The first time we wrote about GPD product was for one of their portable game consoles, but since then the company has made many mini laptops that are fairly similar except for the lack of gaming controls.
The company is now back with a portable game console powered by a 15W Intel i5-1035G7 Ice Lake processor designed for AAA games. GPD WIN Max has really made a splash, as the company raised close to 1.4 million dollars a little over a day after the launch on Indiegogo.
- SoC – Intel Core i5-1035G7 quad-core/octa-thread Ice Lake processor @1.20 GHz / 3.70 GHz (Turbo) with Intel Iris Plus 940 Graphics delivering performance similar to GeForce MX250; 15W configurable to 12W or 25W (But GPD offers 15, 20 and 25W configurable TDP).
- System Memory – Dual-channel 16GB LPDDR4X-3733 RAM
- Storage – Dual M.2 SSD sockets with support for single-sided M.2 NVMe / AHCI 2280 SSDs (Ships with 512GB SSD); MicroSD card slot
- Display – 8-inch H-IPS screen with 1280×800 resolution, 5th gen Corning gorilla glass
- Video Output
- HDMI 2.0b up to 4K 60 Hz with HDR and Intel SGX technology support
- Up to 2x 4K/60Hz monitors or an external eGFX via Thunderbolt 3 port
- Audio – Built-in microphone,
- Connectivity
- Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45)
- 802.11ax WiFI 6 up to 300MB/s
- Bluetooth 5.0 up to 3MB/s, 300 meters range
- 10 GbE via Thunderbolt 3 port (requires adapter)
- USB – 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports, 1x USB Type-C port
- User Input – QWERTY keyboard, touchpad, left and right joysticks, D-Pad, ABXY keys, R1/2/3 & L1/2/3 buttons
- Misc – Power button, gamepad/mouse switch key, reset pinhole, dual turbine fans, and dual-cooling pipes
- Battery – 3x 5000mAh / 57Wh high capacity polymer lithium battery good for 3 hours of heavy use, to 6 ~ 8 hours of moderate use, and up to 14 hours of light use
- Power Supply – 65W USB PD 3.0 charger
- DImensions – 207 x 145 x 26 mm
GPD WIN Max runs Windows 10 64-bit, and the company claims it is the only PC gaming console in the world that can fit in your hand, and capable of running AAA games at 60Hz with medium settings.
Competitors include Dell Alienware UFO for which we don’t have that many details and Smach Z handheld console powered by an AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B processor with Radeon Vega 8 graphics, and after comparing Fire Strike benchmark in 3DMark, the Intel processor seems to have a clear edge.
If you want to find out how a particular game fares, the company has posted a long list of games with FPS range on Indiegogo and linked to several reviews on YouTube.
Note that TDP of the processor is configurable, and that may have a significant impact on performance. If you play in a fairly hot room, a 25W TDP may not work that well, and you may have to go with 15W TDP for a more consistent gaming experience.
If you are interested in GPD WIN Max handheld game console, you could pledge 6,038 HKD ($779 US) including shipping, and get it shipped by July 2020 barring any unforeseen circumstances. If you prefer to play it safe, the console will retail for $885 US.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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