Pocketforge X Review: Corvid Devices Gets the Handheld Basics Right

The Pocketforge X is Corvid Devices’ second handheld gaming PC, and it fixes most of what held the first one back. After three weeks of testing, including a long stretch with Ashen Meridian and the first days of Velocity Unbound, I think it is the easiest handheld PC to recommend at its price, with one significant caveat. It sells for $549 with 512GB of storage and $649 with 1TB.

Design and controls

The 7.4-inch OLED screen runs at 1920×1200 with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, and it is the best thing about the device: bright enough to use outdoors, with deep blacks that suit dark games like Signal to Noise. At 655 grams it is lighter than its predecessor, and the deeper grips spread that weight well. The Hall-effect sticks have no detectable drift, the triggers have a pleasingly short throw, and two back buttons sit exactly where my middle fingers rest. The trackpads are smaller than I would like but adequate for menus and strategy games.

Performance

Inside is Corvid’s custom eight-core chip with integrated graphics and 24GB of shared memory. At its default 20-watt power limit, here is what I measured across this fall’s games, all running at the screen’s native aspect ratio with upscaling enabled:

• Ashen Meridian: 38–45fps on the Low preset with upscaling from 960×600. Using the 40Hz screen mode gives a steady, comfortable result. Ruins with heavy fog dip into the low 30s.
• Velocity Unbound (patch 1.0.2): 55–62fps on Low with medium textures. Before the patch, shader stutter made the first lap of every district rough.
• Tidebreak: a locked 90fps at native resolution on the 12-watt profile.
• Signal to Noise: a locked 60fps at native resolution, drawing under 9 watts.

Battery and software

Battery life is the caveat. The 60Wh cell lasted 1 hour 52 minutes in Ashen Meridian at 20 watts, and about 5 hours in Tidebreak at 12 watts. That is in line with competing devices but still short for a long flight. Corvid’s ForgeShell launcher sits on top of a full desktop operating system and does a good job of hiding it: per-game power profiles, frame-rate caps, and the 40Hz mode are all two button presses away. Sleep and resume worked reliably in every game I tested. For anyone who wants a portable PC that plays this year’s releases without much fiddling, the Pocketforge X is a strong choice. Just keep a charger nearby.