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Steam Deck OLED
steampowered.com
Faced with competitions from Asus ROG Ally and the recently-released Lenovo Legion Go, Valve announced the new Steam Deck OLED.
The Steam Deck OLED addressed most of the complaints of their first version of the Steam Deck… mainly a better display and a better battery life.
While I’ve had the original Steam Deck since August 2022, I didn’t immediately notice how bad the screen was until I had the ROG Ally to compare it to. Looking at a side-by-side image, you can clearly see the clarity of the ROG Ally display vs the original Steam Deck.
Since Valve decided to keep its original 800p display, I don’t believe it will compare to a native 1080p or better resolution. However, looking at 800p on an OLED display will probably look fantastic.
Almost everything inside the Steam Deck have been upgraded, including larger cooling fan and maximum storage to 1TB (previous Steam Deck maxed out at 512GB).
Unfortunately, the processor is still relatively the same speed… which means the ROG Ally and Legion Go still have a speed advantage over the Steam Deck. The other unfortunately thing is that the Steam Deck still uses SteamOS, which is based on Linux… meaning that some Windows-based games (like all the anticheat software) will not run on the Steam Deck.
As a handheld gaming enthusiast, I am very interested in playing around with the Steam Deck OLED… but as someone who owns the original Steam Deck (and with a gaming budget), this is probably a pass for me.
NOTE: There’ll be a limited-edition version of the Steam Deck OLED which has a transparent case. It looks great, but I would imagine that it will be priced above $700. For that price, I would rather get the Legion Go.
steampowered.com
Faced with competitions from Asus ROG Ally and the recently-released Lenovo Legion Go, Valve announced the new Steam Deck OLED.
The Steam Deck OLED addressed most of the complaints of their first version of the Steam Deck… mainly a better display and a better battery life.
While I’ve had the original Steam Deck since August 2022, I didn’t immediately notice how bad the screen was until I had the ROG Ally to compare it to. Looking at a side-by-side image, you can clearly see the clarity of the ROG Ally display vs the original Steam Deck.
Since Valve decided to keep its original 800p display, I don’t believe it will compare to a native 1080p or better resolution. However, looking at 800p on an OLED display will probably look fantastic.
Almost everything inside the Steam Deck have been upgraded, including larger cooling fan and maximum storage to 1TB (previous Steam Deck maxed out at 512GB).
Unfortunately, the processor is still relatively the same speed… which means the ROG Ally and Legion Go still have a speed advantage over the Steam Deck. The other unfortunately thing is that the Steam Deck still uses SteamOS, which is based on Linux… meaning that some Windows-based games (like all the anticheat software) will not run on the Steam Deck.
As a handheld gaming enthusiast, I am very interested in playing around with the Steam Deck OLED… but as someone who owns the original Steam Deck (and with a gaming budget), this is probably a pass for me.
NOTE: There’ll be a limited-edition version of the Steam Deck OLED which has a transparent case. It looks great, but I would imagine that it will be priced above $700. For that price, I would rather get the Legion Go.
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Legion Go
lenovo.com
You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now.
In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game. And as much as I am interested in testing out the Legion Go, I already own the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, so I don’t really need yet another handheld in my life.
The pricing is the same as the ROG Ally, but for $50 more you can upgrade the storage to 1TB. However, for $100 more, MicroCenter will upgrade the storage to 2TB for you… making the total price $800.
If you don’t own a PC handheld gaming device, all the devices offer something different. Steam Deck is Linux and user-friendly, ROG Ally is Windows, and now the Legion Go offers the largest display (8.8 inches) and detachable controllers. The two standout features of the Legion Go might tip gamers in their direction, but unfortunately the size and weight doesn’t exactly make it portable. If you’re looking for a large display and controllers (including first person mode), the Legion Go sounds like it’s for you.
For me, I’m all in the ROG Ally world, because the 1080p/120hz display is so good, and it’s small and portable. It’s smaller than the Steam Deck, which is a monster (it’s larger than you think).
I say all this, but if I have the extra cash and I see it in stores, I might bite and do an impulse buy.
lenovo.com
You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now.
In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game. And as much as I am interested in testing out the Legion Go, I already own the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, so I don’t really need yet another handheld in my life.
The pricing is the same as the ROG Ally, but for $50 more you can upgrade the storage to 1TB. However, for $100 more, MicroCenter will upgrade the storage to 2TB for you… making the total price $800.
If you don’t own a PC handheld gaming device, all the devices offer something different. Steam Deck is Linux and user-friendly, ROG Ally is Windows, and now the Legion Go offers the largest display (8.8 inches) and detachable controllers. The two standout features of the Legion Go might tip gamers in their direction, but unfortunately the size and weight doesn’t exactly make it portable. If you’re looking for a large display and controllers (including first person mode), the Legion Go sounds like it’s for you.
For me, I’m all in the ROG Ally world, because the 1080p/120hz display is so good, and it’s small and portable. It’s smaller than the Steam Deck, which is a monster (it’s larger than you think).
I say all this, but if I have the extra cash and I see it in stores, I might bite and do an impulse buy.
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ROG Ally
asus.com
I’m more interested in seeing the upcoming Switch 2 or “Super Switch”… even though I probably won’t buy it. The original Switch processor is very slow and any current modern games won’t even run on the Switch. The last game I bought, it suffered from horrible stutter, I realized it’s not a great gaming device. I’m hoping the Switch 2 will be much faster.
If Switch 2 games are not compatible with the original Switch, then I definitely will not be buying the Switch 2. I don’t want to re-buy all my games… no one does.
I hope there’s a Steam Deck 2 (unlikely since they just announced the Steam Deck OLED) in the works… and I’m hoping for a new ROG Ally 2. What I would like to see in a future ROG Ally is the ability to use any eGPU, two USB-C, official dock, better battery life, better grip/design… maybe take a cue from Valve and put in a great OLED screen.
While we wait for the ROG Ally 2, Asus released the inferior (but cheaper) version of the ROG Ally. The cheaper version uses the Z1 chip (vs the faster Z1 Extreme chip) and costs $599. Personally speaking, I suggest spending the extra cash and getting the Z1 Extreme chip, which is currently selling for $620 because of the upcoming Black Friday Deals.
If you really want to save, the Z1 version is currently on sale for $500 because of Black Friday, and it’s a fantastic price.
Right now, my handheld gaming device of choice is the ROG Ally. When I’m not gaming on the go, I have it docked with the ROG Azoth Keyboard and a 32 inch monitor, for a desktop experience. The device is powerful enough to run all my Windows software and I can use it as a secondary productivity device.
asus.com
I’m more interested in seeing the upcoming Switch 2 or “Super Switch”… even though I probably won’t buy it. The original Switch processor is very slow and any current modern games won’t even run on the Switch. The last game I bought, it suffered from horrible stutter, I realized it’s not a great gaming device. I’m hoping the Switch 2 will be much faster.
If Switch 2 games are not compatible with the original Switch, then I definitely will not be buying the Switch 2. I don’t want to re-buy all my games… no one does.
I hope there’s a Steam Deck 2 (unlikely since they just announced the Steam Deck OLED) in the works… and I’m hoping for a new ROG Ally 2. What I would like to see in a future ROG Ally is the ability to use any eGPU, two USB-C, official dock, better battery life, better grip/design… maybe take a cue from Valve and put in a great OLED screen.
While we wait for the ROG Ally 2, Asus released the inferior (but cheaper) version of the ROG Ally. The cheaper version uses the Z1 chip (vs the faster Z1 Extreme chip) and costs $599. Personally speaking, I suggest spending the extra cash and getting the Z1 Extreme chip, which is currently selling for $620 because of the upcoming Black Friday Deals.
If you really want to save, the Z1 version is currently on sale for $500 because of Black Friday, and it’s a fantastic price.
Right now, my handheld gaming device of choice is the ROG Ally. When I’m not gaming on the go, I have it docked with the ROG Azoth Keyboard and a 32 inch monitor, for a desktop experience. The device is powerful enough to run all my Windows software and I can use it as a secondary productivity device.
Yours,
Weekend Gamer
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