Best Handheld Gaming PCs 2026: Windows and Steam Decks tested

Portable gaming is nothing new. We've been through the Game Boy, the Game Gear, PS Vita, the Nintendo DS, Switch, and many more. But more recently, the idea of portable PC gaming has taken off, letting gamers take their libraries on the road with all of the tweaking and settings that playing on your own rig has to offer. The category was popularized by Valve's Steam Deck, and followed quickly by other big PC names like Asus, Lenovo, and MSI.

In order to help you find the best gaming handheld, we thoroughly tested the most popular models, benchmarking them with popular video games like Cyberpunk 2077, checking to see how long their batteries last on a charge, measuring screen brightness and color gamut, and simply playing a bunch of games to see how the devices feel in our hands. We also consider price, budget, and operating system to help you determine the best bang for your buck. If you want to do more than gaming, you may want to consider some of the best gaming laptops for playing on the go.

Though Valve is making it sound like we won't see a true Steam Deck successor for a while, it is offering SteamOS to other companies, starting with Lenovo on the Legion Go S and the upcoming Legion Go 2. Valve is also building a whole hardware ecosystem on the back of the Steam Deck's success, including the upcoming Steam Frame and Steam Machine.

Ahead of Computex 2026, Intel announced its Arc G3 and G3 Extreme processors for handheld gaming PCs, with partnerships from Acer, MSI and more that are set to launch later this year.

The Quick List

Best Handheld Gaming PCs 2026

Best Windows Handheld Gaming PC

The worst part of Windows-based gaming handhelds, for a long time, was Windows 11. But the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is the first PC gaming handheld with a new full-screen Xbox experience designed to be easier to launch games and adjust settings with a controller. There are still some bugs, but it's far and away better than the standard Windows desktop. That controller is more comfortable, too, as Asus added controller grip-style prongs to each side of the handheld, so it feels great in the hands. The weight is balanced evenly, so the ergonomics here are top-notch.

The AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and its RDNA 3.5-based integrated graphics offer a performance bump over last generation, particularly at lower resolutions. That may not be enough for some to upgrade, but it's definitely a nice bonus.

Where the system lacks is primarily in that it doesn't offer an OLED screen. Asus' IPS panel is bright and colorful, but it doesn't quite match some of the competition with the more vivid OLED technology.

Read: Asus ROG Xbox Ally X review

Best SteamOS Performance Handheld Gaming PC

You don't need the Steam Deck to get SteamOS. The Lenovo Legion Go S is the first PC gaming handheld outside of Valve to get the OS, which is far easier than Windows to navigate with controllers and a touch screen.

Our time with the Legion Go S's Ryzen Z1 Extreme variant proved to deliver some of the best gaming performance we've seen on a handheld with the Z1 Extreme, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

This system is effectively identical to the Windows version, except it comes with a purple-black "nebula color." It has a bright display and ergonomic design, even if it is made out of plastic.

But the $829 will put this out of reach for many. You may want to consider the cheaper Windows version and install SteamOS instead. Alternatively, you can opt for the Z2 Go version, starting at $599, but you'll also get less RAM, less storage, and worse performance.

Read: Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS) review

Other Handheld Gaming PCs We Tested

We also tested a few other handheld gaming PCs which didn't make the grade as the best.

Switch-style Handheld Gaming PC

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is about as full-featured a handheld as we've seen, with a fast, 144 Hz OLED display, detachable controllers, and the latest AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor. The system, thanks to that chip, has made some impressive gains in performance at 1280 x 1800. This system is more ergonomic than the original Legion Go — the controllers are easier to hold with rounded edges. It also has Hall effect joysticks, which should help prevent stick drift. The cooling and large battery make for a heavy system, at just over 2 pounds. That may be enough to make you appreciate the kickstand. Lenovo's OLED screen is beautiful, and it's fast at 144 Hz. The only downside is that it is very susceptible to glare, which isn't great for playing games outside or near windows.

At $1,349.99, this is one of the most expensive PC gaming handhelds that we've tested so far. But if you want all of the features you can pack into a device, including detachable controllers, it's one to consider.

Read: Lenovo Legion Go 2 review

Best Budget Handheld Gaming PC

If you're considering the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, it's all about the price: $599.99. Now that the Steam Deck OLED has skyrocketed in price, Asus's entry-level machine is the cheapest entry point.

The Ally delivers the same comfortable design as the more expensive Ally X, along with the Xbox Full Screen experience. That being said, the performance isn't much better than the Steam Deck OLED, which was already aging.The Ally does have some hiccups. In my testing, I had problems with its sleep and wake functionality. But if you only want the basics, this is the cheapest way to get it. I wish it had an OLED screen like Valve's. But The Steam Deck OLED's cheapest entry, the 512GB option, is $789. The Ally is reliably in stock, and, at the moment, cheaper. Some people might pay $89 more for the better panel and SteamOS, but it's not inherently worth the money.

Read: Asus ROG Xbox Ally review

Best Splurge Handheld Gaming PC

Even in this component shortage, $1,799.99 feels like a lot to spend on a handheld gaming PC. But if you were going to drop that much cash, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ would be the one to get.

The debut system with Intel's Arc G3 Extreme, the Claw offered class-leading performance across our gaming benchmarks. We also appreciated the ergonomic design of the system's textured, purple handles, which feels much like a standard controller.

We also saw solid battery life, with the system looking like it could hit three hours on a charge — and that's before limiting it with endurance mode.

For nearly $1,800, we'd like to see an OLED screen, much like the Steam Deck OLED and Lenovo Legion Go 2. Hopefully that can be rectified on the next version.

Read: MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review

What about the Steam Deck OLED?

The Steam Deck used to be our top handheld gaming PC. But after Valve raised the price significantly to deal with the cost of memory and storage, it's just not a deal anymore. As of this writing, the 512GB Steam Deck OLED costs $789 while the 1TB OLED is now $949. Previously, the Steam Deck OLED started at $549.

SteamOS is still, in my opinion, the best operating system on a gaming handheld, and the Deck still does a ton right. But while the Deck has shown longevity, the new prices open it up to serious competition from devices that, previously, were significantly more expensive — especially the pair of Asus ROG Xbox Ally devices, sometimes with better performance.

Read: Steam Deck OLED review

How we test handheld gaming PCs

How we test Handheld Gaming PCs

Each gaming handheld we review goes through a series of tests and benchmarks to determine if it's worth your hard-earned money.

Currently, games that we run and may include in our reviews are:

We also run a stress test, which currently consists of the Metro Exodus benchmark on the low preset, run 15 times in a loop while recording system statistics with HWInfo. (This is also when we take our heat tests). For productivity, we use Geekbench for single-core and multi-core performance.

We measure handheld gaming PC displays with our colorimeter and light meter, and report brightness in nits, as well as the volume of the DCI-P3 and sRGB color gamut that the screen covers.

Our battery test connects to a local web server over Wi-Fi, and continuously browses the web, runs simple OpenGL graphics tests, and streams videos. We report the amount of time the laptop ran the test in hours and minutes. However, because most people will be using the best gaming handhelds to play video games, we do anecdotal testing to see how the battery fares in real life.

We also spend significant periods of time using gaming handhelds to evaluate the displays, gaming performance, included software, and how they feel to use.

Additionally, we open handheld gaming PCsto determine which parts are user-replaceable, so that buyers can see what they are able to upgrade and repair down the line.

Handheld Gaming PC Shopping Tips