If you are in the market for a portable console, then you have to check out the GPD Win 3. It is said to be the world’s first Windows 10 slider bar handheld game console, and honestly, this is one gadget that cannot be ignored. At $799, the Win 3 is one of the most feature-packed consoles we’ve seen in recent times and will soon be going live on Indiegogo as a crowdfunded project.

The Win 3 handheld console is powered by the latest 11th-gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor which includes four cores, eight threads, and the new Intel Xe GPU that has 80 Execution Units (EU). For an extra $100, you can bump up to an Intel Core i7-1165G7 that has a 96 EU Intel Xe GPU which should be slightly more powerful. That’s not all, both the models come with 16GB of LPDDR4-4266 RAM and a 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD. Since the device is rocking the latest 11th-gen Intel processors, there is support for PCIe 4.0 drives in case you want super-fast faster read and write speeds. The IPS display measures at 5.5-inches with a 720p resolution, which seems fair.

GPD Win 3: Specifications

The company claims that users can expect 60fps+ on a variety of latest AAA-titles on default graphics settings. To prove their claims, the company has put up videos of the console running games like GTA V and Monster Hunter World running just below 50fps at high settings while Battlefield 1 and Borderlands 3 going over 60fps, though we would advise keeping your expectations a little low for Cyberpunk 2077. To take care of thermals, there is a PWM cooling fan on the inside along with dual heat pipes. Depending on the model you choose, the TDP can be custom set by entering the BIOS. These include three options: 15-18W, 18-22W, 22-28W.

The GPD Win 3 is shaped like a modern handheld console with the screen sitting in the center flanked by two joysticks on each side along with a variety of buttons all around. The screen slides up to reveal a white backlit QWERTY touch keyboard, which should make it easier to input text, especially since it is running Windows 10. It also comes with a variety of extra features that you might not see on a handheld console including a fingerprint scanner unlock key, a Windows-compatible Xbox key, a USB Type-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, L1-L2/R1-R2 shoulder buttons, L3/R3 rear buttons, dual vibration motors, and a gamepad/mouse switch key. Other standard features include a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 4, a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and 65W fast charging. There is also an external dock that expands the connectivity by adding a wired ethernet port, HDMI, and more USB Type-A and Type-C ports. This way you can hook it up to an external monitor and use it as a desktop.

The Win 3 is yet to go live on Indiegogo but a preview page of the product is already live and can be accessed over here. It is definitely one of the most unique gadgets we have seen in a while as you don’t really expect a mini-PC to be touted as a handheld gaming console. Still, we would love to see the capabilities of this machine in real life. Considering its compact nature, the GPD Win 3 could turn out to be a solid competitor to the Nintendo Switch if they manage to achieve scale. Do keep in mind that it is a crowdfunded project, and all the standard caveats for the same apply here as well.