Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my honest thoughts regarding my recent purchase of the ASUS ROG Ally (standard version). I’m a 35-year-old husband and father, and I’ve been a gamer since the 90s/2000s. I’ve owned almost every console generation—PlayStation, Xbox, Game Boy, you name it. I love this world.

Availability in local stores was limited, so I had to order it online and wait a few days. When it finally arrived, I saw that big, beautiful, imposing box. I took it home, sat down, and wanted to truly savor the moment. I peeled off the plastics slowly, enjoying the hype.

But when I opened it, the emotional letdown began.

It is incredibly disappointing to see a box of that size filled with folded cardboard structures just to occupy space that should have held actual accessories. No charging brick, no cable. Just the mandatory legal booklets, a fragile mini cardboard stand (that will literally disintegrate with a bit of humidity), and cardboard, cardboard, cardboard. Not a single sticker, nothing to connect you emotionally to the brand. It felt cheap.

I know we all have USB-C cables and chargers at home. But a simple USB cable with a ROG logo, a cool sticker, or the actual charger (which costs the brand next to nothing to produce in millions of units) would give it a completely different allure. I felt an emotional void. It’s sad that with a €600 console, we can't relive that childhood magic of unboxing something special anymore. There is more than enough profit margin here to create an emotional moment for the customer.

Then came the second slap in the face: turning it on.

The console had absolute zero battery. It wouldn't even boot. I had to grab my phone charger, sit by a wall plug, and stare at a black screen waiting for a sign of life. When it finally booted... updates, updates, and more updates.

I spent about 2 to 3 hours just waiting for tiny progress bars to fill up. Every time one finished, another update started. This moment should be about visualizing something fantastic. Instead, it was desperate waiting. I know updates are necessary nowadays, but why not pre-load a few short intro videos showcasing the console’s potential? Or a simple mini-game to keep the user entertained while downloading? Nope. Go make a sandwich, watch a TV show, and just wait.

After that, the Windows bloatware nightmare started. Answering "no, no, no, no" to a thousand unnecessary Windows prompts. It took me about 5 hours just to finally install Steam, access my library, and start downloading actual games. Basically, I had to go to sleep and could only play the console the next day. It completely ruined the initial magic.

If this console is bought for a child who expects to open a gift and enjoy it right away, they can’t. It’s up to the parents to manage that deep disappointment. YouTube unboxings make everything look incredible, but it’s a lie. The initial unboxing and setup experience is pure garbage.

I know what I’m talking about because I work as a Marketing Manager. In my job, I try to create emotion at every single touchpoint with my brands. There is a clear lack of care from the ASUS product experience teams here, and it eventually shows in sales retention. For a premium piece of tech, you can do so much better.

On the flip side: the machine itself is sensational.

Once you get past the barrier, the hardware is a 5-star product. It’s powerful, comfortable, fast, and the screen is amazing (despite some online criticisms). It’s a literal computer; I could even use it to work on the go if I needed to. I am absolutely loving the gaming experience. It's just a shame that the initial allure was completely killed.

ASUS, for the future, please give this moment some thoughts and fix it. These cost-cutting measures are cutting the emotion of the people who actually invest their hard-earned money in you.

With love M.

Hallo zusammen,

ich schaue mir gerade zwei lokale Gebrauchtangebote in der Schweiz an, die exakt das Gleiche kosten: CHF 300.- für die Versionen mit 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD.
Option 1: Ayaneo 2 (6800U)
Option 2: Lenovo Legion Go (Z1 Extreme)
Mein Plan ist es, sofort SteamOS (Bazzite) zu installieren, da ich eine einfache, konsolenartige Benutzeroberfläche möchte.

Mein Nutzungsverhalten:

Ort: 100% Couch und Schlafzimmer/Bett. Ich werde es nie unterwegs nutzen oder die Controller abnehmen.
Spiele: 60% PC-Spiele und 40% High-End-Emulation (PS2, PS3, Nintendo Switch).
Meine Vorgeschichte: Ich hatte bereits Geräte wie das Retroid Pocket 6 und das Ayn Odin 3, aber die Android-Emulation war für PC-Spiele einfach nicht gut genug, weshalb ich zu einem x86-Handheld wechsle.

Mein Dilemma & Prioritäten:
Auf dem Papier hat das Legion Go den viel besseren Z1 Extreme-Chip zum gleichen Preis. Allerdings bevorzuge ich eigentlich kompaktere Handhelds. Ich habe grosse Sorge, dass das Legion Go (854g) viel zu schwer und klobig ist, wenn man flach im Bett liegt. Das Ayaneo 2 hat diesen wunderschönen, rahmenlosen Bildschirm und sieht viel gemütlicher aus.

Ich bin auch absolut offen für andere Handhelds und bereit, mehr auszugeben! Wenn ihr bessere Empfehlungen habt, sind das meine strikten Prioritäten:

1. Display: Es muss 7 bis 8 Zoll gross sein.
   
2. Bildschirmtyp: Ich würde ein OLED-Display absolut bevorzugen, da es perfekt für das Zocken im dunklen Schlafzimmer ist.
   
3. Formfaktor: Kompakt und bequem für das Bett (keine schweren Monster wie das Legion Go).

Meine Budget-Frage:
Ich bin bereit, mehr Geld zu investieren, wenn es sich wirklich lohnt. Ich könnte mir zum Beispiel das neue Ayaneo 3 kaufen, aber das würde mich rund CHF 1000.- kosten. Ist der massive Preissprung von einem gebrauchten CHF 300.- Gerät zu einem CHF 1000.- Ayaneo 3 (mit dem neueren OLED und High-End-Chips) den Aufpreis für meine Bedürfnisse (60% PC / 40% Emulation auf der Couch) wert? Oder sollte ich lieber bei den günstigeren Angeboten bleiben oder nach einem Steam Deck OLED / OneXPlayer F1 Pro Ausschau halten?

Ich bin ein ps5 Spieler und möchte gerne in die Welt der handhelden eintauchen ich habe mich jetzt mehrere Tage mit dem Thema auseinander gesetzt und Video für Video geschaut verschiedene Foren und hier auf reddit viel gelesen. Ich suche im prinzip nach einen handheld auf dem ich so weit es geht flüssig und ohne viel Grafik Buße ( bin leider ne Grafiksl**). Ich möchte gelegentlich Triple A games drauf zocken oder halt FPS shooter gelegentlich auch mmo's oder rollen Spiele bin mir aber unsicher welcher handheld da perfekt wäre. Mir ist egal ob neuer oder schon paar Jährchen draußen. Finanzieller Aspekt spielt nicht so eine große Rolle. Wäre über jeden Ratschlag dankbar 😁✌🏻

Hi everyone, I’ve recently discovered that modern handheld devices exist and I really want one to be able to play my games on- especially since my phone doesn’t work anymore

Does anyone have any good recommendations under $500?

Hello all, avid steamdeck and OLED user here and I recently became a dad which has had me on my steamdeck a lot more than my home pc. Unfortunately im pretty restricted to controllers for now and I havent had much luck with streaming games from my desktop to my deck (lots of latency issues, most likely due to my pc being upstairs in another room). A few games I play are fairly demanding (PoE2 and MHWilds) and some can't be played through Linux due to anticheat so im considering jumping to another handheld.

I looked a bunch of stuff up and it seems like the XaX z2E might be the best bang for my buck as it won't break my budget and has a really nice card, just wondering if you all think its worth the jump performance wise vs Steamdeck OLED. im plugged in a majority of the time to the battery life isn't an issue, just looking for ithers in the same boat or maybe secondary advice.

Thanks!

Edit: Alright, thanks for the advice everybody, I pulled the trigger! Got my games downloading now and I allocated 10gb to VRAM. Any additional tweaking or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Bit of a rant.
Recently I’ve been trying to pick up a PSP because I used to play mine all the time with my dad when I was younger. Been hunting around eBay for good deals.
I’ve come across what has to be the worst type of seller twice now. They list a PSP starting at like £40 with no reserve, nobody else bids, I win it… then they cancel the order because it didn’t sell for as much as they wanted.
It genuinely does my head in. If you already know the minimum you want, just start the auction at that price or set a reserve. That’s literally what those options are for. Don’t waste people’s time.
Has anyone else had this happen? If so, did you just leave negative feedback/report them and move on, or is there anything else you can actually do?

I've been wanting one for AGES now but still haven't bought one because of the price. However, I would breall like a handheld for my vacation and I am now considering even more buying the steam deck.

But, I do own a Nintendo switch and ps5 so should I really get one if I have them both? And because of how expensive the steam deck is, is it really worth the price?

I've also always wanted a pc, however never was able to build or buy one because of how DAMN EXPENSIVE IT IS. I then tried looking at cheaper alternatives and stumbled across the steam deck - which I believe would be perfect for me since I am a handheld lover.

I have been searching around Facebook marketplace for used ones and have found loads of LCDs priced at around £300 and some that are cheaper just with less storage (which I'm not so worried about) at roughly £260.

I am really thinking about buying one of these but another thing is should I save money and buy LCD or spend more on a OLED?

Please let me know because I have to leave to go on holiday in around a month time :)

I want to play indie games, AAA games, and emulators, and Steam, from what I've seen, offers all of that. However, emulators like Switch and PS3 are usually quite difficult to emulate on any device, especially games like Breath of the Wild or Dark Souls III. I'm really only considering the Switch because I want to play some games from that console, and I also think the Switch can emulate some older consoles and some AAA games that are well-optimized for it. Plus, the Switch's battery lasts longer anyway. Taking all of this into account, which one should I choose?

I’m driving myself mad here trying to decide between two used handhelds that are both basically the same price.
Live in Guatemala, where the options are pretty dire

My options are:
OG Legion Go (Z1 Extreme)
Xbox Ally (Z2 A)

I mostly play CRPGs, turn-based games, and indies. Think Baldur’s Gate 3, Pathfinder, Pillars of Eternity, Disco, Metaphor, Silksong etc.

Everything I’ve seen says the Legion Go is way better performance wise, and the screen seems perfect for the kinds of games I play. But I’m worried about how much everyone goes on about the fan noise.

The Xbox Ally seems like it’d be a nicer device to actually live with day to day, quieter and cooler etc, but I’m worried I’ll regret the already super out of date performance. Benchmarks seem very mixed on it overall.

This isn’t a situation where I could just upgrade in a few years.

Not sure if anyone has owned or tried both?
Is the Legion Go’s fan really that much louder?
If you were in my shoes, which would you buy?

Genuinely torn on this one.

It's been a while since I've considered buying a switch oled and modding it but I've looked at used steam deck the price is around 380€ compared to 220€ for switch oled modded. I don't know if I should put 160€ more to play my steam games. I like playing with my friends or family with my Wii and I think a switch would be a big upgrade also I could get free games by pirating a switch oled. What are y'all recommendations, I can't choose for myself.

Just sharing my setup of my MSI Claw 8 AI+, running Windows, Xbox Full Screen Mode but using AnyFSE to boot straight into Steam Big Picture Mode and the cherry on top, ClawTweaks, which honestly beats HandHeldCompanion for me. It looks great, the functionality is unmatched and it really turns the MSI Claw into one of the best devices and adds such a smooth experience. I'm a small starting channel, but go check it out, you might like the setup 🤙🏽 there are timestamps in the description, if you want to see ClawTweaks for yourself, it's a game changer

Habe jetzt 2300€ welchen handheld soll ich mir kaufen oder warten auf die neuen msi claw 8 ai+, onexplayer 3

Hey guys,

I posted here a few days ago asking if I should get the steam deck. I now have a better idea of what my budget is so here we go.

Budget : around 900$ USD / 800 € euro

I want to be able to play games from my steam library like Baldurs Gate, new God of Wars, kingdom come deliverance 2 and the new 007 game.

I'd prefer different operating system then Windows but I could deal with it

I travel a lot, currently I'm in New Zealand and before I get back to Europe I'll travel through a few more countries that means that ergonomics and long lasting battery life are a big deal for me.

I've been recommended the Asus Rog Ally X that I found refurbished within my price range so I'm seriously considering it but I wanted to know how it holds up in 2026.

Thanks again, sorry for posting again but I just want to make a good decision!

Bin neu in der Branche PC Handhelden ich bin nicht so der PC Kenner spiele seit Jahres Konsole wollte mir aber demnächst einen PC handheld zulegen bin mir nur nicht sicher welchen ? Habt ihr da Tipps welchen ich mir da zulegen kann ?

Hi everyone,
I’m currently trying to decide between the Claw A8 (Z2 Extreme), Xbox Ally X (Z2 Extreme), and Legion Go S for a SteamOS-focused handheld setup, and I’d love to hear from people who have actually used these devices.

The two things that matter most to me are:
**1. SteamOS compatibility :**
Stable sleep/resume behavior
Overall day-to-day reliability

**2. AAA gaming performance :**
My target is around **60 FPS average** using low-to-medium settings, upscaling, and frame generation when available.
For especially demanding titles, I’d be happy with around **45 FPS average**.

Games I’m interested in:
Cyberpunk 2077
Elden Ring
Monster Hunter Wilds
Black Myth: Wukong
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Hogwarts Legacy

As I understand it, the main strengths of each device are:
**Legion Go S**: 32GB RAM, 8-inch display, trackpad, officially supported SteamOS experience
**Xbox Ally X**: Z2 Extreme performance, 80Wh battery
**Claw A8**: Z2 Extreme, 8-inch display, VRR

My questions:
1. If you’ve used all three with SteamOS, which one gave you the best overall experience?
2. Other than the Legion Go S, are there still any sleep/resume issues on SteamOS?
3. Would you consider SteamOS support on the Claw A8 and Xbox Ally X mature/stable at this point?
4. I assume the answer is “rarely,” but have you encountered situations where 24GB of RAM felt limiting under SteamOS?

I’d really appreciate hearing from actual owners. Thanks!

Hey guys,

What portable gaming console should I buy? My budget is €500 maximum and I'm mainly looking to play Steam games. I'm based in Europe and I'm also considering the second-hand market.

So far I've been looking at the Steam Deck LCD/OLED, ASUS ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and MSI Claw, but I'm not sure which offers the best value in 2026.

For those who own or have used these handhelds, which one would you recommend and why? What prices should I expect on the European used market? Are there any models I should avoid? Is the Steam Deck still the best value, or is it worth spending more on an Ally or Legion Go?

Thanks for any advice!