Best Consoles & handhelds Under $1,000
Consoles & handhelds with recorded US reference prices below $1,000, ranked by editorial score. Reference prices are not current retailer quotes.
Ranked by the weighted Specdex score — editorial judgments on a 0–100 scale. Independent benchmark references are identified separately on product profiles.
- #1Valve
Valve Steam Deck OLED (512 GB)
Zen 2 (6nm Sephiroth) · 7.4″ HDR OLED · 90 Hz
Valve's OLED Steam Deck — same Zen 2 silicon on a 6 nm revision, but the 7.4″ HDR OLED at 90 Hz, larger battery, and improved thermals make this the reference handheld. November 2023, $549 (512 GB SKU).
- #2Sony
PlayStation 5 Pro
60 CUs · 18 TFLOPS · 2 TB SSD
Mid-gen Pro console with PSSR AI upscaling — 60 CU custom RDNA GPU at 18.05 TFLOPS (≈1.75× standard PS5), 16 GB GDDR6 + 2 GB DDR5 system memory, 2 TB SSD, launched November 7, 2024 at $699.
- #3Nintendo
Nintendo Switch 2
Custom Tegra T239 · 7.9″ LCD HDR · 120 Hz
Nintendo's long-awaited Switch successor — NVIDIA T239 with Ampere GPU and DLSS, magnetic Joy-Con 2 with mouse mode, and the only library where Mario, Zelda and Smash Bros live. June 5, 2025 at $449.99.
- #4ASUS
ASUS ROG Ally X
Z1 Extreme · 7″ 120Hz · 80Wh battery
ASUS's 2024 refresh of the ROG Ally — bigger battery, more RAM, full M.2 2280 storage. The Windows answer to Steam Deck.
- #5Lenovo
Lenovo Legion Go
Z1 Extreme · 8.8″ QHD+ · Detachable controllers
Lenovo's detachable-controller take on Windows handhelds. 8.8″ QHD+ at 144Hz with FPS-mode mouse controls — the Switch-style PC handheld.
- #6Microsoft
Xbox Series X
52 CU RDNA 2 · 12.15 TFLOPS · 4K 120 Hz
Microsoft's flagship console — 52 CU RDNA 2 GPU at 12.155 TFLOPS, custom Zen 2 octa-core at 3.8 GHz, 16 GB GDDR6, 1 TB NVMe SSD. Launched November 10, 2020 at $499.
- #7Microsoft
Xbox Series S
Zen 2 · 4 TFLOPS RDNA 2 · 1440p target
Microsoft's budget current-gen console — 20 CU custom RDNA 2 GPU at 4 TFLOPS, 1440p target up to 120 FPS, 512 GB SSD, no disc drive. The cheapest path into the Xbox library. Launched November 10, 2020 at $299.
Head-to-head
The two highest-ranked products compared side-by-side.
Frequently asked
What is the best consoles & handheld right now? +
Valve Steam Deck OLED (512 GB) leads our Best Consoles & handhelds Under $1,000 list. Valve's OLED Steam Deck — same Zen 2 silicon on a 6 nm revision, but the 7.4″ HDR OLED at 90 Hz, larger battery, and improved thermals make this the reference handheld. November 2023, $549 (512 GB SKU).
How does Specdex rank products? +
Specdex does not run benchmarks in-house. Rankings reflect editorial judgement based on manufacturer-published specs and public reviewer consensus. See the methodology page for sources and how the verdicts are formed.
How often is this list updated? +
The list reflects the current published catalog and available editorial ratings. Source and product updates are reviewed before publication; retailer prices can change independently.