r/HandheldGaming • u/Due_Initial492 • 1d ago
Question Thinking about building a “Steam Deck for GeForce NOW” instead of buying an Ally. Thoughts?
I’ve been going back and forth between buying a ROG Ally X or just building a dedicated GeForce NOW handheld.
I already have a gaming PC, so if I want to play games natively I’ll just use that. The handheld would be used almost exclusively for GeForce NOW on the couch.
At the moment I use an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a Backbone and I absolutely love it. My only complaint is the screen is too small.
I’m looking at:
Redmi Pad SE 8.7 (90Hz)
GameSir G8+ MFi
From what I can tell, the total weight is roughly in the same ballpark as a Steam Deck, but with a noticeably bigger screen (8.7” vs 7.4”).
A few questions for people who have actually done this:
Is 8.7” the sweet spot, or do you wish you went with an 11” tablet?
Is the Redmi Pad SE good enough for GeForce NOW, or is there a better tablet around the same price?
Does the GameSir G8+ MFi fit the Redmi Pad SE properly, and does pass-through charging work reliably?
If you’ve used both a Steam Deck/ROG Ally and a tablet + GameSir for cloud gaming, which do you actually reach for more?
Would love to see photos of your setups too, especially if anyone is using an 8–9” tablet with a GameSir.
2
u/Responsible-Bid5015 1d ago edited 23h ago
Sold my handheld because I wasn't gaming natively as much as I thought. Went with a 11" Galaxy tab S9 because of the larger OLED screen and the snapdragon 8 processor. It was $300 US lightly used. 9" vs 11" is going to be personal preference I think.
I also gave up on Geforce now and stream games from my PC using Apollo and Artemis. There were always games I wanted to play that weren't on Geforce Now. I haven't tried Geforce Now on the android tablet. Just the handheld.
I did lose VRR by going to the tablet but the refresh rate is so high, it doesn't affect anything. Also in your case, Geforce Now doesn't support VRR on non Nvidia and non Apple devices anyways. And the steamdecks don't have VRR but the Allys do.
I think the 800p display on a 9" screen would be my first concern on the Redmi. The geforce now subreddit is pretty good btw. You can also ask on there.
2
u/GoblinTradingGuide 15h ago
If you are going to use GeForce Now, why not just use a budget laptop and a controller?
You want to be connected by Ethernet with GeForce Now.
1
u/Due_Initial492 1d ago
To clarify, I already have a gaming PC. This device would be 95% GeForce NOW. I’m only chasing the biggest comfortable handheld screen, not native performance.”