GPD WIN MAX 2 Gaming Handheld PC

First things first, i love the GPD WINAX 2. I know this company since the first GPD handheld which was an android based emulation device, loved it!
Once i received the win max 2 i had a little bit of trouble with the stability of the system, experiencing random crashes when i let the device idle but now when i was gaming, weird i know. Their support team was more than helpful and patient in offering real solutions such as changing certain settings in the BIOS and so. After some tweaking by both, their team and yours truly i was able to get stability in the device, and honestly i can't be more happy with it.
The Win Max 2 is a little beast, handling heavy games such as Elden Ring without breaking a sweat, my ROG Zephyrus and Lenovo Legion make much more noise and get hotter than this baby.
If you decide to get it, you may need to do some firmware and software tuning but if you are patient and willing, you will end up with a great device, also don't be afraid of reaching out to their support team, they are very helpful!

First things first, i love the GPD WINAX 2. I know this company since the first GPD handheld which was an android based emulation device, loved it!
Once i received the win max 2 i had a little bit of trouble with the stability of the system, experiencing random crashes when i let the device idle but now when i was gaming, weird i know. Their support team was more than helpful and patient in offering real solutions such as changing certain settings in the BIOS and so. After some tweaking by both, their team and yours truly i was able to get stability in the device, and honestly i can't be more happy with it.
The Win Max 2 is a little beast, handling heavy games such as Elden Ring without breaking a sweat, my ROG Zephyrus and Lenovo Legion make much more noise and get hotter than this baby.
If you decide to get it, you may need to do some firmware and software tuning but if you are patient and willing, you will end up with a great device, also don't be afraid of reaching out to their support team, they are very helpful!

I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the best laptop that I have ever owned. The form factor is perfect, it's small enough to be ultra-portable but not too small as to not be able to work comfortably with it. I had a GPD Pocket 2 before this and while I enjoyed the portability of it, I always felt that it was a tad too small.

The build quality of the Win Max 2 is exceptional. You can really see and feel the quality, with the all metal construction. The keyboard is great to type on and the trackpad is quite good for it's size (supports multi-touch gestures).

The built in game controls are amazing. The only things I would personally like to see changed with them for the next generation is that I would prefer the left thumbstick to be on the right of the directional pad instead of the left. It's awkward to work the left triggers with the position that it's in.

The mouse control mode for the game controls is also not as flexible as it should be in the sense that the triggers can't be remapped at all, and the a, b, x, y buttons can't be mapped to click or scroll (which would be great). It should also be possible to set the cursor sensitivity and acceleration.

I personally don't use the built in mouse mode at all, I instead use the Handheld Companion software which is amazing. I have it so when I long press the start button it switches between game control and desktop control modes in the software. I have the x, b buttons mapped as left and right click, and the a, y buttons mapped as scroll down, scroll up.

I find this extremely comfortable to use and I have been using the joystick to control the mouse almost all the time as I find it more comfortable to use than the trackpad. It reminds me of using the mouse control knub on my old IBM Thinkpad, only it's more comfortable and precise. It's really cool to be able to use a combination of the joystick, the trackpad, and the touchscreen to control the mouse. Sometimes I switch it up a bit to help with fatigue.

I have the model with the AMD 8840U CPU, 64GB of RAM, 2TB OS drive, I have added a 2TB M.2 SSD in the expansion port and a 1.5TB SD card in the Micro-SD slot. This thing is powerful enough to play even recent games at reasonable settings. It's also nice to be able to control the TDP via Handheld Companion to reduce battery drain. I have it use the full 28W TDP when plugged in but it scales down to 15W TDP automaatically when on battery. The CPU has 8 cores, 16 threads, boosting to as high as 5ghz.

If you're looking for an ultra compact powerhouse this is it. I highly highly recommend it.

Thus device is awesome. Handles most games impressively. My biggest complaint is the analog sticks. For a $1300 handheld gaming console id expect sticks comparable to a ROG Ally, Steam deck, or Xbox controller, these feel like PSP or switch sticks. They have nearly 40% travel or throw than normal sticks, therefore precise movements are near impossible, in addition, these do not track circularly. They are square. And they aren't even equally square corners. There are alot of threads discussing this and it is a known issue by GPD. I wish I could send it in to be serviced and upgraded. My second largest gripe is the screen. You cannot call this a gaming console for $1300 at 60hz refresh rate. I hope they offer an upgrade in the future as I will be the replacement screen if its a higher refresh rate. Finally, this device with its flaws in 2024 is not worth over $1,000.

I’m having a great time using my WIN MAX 2. Its only been about two weeks, but I’m very happy with my purchase. Everything feels very premium.