This might be the first time in a long time when I didn't try to pre-order a Nintendo handheld at launch and the reason really is due to PC handhelds. In the past, it felt like I need to get a Nintendo handheld because how else am I supposed to game on the go? But thanks to Nintendo's pricing of $450 usd and $500 for MK addition which translates to $700 CAD vs I can get an Asus Ally on sale for around $600 CAD or refurbished but effectively "Like new" quality for $500 cad which sometimes goes as low as $400 cad, it's very hard for me to justify getting a switch 2. Hopefully they will make a switch 2 lite in the future or bring the price down because the PC handhelds just feel like a lot better value and the performance I doubt will be too far off.

And unlike say the Vita where you had to rebuild your library of games, since I already buy games on pc... PC handhelds means I can just play them on the go without needing to rebuy them. I really hope Valve prices the Steam Deck 2 well when it comes out.

Didn't hear a lot about XeSS 2, what's the difference to XeSS?

So the GPU probably compares best to a 3050 Mobile GPU or MX570 (both have 2048 Cuda Cores, NVidia didn't release any GPU with less on PC) with lower clock speeds and less cores but potentially more bandwidth (especially compared to the MX).

On the CPU side, the Cortex A78 is getting old (from 2020 and the last ARM V8 chip), so I think it best compares to a downclocked 4700U (Zen 2, also had 8c/8t, but a 2Ghz base clock)

I was digging a bit to see what AMD did before here and the RX 6300 is a 12CU GPU on a PCIe x4 connector. AMD is probably selling those just to companies who want some redundancy or disable to iGPU entirely. But considering where APUs are right now, 16CU should be the minimum now.

Looks like AMD is ramping up for the release of the 9060XT. Hopefully they'll have enough supply at launch.

As for the 9070GRE, if that one ever comes to the rest of the world, the MSRP should be around $450. At that price, the 5070 would be overpriced for the performance and the 5060Ti thoroughly beaten.

Intel is now slowly turning into the budget option AMD was during it's Bulldozer years.

But the price cut was also really necessary, I could get a Ryzen 7 7700 tray for 299€, the Ultra 7 265KF is just making itself competitive to that price now.

Makes complete sense.

Nintendo is really pushing the boundaries of its customers with that asking price (let's not bring the games into the question), and I don't know how well they'll do. Sure, the launch will be a success but, once the more die-hard followers have bought it, I think it will be hard for Nintendo to convince the rest of the market to pay as much for the console. And if we've learned something from this gen of consoles, is that they don't go down in price, quite the opposite.

Waiting for a Lite may be an option, but it will likely come in what, 2 or 3 years? And how much will it cost, $350 USD? Until then, an Ally could be a great option. Even more, having an Ally could make you play games you already have but haven't touched yet, as they could be better suited for the kind of experience you get by playing on the go.

With that said, didn't you buy a Steam Deck (for the second time) not too long ago? Or am I confusing you with someone else?

The pricing of dedicated gaming devices does feel quite strange this time around. Both PS5 Pro and Switch 2 really do cost similar to PCs. Yea an equivalently priced PC might not perform as well perhaps but both of these devices feel hard to justify as single purpose devices when PCs offer so much more than only gaming. Gaming is starting to no longer feel cheap.

Yea I had a steam deck oled which I sold after a while lol. With the wife around, it wasn't being used very often as me and her do most of the things together so a bigger screen like a laptop was better for us. I bought the vivobook pro oled which comes with an i9, 4060, 2880 x 1620p 120hz oled display for a relatively cheap price when it was on sale. We mainly use it during travel or on our bed and such.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/laptops/for-home/vivobook/asus-vivobook-pro-15-oled-n6506/

Yeah, gaming is becoming less and less affordable, and this will have consequences. Sooner, rather than later.

Recently I've been thinking that since gaming can take so much time, where would we be without gaming? Then again, there's also Netflix and such, so maybe nowhere better. Regardless, I've been questioning the sensibility of having such time sinks.

Anyway, I guess I'm off to play some games if the needed people are available.

If it wasn't for gaming, I would likely do nothing except work, eat, sleep. (Which ironically I have been doing for the last several weeks anyway.)

I've beaten my 11th game for 2025!

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (Steam/PC) - one of the best games I've played.

My top 20 most played games on Steam (FFVIIRI made it #13)

One could even dare to say that, in the long run, Steam has probably already won console wars.