The Antec Core HS is a handheld gaming PC with a 6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS LCD display that slides upward to reveal a QWERTY keyboard designed for thumb typing. Under the hood the system is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor with Radeon 780M mobile graphics.

If it looks familiar, that's because the Antec Core HS is basically a rebranded version of the AYANEO Slide, which launched late last year. But the Antec model has at least one advantage: thanks to a launch promotion you can pick one up for as little as $499, which is $200 less than AYANEO charges for an entry-level model.

The starting price will get you a model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but there's also a $699 Antec Core HS Launch Promotion Bundle that includes a 32GB/2TB model, a carrying case, tempered glass screen protector, a docking station, and a set of "performance thumb sticks."

Both models feature LPDDR5X memory and a (kind of) user-replaceable M.2 2280 SSD for PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage.

Other features include a 46.2 Wh battery, two USB4 ports, a microSD card reader, and support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The handheld measures 226 x 90 x 28.5mm (8.9″ x 3.5″ x 1.1″) and weighs 650 grams (1.43 pounds).

The Ryzen 7 7840U processor that makes this handheld tick is virtually identical to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme in the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. The only real difference is that the 7840U has an NPU for hardware-accelerated AI. And the only difference between this chip and the newer Ryzen 7 8840U is that the newer model has a better NPU.

While AMD does have newer mobile chips that promise big gains in CPU and graphics performance, $499 is still a pretty great price for a handheld with this particular processor.

The AYANEO Slide/Antec Core HS is also one of a very small number of modern handheld gaming PCs with physical keyboards. The only real competition is the GPD Win 4 handheld or mini-laptops like the GPD Win Mini and GPD Win Max 2.

Whether you need a thumb keyboard on a handheld made for gaming is probably up for debate, but it also probably depends on the games you want to play. And a frequent criticism of Windows handhelds is that the operating system is really designed for laptops and desktops which can make it difficult to navigate on a device without a keyboard and mouse or touchpad. Including a keyboard could go some way toward mitigating that issue.

via /r/ayaneo

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