Handheld gaming PCs are trendy more than ever before, given how portable yet powerful they are. Nothing compares to the opportunity to take your entire game library with you while you are on the go. With the recent announcement of handhelds such as the Steam Deck and Aya Neo, popularity seems to skyrocket every day. But how reliable are they when it comes to portable gaming, and what system should you go for among this broad range of handheld gaming consoles? To figure out, keep reading this article as we’re going to describe the considerable factors that you should keep in mind Before You Buy a Handheld Gaming PC.
Purpose of Use
The prime reason for using a handheld PC is for portable gaming. Whether you are a frequent traveler or enjoy laidback gaming, you need to consider the weight and dimension of your handheld. Playing for long hours on a heavy portable console will result in hand fatigue while a long and beefy console is harder to fit inside your bag. You also need to find out what you will be playing on your handheld. While some gamers want to experience recent game titles in a portable manner, some of us are into emulation and old-school gaming. Depending on that, your selection for a handheld PC will also vary. Another factor that you need to consider is the frequency of use. Depending on this, your requirement for battery backup will also differ. If you often stay outdoors, like on campus or traveling, you need a handheld with solid battery power. Otherwise, a handheld with the average backup will suffice.
Internal storage and storage expandability also calls for attention. Games these days are getting more and more storage demanding and you need to keep an eye out for handhelds that come with a good amount of storage or at least have a Micro SD slot. Last but not least, one of the most important factors to consider before buying a handheld is how much you are willing to spend on it. It can be quite overwhelming to find an ideal handheld with the right amount of specs within your price range. There are tons of options, and choosing the best one can be a little tough.
Choosing the Right System
Now that we have identified what to look for while purchasing a Handheld Gaming PC, let’s go through some of the best handhelds that fit the criteria.
Aya Neo
Next is a Ryzen Powered handheld gaming console that looks minimalist, has a good battery backup, and is a perfect form factor. With a minimal weight of only 1.43 Pounds, this one packs a Ryzen 5800U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and Vega 8 graphics. With this much power, it can run recent titles as well as emulations. Battery life will last as much as 5 hours while the 1TB of M.2 SSD will keep you well-stocked in terms of storage. All these, for a hefty 1265 dollar price tag.
Nintendo Switch OLED
It’s a revamped model of the widely popular Nintendo Switches with a brighter display and lots of useful perks. Being the lightest of the bunch, this handheld console has only 1 Pound of weight and up to 9 Hours of Battery backup. It receives power from an Nvidia Custom Tegra CPU and comes with 64GB of internal storage. Emulation in this division requires quite a hassle and the games that you play are also limited. Switch OLED is up for grabs at 350 dollars.
Finally, we have Valve’s Steam Deck, which basically is a gaming PC in a Switch body and is capable of doing so much more than any other handheld console currently out there. The console weighs only about 1.5 pounds, is powered by AMD’s rDNA Zen 2 APU, and has a solid battery life of up to 8 hours. You can either get the standard version with 64 Gigabytes of eMMC memory or the 256 GB or 512 GB of NVMe SSD for faster boot times. The base model starts at only about 399 dollars.
Final Words
So which of these handheld consoles will fit you the best? Honestly, that solely depends on your purpose of use. Go for the Aya Neo Next if you want solid specs and can care less about the price. Nintendo Switch is also a great system too if you often stay outdoors. It is compact, light, and has a gorgeous screen that will aid you in an outdoor environment.
And lastly, Steam Deck is a perfectly balanced handheld at a reasonable price. You can do so much with it, even run Windows OS. Other honorary mentions are the OneXPlayer, AYA Neo Pro, and Switch Light that you can also check out.
