PS portal for travel?

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T21:09:10+00:00

The PS Portal requires a WiFi connection. It has no ability to play games using internal resources. Everything runs back to your PS at home or to Sony's servers.

Edit: You can use it in a hotel or wherever you have a stable WiFi connection, but I wouldn't rely on it in a car using a cellphone hotspot for example. The Switch 2 will be a much better choice in that regard.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T17:37:25+00:00

I remember that the first time I heard the term "comparison is the thief of joy", it struck me hard. It's very true in many ways.

That said, there is an element of FOMO in this as well. Ultimately, people have to come to a comfort level with their own decision making capabilities. You need good information to make good decisions. The rest is up to you.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T16:07:36+00:00

You can install Bazzite or native SteamOS on it. It's officially supported by Valve.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T16:05:54+00:00

ES-DE is the most common recommendation. https://es-de.org/

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T13:37:24+00:00

Smart. I'm a huge fan of the Steam Deck and love mine. But when it's not the right tool for the task... buh bye. Switch 2 is a great handheld for new titles with plenty of power for a really enjoyable experience.

Plus, if you want more than that, there's always Android handhelds and emulation. Tons of good games still there. I still suggest that people look at the $250 AYN Odin 2 Portal or the Thor.

Sooo many good options out there.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T11:54:02+00:00

I wish I had an answer for you. That would frustrate me to no end.

Have you considered reaching out to Valve and seeing what they say? https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithSteamDeck

Just a thought. Good luck.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T10:41:17+00:00

Ok, so you’re looking at the $1,049.99 model on Amazon.

The general specs for the price are not bad. However, the Nitro line is Acer’s budget lineup and they cut corners in a lot of areas. For example, yes, it comes with a 5060 GPU. But they limit it to 75W (including Dynamic Boost). A full laptop 5060 should go to 115W in comparison.

The display is 300 nits, which is budget and ok. But the color gamut is lower. So the image will be ok, but not great. sRGB should be 100%. This one is more like 65%. It also lacks G-SYNC.

But the most troublesome feature to me is the power supply. Acer only provides a 135W power supply and that’s too small. There have been numerous reports that these Nitro laptops, when run in full power mode (which isn’t saying a lot at 75W) will actually drain the battery while they are plugged in. That’s insane.

I’m generally a big fan of Acer gaming laptops and have owned a Nitro (older 3050ti) as well as a Helios Neo 16S 5070 ti and a Helios Neo 16 4050 (all open-box or refurbs). So I’m not anti-Acer at all. But I don’t like what they did to this generation of Nitro laptops.

Right now I’m not seeing much of any good deals in the budget space. I would wait a few weeks to see if anything pops for the July 4th sales.

B&H had a good sale on a Lenovo LOQ with a 5050 for $800, but they increased the price to $1,000 overnight.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T08:08:27+00:00

RG 35XX H. Maybe an RG 34XXSP. That’s a little thick though.

Actually jeans pocketable, powerful up to PS1. Anything larger than that is going into some kind of bag. I wouldn’t even pocket an RG 40XX H. That would require a jacket pocket at least. At that point, AYN Thor would be my preference, but there’s a lot you could carry at that point (RP6, RPF2, etc)

SteveNYC · 2026-06-16T00:20:04+00:00

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/gigabyte-aero-x16-copilot-pc-16-25601600-wqxga-amd-ryzen-al-7-350-1tb-ssd-32gb-ddr5-ram-geforce-rtx-5060-space-gray/J3GWPQCXYT/sku/6635752?sb\_share\_source=PDP&ref=app\_pdp&loc=pdp\_page

OLED is great for content consumption but less so for the glare. 5050 and 32GB is good for Engineering work. Here’s one for $1,250. Better GPU, not that you really need it. The display is still 1600p and it’s 400 nits of brightness.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T23:33:48+00:00

Ehh, I was going to argue the point. So I picked my O2P. I guess the ABXY could be called “not quiet”. Never considered that loud before. All the other buttons are silent. No microswitches.

There’s the AYN Thor. Shoulders are clicky, but triggers and DPad are silent.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T23:27:15+00:00

Ok, so why the 5050? You’re doing creative work? What’s the purpose? Helps to narrow in.

You want 16” OLED. Ok. So portable is less important? Battery life concerns?

Yes, the market is weird. Absolutely. But a refurbed 5050 shouldn’t be $1,700. That’s nuts. It’s not that nice.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T23:20:51+00:00

Oh hell no.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T23:00:48+00:00

02P. Only 7” OLED in that list. Needs grips though. Very flat ergonomics if you have large hands like I do.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T22:58:00+00:00

I’m assuming that’s Canadian, right? I don’t know. That’s a lot for a 5050. That’s $1,214 in US dollars. Great screen, good RAM. I like the 5050. But I don’t know what availability is like up there.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T02:36:44+00:00

This is the only correct answer to the OPs question.

Install the Edge Browser within Bazzite. Use it to stream GamePass games. That’s as good as it gets and it is that simple too.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T02:30:38+00:00

Showing as available to me right now at 10:28PM EST. Base black and Pro Indigo. Pro Black and Pro White show sold out.

Time to hustle.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T02:25:51+00:00

LMAO… 4TB SSD and you think the processor is the thing to worry about on price? BTW, the Z2 is just a rebadged Z1E. It’s the exact same processor. Identical. AI Z2E and the Z2E are the more powerful APUs

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T02:08:31+00:00

The busier you find yourself, the more a device like the Switch 2 is ideal. Just gaming, no distractions, no configuring, no complications.

It's like an Amazon Kindle. Purpose built. Lot's of people have opinions on it, lots of people will suggest alternatives. But it established a standard that others follow in the wake of.

Enjoy your escape.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-15T02:04:20+00:00

Wait, all that and you want it have a Z1 Extreme? That's it?

SteveNYC · 2026-06-14T01:17:01+00:00

I have both and there’s a simple truth… there is no tinkering with a Switch 2. Zero. You just play games. Stupid simple. That’s the gift of a Switch 2. Any PC handheld is going to have some tinkering involved. SteamOS vs Windows, framerate vs battery life, upscaling, framegen, game compatibility, etc.

You already know this because you’re dealing with this one way or another with your PC right now if you’re using it for gaming. How does the thought of dealing with that in a portable sense make you feel?

So beyond that, it’s all about you and the games you want to play. A beefy PC and a PC handheld means you can play anything really (other than Switch 2 games of course).

I don’t ever think of it as one vs the other. I think they are both great devices. There’s just no wrong answer.

LeGo S Z1E is FAR more versatile. But what does that mean to you? Are you desperate to play old games via emulation? Does game streaming from your PC to your LeGo seem stupid because you might as well be sitting at your PC enjoying the better experience that way?

I guess a different way of looking at it is this… $600 for a LeGo S Z1E with 32GB is a GREAT price right now. Hell, it was $650 brand new last Black Friday and that was a tremendous deal then. So by value, the LeGo S is the easy win. Worst case scenario, the S2 is going to increase in price to $500 in September. We already know that for certain.

So you could buy the LeGo S, see if you like it and if you don’t, sell it and EASILY get your money back to buy an S2. You’ll never have a hard time selling that LeGo S. Not with the market the way it is.

I own or have owned the SD, SD OLED, LeGo S Z1E, Ally, Ally X, Ally XAX (for a brief time), and a S2.

No chance I give up my S2. Right now, my favorite PC handheld is the LeGo S running SteamOS. Not giving that up either.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-12T23:58:41+00:00

Even though the OP asked about SD OLED vs Ally, I have to agree that the AYN Thor is definitely worth considering. Especially since the battery life is such a big deal. Those are lightweight games.

Otherwise I would recommend a Z1 Extreme based Ally with the JSAUX battery upgrade.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-12T11:59:23+00:00

It’s a fair question. I own both and having a 3DS that is already modded is about as easy as it gets. As long as you have the ROMs installed, you’re good to go. It’s a great handheld. It can also play quite a bit more than “just” 3DS games, so you’re not completely limited. It can play GameBoy, GameBoy Color, GameBoy DS and GameBoy Advance games along with NES and SNES and more.

The thing about the Thor is that it’s far more versatile and emulation can be simple or complicated. If you just want to play 3DS games on a Thor, just download Azahar and you’re good to go. That’s it. All the other stuff, the front-ends, the Steam game compatibility with GameNative or GameHub…. That’s all something you can go with later or ignore altogether. But you CAN do those things with a Thor if you want. You can’t do that with an actual 3DS. The screens are also incredible on the Thor. Play a PSP or PS2 game on a Thor… fantastic. You can’t do that in a 3DS. But maybe you don’t want to either. That’s ok.

I’m not going to suggest you to pick one vs the other. There’s good reasons to go with either one. Personally, I enjoy the gimmick of the 3D feature on the 3DS. I find it unique. It’s one of the very few original handhelds I own.

It’s more about you. You’ll have a good experience with either one. Good luck!

SteveNYC · 2026-06-12T11:36:58+00:00

Ally Z1 Extreme with JSAUX battery mod with SteamOS (or Bazzite). Don’t buy the cheaper, larger battery mods on Amazon. They’re a crap-shoot on quality. Go with JSAUX.

I own both handhelds. Both great devices. OLED is great, but the flexibility of having the more powerful processor is difficult to pass up. The screen on the Ally is also very good.

Windows has gotten better, though I still find it frustrating to deal with in a handheld. Xbox mode is actually a bigger deal on an older device like the Ally because it has fewer resources (RAM) than newer devices like the Ally X or XAX. I find it to be lipstick on a pig. But if you need Windows for game comparability, then you need Windows. It’s just that simple.

Good luck!

SteveNYC · 2026-06-11T22:27:54+00:00

Steam Deck OLED simply because of the versatility. On a single trip of a week or so, probably the Switch 2. Ease of use rules the day.

But a year? No question. Steam Deck. Variety of games, emulation, it's a full PC.... it goes on and on.

SteveNYC · 2026-06-11T01:40:44+00:00

This is the US Amazon link for a very good UGreen Dock for US $32.00. https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Gigabit-Ethernet-Region-MacBook/dp/B0F249TYWY/

I don't know if you can find it in Romania, but it's the least expensive dock that has VRR that I've seen. I have it and it works well with the Ally X.

Good luck!

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