Im looking to do emulation stuff. Secondhand switch or GDP WIN?

save up for a win 3. but if you need it now, win 2 is way better than the switch for emulation.

 

it depends on what you want to emulate. gpd win 2 has better hardware and can emulate more stuff, but it is also like 4 times as expensive.

 

I've got a gpd win (first one) and a gpd xd+. While the latter runs android, it is MUCH more convenient. The reason: the first gpd win is like a genie granting you a wish. Sure, it IS windows 10 in the palm of your hand. With all the features. Runs your entire steam collection...but the keyboard is just too small to be convenient, neither the touchscreen nor the mouse emulation is really great (though the latter is kind of surprisingly 'okay-ish' for how awful it looks), and it comes with all the quirks that is windows ("haai...don't mind me delaying or interrupting your gameplay to download and install some shit on your preciously scarce hard drive "). Oh, and the 64GB hard drive is...pretty small. It doesn't bother me that much because the hardware's too limited for AAA-titles anyway (it's an indie machine, really), but be warned. Still: playing actual windows games is the only trump it has, so if you're looking for an emulation machine, I'd absolutely avoid it.
(note: since I always used it occasionally, I had the choice between full shutdowns/reboots every time or face empty batteries. I suppose the startup time is less of an issue if you put the thing to sleep all the time).

I hesistated a lot before grabbing the gpd xd+, and on hindsight I really shouldn't have been. Less buttons yet an easier input device (android's much more catered to touchscreen use for obvious reasons). Controls are a bit better, but especially the near-zero loading times is awesome. You can be from unpacking the device to being in the middle of a game in single digit seconds.
I'm personally not a fan of the initial interface (I swapped it out for a more regular UI in a few days), but this is probably a plus for you too: the device came with an array of emulators and even some games on it!
(I'd note that android has some sweet games too, though. Dead cells, for example, is a BLAST to play on it ).
(EDIT: youtube-link with some screenies of newer system emulations: ).

The gpd win 2 seems like it fixes a lot of my issues with the 1, but for the price point I couldn't justifie it for myself. Ironically enough, the gpd win max (which is basically 3) is around the same price range even though it's a far superior machine. So the only drawback I can think of on the max is that it's larger, and thus less portable. Both are pretty heavy machines, though. So unless you want to 100% emulate a wii or PS2, I'd say these things are overkill.

 

What are you emulating?

If it’s just say up to the PS1 you could just buy something like a PSP or use maybe a smartphone and a gamepad.

 

As noted, depends entirely on what it is you want to emulate exactly, but in general I'd probably opt for the Switch as opposed to a GPD Win (unless you're willing to put down $1000 for the GPD Win 3), as the GPD Win 1/2 are not quite good enough for good Wii/GC emulation (unless you do a lot of tweaking) and the prices for either are still much too high IMO for what you get.

The AYA NEO would be the better alternative to the GPD Win since it will MSRP for $700 and has a Ryzen 5 4500u in it, which should be just about capable of a good amount of Wii U emulation, and probably some of the easier to run Switch games on Yuzu/Ryujinx as well, but it won't likely ship until April 2021 or later.

But if you're not interested in 6th gen console emulation or latter, then the Switch would be the best choice.