GPD WIN Mini Indiegogo Campaign is Now Live

The highly acclaimed GPD WIN Mini, a device I have been hearing about a lot recently, has officially gone live on Indiegogo, and it looks stunning. It has a very interesting design with many features baked in and top-notch internals and support. So, with this in mind, let's look at what you could be in store for with this new handheld.

GPD WIN Mini Highlights

Design

Looking at the device, its design stands out the most. It features a miniature laptop-like aesthetic but has handles on the bottom (that can be detached) for a better grip while holding it. There are also two hall-effect joysticks, a Dpad, ABXY buttons, a touchpad in the middle of the buttons, dual AAC Hyper-Linear speakers, shoulder buttons right behind, and programmable macro keys at the top, allowing you to use it like a controller. It also sports a full backlit keyboard underneath it, making it easy to swap over and type on. Usually, keyboards like this don't vibe well with my fat thumbs, but it looks big enough to handle it.

The 7640 / 7840 APU + Battery

The WIN Mini has multiple different versions to order that have different configurations, which I detail below. Still, it will sport two different APUs to push the device's power: AMD's 7640U and 7840U. The 7840U is the higher end and one we have often seen in other devices like the AYANEO AIR 1S, KUN, and OneXFly. This chip is comparable to the ROG Ally's Z1 Extreme chip with 8 cores 16 threads, and is based on the Zen 4/RDNA 3 technology.

The 7640U is a slight step downwards. It still uses the Zen 4 / RDNA 3 that the more powerful chip uses, but it has 6 cores and 12 threads instead. It also only features 8CUs and 512 shaders instead of the 12CUs and 768 shaders the 7840 has. While this is still an impressive chip and will beat the performance of a Steam Deck, it falls behind the extra power the 7840 will bring to the table.

To power the device, it sports a 44.24Wh, which, compared to their old WIN 2, has a 50% increase in battery life. It is a slightly bigger battery than the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, by 4.24Wh, but I wouldn't consider this a significant difference. It is a good battery for a device like this, though!

Game Performance + Operating System

GPD has provided some benchmarks of the WIN Mini running specific games. This was all tested on the 7840U version with 16gb RAM, 1TB NVMe, and 1920x1080 resolution. It was also played on Windows 11 Home 64bit, which is the operating system the devices will come with:

The Screen

The GPD WIN Mini will feature a 7-inch screen with 1080p resolution. On top of that, it supports 60hz and 120hz refresh rates, 500nit brightness, 314 PPI, and has AF+AR anti-glare coating. 120hz is a fantastic addition, as playing games at 40 FPS will feel extremely smooth and give an option for harder-to-run games that can't hit 60. There is no VRR here, though, so we can't take advantage of that extra boost to the smoothness of the ROG Ally.

The Ports

Along with the buttons and keyboard, the WIN Mini has ports on the top that allow different connectivity. There are two USB C ports, a BIOS Flash Hole, a Gamepad/Mouse toggle key, a combo audio jack, a MicroSD card slot, and an Oculink port. The Oculink port is easily the biggest difference between this device and others, allowing a PCIe 4x4 connection. This could be used to connect an external GPU, like an RTX 4090, and increase the power of your WIN Mini.

Different Versions

GPD has provided a couple of different versions of the WIN Mini at different price points to make sure people can get the device that's in their price range or has the features they want. Each one has a different APU, RAM, and Storage combination, as well as some that include the grip or don't:

• 7640U, 16gb RAM, 512gb SSD - $699
• 7640U, 16gb RAM, 512gb SSD, with Grip - $728
• 7840U, 32gb RAM, 512gb SSD - $869
• 7840U, 32gb RAM, 512gb SSD, with Grip - $898
• 7840U, 32gb RAM, 2TB SSD - $999
• 7840U, 32gb RAM, 2TB SSD, with Grip - $1,028
• 7840U, 64gb RAM, 2TB SSD - $1,149
• 7840U, 64gb RAM, 2TB SSD, with Grip - $1,178

By purchasing during the Indiegogo period, you will be saving about 14% on each of these models. So, once this period is done (in 45 days), prices will increase.

I, for one, am interested to see how the device feels and performs compared to similar devices, but I love the clamshell form factor. It reminds me of the good ol' GBA SP days, and I am ready to be taken back.

For now, you can check out more details and pre-order your GPD WIN Mini on their Indiegogo page, with shipments starting to go out in November of this year.

If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that will help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back!