Meh... nothing new to see here.

ROG Ally, Legion Go, MSI Claw, Ayaneo anything - it doesn't matter.

Windows UI is the problem, it's not a good fit for this kind of device, and none of these other companies have mastered the software interface the way Valve has, despite having the unfair advantage of native OS support without requiring a translation layer to Linux...

The ROG has also proved that screen resolution, refresh rate, and hardware performance are compromises to the only thing that matters for a handheld - runtime. Do you want 4+ hours of battery live on a Steam Deck at good settings, or do you want 60-90 minutes of battery life at slightly higher settings that are hard to really appreciate on these small displays anyway? The Ally will use 35W to get 30% higher performance in games, but it uses 230% of the power draw of a Steam deck which is ridiculously inefficient.

Plenty of reviews and YouTubers have shown that the only way to get meaningful battery life out of an Ally is to cap the framerate to Steam Deck levels, reduce the screen brightness to Steam Deck levels, and throttle the processor performance to Steam Deck Levels.

You could have just bought a Steam Deck for half the price and saved yourself all the hassle, and capped at 15W TDP, the Steam Deck is actually faster because Windows is a bloated resource hog that pisses away some of that TDP on irrelevant background nonsense that has no place being on a handheld games console in the first place.

The only thing that would make this interedting if it ran Steam OS instead of windows, but MSI is not a company that is likely to be the first to go down that route.

It's said to be Intel based. Will be interesting to see what Intel has to offer here.
It will sell. The average consumer still identifies Intel's brand much more than AMD's.

I bet Nintendo would make more money if they stopped making hardware and released a digital store with all their content on Android, iOS, Windows and Linux.

So many handhelds now, how does the Switch continues ti standout except for content IP?

DavenI bet Nintendo would make more money if they stopped making hardware and released a digital store with all their content on Android, iOS, Windows and Linux.

So many handhelds now, how does the Switch continues ti standout except for content IP?

I think they will never touch PC, but I don't know if they had offered titles in the past. They know that the first day they will publish something on PCs the next day will be up on PirateBay.

john_I think they will never touch PC, but I don't know if they had offered titles in the past. They know that the first day they will publish something on PCs the next day will be up on PirateBay.

Digital stores like Steam help mitigate piracy as Valve has proven over the last 20 years.

DavenSo many handhelds now, how does the Switch continues ti standout except for content IP?

I mean, IP is what always sold and will always sell Nintendo consoles. The Switch (the console itself) is dirty cheap at this stage of its life, too, although its first party games won't ever be.

DavenI bet Nintendo would make more money if they stopped making hardware and released a digital store with all their content on Android, iOS, Windows and Linux.

So many handhelds now, how does the Switch continues ti standout except for content IP?

Nintendo's exclusives are bait to lure people into purchasing their consoles. People who purchase their consoles are psychologically incentivized to continue purchasing games for their consoles when they're looking for new games to play. They may even splash some money on accessories for the console too.

DavenDigital stores like Steam help mitigate piracy as Valve has proven over the last 20 years.

Steam hasnt helped a bit in curbing piracy if anything their recent attitude towards PC gamers with culling of support for older OS will furthur push gamers to high seas.

DavenI bet Nintendo would make more money if they stopped making hardware and released a digital store with all their content on Android, iOS, Windows and Linux.

So many handhelds now, how does the Switch continues ti standout except for content IP?

They would not make more money. It would do them in. Nintendo actually makes money off it's hardware, licensed hardware for it's hardware, and third party games.

Windows does not have a good UI for handhelds like these. I wish Valve would finish up and release SteamOS as mostly open source. These competitors would be much better.

Chrispy_ROG Ally, Legion Go, MSI Claw, Ayaneo anything - it doesn't matter.

Windows UI is the problem, it's not a good fit for this kind of device, and none of these other companies have mastered the software interface the way Valve has, despite having the unfair advantage of native OS support without requiring a translation layer to Linux...

The ROG has also proved that screen resolution, refresh rate, and hardware performance are compromises to the only thing that matters for a handheld - runtime. Do you want 4+ hours of battery live on a Steam Deck at good settings, or do you want 60-90 minutes of battery life at slightly higher settings that are hard to really appreciate on these small displays anyway? The Ally will use 35W to get 30% higher performance in games, but it uses 230% of the power draw of a Steam deck which is ridiculously inefficient.

Plenty of reviews and YouTubers have shown that the only way to get meaningful battery life out of an Ally is to cap the framerate to Steam Deck levels, reduce the screen brightness to Steam Deck levels, and throttle the processor performance to Steam Deck Levels.

You could have just bought a Steam Deck for half the price and saved yourself all the hassle, and capped at 15W TDP, the Steam Deck is actually faster because Windows is a bloated resource hog that pisses away some of that TDP on irrelevant background nonsense that has no place being on a handheld games console in the first place.

Battery life is NOT the only thing that matters for a handheld. It depends on user case scenario. I used my Deck as a patio or LAN party device so I was always near an outlet. 100w 10ft USB-C cables are plentiful and you can comfortably lounge on a chair or couch anywhere with plenty of slack. Or for camping, I have a LIPO4 battery powered generator for devices that provides ample power. So for me, I don't care if I only get 1 hour out of it. There's always an outlet nearby. Better frame rates, performance, and VRR are more important to me.

Had the Steam Deck for almost a year. Great little console. Recently bought the ROG Ally Z1 extreme version on sale and I honestly cannot go back to the Deck. The high refresh rate VRR 1080p screen is fantastic and no, you don't have to cap the frame rate and drastically reduce the brightness to get any decent battery life. I did many hours of testing at different custom wattage caps and 15w - 24w (same wattage for all 3 sliders) is perfect for nearly any game to run at decent settings and frame rates (over 60) for over an hour of battery life. I also found that running games at 720p and maxing out FSAA makes them look nearly as good as 1080p but with noticeably better frame rates (or lower wattage if battery life matters). There are many Youtube videos with great guides on how to get them most out of the Ally.
Much older games don't even need 15w to play fine.

Yea, it's Windows based. At first I was "meh" about it. But everything runs on Windows and while it may take extra tweaking, to me, it gives the Ally a "charm" about it. Haven't had any major issues.
The VRR aspect is SUPER important. If a frame rate fluctuates from 50 - 80 you don't even notice it because it's soooo smooth. No more putting all settings on low to hope the frame rate doesn't drop below 60.
I tried using Linux on the Deck for a while and I really don't like it. Always having to dig through the folder structure to find anything is annoying. I'd prefer Windows, which I've been using since being a teenager.
The only thing I REALLY liked about the Deck was Steam OS's advanced controller options and recognition of the 4 back paddles. On Windows, Steam sees the Ally as a Xbox controller so it doesn't recognize the 2 back paddles. You can do impressive advanced controller mappings (like mapping a typed cheat code to a paddle button on older games). So between using Armory Crate and reWASD, I get the same functionality with more hassle.

Hopefully MSI puts in 32GB of RAM or adds a VRR OLED screen that DOES NOT USE nauseating PWM at lower brightness (you missed an opportunity here Valve).

NordicWindows does not have a good UI for handhelds like these. I wish Valve would finish up and release SteamOS as mostly open source. These competitors would be much better.

They can take their sweet ass time with that. They made Big Picture mode for Windows which a lot people forget and still complain that Windows is the crutch for handhelds. There is a solution already people. If you don’t want to use Linux, there’s your option.

CyberCTThe VRR aspect is SUPER important. If a frame rate fluctuates from 50 - 80 you don't even notice it because it's soooo smooth. No more putting all settings on low to hope the frame rate doesn't drop below 60.

Actually yeah VRR would have made the Deck so much better. The stuff I use if for most has no issues running native at a fluid 60fps but I have run a few AAA games on it that get 40-60fps variable and I end up locking it to 40fps to get consistency.

Unlike you, I never ever use it on mains power though so that 40fps locked is also a power saving that matters to me.

Gooigi's ExThey can take their sweet ass time with that. They made Big Picture mode for Windows which a lot people forget and still complain that Windows is the crutch for handhelds. There is a solution already people. If you don’t want to use Linux, there’s your option.

I am aware of windows big picture mode. How are those windows tablets doing? Windows big picture mode is not good enough.

NordicI am aware of windows big picture mode. How are those windows tablets doing? Windows big picture mode is not good enough.

MY Windows Tablet(ROG ALLY) has been doing amazing actually. The Armor Crate has been good and don’t need to use windows to navigate to my games. If I need to use the browser then I’ll just get out Armor Crate and use Firefox. I got a stylus which works really well navigating through Windows. I can Armor Crate or I can use Big Picture Mode which also works well. It’s seems like the only argument that the Steam Deck community has is navigating through the browsers as they can use trackpads while, Window handhelds can use touch screen or stylus or, in the case of Lenovo Legion Go or the AYANEO Kun(terrible trackpads) trackpads.

Chrispy_Actually yeah VRR would have made the Deck so much better. The stuff I use if for most has no issues running native at a fluid 60fps but I have run a few AAA games on it that get 40-60fps variable and I end up locking it to 40fps to get consistency.

Unlike you, I never ever use it on mains power though so that 40fps locked is also a power saving that matters to me.

I do not understand why the deck does not support AMD software to get Freesync (VRR) support on the Deck? I mean the 5600G fully supports Freesync.

kapone32I do not understand why the deck does not support AMD software to get Freesync (VRR) support on the Deck? I mean the 5600G fully supports Freesync.

To them, you don’t need VRR. It doesn’t help with battery life(even though it does).

Gooigi's ExTo them, you don’t need VRR. It doesn’t help with battery life(even though it does).

Are you telling me that the Deck does not get Driver updates from AMD?

kapone32Are you telling me that the Deck does not get Driver updates from AMD?

Uhhhhh no? I did not say that nor even applied that in my comment.

Gooigi's ExUhhhhh no? I did not say that nor even applied that in my comment.

Sorry I guess I should say AMD software does not work with the Deck so you only get driver updates from the Linux package.

It is not yet clear what the exact size of the device is.
However, leaked specifications published on Geekbench show that the Claw will contain at least 32GB of memory and that it would use an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H as a processor.
Intel had already suggested on Thursday that the Claw contains its hardware. Furthermore, the device would use Windows 11 Pro as the operating system.

tweakers.net/nieuws/217172/gerucht-msi-gaminghandheld-gaat-claw-heten-en-krijgt-32gb-geheugen.html

P4-630It is not yet clear what the exact size of the device is.
However, leaked specifications published on Geekbench show that the Claw will contain at least 32GB of memory and that it would use an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H as a processor.
Intel had already suggested on Thursday that the Claw contains its hardware. Furthermore, the device would use Windows 11 Pro as the operating system.

tweakers.net/nieuws/217172/gerucht-msi-gaminghandheld-gaat-claw-heten-en-krijgt-32gb-geheugen.html

Nice! Not getting rid of the Ally but looking forward to the results, regardless.
These handheld x86 gaming PCs are actually quite awesome. Who would have thought an x86 processor in such a smaller package than a laptop could render decent frame rates. What a time to be alive.

Chrispy_Actually yeah VRR would have made the Deck so much better. The stuff I use if for most has no issues running native at a fluid 60fps but I have run a few AAA games on it that get 40-60fps variable and I end up locking it to 40fps to get consistency.

Unlike you, I never ever use it on mains power though so that 40fps locked is also a power saving that matters to me.

I have yet to find a game where VRR even works (at least in a problem free way), apparently its hard to get it to work on games that dont run full screen exclusive?

Problem is full screen exclusive seemed to die a decade ago.