u/HotResort6579

Yes XR glasses can be used on anything with USB-C out. But with Xbox Ally X because its so comfortable you forget you are holding a handheld and feel like you just holding a controller to play games on the XR display. You can play for hours without fatigue. The 17w profile on Z2E perfomance over Z1E is also quite bug which allows you to play for a while without worrying about heat and battery.

Now here are some settings to make XR gaming better on Windows.

Change your XR glasses to 120hz (on Rokid you hold one for the buttons for seconds)

Go to Windows display settings. Change the resolution to 900p 120hz.

No go to AMD Adrenalin and go to display settings. Change the scaling to centre

Now the screen size on the XR glasses are manageable without being too big with blurred edges. For games that take place on a 2D plane like a indie game or Fighter i even reduce to 720p for even smaller screen. But regardless 900p doesnt reduce the pixel density and is pixel perfect as the screen size is reduced. It still a big screen but more manageable now. I tend to use XR glasses for shooters like Halo and Left 4 Dead. And 2D games without XR glasses.

Another cool thing about XR glasses is stereo 3D gaming. I emulate Wii, GC and 3DS woth stereo 3D graphics. The emulators natively support this.

From top to bottom. Xbox Ally X, Switch 2, RG477M and New 3DS.

Xbox Ally X - Ive owned many PC Handhelds in the past including Ally Z1E, Ally X, Deck LCD and Deck OLED. The current crop of handhelds you need to pick your poison. Legion Go 2 has a incredible screen but is heavy and stick position isnt great. Sticks are also loose. Deck OLED doesnt have enough power and can be a turn off due to Windows not being so great on it. MSI Claw A8 has a bad D Pad and loose sticks but screen is the perfect balance being 8inch it is still qjite heavy though not as bad a LG2. Xbox Ally X has the best software but the screen is only 7inch. In the end I went with the Xbox Ally X. It looks so ugly but once you hold this thing everything makes complete sense. It is the most comfortable handheld I have ever held. The software is the best out of MSI and Lenovo and you can even dual boot Steam OS. The vibration and speakers are also best in class. Z2E chipset while not a big leap when running at 25w. At 17w I have seen 30-40 performance uplift meaning the battery life on this thing is incredible at lower wattage. I also own Rokid XR Glasses if i really wanted a bigger screen.

Switch 2 - I honestly hated the Switch 2 when I first bought it and sold it. It immediately gave me hand cramps. Then i bought it again for a great deal gave it a chance. I dont know what happened but my hands got used to it. The combination of large 8inch 16:9 screen and lightweight makes this incredible. Now with boost mode for Switch 1 games its a perfect replacement and upgrade for Switch 1 consoles. I still buy most of my 3rd party games on other platforms. However for first party games or 3rd party games that support local multiplayer I usually buy on Switch 2. Sometimes even buy 3rd party games on Switch 2 over other platforms if the sale price is very good just cause of the convenience. Been playing Breath of the Wild Switch 2 Edition lately and there is something special about playing a large open world game on a 8inch Screen thats lightweight with instant resume where I can dip in and out of gaming.

RG477M - Ive had so many retro handhelds it would take me too long to list them all. But this is my end game. I wanted something that can play up to PS2 that can fit in my pocket. There were only 4 options which were Thor, RG477M, Odin 2 Mini and RP Mini. I went with RG477M because of the 120hz screen (I wanted the least input latency as possible) and because its 4:3 with a large screen size. The requirement of fitting in my pocket was because if it is large I may as well play on my cosy Xbox Ally X with the better grips. The freedom of fitting in pocket has been great. This is the system I quickly grab when going to visit family for a few hours. Even at home its nice to have it in your pocket and pull it out at random occasions. The metal shell makes it feel premium and durable (ive dropped it a few times and still going strong). The D Pad on top is a must as the compromise of D Pad at bottom would be worse for me. I even find stick gaming great on this as long as it isnt a shooter which is fine because I didn't really like many of the shooters on PS2 and GC.

New 3DS - As someone who cares about input latency i prefer to have original hardware. With PS2 and GC you dont have a choice as those are not handhelds. With GBA, GBC etc you can mitigate input latency with runahead. But DS and 3DS emulation you cant and with original hardware available i prefer to get the original hardware. Stylus games are also designed around resistive touchscreen over capacitive. And im one the rare few that loves stereoscopic 3D which you cannot do by emulating. What i will say is get a DSi XL which are still quite cheap in addition to the 3DS as DS games look a bit blurry on 3DS. I do own a New DSi XL which isnt pictured here. Id choose XL over the smaller models due to ghosting on the smaller models. But if you want to keep your collection minimal then 3DS is still sufficient for DS games.

Not handheld related but added some bonus shots of my controllers i use and displays i use in picture 2 and 3

Wasn't planning to upgrade at all as i found Ally X was already comfortable and the performance uplift at 25w wasnt enough

However I bagged an offer for a used Xbox Ally X for £550. Usual price is £850. Give or take I think i can sell my old Ally X at least for £450 so at most its £100 for an upgrade if not less if i sell my Ally X for more

What surprised me is how comfortable Xbox Ally X is. I was wary of comfort simply because I found Steam Deck more uncomfortable than OG Ally and Ally X. The bigger grips and larger size of Deck was a detriment for me and I know that is a unusual opinion as many on reddit say the opposite. With Xbox Ally X being more heavy than Ally X i wasnt sure if I would be an outliner again and find it uncomfortable unlike most people. To my surprise I found it to be the most comfortable PC handheld out of Z1E OG Ally, Deck LCD, Deck OLED and Ally X which i owned all before.

The other thing that I didnt realise i benefit from is the lower wattage performance compared to Ally X. While 25w performance is not a huge leap over Ally X. 17w is a pretty big leap so the gain in efficiency increasing battery life, less heat and less fan noise is great.

While a 8inch Screen would have been better no PC handheld is perfect and you need to pick your poison. I dont mind the sacrifice in screen size over comfort and better software.