NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet and Controller
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2015-05-07
·
1,973 words · ~9 min read
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I'm going to open this review by saying that when NVIDIA first unveiled this
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thing my only reaction was oh I guess
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I'll have to keep waiting for a proper Tegra K1 handheld then my feedback about
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the concept was actually so negative at the Press event that my contact there
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asked me if I even wanted a review samp I said yeah and don't worry I'll be fair
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to it so while NVIDIA is not positioning
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The Shield tablet as a replacement to the shield portable I stowed my handheld
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for a week and have only used this one since then so that I can tell you guys
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about the
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experience the flash Voyager GTX usb3 drive from Corsair provides SSD like
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performance and fits comfortably in your pocket click now to learn more so here's
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the package NVIDIA scent it includes the tablet itself and some optional
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accessories the magnetic hinged tablet cover that supports Auto sleep wake and
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three different viewing positions with the magnets in the back of the shield and the wireless controller which I'll
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actually cover in more depth later spec-wise this guy is very well equipped
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for the price it's got a Tegra K1 processor with 192 Kepler GPU cores 2
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gigs of RAM a 19.75 w battery that was
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good for over 2 and 1/2 hours of continuous Tryin 2 Gaming and 16 gigs of
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storage in the Wi-Fi model with 32 gigs in the LTE enabled model at the front we
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find an 8 in1 1920x 1200 IPS screen that
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I would describe as pretty darn good motion blur wasn't a problem when gaming
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its maximum brightness made it suitable for use in almost any environment and
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this really stood out to me this is the first device I've ever used whose
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minimum brightness is very comfortable to use even in complete dark also on the
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front is a 5 megapixel selfie camera that captures 1080p video and can
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actually be used to stream to twitch.tv natively on the device as well as two
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loud stereo speakers my only complaint about the front is that the edges of the
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screen are a little bit harsh and scrape my fingers a little bit when I SL swipe
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in from the side not a huge deal on the back we find the other 5 megapixel
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camera on the bottom we find the latches for the magnetic cover on the top we
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find the GPU accelerated stylus pen who chiseled soft tip and low latency stood
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out to me even though I'm not really a stylist guy and it stayed stashed there
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throughout the review process we find slots for a Sim and micro SD expansion
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card a volume rocker and a lock button then on each side we've got base ports
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for the front speakers with the left side also featuring a micro USB port a
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mini HDMI output that can handle 1080p 60 FPS and a 32 mm headset audio jack
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that pretty much wraps up the tablet but I promised to say more about their Wi-Fi
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Direct console grade controller which is actually a significant product launch in
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its own right the direct benefits of this controller over a Bluetooth one are
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potentially less interference on 5 GHz much higher bandwidth for more
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simultaneous controllers support for audio with the integrated mic which can
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also be used for Google Now when your tablets mic is 10 ft away or with the
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built-in headset Jack and lower latency
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although most of these things aren't really my problem with existing
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Bluetooth controllers my issue has always been the layo build quality even
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from products that claim to be console grade NVIDIA's solution isn't perfect
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the triggers and d-pad feel a bit mushy for me and the bny button placement has
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B basically on the edge of the controller and Y actually too high for
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me to reach comfortably if I hold the controller along the grooves the way
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it's designed but I got to give them credit it's still the best option I've
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seen so far the pairing process takes just a few seconds with the included app
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and other than the triggers the tactile feedback has been pretty well received
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by everyone I've shown it to the touchpad for Mouse movement in a pinch
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is great the joysticks are solid and if you game a few hours a day you'll only
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need to charge the battery once every week or two I'd still use an Xbox
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controller where possible but I actually prefer this one to Sony's dual shock all
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right so now that we've covered the tablet and controller separately let's
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discuss how they go together and how you might use them now my biggest objection
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to this device at the briefing was the need to carry around two pieces instead
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of one when I'm using Game stream to be in PC games to it around the house or
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playing Android games on it when I'm out and about so let's go through a few of
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the different ways that I already used use a shield device and how this Stacks
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up so we'll start with the toilet in this case Shield portable is the big
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winner unless you sit backwards on the toilet there's really nowhere to put a
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screen that's not attached to the controller next up is the bath where I
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actually spend a good 25% of my shield gaming time once again I prefer portable
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but only because I don't have a better tablet stand the bigger screen is
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definitely better here but the integrated covers angle make it a little
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bit hard to view the screen straight on from there next up is in bed here the
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tablet shines for a while laying on my stomach was the best gaming experience
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in bed with the tablet propped up on a pillow in front of me but I found that
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my neck got uncomfortable and strained and when it was time to shift I couldn't
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flip over and hold the device above me the way that I can with the handheld so
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I'm going to call this another win for the portable especially if you want a
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game for extended periods of time in the car propping up the tablet on your lap
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actually works surprisingly well and was reasonably balanced as long as the
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driver doesn't break suddenly another win for the portable but as much as I'm
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kind of piling on here there are some
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types of scenarios where the tablet is worlds better than the portable if
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there's a flat surface in front of you let's say an airplane food tray dining
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room table desk in the cafeteria at school for example it is a much more
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comfortable experience to game with a bigger screen a lighter controller and
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your hands in a more relaxed position on
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your legs so at the end of the day it's going to come down to where you plan to
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use it and if you're willing to trade the convenience of an attached
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controller that you don't have to carry separately with the convenience of a
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larger screen and a much better typing
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experience I mean typing on Shield portable or using any apps that have to
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run in landscap or portrait mode is terrible Mobile use aside I guess you
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could buy this strictly as a tablet and as a game console for your TV I've
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actually only done it a couple times because I have a media PC but according
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to NVIDIA lots of people plug into their TVs using HDMI in console mode and
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there's a compelling argument to be made for this Android games PC games at up to
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1080 60p with an OTG Ethernet dongle and a and an enabled PC elsewhere in the
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house and Netflix at 1080p makes for a pretty complete entertainment experience
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that you can have the added benefit of being able to pick up and take with you
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wherever you go so it's conclusion time and it's a bit of a long one today sorry
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guys outside of gaming It's a Wonderful piece of technology that I'd be very
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comfortable recommending to a wide variety of want toe tablet owners with
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the Tegra K1 chip at its core the performance is awesome the stylus with
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the included handwriting recognition will be a godsend for students or anyone
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who wants to take a lot of notes and they're included physics enabled
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painting app is going to be a ton of fun for artists to play around with the
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software is nearly stock Android with only a few tweaks like an auto power
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down mode so it's more likely to have some juice when you pick it up if you
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only use it once in a while and it gets a big thumbs up from me there for gamers
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I actually feel like it's more than that in spite of some frame rate dips in the
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pre-loaded copy of trying 2 let's not pretend it runs as well as it does on a
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PC the fact that this product exists
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proves that we're heading in a really amazing Direction we've got openg GL 4.4
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and direct X12 featur rep on a tablet we've seen the new features that Shield
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owners have enjoyed over the last year like grid powered remote gaming keypad
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mapping for Android games and over the Internet gam stream from your own PC and
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what all of this demonstrates is NVIDIA's continued belief in this whole
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Android gaming thing something that I actually agree with very strongly I mean
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sure this is a little ahead of its time I mean other than older emulated console
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games there's not much for local multi player or split screen Android games if
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you want to play up the console experience with up to four attached
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controllers but I'm just glad that someone's got the balls and resources to
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invest in the hardware we need to build a platform for developers to even want
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to work on these games and that they've done it without falling into the same
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trap of creating a device that only really does one thing unlike previous
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attempts to create an Android gaming device The Shield tablet manages to be a
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very compelling value as a tablet for normal people while also delivering the
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right features to be a super cool gaming device not an easy thing to do I still
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don't need a tablet and this still doesn't change that but I've got to give
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NVIDIA credit anyway they nailed this one guys thanks for watching like this
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video if you liked it dislike it if you disliked it leave a comment let me know
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Shield portable Shield tablet or none of the above very curious to hear what you
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think uh also don't forget to check out the video description where we're going
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stuff we get a small Kickback and I think we're pretty much done here thanks for watching again and as always don't
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