GPD's Win 3 Tiger Lake Gaming Handheld Goes On Sale This Month
A capable handheld PC Gaming machine?
GPD's latest iteration of its handheld gaming PC, the Win 3, is finally going on sale later this month. You'll be able to grab it from multiple e-tailers such as Amazon starting May 15th or later.
The Win 3 is GPD's latest handheld gaming device designed to run Windows 10 and play PC games. The biggest upgrade for the Win 3 over previous designs is its inclusion of a QWERTY keyboard along with gamepad controls (like joysticks, a d-pad, and triggers), all in a similar form factor as a Nintendo Switch.
The Win 3 is GPD's first Tiger Lake-based gaming handheld, featuring an Intel Core i7-1165G7 or a Core i5-1135G7, with Intel's big core count Xe graphics chip that comes in either an 80EU configuration (for the Core i5) or 96EUs (for the Core i7). To help boost Intel's Xe graphics even further, the Win 3 comes with 16GB of LPDDR4x memory clocked at 4266MHz.
For the screen, GPC went with a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1280x720. A higher resolution isn't really needed with such a tiny display. Plus, a 720P resolution will really help the integrated graphics push higher frame rates since it is still an integrated graphics chip, not a discrete Nvidia or AMD GPU.
If GPC's performance metrics are to be believed, then the Win 3 is quite a capable gaming machine. In the most demanding games GPC tested, like Red Dead Redemption 2, Control, and Battlefield V, the Win 3 averaged 50FPS with the Core i5 version.
These were the worst-case scenarios as well, with other games like SEKIRO: Shadows Die Twice, World War Z, and other games maintaining 60FPS or higher, again on the Core i5 version. For the Core i7 model, frame rates were reportedly at least 10-15% better (thanks to the higher core count Xe graphics).
We don't know what graphics details were used in these tests though so take those results with a grain of salt--and assume lots of things were turned down or off.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
You will be able to grab the Win 3 from Amazon starting May 28th for $1130, Banggood for $1100 on May 15th, and IndieGoGo InDemand for $997 sometime in July. Specifically, those prices are for the i5 models; the i7 models are roughly $200 pricier.
Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.
-
roadrunner343 The article correctly refers to the company as GPD twice, GBP twice, and GPC three times... That is quite the confusing set of typos XDReply -
excalibur1814 For those of us that remember the UMPC era, that lasted 3 seconds, only to then become 'mids' and then vanish, Sony will sue in 3...2...1... .Reply
1280x720 is awful on a screen that size. Dialog boxes will vanish at the bottom of the screen. I've been here with the Asus R2H. Also owned the a Sony UX. They were great, with really terrible battery life. -
excalibur1814 P.s. That price means DOA. Same for most of the UMPC devices which were stupidly priced.Reply -
dalauder I don't get who the target audience is? A couple high-income middle-aged gamers seeking to lure their spoiled kids away from the Nintendo Switch?Reply -
roadrunner343 Or anyone that wants to use their already large Steam library on the go (Me). I had the GPD Win 2 and I really liked it. I eventually did sell it, as I just used my laptop, but I was also tempted by this. Ultimately, even the early backer price for the GPD Win 3 was just too high for me. to justifyReply -
dalauder Reply
That's the issue right there. I use my Steam Library on the go sometimes--but I use it on my laptop. It's got a better interface, GPU, CPU, and screen for only $450. I just don't understand the point of this $1000 device.roadrunner343 said:Or anyone that wants to use their already large Steam library on the go (Me). I had the GPD Win 2 and I really liked it. I eventually did sell it, as I just used my laptop, but I was also tempted by this. Ultimately, even the early backer price for the GPD Win 3 was just too high for me. to justify -
roadrunner343 Reply
Yeah, I agree that this one is too expensive. The Win 2 was borderline too expensive for me too, but I really like the form factor. It just seems to fit into my lifestyle better. I'm primarily a PC gamer, but I love my Switch as well, which I play 99% handheld - so having a handheld PC was awesome. Ignoring price, I would definitely prefer to play my controller based games on a device like the Win 3 - but now that I have a Switch, I'm not exactly lacking for portable games, and I still prefer to play keyboard/mouse on my laptop/desktop. Still, at $600-$700, I likely would have jumped on board again, so I can see the appeal. Definitely a niche in a niche, though.dalauder said:That's the issue right there. I use my Steam Library on the go sometimes--but I use it on my laptop. It's got a better interface, GPU, CPU, and screen for only $450. I just don't understand the point of this $1000 device. -
dalauder Reply
I think the switch kind of destroys the concept of anything else for high-end mobile gaming (that is to say that phones aren't true gaming). At the price, it's a pretty ridiculous steal. My students used to bring them in at lunch last year to play on the projector in my classroom.roadrunner343 said:Yeah, I agree that this one is too expensive. The Win 2 was borderline too expensive for me too, but I really like the form factor. It just seems to fit into my lifestyle better. I'm primarily a PC gamer, but I love my Switch as well, which I play 99% handheld - so having a handheld PC was awesome. Ignoring price, I would definitely prefer to play my controller based games on a device like the Win 3 - but now that I have a Switch, I'm not exactly lacking for portable games, and I still prefer to play keyboard/mouse on my laptop/desktop. Still, at $600-$700, I likely would have jumped on board again, so I can see the appeal. Definitely a niche in a niche, though.