Valve may have revolutionized mobile PC gaming with the Steam Deck, but more and more handheld gaming PCs keep coming to market, giving it some stiff competition. There are even handhelds out there like the Legion Go S that use Valve's handheld operating system but with more powerful hardware. Microsoft isn't sitting on its hands, either. The company teamed up with Asus to launch the excellent ROG Xbox Ally X, which debuts a new Xbox Full Screen Experience that should be making its way to other handhelds within the next few months. (Hopefully, Microsoft also takes that time to iron out some of the kinks with the new UX.)

TL;DR – These Are the Best Handheld Gaming PCs:

Rather than dealing with the bulk of a gaming laptop, handheld gaming PCs keep far more compact dimensions, making it easier to play from just about anywhere. Even though these devices are obviously significantly smaller than a gaming PC, it doesn’t mean they’re underpowered. Many handheld gaming PCs are packing the performance prowess to cruise through AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077. If you get sick of playing on a smaller screen, a great Steam Deck dock works seamlessly with most handheld gaming PCs so you can hook up to your gaming TV.

While we’re in the midst of a handheld gaming PC revolution, we've gotten our hands on a good chunk of these highly-capable devices. Below are the current four we deem worthy of consideration right now.

1. Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

The Best Handheld Gaming PC

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

Product Specifications

CPU

AMD Z2 Extreme

GPU

AMD Z2 Extreme

Weight

1.58 lbs

RAM

24GB LPDDR5X

SSD

1TB NVMe SSD

Dimensions

11.42 x 4.76 x 2 inches

PROS

Xbox Fullscreen Experience makes Windows easier to use with a controller

Excellent gaming performance

CONS

UI needs some bug fixes

When Microsoft announced the Xbox Ally X back in June 2025, I didn't really know what to make of it. The company was teaming up with Asus to make an Xbox version of the excellent ROG Ally X. It turns out that the main reason for this was to create something that'd serve as a pilot run for a new version of Windows 11 that'd be a bit more controller-friendly. Now that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is here, I've seen firsthand that this partnership has mostly been successful.

The new Xbox Full Screen Experience that's at the core of the Xbox Ally X does need some polish still, but it does change how you interact with a handheld gaming PC. Most people that primarily use Xbox Game Pass and Steam will hardly ever have to poke around the desktop, beyond initiating Windows updates or installing apps like Discord. Instead, the system boots into a full-screen version of the Xbox app, where you'll be able to download and install select third-party stores like Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store, along with launching the games you install from these services.

You will still have to deal with these apps to actually download and install the games. The launches open within the Full Screen Experience, so you won't have to go to the desktop, but how controller-friendly these apps are varies wildly. Steam is easy to use with a controller, for instance, but you're going to have to use the touch screen to navigate around the Epic Games Store. That's largely on the developers of these other apps to create a controller-focused UX – there's not much Microsoft or Asus could have done here.

As for performance, when I reviewed the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, I found that it was the fastest handheld that I've reviewed so far, with the console able to hit up to 44fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at high settings and upscaling set to Quality. Even when I unplugged the device to test the battery, I found that at its 17W power setting I was still able to get 30-35fps in Cyberpunk, except for in particularly demanding areas like Dogtown. As long as you can swallow the admittedly high price of $999 – something that's plaguing this entire generation of PC handhelds – the Xbox Ally X is easily the best one out there, especially if you're not too attached to the idea of a beautiful OLED display. In that case, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is right there.

2. Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

The Best SteamOS Handheld Gaming PC

Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

Product Specifications

CPU

AMD Z1 Extreme

GPU

AMD Z1 Extreme

Weight

1.61 lbs

RAM

32GB LPDDR5 @ 6,400MHz

SSD

1TB NVMe SSD

Dimensions

11.77 x 5.02 x 0.89 inches

PROS

SteamOS is way better than Windows

Excellent gaming performance

CONS

Lackluster battery life

When the Lenovo Legion Go S first came out in February 2025, it was a hot mess. The configuration Lenovo initially released was bogged down by the weak Z2 Go processor, which didn't pair well with Windows. And because it was both running Windows 11 and had 32GB of memory, this weaker handheld was just as expensive – if not moreso – than the original Legion Go that preceded it. But Lenovo has righted the ship by launching the Go S with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS built-in.

This system is still expensive. You're looking at $829 to get this model, but that's only a bit more than the Asus ROG Ally X, which ended up being slower, if only by a bit, in my tests. When I reviewed this new Lenovo Legion Go S, the SteamOS-powered handheld beat out the Ally X in synthetic benchmarks by as much as 9%. That's not bad, considering that handheld had the performance crown before this system came out.

The elephant in the room is the Steam Deck. Even three years after its release, it's still an incredible and popular handheld, and it's not hard to see why. It's easy to use and it's literally half the price of the Go S. But not only do you get a higher resolution display with this Legion Go S, you also get as much as double the performance. I was able to get a solid 60fps playing Baldur's Gate 3, and that's something I straight up couldn't do on the Steam Deck. Whether or not that's worth the higher price tag depends entirely on what you're looking for.

A great handheld gaming system is about more than just raw performance. It also needs to be comfortable to use, and despite the sytem being one of the largest I've used – and I've used a lot of them – it's extremely comfortable. The Lenovo Legion Go S has rounded edges that give you something to hold on to, and the textured finish makes it harder to slip out of your hands.

The Go S also has one of the most beautiful LCD displays I've seen in a while and proves that OLED isn't the only way to get a great picture in 2025. It's not quite as colorful as the Steam Deck OLED, to be fair, but it still made any game I played on it look awesome.

3. Valve Steam Deck

The Best Budget Handheld Gaming PC

Valve Steam Deck OLED

Running on Steam OS, this handheld offers a seven-inch display and beefy internals ready to take on games optimized for it.

Product Specifications

CPU

4-core, 8-thread AMD Zen 2

RAM

16GB LPDDR5

GPU

8-core AMD RDNA 2

SSD

256GB

Weight

1.47 lb

Dimensions

11.7 × 4.6 × 1.9 inches

PROS

Mighty powerful

Perfect for running Steam games

CONS

Terrible battery life

Responsible for popularizing the handheld gaming PC revolution, the Valve Steam Deck doesn’t actually come with Windows installed. Instead, it uses Valve’s custom SteamOS, and thanks to the API Proton, the Steam Deck supports dozens of games optimized for the portable, from Cyberpunk 2077 to Forza Horizon 5.

There are ways to get Windows running on the 7-inch display portable by booting directly from the USB-C port. Beyond that is one of the best input controls available for any portable gaming handheld. See our full comparison between the Steam Deck and ROG Ally here.

There’s also the OLED version of the Steam Deck to consider for users who prefer a larger, brighter, and more vibrant screen. While still displaying at 1200x800, the Steam Deck OLED offers a noticeable difference, providing more clarity for a better visual experience. You'll also get improved battery life, a higher refresh rate, and more storage than the 256GB offered in the tradtional LCD model.

Is it odd to classify the Steam Deck as the "budget" option? Maybe, but gaming handhelds isn't exactly a category known for being inexpensive, and the Steam Deck is by and large at least a couple hundred dollars less than the other entries on this list.

4. Lenovo Legion Go 2

Best Gaming Handheld With an OLED Screen

Lenovo Legion Go 2

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is a Steam Deck alternative that runs Windows 11 and has a huge OLED display. What's not to love?

Product Specifications

CPU

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

RAM

32GB LPDDR5X

GPU

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

SSD

1TB SSD

Weight

2.03 lb

Dimensions

1.66 x 11.64 x 5.38 inches

PROS

Excellent performance

Best display in a handheld gaming PC

CONS

You can buy a gaming laptop for this much money

Very large and heavy for a handheld

The Lenovo Legion Go was one of the first Windows-based handhelds to hit the market from a major manufacturer, so it was only a matter of time before it got a sequel. With the Legion Go 2, Lenovo is clearly taking its vision in a more premium direction.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the Legion Go 2 is its price. This thing starts at $1,099, which will get you the base AMD Z2 APU along with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. However, if you really want this thing to shine with its OLED display, you're going to want to pair it with the AMD Z2 Extreme and 32GB of RAM, and that configuration is going to set you back at least $1,349. That's a lot to ask for a handheld gaming PC, especially when you consider you can get a pretty solid gaming laptop for the same amount of money that will perform much better.

Not that the Legion Go 2 is a slouch, though. When I reviewed the Legion Go 2, it was between 10-20% faster than the Z1 Extreme in a similar configuration. Combine that with the gorgeous OLED display, and it provides a much better gaming experience than its predecessor. While the display has been upgraded to an OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and VRR, the resolution has been lowered from 2560x1600 to 1920x1200. In a way, this configuration makes a bit more sense, as the 1600p display in the original Legion Go was quite hard to drive with its hardware.

The Go 2 keeps the removable controllers from the original, but slightly rearranges the buttons to make them way more user-friendly. The Start and Select buttons are similar to where you would find them on any normal controller, and the handheld has dedicated buttons to bring up the desktop and enter Task View to swap between apps. Will these buttons will stay useful once the Xbox Full Screen Experience becomes available sometime next year? Unclear, but for the time being they make Windows much easier to navigate.

Honorable Mention: MSI Claw A8

MSI has been making handheld gaming PCs for a while now, and the company just put out the Claw A8, powered by the AMD Z2 Extreme. Just like the Xbox Ally X and the Legion Go 2, which are also powered by this next-gen chip, this is a performant little machine. What's especially impressive about it is the battery life, while we were playing Cyberpunk 2077, the Claw A8 lasted nearly 3 hours – making it the longest-lasting handheld yet.

However, when we reviewed the Claw A8, there were a couple things that held it back from truly contending with the best handhelds on this list. The software is a big one, because despite it supporting the new Xbox Full Screen Experience, you still have to contend with MSI's software to do any kind of tweaking, and it just doesn't have the same kind of polish as Asus' software – at least not yet. The handheld is also significantly more expensive, coming in at £850 in the UK. The Claw A8 isn't available in the US yet, but that would make it about $1,145 – nearly $150 more than the already-expensive Xbox Ally X, and putting it up there with the Lenovo Legion Go 2, just without the OLED display.

Maybe once this handheld actually launches in the US, the price will come down a little bit, but until then I can't recommend it over the other options.

Upcoming Handheld Gaming PCs

Now that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is out, we're kind of in a holding pattern for a while. We'll probably see other handhelds using the Z2 Extreme trickle out over the next year or so. It's also likely that we'll see some Intel-powered devices featuring the new Panther Lake architecture.

Beyond that, we will probably see a Steam Deck 2 at some point, but Valve has repeatedly said that it's waiting for a "more significant" generational lift to launch its sequel. Given that the Steam Deck is nearing four years old, we could see a new device launch sometime next year at the earliest. We'll see!

Handheld Gaming PC FAQ

Should I buy a handheld gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Depending on how you want to game and what games you want to play will determine whether you should grab a gaming laptop or handheld PC. Handhelds score higher points in longevity, battery life, optimization, portability, and thermals. But handhelds are only designed to play games up to a certain specification. Gaming laptops cram in the latest GPU, CPU, and RAM, likely sacrificing battery life, thermals, and price. However, some are absolute beasts ready to take on even the most graphically intensive games. Laptops offer more functionality when it comes to editing and other work.

Check out our guide on the Steam Deck vs. gaming laptops for more information.

What’s the best Steam Deck alternative?

The Lenovo Legion Go S is one of the best Steam Deck alternatives. This gaming handheld offers the same easy-to-use interface as the Steam Deck, along with speedy performance, and a stunning design. It does run into some of the same problems as the Steam Deck, notably around installing games that aren't on Steam – but you can get around that with some tinkering.

How does the Switch 2 compare to the Steam Deck?

On spec, the Switch 2 is delivers better performance than the Steam Deck. Check out our in-depth comparison to find out more.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Originally posted:

Dec 30, 2025 4:30 pm