I'd say if someone already has a gaming PC, go Steam Deck. Rog Ally's power is great, but as a handheld that power sucks way too much battery.

If someone doesn't already have a gaming PC, I'd lean towards Rog Ally because there is more incentive to play docked, like you say, and utilize that additional power.

 

[StereoVsn]

Great post. To add to your suggestions, I'd say if someone already has a gaming PC, go Steam Deck. Rog Ally's power is great, but as a handheld that power sucks way too much battery.

If someone doesn't already have a gaming PC, I'd lean towards Rog Ally because there is more incentive to play docked, like you say, and utilize that additional power.

Yeah, that’s a good point. Plus with gaming PC you can always stream.

 

[64bitmodels]

If someone doesn't already have a gaming PC, I'd lean towards Rog Ally because there is more incentive to play docked, like you say, and utilize that additional power.

as an addendum, Ally's extra power shines most when you have a dedicated GPU to hook it up to since the APU in that thing is equivalent to a desktop 5800x. So if you bought an ally compatible external gpu and a dock with HDMI out you'd basically have a PC switch.

 

[Topher]

tbf Ally's extra power shines most when you have a dedicated GPU to hook it up to since the APU in that thing is equivalent to a desktop 5800x. So if you bought an ally compatible external gpu and a dock with HDMI out you'd basically have a PC switch.

Yep. With the XG Mobile, you've got a pretty sweet gaming setup. Expensive though. If Asus sold an XG Mobile enclosure rather than a mobile GPU then I'd probably be all over that.

The only thing that worries me about the XG Mobile is that bulky connector possibly getting damaged over time the way it arcs up out of the Rog Ally. Hopefully it locks in securely.

 

[StereoVsn]

Yep. With the XG Mobile, you've got a pretty sweet gaming setup. Expensive though. If Asus sold an XG Mobile enclosure rather than a mobile GPU then I'd probably be all over that.

The only thing that worries me about the XG Mobile is that bulky connector possibly getting damaged over time the way it arcs up out of the Rog Ally. Hopefully it locks in securely.

I really wish they just went with USB4 instead of this proprietary BS. Yes, it would have been a bit slower, but not by much and whole lot less expensive.

Maybe Ally 2.

 

[Topher]

I really wish they just went with USB4 instead of this proprietary BS. Yes, it would have been a bit slower, but not by much and whole lot less expensive.

Maybe Ally 2.

Unfortunately I think they are sticking with it. Asus has manufacturered a laptop and a tablet that uses the same connector.

 

[rodrigolfp]

it still prompts you to install Microsoft office.

So far didn't happen here on my Deck.

 

[StereoVsn]

Unfortunately I think they are sticking with it. Asus has manufacturered a laptop and a tablet that uses the same connector.

I realize that and find it incredibly annoying. Performance for the price is pretty terrible.

Edit: I think Lenovo has USB 4 but their drivers are super underbaked so external GPU docks don’t work.

 

[simpatico]

It would be Steam Deck for me. The perf difference means very little considering the type of games I'd be targeting on a handheld. It's basically an Indie and emulation machine. It's a lot of what I've been playing the past year or so. Getting more and more tempting.

 

[StereoVsn]

Also, I recommend watching the sales and additional returned items discounts from BestBuy for Ally/Lenovo. Plus Lenovo will probably run some special for like 20% off on BF.

I still would take the Deck OLED personally, but that’s because most of my library is on Steam with rest on GoG. So between Steam and emulation I have years of backlog library to go through.

 

[Mythoclast]

Also, I recommend watching the sales and additional returned items discounts from BestBuy for Ally/Lenovo. Plus Lenovo will probably run some special for like 20% off on BF.

I still would take the Deck OLED personally, but that’s because most of my library is on Steam with rest on GoG. So between Steam and emulation I have years of backlog library to go through.

Do you think they could run a 20% off even on the Go? Im considering buying but might wait if they run a sale. Thing is new tho.

 

[Topher]

Do you think they could run a 20% off even on the Go? Im considering buying but might wait if they run a sale. Thing is new tho.

It is possible, but probably not after Black Friday. There are currently Legion Go open boxes available from Best Buy. "Excellent" condition is $636.99 right now.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-legion-go-8-8-144hz-wqxga-gaming-handheld-amd-ryzen-z1-extreme-16gb-with-1-tb-ssd-shadow-black/6559604.p?skuId=6559604

 

[MatrixReloaded101]

In the market for a PC handheld but with so many choices, I'd love to hear some of your experiences, especially if you have owned one, some or all of them.

At the end of the day just pick the handheld that best fits the types of games you plan to play. It sounds like you want to play game pass games so the steam deck probably wouldn’t make sense for you compared to the other two options.

For me the steam deck has been perfect because it play all the retros, emulators and AA games I want to play. Not a fan of playing AAA games on a handheld but if that’s what your interested in the other options would make sense but than you got to think about battery life, loud fans and the device getting hot playing those types of games.

 

[StereoVsn]

It is possible, but probably not after Black Friday. There are currently Legion Go open boxes available from Best Buy. "Excellent" condition is $636.99 right now.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-legion-go-8-8-144hz-wqxga-gaming-handheld-amd-ryzen-z1-extreme-16gb-with-1-tb-ssd-shadow-black/6559604.p?skuId=6559604

Yep, that’s one but Lenovo is known to do crazy deals on BF so it’s possible.

That BestBuy deal though is pretty good all in all and has full warranty and return policy.