Handheld Systems

[CachorrosPobres]

Hello guys,

 

I'm currently thinking about buying a handheld system for gaming, but I can't decide on which one I should get.

 

Currently I'm between the  Steamdeck OLED and the ROG Ally.

 

What's your opinion?

 

[jaslion]

For what games?

 

Honestly steamdeck. Whilst performance is a bit lower. It runs steam os and it's just a WAY better mobile experience.

 

Windows isn't built for these devices and it shows a lot.

 

 

[CachorrosPobres]

25 minutes ago, jaslion said:

For what games?

 

Honestly steamdeck. Whilst performance is a bit lower. It runs steam os and it's just a WAY better mobile experience.

 

Windows isn't built for these devices and it shows a lot.

 

 

Mostly indie games and ocasionally some triple A like baldur's gate.

 

My main problem with the Steamdeck is not beig able to use the Xbox gamepass, battle.net or Epic games.

[Zando_]

2 minutes ago, CachorrosPobres said:

My main problem with the Steamdeck is not beig able to use the Xbox gamepass, battle.net or Epic games.

You can run Windows on the Steam Deck, it's officially supported: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8. I believe there's DIY options for dual booting also. Valve has promised official dual-boot support but it isn't out yet. 

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Zando_ said:

You can run Windows on the Steam Deck, it's officially supported: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BAA8. I believe there's DIY options for dual booting also. Valve has promised official dual-boot support but it isn't out yet. 

True but at that point its better to go for a windows first device.

 

If the other platforms not being available is a dealbreaker then get thr ally.

 

The powerfull one btw not the cut down slow shitty ripoff one

[DreamCat04]

15 hours ago, CachorrosPobres said:

Hello guys,

 

I'm currently thinking about buying a handheld system for gaming, but I can't decide on which one I should get.

 

Currently I'm between the  Steamdeck OLED and the ROG Ally.

 

What's your opinion?

 

I'd also get the ROG Ally. It beats the Steam Deck but has worse battery life due to it having a better, higher-power APU while having a battery of the same capacity (even though they likely could have put a bigger one in). If you want to get more than 2h unplugged playing AAA titles, I'd recommend getting a laptop power bank which would nearly tripple your total battery capacity. For light games, you can expect more than 3h, maybe even 4h if you put it into the quiet profile, which also limits the APU's wattage

[NoNameCola]

On 1/10/2024 at 4:38 AM, DreamCat04 said:

I'd also get the ROG Ally. It beats the Steam Deck but has worse battery life due to it having a better, higher-power APU while having a battery of the same capacity (even though they likely could have put a bigger one in). If you want to get more than 2h unplugged playing AAA titles, I'd recommend getting a laptop power bank which would nearly tripple your total battery capacity. For light games, you can expect more than 3h, maybe even 4h if you put it into the quiet profile, which also limits the APU's wattage

I think they reduced the battery size so that the system would be lighter. But if battery life is a concern the Steam Deck OLED is way better. 

 

I have an external power bank already for my Surface Pro and phone. It helps a lot. If you're buying a new power bank be sure it can output 65 W so you can use the 30 W turbo mode. 

[DreamCat04]

12 hours ago, NoNameCola said:

I think they reduced the battery size so that the system would be lighter. But if battery life is a concern the Steam Deck OLED is way better. 

 

I have an external power bank already for my Surface Pro and phone. It helps a lot. If you're buying a new power bank be sure it can output 65 W so you can use the 30 W turbo mode. 

Yep. I already have a power bank capable of 65W too, which is what you should use with any modern handheld. The new MSI Claw has a comparatively big 53Wh battery, so I don't know why ASUS didn't continue their slogain "search for incredible" and put a bigger battery in. Weight could have been a concern, but it's lighter than the Steam Deck

[Wh0_Am_1]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:44 PM, DreamCat04 said:

Yep. I already have a power bank capable of 65W too, which is what you should use with any modern handheld. The new MSI Claw has a comparatively big 53Wh battery, so I don't know why ASUS didn't continue their slogain "search for incredible" and put a bigger battery in. Weight could have been a concern, but it's lighter than the Steam Deck

I get the feeling that the ROG Ally was seriously rushed in development, far too many flaws made it past the preproduction faze. 

With just how fast they were rushing it, I doubt they really spared all that much thought on the battery past the fact that it works and has decent run time.

I mean it seams that they had a fairly solid foundation, with good ideas, but probably got rushed when they learned that other companies were also gunning for that market.

[Kronion]

The ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and the upcoming MSI Claw basically represent the attempt to replicate Valve's success with the Steam Deck. Personally, I somewhat doubt they will be able to.

 

As already mentioned several times before: The Deck is substantially less powerful than all of those - but it is the only device that has a custom OS, which is updated regularly. I wouldn't hold my breath that all these Windows-based devices get the same treatment.

 

Quote

My main problem with the Steamdeck is not beig able to use the Xbox gamepass, battle.net or Epic games.

All of those are usable with the Deck - even without installing Windows on it. It just includes tinkering (as anything Linux-related usually does). But there are several guides available on how to do this. Personally I didn't find it too complicated.

 

But I use my Deck mostly as the ultimate emulation device anyway. The ability to play modern games on it as well more of a bonus at this point.