Leaks point towards a new OneXPlayer handheld with a next-gen "Pather Lake" Intel chip within, but I'm not holding for something affordable

Call me a gaming handheld grump, but upon seeing leaks of a supposed Intel Panther Lake Onexplayer X1 model surfacing online, price immediately sprang to mind. Will the portable that seemingly boasts an Arc B370 come in anywhere near the same price as a Steam Deck? I doubt it, but if its benchmarks are anything to go by, it might be at least under a grand.

The most recent Furmark leaks highlighted by Momomo_US reveal a handheld PC with a Core Ultra 5 338H chipset and Arc B370 graphics (via Notebookcheck). The device in question appears to wield a 1440p screen, just like the OneXPlayer X1 and other models, and the listing appears to tie in with earlier benchmarks for a yet-to-be-released portable by the company.

The Pather Lake chipset in question comes with a clock range between 400MHz and 2,300MHz and a 36W TDP that's close to the MSI Claw 8 AI+. If this is the same chip as those previous leaks, it'll also boast 12 cores (8 Performance and 4 Efficiency cores), which means it's theoretically at least on par with Ryzen 8840U portables like the Zotac Zone.

The actual benchmarks themselves certainly back that idea up, with the Furmark score coming out at 36fps, translating to GeForce GTX 1060-levels of performance at 1440p. I'd take those figures with the usual grain of salt since it's more of a stress test for testing things like temperatures. Still, it gives you an idea of what class of portable PC we're looking at here, and where it might sit in the chain compared to beefier chipset options.

At this stage, the handheld gaming PC scene is dominated by options at $1,000 and above. That includes portables that are technically more mainstream, like the ROG Xbox Ally X, and while there's a cheaper variant of that Microsoft-flavored doo-dad, there's a distinct lack of handhelds under $500 outside of the Steam Deck OLED and the Lenovo Legion Go S when it manages to receive a discount.

So, what am I getting at here? Well, I'm finding myself less excited when it comes to leaks like this suspected Pather Lake Onexplayer X1. It'll no doubt be technically impressive and cost a bit less than some of the outright powerhouses by boutique brands, but it'll take an approachable price point to make a meaningful difference in the scene right now.

• ROG Xbox Ally (White) | $599.99 $489.99 at Amazon
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