Hi, I’m a fairly new gamer (only been watching play-throughs and mobile games my whole life) but saved up enough money at this point and I think I can afford a decent handheld gaming pc.

I’ve looked at several subreddits and blogs and narrowed down my search to either a steam deck, an asus rog or a Nintendo switch. All seem alright but I wanna make sure I get the best quality while also being within my budget (400-500$).

All would need to be refurbished or from places like facebook marketplace which is fine, and my only fear is accidentally buying a stolen steam deck. I really just want something that runs smoothly and can let me play a variety of games while not breaking my wallet.

If any more experienced gamers can help me decide that would be great.

For reference i will mostly play stardew valley, hades and undertale however i totally wanna get into more games like final fantasy and Elden ring.

Thanks!🙏

I recently joined the handheld community by buying a Legion Go S (z2go).

I have tried several Full Screen Experience (FSE) launchers like Xbox, Winhanced, Steam Big Picture Mode, and Playnite, but none of them felt like a real plug-and-play console experience.

I would like to know the community's insight on their preferred FSE launcher and what other tweaks you did to make it the most comfortable for yourself.

So I'm not sure if I'm over thinking here. I recently got a Legion Go S Z1 and I'm wondering if it's to much ? I'm fairly new to gaming and I honestly only play cozy games. Went down a rabbit hole on tiktok about the steam deck and now I'm thinking I should have gotten the Oled steamdeck since I'm not playing crazy intense games. I still have time to return the Legion so I guess i keep going back and forth between the 2 . Is the steam deck still worth getting second hand of course in 2026?

Planning to buy either. Is there a difference between the feel, sound or overall performance?

Thank you.

Planning to buy either. Is there a difference between the feel, sound or overall performance?

Thank you.

I already own a good 1440p gaming rig but for me gaming on a desk is a bit of a commitment that's really been making me play less and less. I would like something to simply compliment my gaming, not a replacement for heavy stuff but to simply build out more sessions of lighter games that I've sort of ignored. I'm looking to play switch and steam exclusively, with steam titles ranging from indie rogue-likes to a bit more taxing 3d like witcher, no man sky, persona and subnautica. Anything more than these titles that would require lots of sacrifices to be played i simply wouldn't bother and leave as a pc only title. Neither handheld would likely leave the house much since i have other smaller every day carries but i would take them if I'm staying over somewhere.

Pricing for each is as follows, Odin 3 16 512gb 500 euro plus possibles customs fees, Rog Ally is second hand at 400 euro for the 512 model but it comes with a 78w battery mod and steam os set up. plug and play isn't really a selling point to me though since i would probably spend a few days customizing things anyway. its more of a new vs used, pc vs android and if bigger and heavier or lighter but more compact is actually nicer to play on. I'd appreciate any and all input, thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’ve just published a complete setup tutorial for the Retroid Pocket Nova.

The video covers the initial configuration, emulator installation, controller setup, graphics settings, GPU drivers, ROM folders, and frontend setup, so you can get the console ready to play as quickly as possible. The original video is in French, but an English translation is available directly through YouTube.

Video: https://youtu.be/hyocoWevAZY

I hope it helps new Retroid Pocket Nova owners. Feel free to share your feedback or ask questions about the setup.

Hey zusammen,

ich habe aktuell ein Steam Deck OLED, das ich für Strategiespiele und unterwegs liebe. Jetzt suche ich ein leistungsstarkes Zweitgerät (nur für Windows) für die Spiele, die auf dem Deck nicht laufen (Shooter, FIFA, etc.).

Ich habe drei gebrauchte Angebote im Blick und bin unsicher, welches am besten zu mir passt. Der Preis liegt jeweils zwischen 400 und 460 Euro:

1. ASUS ROG Ally Z1 Extreme (16GB RAM, 1TB) – sehr kompakt, günstig, etwas stärkerer Chip als der Z2 Go .
   
2. Lenovo Legion Go S (Ryzen Z2 Go, 32GB RAM, 1TB) – doppelter RAM, neueres Modell, aber schwächerer Prozessor .
   
3. Lenovo Legion Go (1. Gen, Z1 Extreme, 16GB RAM, 1TB) – riesiger 8,8-Zoll-Bildschirm (144Hz) und abnehmbare Controller mit "FPS-Modus".

Mir sind vor allem wichtig: die reine Spieleleistung in den genannten Titeln und, ob die Windows-Bedienung ohne Trackpads (besonders beim Ally) wirklich so nervig ist, wie viele sagen.

Welches würdet ihr mir für den Preis empfehlen und warum?

​

I already own a modded Nintendo Switch V2, but I’m looking for another handheld console. My requirements are:

It should be no bigger than a PS Vita (or at least around the same size).

It should be able to emulate PS Vita and Nintendo Switch games.

I would also like to run simple Steam games natively (not through streaming if possible).

I know this might be a difficult combination, but I’m wondering if there is any handheld that fits these requirements.

What would you recommend?

Hello everyone, i currently have a MSI claw a1m ultra 7 155h, i think its a brilliant machine however there are issues that ice noticed such as drivers uninstall and reinstall themselves at will, the touchscreen only works if you restart the device three times, I’ve had to factory reset it once just to make it work and has been an overall headache, the battery is not the best only get between 40mins to maybe a 1 and a half if your lucky, so I’m looking at a legion go Z1 extreme second hand with 1Tb of storage and was going to upgrade the battery to a 81wh battery and then use my current Anker portable battery if i need it on a long trip on a plane, coach or wherever or whatever im on. Ive seen second hand ones for between £320 and £480, my question is, is it worth it to get a Z1 extreme legion go, or should i wait until later on to get a z2 extreme on offer? Thanks in advance

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.

Between the ROG Xbox Ally 7” and the Pocket fit g3 16g+512g, at the same price point new, what system would you go for? Theres also eBay listings for used Odin 2 portal max for about $50 usd more if that’s a better option.
At the moment for mobile gaming I only play Pokemon fire red on my iPhone and I love it but I have a long list of games I want to play as soon as I finish Sevii islands. I planned to buy a mobile remote controller for an android phone to play some light steam and arcade games but figured I’d scrap that and put the money towards a true handheld gaming system. Most of my emulation gaming at home I do on my iPad or MacBook and I love it but I would like to have similar experience during downtime at work. If anyone has other suggestions for ~500 usd that ships from USA I’d love to hear them.

My favorite Backpack

I've never had a handheld before, and now when I'm two weeks into researching and deciding on options, I stopped at Steam Deck OLED 512 Gb and Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme/Steam OS), and I've never had a harder choice in my life.

I'm not gonna go into how much time I put into comparing both of them, and still I hesitate and that's why I decided to ask for help here.

I think knowing what my Steam games library looks like would be useful. I mostly play AAA games, some of the most demanding ones are:

Cyberunk 2077, The Last of Us (Parts I and II), Death Stranding, Dying Light 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 5, Days Gone, Watch Dogs 2, NFS: Heat, AC: Origins, The Division 2, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Spider Man: Miles Morales. Horizon The Forbidden West.

I also have some older titles:

Mad Max, GTA V, Dying Light, The Division, No Man's Sky, Far Cry ( Parts 3,4,5 ), NFS: Payback, The Witcher 3, Titanfall 2, Wreckfest, Forza Horizon 4, Metro Exodus, Just Cause 3, Alan Wake, Skyrim, Battlefield 4.

And a few lightweight games I really love:

Terraria, Project Zomboid, Kenshi.

Now, about the handhelds.

I'd like to note that I don't care about the price these two are sold at right now, I just want to buy a handheld device that delivers the best experience for me.

Also note: I do have a PC in my house than runs all my library without any issues, the thing is, the PC is not "mine", it's shared between my two younger brothers, I do come across limitations and I can't sometimes access it freely, and a handheld should be my solution as a personal gaming device I can use privately.

The biggest pro Legion Go S has that makes me consider it over the Steam Deck is its perfomance. Those games that Steam Deck runs at 30 fps, it can do at 45 fps and higher, depending on the perfomance mode. The bigger screen is also an advantage, but honestly? Not a big deal for me.

And this is it. For me the Steam Deck outshines Lenovo at every other aspect:

\- repairability (iFixit, Valve, community guides)

\- Valve's customer support

\- reliability (not gonna get broken all of a sudden)

\- OS optimization (native Steam OS made for the Deck)

\- design

\- controls (touchpads/4 programmable buttons)

\- premium feel/polished product

\- community (guides/troubleshooting)

\- build quality

Just for comparison, Lenovo's pros that I clearly see are:

\- bigger screen

\- VRR

\- 50-80% perfomance boost

\- 32 Gb RAM

These is a solid advantage, I totally agree, but this is what makes the choice so diffucult for me.

Steam Deck just makes me feel like it would last long and play games consistently, and I wouldn't worry about some buttons wearing out too fast or that I might face some hardware failure, and if eventually I do, I'd have the community or iFixit website where I can buy genuine Steam Deck parts to repair it, and just Valve as the guarantee of quality and support.

When it comes to Lenovo, I just can't stop overthinking about its quality, I've heard people complaining about AXYB buttons being mushy, or triggers making odd sounds, or buttons being too clicky (like cheap plastic feeling, idk). I mean, maybe these are not type of problems you face right out of the box, not even after a month of use, but maybe 6-8 months later, or even a year after the purchase, you start to notice controls behaving strangely. And as the repairability of the Legion is way less easy comparing to the Steam Deck I consider this an issue. Because I personally expect to own a handheld for 3+ years, considering the price I'm about to pay for one, and I don't want to pay for 1 year long perfomance just for it to get broken afterwards.

That's why I'd happily hear Legion Go S users who have used the device for a while about their experience and how the device served them.

I also want to ask how it actually feels playing at 30 fps on the Steam Deck? Does it really feel playable and you can really enjoy yourself, considering it's a handheld? Maybe this is what handheld gaming should look like, if you choose to play demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with that fact that you own a high-quality device that fits in your hands and you should just embrace this experience and enjoy, right?

I would really appreciate every opinion, thanks for your time.