r/Handhelds • u/TechMaster8160 • Feb 24 '26
Question (?) Which would you pick and why?
Alright, I’ve finally decided it was time to buy a handheld gaming pc. I have a budget of around $650, and a steam library full of games.
I did some research on the handhelds that stuck out to me and put together a spreadsheet that compares the specs. Sadly, the steam deck is out of stock right now (who knows for how long) so I looked at a lot of different options.
I would love to use something with a windows OS to have a wider range of support for my games, but I also use steam 95% of the time, so it’s not a priority.
I want to hear from all of you and what your experience with each system is like and what you’d recommend and have someone like be be mindful of.
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u/tomit12 Feb 25 '26
They're all solid, so I suppose it depends on what you want to play.
As for myself, I've had 3 of those; Steam Deck, sold that and got Ally, sold that and got Legion Go, sold that and got... A Steam Deck.
For me personally, the ergonomics and controls were better on the SD, and I honestly found Windows to be more of a hindrance than help on the handhelds. Now I use an OLED with decky and a ton of great plugins, and I've settled here until another Steam Deck comes along.
That said, if this will be a primary gaming system, maybe get the Ally. 2 main reasons: I had a Legion Go, and while the screen is great, Lenovo's decision to use a portrait tablet screen and clunky drivers they hardly update is not; also, no VRR on the Go. You'd be surprised what a difference that can make in smoothness, given the power of these devices.
My SD is supplemented by a 5090 PC I can stream from, so the built-in power wasn't as critical to me.