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Steam Deck
Native champ
The Steam Deck can run nearly all of your Steam library offline. It could be heavy and have lackluster battery life, however having that type of horsepower in a conveyable machine makes it a compelling product.
Professionals- Higher worth
- Expansive recreation library
- Extra highly effective
Cons- Mediocre battery life
- Heavy
- Will get sizzling
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Logitech G Cloud
On-line-only
The Logitech G Cloud is a light-weight and cozy handheld that focuses on recreation streaming from providers like GeForce Now and Recreation Go. It would not have highly effective {hardware} to again that up with native play, so the query stays whether or not it is value its asking worth.
Professionals- Moveable
- Good battery life
- 1080p show
Cons- Community-dependent
- Poor native play
There are two approaches you possibly can take to gaming handhelds. The Steam Deck is designed to play your video games regionally, so it has some moderately highly effective {hardware} in a bundle that, whereas heavy, continues to be transportable. The Logitech G Cloud takes a distinct method by specializing in streaming providers. In return, its modest {hardware} may be contained in a extra transportable design that is additionally simpler to carry. However which method is finest? In spite of everything, the value distinction is negligible, with the Steam Deck costing $50 extra.
Value, availability, and specs
The bottom mannequin LCD Steam Deck begins at $400 for 256GB of storage. The 64GB LCD and 512GB LCD fashions are at present out there for $350 and $450, however that is solely whereas shares final, as these variants have been deprecated. The Steam Deck is out there instantly from Valve.
The Logitech G Cloud is out there from Logitech and different main retailers for $350, though it’s generally discounted to $300. That will get you 64GB of storage that may be expanded through MicroSD.
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Steam Deck
- Dimensions
- 298 x 117 x 49mm
- Taking part in Time
- 2-8 hours
- Model
- Valve
- Weight
- 669g
- Chipset
- Zen 2 AMD APU 2.4-3.5GHz
- RAM
- 16GB
- Storage
- 256GB
- Wi-fi Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 5
- Headset Compatibility
- 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth
- Show
- 7-inch 1280 x 800 LCD, 60Hz
- Graphics
- AMD RDNA 2, 1.6GHz
- Ports
- Headphone jack, USB-C, MicroSD
- Battery
- 5,200mAh
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Logitech G Cloud
- Dimensions
- 256.84 mm x 117.21 mm x 32.95 mm
- Taking part in Time
- As much as 12 hours
- Model
- Logitech
- Weight
- 463g
- Chipset
- Snapdragon 720G
- RAM
- 4GB
- Storage
- 64GB
- Wi-fi Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1
- Headset Compatibility
- Headphone jack, Bluetooth
- Show
- 1920 x 1080 LCD
- Graphics
- Snapdragon 720G
- Ports
- USB-C, headphone jack, MicroSD
- Battery
- 6,000mAh
Design and show
These two consoles go about issues otherwise, and every method has its strengths and weaknesses. The Steam Deck packs plenty of highly effective {hardware}, however the worth for that energy is dimension and weight. The Steam Deck weighs 670g, whereas the G Cloud solely weighs 463g. To place that into perspective, you could possibly strap a Galaxy S24+ to the G Cloud and it could nonetheless weigh lower than the Deck.
The Steam Deck takes benefit of its quantity by packing in as many enter choices as doable. Except for the 7-inch 1280×800 LCD touchscreen, you get twin touchpads for mouse enter, a D-pad, ABXY buttons, two joysticks, triggers and shoulder buttons, and programmable buttons on the again the place your ring finger and little finger naturally relaxation. On the backside, you will discover the MicroSD slot, and up high is the USB-C port, headphone jack, energy and quantity buttons, and an air vent. The show is sweet total, however it lacks brightness outdoor, maxing out at 400 nits.
The Logitech G Cloud has a extra typical 1920x1080p LCD, and that 16:9 facet ratio is a welcome change from the Steam Deck’s 16:10, which shows black bar letterboxing to suit 16:9 video games (console ports and Japanese video games have a tendency solely to assist this one ratio). Just like the Steam Deck, the show is 7 inches and has solely marginally higher out of doors efficiency, reaching 450 nits.
The G Cloud has the same old D-pad, joysticks, ABXY buttons, and a house key. It additionally has a “G” key that acts as both an Xbox or PS button, relying on which streaming service you are utilizing. There’s additionally a house key and begin choose buttons. Then, you may have two triggers and two shoulder buttons, however nothing on the again of the machine.
The underside of the G Cloud has the USB-C port and headphone jack, and the highest has the ability and quantity keys, together with a MicroSD slot.
Software program and efficiency
As soon as once more, each of those merchandise take drastically completely different approaches to software program and gaming. The Logitech G Cloud is known as appropriately, as you will most frequently stream video games to it via Recreation Go or different providers. The G Cloud performs properly right here, however your efficiency will fluctuate based mostly on community situations or which service you are utilizing. In our testing, Nvidia’s GeForce Now could be the best-performing service for the G Cloud, with a heavy-hitting recreation like Cyberpunk 2077 working easily with little latency.
Sadly, native efficiency leaves so much to be desired, regardless that native video games are restricted to what’s on the Google Play Retailer. Our hands-on stated native gameplay felt like an afterthought, which is a disgrace. Handhelds are meant for use on the go, so not having aggressive efficiency when away from Wi-Fi is a letdown.
Logitech G Cloud hands-on: No darkish skies right here
Logitech’s streaming handheld feels and performs like a cultured product
Logitech’s software program could be very light-weight. It is based mostly on Android 11 and has a primary customized launcher that makes it controller-friendly.
The Steam Deck is the other story. You should use streaming providers with it, however setting that up is a little bit of a faff that may require utilizing the Linux Desktop mode. The Steam Deck is not made for streaming, although. It is about native play, and that is the place it excels. The Steam Deck runs SteamOS 3, which relies on Arch Linux. With the assistance of the Proton compatibility layer, it will possibly run nearly all of the Steam Library, though it struggles with really demanding video games like Cyberpunk 2077. That recreation will carry out higher streamed to the G Cloud than performed natively on the Deck.
The Steam Deck’s huge benefit over the G Cloud is that it performs the identical method irrespective of the place you are taking it. Whether or not on a practice, in a hospital ready room, or at residence, the Steam Deck presents constant native efficiency.
Battery life
The G Cloud wins this class. Its 6,000mAh battery is 800mAh bigger than the Steam Deck’s, and it is paired with much less demanding {hardware}. Logitech guarantees 12+ hours on a cost, and when you’re streaming, that is doable, given that each one the demanding duties are offloaded to the streaming service. The battery life falls to round 5 to 6 hours when you’re taking part in regionally. Standby time is unimaginable. It barely sips any energy when asleep, so leaving it in a bag unplugged is possible.
The Steam Deck’s battery life is a sore level. Its 5,200mAh battery is sort of the identical dimension as my smartphone’s, however in contrast to my S24 Extremely, the Steam Deck makes use of PC {hardware} that often has a bigger energy reserve. When you stick with light-weight video games like Stardew Valley, the Deck will handle round 5 hours, however load up one thing like Spider-Man or Horizon: Zero Daybreak, and you will be plugging in inside an hour or two.
Which is best for you?
All of it is determined by what you intend to do with the machine. When you plan to recreation whereas touring, then the Steam Deck is the higher worth. For starters, the streaming providers the G Cloud is determined by all require a separate subscription, whereas the Deck presents native gameplay for simply $50 extra. It could be heavy and require a battery financial institution, however the Steam Deck is the higher worth for most individuals, particularly when video games may be faraway from streaming providers, whereas they are going to stay in your Steam library after buy.
Steam Deck
Native champ
The Steam Deck could be heavy and require an influence financial institution, however its means to play most video games while not having an web connection makes it an apparent alternative for on-the-go gaming.
When you can assure that you will have good web if you need to play, and battery life and portability matter extra to you, then the Logitech G Cloud continues to be an awesome product; it is simply tougher to advocate when community efficiency is variable.
Logitech G Cloud
On-line-only
The G Cloud is superb at what it is designed to do, however the worth distinction in comparison with the Steam Deck is not large enough to justify shopping for it over Valve’s handheld.
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