Playstation’s Portable Comeback.
The PlayStation Portal is a handheld companion to Sony’s PlayStation 5 console.
It features a custom APU for AAA capability, with support for many of your favorite games.
Quick Links
The world of handheld gaming has seriously upped its game lately.
Here’s how to take advantage of your Epic Games library on the Steam Deck.
Both these units are ultra-compact powerhouses ready to tackle sophisticated games in ways we used to only dream about.
The Steam Deck is Valve’s entry in the handheld PC market, harnessing the power of its Steam storefront. It features a custom APU for AAA capability, with support for many of your favorite games.
Display and Visuals
The Steam Deck packs a seven-inch LCD touchscreen running at 1280x800 pixels.
Now we know what you may be thinking, that the resolution seems low by current standards.
Instead of rendering extra, unnecessary pixels, it maintains smooth frame rates for extended mobile gameplay.
However, with game streaming dependent on Wi-Fi, that image quality is not reliably better if connectivity falters.
Visibility also plays a key role in real world use.
Unfortunately, the Portal’s LCD is prone to glare and brightness problems when there’s ambient lighting.
Ergonomics And Controls
Plain and simple - the Portal and Steam Deck were built for gaming first.
This makes the transition very natural if you’re already deep undercover within Sony’s extravagant ecosystem.
Having these dedicated controls is crucial for responsive gameplay compared to relying on touchscreen overlays alone.
Performance And Game Compatibility
The Portal naturally gets all of the PlayStation 5’s mammoth processing abilities.
We’re talking cutting edge 4K visuals at up to 120 frames per second.
But that level of showcase doesn’t fully hold up when streaming to the Portal.
With Wi-Fi limitations, those visual tweaks and effects get scaled down a ton to maintain responsive frame rates.
On the flip side, the Steam Deck’s custom AMD APU was engineered specifically for handheld PC gaming.
And when you dock it to an external monitor?
You get a gosh-darn portable AAA powerhouse.
Keep your games running while on the go with these perfectly portable power banks for your Steam Deck.
Sony skips local storage entirely for the Portal since it streams games directly from your PS5’s SSD.
Valve, on the other hand, gives buyers some flexibility with Steam Deck models.
You’ve got options spanning from modest 64GB eMMC drives up to more capable 512GB NVMe SSD’s.
Power users planning big game collections locally will want the 256GB or 512GB SKU’s.
And every Deck can augment storage through MicroSD cards, so you could tack on terabytes if needed!
So, PlayStation gamers could be limited to first-party headsets as their only wireless audio options while mobile.
The wired expansion tells a similar tale, unfortunately.
Yet Sony chose a closed-off approach by locking the Portal’s USB-C to charging only.
Now, we have no doubt, that still ain’t cheap.
But for the investment, buyers get Windows versatility and customization that the Portal just can’t touch.
For PlayStation die-hards, the Portal has obvious appeal for continuing your library on the go.
These accessories will enhance your PS Portal experience.
