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Short answer: Buy a gaming laptop if you want the newest games at high settings, a keyboard, or one machine for work too. Buy a Steam Deck or ROG Ally for portable gaming on a couch or a plane. The performance gap is large: Notebookcheck measured Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p Ultra at 28 fps on the ROG Xbox Ally X, against 88.5 fps on a Lenovo LOQ 15 with an RTX 5060, about three times as fast by our calculation. The handhelds win on size, weight and quiet.
How we put this together: the specs are from Valve and ASUS, the benchmarks are Notebookcheck’s, and the laptop wattage is from our laptop GPU power database, all linked below. The multiple is our own calculation. It is not based on hands-on testing by iTech Level. See how we choose products.
Side by side
| Steam Deck OLED | ROG Xbox Ally X | Lenovo LOQ 15 (RTX 5060) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chip | AMD custom APU, 8 RDNA 2 compute units | AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, Radeon 890M | AMD Ryzen 7 250, RTX 5060 Laptop |
| Power | 4 to 15 W for the APU | Up to 35 W sustained | 105 W for the GPU alone |
| Screen | 7.4-inch OLED, 1280 x 800, up to 90 Hz | 7-inch IPS-level, 1920 x 1080, 120 Hz | 15.3-inch IPS, 1920 x 1200, 165 Hz |
| Memory | 16GB | 24GB | 16GB, two slots, plus 8GB of VRAM |
| Battery | 50 Wh | 80 Wh | 60 Wh |
| Weight | About 640 g | 715 g | 2.18 kg (4.81 lb), plus a 720 g, 245 W adapter |
| Software | SteamOS | Windows with Xbox full-screen mode | Windows |
Sources: Valve, ASUS, Notebookcheck’s Ally X and LOQ 15 reviews. The laptop weighs about three times as much as the Ally X, before you add its adapter (our calculation).
How big is the performance gap?
| Device and mode | Cyberpunk 2077, 1080p Ultra |
|---|---|
| ROG Xbox Ally X, Performance mode | 23 fps |
| ROG Xbox Ally X, Turbo mode | 28 fps |
| Lenovo LOQ 15 (RTX 5060), Quiet mode | 70.4 fps |
| Lenovo LOQ 15 (RTX 5060), Performance mode | 88.5 fps |
Even in its Quiet mode, this RTX 5060 laptop is about two and a half times as fast as the Ally X in Turbo. The Deck wasn’t in these tests. With a lower power limit than the Ally X and an older chip, expect it to be slower at the same settings, though its low-resolution screen needs far fewer pixels.
That’s the key to why handhelds still work. They don’t aim for 1080p Ultra. Their small screens look fine at lower settings and with upscaling, and Notebookcheck measured the Ally X at 49.5 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at low settings. But on a monitor or TV, or in the next wave of demanding games, a laptop has far more in reserve.
Where a handheld wins
- Size and weight. It fits in a bag and you can hold it in bed. No laptop does that.
- Noise. Notebookcheck measured the Ally X at about 31 dB(A) in Performance mode and 43 dB(A) in Turbo. The LOQ 15 reached 48 dB(A) in its Performance mode in the same game.
- Controls built in. No controller to pack, and sleep and resume work the way they do on a console.
- Simplicity, on the Deck. SteamOS opens straight to your library, and Valve’s Deck Verified ratings tell you how well a game runs.
Where a gaming laptop wins
- Performance. About three times the frame rate in the test above, and a much bigger screen.
- Compatibility. It’s a full Windows PC, so anti-cheat games and other launchers just work.
- Work and school. A keyboard, a large screen, more ports, and enough power for editing and coding.
- Upgrades. The LOQ 15 has two RAM slots and a spare SSD slot. The handhelds’ memory is on board (what you can upgrade on a gaming laptop).
- Room to grow. With 105 W for the GPU rather than a shared 15 to 35 W, it has more headroom for new games. Our laptop GPU power database shows how wattage varies by model.
Check your games first
This one can decide it. On the Deck, check each game’s Deck Verified rating. Steam Deck owners report that multiplayer games with aggressive anti-cheat, such as Fortnite, Destiny 2 and recent Call of Duty games, are the main ones that won’t run. These are player reports and they can change, so check your own list. If your main game is one of those, the Deck is out. The Ally X runs Windows, which avoids most of this. Our best laptops for Fortnite guide covers that game on a laptop.
Which should you buy?
- Steam Deck OLED if you have a Steam library, mostly want to play on the couch or while traveling, and don’t play anti-cheat multiplayer games.
- ROG Xbox Ally X if you want a handheld that runs Windows games and launchers, with more speed than the Deck.
- A gaming laptop if this will be your main or only PC, you want high settings on new games, or you need it for work or school too. Start with our best RTX 5060 laptops or best budget gaming laptops.
Check the Lenovo LOQ 15 (RTX 5060) on Amazon →
Our verdict
A gaming laptop is the better main computer, and it’s about three times as fast as a top handheld in Cyberpunk 2077 at the same settings. A Steam Deck or ROG Ally is the better second device, and the better choice if comfort and portability matter more than settings. If you want one machine to do everything, buy the laptop. Are gaming laptops worth it? covers the rest of that decision.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Steam Deck better than a gaming laptop?
For portability, yes. For performance, no. Notebookcheck measured the ROG Xbox Ally X, which has a more powerful chip than the Deck, at 28 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p Ultra, against 88.5 fps on an RTX 5060 laptop.
Is the ROG Ally faster than a gaming laptop?
No. Even in its Quiet mode, an RTX 5060 Lenovo LOQ 15 ran Cyberpunk 2077 at 70.4 fps, against 28 fps for the Ally X in Turbo mode. The Ally X uses 35 W at most when sustained, and the laptop’s GPU alone uses up to 105 W.
Can a Steam Deck replace a laptop?
For gaming on the go, it can. As your only computer, it’s a stretch: it has a 7.4-inch screen and no keyboard. You can dock it, but a laptop is simpler for work or school.
Can a Steam Deck play every PC game?
No. Check Valve’s Deck Verified rating for each game. Owners report that multiplayer games with aggressive anti-cheat, including Fortnite and recent Call of Duty games, are the main ones that don’t run.
Should I buy a handheld or a gaming laptop for college?
A laptop, if you only buy one, since you need it for coursework too. A handheld is a good add-on if you already have a laptop for classes.
