Portable gaming PCs have made PC gaming more relevant than ever before. One of the greatest advantages of PC gaming over console is the virtually inexhaustible library of games. Unlike consoles, which lose backwards compatibility at some point in their lives, even the oldest PC games can be revisited. At this point, you have literally tens of thousands of PC games to choose from. In the past, the trade-off was mobility; you either had to make do with a stationary desktop computer or lug around a gaming-worthy laptop. Not so anymore.
With the advent of portable gaming PCs, your entire library of PC games is at your fingertips. Now you can play Clair Obscur, Hades, Silksong or Baldur's Gate on a device not much bigger than a Switch console. Some of these portable devices are quite expensive, and the highest-end models can cost over $1,000. Luckily, several SteamOS models are heavily discounted for Black Friday, including one of our favorites. SteamOS is more intuitive to use on a portable device than Windows, and anyone who wants a simple, error-free plug and play experience that “just works” should stick with this over a Windows-based portable device.
Lenovo Legion Go S Z1 Extreme SteamOS Edition
Best Buy's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off with great deals on gaming gear. Perhaps the best deal I've found so far is the Lenovo Legion Go S Z1 Extreme SteamOS Portable Gaming PC, which has dropped to $649.99 after a $250 instant rebate. This is a more powerful model with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and easily ranks among best gaming laptops powered by steam available at the moment. Essentially, this is an improved Steam Deck. check out Jackie Legion Go S Reviewin which it concludes that it is one of the “best portable gaming PCs on the market and a legitimate Steam Deck alternative.”
Lenovo Legion Go S Z2 Go SteamOS Edition
Lenovo Legion Go S 8″ Gaming Laptop AMD Ryzen Z2 Go 120Hz SteamOS (16GB/512GB)
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Also on sale is the Legion Go S Z2 Go Edition, currently priced at $449.99 after a $200 discount. Even though the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go is a second-generation chip, it is less powerful than the Z1 Extreme but more powerful than the Steam Deck APU. Since this version also runs SteamOS, you'll generally get better performance, especially if you lower the resolution to 1280×800. There are other advantages over the Steam Deck, such as a larger 8-inch display with a smoother 120Hz refresh rate, storage capacity that matches the most expensive Steam Deck models, and faster charging speeds.
Steam Deck, 256 GB, LCD version
256GB Steam Deck LCD Gaming Laptop
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For Black Friday, Steam has reduced the discount on its base model with a 7-inch 1280×800 LCD display and 256GB of storage to $319.99, which is a 20% discount from the $400 list price. If you're on a budget, you won't find a less expensive gaming laptop. Every Steam deck features the same processor, so the base model will still run games as smoothly as a top-of-the-line $650 system. You can also upgrade the storage yourself using some technical know-how.
Eric Song is IGN's Business Manager, responsible for finding the best deals in gaming and technology every day. When Eric isn't looking for deals for other people at work, he's looking for deals for himself in his free time.
