The Ayaneo 2 is one of the most compelling and powerful pieces of tech I’ve ever reviewed. Ayaneo isn’t a new company, but for many readers this may be the first time they’ve seen the company work.
These days, most people think of Steam decks for portable gaming devices. This is Valve’s device, so it’s the most widely advertised, but it’s not the only option on the market. Ayaneo 2 is a more powerful device compared to what Steam Deck can output. However, they are more expensive than Valve’s devices.
Ayaneo 2 caters to different users. Some people can’t get Steam decks in their region, and others want to spend a little more money to get a powerful and flexible portable PC gaming experience. It’s not cheap hardware, but it works all around.
What is Ayaneo 2?
Ayaneo 2 is a portable Windows 11 device powered by AMD Ryzen 7 6800U CPU and AMD Radeon 680M GPU. With an onboard 16GB and 1TB SSD, you can quickly load your favorite games into this device and play on the go. My package also came with an optional dock. This just adds to what you can do with the Ayaneo handheld.
The dock adds an HDMI port, cat5 cable port, Thunderbolt and more. Connect Ayaneo 2 to your TV using a Bluetooth keyboard/controller, or leave it docked and left on your desk for gaming while the system charges.
The D-pad is also great on this device. It’s great to navigate and is stable in most fighting games I’ve played. At the top is a large bumper/trigger pair, two USB-C ports, and a fingerprint sensor/power button.
Also, there is a USB-C slot, a MicroSD slot, and a headphone jack on the bottom. It’s easy to plug in your device while playing Hades in the comfort of your own home without interrupting your gameplay.
We reviewed the sleek white Ayaneo 2 with a bezel-less 8.4-inch IPS display. It looks gorgeous and all the games I played were crystal clear. This product retails for $1099 on IndieGoGo, but you can do a lot with it.
Ayaneo 2 specs
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
- GPUs: AMD Radeon 680M
- sheep: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
- panel: 8.4 type IPS
When you set up Ayaneo 2, Windows 11 is pre-installed, making it easy to set up and play. There is also an AyaSpace app that provides some functionality. From there you can load games and adjust device settings, such as his RGB lighting around the stick.
One of the few issues I’ve had with this device is that updating the AyaSpace software almost always resets it to Chinese text. It’s easy to fix and may have been updated by the time the device hit the public market.
You can also press the AyaButton. This will bring up a series of options to adjust. You can also adjust the power settings in this area. There are several defaults to choose from: Gaming (12W), Balanced (8W), Power Saver (5W), and Pro Mode (5W). In short, Ayaneo 2 is an easily accessible device.
performance and battery life
We benchmarked Ayaneo 2 on multiple devices and the numbers did not disappoint. The device is equipped with a powerful AMD Radeon 680M GPU, but this handheld excels in games that demand CPU performance. In particular, this is a great emulation system.
As part of this review, I tested several emulators, ranging from SNES to PS2 era games, and they worked brilliantly. We didn’t test on the latest emulators, but after doing some research we found that some modern consoles can run well on this hardware.
I ran the Benchmark software in several different settings, especially 3D Mark. In this morning’s gaming setup benchmark test, the GPU rated 1,525 and the CPU rated 5,134.
Different power settings affect battery life. Even graphics-intensive games lasted about two hours on average. But thanks to the dock, I was able to lean it up and connect the controllers and play straight away, so the dock charged. If I wasn’t at my desk, I would be doing this a lot.
Gaming performance varied, but was satisfying
Of course, I had to play a lot of games on the Ayaneo 2. I downloaded Witcher 3, Yakuza 7, Modern Warfare 2, Need for Speed Unbound, and DragonBall FighterZ. These weren’t the only games I played.
At first everything I played was terrible. No matter what I do, it’s just slow and miserable. At this point I realized that the Ayaneo 2 was not set to the proper resolution.
The recommended resolution was 1920×1200, so everything worked fine when I switched. Yakuza 7 had to lower the resolution a bit more. This made the game playable.
The Witcher 3 played smoothly with few to no issues. Combat was fluid and riding was a fun experience. The game that took the most effort to get it working was Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I had to set the setting closer to medium. However, that doesn’t mean the game is ugly. Even Ayaneo 2 looked beautiful.
The next game I focused on was Dragon Ball FighterZ. We went into training mode with a small team and pushed out as many of his particles as possible. No lag at all. This led me to play some fighting games, but sadly Street Fighter V was very slow and felt laggy. It was like swimming in water.
I’ve also played around with Warzone in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and it played great as long as I had a decent internet connection. It didn’t end up working for me in Warzone, but that’s not what we’re here to judge. Another title I recently tried was Need for Speed Unbound.
It wasn’t easy to drive, especially when trying to record one-handed, but it was smooth and typically loaded quickly. The first load is always terrifying, but it’s fine for the rest of the gameplay experience.
Naturally, as an MMO player, I also had to test an MMO on Ayaneo 2. Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft are played with this using a controller. World of Warcraft now supports controllers. It was a pain to bind the buttons however you like, but it’s possible. I don’t participate in current raids or anything like that, but if you want to do some level grind with an easy class (EG: Rogue) that’s fine.
Final Fantasy XIV was a different beast.The controller’s built-in sticks and buttons for gameplay don’t register. I could set up a keyboard via the dock and plug in a controller, but I wouldn’t want to play his MMO on the go that way anyway. But it worked and I didn’t feel any explicit lag except at the most intense moments.
Conclusion
If you’re willing to face a $1,000 price tag and are looking for a portable PC or an outstanding portable gaming experience, this is the device for you. Having a built-in 1 TB SSD sold it.
I’m glad I didn’t get another microSD, but I plan to get one anyway. If you need more power, you can plug this into your GPU enclosure.
The Ayaneo 2’s build and design are incredibly high quality, with decent battery life. Setting it up takes a bit of getting used to, but he soon fell in love with the Ayaneo device.
It’s powerful, looks great, and plays just about every game I’ve tested just fine. It’s essentially a Windows 11 machine designed to look like a portable game console. This device rivals gaming performance on a PC.
ayaneo 2
product: ayaneo 2
release date: December 2022
cost: $1,099
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
GPUs: AMD Radeon 680M
sheep: 16 GB
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
panel: 8.4 type IPS
OS: Windows 11, 64-bit
Size: 264.6×105.5×215mm
weight: 1.5 lbs (680g)
