Loki Max: The "Steam Deck Mini" - Full Deep Dive Review & Optimization Guide

[@acarajeh]

Sometimes I wish I had switched my order from the Loki Mini Pro to the Loki Max, but looking strictly at emulation and battery efficiency in emulation I’m super happy with my Mini Pro. Great video, keep up the good work!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks! The Loki Mini Pro is an excellent device for sure. It's a shame they had to cancel the model but at least we still have the Loki Zero and the Loki Max available for purchase.

[@itsamnesia1235]

​@@KeiRetroGamingimma be honest they should've cancelled the zero and kept the mini pro the zero is trash atp u might as well just get an odin

[@retrobros9684]

If the steam deck ever made a mini it would take over the market entirely

[@stvnoahc7249]

But the battery life would take a huge hit.

[@retrobros9684]

@@stvnoahc7249 Yes battery life is always something to consider. There have been advances with FSR 3.0 which might give us better frames at lower consumption of resources. I don't think Valve is interested in a mini tho I'd buy one if ever they did

[@creaturecore13]

​@@stvnoahc7249not if they make a clam shell like gpd

[@KeiRetroGaming]

That would be pretty neat to see! I know a lot of people who just find the Steam Deck far too big to be portable.

[@arielmiranda15]

That would be awesome

[@dastimRETRO]

Sweet handheld!! Glad you had better luck with their customer service than I did! Out of every handheld being released from China, the Loki is still my favorite! Always a pleasure seeing a new video from you man! take care! -Tim

[@Jhud69]

Just gonna say that I used this guide for my Ayn Loki Max back when I got it and then I used a lot of this stuff when setting up my Lenovo Legion Go as well, so this shows how good of a guide this is!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks, glad to hear that!

[@chrisjovan664]

Great in depth comparison, by far the best. A true way to give a review.

[@iMutt-yy6vf]

I love my Loki Max. Amazing device. With the full size joysticks and power to run **anything** , in a handheld, it just cannot be beat. I love running it in JELOS...because it is an x86 device, having more options like JELOS, ChimeraOS, & Batocera put this in the lead compared to the other devices I own (I have 2 Odin 1's, waiting on my Odin 2). I like your description of the Loki Max as a "single session" gaming device. The x86 chip does drain the battery faster, but if you plan ahead and know the limits, that isn't going to have a huge impact. Great video on a great handheld device!

[@lucykaede5863]

Does this emulate up ps3 smoothly?

[@MrRunItUp]

​@lucykaede5863 I'm sure it does, I have a steam deck and use RPCS3 for PS3 emulation, and most games run smoothly (not all games, though) But it honestly surprises me at how well they run given that the steam deck isn't that powerful. I'm thinking about getting this Loki Max given it's a nice bump in power over the Deck, and it's form factor. It's currently on sale right now for $500 😅

[@MrRunItUp]

You deserve WAY MORE SUBSCRIBERS than you have! This video is TOP notch 👌 👏

[@matosaku0857]

love the optimization guide! I’ve always used windows but I never knew how to “optimize” it for handhelds like these.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad it helped! It's all about minimizing those background processes since we're trying to get the most out of these devices in terms of performance and battery life. I'm always looking for ways to make these devices better and more efficient.

[@GuilhermedaRochaAlvesMendes91]

I'm about to receive my unit of Loki Max and by far your review definitely taught me some important configurations to be applied once it arrives. I'd like to see some thing more focused on retro gaming, which is one of the reasons I bought this device. Unfortunately, it's not very common to find content about emulation on devices using this chipset, so if you're available to make a review regarding this would be great for users. My main questions about emulation is if it's best using Windows or Linux (JELOS, ChimeraOS, Batocera...). Again, thanks a lot for this huge review! You just won a subscription!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Dual booting is tricky for Jelos and Windows because every time you pull the SD card out to switch to Windows for your games, you'll need to go back into the BIOS and change your boot location when you return to the micro SD card for emulation. I'd personally recommend just sticking to Windows but you'll likely get mildly better battery life for emulation on Jelos. I can take a look at creating some windows emulation guides in the near future though, sure! Just got a few videos to work through in my content creation queue first. Glad you liked the optimization tweaks.

[@GuilhermedaRochaAlvesMendes91]

@@KeiRetroGaming actually, the way I configured here the boot configs weren’t loose after loading Windows. But I didn’t think JELOS is worth yet, because of missing screen share and some other stuff that I didn’t like so much. I used EmuDeck on Windows to configure things, but I’m having issues with Dolphin for GameCube and Cemu for WiiU. GameCube games aren’t rendering well, while WiiU ones are not recognizing the original controls, sadly. Now I’m trying to fix it, but it looks harder than I expected. Your guides will be welcome, for sure! And also, if you have any tips for me right now, I’d appreciate them very much!

[@yearoftheox5222]

Great video but I recommend Handheld companion With auto tdp and turn the limiter down to 3w. In some games with low intensity cutscenes in games or areas like sea of stars it will go down to 3w and still maintain 60fps. Great for battery life. Awesome software maybe do a video on it.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I'll have to check it out again, thanks! I looked at it initially when it launched but I'm sure updates really helped refine it. I love how it has an undervolt feature built-in as well.

[@yearoftheox5222]

@@KeiRetroGaming yea I tried it out at the beginning stages and I wasn't a fan but now its a lot more cohesive and works better than lcc

[@RIPBlurge]

I tried HC for the first time just a couple of days ago. I liked it, but I couldn’t get the auto tdp to work and I couldn’t get manual tdp to take effect either. Any suggestions yourself or possible guide that I could check out? I like that it has built in feature to map hot keys. Not a big fan of LCC either. Steam Deck and Ally have better control centers for sure.

[@yearoftheox5222]

@@RIPBlurge Hmmm I kinda just installed it and it worked but maybe when you're in a game and open the HC control center and try using the setting called per-game profile then set the frame rate target to whatever you want it to be. monitor the tdp with the Overlay for performence and see what happens.

[@rodolforubens]

I got mine by november 1st for 550usd and got the case with it, pretty happy with it so far!

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Awesome! Any particular favorite games that you've been enjoying on it?

[@PixelShade]

My biggest issue with AMDs off-the-shelf APUs is that were never designed for handheld devices, but rather laptops and the typical power envelope you find in that form factor. The 680M would've been great if it was paired with a 4c/8t CPU. As it would've massively lowered the TDP requirement to get decent gaming performance. I mean on the Steam Deck, if I am playing Dreamcast games I can get 6-7 hours of battery. 2D games I get around 7-9 hours of battery life. Even Cyberpunk when locked to 30fps at 9W TDP I get 2.5-3h of battery life (Better than this device when playing more demanding 2D indie games)... The Steam Deck is a bit bulky, but so far Valve is the only company that has been able to pull off the right amount of performance/power draw and battery life.

[@Jhud69]

This is literally just what I needed. I was torn between Ayaneo Air and Loki Max but I think I will go with Loki Max.

[@kimi3253]

Ayaneo air speaker like punching my ears 😞 super annoyed, even that i really like it but i returned because their speaker ruined my game experience really bad 😢

[@Guitario666]

Hey Kei, love when you do your optimization guides. I have the 6600 and love it. Im tempted to try ChimeraOS, but tbh im good with Windows as well

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks! Do you find it helpful to see the optimization guide built into the device review or would you prefer to have it separate and have a shorter review in general? Always nice to hear community feedback. Yeah I do love the flexibility Windows offers too. I tried out Chimera once but the LED's flashing every 2 seconds drove me back to Windows pretty fast.

[@andrewdunning7064]

Excellent debloat content. Thank you!

[@kdubspencer3390]

Bazzite os on the loki max is so good .

[@cho-v4n]

Love the Loki max 🙂 Thanks kei

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Glad to hear you've been liking your Loki Max so far! What's your favorite game to play on it (from what you've tried so far)?

[@cho-v4n]

@@KeiRetroGaming definitely control 😁

[@Invid72]

Cool handheld but I've never looked at my Steam Deck screen and thought, "this is too big". If anything, I want a bigger screen for PC games as text is pretty small on some games. The Loki is still pretty impressive though. They fit a pretty decent battery in it for such a small chassis size. I'd love a larger screened, larger battery one.

[@CrocoDylianVT]

this is actually nice, not only is it cheaper than the Steam Deck but also should be on pair or slightly outperform, as the Steam Deck offers a similar performance to a 1050, while 680M in this one performs between the 1050 and 1050 Ti, but when it comes to CPU performance that's where an 8 core Zen 3+ can have quite an advantage againts the Deck's 4 core Zen 2

[@davidvega1978]

so the steam deck is king!

[@carlos2004]

I love everything about this device except Windows. I'll wait for steamOS to be released for other devices since what I really want is simply a mini steam deck. But for now, I'm really liking my odin2 so I'll keep using it for now.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Chimera OS has been making huge strides, but that's sort of what I'm waiting for too before making the switch away from Windows on these devices. I appreciate the flexibility it offers, but having something as polished as the official Steam OS (mostly) would be ideal for better battery life.

[@tankerbruja]

as someone who doesn't have large hands i need to get this point across that hopefully changes the way you think about ergonomics. bigger does not equal better. just because you have more room for bigger hands(even if you make good use of that room) does not mean that is just better ergonomics than something that is smaller but also has good contours. those ayaneo units you mention being contoured but much smaller would be much better ergonomics for someone like me versus the steam deck, which is much worse.

[@adamhughes5678]

Man, I love your walkthroughs. I'll be using this on my Legion Go. I'm wanting to pick up a Loki Max at some point. Is the ram upgradeable like it was in the Loki Mini?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Thanks, glad you liked it! The memory on the Loki Max is soldered onboard so it's not upgradable unfortunately. Also make sure to swap your power button press to hibernate not sleep as that causes a lot of issues with windows handhelds in general, especially in games. It can be changed in the power options, then select "change what power buttons do". Hibernate is a bit slower to enter and exit but I definitely recommend it over sleep mode.

[@adamhughes5678]

@@KeiRetroGaming Could you do a guide for Legion Go overclocking/undervolting and settings to improve the performance? Will the Lenovo Vantage override the X86 Handheld Tuning? Is one better than the other?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I don't own the Legion Go unfortunately. Thought about it, but the lack of VRR and removable controllers made me stick to my Ally. I believe the x86 handheld tuning utility overrides the built-in legion software. I definitely want to take a look at undervolting in general on Windows handhelds though.

[@TruSuCiO23]

Sadly all Loki lines are sold out and not looking like they will be restocking anytime soon or at all 😢

[@astralisoffthechain8588]

I’m trying to purchase one of these for months now and it’s always sold out. Any one know another way to purchase one?

[@HearMeLearn]

I really want one but as someone with a steam deck already, it not having the 7840 kills it for me

[@AyaWetts]

Great review. Performance and heat seemed better than I expected, but the battery life, yuck... its a non-starter for me though as I cannot live without my trackpads, I seriously always hated gaming with game controllers, but with the Steam Deck trackpads, its the only controller set up I've liked of any gaming system... besides classic keyboard/mouse is great.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Battery life is definitely something companies need to address moving forward. As mentioned in the review I've always treated x86 handhelds as single sitting devices, and that's worked for me but not ideal for everyone. Hopefully when Valve releases Steam OS officially for other handhelds we'll see some big battery life jumps on a lot of these devices.

[@Mustis91]

iiii dont know.. a 680m igpu at 1080p might not be enough. I would only get this for emulation and light gaming. i got a mini pc with a 780m igpu and 7840 hs processor (beelink ser 7) and while it's performance is impressive for what it is, you have to be very selective with the games you want to play on it at 1080p . you will run games like enter the gungeon, stardew valley etc no problem but dont expect this thing to run modern games. for reference : on my beelink ser 7 with fsr on, you can play horizon zero dawn at medium-ish setting at around 45-55 fps but the cooler will go crazy and keep in mind that it's hardware is a little better compared to the loki max

[@caliguy44]

Steam deck without track pads and 6 inch screen would be the perfect mini.

[@justinkase1315]

Are the speakers in the Loki Mini Pro louder than the ones in the Max.? Feel like my speakers on the Max are way lower than the Mini Pro, I was actually highly impressed when I heard the Mini Pro for the first time. Then got my Max and was immediately surprised how low they were. Hopefully I don’t have to RMA

[@KeiRetroGaming]

It's probably just a slight variance in the build. I'd recommend using fxsound to see if that helps your audio: www.fxsound.com/

[@alsisworld6892]

There's a problem with the triggers that mean only the last 30% or so count as it being pressed at all. This is a bit sad as the triggers feel great otherwise. I've been loving almost every other part of my Loki Max though.

[@MrMartellSincere]

How does the ayn loki compared to the Steam Deck OLED and ROG Ally?ℹ️😊😮

[@KeiRetroGaming]

In terms of performance?

[@MrMartellSincere]

@@KeiRetroGaming yes performance. I don't want no big and bulky handheld as I want everything in my backpack 🎒

[@KeiRetroGaming]

The Loki Max sits between the Steam Deck OLED and the ROG Ally in terms of performance. The Ally is definitely the fastest of the three but the Max is a decent jump over the Deck. The deck OLED has the brightest and most vibrant screen though so there are pros and cons to each. I prefer the Ally personally between the three units but the SD card slot isn't usable on the Ally due to a design fault so you basically need to upgrade the internal storage if you want more than 512gb. The Max is a good option though either way if you want a compact design and good performance.

[@MrMartellSincere]

@@KeiRetroGaming compact design is better for me to have the size of Nintendo Switch OLED or Switch Lite 😁

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Loki Max is probably the way I'd go then. The Air 1s is smaller but I've had a lot of quality control issues with the joysticks so I couldn't recommend it.

[@dodrio1000]

I have the chance to buy a Loki 256 6600u used for same price as an Odin 2 pro. Kinda leaning for the Odin since I got a good desktop pc and an decent but old 1060 gaming laptop. Any inputs on my predicament.

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I own a decent PC, but ever since I got into X86 handhelds, I rarely find myself playing on my desktop anymore. If you're specifically looking for a handheld for emulation and aren't interested in WiiU or PS3 emulation, then the Odin 2 might be the way to go. That being said, I personally lean towards x86 handhelds 9 times out of 10 because of their value. While the battery life may not match up to the Odin 2, if you treat them as single-sitting devices, they're excellent for clearing out your Steam backlog. Both devices offer great features, and whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have a blast with it. Here's a brief summary of key points for your reference: Odin 2 Pros: - Impressive battery life, portability, lightweight design, best-in-class ARM performance. Loki Pros: - Excellent compatibility for emulation or PC gaming, comfortable to hold (despite being a bit heavy), delivers great performance. Can use it as a secondary pc if needed. The biggest drawbacks for each are as follows: Loki - Battery life. Odin 2 - Costly, but still provides exceptional value for an ARM handheld.

[@franlsz]

can you check the decoding times using Moonlight client? I would like to see how it performs to stream a desktop PC

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I checked but unfortunately on the PC version it doesn't let me see an overlay like on Android to view the decoding times.

[@RorschDG-2]

I just recently purchased the handheld and I did a reinstall of windows to fix something graphics related. Upon reinstalling and installing all the provided drivers I see that Gyro doesn't work in Steam's advanced settings mode. Is your gyro recognized in steam?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

It worked awhile ago when I tried Doom Eternal on it. I never reinstalled though.

[@RorschDG-2]

@@KeiRetroGamingAh, so it was recognized by steam then, gotcha. Thanks for answering. Some reason mine isn't being recognized and I'm asking around.

[@JB-tp6uj]

Before I purchase this, did they fix the issue where you can't remap the button hotkeys? Also, is there a dead zone issue with the triggers?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Paddles are still not re-mappable yet. I've never noticed trigger deadzones but I've also never been bothered with it on any handheld or controller so maybe I don't know a good way to test for that.

[@JB-tp6uj]

@@KeiRetroGaming Thanks for the reply. The paddles not being re-mappable doesn't bother me. I just wanted to make sure those hotkeys don't interfere with things like Retroarch, which has overlapping hotkey functions.

[@thatdangboy8267]

How do you set a custom fan curve? Is it part of the Loki software or something else?

[@KeiRetroGaming]

It's in the Loki Control Center. Tap on the fan, set to custom then you can edit it.

[@thatdangboy8267]

@@KeiRetroGaming Oh cool I didnt even know you could click on that

[@Imperial_Wing]

Is the logo a helmet with a horn

[@KeiRetroGaming]

Yep 👍

[@Imperial_Wing]

It has 2 heat pipes mate

[@luvergod69]

She gone all sold out

[@poopyscoopt5802]

Did you buy it? Im thinking of buying it but want to make sure it gets to me without any problems any tips on shipping paying etc? Its currently on sale for 550

[@KeiRetroGaming]

I was sent the unit as a review unit. If you're in any other country aside from the United States you'll likely pay import when using DHL (about 20-40$), 4px however never ends up seeing import fees. On expensive items like this though I generally recommend using DHL as they'll knock on your door as opposed to 4px just dropping it there and leaving it. I actually had 4px throw my Retroid Pocket 2S at my door.

[@poopyscoopt5802]

@@KeiRetroGaming thanks dude, one last question If I do buy it theres no like wait list etc right? Because I read they only ship out once they reached a certain amount of orders on reddit, Like as soon as I buy its shipped to me no wait list no pre order etc? Trying to get this before Christmas for my lil bro