The PC handheld gaming market has rapidly evolved, offering a diverse range of devices with improved performance and features, but this increased choice complicates purchasing decisions due to varying price points, operating systems, and capabilities.
Mind Map
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I mean, what a difference a year makes.
In my previous gaming handheld buying
guide, I could really only recommend two
of these. It would be the Alli X and the
Steam Deck OLED. The rest were all a bit
well crap. But now we have so many
options with better performance, battery
life, more interesting designs, which is
great. More options to choose from, but
now it's even more complicated and which
one's the right one and why have they
got more expensive? Well, sit back, grab
your popcorn or confectionary of choice
and I will tell you which one you should
buy. I will also link all of these in
the description below. Just to clarify
though, I'm talking about gaming PC
handhelds. So, not your Switch twos or
your Backbone Pro for your phone or your
PS portal. Proper gaming PC handhelds.
From the Steam Deck to the Lenovo Legion
Go S to the uh ROG Xbox Ally and its
bigger brother, well, not technically
bigger, higherend brother, the LIX, uh
Lenovo Legion Go, of course, and even
the MSI Claw A8. And just like the
children I don't have, I like all of
them. Well, mostly, but for different
reasons. But as always, your pays more,
you get more. Faster performance, more
storage, longer battery life, and better
screens. But we'll talk about
performance and battery life figures a
little bit later in the video. But
before any of that, the first question
you need to ask yourself is, do you want
to have a handheld with Steam OS or with
Windows? With Steam OS running on the
two Steam Decks, obviously, and also the
Lenovo Legion Go S, well, one variant of
it. Everything else runs Windows. Now,
Steam OS is great because it's the most
easy pick up and play kind of
experience. It's easy to use. It boots
quickly and it's a great option if you
mostly play well Steam games and just
don't want to deal with Windows, which
is a bit of a system hog and really
finicky to use on a 7 or 8 in screen.
But the downside is you don't get
support for other game stores or game
pass. Although there are workarounds if
you're happy to tinker in Linux, but
also if a game isn't listed as Steam
Deck verified or compatible, then it
just won't work on any Steam OS device.
Although you can stream from Steam if
you have another gaming PC. Steam OS
does also have a Linux-based desktop
mode which isn't compatible with Windows
apps, but it does have tons of great
emulators and you can use this to play
old console games. Windows 11 on the
other hand is well Windows on a
handheld. And yes, it gives you more
options. It's more versatile. You've got
access to all the game stores. You can
also just use it like a regular PC. You
know, connect a mouse and keyboard, put
it, you know, as a desktop dock. It's a
proper full fat PC, but that also comes
with the downsides. Like, Windows has
more processes running in the
background, which can impact your
performance, your frame rate a little
bit. It's also just really finicky and
kind of horrible to use as a touchscreen
interface on a screen this small. And
what's funny with these new RG Xbox
allies is that they kind of try to hide
the Windows desktop behind the scenes.
It now launches into this full screen
Xbox experience mode, which really is
just a PC app, but full screen. them.
You can still access the full desktop if
you need to, but they're just trying to
hide away some of this clunk. Clunk.
It's a weird word, isn't it? Clunk. I've
said it too many times now. Clunk. It
sounds weird. Let's move on. So,
question two. How much do you actually
need to spend? And this does tie in a
little bit because generally the Windows
devices are more expensive than those
running Steam OS. The Steam Deck and
these Legion goss. So, let's go through
the pros and cons of each of these.
Starting with the most affordable ones,
the Steam Decks. You've got the LCD and
the OLED. While the OLED refresh is an
improvement, they're both getting on a
little bit now. Performance can't match
the newer, pricier models, the 800p
resolution has, well, half the pixels of
everything else here. But then picking
it up, pressing the on button, and it
just works. Steam OS makes everything so
easy to pick up and play. Setup is a
breeze, and while performance isn't
flagship level, it is consistent,
particularly on the OLED. It's
comfortable. You get two touch pads,
which most other handhelds don't, except
the Legion. They've also made it easy to
see if games are deck optimized or not.
Plus, some have special deck graphics
presets that run best. It's basically
the perfect starter PC handheld, and
ideally, you already have a healthy
library of PC games on Steam, but you
can also install other game stores via
third party apps like non Steam
launchers when you're in the Linux mode.
I think my biggest frustration with the
Steam Deck, though, is just a lot of
games don't run on this if they're not
verified or compatible or if they
require like a third party anti-che
software. So games like Battlefield 6,
even though they wouldn't run
particularly well on this hardware, they
simply won't work. The Steam Deck is
also only 15 watts and that's the same
plugged in or on battery. So while frame
rates will be consistent, you don't get
the high power modes like on some of the
others. And also the screen doesn't
support VRR when in handheld mode all
day long. I would recommend paying a
little bit more and getting the OLED.
It's a nice refinement and you're
getting a bigger, brighter 90 Hz HDR
OLED screen. more consistent
performance, 50% longer battery life,
better Wi-Fi speakers, thumbsticks, and
it's lighter. It's a big upgrade over
the LCD. Then we have the new Origy Xbox
Ally. And for similar money to the Steam
Deco, around $500, $600ish, you're
getting a cut down cut price version
compared to its well fancier flagship
brother, the Alli X. The problem is it's
really cut down, particularly in terms
of performance. To be clear though,
despite the branding and the fact that
it's written on it and it has an Xbox
logo here, this is not an Xbox handheld.
It's an Origy Ally 2 essentially. The
main difference really is that you
launch straight into this full screen
Xbox app and it's very good. You have
access to all your game launchers, Game
Pass, Xbox cloud gaming and settings.
So, because you're not launching
straight into the full fat desktop,
Windows is a little bit less of a system
hog. We also get the exact same very
comfy stretched out Xbox controller
design of its pricier sibling, the LAX.
Even the same 7in taintp 120 Hz 500 nit
VR display. In fact, every single RG
Alli has had the exact same screen. The
LAX, the original one, the Xbox Alli,
the Xbox LAX, all exactly the same
screen. There's been no improvement at
all. I mean, it's not the end of the
world. They're still very nice screens,
but next to a 144 hertz OLED like we
have on this guy, I feel like Asus maybe
could have done a little bit more there.
The cheaper ally also has half the
storage of the X. This is 512. That's a
terabyte. Although we do have a micro SD
card slot to expand the storage, and you
can open it up and actually switch out
the M2 SSD for a larger size, but
obviously you have to pay for that and
do that yourself. The cheaper Xbox Ally
also gets less RAM, 16 gigs rather than
24, and it's slower RAM. The battery is
smaller at 60 watts rather than 80.
There's no haptic impulse triggers,
which is disappointing. The big problem,
though, is that while this has the full
fat Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, the new
flagship top-end processor, this comes
with the Ryzen Z2A, and I'm just going
to say A stands for average. The Zed 2A
is the slowest in the Zed 2 lineup, even
below the Go with half the CPU and GPU
cores of the Zed 2 Extreme and even last
year's Z1 Extreme. Plus, the GPU cores
are slower and the turbo mode tops out
at just 20 watts compared to 35 on the
LAX when plugged in. Honestly, this is
closer to Steam Deck performance. And
battery life in my Cyberpunk test was
about 20 minutes shorter than the LAX at
1 hour 51. It can still play basically
any PC game. You just have to adjust the
settings and the resolution a little
bit, manage expectations. Just my
opinion. But if you do want one of these
guys with the comfortable controllers
and the Xbox integration, you know, you
just want an Alli 2 basically. Save up a
little bit longer. Wait for a deal or a
discount and get the full proper Alli X.
This is significantly better. Or if you
can find one, maybe go for last year's
ROG Alli X. It's the same display and
it's the Z1 Extreme chip and you can
probably find it on a quite a good deal
now cuz it's a little bit over a year
old. This is a much better buy than
this. So then what about these guys? The
Lenovo Legion Go S. And actually,
there's two of them. One with Windows 11
and this one that uses Steam OS. Think
of it like a supercharged Steam Deck,
which if we're being honest, is really
all any of us want. Both models have Z2
Go and Zed1 Extreme SKUs. The Zed2 Go is
slower but more efficient and more
affordable, starting at about £500 or
£650 for a Steam OS one. Now, here I
actually have two Z1E SteamOS GO S's,
and these are around £700 or $900, which
is quite a lot of money. But, as we'll
see later, the Zed1 Extreme isn't that
far behind the Zed 2 Extreme at the same
power limit. The funny thing is, I'm
surrounded by much more expensive,
better quote unquote handhelds. But
picking this off, it just feels like
what a gaming handheld should feel like
with great build quality and ergonomics.
We have adjustable triggers and even a
little touch pad right there. It does
feel like a cheaper version of the Goto
in terms of materials. Uh the touchpad
here is much bigger. We have the
kickstand at the back, detachable
controllers, the much bigger screen. So
yeah, Legion Goto, as we'll come to is
higherend, but I think for most people
and maybe myself included, even though
it's not quite as powerful, this may end
up being one of my favorites. And I love
this screen. It's 8 in, which I think is
the sweet spot size. Full HD plus 120 Hz
IPS, not OLED. And bear in mind, the
Steam OS version of the Legion Go S's
are a little bit faster in games and
have slightly better battery life. And
that better battery is useful because we
do have a fairly small 55.5Wh
hour cell in here, which is more than a
Steam Deck, but significantly less than
the 70 to 80 W hours we get on most
other high-end models. Battery life was
the second shortest on test. And the
fans do also get quite loud under heavy
load. So, it is not perfect, but I think
if you are going to buy one of these,
for my money, the Zed2 Go Steam OS
version is the pick of the bunch. It is
a fair bit less powerful than the Zed1
Extreme or Zed 2 Extreme, but it's
significantly cheaper and I think good
enough and actually quite a bit faster
>> So, then moving up to the Orig Xbox Ally
X. This is probably the most hyped new
handheld of the year, obviously with
that Xbox marketing behind it. But what
does the extra £300 or $400 get you over
the cheaper Ally? Well, essentially just
a lot more performance. You have the Z2
Extreme chip, which has, as I say,
double the CPU, double the GPU cores, 24
gigs of faster RAM, a terabyte of
storage, a bigger 80Wh battery. It's
black rather than white, which obviously
is faster. This USB type-C port is USB
4, which obviously is faster if you want
to output to higherend monitors or even
potentially plug in an external graphics
card. Asus obviously make their XG
mobile docks. We have the haptic impulse
triggers which make it feel a bit more
well visceral in your hand. But yeah,
most importantly, it's the chip, the
Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme. And in my tests,
it's between 80 and 100% faster than the
cheaper Ally. But it's not just about
performance. For me, this and also its
cheaper brother are probably the most
comfortable handhelds you can get. And
that's all down to these chunkier uh
controllers. It really is like they've
just taken an Xbox controller and
elongated it. It does make it a little
bit thicker than some of the rivals, but
yeah, it is by far the most comfortable,
at least for me. And you can play proper
AAA games at medium to high settings at
1080p, even in handheld mode. The leap
over the cheaper Xbox Li is huge. As for
battery life, I got two hours and 10 in
Cyberpunk using turbo mode. Pretty good.
Although a good half an hour short of
the battery life champ, the MSI Claw A8,
although mark that with an asterisk.
More on that in a second. But as is the
case for all of these, if you're not
playing AAA, you know, really demanding
games, simpler stuff, you'll get a good
5 hours out of this. And again, you can
expand the storage via the micro SD or
you can open it up and uh change out the
internal SSD. Although, quick sidebar,
if you are rocking one of the previous
Alli X's, I don't think it's worth
upgrading. I guess it's a little bit
faster, more comfortable to hold, but
this is still an exceptional device.
However, I would say if you're rocking
an original Ally, then yes, it's
definitely worth upgrading primarily for
the battery life. After the Steam Deck,
this was like the first proper gaming
handheld we had and certainly the first
one that was running Windows. The
problem with it was the battery life. 40
W hours. You got like 45 minutes of AAA
gaming from this. Awful. So, the step up
to the LAX was a big deal because they
double the battery and then kept the
same battery going into the new guy.
Although actually this does last a
little bit longer than the old X. But
before you click off the video and think
I'm going to go and buy an RG Xbox ally.
Well, hold up. Is the MSI Claw for an
extra £50 or so actually a better device
than the Origin? This is the MSI Claw A8
and it follows on from the Intelbased
Claw 8 AI Plus we had earlier in 2025,
but this new one uses the latest Z2
Extreme chip just like the Orig Liix.
Same 24 gigs of RAM, same terabyte of
storage, and an equally big 80Wh
battery. So, specs- wise, very similar
to this, but I do prefer the screen on
here. I love this full HD 120 Hz VR.
Now, I have some good news and some bad
news about this MSI Claw A8. Firstly,
the performance wasn't quite up to the
same standard as the Lenovo and the ROG
with the same Z2 Extreme chips using the
default AI engine preset. In a couple of
games, I was getting around 10 frames
pers less than its rivals. But the flip
side of that slightly lower performance
because I think it's running at a lower
wattage in that AI engine mode. We get a
longer battery life. In my Cyberpunk
test, the claw lasted 27% longer and
almost 30% longer than the Steam Deck
OLED while also achieving double the
frame rate. That's not bad at all. But
one thing I can't get over with the MSI
Claw, as impressive as this is, is the
design. It just feels so cheap and
plasticky. This is a very expensive bit
of kit. It's like in the same uh price
bracket as these top end flagship
handhelds and yet it feels like a $200
or $300 just
just
it's really disappointing. It might not
bother you, but it does make me hesitate
about recommending this simply because
it just feels so
cheap. Alternatively, there's the
Intelbased Claw 8 AI Plus. It's similar
money, but with a slightly different
design. And importantly, it has an Intel
Core Ultra 258V chip along with 32 gigs
of RAM and Wi-Fi 7, making it a better
pure Windows machine for more demanding
tasks. While the Core A8 with Z2 Extreme
is probably a slightly better gaming
option as it's more efficient, has
better battery life, and runs cooler.
Although I don't have the Intel version
on test, but if you have deeper pockets,
both figuratively because you need more
money to pay for it because it's more
expensive, but also literally because
it's the biggest handheld on the market
by some margin, then maybe consider the
Legion Go. This has all the bells and
whistles. Z2 Extreme massive 8.8 in 144
hertz full HD plus VRR OLED display,
detachable controllers with a kickstand.
Even the materials feel a lot more
premium. But as impressive as this
genuinely is, it has two Achilles heels,
as we all do, to be fair. The sheer size
and weight of this thing, and also the
price. Starting at £900 or $1,100 for
the cheapest Z2, 16 gig 512 model, but
really you'd want this one, the higher
end with the Z2 Extreme, 32 gigs of RAM,
a TB storage for £1,100 or $1,350.
For context, the original Legion Go was
$700. This has almost doubled in price.
So, unless you need the extra RAM or
want the best, biggest screen or can't
live without detachable controllers for
some reason, it's a bit overkill. It's
too expensive. It's too heavy. And the
Xbox LAX will give you similar
performance, similar battery in a much
more comfortable, portable form factor.
I also have to own up to a mistake
because in my review of the Xbox LA RX,
I actually did some comparisons with
this guy and I found that I was getting
like 10 to 15% lower performance for
some reason despite the fact that this
had more memory, the same Z2 Extreme
chip. I did all the driver updates. I
ran the test several times, different
power modes, RSR, and all that stuff.
Couldn't work it out. Turns out, as
actually some of you pointed out in the
comments, that the VRAM had been limited
to 2 GB by default. So, I had to go into
the BIOS and then change the allocation
of the VRAM up to like 8 GB, which then
did did make a sort of 10 to 15%
difference in performance, but I
shouldn't have to be doing that when I'm
spending $1,350 on a premium uh handheld
experience. It's a very strange but
solvable issue. So, the Legion Goto is
clearly a handheld for the enthusiasts,
people who want to tinker and have the
most flexibility and just want the
So, those are the main options if you
want a new gaming handheld. But let's
talk about performance. And I ran a few
tests at 1080p, although 800p on the
Steam Deck using high settings at their
highest performance presets on and off
battery. And in Cyberpunk, everything
with a Z2 Extreme was way out in front.
But here we can see just how much slower
that Z2A chip is in the cheaper Orig
Xbox Ally. And also the Steam Deck,
while consistent, is the slowest
overall, as you would expect. Although
the good thing about the Steam Deck is
you're getting basically the same
performance on or off battery. In Red
Dead 2, it was a similar story, although
I probably would drop the graphics a
smidge, maybe down to medium to get a
more playable frame rate. But again, the
Z2 Extremes are clearly the most
capable. In Battlefield 6, the Z1E
models were all pretty strong, but
there's just no catching the Xbox LAX
and Legion Go 2, although they did
suffer a bigger drop off when switching
to handheld mode. And sadly being
unsupported by Steam OS means it just
didn't run on the Steam Deck or the
Steam powered Legion Go, which was also
the case with F-125 where all the Z2E
models were pretty consistent, but the
others were oddly slow at times. This is
kind of where handhelds do still feel a
little bit new, like driver updates,
game support. It's all improving over
time, but it's still not a seamless
experience. But I think my takeaway is
while the Zed2 Extreme is the most
impressive, if you can find a decent
used model with a Z1 Extreme chip and
save a bit of money, for example, the
older ROG Xbox Lax, that's probably
going to be your best bang for buck. As
for battery life, well, you really have
to manage expectations with these
things. But clear winner, MSI Claw A8. I
think mostly because it's running a
little bit slower, lower wattage
compared to some of the rivals, but it
has a equally big 80wh battery. The
Legion Goto and the ROG Xbox didn't last
as long, although they did average a
higher frame rate. So, considering
frames per watt, they probably equal out
about the same. The Steam Deck OLED did
really well, but at half the resolution
and also half the frame rate of some of
the others. But unfortunately, the
Legion OS was the most underwhelming.
So, that is a lot of me waffling. Shall
I just get to the point? Which one
should you buy? Well, it's going to vary
for everyone. Different budgets,
different needs. I would buy the ROG
Xbox LAX, but for a thousand US dollars,
it's a lot of money. So, I think for a
lot of people, a better budget option
would either be the Steam Deco OLED,
which is this one, or the Legion Go S
with the Z2A and Steam OS as well. Both
have their flaws, but at that price
point, still worth considering. Thank
you so much for watching, guys. That was
a lot to take in. If you've got any
other questions, drop a comment below.
Links in the description. You can check
out my full review of the Orig and the
Lenovo right here. I'll see you next
time right here on the Tech Jab. Thanks
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