Like the Nintendo Switch, the GPD Win 3 is a handheld gaming device with a 5.5-inch display in the middle and game controllers on the left and right sides.
It is designed for casual gaming. The GPD Win 3 has the processing power of a full-fledged Windows 10 computer and is capable of running many contemporary PC games, whereas the Switch is a gaming console built primarily for video games.
The Win 3 is powered by an Intel Core Tiger Lake U processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics and a total power consumption of 20 watts (by default).
It has a 1TB PCIe NVMe solid-state drive and 16GB of LPDDR4x memory, respectively.
The Win 3 has a touchscreen display that can be opened to reveal a capacitive touch keyboard that is only (nearly) adequate for entering short quantities of text. However, it is intended to be used as a gaming machine rather than a productivity device.
The Win 3 has the heart of a competent laptop but in a smaller package (with a lousier keyboard).
However, those benefits come at a price. While a Nintendo Switch may be purchased for $300, the GPD Win 3 is available for pre-order for $799 and higher through an Indiegogo crowdfunding effort.
Is it, therefore, a smart buy? What you are looking for in a handheld computer will determine this.
The GPD Win 3 is a fantastic portable gaming computer. However, its unique form factor makes it difficult to recommend if you’re looking for a system that can do more than just play games.
Specification
| Display | 5.5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel IPS 84-percent NTSC color gamut Gorilla Glass 5 Slides up to reveal keyboard |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-1135G7 or Core i7-1165G7 15W to 28W TDP |
| Memory | 16GB LPDDR4x-4266 |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe 80 EUs (Core i5) or 96 EUs (Core i7) |
| Wireless | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe SSD microSDXC card reader (supports A2 cards with 160MB/s speeds) |
| Battery & charging | 44 Wh battery 65W power adapter (1.5 hours for a full charge) |
| Ports | 1 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB Type-A 1 x 3.5mm audio |
| Battery life (estimated) | 3 hours of heavy use 6-8 hours of moderate use 14 hours of light use |
| Game controllers | Analog L2/R2 triggers Dual analog sticks (press down for L3/R3) D-Pad X, Y, A, B keys Dual vibration motors Fingerprint sensor |
| Keyboard | Capacitive touch Backlit Hidden behind screen |
| Cooling | Active (fan + dual heat pipes) |
| Materials | Magnesium alloy & ABS plastic |
| Docking station | 1 x HDMI 2.0b 1 x Gigabit Ethernet 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps) 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps) |
| Dimensions | 198mm x 92mm x 27mm (7.8″ x 3.6″ x 1.1″) |
| Colors | All black or silver black |
| Weight | 560 grams (1.23 pounds) |
Design
In addition to a small yet bright display with good viewing angles, the Win 3 is surrounded by game controllers on all four sides.
The analog sticks are clickable and pleasant to the touch. The left side has a D-Pad resembling the Playstation Vita’s and the Select and Start buttons.
Immediately behind the fingerprint reader is a row of buttons, including the A, B, X, and Y buttons, and a small Xbox button.
The fingerprint sensor eliminates the need to flip up the screen and key in a password or PIN.
Aside from that, there are two additional shoulder buttons, the L1/R1 and L2/R2, as well as analog triggers on the L2 and R2 buttons, which allow you to progressively raise the speed in racing games, among other things.
On the bottom of the Win 3, you’ll find stereo down-firing speakers and a Thunderbolt 4 connector, which can be utilized for charging, data transmission, and video output, among other tasks.
GPD incorporates a 65W USB-C power converter for charging the small PC in a short amount of time.
The company offers a Thunderbolt docking station for purchase that features three USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.0b port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Keyboard
The GPD Win 3 is the fourth small gaming computer produced by the firm.
Models from the GPD Win series, such as the Win 2 and Win Max, were designed in a clamshell style similar to that of a laptop computer.
When the lid of previous-generation GPD Win devices is opened, the keyboard and game controllers are revealed, allowing you to type with your fingers.
Instead of a lid that lifts open to reveal Win 3’s characteristic capacitive touch keyboard, the display glides upward to reveal it.
The slider mechanism appears to be of high quality in terms of construction.
It’s possible to slide the screen up or down with one thumb, but it’s locked into place in either position and doesn’t appear to be moving soon.
The GPD Win 3’s capacitive keyboard is perfectly flat and smooth and feels great in hand.
While using the keyboard, it glows and vibrates to provide haptic feedback whenever a key is pressed.
But because you can’t feel the keys, the only way to verify if you’re pressing the correct key is to stare at the keyboard rather than the screen or spend significant time getting acclimated to the keyboard’s configuration.
In addition, the keyboard has another fault: it is a touch too large for comfortable thumb typing.
The Shift, Fn, and Ctrl keys are to the left of the keyboard, and they are all used for navigation.
You can capitalize the letter W by using Shift and stretching your right thumb across the keyboard.
You can also use the Caps lock key to input one capital letter and then hit it again to revert to lowercase on the keyboard.
Is it any good for Gaming?
Here are several reasons why the Win 3 performs so well in mobile gaming:
- In recent years, Intel has made significant advancements in integrated graphics, and the Iris Xe integrated GPUs are competitive with previous-generation entry-level NVIDIA discrete graphics, such as the GeForce MX250 and MX350.
- Many laptops with these processors have a total power consumption (TDP) of 15 watts. A higher degree of overclocking may be possible to achieve even better outcomes.
- Even though these CPUs can handle simple games on larger laptops, the vast majority of notebook computers equipped with these processors have displays that have a resolution of at least 1080 pixels per inch (px). With a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, the Win 3’s display has fewer pixels to fill than a typical laptop display, allowing the integrated graphics to perform a little better than expected for a laptop in this price range.
Other Features
Furthermore, the 5.5-inch display with 1280 720 pixels is out of the usual for 2021, with its resolution of 1280 720 pixels.
Some apps may not run on your computer if you use a display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels or higher.
If this is the case, you may want to adjust the scaling options in Windows so that images and text seem larger.
In contrast, the GPD Win 3 is a small computer that packs more punch than most laptops in this price range, thanks to a relatively fast processor and graphics card, ample RAM, and more storage than most laptops in this price range.
If your Win 3 has a Thunderbolt 4 port and a USB 3.0 Type-A port, you have many options for expanding its capabilities.
After connecting a mouse, a display, and a keyboard, do you want to run Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Premiere on it? That is a possibility, to be sure.
Is it necessary to have a device to watch Netflix or YouTube videos? It’s not a problem at all.
However, if you want better sound, you can always use headphones or combine Bluetooth speakers with headphones if the speakers aren’t loud enough.
