Best handheld gaming PCs in South Africa — From R7,799

South African gamers who want a compact system to play their favourite titles while on the go have plenty of great handheld gaming PCs to choose from.

Portable gaming consoles were very popular between the 1990s and early 2000s, with manufacturers offering devices like the Sony PSP and Nintendo Game Boy and DS.

The rapid emergence of smartphones and mobile gaming led to a decline in the sales of these systems, which also required custom games built specifically for more compact hardware.

However, in the past two or three years, numerous Windows and Linux-powered handheld PCs have hit the market, resulting in a resurgence of handheld gaming.

These systems support nearly any PC game, including some of the best-designed titles that arguably offer better graphics and mechanics than mobile games.

Their performance is supported by substantial advancements in compact central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing units (GPU) architecture.

This, coupled with much better power efficiency, has enabled far better gaming capabilities in compact form factors.

Combined with small displays that use minimal power and limited resolution to full HD, these devices can support very playable frame rates in some of the most recent titles.

Many would point to the 2022 launch of Valve’s Steam Deck as the catalyst for the proliferation of dedicated portable PC gaming systems.

Excellent performance and battery life, in part thanks to Valve’s use of custom-optimised Linux software, made for a compelling offering that drew many gamers to the realistic prospect of high-performance PC gaming that was truly portable.

Subsequently, three of the world’s top-selling PC manufacturers launched their own Windows-powered handhelds — Asus, Lenovo, and MSI.

MyBroadband looked at the portable gaming PCs that South Africans can buy in November 2024 and found several systems available from local retailers.

The Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme, original non-OLED Valve Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw were on sale directly.

Several models were also on offer from Amazon.com, although it should be noted that these will be parallel imports that might not come with local warranty support in South Africa.

Below are seven of the best handheld gaming PCs you can buy in South Africa in November 2024.

Asus ROG Ally Z1 — From R7,799 (Wootware)

Valve Steam Deck — $492.24/R8,591 (Amazon.com)

Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme — From R9,999 (Takealot)

MSI Claw A1M — R9,999 (Game)

Ayaneo Air Pro — $740.45/R12,932 (Amazon.com)

Valve Steam Deck OLED — $936.99/R16,354 (Amazon.com)

Asus ROG Ally X — From R17,999 (Asus South Africa Store)

Lenovo Legion Go — From R20,299 (Lenovo Online South Africa)