People were excited when the portable Steam Deck was announced since it packs an adequate-sized computer into a less bulky enclosure than the NDS.
Even though pre-orders were brisk, Valve was forced to delay the game’s release until February instead of its original goal of a December 2021 release date.
However, Valve isn’t the only option for portable gaming PCs, nor is it the most powerful.
Aya Neo, a considerably smaller firm than Valve, has launched a formidable challenger in the shape of the Ayaneo Next, which improves Ayaneo’s existing portable PC gaming devices.
Some gamers call the Aya Neo Next a “Steam Deck killer” in the handheld community. This article compares the features of Aya Neo Next and Steam Deck and why you may choose one.
Aya Neo Next Vs. Steam Deck Specs
For starters, we need to look at Aya Neo Next’s SoC, which is AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, while Valve’s ACustom PU for the Steam Deck uses an ACustom PU made by AMD. In other words, the strengths of each party are balanced out.
Second, the CPU and GPU share RAM memory in both circumstances because the memory configuration is UMA.
The AYA NEO Next has 32 GB LPDDR4X @ 4,266 MHz and a bandwidth of 68 GB/s, whereas the Steam Deck has 16GB LPDDR5 with an 88Gb/s bus.
This is a no-brainer for Valve’s console, given how closely linked graphics card performance is to the RAM’s speed and how RDNA 2 outperforms Vega in terms of the overall design.
In addition, storage is an important consideration. While impressive, the AYA NEO’s 2TB NVMe SSD storage is the primary reason for the device’s higher starting price of $1200 compared to the $400 of the Steam Deck’s initial model.
Despite Steam Deck’s lack of an NVMe SSD unit, it is ideal as a retro system and emulator.
Operating System
Users can run Windows games on a video game console using Steam Deck’s operating system, SteamOS, rather than the native Proton interpreter because of SteamOS’s high level of compatibility and lack of CPU burden.
It’s a waste of time to have a firewall and antivirus on a machine if you’re only going to play games.
This is possible because of their security, although this should be the operating system’s responsibility.
Though the Steam Deck’s four Zen 2 cores are a bit short for future games, a version with more cores, like the Ryzen 6000, would be preferable.
It is still true that the entire operating system load on the AYA NEO APU, which has 8 Zen 3 cores, restricts its potential.
Trackpads
Your Steam Controller features two trackpads, one for each thumb, which is great for games that often require a mouse, such as MOBAs.
However, unlike the Steam Deck, the AYA NEO Next does not have them. Thus, you may be forced to play these games using analog sticks, which are noticeably more inconvenient.
Cost
All these high-end specs come at a cost, and that cost is very real for the Aya Neo Next.
The Next’s starting price is $1,265. Meanwhile, the entry-level Steam Deck is $399, which is much less expensive.
The 512GB SSD Steam Deck costs $649, while the 256GB model costs $529. This is less than half the cost of Ayaneo Next’s basic model.
Aya Neo Next vs Steam Deck: Which One Should You Get?
The Aya Neo Next will likely outperform the Steam Deck in most games, especially those that rely heavily on the CPU.
However, the Steam Deck is more likely to be successful due to its Linux OS, official compatibility with hundreds of Steam titles, and price reduction of approximately $1000 compared to the Aya Neo Next.
Having the Deck as a basic device implies that the Steam Deck will be lighter, more portable, and have a considerably superior price-to-performance ratio than its predecessors. Which one should you go with?
Compared to the Steam Deck, the Aya Neo Next is a good choice if you’re looking for a more powerful device with larger internal storage and are willing to spend a little extra.
For those looking for an excellent handheld gaming device with a huge selection of games at a fair price, Steam Deck is the way to go.
