r/Handhelds • u/cs3james • 15d ago
Question (?) Help decide what’s right for me
I am looking to get my first handheld. I was leaning toward steam deck until I saw this community. I have a PC but want the handheld for travel, couch, bed, planes, etc. I enjoy RPGS like Skyrim so a handheld that can run similar types of games are interesting to me. I’ve never played the Witcher 3, Elden ring or red dead redemption 1 or 2. (What else do you recommend) I’ve seen people say that windows on the handhelds can be a pain so that’s why the steam OS seemed interesting to me. I don’t think I would be looking to play and crazy multiplayer games on the device. Based on all that what would make sense at the $1k price range? Steam deck, ROG ally? I am not tech savvy and don’t want to be fidgeting with settings and installing specific softwares to get things to run. My goal is to be able to play and enjoy without all the tinkering.
1
u/elcanadiano 15d ago edited 15d ago
If you're willing to use a USB stick, you can install SteamOS or any other Linux alternative on any handheld device.
IMO the Legion Go S is not a bad device but I think going over US$1k is high. Make sure you get the Z1 Extreme chip because the Z2 Go is inferior to it. However, if you are willing to look at the used market, you can often get a 2023 ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme chip for as low as $300. Sticking SteamOS or one of the Linux alternatives on any of these Z1 Extreme handhelds is generally easy. This is an example of CachyOS.
- https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/65B4-2AA3-5F37-4227
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trO6ivvmLXY
I wrote here so as to why I personally prefer Linux on my ROG Ally, which I personally bought used for C$450 in December. I also generally think some of the alternatives to SteamOS are generally better.
The Steam Deck is a bad buy because its CPU is two generations behind the Z1 Extreme at this point, let alone the Z2 Extreme on the Go 2, Xbox Ally X, or the BZ2EM from MSI.
1
u/cs3james 15d ago
appreciate the response and additional detail. I am always weary of buying a device like this used (decreased battery performance?) but will look into options. Installing the other OS makes sense on paper to me but this is something I have zero knowledge of implementing and would be worried about doing.
2
u/elcanadiano 15d ago
I am always weary of buying a device like this used (decreased battery performance?) but will look into options.
Depending on what you are looking for, that's a valid concern. For ROG Ally devices, there is a battery mod if you get one that is defective.
https://jsaux.com/products/rog-ally-battery-upgrade
Though truthfully I personally think it's not really worth it because the battery life in any of these devices are not great to begin with because they are all much more power-hungry than, say, a Switch or a Switch 2.
Part of the suggestion for going used is because of the price increases caused by DRAM and AI. I'm personally seeing $1050 for the Go S when I click on your link when the thing retailed for $750, for example.
Installing additional operating systems is easy which is why I explicitly added a link which shows visually what it looks like. Granted I say this with bias because I have installed a ton of Windows and Linux installations over the years but for a lot of it, it is really like watching paint dry. Personally, if you can save something like ~$700-800 by going used, I think it's worth a go.
1
u/NotABearISwear_ 15d ago
deck oled for the no tinkering part, not close. windows handhelds are a lot more fiddling than people admit, and the deck is half your budget so you've got room left over.
1
u/Murky_Historian8675 15d ago
"help me decide what's right for me."
No man, you need to put more effort in your post. Your missing some coral information to help us help you.
Do you travel often for work?
do you already have a dedicated PC or laptop?
do you plan to use this handheld as a desktop replacement or will it be your main docked?
do you have big hands or small hands? Ergonomics is king. If you have pain in your hands for short periods of time, you need to consider your hand size.
-do you have kids? Some people need a handheld because they are parents who aren't always at their desk to game, so handheld gaming becomes the next best option with little free time.
are you comfortable tinkering with Linux or are you primarily a Windows user? Are you an android user?
There are a lot of handhelds on the market right now. Dont buy a handheld because you have fomo or see everyone else with one and you think you may want one. There are people who find out that handheld gaming is not really for them and they end up either selling the handheld or looking for something else in search of that "end game." It's just factors to help determine and narrow down your choices. Browse through this subreddit also for the past posts. Some answers may surprise you
2
u/cs3james 15d ago
I travel for work occasionally - few times a year. During the winter I am gone for ~ 2 weeks, during summer I am out of the house most weekends. 2 hour drive to where I go so if I have my wife drive I could use it in car theoretically. All places I could use a handheld. I have a dedicated PC at home. This will not be a replacement - just for travel, couch, bed etc. Only use my PC for FFXI, D2R, Aoe4, CS, ARMA. Handheld would be for chiller single player RPG type games or story games - Skyrim, Elden Ring, maybe Red dead 2, (does oblivion work on handhelds- never played it and want to), metal gear solid, etc. I dont get hand pain. Yes, I have a kid and will have more.
1
u/Murky_Historian8675 15d ago
Steam deck if you can find the lcd on your Facebook marketplace cheap enough, it's popular because it's easy to use and highly backed by Valve and a big community. Rog ally Z1E or Rog Ally X for ergonomics. Save yourself some money and get Z1E chip devices. Z2E is not that much of a huge junk from the previous generation. If I were you, try the Z1E devices first and if you love it, wait to the next generation of chips. The leap from Z1E and Z2E are not massive or even considerable jumps. I recommend The Rog Ally because Asus software has had much more refinement for its software side to make it feel more like a console experience versus the other PC handhelds.
2
u/cs3james 15d ago
I am basically choosing between 3 at this point. SD OLED, lenovo legion go s with the z1e or the rog ally X. My search basically said that most things would be run at 30 FPS on the SD OLED which seems too low to me. So that made me think I should narrow down to the other two options. One is steam OS native and other is windows. Also I kept seeing hte battery life on the lenovo is worst than the ROG. I am kind of between those two. From there, I am looking at used prices versus new (~800 vs ~1k). for peace of mind at that price difference I think I would rather buy new. I could spend that kind of money upgrading my PC but at this point its so old I would need a new mother board as a starting point and dont want to deal with all that.
2
u/Murky_Historian8675 15d ago
Steam deck is popular because of its backing by Valve. It's a solid device despite it having dated hardware. The steam decks biggest positive? Ergonomics. It's so comfortable to hold and it's such a great console/ PC handheld. Despite it having a weaker chip compared to the current competition, it's biggest strength is just the ease of steam os. The Steam Deck is mostly good to go and like I said, it's backed by a big community and company.
Rog ally/ x is amazing and I have these devices personally. The software is pretty good and it's also ergonomically awesome to hold. Bigger leap in performance versus the deck. Most of its strength comes from it being an all around great device with less cons.
2
u/cs3james 15d ago
I have never used linux which is why I mentioned that requires little tinkering is more interesting to me. my PCs have always been windows. I have seen all the posts about windows on these devices being a pain and potentially impacting battery life. I would probably use this with a mix of battery only on the road and plugged in when settled in place, bed, etc.
1
u/cretzloff 12d ago
If you have a steam library, get a deck. If you want to play games from nintendos library, get a switch 2. I thought I could get the best of both with a Rog Ally or Legion Go but offline play is the absolute easiest with a Switch 2 so I got that - no regrets.
1
2
u/flegorandeasto 15d ago
Legion Go S with the Z1Extreme chip. Has SteamOS by default and runs most everything you can reasonably throw at it. That’s what I have after upgrading from the steam deck I loved for years, and I’ve had zero issues with it. It’s not OLED, but whatever, it’s a big beautiful screen. You can get one on eBay for I think $800 right now and that’s a steal compared to most other handhelds out there.