I still love handheld gaming PCs. They just don’t love me back. More to the point, they don’t love my budget. The latest example of how my favorite hobby is becoming ever more expensive is the Acer Predator Atlas 8. For a moment, it was the best bang-for-buck handheld available. Then, as with all gaming gadgets this past year, a price hike swarmed up like a sea creature out of a Greek myth and took a chunk of my enthusiasm for this big, powerful handheld with it.
The Predator Atlas 8 hit the scene on Nov. 1 for $1,300. Now it’s $1,450. That’s not a huge jump considering it was already floating at a sky-high $1,000+ price tag. Still, it’s a reminder that you can’t trust any MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) in 2026. And it helps remind us that we shouldn’t lower our expectations just because gadget prices are so unreliable.
Despite some software issues, it's the handheld you want if you mostly care about mobile performance and less about battery life.
That’s especially important with the Predator Atlas 8. Handheld PC users have been forced to accept a certain amount of jank from cramming an overstuffed Windows 11 into an 8-inch device you mainly control with thumbsticks and A, B, X, Y buttons.
