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  1. #1
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    Long ago in a tablet far far away



    Basically I want to find a good tablet to use for games etc. I got a Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 last year for christmas and while it is good for various things, it's lacking in the games department. Also I got my nephew wanting me to play some of those games that this Amazon app store doesn't offer. I don't want to side install things to the kindle and accidentally break it.

    Kind of want to keep it in the ~$200 range if possible.

    I guess a good all around tablet w/ android would be great. Mostly a bit of casual/serious games if there are any.

  2. #2
    Hyperion Cross
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    So after our discussion last night @ chat, I looked around for info.

    I stand by the fact that the Nvidia Shield K1 tablet (this is actually the 2nd version of it, I wasn't aware at the time, but it's the same as the initial minus stylus (lol), charger and cable) would be best value for you at the moment. I cannot find any other tablet (amongst the top competitors) to offer such a powerful device for so cheap.

    In the UK the shield is £149 at the moment and which equates to $200.

    If you consider for example the Nexus 9 (issues not withstanding) which is a $300+ device, the only thing this device lacks is:

    1. No charger in box, or cable (you should have one, Nvidia says)
    2. No sim card slot (you don't currently have one on your Amazon anyways)
    3. Slightly lower res screen (Google's Nexus is 2048 something, Shield is 1920x1200... insignificant)
    4. You do get a memory card slot though, and 128gb (max supported size) micro SD cards are rapidly being slashed in price

    Samsung does not offer anything at that price with such power. Lenovo does (screen wise), but the CPU is a bit lacking.
    Everything else at that price range is dirt shit to be fair and only good for the casual that plays candy crush or farm shit.

    The Nvidia Shield K1 can be used as a normal tablet for sure, the controller is optional. On this basis and your budget I would heavily recommend this tablet over anything else.
    And if you have an Nvidia GPU on your desktop and/or laptop (I think, not investigated this) you can make your tablet act as a streaming device to output stuff on your TV... I believe that means it'll also act as a monitor for your games maybe... not sure.

  3. #3
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    Yeah after looking around more and what you've said I'm going to go ahead and get the K-1. Honestly I've ignored the Nvidia Shield since it came out but after getting that HDX last year the mobile market kinda opened up for me. Minus the obvious shovel ware of "BUY THIS FOR VIRTUAL CURRENT FOR $99 DO IIIIIIIIT" there are some real gems. Just not sure if I want to get the controller bundle now or get it later. $260 isn't bad considering the controller separate is $60 like a normal console one.

    Then I came across this shield games spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...X14/edit#gid=0

    Seems like issue wise it's back and forth from working right to being really shitty based on stuff I've looked up.

  4. #4
    Hyperion Cross
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    I would say half or most of that list won't apply to you besides 1 or 2 items, because of:

    1. It's real unlikely you'll be playing anything on there on a serious level
    2. And if you do, you're not going to be playing it for an extended time
    3. There's plenty of games available that's not AAA listed that you can probably play just as well, and then again, points 1 and 2

    You'll probably only try it and put it down again. I'm confident any game your nephew shows you are probably easily accessible stuff that can be played without controller.

    Buy it now for the purposes of doing everything you imagined a tablet to do except streaming/playing the games listed, but rest in the fact you know it'll handle most if not anything thrown at it for stuff released until now , and know that it'll be able to handle most stuff thrown at it

  5. #5
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    There are some good looking droid games out there so I plan on long terming it regardless. Think I will wait until after christmas to get it though.

  6. #6
    Hyperion Cross
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    Yeh if you're not in a rush, wait a bit for deals to float in.

    In fact the tablet is starting to look attractive to me as well (due to price drop). I like the idea of using it as a streaming thing from my PC to TV, but I also am beginning to feel frustrated by my Nexus 7's unexpandable storage. The gaming functions are just icing.

  7. #7

    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

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    I picked up a Shield K-1 shortly after the re-release. I couldn't find anything close to the value for $200. Great little tablet so far. Gaming was a bonus for me as well...the price point, specs, and memory slot are what sold me.