Ever since Nintendo took the world by storm with the launch of the Nintendo Switch back in 2016, the handheld gaming segment seemed to have found their green mushroom. While none of the big giants including Sony and Microsoft were interested in dipping their feet into a segment that had taken a backseat for quite some time, Nintendo not only gave them something to think about, but also hit their market, and hard.
Taking Notes
We guess someone was taking notes from the Super Mario brand because now we have a new kid on the block. Imagine having a handheld console that is technically a PC with an added bonus that it can run games. Yes we are talking about the all new GPD Win 3. This gaming PC is coming through a new crowd-funded campaign and is priced at $799.
The GPD Win 3 is a portable gaming PC running Windows 10 with a game pad integrated into the hardware. Under the 5.5-inch 720p screen is a keyboard that’s revealed when the screen slides up. There is also a fully integrated gamepad with two analog sticks with buttons, four trigger buttons, a directional pad, and four action buttons. What is interesting to see is that there is a dedicated Xbox button in there. We think it is for running Xbox games with an integrated Xbox Game Pass just like you have one on a regular PC. Oh and there is a fingerprint sensor too! Crazy, right!?
It has intake air vents on the rear, and an exhaust vent on the top. There’s also a USB-A port, power key, a headphone jack, and a built-in microphone. The bottom is where you’ll find the loudspeakers and a USB-C Thunderbolt 4.0 port. Finally, there are two customizable buttons on the rear side of the controller grips, which also contain rumble feedback. This is too good to be true, isn’t it?
So it’s a Nintendo Switch with a keyboard, controller and Windows 10?! We think so too, why don’t you have a look at the pictures below.
See for yourself:
We know what your next questions are. “All this looks great guys, but what about the numbers?”
“What are the specs?”
“What games can it run?”
“What’s the FPS like?”
Let’s put all those questions to rest, shall we?
Spec sheet
| Specification | GPD Win 3 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions & Weight | NA |
| Display | 5.5-inch HD (1280×720) IPS Gorilla Glass |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1135G7 (2.4GHz to 4.2GHz) Intel Core i7-1165G7 (2.8GHz to 4.7GHz) |
| GPU | Intel Xe (80 or 96 execution units) |
| RAM & Storage | 16GB DDR4 4266 MHz 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD Support for PCIe 4.0 |
| Battery & Charger | 65W charger |
| I/O | USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 43.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack MicroSD card slot External dock – Ethernet – USB 3.2 Type-C – HDMI 2.0b – 4xUSB 3.2 Type-A |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6Bluetooth 5.0 |
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Other Features | Fingerprint scanner, Sliding screen to reveal the touch keyboard, L1, L2, L3/R1, R2, R3 shoulder buttons, Dedicated Xbox button, Dual vibration motors |
Performance
The performance on the console has been surprisingly great. The company claimed that users can expect 60fps+ on a variety of latest AAA-titles on default graphics settings and they have backed those claims. To prove it, they have put up videos of the console running games like GTA V and Monster Hunter World running just below 50fps at high settings while Battlefield 1 and Borderlands 3 going over 60fps. Even though all this seems amazing, we would advise keeping your expectations a little low for Cyberpunk 2077.
To take care of thermals, there is a PWM cooling fan on the inside along with dual heat pipes. Depending on the model you choose, the TDP can be custom set by entering the BIOS. These include three options: 15-18W, 18-22W, 22-28W. There is also an external dock that expands the connectivity by adding a wired ethernet port, HDMI, and more USB Type-A and Type-C ports. This way you can hook it up to an external monitor and use it as a desktop.
For a crowdfunded project, this thing is turning some serious heads. The Win 3 is all set yet to go live on Indiegogo, but a preview page of the product is already live and can be accessed over here. There is no doubt that this product is definitely one of the most unique gadgets we have seen in a while. I mean come one, did you ever really expect a mini-PC to be touted as a handheld gaming console?! Still, we would love to see the capabilities of this machine in real life. Considering its compact nature, the GPD Win 3 could turn out to be a solid competitor to the Nintendo Switch if they manage to achieve scale.
