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The 10 Best Handheld Gaming PCs
What are the best handheld gaming PCs?
Although handheld gaming has been around for a long time, handhelds designed to play your PC games are relatively new in comparison.
If you have ever wanted to play your favorite PC games on the go, you’ve come to the right place. Because today, we’re counting down the top handheld gaming PCs you can buy right now.
The 10 Best Handheld Gaming PCs
Each handheld gaming PC has been chosen based on its performance, price, and overall gaming experience.
Here’s our list of the 10 best handheld gaming PCs:
10. ANBERNIC Win600
The ANBERNIC Win600 kicks off our list and is coming soon to the market.
While not available right now, we had to include it since it stands to be a solid and affordable handheld gaming PC that gamers can invest in without breaking the bank.
ANBERNIC is well known for its quality handheld emulators, but due to the recent demand for handheld gaming pcs, they’ve made it a point to create an inexpensive option for customers.
While they have had setbacks with handhelds in the past, we’re confident they can create a quality product, which is why we had to include them here.
Although there aren’t a lot of details available right now, it is rumored that the Win600 could launch in late 2022 or 2023 and cost anywhere from $300 to $800.
If these rumors are true, then the ANBERNIC Win600 could be one of the most affordable portable PCs on the market and one of the best in terms of overall value.
It is defiantly an option to keep an eye out for, and we’ll be watching for developments closely.
9. GPD Win Max
The GPD Win Max can be found with either an Intel Iris Xe GPU or AMD Ryzen 7 4800U, and the one you decide to go with will depend on which processor is best for your needs.
That said, the AMD is slightly more affordable since it doesn’t come with a Thunderbolt port, which is something to keep in mind.
In terms of this handheld gaming PC’s performance, the GPD Win Max is a solid option for gamers who want a large display, HDMI connection, ethernet connectivity, built-in keyboard, and long battery life.
Although some gamers may not find the built-in keyboard necessary, we definitely feel that it is a good addition, and it doesn’t hinder gameplay at all and can actually be very helpful to have!
Overall, the GPD Win Max is a great handheld gaming PC that can support cloud gaming and some of the most demanding AAA titles without a hitch making it one of the best you can buy today.
8. ONEXPLAYER AMD
Like the GPD Win Max, ONEXPLAYER has a handheld pc with an alternative AMD processor.
However, unlike the Win Max, this handheld can come with either an AMD Ryzen 7 4800U or the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, giving fans of AMD processors a good range to choose from based on their gaming needs.
If you’re unsure whether AMD or Nvidia is better, just know that with this handheld, the only real difference is that the performance of some games varies between chipsets.
However, this handheld device has a fantastic 8.3-inch screen capable of 2560×1600 resolution, two USB type C ports, and very responsive controls.
The only major downside is its size, which is relatively large and not something you can fit in your pocket.
That said, this larger size can be beneficial for some gamers who want a larger screen for playing games, and it can definitely help the visuals stand out much more.
Although it’s definitely not going to fit in your pocket, being roughly the size of a Nintendo Switch, it’s easy enough to slip into your bag or backpack when you need to take it with you.
7. GPD Win 3
Released in 2021, the GPD Win 3 has many great features that make it one of the best on the market for playing computer games.
It can even keep up with some of the best gaming PCs under $1000, despite being extremely portable.
While it does have a slightly higher price tag of between $799 to $899, the features that it comes with make it worth considering.
Like the Nintendo Switch, the GPD Win 3 has a portable docking station that allows you to hook it up to an HD display and connect your Wi-Fi and wireless accessories.
It is as much geared towards gamers as people who want to carry their computers on the go, and it even has a full qwerty keyboard built right in.
This handheld can handle all of the PC gaming clients like Steam, Origin, and Epic while running AAA games like The Witcher 3 and GTA V at 60 FPS.
6. ONEXPLAYER
The ONEXPLAYER, with its Intel Core i5 or i7 GPU and Intel Xe GPU, is an absolute beast capable of playing any game library without performance issues.
While it doesn’t have a full qwerty keyboard, it comes with non-detachable controls, including a directional pad, dual analog sticks, A, B, Y, X buttons, and a turbo button.
There is even a keyboard button that pulls up an on-screen keyboard for when you need to type something out.
In terms of this handheld gaming PC’s performance, the ONEXPLAYER has built-in dual fans to keep the CPU cool during long gaming sessions, a built-in kickstand, MicroSD card slot, headphone jack, and a USB c port, and Thunderbolt 4 ports.
This handheld gaming pc can run any of the best GTA games of all time at around 71 FPS, and on its large 8.4-inch touch screen, the graphics look amazing.
Although the audio isn’t the best you can find in a handheld gaming PC, all of its other features make it worth considering for PC gamers on the move.
5. AYA Neo
Resembling a Nintendo Switch, the AYA Neo is one of the top handheld gaming consoles capable of delivering great performance even on some of the most demanding games.
This portable PC has a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 4500U with Radeon graphics, and it boasts a 7-inch touch screen display with vibrant colors and adjustable brightness.
For online gaming, players can benefit from the Wi0Fi 6 connectivity that provides lightning-fast speed and low latency when paired with a Wi-Fi 6 router.
It also comes with professional-style joysticks that make gaming smooth and easy, as well as a rumble function and a battery life that allows for up to 6 hours of endless gaming.
Its docking station also provides two USB type-A ports, a full-sized HDMI port, a TF card slot, an ethernet port, and an SD card slot.
In terms of overall gaming performance, the AYA Neo can run even some of the biggest open-world maps in video game history, such as Witcher 3, at 30 FPS on high settings and up to 60 FPS on lower graphics settings.
While it doesn’t come with a built-in keyboard, and the docking station is sold separately, the AYA Neo is a solid option for gamers looking to play more demanding games on the go.
4. AYN Odin
If you’re familiar with handheld PCs, you probably weren’t expecting to see the AYN Odin on our list, but we had to add it for a few significant reasons.
Although it was built primarily for emulator enthusiasts, and it can run some of the best Sega Saturn emulators beautifully, the AYN Odin’s ability to sideload Windows makes it a good option for gamers looking at portable handheld gaming pcs.
While it isn’t capable of running the newest AAA games, it can run many older games very well, and its extraordinarily low price makes it hard to pass up.
Featuring a 2.0GHz Dimensity D1000G CPU and a 6-inch touch display, it may not come across as the most impressive on our list, but considering that it only costs around $199, it is a bargain considering its solid specs.
Furthermore, the controls on the AYN Odin are comfortable, and its battery life can keep you gaming for hours without needing a recharge.
We highly recommend gamers new to handheld PC gaming check this option out since it is easy to use and won’t cost you an arm and a leg to get started.
3. ONEXPLAYER Mini
If the ONEXPLAYER is too big for you and you want something smaller, the ONEXPLAYER Mini will be perfect for you.
Although it still boasts a 7-inch display and clocks in with 4.4GHz of speed, it is not nearly as heavy as the full-sized ONEXPLAYER, though it still isn’t going to fit into most pockets.
In terms of this handheld gaming PC’s performance, it runs on AMD’s Zen 3 processor and has 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage.
Because it is smaller than the full size, it has a slightly more compact layout, but using it for a long time is still just as comfortable.
It is also capable of running some of the best AAA games with high performance and up to 60 FPS.
Despite its size, this portable PC packs a hell of a punch and is even quite affordable, making it accessible to many more gamers than some of the more expensive alternatives.
2. AYA Neo Next
Looking a bit like the Nintendo Switch but with much more power, the AYA Neo Next is actually the most powerful handheld gaming pc that we have on our list.
Featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U CPU, an AMD Radeon Vega 8 GPU, 16GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and a large 7-inch screen, the AYA Neo Next is an absolute beast!
Despite its power, it is much smaller than the ONEXPLAYER and the Steam Deck, coming in at a similar width to the Nintendo Switch but looking more futuristic.
It is remarkably sleek but can still play games, even very demanding ones, with ease, and it can support cloud gaming or game streaming with incredible speed so long as you have a solid internet connection.
If you’re after a minimalist handheld that packs incredible power, the AYA Neo Next is something that you will seriously want to check out.
1. Steam Deck
Taking our top spot is the Steam Deck, the best of the best when it comes to handheld gaming PCs and one that we would recommend for anyone serious about playing PC games on the go.
Created by Steam, this handheld features a 4-core AMD Zen 2 CPU, an 8-core AMD RDNA GPU, 16GB of RAM, 1GB of video memory, and a generous 7-in display.
PC games run like a dream on this device, and you can easily access your entire Steam library on it, even playing some of the best free MMORPG games is possible.
While this handheld is a bit bigger and chunkier than others on our list, the design layout is functional and comfortable, making it possible to game for hours without getting hand cramps.
Although some games need a bit more tweaking to make them 100% compatible with the Steam Deck, as time goes on, more and more games are coming to this device, making it one of the best for versatility and large game libraries.
If you are someone who plays many games through Steam, we recommend checking out the Steam Deck because it will be one of the best handheld gaming consoles for you.
Summary
Handheld gaming PCs have been gaining insane popularity recently, and we hope you enjoyed our list of the best ones you can buy today.
While all of them have great qualities, the one you ultimately decide to invest in will depend on the types of games you want to play and the size that is right for you.
Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best handheld gaming PCs:
- Steam Deck
- AYA Neo Next
- ONEXPLAYER Mini
- AYN Odin
- AYA Neo
- ONEXPLAYER
- GPD Win 3
- ONEXPLAYER AMD
- GPD Win Max
- ANBERNIC Win600