Possibly large gaming handhelds are the place it’s at

In the event you thought the Steam Deck was large, not to mention Acer’s Nitro Blaze 11, get a load of this Frankenstein’s monster of a PC gaming handheld I’ve cobbled collectively. This can be a pre-production model of Asus’s upcoming ROG Movement Z13 pill mixed with a GameSir G8 Plus clamp-on cellular controller; the Z13’s AMD Strix Halo processor makes it in all probability probably the most highly effective handheld gaming gadget you’ll be able to play. That’s, after all, till your palms cramp beneath its weight.

It’s completely ridiculous, I like it, and I’m starting to suppose large screens are the long run.

I’m not the primary to do this outlandish experiment, as I obtained the concept from Redditors who did one thing comparable with an earlier model of the identical pill. However after attempting it myself, I’m beginning to rethink what gaming handhelds may presumably turn out to be. The freshly-announced Nintendo Swap 2 reportedly stretches its display screen to eight inches, and Acer’s handheld turns it as much as 11; possibly portability isn’t as vital as a deadly dose of pixels straight into my eyes?

Let’s get one factor out of the way in which: you in all probability shouldn’t pair this particular controller and pill like I did. The Z13 isn’t actually designed to be clamped by a pair of controllers, and I needed to overextend the GameSir G8 Plus to make it match — it isn’t designed to work with something larger than an iPad Mini, and the hyperextended springs can aggressively snap shut when you unintentionally dislodge the gamepad in use. The one time it occurred to me, it missed my fingers, nevertheless it was a startlingly shut name. Take into account your self warned.

Why threat my tender, bruise-easier-than-a-peach palms with such a setup? After I obtained my mitts on the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 at CES and in contrast it to the Steam Deck, I used to be immediately of two minds. The angel on my shoulder advised me “That is completely too large and, frankly, somewhat uncouth” whereas the satan on my different shoulder thought “Hell yeah! Plant me on the sofa like I at all times do with my Steam Deck and let me burn my retinas with as a lot display screen as I can maintain!”

After a few of you nice commenters appeared to agree with my wide-eyed sense of id on the latter, I noticed the ROG Movement Z13 I’d been carting across the present flooring may fulfill my fiendish want.

That is clearly not a evaluation — for the reason that Movement Z13 is a pre-production unit — however the AMD Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 “Strix Halo” chip, with its 40 freaking graphics cores, ran circles round at this time’s gaming handhelds. I used to be capable of play Helldivers 2 and Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle with a mixture of low and mid settings within the pill’s native 2560 x 1600 decision and simply keep 50+ or 60+ fps in every, respectively. Might you do this with a laptop computer? In fact! However I simply did it with a whole laptop sandwiched between two gamepad halves.

I’ve unfold a good quantity of “Managed Democracy” in Helldivers 2 on the Steam Deck, and whereas it’s definitely playable, it’s important to not thoughts this sport wanting prefer it’s from the PlayStation 3 period. It sings on the Z13 by comparability — a minimum of till it’s drowned out by low battery warnings. I couldn’t sit too removed from the ability cable, because the Z13’s battery drained from 100 to 10 p.c in round 90 minutes. However, frankly, that’s not horrible in comparison with an authentic Steam Deck, and maybe downsizing to a extra modest 1920 x 1200 decision or decreasing the chip’s TDP may assist.

However what shocked me most was how okay I felt utilizing Home windows on this “handheld.” The jumbo-sized display screen makes contact targets in Home windows 11 really tolerable. For the primary time within the PC handheld area I didn’t immediately lament, “Boy does this factor want SteamOS or Bazzite.” I nonetheless may favor these, however on this format I can reside with Home windows, particularly since a pill that additionally serves as a laptop computer and a handheld is an intriguing triple-threat. (It’s one thing I solely presently see OneXPlayer trying with its quirky X1 line.)

As for portability, effectively… this mix is unquestionably an acquired style, because it weighs in at a hefty 3.6 kilos in line with my kitchen scale, about 1.3 kilos heavier than Acer’s hefty Blaze 11 and a full 2.2 kilos greater than a Steam Deck. It’s like holding two Steam Decks and a Nintendo Swap with connected Pleasure-Cons all in a single package deal.

Don’t even dream of enjoying this manner in mattress until you propose on slipping into dreamland through a concussion, ought to the hefty pill slide out of its controller bookends. You don’t even want gravity working in opposition to you to threat the pill slipping out, because the overly stretched-out GameSir controllers can twist and pivot across the facet rails of the Z13 whereas in use.

The massive, sturdy kickstand of the Z13 does helps a complete lot with all this weight, letting you prop it up in your lap or a desk for assist. However when you plan to take this gadget wherever however the sofa, the clamp-on controllers aren’t completely handy; you’ll need to determine in case your definition of “portability” includes a setup and breakdown course of each time you progress areas.

I’ll concede that regardless of how enjoyable it’s been to attempt the Z13 on this manner, it makes a complete lot extra sense to only prop the pill up on a desk or desk and play with a conventional controller. The GameSir just isn’t meant to carry this a lot weight, and after enjoying for a number of hours straight I had some ache in each palms that may possible not occur with a bigger gamepad purpose-built for this setup.

However this ridiculous little experiment confirmed me there’s positively one thing to outsized handhelds. Possibly Acer’s Blaze 11 will simply be the primary foot within the door to a bigger development of stay-at-home handhelds, a market the place Sony’s PlayStation Portal has already discovered its footing. If Asus ever put out correct controller add-ons for its Z13, sized and fitted to steadiness out its weight, maybe the corporate may even promote it as a 13-inch handheld gaming PC.

I used to suppose the Swap or the Steam Deck have been the best measurement, however after attempting this jumbo-sized experiment and seeing that the Swap 2 will even be larger than earlier than, I’m comfy saying there’s no good measurement for these units. I’m excited to see all sizes of handhelds enter the area, even when they’re gigantic.

Pictures by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge