GPD Win 5 Setup Guide

Buy the GPD Win 5 here

Recommended Accessories

• MicroSD Card: 512GB or 1TB (You’d probably want the largest you can afford)
• SSD Replacement: 4TB NVME 2280

Windows Settings

Update AMD drivers

Head over to AMD’s website and install Adrenalin to update drivers: https://www.amd.com/en/support/download/drivers.html

BIOS update (optional)

Droix has the best guide for updating BIOS, which you can find here: https://droix.net/knowledge-base/article/how-to-update-the-gpd-win-5-bios/?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=GPDWIN5_BIOS

Updating the BIOS is necessary for Bazzite to work.

Motion Assistant

GPD Win 5’s ship with a program called Motion Assistant that handles your TDP, fan curves and more.

If you ever want to update it, you can find it on this page – https://www.gpd.hk/gpdwin5firmwaredriver.

Recommended Motion Assistant Settings

TDP Tab

• Set AC TDP & DC TDP or Unify – AC TDP is the TDP you want when plugged in, DC TDP is what you want when unplugged, or you can check Unify AC/TDP to use the same TDP for both. Make sure to click Apply to save.
• Auto Limit TDP & FPS Limit – if you set an FPS limit like 60FPS and check Auto Limit TDP, then MA will auto change your TDP to whatever TDP is needed to run your game at 60FPS.
• Check Disable CPU Boost – CPU Boost is awful for handhelds, turn this off.
• Check Enable Fan Speed and choose Fan 1 – personal preference, Fan 1-4 is different curves, choose what you like best.

RTSS OSD Tab

• Check Change OSD – give this a hotkey, I like to use CTRL+0 – using this with a game open will cycle through the RTSS OSD to show FPS, and game information, super useful. Needs RTSS installed.

Advanced Tab

• Check Start with windows and Minimized to tray

Per-Game Motion Assistant Settings

Open whatever game you want to have custom settings for.

Then, in MA, under the Process Profile section on the left, choose Bind and select that game’s process.

Select that process now on the left, and any changes you make to TDP, settings etc. will only apply to that game or app.

Improve sound

Search for DTS X Ultra in the taskbar.

Set the content mode to voice.

Head to Graphic EQ top right and copy the below settings.

How to factory reset/reinstall Windows

Unfortunately, since the Windows image is a custom GPD Windows image, you can’t just head to Settings and choose factory reset like you normally would on a Windows device.

Instead, head to GPD’s website and you can download their image, which you’ll need to flash to a USB drive and use to re-install Windows.

How to park cores (Max+ 395 version)

First, you need to enter the BIOS and the easiest way I’ve found is to connect an external keyboard and spam the ESC button during boot.

Switch to Advanced > AMD Overclocking > Accept > Manual CPU Overclocking > CPU Core Count Control.

Head to CCD 00 Bit Map Down Core Control.

Now, you have 8 spots and each 1 is a core.

For the 395, 4 or 6 cores active would be a good suggestion, so go ahead and type 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 for CCD 00 for 4 cores, or 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 for CCD 00 for 6 cores.

When you’ve done that, head down to Bit Map Down Core Apply Changes to apply.

Recommended Emulators

ROMs/BIOS

If you’re looking for where to find ROMs and BIOS files, this video will help you.

If you’re looking for where to find BIOS files, this video will help you.

Also, for the best BIOS files, you can see this list here: https://joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/recommended-bios-files/.

Organizing ROMs/BIOS & File Types

If you’re curious what the best file types are for your ROMs, or how to organize everything, then this page will help: https://joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/recommended-file-types-for-roms/.

How to find your saves & states

If you’re looking for your saves & states, you can find a list of emulators and where they are here: https://joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/where-to-find-save-files-for-every-emulator-and-custom-firmware/.

Setting up Syncthing

How to setup streaming to your device

Linux Settings – Bazzite

Hotkeys

Menu button opens the Steam left side menu.

Keyboard button opens the Steam Quick Access Menu.

Spam the keyboard button to access the Handheld Daemon (HHD)

Disable CPU Boost

CPU Boost is enabled by default in Bazzite, let’s turn it off because it’s awful.

Open HHD > TDP > scroll down and change CPU Settings to Manual > CPU Boost set to Disabled.

Syncthing on Bazzite

You can find the instructions on this page: https://www.joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/syncthing-for-handhelds-guide/#SteamOSBazzite.