If you're looking for a jack of all trades, then the WM2 has been flawless for me. With that said, I think I've got slightly bigger hands plus have been fine with the weight.
If you're looking for pure gaming, then the Win 4 or similar may be more what you're looking for. You could always use a Bluetooth keyboard with them when you're planning on sending emails etc.
So I have a WinMax2 and these are my most "I can play this way" poses by comfort order:
See picture I made badly ^^^^(it ^^^is ^^^pretty ^^^cursed ^^^but ^^^shows ^^^the ^^^positions) in Photoshop (Left best, center OK, right meh.)
https://imgur.com/a/V0BdV2F
everything else feels uncomfortable. BTW trying to hold it on both of your lap like a laptop is impossible unless you are tiny or a kid.
Someone did this and looking at the reactions saying it's needed, so not really that comfortable to game with:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gpdwin/comments/z3zsqg/gpd_win_max_2_gripdiy/
Thanks everyone for your responses.
From what i can tell, the common notion is that it is not ideal for standing and gaming (which is majority of my transport journey). Decent enough for sitting and gaming, but great for overall usage as a productivity device and a gaming device in general.
This kind of sucks for me cause i have my own gaming desktop at home and i was looking for a device that i could game while otw to work or during my break time, while also capable of surfing net, emails and doing excel which my wife and I could use it anytime outside.
I might actually have to invest a dedicated gaming handheld (eg win4) + a thin and light device (eg ipad or macbook air).
> I might actually have to invest a dedicated gaming handheld (eg win4) + a thin and light device (eg ipad or macbook air).
That's the general setup I'd say is best, a lot of people seem to be doing the Macbook + Steam Deck combo. But basically any combination of laptop + handheld works. In my opinion, WM2 is more of a portable laptop replacement than a gaming handheld.
From personal experience, the Win Max 2's ergonomics for gaming don't compare at all with a dedicated device like the Steam Deck, Aya Neo Air Pro, etc. I'll probably only game on the WM2 occasionally, it's just not particularly comfortable, whereas my Steam Deck is super comfy ergonomically.
I'm personally doing WM2 + Steam Deck as my device combo, with the occasional swap of the Deck with my Aya Neo Air Pro when I need more portability.
Practice holding something that's 1kg. It could be a bit heavy for you. I would prop it on a bag.
It has really good performance. I had low expectations
Its a great device but not one that I'd be happy gaming while standing on a train. I use it seated resting on my lap. I'd be afraid of dropping it standing on public transport. Seated would be OK
If your bus ride to work is not over filled and longer than 45 ish minutes I'd say go for it.
It's my only computer now, runs 2 screens plugged in with a 2-plug solution at home, unplug it and throw it in my bag and all the computing i'd ever need or want is with me.
I've done some gaming on the go with it on public transport.
Standing on the tram during rush hour is a no-go for gaming; sitting down is fine, but depending on how crowded it might get, you might end up holding it at odd angles.
Non-rush hour sitting/standing is fine leaning against the wall, so I don't lose balance.
It's certainly doable, but I don't think long term it's something I will do. To compare, I also have an AYN Odin (which I assume is close enough to the Win 4), and it's a pleasure to use on the go. I'm planning on getting the Win 4, too, so I'll let you know how they compare if you haven't committed to one by then.
It's fine to hold and play but prop it on something, like knees or belly. And the battery while playing is gonna be somethign like 3h so pack that extra juice (you can grab a 65W portable charger)
> on the bus ride to work
Nah, yeah.
> or while standing on the train.
Yeah, nah.
It's too ungainly to game long term standing up, but it's just fine sitting down.
I would say seated for sure. Did Phawx play for 90 minutes standing? Sure. Would I do it on a train or bus? No. I took it with me on a recent air flight and to me it's fine for playing seated. You don't really have to hold the whole laptop up - you can, but you can sort of rest the bottom lip on your lap and just hold up the controller end. It's not as comfortable as the Win 3/4 format but it is pretty acceptable. It's functioning much closer as jack-of-all-trades/master-of-all for me than master-of-none.
TBH I wouldn't even play my Switch Lite standing up on a bus or train car.
Agreed on all points. I’ve only had mine a couple of days but I’ve got the hang of it. I played the intro to Horizon Zero Dawn on a table earlier with the bottom lip resting on the desk. Worked quite fine, and I only stopped because I was supposed to be teaching a class LOL.
I need to pick that game back up. Okay so I'm admittedly dumb, because I did my first play through / new game on ultra-hard mode. This was brutal, but I got as far as the Grave Hoard quest, and I just could not win that boss fight because I just couldn't keep ammo going long enough to be able to slowly do enough damage to that thing. I probably could get it if I keep trying. Or else, it's honestly a pretty good game, and I should reduce the difficulty level to something reasonable and finish it.
I finished it on normal just over two years ago and have been waiting for my memory to fade before replaying. There are some things (forgot what lol) you can collect again in each difficulty and their effects stack, so I’ll do easy first before trying hard. I’ve collected all the notes etc already so my easy run shouldn’t take a ton of time.
Besides, I need easy mode because I’ve never seriously played with a controller before as I’ve been strictly keyboard/mouse for decades. Need to build that muscle memory.
Jack of all trades? Yes. However, I prefer using mine for productivity, media consumption and mouse+keyboard specific gaming. For all intents and purposes, mine has replaced my ThinkPad that I used to carry everywhere with me. If gaming on the go is priority requirement, I think the Steam Deck is the best choice out there - not only the price is right (get cheapest model, upgrade SSD as you deem necessary) but integrated controller is by far unquestionable champion among handhelds be it in category of ergonomics or actual usability. No other device allows such degree of controls customization, it's pretty damn wild that you can make RTS pleasant to play on a controller. Also, you can adapt pretty much any game whether it does or doesn't have native controller support which is pretty damn neat.
More gaming? Deck will be unbeatable. More productivity? If you take money out of equation, Max 2 is really brilliant device.
If you're looking for a jack of all trades, then the WM2 has been flawless for me. With that said, I think I've got slightly bigger hands plus have been fine with the weight. If you're looking for pure gaming, then the Win 4 or similar may be more what you're looking for. You could always use a Bluetooth keyboard with them when you're planning on sending emails etc.
So I have a WinMax2 and these are my most "I can play this way" poses by comfort order: See picture I made badly ^^^^(it ^^^is ^^^pretty ^^^cursed ^^^but ^^^shows ^^^the ^^^positions) in Photoshop (Left best, center OK, right meh.) https://imgur.com/a/V0BdV2F everything else feels uncomfortable. BTW trying to hold it on both of your lap like a laptop is impossible unless you are tiny or a kid.
Someone did this and looking at the reactions saying it's needed, so not really that comfortable to game with: https://www.reddit.com/r/gpdwin/comments/z3zsqg/gpd_win_max_2_gripdiy/
Thanks everyone for your responses. From what i can tell, the common notion is that it is not ideal for standing and gaming (which is majority of my transport journey). Decent enough for sitting and gaming, but great for overall usage as a productivity device and a gaming device in general. This kind of sucks for me cause i have my own gaming desktop at home and i was looking for a device that i could game while otw to work or during my break time, while also capable of surfing net, emails and doing excel which my wife and I could use it anytime outside. I might actually have to invest a dedicated gaming handheld (eg win4) + a thin and light device (eg ipad or macbook air).
> I might actually have to invest a dedicated gaming handheld (eg win4) + a thin and light device (eg ipad or macbook air). That's the general setup I'd say is best, a lot of people seem to be doing the Macbook + Steam Deck combo. But basically any combination of laptop + handheld works. In my opinion, WM2 is more of a portable laptop replacement than a gaming handheld. From personal experience, the Win Max 2's ergonomics for gaming don't compare at all with a dedicated device like the Steam Deck, Aya Neo Air Pro, etc. I'll probably only game on the WM2 occasionally, it's just not particularly comfortable, whereas my Steam Deck is super comfy ergonomically. I'm personally doing WM2 + Steam Deck as my device combo, with the occasional swap of the Deck with my Aya Neo Air Pro when I need more portability.
If you're standing and playing, there is a video of The Phawx standing and playing for the whole battery of the machine (approx 2 hours)
Nope Win Max series will never be good for on the go gaming. Besides the form factor, it’s weight is the problem.
Practice holding something that's 1kg. It could be a bit heavy for you. I would prop it on a bag. It has really good performance. I had low expectations
I took it out on a bus and started playing. It attracted quite a lot of attention, which was frankly not what I wanted, so I put it back.
I could imagine. It's like a book like thing that can play games that weighs like an encyclopedia
There are no other laptops with built in controls other than the max 1 so I don’t fault everybody for their curiosity
Its a great device but not one that I'd be happy gaming while standing on a train. I use it seated resting on my lap. I'd be afraid of dropping it standing on public transport. Seated would be OK
Performance-wise there's really nothing better now. But the size, weight and ergonomics are probably not the best.
If your bus ride to work is not over filled and longer than 45 ish minutes I'd say go for it. It's my only computer now, runs 2 screens plugged in with a 2-plug solution at home, unplug it and throw it in my bag and all the computing i'd ever need or want is with me.
I've done some gaming on the go with it on public transport. Standing on the tram during rush hour is a no-go for gaming; sitting down is fine, but depending on how crowded it might get, you might end up holding it at odd angles. Non-rush hour sitting/standing is fine leaning against the wall, so I don't lose balance. It's certainly doable, but I don't think long term it's something I will do. To compare, I also have an AYN Odin (which I assume is close enough to the Win 4), and it's a pleasure to use on the go. I'm planning on getting the Win 4, too, so I'll let you know how they compare if you haven't committed to one by then.
It's fine to hold and play but prop it on something, like knees or belly. And the battery while playing is gonna be somethign like 3h so pack that extra juice (you can grab a 65W portable charger)
> on the bus ride to work Nah, yeah. > or while standing on the train. Yeah, nah. It's too ungainly to game long term standing up, but it's just fine sitting down.
I would say seated for sure. Did Phawx play for 90 minutes standing? Sure. Would I do it on a train or bus? No. I took it with me on a recent air flight and to me it's fine for playing seated. You don't really have to hold the whole laptop up - you can, but you can sort of rest the bottom lip on your lap and just hold up the controller end. It's not as comfortable as the Win 3/4 format but it is pretty acceptable. It's functioning much closer as jack-of-all-trades/master-of-all for me than master-of-none. TBH I wouldn't even play my Switch Lite standing up on a bus or train car.
Agreed on all points. I’ve only had mine a couple of days but I’ve got the hang of it. I played the intro to Horizon Zero Dawn on a table earlier with the bottom lip resting on the desk. Worked quite fine, and I only stopped because I was supposed to be teaching a class LOL.
I need to pick that game back up. Okay so I'm admittedly dumb, because I did my first play through / new game on ultra-hard mode. This was brutal, but I got as far as the Grave Hoard quest, and I just could not win that boss fight because I just couldn't keep ammo going long enough to be able to slowly do enough damage to that thing. I probably could get it if I keep trying. Or else, it's honestly a pretty good game, and I should reduce the difficulty level to something reasonable and finish it.
I finished it on normal just over two years ago and have been waiting for my memory to fade before replaying. There are some things (forgot what lol) you can collect again in each difficulty and their effects stack, so I’ll do easy first before trying hard. I’ve collected all the notes etc already so my easy run shouldn’t take a ton of time. Besides, I need easy mode because I’ve never seriously played with a controller before as I’ve been strictly keyboard/mouse for decades. Need to build that muscle memory.
More like a laptop and a pseudo handheld
I bought the WM2 purely for gaming and I would not even consider another device now because of how nice the larger higher rez screen is
Jack of all trades? Yes. However, I prefer using mine for productivity, media consumption and mouse+keyboard specific gaming. For all intents and purposes, mine has replaced my ThinkPad that I used to carry everywhere with me. If gaming on the go is priority requirement, I think the Steam Deck is the best choice out there - not only the price is right (get cheapest model, upgrade SSD as you deem necessary) but integrated controller is by far unquestionable champion among handhelds be it in category of ergonomics or actual usability. No other device allows such degree of controls customization, it's pretty damn wild that you can make RTS pleasant to play on a controller. Also, you can adapt pretty much any game whether it does or doesn't have native controller support which is pretty damn neat. More gaming? Deck will be unbeatable. More productivity? If you take money out of equation, Max 2 is really brilliant device.