8" Windows Tablet for "Gaming" Budget $1500

AlienC on 02/09/2017 - 16:46
Last edited 02/09/2017 - 17:07 by 1 other user

Looking for the best specced out Windows tablet for "gaming".

This just means good specs is important like a good gpu and cpu and minimum 4gb ram.

Size preferably below 10" and ideal size is around 6-8.5".

Micro SD slot or good port selection is important for expanding storage.

Don't really need other ports besides sub and maybe usb c.

Will not be connecting to any other monitors just using it as handheld not on a table and no keyboard required for typing (this is why I am avoiding a laptop atm and even 2 in 1s because bulkiness and I prefer the touch interface.

Before you ask me "but how are you going to play games without a mouse or keyboard dear senpai?" All I am going to say us don't worry I have plans and workarounds for that and in fact if this works out well this might be a very satisfying experiment.

Screen resolution is anything 1080p or 2k. Preferably nothing lower and I don't think there are any higher ie no 4k screens available.

Basically just looking for some smallish tablets with the most amount of power.

Battery life is actually also not that important since I will be plugged in 24/7 neither is camera quality or fingerprint sensors or other sensors just need standard basics like maybe a gyroscope which every tablet has to determine orientation.

Most likely not looking at a Razer core or alienware box for attaching a gpu atm as I don't think it would be very enjoyable having two sets of annoying cables to deal with and also I don't even know if a Razer core can utilise a cord long enough to give a good free experience unlike my 3m charging cable.

So to summarize I am looking for a 6.5" - 8.5" Windows or Windows and android tablet with some beefy enough specs to run some solid steam games at minimum 720p 30 fps with aims of 1080p 40-50 fps. If possible 8 gb ram but most likely will only find 4gb ram.

I am aware of surface pros, GPD wins, xd's, pockets, smach 's and some others but if you feel this is the best I can get then please still offer.

The main reason I am posting this on Ozbargain is to ask other knowledgeable members in this area to chime in and let me know of any maybe hidden good tablets I may not know of or missed as I am not as familiar with Windows tablets as I am with say Apple and android tablets.

My goals are just to experiment and try some Windows games on a touchscreen device and maybe build some sort of UI for some common games or use this experiment as a learning tool for future devices etc.

Having tried most form factor for gaming besides a full on cockpit for aviation and flying games I have found a racing kit and in bed gaming the most relaxing for me personally and the most fun.

Just something about lazily lying around in bed and playing simple games using simple touch interfaces to me feels like the lazy gamers future. I can see vr taking this stage as well if we develop some more good games around bed gaming.. I know how this sounds but we'll this is where I am now.

My budget for the tablet is somewhere around $1500 or what you could aim to spend on a good GTX 1060 laptop deal realistically obviously this being Ozbargain I have been looking at tablets half that price and some a quarter but most cheap tablets can barely run say dota 2 or csgo at low settings 720p let alone say a game like ashes of the singularity or dawn of war 3.

Having used some pretty heavy tablets I am trying to find one at least under 550g that's why I am trying to avoid 10" tablets because while very good they tend to drift into dumbbell weight territory. So the target of sub 9.7" is ideal or sub 550g.

Anyways thanks for reading my post I hope this might help some other Windows tablet gaming shoppers as that is the only reason sometimes I make these posts.

Hoping to find another Windows tablet gaming shopper to spread his knowledge otherwise it's off to Reddit and some other websites I go.

Computing

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 02/09/2017 - 17:02

    8 inch windows tablets have gone the way of the Dodo. Most Windows devices now are at least 10 inches, as 8 inches wasn't a usable size for most since x86 apps don't have touch interfaces.

    They were too unpopular and the major manufacturers that used to make them, Acer (Iconia series), Lenovo (Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2) and Dell (Venue Pro) stop making them 2 years ago, so you're stuck with looking at very budget models from no-names like Cube, Onda, Jumper or Teclast etc.

    Here's a list of Windows 10 / 8 inch / quad core tablets on Aliexpress
    https://www.aliexpress.com/category/200216607/tablet.html?si…

    • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 03:21

      Do you reckon any of them could play Diablo 3 or dawn of war 3 at 1080p 60fps?

      • scrimshaw on 03/09/2017 - 11:40

        No

        But you could buy a $1000 desktop and a $150-300 tablet and still game in the comfort of your bed with steam streaming

        That would be the only practical method of getting 1080p 60fps on a tablet..

        • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 18:32

          This is what I am leaning towards right now.

  • Baysew on 02/09/2017 - 17:07
    +1

    otherwise it's off to Reddit and some other websites I go.

    Permanently?

    • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 03:21

      If you want me to :(

  • ironxylophone on 02/09/2017 - 17:56

    Why the hell would you want an 8" TABLET for gaming?! You seem to have done very little research on this. I won't go into specifics, but I can tell you you will not find what you are looking for. Get an iPad pro or surface pro.

    • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 03:22

      Gotten used to it on my Huawei Mediapad M3 8.4" actually 7" is probably ideal.

      Fits right in your hand.

      I type faster or easier now with a touchscreen than a keyboard haha lol since moving from a laptop nearly two years ago now.

  • Kangal on 02/09/2017 - 18:10

    Gaming
    Tablet
    Windows

    …choose 2 of 3.
    These are quite the rarity, there's very little tablets at all for gaming outside of the Nintendo Switch, iPad, and Nvidia Shield Tablet.
    A Core-M5 seems to make the most sense for tablets when considering heat, battery life, and performance. But performance will barely be enough for day-to-day (modern) tasks, and modern games would be out of the question. It could probably do Apps like Angry Birds, or light gaming like CS:GO and old titles.

    The closest things that come to mind are:
    Razer Edge Pro… slowish Nvidia GPU, only Dualcore
    Sony Vaio Z Canvas… slow iGPU, decent Quadcore

    However, if you're serious, I might recommend you wait a little bit.
    The new tablets/ultrabooks coming out on KBR (Kaby Lake - Quadcore Mobile) should see some decent improvements, at least from the CPU side.
    The iGPU is the same, but the new models should have an overwhelming ThunderBolt3-USB-C support. Implications for eGPU there.

    Otherwise, there's the possibility of Nvidia Pascal GT1030/MX150, or something better like GT 1040, GTX 1050, GTX 1050Ti. Haven't seen AMD's Polaris GPUs in many products but possible to see some RX550, RX460/560 units as well. But having any Dedicated GPU will mean an increase device size from 8in to 13in.

    There's also Zen's Raven Ridge.
    AMD will shrink those ryzen cores, put in a small integrated Vega GPU, and a small (2GB ?) HBM2 block… then ship out for tablets/ultrabooks/gaming laptops.
    So far no precise details. It could possibly use as much power/battery life as the New KBR devices, but could provide a faster CPU and faster GPU. Or more likely, it would use slightly more power, provide a slower CPU and slightly faster GPU… and be locked to 13in or larger devices.

    • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 03:26

      Was hoping to get lucky and catch a rarity like I did with my android tablet.

      After deciding nvidia shield tab was the best I could get my current tablet a Huawei Mediapad M3 came out of the blue and have been very happy ever since.

      I researched it up and realised it was only released like a few months before I bought it so dreams and miracles do happen haha lol :)

      Best $350 USD plus shipping so far ever spent it is amazing what this device can do.

      Wish I picked up the Asus though during a sale which was a whopping nearly $100 USD cheaper for a larger screen and more internal storage but alas I'm happy with it as having had to use a 10.1" for some time it is a bit on the bigger end 8" and below is definitely more easier on the hands and if I were to use it on a table I would rather get a laptop or pc desktop.

      • Kangal on 03/09/2017 - 09:09

        Okay from what you told me, it seems like you know a 8in tablet won't be playing BF1 anytime soon.

        So that means the class of games you can expect to play on the 3 ecosystems are the same, mobile Apps.

        Overall, the best option is the iPad Mini 4. Also grab the GameVice. It has one of the best designs, sizes, battery life. Specs are "okay" but it really flies with iOS's tight optimisation. The Mobile Apps are also A LOT more polished in this ecosystem, despite some restrictions. And let's also not forget it has the best third party support for software (exclusive titles) and hardware (accessories).

        Second option would be an Android tablet. There's just more options out there with decent specs, design, and size. The App catalogue is decent, but with the way the OS runs, there are compatibility and performance issues. Some experiences will be clunky. The best thing of an Android tablet over an iPad Mini 4 would be Emulators, and cheaper or stolen-pirate Apps. Not that I condone it, but it needs to be said. Also I know you mentioned it, but don't discount devices like the NVIDIA Shield Handheld, the GPD XD and the JXD Singularity.

        Last option should be Windows tablets. They're less user friendly than Android tablets and rather clunky. There's also less variety and quite weak hardware. No offence to the GPD Win. Although the hardware is weak, Apps run near-native so they should basically match Android tablet performance. But still not as good as iOS's optimised experience. With that said, there's emualtors here too. Overall not a recommended device as a gaming tablet, it's only selling feature is the Windows 10 OS that can be useful, maybe, for desktop stuffs.

        …
        …
        …now I know you're going to say What About Steam? And to simply have a Gaming Rig with a decent 5GHz connection stream the games to your tablet.

        Well it's a clunky experience. Mostly problems with lag, and input comfort. There aren't many good ways to translate joystick movement for mouse input. Even if you said "I don't care, I want it"… then I would tell you Windows Tablets are STILL not recommended. It's possible to stream your Steam PC to Android, and with Moonlight, also to an iPad.

        I think instead of focusing on a device that "does it all" you should look at a single device that does that specific task the best. So in this use case, bed gaming with a tablet would best be done with an iPad Mini 4 and a controller like GameVice. Or maybe a Nintendo Switch. Or maybe a PS Vita (which supports Game Streaming with PS4).

        Android: best for phones
        iOS: best for tablets
        Windows 10: best for laptops

        • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 18:31

          Apple is out for now unless I decide to program for it. Way too expensive and not much difference to my android ecosystem tbh.

          Windows is my main target or at least it's vast catalogue.

          Down the road ultimately I would want all three to test out cross platform and compatibility issues etc.

          I have seen some good ways of streaming Xbox one to a Windows 10 device via the app so that's good. But none yet for pc's besides what you mentioned and a few more.

          I will be building a pc in the future just don't know when so I will probably get a chuwi or teclast or some other el cheapo brand as surface pros and GPD wins and pockets are a bit expensive atm. But we shall see prices keep falling and stuff keeps changing and moving around, somebody like nvidia might surprise us who knows, sky's the limit and everyday is a new day blahbiddyblah

        • Kangal on 03/09/2017 - 20:42

          @AlienC:
          No worries.
          But I should tell you that I am biased for Android, yet I still say the iPad is worth it.
          Sure it is more expensive, but the overall experience is really hard to beat.
          You get what you pay for. So keep that in mind.

          You don't need a specific hardware to start programming, there are decent SDK's out there.
          Although, I recommend you get a decent PC to help speed up the compiling steps, and test things in a virtual emulator.
          So with that said, the jump to a Gaming PC is rather simple… throw in a decent GPU.
          Nvidia GPU would be a better bet, as you can use things like the Shield Tablet/Handheld or Moonlight for streaming games.
          I'm not a fan of Game Streaming, I guess it works for PS4-Vita, but doesn't work well for PC Games -> Tablets.
          Mainly the issue with input and lag.

          I totally forgot about the Xbox One/Windows 10 streaming.
          That would be the simplest solution.
          …but you won't get the Steam Library with that, nor would you program code.

          The Switch still seems like a nice device, but its using old microarchitecture on old process nodes, on a device utilising a portion of the hardware. I estimate that iPad Games will look superior to it in 2016 soon, and that it will lack the horsepower and developer interest to gain much third-party attention. Seems like a running theme with the Wii/Wii U, so its really only worth it for the exclusives (Zelda, Mario, Pokemon).

          So it all comes down to which games, that will determine how you can achieve it on a Tablet.

        • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 21:41

          @Kangal: yeah personally I would only get a switch if it became really cheap like sub $150 but even then maybe not unless a bunch of new good games come out for it between now and then.

          While I like singleplayer games they don't keep me and the only ones I did like were crpgs or the old rpg games.

          I have played the cod campaigns but actually never finished them maybe I should revisit some as well as tome raider etc.

  • PVA on 03/09/2017 - 09:19

    Left of field, but would a Nintendo Switch be more suitable?

    • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 18:26

      Depends I guess, besides splatoon and Mario kart what other multiplayer games do they have?

      Main reason to get a Windows tablet is to stream or play my large steam catalogue.

      I guess I should find somewhere to try it out. If breath of the wild and some other games are as good as people say or enough for a lot of people to buy it then I guess it must be okay good right?

      • PVA on 03/09/2017 - 18:34

        I haven't even tried one myself but it was just an idea, seeing it was designed from the start for games. I know it's not the same as pc gaming but the games are designed for it rather than pc games that just kind of working on a tablet.
        Like I said, an option, and heaps cheaper than your budget. I guess you could buy and try and if it's not right sell and the loss wouldn't be great.

        • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 18:43

          Only reason I am really holding out on it is I have read of many current oversights and shortcomings compared to what it could have been which is really bad for something as specialized as this.

          One example is hooking it up to a tv with voice headset is apparently a wired cable nightmare saw it on Reddit.

          The other is it's very small and limited collection albeit every game is a legendary masterpiece compared to mobile games afk there is that.

          If it had more titles like Sony and Microsoft I would possibly jump on it.. hell if I could play dota and hots and overwatch on it for starters I would definitely jump on it.

          My staple used to be cod and some strategy games so I'm trying to re find that experience but on a tablet mobile experience.

          Worst case scenario I try find some space to set up a battle station and just go back a few years haha lol.. My room needs a bit of cleaning.

        • PVA on 03/09/2017 - 20:29

          @AlienC: just thought, what about a PlayStation Vita, you can buy second hand and try it, lots of games, maybe not new, but heaps and free ones still on PlayStation Plus every month.

        • AlienC on 03/09/2017 - 21:42
          +1

          @PVA: that is an option, I personally don't know much about them like how much they cost and their limitations etc. But I have thought about it before.

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