When we talk about gaming handhelds, the recipe for it is quite straightforward: put a screen on it, add handheld buttons, and use components typically designed for laptops – which obviously includes a battery. However, the GPD WIN 5 lacks exactly that, in its quest to cram the most powerful laptop Ryzen chip available on the market today.
GPD WIN 5, A Handheld Without Battery?
Let’s start by talking what exactly is packed inside the GPD WIN 5 first. According to this video from The Phawx, This handheld from the Chinese-based handheld maker features two processor options: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and Ryzen AI Max 385, each featuring Radeon 8060S and Radeon 8050S graphics respectively. The former features 40 Compute Units (CUs), while the latter features 32 – far beyond the number of CUs offered in handheld-focused Ryzen Z2 chips, which maxes out at just 16.
Crucially, to pack all these CPU and GPU power, the TDP of both chips are a fair bit higher than conventional Ryzen Z2 models, maxing out at 75 watts. This meant there are two trade-offs: one, the cooling requirements will be significant, requiring all available internal space to make way for as much cooling as possible; second, the limited space meant putting battery onboard will either make the device too thick, or the capacity will be too small to last any reasonable amounts of runtime.
As such, GPD dropped the idea of onboard batteries entirely, and instead opted for powering the device through an external 80Wh battery pack, or powered via 180W DC power supply directly with a dedicated connector. The battery pack allows for 2-6 hours of runtime depending on usage, and having them externally should at least cut some weight on the handheld itself (assuming it isn’t directly attached), although the exact figure isn’t publicized at this time.
The GPD WIN 5 is expected to launch globally sometime in October, but don’t expect it to be cheap among handhelds – given that you’ll be getting one of the most powerful laptop processor available in the size of a handheld (with graphics power fairly comparable to modern consoles), The Phawx said expect pricing exceeding $1,500 (~RM6,332) or more.
Pokdepinion: That is huge amounts of power on something barely bigger than a Nintendo Switch.
