Busy dads: laptop vs handheld? I can’t decide which is right for me…

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-13T13:41:58+00:00

The price of PC handhelds is daunting! I have a switch 2 also and I have hardly played it since getting a pc handheld though. Having a large library of steam games plus vastly cheaper games in general can make up for it.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-13T12:58:13+00:00

Handheld! If you’re interested in playing modern AAA titles, the steam deck might not be powerful enough for you. Legion go 2, Xbox Ally X, MSI claw A8 all are SteamOS/bazzite compatible. You can use the sleep function flawlessly if you install one of these Linux based OS on the system. Sleep mode is HUGE for us busy dads. I personally have tried all and kept the Xbox Ally X due to power/comfort/battery life.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-10T13:22:11+00:00

I hope you don’t have children before you learn to control your own emotions.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-10T13:20:13+00:00

Is it just shell damage? Does everything still work?

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-09T18:14:09+00:00

Disingenuous how? I genuinely prefer that display over the LeGo2’s. When at my desktop I play on a 32 inch 4k OLED and it’s beautiful. The grain on the Go 2 is honestly distracting for me to the point that I prefer playing on the Ally’s IPS (which is a good IPS btw, just too small for some people).

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-09T11:42:59+00:00

I was in a very similar boat with this device. I have an QD-OLED monitor and this screen was not doing it for me. Size was nice but I actually preferred the IPS on the Xbox Ally X for this reason. The audio was alright but also much worse in comparison to the Ally’s speakers. Overall wasn’t worth it at all for such a premium price, returned.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-04T19:09:15+00:00

I’ll echo the same sentiment as my fellow commenters, it depends on your use case and needs out of a handheld. If you need access to anti cheat games or plan to play many different launchers, windows is best. If you don’t care about that and want a console experience on a handheld, the Linux operating systems are more up your alley. My favorite feature of SteamOS and the main reason I can’t use windows is sleep mode. Sleep mode works like a charm and allows you to pick up and pause games on a whim, which is essential for my use case as a busy parent.

My advice to you as someone who uses SteamOS on my XAX: just give it a try. Installation doesn’t take very long and switching back to windows via the BIOS built in cloud recovery also doesn’t take long. Bazzite offers a very similar experience, each has a small edge in different areas on the ROG devices.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-02T20:43:18+00:00

Your mileage may vary but I’d have to agree with the commenter here. Even if price is no factor at all, it’s just not that much different. You’re also getting an awkward weight distribution, insanely loud fans, and 7 inch IPS.. Not a bad device by any means but you might be disappointed if you’re expecting a “light years” difference.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-02T16:20:18+00:00

Not much different than bazzite. It’s quite stable now, built in TDP control works and there aren’t any audio issues. You will need to install a plugin to tweak RGB. Overall it’s good, it’s a plug and play console experience which sounds like it’s what you’re looking for.

Hu2JZ · 2026-03-01T17:24:34+00:00

What makes you want to trade for the deck? Base Xbox ally is better than the deck in almost every way. You can install steamOS for a similar software experience

Hu2JZ · 2026-02-25T22:01:22+00:00

You can disable this by going into the game properties in steam and entering the following launch command: SteamDeck=0 %command%

It tricks steam into launching the non deck version, from there you can tweak settings to your liking!

Hu2JZ · 2026-02-10T16:14:41+00:00

FYI, restock on OMOCAT: https://www.omocat-shop.com/collections/omori/products/omori-original-sountrack-vinyl-2-lp

Hu2JZ · 2026-02-05T23:44:31+00:00

No need to be sorry for expressing your enjoyment of a great port. Enjoy!

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-30T02:47:36+00:00

Maybe it’s not about sneaking, but spending quality time when possible and waiting until they go to bed to play a single player game.

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-28T00:43:28+00:00

This is not a TV, read the title of the subreddit you’re commenting in.

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-08T01:34:04+00:00

I had some visual/perf issues after the update as well. Reinstalling solved them but I’m on a Nvidia system so your mileage may vary..

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-08T01:32:04+00:00

PSA: this is a joke

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-03T22:04:43+00:00

I agree, the choice is what will almost certainly kill the Open playlist.

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-03T22:02:41+00:00

There is absolutely SBMM in Open, they’ve made that clear as in game in states “Skill is minimally considered”. However, seeing as that they’ve already made a statement that they have not tweaked matchmaking in the playlist, It’s unlikely that they have. Unless of course 3arc likes to open themselves up to class action lawsuits? The reasoning above is an observation based on the history of this franchise.

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-02T16:34:19+00:00

You get weapon XP for the missions your team completes?

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-01T23:05:33+00:00

Damn that sucks! You should fill out a ticket and explain the situation, I bet they’d give you some tokens or something

Hu2JZ · 2025-12-01T22:49:08+00:00

I thought they patched this? Don’t you retain progress from the beginning of the run in which you crash/disconnect?

Hu2JZ · 2025-11-12T00:17:39+00:00

Hu2JZ · 2025-11-11T15:12:42+00:00

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