Perhaps big gaming handhelds are the place it’s at

If you happen to 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. It is a pre-production model of Asus’s upcoming ROG Circulate Z13 pill mixed with a GameSir G8 Plus clamp-on cell controller; the Z13’s AMD Strix Halo processor makes it in all probability probably the most highly effective handheld gaming machine you may play. That’s, after all, till your fingers cramp underneath its weight.

It’s totally ridiculous, I find it irresistible, and I’m starting to suppose large screens are the longer term.

I’m not the primary to do this outlandish experiment, as I bought the concept from Redditors who did one thing comparable with an earlier model of the identical pill. However after making an attempt it myself, I’m beginning to rethink what gaming handhelds would possibly probably change into. The freshly-announced Nintendo Change 2 reportedly stretches its display to eight inches, and Acer’s handheld turns it as much as 11; perhaps portability isn’t as necessary 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 by accident dislodge the gamepad in use. The one time it occurred to me, it missed my fingers, however it was a startlingly shut name. Think about your self warned.

Why threat my mushy, bruise-easier-than-a-peach fingers with such a setup? After I bought 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 informed me “That is solely too large and, frankly, a bit uncouth” whereas the satan on my different shoulder thought “Hell yeah! Plant me on the sofa like I all the time do with my Steam Deck and let me burn my retinas with as a lot display as I can maintain!”

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

That is clearly not a overview — for the reason that Circulate 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 the moment’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? After all! However I simply did it with a whole pc 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 actually playable, it’s a must to not thoughts this sport wanting prefer it’s from the PlayStation 3 period. It sings on the Z13 by comparability — at the very least 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 unique Steam Deck, and maybe downsizing to a extra modest 1920 x 1200 decision or decreasing the chip’s TDP would possibly assist.

However what shocked me most was how okay I felt utilizing Home windows on this “handheld.” The jumbo-sized display makes contact targets in Home windows 11 truly tolerable. For the primary time within the PC handheld house I didn’t immediately lament, “Boy does this factor want SteamOS or Bazzite.” I nonetheless would possibly want 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 at present see OneXPlayer trying with its quirky X1 line.)

As for portability, effectively… this mixture 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 Change with connected Pleasure-Cons all in a single bundle.

Don’t even dream of taking part in this manner in mattress except you propose on slipping into dreamland by way of 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 aspect 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 help. However when you plan to take this machine anyplace however the sofa, the clamp-on controllers aren’t solely handy; you’ll must determine in case your definition of “portability” includes a setup and breakdown course of each time you progress places.

I’ll concede that regardless of how enjoyable it’s been to strive the Z13 on this means, it makes a complete lot extra sense to simply 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 taking part in for a couple of hours straight I had some ache in each fingers that might possible not occur with a bigger gamepad purpose-built for this setup.

However this ridiculous little experiment confirmed me there’s undoubtedly one thing to outsized handhelds. Perhaps 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 might even promote it as a 13-inch handheld gaming PC.

I used to suppose the Change or the Steam Deck have been the best dimension, however after making an attempt this jumbo-sized experiment and seeing that the Change 2 can even be larger than earlier than, I’m snug saying there’s no good dimension for these gadgets. I’m excited to see all sizes of handhelds enter the house, even when they’re gigantic.

Images by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge