During the last 5 years or so, handheld gaming PCs have turn into one among my favourite methods to play video games. And, it helps that they’ve been getting higher just about yearly, thanks each to extra highly effective {hardware} – shout out to the Intel Arc G3 Excessive – and each Microsoft and Valve enhancing their respective working methods.
If I used to be capable of completely ignore prices, I’d straight up simply say that the handhelds which have come out in the final 12 months are unbelievable, nearly throughout the board. The Xbox Ally X introduced a controller-friendly UI to Home windows for the primary time and the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, because of its unbelievable innards, is ready to play video games at greater than minimal settings with a framerate that doesn’t give me movement illness.
However I can’t ignore the value, can I? Although the Xbox Ally X by some means hasn’t gone up in worth (but), the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ will set you again $1,799. And for that worth, the calculus will get actually onerous to justify.
Let’s return in time a little bit bit. Earlier than the Steam Deck got here out, I dabbled with the Nintendo Swap a little bit bit, however for some purpose, most of Nintendo’s video games have by no means actually clicked with me. So more often than not I’d purchase video games I already owned on Steam, like Shovel Knight and Stardew Valley, only for the privilege of taking them on the go along with me.
The Steam Deck modified the whole lot. Yeah, it was a little bit bulkier, however that made it extra snug in my fingers, and I not needed to re-buy my favourite video games simply to play them on a handheld. The one actual downside was that if I needed to play a graphics-intense AAA recreation, I’d should scale down the decision and the settings to the underside, whereas nonetheless residing with 30-40 fps loads of the time.
It was nonetheless price taking my indie video games with me, and it even led to me simply enjoying extra indies in basic, as a result of I could possibly be extra versatile with how and after I was enjoying them. However as time went on, new handhelds to rival the Steam Deck began hitting the market. The unique ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go made 1080p gaming a bit extra viable, however they have been nonetheless primarily based on the AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive. And whereas that chip had extra graphics cores than the Steam Deck, it was nonetheless constructed on the RDNA 3 graphics structure, which was already a 12 months previous when the Z1 Excessive first got here out.
Then, at CES 2025, Lenovo confirmed off the Legion Go S, which might find yourself being the primary non-Valve handheld formally powered by SteamOS. At Lenovo’s sales space, I crossed paths with Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais, who informed me for the primary time that Valve was ready for a “true next-generation” chip for the Steam Deck 2. On the time I believed the Z2 Excessive would have been it, however that actually didn’t find yourself being the case.
The primary handheld I examined with the Z2 Excessive was the Legion Go 2, and it was really a little bit bit disappointing. It was quicker than the Z1 Excessive, however AMD determined to launch its “next-gen” handheld chip with an RDNA 3.5 GPU, moderately than choosing RDNA 4. That did result in higher battery life, however there have been a number of assessments the place the Legion Go 2 was slower than the ROG Ally X, regardless of the latter’s older chip.
At this level, it was clear I wanted to brace myself for an extended stretch of incremental progress. That’s not essentially a nasty factor – in spite of everything, that simply meant that individuals would be capable of get their fingers on barely older handhelds with out dropping a lot in the best way of efficiency. However at CES 2026, Intel introduced Panther Lake, its new cellular CPU lineup with unbelievable built-in graphics. From the second I received my fingers on the Asus ZenBook Duo, I knew I needed that chip in a handheld.
Fortunately, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ got here out about 6 months later with the Arc G3 Excessive, which is principally a Panther Lake chip with among the CPU cores disabled. That handheld blew each Z2 Excessive-powered gadget out of the water, however sadly it additionally got here out throughout the ongoing RAM disaster, when gaming {hardware} has grown dearer than ever throughout the board.
I’m undecided how a lot the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ would have price in the before-times, however its predecessor, the MSI Claw 8 AI+, launched for about $899 earlier than seeing its worth soar up a number of instances in 2025. The 8 EX AI+ does wipe the ground with its predecessor, and even has a a lot better software program expertise, however I’m undecided it justifies greater than double the value.
However on the very least, the Claw 8 EX AI+ can a minimum of declare that it has the very best efficiency in a mainstream handheld gaming PC. That alone may persuade folks with deep sufficient pockets to make that funding, a minimum of for now.
In the same story, in current months the Lenovo Legion Go 2 exploded in worth too. Lenovo’s OLED-strapped handheld now prices $1,999 on Best Buy, much more costly than the Claw 8 EX AI+ regardless of its weaker efficiency. You can discover Lenovo’s handheld on Finest Purchase for $1,334 as an open-box mannequin, however that’s with the weaker non-extreme AMD Ryzen Z2.
It’s not simply the flamboyant top-end handhelds which were going up in worth, both. I simply knocked the unbelievable Steam Deck off my listing of one of the best handhelds for the primary time because it got here out in 2022, as a result of it simply received too costly. Valve raised the value by as much as $300, so that you now should spend $789 at minimal to get your fingers on a brand new, non-used one. That’s simply not price it, a minimum of in a world the place the non-X Xbox Ally nonetheless prices $599.
Asus’ two Xbox handhelds are the one vivid spot for handhelds proper now. Whether or not you will have the price range for a $600 handheld or a $1,000 one, the Xbox Allies are the one first rate deal proper now. However I can’t shake the sensation that Asus is ultimately going to boost the costs on these too. Asus has already raised the value in some areas, based on Windows Central, regardless that the US is exempt to this point.
Similar to with the Steam Machine, RAM makes up extra of the price of a handheld gaming PC than a extra highly effective rig, simply because of the decrease price of the chips. If the price of 32GB of RAM goes from $150 to greater than $400, that’s going to boost the value on an $800 handheld greater than it will a $3,000 tower with an RTX 5080. We’ve already seen the Steam Deck’s demand crumple after Valve raised the value, and whereas I haven’t seen any information on the Lenovo Legion Go 2, I can solely think about that’s slowed down as nicely.
Earlier than the costs began going up, one thing just like the Steam Deck was interesting as a secondary gadget, that’s actually how I used it. However when you begin nearing a thousand bucks, it’s solely pure to count on one thing with a bit extra oomph to it. Now, with costs being the best way they are, extra highly effective {hardware} can be getting dearer, so the distinction between a handheld and a tower hasn’t really modified all that a lot. However, it certain looks like it has, and that looks like Kryptonite to handheld PCs in basic.
It’s tempting, then, to only conceal my head in the sand till the RAM disaster abates. However I’m more and more skeptical that costs are going to return down. The massive three RAM firms have already reportedly offered by way of their manufacturing capability for 2027, so reminiscence costs aren’t going to let up any time quickly. So I’m caught in this bizarre place the place I’m tremendous excited to see what future handhelds are capable of do, however terrified at how a lot they’re going to price. As a result of in the event that they get too costly, we would get to the purpose the place the Lenovos and Asuses of the world not deem handhelds viable.
Jackie Thomas is the {Hardware} and Shopping for Guides Editor at IGN and the PC parts queen. You may comply with her @Jackiecobra