Best Steam Deck alternative 2024: Lenovo, Asus, and more

Regardless of the frequently rising variety of Home windows handhelds, the ROG Ally stays the most effective Steam Deck various on the market. Whereas it doesn’t excel in any specific class relative to its rivals, Asus’ system gives a gaming expertise higher than the sum of its elements, very similar to the Steam Deck itself.

The ROG Ally is out there with a selection of two processors, the Ryzen Z1 and Ryzen Z1 Excessive. Whereas related in title, these chips every boast markedly totally different efficiency resulting from their distinction in spec. A lot so, that we solely suggest selecting up fashions geared up with the Z1 Excessive, because the Z1’s worth is significantly decrease. In case your funds can stretch to the extra highly effective CPU, although, you may count on body charges that both match or exceed the Steam Deck and the remainder of the most effective moveable gaming consoles.

Superior specs don’t cease on the processor with the ROG Ally, because it additionally comes with a sharper 1080p show with the next refresh fee of 120Hz. Its IPS LCD panel isn’t OLED, however it’s about pretty much as good as you will get for this show kind. Higher nonetheless, this decision is a candy spot for efficiency and battery life, not placing an excessive amount of pressure on both entrance.

Out-of-the-box storage for the ROG Ally tops out at 512GB, however this may be simply upgraded with one other off-the-shelf PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2230 SSD. You may add additional house for video games through the microSD card slot, however remember that there are studies of the reader malfunctioning. ASUS has since deployed a patch that ought to have addressed these points, so be sure you obtain any updates as they arrive, and train warning when enjoying notably demanding video games. For extra on this one, take a look at our Asus ROG Ally evaluate.

Geared up with ‘TrueStrike’ controllers, a built-in kickstand, and nice efficiency, this Steam Deck various takes a number of notes from the common-or-garden Nintendo Change too. The Legion Go is an formidable piece of equipment, and a flexible choice to Valve’s handheld. You’ll discover an 8.8-inch IPS panel ready for you, which is without doubt one of the largest screens out there on a handheld proper now. It’s good and crispy too with a big pixel depend of 1600p.

Nevertheless, you’ll want to organize to downscale video games to 1200p or 800p as pushing as much as 1600p can show an excessive amount of for the Ryzen Z1 Excessive, regardless of its in any other case robust capabilities.

Detaching the controllers from the Legion Go makes for a extra relaxed moveable gaming expertise when you’ve got the house to relaxation the machine on a close-by floor. Nevertheless, the hand held additionally has ‘FPS Mode’, which transforms one of many controllers right into a would-be mouse when mixed with the included base which is helpful for each video games and light-weight work.

Legion Area does provide loads of customization however it’s way more fiddly than Valve’s choices on the Steam Deck, however this might enhance over time with future updates. The one different gripe that brings the Legion Go down a peg is its weight, measuring 854g, which may make it considerably uncomfortable to make use of for extended durations. For the complete lowdown, see our Lenovo Legion Go evaluate.

Not solely is the Asus ROG Ally X an important various choice to the Steam Deck, however this beefier cousin of the Asus ROG Ally is a handheld gaming dream. Full of improved battery life, a beautiful LCD display screen, and a few of the greatest efficiency capabilities in handheld gaming, the Ally X is a formidable addition to this listing. From indie gems to triple-A titles, Asus’s newest piece of equipment is as much as the problem, though with some small caveats.

The Asus ROG Ally X runs on Home windows 11, and whereas it’s principally a streamlined expertise, there are cases the place it nonetheless wants the sides refining. Nevertheless, the Home windows working system additionally means you’ve entry to all of the Xbox Recreation Move video games, and you may have them sit alongside all of your Epic Video games and Steam titles in Asus’ customized gaming hub.

It’s additionally value declaring that the ROG Ally X stands tall as one of many best Steam Deck alternate options on the market, that premium expertise comes at a premium worth. In our opinion, it’s value it, however it’s your cash. If you would like extra particulars, take a look at our full Asus ROG Ally X evaluate.

Don’t let the dimensions of the Win Mini (2024) idiot you as that is one Steam Deck various that punches effectively above its weight, regardless of its dimension. Not solely has GPD managed to squeeze loads of efficiency into this lean machine, however opening up the clamshell chassis reveals a built-in keyboard and trackpad alongside its face buttons and Corridor impact joysticks for a really versatile system.

New for the Win Mini (2024), GPD has upgraded its show to incorporate variable refresh fee (VRR) assist. Regardless of its prevalence amongst gaming displays, this function is surprisingly uncommon amongst handhelds, with the Steam Deck and ROG Ally being a few of the solely different examples. In a nutshell, it retains display screen tearing at bay, no matter your body fee, making for a a lot smoother gaming expertise.

Benchmarking the Win Mini (2024) reveals its stunning energy as a small however mighty gaming system. Based on GPD, you may count on a mean body fee of 64fps in Forza Horizon 5, utilizing the sport’s ‘Excessive’ preset. In fact, you may increase this even additional by activating AMD FSR in video games that assist the upscaling tech.

The one main disadvantage of the Wini Mini (2024) is its worth. Beginning at $879 through Indiegogo, in lieu of Ryzen 5 8640U availability for now, it’s one of many dearer Steam Deck alternate options in the marketplace. Nevertheless, an elevated worth for such a bespoke design isn’t a shock and is one thing that many different handhelds in the marketplace merely don’t provide.

Android gaming doesn’t get any higher than on the Odin 2. Whereas a lot of what makes this handheld so improbable to sport with comes right down to its specs, its efficiency wouldn’t shine as a lot because it does if not for the work AYN has clearly put into the machine’s scrumptious design.

On the coronary heart of the Odin 2 lies a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the identical SoC discovered within the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely. Paired with no less than 8GB of RAM, this combo naturally makes quick work of even essentially the most demanding Android titles, together with picks from our listing of the most effective cellular video games like Genshin Influence and Honkai Star Rail.

The inclusion of Corridor impact joysticks makes enjoying video games on the Odin 2 a responsive pleasure, and not using a trace of drift. Annoyingly, the face buttons and D-pad don’t match as much as the machine’s joysticks. Whereas they nonetheless present a good expertise, some will discover them uncomfortably small and they’re vulnerable to minor rattling.

The 8,000mAh battery gives hours upon hours of playtime and charging is simple and speedy due to assist for 65W Fast Cost 5.0. The one actual fault the Odin 2 has as a Steam Deck various is that you should use cloud streaming companies like Nvidia GeForce Now to play your library of PC video games. Fortunately, it handles this activity like a champ too.

It’s troublesome to discover a funds various to the Steam Deck however the Pocket 4 Professional is about as shut as you will get. Costing simply $200, it’s a surprisingly nippy console that may function a PC in a pinch via cloud streaming companies. As its title suggests, it’s an important possibility for anybody in search of the most effective retro handhelds.

Simply because it’s comparatively low cost, doesn’t imply that Retroid skimped on the construct high quality of the Pocket 4 Professional. Housed in its plastic chassis you’ll discover a set of analog triggers and Corridor impact analog sticks, which really feel nice throughout all genres of sport however notably shine in racing titles. Whereas its 4.7-inch show is on the smaller aspect, as its 750p decision, you may join it to an exterior show and output 1080p video through its USB Sort-C port.

The Pocket 4 Professional is without doubt one of the smaller Steam Deck alternate options in the marketplace too, weighing in at simply 251g, and with dimensions that make it genuinely pocketable in some pants. Naturally, this does make it considerably unwieldy for these with bigger arms, however most ought to discover it comfy to carry.

Given its worth, you shouldn’t count on flagship-level efficiency however the Mediatek Dimensity 1100 SoC packs sufficient punch to see you thru a bout of Android gaming and handles streaming with no drawback. Simply keep in mind that if you have already got an costly smartphone, you might have already got a gaming machine that’s simply as succesful because the Pocket 4 Professional, if no more so.

No listing of Steam Deck alternate options could be full with out the Change OLED, which emerges as our choose for the most effective Nintendo Change for a number of causes. The primary, naturally, is its OLED panel, making it one of many least expensive gadgets to function the show expertise. Colours and distinction are merely elegant on this display screen and make for a marked improve over dearer LCD alternate options.

We propose selecting up the Change OLED over the Lite as must you encounter any dreaded bouts of stick drift, you’ll solely want to switch the defective Pleasure-Con moderately than your entire system. This does naturally enhance the value, inside $50 of the 256GB Steam Deck LCD, however the further price is effectively value bettering the longevity of your machine.

One benefit the Change enjoys over each different Steam Deck various is an ecosystem of bodily video games. Not solely is a library of cartridges superior to gather, however you’ll have the ability to promote them must you want moderately than be perpetually caught with a digital license. Nevertheless, the Nintendo eShop is ripe with downloads must you want.

It’s value noting that we’re anticipating a Change 2 within the close to future, which might see the Change OLED and different fashions fall in worth. Nevertheless, till that point, Nintendo’s console stays the most effective handheld console on the market.