GPD WIN Mini 2024

As a busy father, I love being able to play on the go. Even at home, I find it too inconvenient to pull out my laptop when I can play my Mini on the couch!

The amount of power in a device this small is astonishing. Keep it at 15w so it doesn’t get too hot. If you’re someone who wants to run this chip at 20W or higher there are better devices for that. This is about portability and size. AND VRR!!! Makes such a difference

The GPD Win Mini 2024 is my second GPD Win machine I bought from Droix - the first being the Win Max 2 6800u. As before, it was delivered timely and comes with that warranty just in case something happens.

As for the Mini, I think it is a near perfect machine (at least with the tech available today). The Win Max was great with the larger screen (and all the storage and expansion options), but it was too big to be "pocketable" and honestly just by going a little larger you can get a full laptop experience (without the game pad controls of course). With the Max, I would just use my Steam Deck more often.

However, the Mini is great! It is unbelievable how small this thing is in person - depending on what I wear, it can actually fit in my pocket! The keyboard is very blackberry-ish but really not that bad. Not sure if I would write a novel with it, but it is very usable and I did some coding with it.

As for battery life and fan noise - definitely use the Motion Control app (or similar) to make changes. For the most part I use 8w to extend battery for normal PC things and then increase it if needed for gaming. And the fan noise is a bit high and the default profile runs faster than needed. I put the Mini in mode Fan 1 in Motion Control and it tames that whine. In battery life, the Deck OLED wins hands down but the Mini isn't too bad. For normal everyday tasks out and about Windows estimates around 5 hours or so. Gaming will definitely reduce that, depending on your wattage. So expect 1.5+ hours or so if ramping up the wattage.

Windows itself isn't too bad - just wish they had a reliable sleep mode. I've changed everything to hibernate so you don't find the Mini awake in your bag making a lot of heat and wasting battery. That is one area where the Steam Deck absolutely wins - just tap the power button and you get reliable sleep. Also, the Deck wins on the built in performance controls and overlays. With the Mini, you need to install other apps, hope you get the right versions working together, customize a bit, and finally you can get similar controls. This is more on Windows than the Mini, but would be nice to have something more all-inclusive from GPD. I know ASUS has a pretty good one for the Ally (comparatively) that has settings for overlays, power controls, etc. I have not tried the Droix sponsored app (Handheld companion I think is the name) yet as I have everything working so don't want to mess anything up.

As for the Mini display - I don't notice and backlight bleed and the 120hz and VRR is very nice! Alongside the Steam Deck OLED, it loses out on colors and contrast but honestly it isn't that big a gap especially considering 120hz and VRR.

Finally, the Mini controls... they are pretty good considering the size. The Deck wins out, especially as there is more range in the joysticks, but its practically twice the size. The joysticks on the Mini feel better than the ROG Ally - the Ally's just didn't have enough resistance so always felt a little weird.

Outside of the power/overlay controls and the sleep functionality, my biggest wish for the Min was some sort of Windows Hello support - either (reliable) thumbprint or face. That would make it so much easier when starting up.

Overall, I am very pleased with this. It really is a very powerful, very portable PC that you can bring with you practically everywhere to do the things your phone can't. Plus my experience with Droix has been great! I haven't had the need yet to use them for support, but I have the peace of mind that Droix is there.

It's even better when using Bazzite. I highly recommend a three partition, dual boot setup. Windows and Bazzite OSes on one partition each, and games on the third.

This is my fourth handheld PC. I've previously owned the original 256gb Steam Deck, the 1TB Steam Deck OLED, the 1TB Lenovo Legion Go and now this 2024 2TB 32GB ram Win Mini and without a doubt this is my favorite handheld I've ever used. It's the first handheld PC I've used I actually do leave the house with (I'd actually go so far as to say I seldom leave home without it). It fits right in my pocket and plays literally everything at stable framerates! Comfort isn't always the best for prolonged playing sessions but that's to be expected given the form factor, and it's certainly not uncomfortable just a little less comfy to hold than the other handhelds I've tried. It absolutely blows them out of the water in usability however, having a full size keyboard is a game changer. From having full access to every windows functionality without having to dink around with dodgy touch screen solutions to easily pulling up consoles or having access to Alt F4 or Alt Tab in games, it makes the experience of using the thing infinitely better than the other devices I've tried. Everything I've done on it from media consumption to gaming to productivity has been nothing short of phenomenal and I can't recommend it enough.