GPD WIN Max Mini Gaming Laptop Is Now Official, Price Still Coming

A few years ago, hearing about an Intel Core i5 processor inside a laptop only 8 inches in screen size would have sounded ridiculous. Today, it still sounds almost ridiculous but not because it's impossible. GPD, which has spawned a niche market for small-sized gaming handhelds and laptops, is doing exactly just that. No, the ridiculousness of the GPD WIN Max isn't in its technical capabilities but in its practicality and the price it will most likely be asking for.

It may be called a "mini gaming notebook" but it is only small in relation to normal notebooks for gaming or otherwise. With an 8-inch screen and 1-inch thickness, it is probably the biggest gaming handheld you'll be able to see and hold. There's a reason for that size though and it all boils down to the power it needs to run games and the systems it needs to keep that from blowing up.

The GPD WIN Max packs a 10th-gen Intel Core i5-1035G7 with 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM. We'll let that sink in a bit. The 8-inch screen does disappoint at 1280x720 pixel but that might be for the best to run games with decent graphics while relying only on an Intel Iris Plus graphics. The 512GB M.2 SSD is replaceable, just like a regular laptop.

If that hasn't had you scratching your head yet, how about an RJ45 port and analog sticks that press down for L3 and R3 buttons? GPD is also advertising support for eGPUs via the Thunderbolt 3 port but makes no mention of which ones would be compatible with it.

The GPD WIN Max is clearly huge in specs and size and that isn't always a good thing. In addition to an awkward playing position, the dual fans might still be unable to keep things from being too hot to touch. And then there's still the unannounced price, which could easily be near the $1,000. At that point, you will probably have to ask yourself if the novelty and portability of such a device are still worth that much.