Gaming laptop or handheld PC?
Gaming laptop or handheld PC?
I recently posted about finding time to game as a parent and the community has provided a bunch of good suggestions. Thank you! After reading all comments, I think it really boils down to accessibility of gaming for the occasional moments of free time that I do have in my busy schedule. The ability to pick something up easily, make some progress, pause it, and resume quickly at the next available window appears the best way to go. Many have suggested a Steam Deck or Switch (I own the latter) but I wanted to get some opinions on gaming laptops. My preference is to play on PC (I subscribe to Game Pass) so that's why I brought up this topic. I believe a gaming laptop provides some form of mobility and plays most things but doesn't have the instant resume that makes handhelds great. I feel both the Steam Deck and Switch would be limiting in what I can play. Has anyone tried the ROG Ally? What are your thoughts?
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Got a bit carried away, but hopefully this is useful to somebody:
The Steam Deck is surprisingly versatile, especially now Valve have released the dock (enabling portable monitors). The most obvious benefits over a gaming laptop (beyond the price) are the smaller form-factor and relative quiet compared to a strong gaming laptop.
The main thing you should ask yourself is what you want to play.If your answer to that looks like "Crusader Kings III, Dota 2, and the latest competitive shooter", then it might not be the best choice. But in general, you'd be surprised by how many games work great thanks to its extremely versatile input options.
Games that released before controller support on PC was mainstream -- such as Oblivion, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Deus Ex, or Baldur's Gate -- typically play fine thanks to its extensive input customisation (including custom radial menus), its dual trackpads and gyroscope, and the community layout system. There are exceptions where you'd want a keyboard and mouse, but not as necessary as you'd expect.
Beyond info on software compatability, ProtonDB also includes Deck-specific reports at the top of each page detailing others' experiences, such as whether they used a specific community layout or input method, performance under specific conditions (such as limiting power or frames to conserve battery life), and legibility on a smaller display. The wealth of shared controller configs is easily one of the greatest strengths the Deck has.
(And while other, more recent -- albeit more expensive -- options have stronger performance at higher power settings, the Deck has a strange persistence in outperforming its competitors at low power settings (source).)
Again, it's mostly down to what you want to play. If you want to play recent releases with all the bells and whistles enablesd, you'd need to pay for a laptop many times the cost of a Deck (desktops less dramatically). Given you're even considering handheld PCs I'm assuming that's not your priority. Cyberpunk and the ever-demanding Red Dead Redemption 2 have been in the top 20 most-played games on Deck since Valve started publishing that information, so simply playing them isn't an issue. (The top 100 games for 2023 by daily active players can be seen at the bottom here.)
To address some specific games and genres: If you're into MOBAs, League and Dota play fine but you'll want to be using a keyboard and mouse, while grand strategy games would at least warrant an external display.
If you want to play the latest CoD multiplayer, Valorant, or the upcoming Tarkov Arena, you should probably get a laptop. (You can install Windows on the Deck, but I can't speak to that firsthand.) The trackpads themselves are viable for FPS games, though a learning experience, but the main issue here is that most developers haven't enabled the option for their anti-cheat to work on Linux. Hunt: Showdown is a happy exception to this trend.
If you want to play MMOs, it'll depend heavily on the individual game. FFXIV has excellent controller support out of the box (Gabe Newell spent covid playing it on Deck), Path of Exile added strong controller support to improve experiences on Deck, and ESO reportedly runs great. People have made Guild Wars 2 work, as well as WoW via the impressive ConsolePort addon, but it won't be as clean an experience. The more niche, the more trouble it'll be. The problems here are universal to handheld PCs, and with MMOs you also need to consider whether you'd need a keyboard for social reasons. The Deck's on-screen keyboard is pretty decent, but it's not going to be a substitute for a real keyboard.
Almost any singleplayer RPG, FPS, or adventure game can be made to work just fine. Emulation has EmuDeck and can play most older games -- assuming general emulator compatibility -- up to some PS3 titles (like Demon Souls, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, or the MGS HD Collection) and even a lot of Switch titles. Traditional roguelikes include many among the few 2D/singleplayer titles that don't simply work out of the box. Yet a substantial number play great (e.g. Jupiter Hell, Tangledeep, Shiren the Wanderer, Caves of Qud); and many others have community layouts already so you don't have to take the time to set one up yourself. It was learning that Dwarf Fortress played fine on Deck that opened my eyes to just how flexible the chunky little handheld can be.
I hope that helps in determining whether the Deck suits your personal needs; if there's any angle I didn't cover adequately that you have questions about, please feel free to ask.
Edit: Slight clarification, re: "Almost any singleplayer RPG, FPS, or adventure game" -- this year, many multiplatform games have released on PC in a poorly optimised state, and depending on your personal tolerance the Deck may struggle to provide an adequate experience for them. Though it's hard to give a recommendation in one direction or the other without knowing your budget, as such titles are often found lacking on even the newest consumer desktop hardware (hardware very few laptops can compare directly against, and so many will suffer these issues in a similar manner). A relevant Digital foundry video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oav-pZyA8y4
Thanks for the comprehensive review. When I mention the deck is limited, I’m mostly referring to the ability to play PC Game Pass through Xbox app. I know you can install Windows but it’s likely more tinkering than I would be interested in doing. Also, are there any issues still plaguing the device? After all, the Steam Deck is still a first gen product. I can’t wait to see what they will do in their next iteration.
Don't have Game Pass, but I believe the options on Deck are currently to either install Windows and use the Xbox app, or following these instructions to access Xbox Cloud Gaming from SteamOS. (Assume that's what you meant?)
MS have also been toyed with the idea of making a Game Pass specific environment for Handheld PCs including the Deck, but no concrete announcements afaik.
Do you only plan on playing games available through Game Pass? I know there's a couple of handheld devices (not really handheld PCs, Switch/Deck-esque with Android and smart phone hardware) that are built specifically for Xbox's cloud gaming. (Maybe you don't even know what you intend to play at this stage, and just expect to play whatever's available without paying more money?)
If you buy a Steam Deck you'd probably eventually end up getting a bunch of things through Steam's big sales (you'd have money spare to do so, if nothing else). If you buy a strong laptop, you'd have access to the same sales, and you might want to buy more games anyway to justify the relative price. Hard to really guess what use case would suit you without knowing what future you would want to play (or how well future Game Pass would correlate).
Also, are there any issues still plaguing the device?
The only real issue I ever had was some WiFi connectivity problems, but I haven't experienced those for months now. I genuinely struggle to understand the experience of the other commenter, simply because it's so far from my own experiences. And if anything I've found Steam's use of Deck-Verified to be pretty conservative at times.
As long as I've had the thing there's been a fairly constant stream of updates and bugfixes.
After all, the Steam Deck is still a first gen product. I can’t wait to see what they will do in their next iteration.
Hah, hard to know when that'll appear. I've been waiting years for a second iteration of the index, and at this point I wish I'd just bought one years ago. Valve aren't exactly the most transparent company with their ongoing projects.
Do you only plan on playing games available through Game Pass? I know there’s a couple of handheld devices (not really handheld PCs, Switch/Deck-esque with Android and smart phone hardware) that are built specifically for Xbox’s cloud gaming. (Maybe you don’t even know what you intend to play at this stage, and just expect to play whatever’s available without paying more money?)
I play a mixture of both games I've bought and games through Game Pass. Xbox cloud gaming isn't great and I think it works for certain games but latency is a no go for me. One reason I like keeping Game Pass is that I often like to trial games before committing and for only $10/mo, it allows me to do this. Before the service exsited, I can easily waste $30+ buying games that I later learn I don't really enjoy.
Yeah, that's a great use for it. I guess I rely on Steam refunds being automatic under 2 hours played, but it's not quite the same liberty to try things as with Game Pass. Certainly seems like a no-brainer if you have an Xbox (or at least it was even a decision before they decided to make Xbox Live and Game Pass the same thing).
It's still buggy as all heck, and requires lots of troubleshooting even in the regular SteamOS mode. If you've used linux, especially if you've tried to game on it: it's like that. Even the "verified" steam games often don't work immediately without at least first fiddling with community controller profiles.
So from what you say I'd 1000% recommend going for the laptop.