The Best Handheld Gaming PCs

The landscape of PC gaming has changed greatly in the last decade. Not only has the barrier to entry been lowered, but the advent of the modern handheld gaming PC has helped introduce an entirely new subset of PC gamers to the hobby without the need to fork over the often exorbitant cost for a desktop or laptop. The best handheld gaming PCs embody the power and portability of a good gaming laptop without the need to be constantly plugged in or take up too much space in a backpack, striking a good middle ground between form and function without really sacrificing performance. We're taking a look at some of the best options players can currently use for handheld PC gaming, from newer handhelds with all the bells and whistles to the dependable, best-all-around machine that inspired other manufacturers to make their own handhelds.

• CPU — AMD Ryzen 5 5560U or Ryzen 7 5825U
• GPU — Vega 6 or Vega 8
• RAM — 8 to 32GB DDR4
• Storage — 128 GB to 2 TB
• Screen — 5.5" OLED; 1920x1080
• OS — Windows 11
• Price — $549-$649

Chinese manufacturer Ayaneo may be lesser known than some of the others on this list, but they actually produce some incredibly high-quality handhelds that are worth taking a look at. In terms of one that strikes a great balance between its performance and its price, it's hard to knock the Ayaneo Air. Since its original release, the Ayaneo Air continues to improve via new iterations and the introduction of a higher-end Pro model, and it's commendable that Ayaneo has been able to keep the entire line under $1000, even with all the bells and whistles you can get in certain configurations.

The variety of configurations available for the Ayaneo Air is arguably the unit's strongest selling point, with more budget-friendly models coming in at just around $500 and higher-end units sporting up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD inching closer to $1000. Regardless of which configuration you happen to choose, though, the Ayaneo Air is a sleek and portable machine that makes marginal sacrifices in performance to keep its small form factor.

• CPU — AMD Ryzen 7 8840U
• GPU — AMD RDNA 3
• RAM — 32/64GB DDR5
• Storage — 2 TB SSD
• Screen — 7" (top), 3.5" (bottom); 1920x1080
• OS — Windows 11
• Price — $1,139 (32GB RAM, 2TB SSD); $1,399 (64GB RAM, 2TB SSD)

The other Ayaneo model that we've chosen to highlight as one of the best handheld gaming PCs is the recently released Ayaneo Flip DS. Like the name implies, this unit bears a striking resemblance to Nintendo's DS line of handhelds, only it's packing substantially more powerful hardware under the hood. An AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor is coupled with a high-end AMD RDNA 3 12CU graphics processor to deliver some impressive performance, and the small form factor and flip screen offer some of the best OS navigation and gameplay options of any handheld gaming PC.

The one knock that can be levied against the Ayaneo Flip DS is the recent rollout of units that sees the company removing all previous configurations in favor of two very expensive models with a hefty amount of memory and storage at an equally premium price. Considering how the battery life of the Ayaneo Flip DS stacks up against other high-end handheld gaming PCs in a similar price range, you're really just paying for the novelty of its dual-screen.

• CPU — AMD Ryzen Z1
• GPU — AMD RDNA 3
• RAM — 16GB DDR5
• Storage — 512 GB SSD
• Screen — 7"; 1920x1080
• OS — Windows 11
• Price — $499-$649

Along with the Steam Deck, the Asus ROG Ally Z1 is perhaps one of the best "all-around" options for a handheld gaming PC, and the entry-level units pack some serious punch at a very friendly price point. One of the few handheld gaming PCs to have an MSRP less than $500, the standard model of the ROG Ally Z1 has AMD's proprietary Z1 processor coupled with an 8CU AMD EDNA graphics unit, allowing it to play most modern titles at 1080p with consistent performance. That said, you do have to rely on Asus's Armory Crate software, which can be a bit of a dealbreaker for some.

On the higher end of the Z1 line is the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, which boasts a more powerful CPU and GPU pair while keeping the other internals mostly the same. But for that extra $150, the Z1 Extreme offers substantial performance gains over the standard Z1, enough for it to arguably stand as the best mid-range handheld gaming PC on the market. For anyone who's hoping to have a Windows-based handheld, it's hard to go wrong with the Asus ROG Ally Z1 or Z1 Extreme as a good first step into the world of on-the-go gaming PCs.

• CPU — Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
• GPU — Intel Arc 140V
• RAM — 32GB DDR5
• Storage — 1 TB SSD
• Screen — 8"; 1920x1080
• OS — Windows 11
• Price — $999

Along with the higher-end models of some of the Ayaneo product line, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is one of the few high-end handheld gaming PCs to have an MSRP of $1000 or higher. But, for that premium price, you also happen to be getting premium performance. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is one of the few handheld gaming PCs to use Intel chips for its CPU and GPU, and coupled with its impressive memory and storage configurations, is a portable machine that can tackle just about any game you can throw at it. It doesn't hurt that the unit itself just looks cool, with some nice bells and whistles that other units skip out on to keep their asking price down.

The real highlight of the MSI Claw 8, other than its fantastic performance, is the unit's battery. Running newer AAA titles on a handheld gaming PC can really put a drain on battery life, but the MSI Claw 8 AI+ reportedly gets over 2 hours even when pushing its internals to their utmost limit. Together with its large, 8-inch screen, the MSI Claw is a premium unit that does have a fair amount of bulk, but it's perhaps the only handheld gaming PC that could go toe-to-toe on performance and fidelity with a dedicated gaming laptop.

• CPU — AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
• GPU — AMD RDNA 3
• RAM — 16GB DDR5
• Storage — 512 GB SSD
• Screen — 8.8"; 2560x1600
• OS — Windows 11
• Price — $699

The Lenovo Legion GO has a lot going for it. Not only does this mid-range handheld gaming PC feature the largest screen of any unit on the market, it has detachable controller grips a la the Nintendo Switch, and a price point that sees it be fairly competitive with other similar units. As far as its internals go, the Lenovo Legion GO actually sports the same GPU and CPU pairing as the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, which means you're getting identical performance along with the bonus of a larger screen that makes games look spectacular.

Of course, the trade-off for having that best-in-class screen is that the Lenovo Legion GO isn't exactly as portable as some of the other handheld gaming PCs on the market. If you've never seen or held one in person, the Lenovo Legion GO is big, and it would likely require just as much space to carry as a reasonably sized gaming laptop. Still, the intersection between the Lenovo Legion GO's display, power, and pricing makes it one of the most attractive options on the market.

• CPU — AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
• GPU — AMD RDNA 3
• RAM — 24GB DDR5
• Storage — 1 TB SSD
• Screen — 7"; 1920x1080
• OS — Windows 11
• Price — $899

While its price sees it straddling the line between a mid-range and high-end handheld gaming PC, it's hard to argue against the Asus ROG Ally X delivering the best per-dollar performance of any similar unit. The CPU and GPU pairing of the Ally X is the same as the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme (and Lenovo Legion GO), but it features a smaller form factor with a nicely-sized 7" screen, a huge 1TB SSD for storing games, and a substantial battery that allows for an impressive amount of game time, even on demanding titles. The kicker, though, is the Ally X's memory, boasting an impressive 24GB of DDR5 RAM without pushing its price past $1000.

The ROG line of handheld gaming PCs are all great options, but if you can swing the ROG Ally X's $899 price tag, it's absolutely the best model in the entire product line. The recent announcement of Asus and Microsoft partnering on an Xbox-branded version of the ROG Ally could even see the price point for the ROG Ally X come down a bit, making it an even more attractive option for anyone who wants one of the best handheld gaming PCs money can buy.

• CPU — AMD 'Aerith' APU
• GPU — AMD RDNA 2
• RAM — 16GB DDR5
• Storage — 512 GB/1 TB
• Screen — 7.4" HDR OLED; 1280x800
• OS — SteamOS
• Price — $549-$649

It might not hit some of the same performance benchmarks as some of its newer competitors, but Valve's Steam Deck (specifically, the Steam Deck OLED) is still the best "all-around" handheld gaming PC that money can buy. For a more attractive, consumer-friendly price point, you're getting a portable and comfortable unit that has some impressive internal components, native integration with the Steam storefront and OS, plenty of internal storage, and a user-friendly, stress-free onboarding to the world of PC gaming. That the Steam Deck was many players' first foray into PC gaming before eventually building or buying a desktop speaks volumes about how great of an on-ramp it is to the hobby, and whatever sacrifices it makes in performance to stay affordable are negligible in hindsight.