The Best Handheld Gaming PCs to Take Your Games on the Go

The Asus ROG Ally X we reviewed last year might use the same AMD Z1 Extreme processor as the original ROG Ally, but Asus has made enough little changes to the handheld that catapult it into its place as the best gaming handheld on the market right now. The Z1 Extreme is accompanied by 24GB of LPDDR5 memory, clocked at 7,400MHz, a massive increase over the 16GB of RAM on the original model. And because the RAM is faster this time around, too, it results in a surprising performance lift that averaged around 12-15% in my testing.

Asus also made the chassis a little thicker and heavier. It's not enough to notice most of the time, but there's a reason behind the madness. The Asus ROG Ally X has an improved cooler and a battery that's twice as large as the original model. This means you can play games for multiple hours before you have to start running for the charger. The improved cooler also helps long gaming sessions by wicking hot air away from the touch display, avoiding the hot touch screen issue that plagued the original model.

The Asus Mobile XG port on the original model has been removed, and has been replaced by a second USB-C port, which is compatible with Thunderbolt 4. Asus has also replaced the controversial MicroSD card slot with one that will hopefully be a little more resistant to damage. (After all, Asus got into some hot water with the original ROG Ally thanks to some lackluster customer support that was documented by YouTuber Gamers Nexus.)

Despite that, the Asus ROG Ally X, by itself, is the best handheld gaming PC experience you can get right now.

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.

When you're setting out to buy any kind of gaming PC, there's a balance you need to look for: You want something with incredible performance, but still looks like the premium product that you paid for. Handheld gaming PCs are no different, and that's why the Lenovo Legion Go is such a catch. The Legion Go measures in at a massive 11.76 inches long and 5.16 inches tall with the controllers attached, and that's primarily because of the large display.

Unlike other handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck or the Asus ROG Ally Z1 that take a lot of inspiration from the Nintendo Switch, the Legion Go sports an 8.8-inch 1600p display, almost making it a Windows 11 tablet with a controller stapled onto it. Luckily, Lenovo was able to keep the weight down a little bit, just 1.41lbs. Even if it's lighter than it looks, it's probably going to be hard for folks with smaller hands to use it.

The 1600p display causes a bit of a hassle, too. Because this is using the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chipset as the ROG Ally, some games can have a bit of trouble running at the native resolution. This is easily solved by tinkering with your in-game settings to lower the resolution. If you're not comfortable doing the hands-on troubleshooting, this might not be the product for you. But if you're a long-time PC gamer like I am, you'll love just how flexible – and beautiful – the Lenovo Legion Go is. This is the handheld gaming PC for the hardcore PC gaming crowd.

If the complicated nature of the Lenovo Legion Go is a bit of a turnoff, the Lenovo Legion Go S did just come out. However, in my review, I found it to be slower than the original Legion Go and at a higher price point. There will be a version launching later this year with a slightly lower-end configuration and running SteamOS, and that's going to be the lite-version of the Legion Go to keep an eye open for.

If you’re after a Windows-based handheld that puts the Steam Deck’s Linux-based SteamOS to shame, look no further than the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme we reviewed back in 2023. It runs on Windows 11, so just about any PC game and storefront are easy to use and bounce between with this device, including Xbox Game Pass and Epic. There are no significant caveats, like when attempting to play non-Steam games on the Steam Deck. However, during our review, we found the Armoury Crate software a bit clunky.

Equipped with a speedy Z1 Extreme mobile processor offering an 8-core Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3-powered graphics, the ROG Ally has one of the most powerful chips available – if you’re looking for something cheaper with a little less oomph, check out the ROG Ally Z1. During testing, the Z1 Extreme could play many games at high or even ultra settings while hitting commendable framerates with just a bit of tinkering, something that can’t be said for the Steam Deck. But pushing those higher settings comes at a significant cost to battery life, making a power bank a sound investment.

The ROG Ally is sleek and lightweight, featuring a vibrant 7-inch touchscreen with an adjustable resolution from 1080p to 720p and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The controllers flanking the screen’s sides have responsive ABXY face buttons and a slightly cheap feeling D-pad. We wish a touchpad were available for mouse-based games, but luckily the joysticks are reliable. A wireless mouse can always be connected if need be. Still, with everything on offer, the ROG Ally is essentially a mini Windows PC masquerading as a gaming handheld.

More like a mini laptop than gaming handheld, the GPD Win 4 we reviewed looks almost like Sony’s PSVita until you look beneath the surface. The portable has a AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and AMD Radeon 780m GPU. All of that is hiding behind a 6-inch 1080p screen. One of the highlight features of the GPD Win 4 is a sliding Windows keyboard, which makes using the desktop operating system on the go a breeze.

There are three versions available, including a base configuration with 16GB RAM and 1TB of SSD storage, going up as high as $1,599 for 32GB and 2TB of SSD storage.

One of the smallest handheld gaming PCs available, the Ayaneo Air has a 5.5-inch OLED FHD screen. Performance-wise, you should be able to get quite a bit of horsepower of the 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and AMD Radeon GPU. A little under 2 inches thin, the Ayaneo Air also weighs 2.6lbs. With 512GB SSD storage, there’s also room to expand via Micro SD slot. Though it may lack the sheer power of many portable Windows handhelds on the list, the size alone makes it a worthy buy.

If you like the looks of the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme but want something nearly as powerful for less money, grab the Asus ROG Ally Z1. Running the show is Windows 11 and a 30W AMD APU featuring a Zen 4 processor paired with a GPU with four RDNA 3 CUs. Admittedly, those graphics will struggle to keep up with AAA games at their highest settings on this 120Hz FHD handheld with a 7-inch display. Turning down the settings does help make games more playable, but the device truly shines in indie games.