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Borderlands 4 has been an superior recreation to play…when it really works. Sadly, making an attempt to play on the Steam Deck has been a really laborious expertise and never one I’d suggest. It not solely feels terrible, but it surely additionally continuously stutters and drops when loading issues in. I’m not shocked by it, however nonetheless want it have been higher. Nonetheless, there are extra highly effective handhelds on the market, so I needed to strive some out and see if the sport goes to be playable on the go in any respect.
Borderlands 4 On AYANEO 3 – Wanting Very Good For Z2 Excessive
Particularly, I need to deal with how Borderlands 4 might be on the following technology of handhelds coming quickly. The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2 will probably be sporting a Z2 Excessive APU, which is a step up from the Z1 Excessive, and whereas I haven’t got one but, I do have an AYANEO 3, which sports activities a really comparable APU inside. So, with that, I need to see simply how playable the sport might be on the brand new handhelds coming quickly, and after some testing, I left very optimistic.
The perfect case to see how Borderlands 4 will probably be on the upcoming ASUS Xbox ROG Ally X and different handhelds with a Z2 Excessive APU goes to be wanting on the AYANEO 3. This beast of a handheld from AYANEO makes use of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, which may be very comparable in specs to the Z2 Excessive. Their GPU module is similar, however the HX 370 has 4 further CPU cores and barely extra L2 and L3 cache. The AYANEO 3 mannequin I’ve additionally has 32GB RAM as a substitute of 24GB, which is what the Xbox Ally X can have. Whereas there are some variations, this could give a common gist of the way it will run on the Xbox Ally X. So, count on barely worse efficiency on the Xbox Ally X.
I used to be shocked by how properly the sport runs on the AYANEO 3. I examined Borderlands 4 with a pal for our article yesterday, and he talked about how iffy the efficiency is on the common ROG Ally. So, I went in pondering I must play at 720p and may be capable of push medium visuals at 30 FPS. Nonetheless, I used to be mistaken. I began taking part in the sport on low settings with XeSS upscaling at Balanced, and began off at 1080p decision to see if it was attainable. And I’m comfortable to say it’s! It repeatedly holds above 30 FPS, with just one occasion I noticed that dropped to 29. For an preliminary take a look at, that is fairly superb. It might present some drops later within the endgame when issues get much more hectic, however I’d contemplate this nice initially.
From there, I needed to take a look at the visible and efficiency distinction in 720p. With out altering any settings and standing in a single spot, I went from 38 FPS to 58 FPS. Throughout fights, I used to be seeing ranges from round 43 FPS to 51 FPS, with some small downward spikes to 41 FPS. It did not get beneath 40 through the fights I used to be part of. Nonetheless, shifting to Medium was a little bit an excessive amount of. Not solely did the framerate fall beneath 40 extra typically, however I additionally skilled my first crash. With the Xbox Ally X being much less highly effective total, I’d say maintaining to Low high quality with XeSS upscaling on Balanced at 720p will certainly be playable at 30 FPS, presumably 40. As for 1080p on the similar high quality, my guess goes to be 30 FPS with some slight dips beneath.
Evaluate
1080p Decision
720p Decision
As for the AYANEO 3, I used to be blown away by how properly it carried out. Combined with its beautiful OLED display, I used to be having a area day, and this can be the best way I play Borderlands 4 primarily. I’ve a full-fledged Desktop to play on, however actually, I really like having the ability to take it with me, and it performs so properly. That is going to be my main handheld for the sport.
Borderlands 4 On ROG Ally and ROG Ally X – Some Considerations
Whereas I used to be testing the AYANEO 3, I obtained curious and determined to check the sport out on a few of the different handhelds I’ve. Particularly, I needed to check on the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. Each have Z1 Excessive APUs with completely different RAM sizes, and I’d say they signify the primary technology of gadgets that use Z1 Excessive, 7840U, and 8840U APUs.
Beginning with the ROG Ally, efficiency was brutal. 1080p at Low settings with TSR on Excessive was round 22 FPS – 25 FPS when standing nonetheless, dropping dramatically when in fight. It was about what I skilled on the Steam Deck on the lowest attainable high quality. So, I made a decision to vary over to 720p decision, and whereas it did hit 30 FPS and above, it additionally launched a ton of stuttering, and I’d contemplate it comparatively unplayable.
After that, I dropped TSR all the way down to extremely efficiency, which is the best-performing upscaler, and it did not repair a lot. It was marginally higher, however in the end not almost sufficient. I nonetheless had tons of stuttering, coupled with horrible visuals from the watered-down TSR upscaling. It appeared as if it was solely getting worse and worse, and from my expertise, I can not suggest it on the ROG Ally.
The ROG Ally X was subsequent, and I hoped that the additional RAM, which will be allotted to VRAM, may assist efficiency a bit. The sport began off at 1080p with low settings and TSR upscaling on Excessive, and this was again to sub-30 FPS your complete time. Nonetheless, taking place to 720p began to offer some hope. Nearly all of the fights I used to be in caught above 30 FPS, with some moments hitting 40. This was on TSR Excessive upscaling, which did present some washed-out environments once in a while, but it surely wasn’t dangerous in any respect.
Evaluate
1080p TSR Upscaling Excessive
720p TSR Upscaling Excessive
720p TSR Upscaling Excessive
Although, it does appear to be this may worsen afterward. Once we posted about avoiding Borderlands 4 on the Steam Deck on Twitter/X, the XboxEra group commented, mentioning that the ROG Ally X is not nice with it. Since they reviewed the sport, it is secure to imagine they examined additional areas that I have never reached. With that in thoughts, it’s extremely attainable the sport will expertise greater drops afterward and wish extra compromises. Gliding round began to point out extra slowdowns getting nearer to 30, so I made a decision to check TSR on Balanced and Efficiency. TSR balanced and efficiency have been each incrementally higher than High quality, however I nonetheless skilled drops right here and there when having to combat enemies shut up or grenades/projectiles exploding in my face.
Finally, I’d say the ROG Ally X is simply playable, however I’m cautious. It appears to run okay to this point, however I’m nonetheless early on within the recreation, and it might get rather a lot worse. It might be attainable to play via at 30 FPS, however we’ll greater than possible have to carry TSR upscaling all the way down to Efficiency or Extremely Efficiency, which do not look good in any respect. The ROG Ally wasn’t playable for me, which makes me really feel just like the Ally X’s further RAM is doing a little heavy lifting. Nonetheless, the endgame goes to be one to look at on this case.
The AYANEO 3 shocked me with how properly Borderlands 4 carried out on the system. Having the ability to hit 30 FPS and above in 1080p, whereas going over 40 FPS in 720p, was superb. I’ve doubts it might go above and past that with compromises, but it surely’s nonetheless nice to see. It provides me hope for the ROG Xbox Ally X and different handhelds with a Z2 Excessive APU just like the Legion Go 2, however it’ll be powerful to know for certain till it comes out.
As for Ally and Ally X, I stay extra skeptical. The Ally was only a poor expertise for me, and the Ally X, whereas working in a playable state, makes me nervous for the endgame. I’d be skeptical of Ally X till we see some endgame gameplay, however in the long run, I’d contemplate it cautiously playable. One of the simplest ways to play on the go is definitely going to be the Z2 Excessive, HX 370, and AI Max+ 395 APUs. And actually, it is fairly superb to see it so playable within the palm of my fingers.
Borderlands 4 will be bought on Steam for $69.99.
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