If you’re having trouble getting your hands on a Steam Deck, Chinese tech company GPD has a rather strange solution.
It’s called GPD Win Max 2 (opens in new tab) and it’s a miniature laptop that doubles as a portable game console. Looking like an oversized Nintendo DS, the Win Max 2 features physical gaming controls above the keyboard, complete with two analog sticks, a directional pad and four face buttons. There are two pairs of shoulder buttons, plus an extra programmable pair on the back. It even has a six-axis gyroscope for motion control and a vibration motor.
Really, the GPD Win Max 2 is an odd hybrid of recent gaming features. The only thing missing is a touchscreen.
double duty
Unlike the Steam Deck, the GPD wants their new device to function as a work laptop. For starters, the Win Max 2 comes with two magnetic covers that can be placed over the built-in controllers to hide them so your boss doesn’t know. And there’s a built-in 2MP camera with a wide-angle view for video conferencing.
In addition, the computer has quite powerful hardware. You will be able to choose between two models, depending on which processor/graphic pair you choose.
The first model features an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U processor paired with an AMD Radeon 680M RDNA2 graphics card. The 6800U consists of eight cores with 16 threads and has a maximum clock speed of 4.7Ghz. The GPD claims that the 680M GPU allows Win Max 2 to run certain games at “around 40-60 FPS at 1920×1200 resolution”. The full list of games that run at this quality is unknown, but the company reveals 12, which include Elden ring and Valorant.
The other combination consists of a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P CPU with Iris Xe GPU. It has four performance cores and eight efficient cores with 16 threads in total. According to the GPD’s own numbers, the Intel model outperforms the AMD model by a small margin. However, the maximum clock speed is the same as the AMD CPU.
Aside from the performance differences, the two laptops share the same features. You will be able to choose between a 1TB or 2TB SSD with SD and microSD card readers. For RAM, you can choose between 16GB and 32GB. And all that power is displayed through a 10.1-inch display with a maximum resolution of 2560×1600, far superior to the Steam Deck’s 1280×800 display.
GPD claims that its 67Wh battery provides power for up to “five hours of continuous gaming.” If you’re just working in the office, the battery life can be up to 14 hours. Fast charging is available, which gives you two hours of life in about five minutes. And for high temperatures, the WIn Max 2 sports a big fan with two heat pipes to keep everything cool.
Review: Small but expensive
Admittedly, this is a pretty interesting device, but we doubt it’s a “Steam Deck killer”. Horizontally, Win Max 2 is 160mm long and 227mm wide (about 6.2 inches by 9 inches). Considering its size, the computer seems to work well as a portable gaming device. To get the job done, it’s probably too small and cramped to wear comfortably.
While there’s no official price for Win Max 2, it probably won’t be cheaper than the Steam Deck. O GPD Win Max 2 is on IndieGoGo (opens in new tab)for a funding campaign where developers aim to hit a $20,000 goal. According to official GPD Twitter account (opens in new tab)the campaign will launch on July 7 at 6am EST.
There are several packages available with the highest cost of $1299. If you promise that amount, you will get a Win Max 2 that comes with AMD CPU, 2TB of storage and 32GB of RAM. The cheapest is $899, which has the same AMD CPU but with 128GB of storage and 16GB of RAM. The estimated shipping date is set for sometime in September 2022.
If you are one of the lucky few who have a Steam Deck, we recommend that you check it out. our list of the best console games.