Best Gaming Tablet

NTJedi

NTJedi

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
444
From the research I've done the best gaming tablet appears to be the Nvidia Shield Tablet, but I'm worried about the reviews regarding the device getting very hot.

Any advice?? whether this is what I should be buying or if a different tablet such as the ipad air 2 would be better??

I figured the smart guru's here would have good advice.
 
Shield Tab or Nexus 9, I'd say. Though I think there were just some more tabs announced with the nVidia K1 chip in it (pretty much the best for games at the moment).

I depends on what type of gaming you want to do on it too. Because if you're into PC gaming, you can use most nVidia based tabs to stream your PC games to your tab over your network and also use a controller with it. I don't think anything like this is available for iOS. But if you're more interested in simple mobile games, the iPad might be better as most games come to it first, then Android if it does get ported (which seems to happen more often than not now if the game is decent enough). But from what I've noticed, the gap between Android and iOS games has shrank pretty significantly in the past couple years. I have a few friends on iOS that are always finding and playing new games and trying to get me into them. Very rarely now do they find a game that I don't have available on my Android phone too.
 
What kind of games? PC games with depth or shallow phone games?

For PC games look at something like the Thinkpad Helix2 but for demanding FPS you probably have to run 1280x720 low.

For phone games wait for the Galaxy Tab S 2 but anything recent should do the job. If you decide to get Nvidia wait for the X1.
 
Either the iPad Air 2 or the NVIDIA Shield Tablet, I'd say.

A gaming tablet is only good if you actually have games to play on it, and the iPad both has the most tablet-friendly games and a tendency to get the good stuff first. The Shield Tablet is certainly worthy, though, and it'll let you stream desktop games when you're at home. Either way, don't believe the myths about "shallow" mobile games -- you can play deep strategy titles like Civilization, and even a few action-heavy console releases like Bioshock, Portal and Street Fighter IV.

And if you're determined to play PC games... well, don't get a tablet, to be honest. The fantasy is that you'll play some Steam blockbuster while you're on the bus, but no modern Windows tablet has enough power to do justice to more than 2D or basic 3D stuff. Also, most PC games aren't meant to be touch-only. You're better off picking up a gaming laptop if you want anything like the experience you get on a desktop.
 
Aurelius said:
And if you're determined to play PC games... well, don't get a tablet, to be honest. The fantasy is that you'll play some Steam blockbuster while you're on the bus, but no modern Windows tablet has enough power to do justice to more than 2D or basic 3D stuff. Also, most PC games aren't meant to be touch-only. You're better off picking up a gaming laptop if you want anything like the experience you get on a desktop.
Click to expand...

Check your facts. These are on Intel Atom which is below the performance of the new Core M. Steam games are already paid for so no need to repurchase them for another platform.

One of the video owner commented:

A little note about me, I was a long time iPad user until Lenovo’s Outlet store recently had this gem for 125.00. I bought it to try it out and can’t see going back to an iPad ever again. For my purposes having a tablet that can run desktop software is invaluable.
Click to expand...

Civilization Beyond Earth on Lenovo Thinkpad 8
http://youtu.be/h_noljl5wHg

Bioshock on Lenovo MIIX 2 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a32wPVFO3nI&t=239
 
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One of my friends at my lan parties games with Surface Pro 3 (i5 8GB), but we only play older games because another member of my lan party has an 8 year old cpu with a 4 years old graphics card. We play mostly TF2, EU4, and Borderlands 2. So gaming on a full Window laptop Haswell CPU tablet is definitely doable. He was playing one of those newer racing games (F1 2014???) on his tablet with a controller, so that's fine.

I've tried gaming on my Ivy Bridge Surface Pro (OG), but it gets really hot playing Civ 5 and TF2. I still do it though...

Aside from Civ 5 and XCOM, I don't think there are that many PC games that have optimized touch controls. So a keyboard and mouse or a controller (I use a wired xbox 360 controller) is still needed.

So, as for what Aurelius and mi7chy is saying, there's a common ground. It really depends on the games. If you're trying to play TF2, yes. If you're trying to play Crysis, good luck...
 
mi7chy said:
Check your facts. These are on Intel Atom which is below the performance of the new Core M. Steam games are already paid for so no need to repurchase them for another platform.

Civilization Beyond Earth on Lenovo Thinkpad 8
http://youtu.be/h_noljl5wHg

Bioshock on Lenovo MIIX 2 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a32wPVFO3nI&t=38
Click to expand...

Like I said, 2D or basic 3D stuff. And did you notice that both users are depending on external keyboards and mice?

There's no inconsistency here. My point is that you shouldn't get a Windows tablet thinking that you'll be playing your favorite PC games everywhere you go. You can play some games, for sure, but the practical reality is that many games either won't run well or will require that you connect a keyboard and mouse... at which point, you might as well have bought a laptop instead.

I'm reminded of the forum posts you often see from wildly optimistic types asking about gaming laptops... you know, the people who want something that can play Far Cry 4 at high detail, costs under $1,000 and will last for four years. You have to break it to them that they've set their expectations too high. That said, the OP hasn't actually said what he/she wants -- an iPad or Shield Tablet may be fine.
 
Aurelius said:
Like I said, 2D or basic 3D stuff. And did you notice that both users are depending on external keyboards and mice?

There's no inconsistency here. My point is that you shouldn't get a Windows tablet thinking that you'll be playing your favorite PC games everywhere you go. You can play some games, for sure, but the practical reality is that many games either won't run well or will require that you connect a keyboard and mouse... at which point, you might as well have bought a laptop instead.

I'm reminded of the forum posts you often see from wildly optimistic types asking about gaming laptops... you know, the people who want something that can play Far Cry 4 at high detail, costs under $1,000 and will last for four years. You have to break it to them that they've set their expectations too high. That said, the OP hasn't actually said what he/she wants -- an iPad or Shield Tablet may be fine.
Click to expand...
Ha, looks like my previous post pretty much explained yours... (At least I didn't put words into your mouth!)
 
Point is low end Atom Windows tablets can run all the handful of limited PC port titles on ARM tablets plus more. With my low mid-range fanless Core M even BF4 and Crysis 3 run fine. Granted only in 1280x720 at low settings but still look a lot better than anything ARM. There are even higher performing tablet options. As for input, most games are only playable with controller or keyboard/mouse regardless of platform but mouse isn't supported on iPad while both Windows and Android tablets have mouse support. So, Windows tablet > Android with streaming option > iPad and considering Core M tablet is equivalent in price to iPad it's a no brainer for full productivity outside of gaming.

Low mid-range Core M looks like this at 1080p low but at 720p it's very playable. I'll try to get a video up.

http://youtu.be/Q-2qQeRkPWU
 
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mi7chy said:
Point is low end Atom Windows tablets can run all the handful of limited PC port titles on ARM tablets plus more. With my low mid-range fanless Core M even BF4 and Crysis 3 run fine. Granted only in 1280x720 at low settings but still look a lot better than anything ARM. There are even higher performing tablet options. As for input, most games are only playable with controller or keyboard/mouse regardless of platform but mouse isn't supported on iPad while both Windows and Android tablets have mouse support. So, Windows tablet > Android with streaming option > iPad and considering Core M tablet is equivalent in price to iPad it's a no brainer for full productivity outside of gaming.

Low mid-range Core M looks like this at 1080p low but at 720p it's very playable. I'll try to get a video up.

http://youtu.be/Q-2qQeRkPWU
Click to expand...

And an iPad or Android tablet can play versions of games that either aren't touch-optimized on Windows or don't exist on Windows. I must ask: if the vast majority of Windows games aren't optimized for touch, why would you buy a Windows tablet for gaming? That's the definition of insanity, and it's amusing to see you contort yourself in a desperate bid to make it fit.

Also, please show some actual respect for the OP's request -- he asked for a gaming tablet, not a productivity machine. Drop that from the discussion unless the OP brings it up.
 
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Already explained it. Unless you're playing shallow phone games like Angry Birds you'll want a controller for FPS or keyboard/mouse for RTS. Windows tablet owners usually carry a physical keyboard/touchpad for productivity like iPad owners do for anything more than basic consumption. On Windows there's also virtual gamepad. There's even a number of Android emulation options for running shallow phone games so you have all your bases covered.

http://palmtime.net/virtualgamepad/

https://gameplay.gestureworks.com/
 
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Well, I don't know if you guys remember this, but Windows 10 will allow you to remote play games from your Xbox One. I know it might not be exactly the same as what we're talking about here, but that'll certainly change things a bit. Sure, Sony and NVidia are doing this already on proprietary hardware, but it doesn't have the reach of every single Windows 10 pc/laptop/tablet.
 
I know the MiPad is currently on sale on their website and it uses the same K1 chip as the Shield
 
What games do you want to play? Most of my favorite mobile games are iOS only. Some of them, like Monument Valley, eventually get Android ports, but why gamble on it? Most of the high-end games designed from the ground-up for mobile like Vainglory are iOS exclusive. For me, the iPad is the easy choice if mobile games are the primary use case.

mi7chy said:
What kind of games? PC games with depth or shallow phone games?
Click to expand...

That false dichotomy, tho.
 
As much as I dislike iTunes, the iPad is the best choice for mobile gaming.
 
Yakk said:
As much as I dislike iTunes, the iPad is the best choice for mobile gaming.
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x2

either that or an Android tablet is still a decent buy.

I'd stay away from a Windows tablet for gaming, personally (as others have mentioned). There just isn't enough tablet friendly content.
 
CHANG3D said:
With the Tegra X1 out, I wouldn't recommend a K1 chip...
Click to expand...

I'm with him.

The X1 is based on Maxwell, which is a much more power efficient design, perfect for mobile, where the K1 is Kepler and (32 and or a so-so 64bit)

The x1 is maxwell with ARM 64 bit chips, not NVs design for the cpu.
 
Mobile games on Android and iOS are shallow and boring and the best you can hope for is 2007 era PC ports compared to Windows gaming. Plus, all the fartsy mobile games like Clash of Clans run fine on BlueStacks Android emulator with full touch. Reminds me to try Android x86 under VirtualBox since it's native and not emulation for even better performance. Second choice would be Android since performance is better than iOS and you have the option of streaming Windows games.
 
mi7chy said:
Mobile games on Android and iOS are shallow and boring and the best you can hope for is 2007 era PC ports compared to Windows gaming.
Click to expand...

All games are shallow and boring. The most you can hope for is something with rapidly flashing lights to occupy you between wage slavery, consumption of fast food, defecation and restless slumber.
 
If you find Bay Trail Windows tablets interesting for mobile gaming, then wait for the Cherry Trail tablets which were just announced. Should have at least double the graphics performance of Bay Trail, which should make PC gaming on a tablet a whole lot more feasible.

Otherwise just go for Nvidia. They have the gaming crown on Android.
 
defaultluser said:
If you find Bay Trail Windows tablets interesting for mobile gaming, then wait for the Cherry Trail tablets which were just announced. Should have at least double the graphics performance of Bay Trail, which should make PC gaming on a tablet a whole lot more feasible.

Otherwise just go for Nvidia. They have the gaming crown on Android.
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A lot of tech sites did go hands on with these tablets recently, but they're all just pointing out Intel's own talking point of "twice the graphical performance of Bay Trail." So I'll wait for real reviews from AnandTech, etc, before I believe Intel could have made this significant a jump in graphical performance.
 
CHANG3D said:
A lot of tech sites did go hands on with these tablets recently, but they're all just pointing out Intel's own talking point of "twice the graphical performance of Bay Trail." So I'll wait for real reviews from AnandTech, etc, before I believe Intel could have made this significant a jump in graphical performance.
Click to expand...

Well, they're moving from 22nm to 14nmn, and they're also switching from Ivy Bridge HD Graphics with 4EUs to Broadwell HD Graphics with either 12 or 16EUs.

I would think that die shrink plus 3x-4x wider (which can get the same performance at lower clock/voltage) would result in a substantial performance increase. They are power-limited here, so I agree I'll believe it when I see it, but waiting a month or two isn't going to be too painful, now is it?

One things is for sure, they didn't waste an ounce of any power gained from the die shrink by clocking the CPU faster :D
 
I want to be optimistic about Cherry Trail x5 with Intel focusing primarily on graphics performance but I have doubts it'll be better than 14nm Core M with 24 EU vs x5 16 EU, higher GPU clock 800MHz vs 600MHz and more L2 cache 4MB vs 2MB. Here are a bunch of games running on Core M HD 5300 to get an idea of what you'll get from x5.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hd+5300+gaming
 
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