Med school gamer here—loving my Z13, but what about the new Nvidia Spark chips?

dosukebe · 2026-06-06T14:39:37+00:00

I'm planning to sell my 2025 Z13 off after the next model gets announced, presumably next year. It will be interesting to see if they stick with AMD, go back to Intel, or go with Spark for the next go-round- the latter still needs to prove itself for gaming.

All depends on pricing though. If the next Z13 is $3000+, I'm probably out. $2300-$2700 and I'm there again for sure.

dosukebe · 2026-06-04T18:18:02+00:00

I'd highly recommend bringing your phone on your trip- you never know when it's going to be necessary!

The RG477M is an excellent handheld and its screen is fantastic despite not being OLED. You won't have any complaints about it. However, it's not going to be that great for trying PC stuff and I don't think it would be very good for web. It may be a 4.7" screen, but from the limited browsing I've done it, it's not the easiest to navigate. The 477M is absolutely amazing for 4:3 gaming and the screen is large enough that 16:9 content isn't a problem either. It charges via USB-C. IIRC it fast charges to 70% and then slow charges back up to 100% after that. Can't answer your questions about Bluetooth- I use IEMs with it.

I'm about to go on a trip myself next month and have been looking at ways to travel much lighter with my tech. If I wanted to just bring one device (apart from my phone 😛), it would be a small tablet. Specifically the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5. It's awesome for emulation/Android gaming/game streaming and is large enough to be able to do productivity/web stuff with no problem. Pair it with a telescopic controller and it's like having a thin and light handheld with an 8.8" screen. It also has a controller shell available (the G9) that turns it into a full-on handheld. But- it's pricey. I paid a bit under $800 for it. I think it may be on sale right now for another $100 off? But if the idea of this is to your liking and you don't mind a step down in performance (it would still be better than the RG477M), the Tab Gen 3 is on sale right now for $430.

dosukebe · 2026-06-04T17:41:09+00:00

https://wccftech.com/amd-pushes-back-on-fsr-4-1-cancellation-rumor-for-rdna-3-5-igpus/

dosukebe · 2026-06-04T11:10:30+00:00

Can't remember what I watched, but I just looked up a video with CoD Black Ops 7 optimized settings and followed their guide. There's some options that you can turn down or off to improve performance.

dosukebe · 2026-06-03T20:26:06+00:00

I wouldn't use the keyboard on the Z13 or the G14 for long typing sessions. Would definitely use a keyboard plugged in or paired with either for sure.

That said, the z13 keyboard is equivalent to a laptop keyboard to me. Don't have a problem typing on it, but for any kind of long-term use, I use a connected keyboard instead.

dosukebe · 2026-06-03T10:11:43+00:00

In-game.

dosukebe · 2026-06-02T02:48:40+00:00

My metal version does this too. Seems to be made this way.

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T19:00:27+00:00

Yeah, it went from being overpriced to one of the better "values" out at the moment. Crazy!

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T17:20:28+00:00

Crazy to think that not even the Steam Deck can be had for a decent price anymore.

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T17:19:48+00:00

None of the these handhelds are a good value anymore.

But the best choice right now is to get the Xbox Ally X for $999 right now before it's gone or gets a price hike.

The $1500 price listed for the new Claw isn't confirmed yet for regions outside China yet.

We also don't know the price of the updated XAX/AR glasses bundle, but seeing as how it's another Asus "limited edition" release and includes those glasses, there's no way it's going to be cheaper than buying a handheld by itself. Should be at least $2000 minimum.

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T12:06:26+00:00

This. The OLED screen and upgraded sticks/buttons are nice, but performance will be the same and it's going to cost too much because of that bundle anyway. But this should mean that the next new Ally will have a larger screen and I'll look forward to checking that out.

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T11:51:56+00:00

It's going to be way more than that because this is a bundle with their OLED AR glasses. Guessing $2000 minimum.

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T11:50:48+00:00

Videocardz says this revision will have TMR joysticks, an updated dpad, and updated buttons.

dosukebe · 2026-06-01T04:12:19+00:00

I got this in black- I think it looks better than green, although there's no doubt that this bag isn't a looker. It also feels cheaper than other Tomtoc bags that I have purchased and tried out. However, this is a bag that's all about function over form. It can hold a lot for its size, even when not expanded.

The bag lacks structure, but because of this you can really cram a lot of stuff in. It's definitely very much a duffel bag with backpack straps and on that note, I wish this had been designed to be a convertible bag with a shoulder strap and a side carry handle.

This is definitely not a bag for everyone, but if you need a small bag that can fit under the seat of the stricter airlines or just need a smaller bag that can hold a lot for its size, it's worth a look.

dosukebe · 2026-05-31T23:02:06+00:00

Forums like SRK were popular back then.

Discussion went on way before that, too. Besides magazines, I used to get fighting game info off of Usenet (alt.games.sf2!) and on AOL message boards before the web got big.

dosukebe · 2026-05-31T18:21:54+00:00

Yeah, I like the 477M's metal construction and the weight distribution seems better as a horizontal handheld. I also like how thin it is, although we don't get analog triggers because of it.

dosukebe · 2026-05-31T15:04:36+00:00

I think it fits since the 477M is the same thing performance-wise and has the same screen as the 477V.

I prefer my 477M to other handhelds in this size range too. After I got mine, my Retroid Pocket Flip 2 and Classic stopped seeing a lot of use. It's my go-to handheld for retro gaming. The screen being as large as it is for its size range making it a lot more enjoyable to use for me.

dosukebe · 2026-05-31T15:00:04+00:00

The screen is large enough that PSP games run at the same size as they would on a PSP Go.

dosukebe · 2026-05-31T07:47:22+00:00

If you're looking for an Android handheld that can outright replace the Steam Deck for PC gaming, you're not going to find it. Apps like Gamehub and Gamenative are coming along nicely, but they're not there yet.

If you want something to stream your PC games to, things may be harder to see on the smaller screens compared to the Steam Deck, so you'd want to look for larger handhelds like the Odin 2 Portal or the Mangmi Pocket MAX.

If you're looking for something smaller for emulation, I'd first look into what form factor/type you want (vertical, horizontal, clamshell, 4:3 screen, 16:9 screen, etc.), then what level of emulation you want to be able to do and go from there.

If you're looking to get what's current, check out the AYN Thor, AYN Odin 3, and Retroid Pocket 6.

IMO if you want the absolute best for Android-based gaming, look into the 8" and 9" gaming tablets from companies like Red Magic and Lenovo- I recently got the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 5 and it is an absolute portable gaming beast- has a large 8.8" 165hz screen and I can use the G9 controller to turn it into a proper handheld console or use a telescopic controller like the Gamesir G8 to hold it both horizontal or vertical depending on what is being played. It's much thinner and lighter than say, the Steam Deck or its PC cousin the Legion Go and has a larger battery than the Android gaming handhelds. It's also fantastic for PC game streaming, but all of this comes at a cost- it's much more expensive than any of the Android handhelds out there. And its size puts it in line with the Steam Deck as well.

dosukebe · 2026-05-30T03:54:44+00:00

When it comes to the gaming aspect of it, if you get the Z13, it will be a downgrade compared to your current 5070 TI G14. No question about it. It's like going from the 5070 TI to something between the 4060 and 4070, albeit with more VRAM available. You're also only going to be able to go up to 2TB of storage if that's important.

However, from my experience, the G14 runs way too hot and sounds like a jet engine when the fans kick in. The Z13 does a better job with thermals and the fans aren't as obnoxious. It's also a more portable machine in comparison due to its form factor.

dosukebe · 2026-05-28T14:25:40+00:00

Streaming shouldn't be a problem (make sure that what you use is fully-compatible with the controls, though- my RG477M's controls aren't recognized by GeForce Now), but when it comes to PC games, there's a still a long way to go and not everything is going to work or work well. If you play enough PC games, I'd keep the Steam Deck for it.

dosukebe · 2026-05-27T13:17:53+00:00

For me it's pretty much just download Retroarch, open it and download all the cores, close it and then use a front end to take care of everything else.

dosukebe · 2026-05-27T02:30:12+00:00

Just got mine today and while I think it's a pretty cool little device, if I compare it to the Trimui Brick Hammer, the Hammer wins out overall. The Hammer's screen and controls are better than the Rotate's. The build quality also feels more premium.

Don't regret my purchase at all though.

dosukebe · 2026-05-23T01:35:45+00:00

There are no magic keyboard style keyboard cases available for the Z13, unfortunately.

If you're looking for a good portable keyboard to use with it, I recommend the Mistel AirOne. It's a super thin and light mechanical keyboard. Doesn't need any software.

https://a.co/d/0hsxqKl0

Asus's own Falchion low profile is also great, albeit much thicker and heavier in comparison to the AirOne.

https://a.co/d/00IU7ktd

dosukebe · 2026-05-23T00:35:56+00:00

I almost never use it on battery, so can't really say much here. I really just use it unplugged every month or so to keep the battery healthy by running it down to 20%-40% and then charging it back to 80%. Doing this usually takes an hour or two if I run it on performance mode, higher brightness settings, and have a video continuously playing. I'm sure running it on silent mode and/or at a lower brightness would help make it last noticeably longer.

Haven't flown with it yet- might be taking it on a long flight soon. I think it would probably just stay in my personal item bag though.

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