In the last few years, the market for handheld games has grown a lot. The Valve Steam Deck, for example, has set a high standard for portable PC gaming. The Asus ROG Ally is a Windows-based handheld that wants to change the game with its powerful hardware, sleek design, and ability to play a wide range of games. After using the ROG Ally for a while, it’s clear that Asus has made a good alternative, even though it has some problems. This is a detailed look at what makes the ROG Ally great and what it could do better.
Design and Build Quality: Sleek and Focused on Gamers
The Asus ROG Ally‘s bold, gamer-friendly look makes it stand out right away. It weighs only 608g, which is a lot less than the Steam Deck (669g), and it feels better in your hand, especially when you’re playing for a long time. The white chassis (black for the Ally X) has RGB lighting around the joysticks that adds style without being too much. You can change it or turn it off with the Armoury Crate software.
The 7-inch Full HD (1920×1080) touchscreen is one of the best features. It has bright colors and a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes the pictures look smooth. The Ally’s screen is a clear improvement over the Steam Deck’s 720p display. It shows clear details even on a small screen. The Gorilla Glass Victus makes it stronger, so you can play games on the go. The bezels around the screen, on the other hand, feel a little thick, which can make the display look a little small at first.
The control layout is like that of an Xbox controller, with responsive ABXY buttons, a D-pad that you can feel, and joysticks that are off-center. The triggers and shoulder buttons make a nice clicking sound, and there are two programmable paddle buttons on the back that make it more useful. Some users, on the other hand, might miss the Steam Deck’s touchpads, which are very helpful for playing some PC games. The joysticks are comfortable, but they could use more padding for long gaming sessions. Some early review units had problems with sticky buttons, but Asus has fixed this.
Performance: Lots of power in a small package
The ROG Ally has an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU at its core (there’s also a less powerful Z1 model), along with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM (24GB in the Ally X) and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The Z1 Extreme works very well, almost as well as a cheap gaming laptop from a few years ago. It can play newer games like Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, and Diablo 4 at 720p or 1080p with low to medium settings, and with tweaks like AMD’s FSR upscaling, it often gets 30 to 60 FPS.
The Ally’s Zen 4 architecture is clearly better than the Steam Deck’s older Zen 2-based APU, especially when the TDP is 10W or higher. But when you push the device to its native 1080p resolution, it can slow down in demanding games. Some games, like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, are still unplayable even at the lowest settings.
The $799.99 Ally X is a mid-cycle refresh that doubles the battery capacity to 80Wh, increases the RAM to 24GB, and replaces the proprietary XG Mobile port with a USB4 port, which makes it easier to connect to other devices. The Ally X gets slightly better scores than its predecessor in benchmarks like 3DMark Time Spy. This is because it has faster RAM and better power management, even though it has the same Z1 Extreme chip.
Windows 11’s Double-Edged Sword for Software
The ROG Unlike the Steam Deck, which runs on Linux-based SteamOS, Ally runs on a full version of Windows 11. This is a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, Windows makes sure that almost all games work with it right away. Steam, the Epic Games Store, Xbox Game Pass, and more all work right away. It comes with a three-month Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which is great for Xbox fans.
Windows 11, on the other hand, isn’t optimized for phones and tablets. It can be hard to use a 7-inch touchscreen to navigate the desktop because of small icons and pop-ups (like low-battery warnings) that interrupt gameplay. With Armoury Crate SE, a launcher that brings together your game libraries and performance settings, Asus makes this less of a problem. Armoury Crate has come a long way since it first came out, but it still doesn’t work as well as SteamOS. Some people say they were able to install SteamOS on the Ally to make things run more smoothly, but this takes some tech knowledge.
Battery Life: Not Great
Battery life is very important for handhelds, and the original ROG Ally has trouble with this. It has a 40Wh battery that lasts 1.5 to 2 hours for demanding games at 1080p, which is about the same as the base Steam Deck. Games that aren’t as demanding, like Balatro or Dead Cells, can last 3 to 4 hours on lower settings. The 80Wh battery in the Ally X is a game-changer. It lasts 2 to 3 hours for heavy games and up to 4 to 5 hours for lighter ones, making it much easier to take with you when you travel.
But the original model didn’t have a low-battery notification, which is a big mistake that makes users have to check levels by hand. The Ally X does a better job of keeping things cool, thanks to better fan curves. However, the area around the USB-C port can still get hot (up to 104°F when charging).
Connectivity and the ability to add more
You can add more storage to the ROG Ally by using the USB-C port, the 3.5mm audio jack, or the microSD slot. Early models had problems with the SD card reader breaking cards, but Asus has fixed this with BIOS updates and custom power modes. The Ally X has a second USB4 port, which makes it easier to dock with external GPUs and monitors for a desktop-like experience.
The verdict: a strong competitor with room to grow
The Asus ROG Ally is a powerful device that lets you play console-like games on the go. It has a bright screen, works well, and works with Windows, making it a great choice for PC gamers who want to be able to access all of their games on the go. If you can afford it, the Ally X is the best version because it has a better battery, more storage, and better ergonomics. However, it costs $800, which is a lot of money.
Windows 11 is still a problem, though, and for some users, the Steam Deck’s polished SteamOS and touchpads still give it an edge. Asus has made progress in fixing problems that came up at launch, and regular updates have turned the Ally from a buggy debut into a polished competitor. The ROG Ally is a great choice if you can deal with Windows’ quirks and want something powerful and portable. Just don’t expect it to be perfect right away.
If you’re having trouble deciding between the Ally and the Steam Deck, it all comes down to what you want. Choose the Ally for its raw power and ability to play games, or the Deck for a smoother, more console-like experience. The ROG Ally shows that handheld PC gaming is here to stay, no matter what.
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