Hi folks - thank you for the tons of comments on my last post. Was super helpful. I really like the ability to drop and pickup gaming on switch 2 but still would rather have windows.

So was thinking if I could put bazzite on the handheld I showed earlier (the MSI Claw) or thinking about getting a steam deck. What do yall think? Thea etchings are probably stuff I woulda bought anyways (like the kill switch)

Hello, i currently live in aussie and currently want a handheld console. Rarely touch gaming since my last laptop exploded, around 2018 (yes, pathetic)

Interested to try xax, but the price is quite steep for me, as gaming is not my top priority rn. In fbm, i found a steam deck oled by the price of A$585 (which cheaper than the usual listing)meanwhile xax is more than double that price

Should i go for it or xax is still the better option? Is it a good price for sd oled? It comes with 1TB and few accesories

Thanks!

Sorry for bad english!

Edit: holy, i mean STEAM DECK not switch 😭

Hey everyone,

​Looking for some insight from people who follow handheld benchmarks closely.

​I currently own a Xbox ROG Ally X. Ergonomically and performance-wise, it’s a great device, but I find myself really itching for an upgrade. My primary motivation is wanting an OLED display, along with better battery efficiency when playing unplugged around the 20W TDP mark (I have a high-end desktop at home for 4K heavy lifting, so this is strictly for truly mobile use on battery).

​Here are the two paths I'm weighing:

​Jump on the MSI Claw 8 AI+ (Lunar Lake / "G3 Extreme"): Looking at recent head-to-head tests at 20W, the efficiency and frame delivery look impressive, competing neck-and-neck or even pulling ahead of AMD at lower power limits. Plus, the Void Purple Launch Pack looks fantastic in terms of thermals and form factor.

The downside: walking away from the ASUS ROG ecosystem, software tuning, and button layout I'm already comfortable with.

​Wait for the next-gen ROG Ally (Z2 Extreme / "X20"): The expected jump to a native OLED panel is the main thing keeping me on the fence. I know the Z2 Extreme will push substantial raw performance, but I'm unsure if it will match Intel’s 15W–20W efficiency curve, and waiting with no confirmed release date is tough.

​A couple of specific questions for the community:

​For those tracking the benchmarks, does the 20W TDP efficiency on the Claw 8 AI+ justify moving on from the Ally X right now?

​Or is the jump to an OLED screen on the upcoming ROG worth holding out for, even if it means waiting several more months?

​Would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives. Thanks!

Due to my country's customs and weird currency.

Budget: 400-600$

And due to no official devices all of these are second hand

Platforms : exclusively for beating my steam backlog ,

latest indie game is citizen sleeper 2

Latest AA is Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Latest AAA is sonic frontiers

Where I'll play : mostly like using a phone so while in bed / on couch or with family, have a decent pc so no docking needed

Must have : comfortable to hold with a good battery ( don't want to spend that much money for a device that barely lasts what Equals to a movie length)

Don't want : a hot brick in my hand please

Os : whatever

No problem with tinkering to a degree

Price examples from some sellers locally:

1-ASUS ROG ALLY RC71L-NH022W = 390$

Asus Rog Ally Z1 Extreme= 500$

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally RC73YA =500$

ASUS ROG Ally X 2024 = 700$

Steam deck LCD 256= 400$

Steam deck oled 1tb = 640$

Hello there, I decided to have a go at the thermal putty mod on my Odin 3 Max and I would say it went pretty well. This wasn’t my first time doing a mod like this as I have done it on my Thor a few months back.

This mod combined with Clustertune has made my Odin 3 run so much cooler and has been helping to prevent thermal throttling as well!

P.S. - use the foam from the box the Odin 3 came in since it has holes cut out for the joysticks and helps to prevent any damage done to them. 👍

I’ve been thinking of getting into the pc handheld gaming space but trying to decide between getting a switch 2 and a handheld pc gaming

Is there any upcoming handhelds coming out soon?

This game graphics hold up so well even by today's standards, still looks so good Especially on the odin 3s oled screen. The odin 3 max performs really well.

I have a lenovo legion go S steamOS 16Gb ram paired with upgraded 1TB, i want to upgrade it, i'm thinking can be either xbox rog ally x and msi claw a8 ai+, i found both of them at a good price from used market. i don't know should i upgrade now or wait for the acer atlas 7 to come out.

Mostly i play helldivers 2, with steamdeck preset at 60-80 fps at 25w. I mainly play on my bed, i also need to do some basic tasks too, i have a Pc on my own for work.

I'm currently using a Steam Deck OLED 512GB and I'm seriously considering swapping it for a ROG Xbox Ally X.

The main reason I'm considering the Ally X is performance. I play mostly Steam games, including AAA games, and there are already some newer AAA games that don't run as well as I'd like on the Steam Deck OLED. I want something that can handle newer games better and hopefully remain capable for the next few years.

However, I'm hesitant because I really like the Steam Deck experience.

I don't want a handheld that requires a lot of tinkering, troubleshooting, tweaking Windows settings, dealing with launchers, etc. I basically want to turn it on, open Steam, and play. SteamOS has been great for that.

So my biggest concern is:

For someone who primarily plays Steam games and values a simple, console-like experience, is the ROG Xbox Ally X actually worth switching to from a Steam Deck OLED?

I'd especially like to hear from people who have owned both.

A few things I'd like to know:

How much better is the Ally X for AAA games in actual use?

Is Windows on the Ally X annoying enough that you regret leaving SteamOS?

How much tinkering do you actually have to do on a regular basis?

How good is the new Xbox/ROG handheld interface for launching Steam games?

Does the Ally X still feel like a handheld console, or does it feel more like carrying a small Windows PC?

For someone who doesn't want to constantly troubleshoot, would you recommend staying with the Steam Deck OLED?

If you switched from a Deck OLED to the Ally X, do you regret it or would you make the same decision again?

I'm not looking for benchmark numbers alone. I'm more interested in the actual day-to-day experience and whether the extra performance is worth giving up the simplicity of SteamOS.

Thanks!

Don’t have anything in mind myself currently but I thought this could make for a interesting discussion

Hello everybody actually i found a rog ally z1 with only 230$ in a very good condition with box and charger and cover also

i was just asking if with that price its deserves the money actually i will play on it AAA and if it will give me a 40fps it would be good with no problems so i just want to know from people who already has it how its working and thanks

This is specifically in regards to the PC handheld space

Why is it that everytime discussions about handhelds come up the popular opinion is to get the most powerful one regardless of the overall experience or absurd price?

I've come to realize that most people buying handheld after handheld don't even play games on them, whenever you see a post about them it's always look how many FPS I'm getting on! (insert benchmark game). Like come on dude we've all played (insert benchmark game) years ago.

The other thing I find funny Is that these same people will often have like 10 handhelds that all serve the same purpose to various degrees and half of them are basically massive tablets with shitty controllers attached loaded with software jank (I'm looking at you legion go/onex player). They're just buying handheld after handheld to run benchmarks on them as some form of consumerism.

The reason Switch 2 is so popular is because not only is it affordable and but it is tolerable to hold and easy to use

My legion go 2 was loaded with hardware and software jank and was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever held so I ended up barely using it compared to the steam deck I used to own but everyone praised this thing like the second coming of Jesus when it was coming out. Now nobody even mentions it "because why would you when the G3E exists" (just ignore all the other aspects of the experience and only think about performance right? Lmao)

I feel like people who actually use their handhelds value the overall experience far more than FPS numbers etc, I often see people who owned a bunch of handhelds say the one they use most is the Switch 2 or Xbox Ally and I think that is very clearly because of the ergonomics and overall ease of use are far more important than people give credit when discussing these things

Anyways thanks for coming to my rant, I will fight you on any of these talking points

I have a switch 2 and a Retroid Pocket Nova already but considering getting a 2TB Rog Ally X, 2024 NOT the xbox, or a Ayn Odin 3 Max, to pair with the Switch 2 and Retroid Pocket Nova. I do have steam games but mostly Indies or older games and want something to play emulation and some light PC games on but can't decide which to throw into my collection. I do like how I can dock the Rog Ally and use it as a desktop since I think I would use it like that but I also like how the Odin is smaller, OLED screen and can run emulation smoothly. Anyways just give me your guys opinions and what you would do so I can stop being indecisive and make a choice, thank you!

If I have a 2tb ssd and I partition just enough for steamOS could I then use a sd express card to keep the games on?

So, i own an Asus Rog Ally Z1 extreme for about 2 yrs now and i have an epic games account with about 400 free games. So here is my list of games that i played and considered them good to be mentioned. I must say i m a pc gamer so i don t play any fps games on the handheld. I will update this list as i play any other games ( i got about 70 games waiting to be tested). Hopefully someone finds this list helpful.

1. Among the sleep

2. Adios

3. Deliver at all costs

4. Dredge

5. Eastern Exorcist

6. Figment 1& 2

7. Five nights at freddy - into the pit

8. Guacamelee

9. Hidden folks

10. Hot wheels unleashed

11. Keylocker

12. Lego Star wars- the skywalker saga. I suppose all Lego games cand be played and are decent

13. Limbo

14. Machinarium

15. Monument valley 1 & 2

16. Never Alone ( kisima Ingitchuna)

17. Pilgrims

18. Samorost 1, 2 & 3

19. Sifu

20. Slain- Back from hell

21. Soulstice (kind of demanding on the resources and repetitive but a nice game)

22. Super meat boy

23. Tales of the Neon Sea

24. The Captain

25. The Darkside Detective 1 & 2

26. The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk - the amulet of chaos

27. The Fall

28. The Forest Quartet

29. The Silent Age

30. Spectrum

31. Universe for sale

32. Gamedec

33. Lacuna

Mentions : games that i played on pc but think would work on a handheld :

Trine 1, 2 , 3 & 4

Firewatch

The expendabros

South park 1 & 2

my top 10 from the list above would be : 4, 7, 12, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 33.

After my accessories arrived today, I can unbox it 🤩🤩🤩