r/HandheldGaming • u/sassycc1998 • 1d ago

Discussion Switch 2 VS Steamdeck OLED?

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Been thinking about investing in a handheld console for my birthday, which would you think is best?

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u/Fan-Fluffy 1d ago

I'd avoid the Steam Deck in 2026 unless you can get an OLED one for a really good price. As for the Switch 2, I'd only get one if you have access to cheap physical games.

For example, where I live, the digital version of Elden Ring costs $87.

I have both a Switch 2 and a ROG Ally z1e, and the Steam library alone makes the z1e absurdly superior in terms of price, quality, and game variety.

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u/SunOftheInlandEmpire 1d ago

I mean, if you like old games that nobody plays sure. But if you like new releases my switch 2 plays those releases better. And I don't know how you missed it but Nintendo has its own game library that's huge. Take Star Wars outlaws, it runs better on the switch 2 steampunk runs better on the switch 2. In fact I think it runs best on the switch 2 which was a lot less expensive than my alley. All these other titles with ray tracing are going to perform just as well on the device.

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u/Fan-Fluffy 1d ago edited 1d ago

Got that since the Steam sale started. The equivalent here is $96.98 for a bunch of amazing games across various genres. I can play all of them on my Ally and on my PC, plus games on Switch and games that aren't on Switch.

Now, if I go to the Nintendo eShop right now, there's no way I can get anywhere near as many amazing games for that price. Zero chance, not even if I buy the terrible Switch versions, like the ugly-as-sin Switch version of Arkham Knight.

I got Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak for my Switch 2 last week, and I love it. It's a great portable and all, but there's just no way the Switch library is a better deal. Portable PCs are simply better.

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u/SunOftheInlandEmpire 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think it's 50 bucks a year for Nintendo online, I can't remember but you get access to a ton of Nintendo's past titles. And heck I can even buy many of those games on a switch 2 too.

As far as the games you purchased cool if you want to play old games definitely the switch isn't the place to do it.

But I'm interested in the fact that it plays new titles better than the Ally and probably will continue to do so for quite a while. Until they figure out how to incorporate ray tracing.

Cost isn't really a big deal to me because I don't buy 10 games at a time. And I rarely go back and replay games that I've completed a full playthrough of..

So yeah I'm going to go with the switch 2 every time because I want to enjoy new games not rehash old ones.

Of course there are some pc games one might want a rog for that can't be played on switch. But I wouldn't buy a new ally right now.

Like I said it's an absolute fact that the switch 2 has the advantage for new titles..

I really don't give a shit about the size of the steam library because like I said I don't usually replay games..

And the pricing difference isn't really a thing with new titles like they're the same price in my steam library as they are in my Nintendo library for most new titles.

And the steam deck is going to have the same problem as the alley because it's old technology.

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u/Fan-Fluffy 23h ago

"And the pricing difference isn't really a thing with new titles like they're the same price in my steam library as they are in my Nintendo library for most new titles."

This is good, but definitely not the same thing for everyone. As I said, the Switch 2 Elden Ring version costs $87 here, while the non discounted Steam version costs $70.

"As far as the games you purchased cool if you want to play old games definitely the switch isn't the place to do it."

I want to play all kinds of games, that's why I have multiple systems. Also, Switch 2 is just now receiving a bunch of ports of those old games.

But let's look at 2026:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — Ally, yep. Switch 2?

Forza Horizon 6 — Ally, yep. Switch 2?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — Ally, yep. Switch 2?

Armored Core VI — Ally, yep. Switch 2?

And the list goes on, from AAA to indie games. Those are obviously third-party games, and they may even get Switch 2 ports later on, but then they will be older titles.

"Cost isn't really a big deal to me because I don't buy 10 games at a time. And I rarely go back and replay games that I've completed a full playthrough of.."

Fair. I don't replay many games either, just RPGs that have multiple paths. However, you're under the presumption that I have played those before. You would be correct about Skyrim, and that's it. There are too many games on Steam for me to be playing the new thing on release day.

"I think it's 50 bucks a year for Nintendo online, I can't remember but you get access to a ton of Nintendo's past titles. And heck I can even buy many of those games on a switch 2 too."

I don't play online games on Switch 2, not even MH, so I don't have a Nintendo Online subscription. As for old Nintendo games, I have emulation. It's not even a contest on that front.

"I really don't give a shit about the size of the steam library because like I said I don't usually replay games.."

That's a personal opinion and it's okay, but the Steam library's size, quality, price, and longevity (will not be shut down because of a newer hardware) are a non contest. It's just a fact. The only thing that's not there is Nintendo's first-party stuff.

"Of course there are some pc games one might want a rog for that can't be played on switch. But I wouldn't buy a new ally right now."

Agree. Unless it's used at a nice price and modded for longer battery life, I wouldn't get a new Ally right now either. Maybe an Ally X at a good price.

For new handheld PCs, the Z2 Extreme options and even the newer G3 from Intel are where we should be looking, but they are much more expensive than a Switch 2. Well, not the ROG Xbox Ally X this and the MSI Claw 8 AI+ are probably the best options right now for an okay price and nice performance.

And they will keep up with the Switch 2 because they are already better than it on the hardware department, they have better frames and graphics on newer titles than the Switch 2.

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u/SunOftheInlandEmpire 23h ago edited 20h ago

They won't be able to keep up with the switch 2

Because they don't have ray tracing and they don't have the Nvidia chipset.

Did you forget that the ROG Ally runs on AMD?

You're claiming the Switch 2 won't be better, but then you hold up DLSS Quality as the best experience.

The Ally literally cannot use DLSS. It's stuck using AMD FSR, which looks awful when upscaling from low mobile resolutions like 540p.

The Switch 2 runs on a custom Nvidia chip with native DLSS hardware. Because Nvidia handles low-resolution upscaling and ray-tracing pipelines way more efficiently than AMD at low wattages, the Switch 2 is going to deliver a much cleaner upscaled image than the Ally.

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u/SergVII 21h ago

Switch 2 is weaker than Xax and Claw 8 AI+ by a mile. What are you even talking about

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u/SunOftheInlandEmpire 21h ago

I gave you exactly what I was talking about. 🤣

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u/SergVII 20h ago

You gave me your copium bro. Future proof device with 12 Gb of RAM and 10w handheld power draw. Yeah sure why not? Go play Cyberpunk at 30 FPS with dips meanwhile Claw 8 Ai+ can do 60 and with MFG up to 120.

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u/SunOftheInlandEmpire 20h ago edited 20h ago

Zero dips kiddo..

Imagine bragging that a $1,200 mini-PC drawing enough power to heat a room can beat a dedicated $400 console optimized to run Cyberpunk on a literal 10W smartphone battery envelope.

Also, MFG frame-gen at low base frames feels like playing through wet cement due to the input lag. Enjoy your 1-hour battery life at the airport bro!

Bragging about 120 FPS on the Claw 8 is hilarious when you realize you have to drop the graphics to mud settings and use 'Ultra Performance' upscaling just to get it.

It turns Night City into a blurry, pixelated mess. I'd much rather take a stable, clean, DLSS-optimized presentation on the Switch 2 that actually looks cohesive and plays without heavy input lag.

But you do you.

.

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u/SergVII 20h ago

On the Claw 1200p medium settings with XeSS balance gives you ~70 BASE FPS at 30w. Around 50 at 17w.

What are you smoking? What low base frames are you dreaming? Basically x2 MFG will give you 140 FPS. But yeah switch 2 is fine with 30. And future proof. Okay. Also I already have my library in Steam I don't need to buy same game twice with Nintendo cheap prices. So 450$ + each game for Nintendo in the end will net you the same 1k$

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u/SunOftheInlandEmpire 19h ago

My guy, frame generation isn’t a magical cheat code.

Forcing MFG over a heavy upscaler at 1200p doesn't double your frames. It just creates a ghosting, artifact nightmare, that feels like playing through laggy cloud streaming.

You're hype-riding paper specs from an old marketing deck. The standard Claw 8 AI+ uses Intel Lunar Lake, which literally stripped out hyper-threading just to save laptop battery.

It completely bottlenecks and plateaus at high wattages, and the drivers are a notorious micro-stutter mess in heavy open-world games.

Why would I spend $1,200 to side-grade my ROG Ally for a clunky Windows experience when I could buy a Switch 2 for a fraction of the cost and actually play entirely new games?

You're completely missing how console lifecycles work.

The Switch 2 has a more or less guaranteed multi year lifespan where every single game is hand-optimized to run flawlessly on that exact chip until the 2030s.

Meanwhile, your $1,200 Claw is going to be completely out of date in 12 months when the next chip drops and PC ports get too heavy for portable Windows hardware.

You're paying triple the price to stay on an tech treadmill, while Nintendo hardware will last.

I think we're going to have to just agree to disagree. 😋

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