Are you waiting for Nintendo Switch2? This little gaming laptop now offers more power

Are you waiting for Nintendo Switch2? This little gaming laptop now offers more power

With Nintendo-Switch sales growing at an unprecedented rate, it's not easy to get your hands on a Nintendo-Switch today. However, the GPD Win Max could be a strong alternative to Nintendo's very popular gaming console.

The GPD Win Max was unveiled last year as a concept machine that merged a very small laptop into a game controller. Now, GPD has unveiled a full-spec version that it claims is "the world's smallest handheld gaming laptop." Packing a lot of power into a small design, this machine will serve as a bridge until the Nintendo Switch 2 arrives on the scene.

Ultra-thin laptops like the Razer Blade Stealth fit almost desktop-grade specs into a portable design, and there have been many such claims. But none of these laptops were handhelds; it's hard to argue with GPD's claim that they pack an 8-inch IPS display and the latest Intel mobile chips into a compact chassis that looks like it has a built-in Xbox controller.

With Intel's 3.7GHz Core i5-1035G7 CPU, Iris Plus graphics, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD, the GPD Win Max should be able to handle the latest games on a 1280 x 800 resolution display at an acceptable frame resolution displays at 1280 x 800 resolution and should be able to handle the latest games at acceptable frame rates.

GPD's own benchmarks show that this little laptop can run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 68 frames per second, Apex Legends at 55 fps, and Tom's Clancy's Rainbow Six Seige at 75 fps. It is not known at what settings these games were played, so GPD's results should be taken with a grain of salt. However, it certainly appears that Win Max can deliver more power than the Switch.

Also, since Win Max is a Windows 10 laptop, it can use game streaming services such as Google Stadia and Nvidia's GeForce Now. This makes it a very flexible portable gaming machine.

In addition, the backlit keyboard and trackpad make it a reasonable secondary work machine, though it won't immediately challenge the MacBook Air or Surface Laptop 3.

The Win Max looks like a reasonably attractive machine for those with a modest collection of PC games, but no release date or price has been set. However, there is an "order" button on the small laptop's website, although it is not yet active, so it could be available relatively soon.

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