Dude, this was a great review video! I returned my z1 for the z1 extreme (that was my first mistake lol) I’m new to pc gaming- I wanted to purchase this unit to play my Xbox games on the go, play spider man, GOW (didn’t want to just purchase a ps5 just for that.) and continue with some AAA I’ve never played at the comfort of my couch! Since being a new dad this helps spend more time with the wife and baby- knowing I don’t have to be in my gaming room to play games and be away from the family, I can engage with the family and slowly play my games as time permits on the go! What a time to be alive, grateful and humbled- god is good!
@@MrTekSuggest what made me hesitate is that I'm not familiar with Linux, but the community made things easy. plus - the money I saved got me all the accessories i needed for it :)
@gatesroyale rookie comment, the Legion Go runs the exact same processor as the Ally meaning there is no meaningful performance improvement. The next set of chipsets that come out in 2024 is when anyone should be looking at solid performance gains.
I have both the Steam Deck OLED (I upgraded) and the ROG Ally. The Ally is still my main. The SD card thing is annoying but things have been great after I just too out the memory card. It is actually a lot easier for me to use with everything than the Steam Deck since it is Windows. I had a 2TB 2230 SSD in it and just upgraded to a 4TB SSD with the 90 degree adapter and it has been great so far.
You have such great video quality for a smaller channel! Good video 👍. From what I hear, Ally owners love the device as long as it works properly. It seems like a bit of a gamble though to get a good unit. As a Deck owner, I'd likely wait until the next gen of APU's to upgrade, whether that was an Ally 2, Deck 2, or whatever else comes out.
You’ve gotta check out the skull and co ROG ALLY case. It’s amazing. The case basically makes it feel like you’re holding a proper controller. So comfortable to hold
Now there’s an idea! The SD card slot is really useful for me though, as I use it to quickly transport all of my ROMs and retrobat interface between my handhelds
Too Many Handhelds. This is the most impressive tech review I’ve seen in a very long time. So much info squeezed into 20 minutes. I have to rewatch it now. Subscribed.
I was having trouble deciding between the z1 extreme and steam deck OLED. I ultimately went with the OLED cause I didn't want to troubleshoot anything. I work in IT and the last thing I wanna do is solve problems in my free time.
I really don’t understand how people say “they don’t want problems” then go and buy a Linux device. I’ve legit never had a single problem with windows 10/ windows 11. You can run EVERYTHING. with the steam deck you you have chose which proton version can potentially run a game, not every game is compatible, etc. how is that not the complete opposite of what you just said???
@@Godlyblurrsnah I know what he means. Yes it’s Linux but it’s a modified and curated version of Linux with constant updates and games on steam are verified so you know how they run etc. it’s like a console. The ROG is windows, so you’ve got to deal with everything that comes with that, and config games yourself etc
@@Godlyblurrsthe steamos has barely any problems. Windows on a handheld is terrible, so many issues. Having used both i can say the deck is by far a better product.
@@sumersandhu77 as do I. I’ve had the deck since it came out, and my main device is the Rog ally. Unless you’ve literally never used a pc before, I don’t see how windows is not the better option. With decks OS not every game is compatible. You literally have to mess around with proton versions to try and get games to work, I can’t say the same thing for windows 11. Run what you want, download what you want, PLAY whatever you want. And the ally has come a long way. Not to mention even the new oled steam deck is not worth the money anymore compared to the ally with the price cut. Every piece of hardware is vastly superior minus an oled screen, and the ergonomics. I simply don’t get how people like being restricted to Linux, and steam os, where not every game is compatible.
Great and honest review. I had to exchange one and then RMA my second due to SD card failing. But the more recent boards seem to have resolved the problem. It’s been a month and everything is working amazing. I love this thing. No regrets.
I literally just bought an Ally a day or two ago and am waiting for it to get here. May end up swapping to the steam deck because the controls were so nice when I played with one, but it's really nice to at least have options between Steam, Lenovo, soon MSI, Asus, and even some of the other lesser known devices they're getting to the point where you just have to decide your own use case and you'll probably find something for you. It's so cool to me as an owner of the first GPD Win way back when that we're finally here.
The ROG Ally is a lovehate relantionship for me too. I returned it twice but I still thought about it, how comfortable and powerfull and cool it was so i got it a third time and kept it.
@@GamePlay_7860 In my country the law states that you can return any product in 14 days without any questions asked as long as you keep it as close to the original state as possible.
I got a rog Ally and tried playing warframe on it. It was a little glichy, but once I played with the settings, it was perfect . Now I'm hooked. Cyberpunk 2077 works just fine and pretty much all the rest of my games, too.
I bought one on black Friday. Compare to deck is 30fps vs 60. Far Cry 4 is like playing it for first time. PS5, gaming laptop and even Quest 3 wasn't used for last week.
That’s not the point for whatever price they is asking for the handheld it should be be acceptable to use now if they didn’t have a sd card asus should lower there price
I have the Z1 extreme and your review was a major factor in the decision picking it up. The SD card was a major concern for me at first and then I thought well I can just swap out the NVME and call it a day lol. Great review btw, very informative. I got it open box with a GS warranty.
Great video as always. Good to know sending it off to Asus helped. My SD card slot messed up but I didn’t send it in yet because I installed a 2TB SSD. I guess I can go without it for a month.
@MrTekSuggest ive been in the same place with my device. Should you remove the 2tb drive and put the original back in? Ive heard some ppl are getting back other refurbished devices instead of their own
@@MrTekSuggest thanks so much for the reply. Your experience gives me some consolation as ive really only seen negative experiences with RMA on youtube/reddit so ive just kinda accepted the loss of the sd drive but now I think Ill go through with it!
Too many handhelds! I use my Steam Deck most, but I’m looking at getting a Windows handheld. I may be using Switch more soon because I have SMB Wonder on the way. Also, I’m LOVING Spider-Man 2! The cinematics and storytelling are top notch! Thanks for the review!
I had 2 ROG Allys brick. First one was from best buy the second was from asus. Third unit ran but then I had the sd card issue. Also it was more uncomfortable than the steam deck.
Big note: that 2230 port. You can get a 90 degree converter for the port. I did this and got a 4tb 2280 drive for less than the price of the 2tb 2230 drive.
I ended up selling off my Ally and went back to the Steam Deck. I just felt like I spent more time tinkering than playing on it, and there's just something nice about sitting back in my recliner and firing up a game on the Deck without tinkering. Sure it's not like that for EVERY game, but it works on enough. I think I gave up on the Ally when I was in Vegas for work and the SD card failed for a 3rd time and most of my games were on the card. Thank God I at least had Xbox Game Pass to stream games on that subpar hotel wifi.
Lol I sold My steam deck the moment the rog ally was announced and I don't regret it one bit. I hated the steam deck. It's interesting you talk about tinkering because that's all I did on the steam deck especially if the game didn't have a green check mark. Even games that do have a green check mark I've had issues and have had to use I believe it's called the beta version of proton and I've had to switch around which versions of proton I use on the steam deck to run certain games smoothly. I think your comment kind of gives a false narrative that the steam deck just works and is like an Xbox or PlayStation 5 or switch but it's really not. It's close Don't get me wrong but it's not as smooth as someone may think reading your comment. That's not the only downside if you want to play a game on any platform other than Steam you're going to be doing a crapload of "tinkering" as you put it. You know how much time I spent on the Linux desktop on the Steam deck just trying to play game pass games without streaming them? More than I'd like to admit and I'm not a fan of streaming games over the internet, too much latency. I eventually dual-booted windows on the steam deck, but it definitely was janky. I had many driver issues. Even after Valve released official audio drivers I had issues with audio in Windows on the Steam deck constantly. I've never had to tinker with the rog ally not a single time. I installed Steam, I installed the Epic games store, I installed Game Pass, and I installed EA play. I haven't had a single issue with any of those stores or games I've downloaded through them not a single one. The only issue I've had is the one explained in this video but I had that repaired and returned to me in less than a week through Best Buy and it's been fine ever since. Because our experiences appear to be vastly different I'm genuinely curious what you mean by tinkering? are you talking about windows and issues with games running on Windows properly? Or are you talking about tinkering with the rog ally because of the hardware issues you mentioned and trying to get it to work?
@@aaronjohnson2547 outside of the SD card slot being unusable, I had a few AAA games that tended to crash pretty often. WWE 2K23, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Starfield all pop to mind first. I also had issues with Diablo 4 having static sound that turned out to be the audio driver constantly re-enabling Dolby headphone support for the speakers. And of course there was dealing with Windows on a handheld. One of the biggest things I liked on the Deck was suspending a game if I was going to hop back into it next time I picked my Deck up and with Windows that just isn't possible right now. I don't spend too much time in Linux on my Deck since most of the games I want to run in have in Steam. I did download Heroic which handles the Epic and GOG games for me, it even puts the shortcut into Steam so I can launch from the main interface. As for streaming, there are apps now that will take care of GeForce Now and Game Pass, or you can follow the guides they provide one time to setup a working interface and then launch that also from Steam. The Deck allows you to tinker if you really want to, but for the most part it gives you the closest experience to a console you'll find on the PC side. No, it doesn't run everything, but if the games you want to play have a green checkmark, I've found many even have Steam Deck specific settings so they're optimized from launch.
There’s way more tinkering done on the steam deck 😂 I hated that device for a lot of reasons. Rog ally completely destroyed it from every angle. But I give props to steam for creating this pc handheld hype
@@aaronjohnson2547 interesting. I've barely spent any time in the Linux side unless there's something specific I wanted to do that wasn't part of Steam, like setup Game Pass or GeForce Now streaming. Otherwise when it comes to Steam games, most games I've played have had a green or yellow check and I've had no issues. My Ally may have been tainted by more hardware issues but there was definitely Windows related management I had to do to make sure I didn't have stuff in the background hurting game performance. If I wanted to play a AAA game I also usually had to restart the whole console before I launched or I'd have issues. FF7 remake was probably the last game I tried before I gave up, and it ran fine for me on the Deck. I wouldn't say it's a console like experience, the same as an Xbox, PS5 or Switch, but it's probably the closest I've had with actual PC gaming.
Fantastic review!! Subscribed. I’m glad you went into such detail with your interactions with Asus with respect to the SD card reader issue. Hoping you can do a Legion Go review when it drops!
Great review, I love the Rog ally but Im personally waiting for the 2nd gen version, these first gen handheld PCs are awesome but I guarantee in 1.5 to 2 years, the newer versions will be significantly better. A slightly bigger screen (but not as big as the legion), and maybe 25% better battery life, and it'd be a no brainer. Might even replace my laptop. Personally I wish they went with a darker body color too, would love a grey version.
Lol, two things that are very difficult to pull off. Larger screen typically means a larger device, and a 25% increase in battery is unlikely, especially now that it has to power your larger screen.
@@bigload6 The panel on the legion is nice and large, but it's also an 850g handheld. I prefer a bit more portability, which is why the Ally appeals to me.
Honestly im leaning towards the deck, i feel like handhelds are meant to be a portable experience and the steam deck oled has the best battery life in the handheld market. Plus it looks beautiful 😍.
I tend to lean towards the Geek 1S (with the screen upgrade) and the GPD Win 4 as the best handheld gaming devices but being that they're both some chunky boys that outweigh both the Ally and the Steam Deck, I end up going back to the Ally to satisfy my regular gaming on the go needs. When it comes to heat dissipation, the right hand side of the GPD win 4 gets toasty.
I’ve had my steam deck for over a year. Recently I was debating between an OLED Steam Deck and a ROG Ally. I ended up just deciding to keep what I have, I appreciate the low maintenance aspect of the steam deck and if I want amazing graphics I can stream from my 3080 Ti/5950X PC to my LG OLED TV via my Steam Deck Dock. I will upgrade to the Steam Deck 2 when it comes out.
Just got rid of my Steam Deck after picking up my ROG ally extreme. No regrets, and I don't see any coming. It's a beautiful machine for on the go gaming. I still need to check it out being docked and played on my tv.
Bought my Ally on launch. My device had audio crackling issue from the right speaker, as I used earphones majorly it didn't bother me much. Now, the issue has gone automatically. I think it was software related or something. I love the new Steam Deck OLED but due to performance gap, I just cannot give up my Ally. I do not play AAA games on Ally, but I also don't play pixelated or 'too indie' games. I majorly play games which are old (about 5-15 years old) but they were AAA in their time (like Mass Effect LE , Prey, Dishonored, Fallout New Vegas etc., games that I missed). My main gaming station is my PC. What I would love is an OLED screen on the ally, that is all that it is missing according to me, and of course the batter, ooooof.
Funny enough, we use Lenovo in most Healthcare areas just fine in Sweden 😅 the whole hospital I work in use Lenovo mini desktop PCs. The Dell ones we had however was so bad, bluescreens, fans being faulty, veeery sensitive hdmi port etc. A spare gaming laptop with nvidia 960M still works. A some 2-3 year old Lenovo 14" laptop still works. I've had more issues with Acer as a private consumer than Lenovo.
I'm in super love with my Ally. The attention and money I used to pour into my gaming rig.. I give to my Ally now. The performance, graphic capability and how quiet this thing is. It's goddamn perfect Steam Deck, eat your heart out
@@user-to1su2iy4d That sounds like you're just speculating that but regardless, the chance of it taking off without the valve as an existing platform is slim
@@jackedwards6130 *Edit: Not speculative lmao I got off my lazy mental arse and did some research and seems the Ally was in production for a solid 5 years.* If you think it took Asus a year to conceptualize, engineer and manufacture the Ally you might come to that conclusion but the chances of that are also slim. Also considering handheld PCs were a thing before the Deck. I do agree the Deck definitely slingshotted the handheld PC market into the mainstream though
I had the same issue and I've owned the ally since day one of its release. I brought it to Best Buy and it was repaired and back in my hands in less than a week. You don't have to RMA the rog ally directly with ASUS you can go to your local Best Buy and tell them to RMA the device for you and they'll send it off to their local repair centers in your state. This is a much quicker process than sending it into ASUS directly for repairs. I also own a steam deck and I'm going to be honest I hate that thing. The limitations of the steam deck became annoyingly apparent The moment I wanted to play a game on literally any other platform than Steam. The steam deck is also too heavy any extended play in my hands would start to go numb because it's too heavy and awkward I have never once had that issue with the rog ally.
Really great and detailed review that covers most of the important aspects to ensure a good comparison. Except the most important aspect, battery life. Since these are handheld devices, I find a battery comparison between the three devices essential. The steam deck not only wins in 15W performance comparison between the three devices most of the time, it also does it while consuming less energy. For some people a 30w mode is no option if the device is empty after under an hours. Otherwise one of the best comparisons I have seen especially after all the updates the Rog Ally underwent!
Just picked up my ROG Ally as I travel quite a bit. I absolutely love it but also agree with all things mentioned here. The updates are a complete faff and the battery life means you gotta carry an EVs worth of backup power. These were all compromises I was aware of when I picked up the device so I'm not too disappointed. I tend to be a "one game at a time" person so the SD card has yet to come into play either. As for Spiderman 2.... It's not grabbing me like the first game and in certain areas, the graphics feel like a step back but it's early days yet.
The SD card reader sits under a heat pipe with no thermal shielding. Some are saying newer units now come with thermal shielding, but my advice is simply not used the SD card altogether. You can buy a 2TB 2280 SSD for the price of a 1TB SD Card. So buy the right angle adapter and 2280 SSD and keep it moving.
Was about to return the ally. But then tried ps3 emulation. It’s better than my 9700k desktop. Upgrading my desktop would cost more than buying the ally.
I like the performance and how quiet it is. But the battery, even at 15W (unless if ASUS has fixed it with a firmware update) will struggle with getting a proper playthrough session in some 3D games.
Here's the elephant in the room I rarely see mentioned; power vs ease of use. I own and love my Switches (Original, OLED, Lite) Ally (with the XG Mobile 3070), Deck (I have the top end, wife and kiddo the lowest end), RG405 (Anbernic), Retroid 3+ metal case and probably another handheld or two. The Ally is at the far end of power, but amongst all I have, the biggest pain to use. The Retroid is on the far opposite end (once set up). The deck is smack dab in the middle, and while it gets so much play time from me. I'm likely getting the OLED Deck LE, and after that, I probably won't touch my Ally anymore because of the updates, terrible sleep state, etc. The Ally takes about 20 or so minutes to play on average if I use the XG with it, and although it's ridiculous once working, it's just such a pain.
I bought the Ally a couple of weeks ago and loved it for a bit. I found my unit to be loud, the haptics were kind of bad in my opinion, the battery life I was getting want not good, and the ergonomics of it, even with the Skull and Co grip case sucked for me. I decided to keep my steam deck, but am looking forward to all this competition coming to this market! PLEASE don't be a one and done Asus!
I love my deck but the screen is too small, the legion go will definitely be my new go to. I also run windows on my deck and big picture mode is essentially steam game mode.
Rule #1 don't play triple A games from SD cards... SD cards are very fragile and not save for storing important datas... my conclusion since SD cards came out..
Selling the deck for the Ally, the Z1 Extremes are going for $380 on used hardware sites now. So long linux, lack of VRR, and meager docked performance.
The rog paired with the Xg is a no brainer for me. It genuinely is the best pc I’ve had. Beats the hell out of the Alienware rtx 3070 I had. Ever since finding out about these handhelds, I’ve quickly fallen in love and am only playing on handhelds. If Lenovo supports egpu, might switch over. Love the fuck out of my ally tho
I have the sd card reader problem too. Really sucks. I don't wanna send it in right now since I would have to take out my 2tb ssd and reformat the whole thing when I get it back. Too much of a hassle. So it's a device without an sd card slot atm and that just really sucks.
I selled it for the exact same reason you mentioned in the beginning. I feel like the legion go has much more to offer , with 144hz maybe the VRR absence will be forgivable. The drivers update on 3 different apps was a big no for me too
@@NERODIEM I’m not saying “there’s too many handhelds because there actually is - I’m saying it because that was the phrase given to say if you made it all the way to the end of the video to show you watched it. Otherwise I totally agree
I never had the micro sd problems like other people but i love the freedom to tweak my programs compared to steam decks stupid linux thing. Rog ally suffers from its sleep function. Rog ally looks better with the rgb. Not a fan of the sharp angle corners gets in the way of gripping the back.
I honestly just gave up on the sd card and upgraded my internal memory, I have so many other devices to play my roms. It was super annoying at first, but I live with it
I think the Legion maybe too big for the assignment. I feel like what the handheld market should be going for is something as Strong as the Ally Extreme, as efficient as the Steam deck, but with the foot print of the switch. The Steam deck is a LITTLE too wide, the Legion is definitely too big, the Ambernics are too “weak” feeling. The ROG LOOKS to be the perfect size. I’ll have to get one and see
I would have zero problems with the eGPU port if the port could double as a display out cable adapter, with that functionality it would actually be a the best option for a desktop dock while leaving two USB ports free.
I sold my Deck because i honestly didnt use it that much. Have a large backlog of Switch games to finish as well as Quest games. But the Ally is intriguing to me because of my ceaseless Battlefield itch that occasionally needs to be scratched.
Luckily, the heat issue hasn't occurred on my unit, so I am keeping the old bios without the fan speed up noise. Also, considering getting a Steam Deck OLED because of the short battery life on the Ally, I love it, but when I travel, I always worry about how long the battery is going to last.
Dude, this was a great review video! I returned my z1 for the z1 extreme (that was my first mistake lol) I’m new to pc gaming- I wanted to purchase this unit to play my Xbox games on the go, play spider man, GOW (didn’t want to just purchase a ps5 just for that.) and continue with some AAA I’ve never played at the comfort of my couch! Since being a new dad this helps spend more time with the wife and baby- knowing I don’t have to be in my gaming room to play games and be away from the family, I can engage with the family and slowly play my games as time permits on the go!
What a time to be alive, grateful and humbled- god is good!
I was debating about getting an Ally or Steam deck. still went for the deck considering the price point and how amazing the steam deck community is.
You can’t go wrong with the Deck, that’s for sure.
@@MrTekSuggest what made me hesitate is that I'm not familiar with Linux, but the community made things easy. plus - the money I saved got me all the accessories i needed for it :)
Rookie move we have the Lenovo Legion go now
@gatesroyale rookie comment, the Legion Go runs the exact same processor as the Ally meaning there is no meaningful performance improvement. The next set of chipsets that come out in 2024 is when anyone should be looking at solid performance gains.
@@peacelove8395 that’s your assumption you have no basis to make this claim.
I have both the Steam Deck OLED (I upgraded) and the ROG Ally. The Ally is still my main. The SD card thing is annoying but things have been great after I just too out the memory card. It is actually a lot easier for me to use with everything than the Steam Deck since it is Windows. I had a 2TB 2230 SSD in it and just upgraded to a 4TB SSD with the 90 degree adapter and it has been great so far.
What brand 90 degree adapter did you get for your Ally?
total agree
You have such great video quality for a smaller channel! Good video 👍. From what I hear, Ally owners love the device as long as it works properly. It seems like a bit of a gamble though to get a good unit. As a Deck owner, I'd likely wait until the next gen of APU's to upgrade, whether that was an Ally 2, Deck 2, or whatever else comes out.
Thanks for the video bro! Thinking about picking up the ROG ally now.
It’s been hard to put this thing down man
@MrTekSuggest Yeah man, heard great things about it!
Bro, you ought to give us a room tour one day. That gaming setup is fire!
You’ve gotta check out the skull and co ROG ALLY case. It’s amazing. The case basically makes it feel like you’re holding a proper controller. So comfortable to hold
I've always loved handheld gaming. Hopefully I will pick up something like this one day, but I don't see that happening for a few years.
Too Many Handhelds. But for what its worth, the Ally has brought back my love for handheld gaming. Great video!
You should consider getting a 2230 to 2280 adapter for adding a 4tb nvme at a cheaper price. No more using that micro sd slot anymore.
Now there’s an idea! The SD card slot is really useful for me though, as I use it to quickly transport all of my ROMs
and retrobat interface between my handhelds
Thanks for the review, just bought a RAlly for my son.. hope he enjoys it
Too Many Handhelds. This is the most impressive tech review I’ve seen in a very long time. So much info squeezed into 20 minutes. I have to rewatch it now. Subscribed.
always putting out quality content!
Appreciate it bro!
I was having trouble deciding between the z1 extreme and steam deck OLED. I ultimately went with the OLED cause I didn't want to troubleshoot anything. I work in IT and the last thing I wanna do is solve problems in my free time.
I really don’t understand how people say “they don’t want problems” then go and buy a Linux device. I’ve legit never had a single problem with windows 10/ windows 11. You can run EVERYTHING. with the steam deck you you have chose which proton version can potentially run a game, not every game is compatible, etc. how is that not the complete opposite of what you just said???
@@Godlyblurrsnah I know what he means. Yes it’s Linux but it’s a modified and curated version of Linux with constant updates and games on steam are verified so you know how they run etc. it’s like a console. The ROG is windows, so you’ve got to deal with everything that comes with that, and config games yourself etc
@@Godlyblurrsthe steamos has barely any problems. Windows on a handheld is terrible, so many issues. Having used both i can say the deck is by far a better product.
@@sumersandhu77 as do I. I’ve had the deck since it came out, and my main device is the Rog ally. Unless you’ve literally never used a pc before, I don’t see how windows is not the better option. With decks OS not every game is compatible. You literally have to mess around with proton versions to try and get games to work, I can’t say the same thing for windows 11. Run what you want, download what you want, PLAY whatever you want. And the ally has come a long way. Not to mention even the new oled steam deck is not worth the money anymore compared to the ally with the price cut. Every piece of hardware is vastly superior minus an oled screen, and the ergonomics. I simply don’t get how people like being restricted to Linux, and steam os, where not every game is compatible.
@@GodlyblurrsI’ve never had to change proton version. My entire steam library everything was already set. Just install and play.
Great and honest review. I had to exchange one and then RMA my second due to SD card failing. But the more recent boards seem to have resolved the problem. It’s been a month and everything is working amazing. I love this thing. No regrets.
nope, they all have the same sd card slot. it will fail again, just use internal memory
I literally just bought an Ally a day or two ago and am waiting for it to get here. May end up swapping to the steam deck because the controls were so nice when I played with one, but it's really nice to at least have options between Steam, Lenovo, soon MSI, Asus, and even some of the other lesser known devices they're getting to the point where you just have to decide your own use case and you'll probably find something for you. It's so cool to me as an owner of the first GPD Win way back when that we're finally here.
Dude, your script is dope.
"Step inside and pull the curtain behind you, these are confessions of the ROG Ally..."
I love all the updates that the Ally is getting
The ROG Ally is a lovehate relantionship for me too. I returned it twice but I still thought about it, how comfortable and powerfull and cool it was so i got it a third time and kept it.
Wtf is this first world privilege ass shit?
Can you return if open \ used to best buy without getting restocking fee charged?
@@GamePlay_7860 In my country the law states that you can return any product in 14 days without any questions asked as long as you keep it as close to the original state as possible.
@@sonicblast19which country is this bro?
I got a rog Ally and tried playing warframe on it. It was a little glichy, but once I played with the settings, it was perfect . Now I'm hooked. Cyberpunk 2077 works just fine and pretty much all the rest of my games, too.
There is already a blue light filter built into Windows. It's called "Night Light"
What a great video. Keep up the good work!
Seeing how alan wake 2, immortals of aveum, starfield all play significantly better on ally than on deck, made me feel happy i went with ally
Are you still happy with it I just ordered one
@@captainkickoff3565 works great. Just don't use the micro sd slot
I'd appreciate an answer, too. I'm considering getting one.
@@t.fernbach602 get steam Deck OLED
I bought one on black Friday. Compare to deck is 30fps vs 60. Far Cry 4 is like playing it for first time. PS5, gaming laptop and even Quest 3 wasn't used for last week.
Ally with 60wh battery would have been the one to beat but despite how great it is in every other way, the battery is the biggest drag for it.
vrr support is how I'm making my choice. I just can't understand why any handheld is shipping without it.
Why is everyone so worried about the SD card port, you don't even need to use it. Just upgrade the M.2 SSD if you need more room.
That’s not the point for whatever price they is asking for the handheld it should be be acceptable to use now if they didn’t have a sd card asus should lower there price
I still love my Ally over all
Excellent work on this video!!
Desktop + Ally best combo. day 1 owner and I still love it
Great comments on the ROG ALLY. I absolutely love mine despite some of the hipcuts
I have the Z1 extreme and your review was a major factor in the decision picking it up. The SD card was a major concern for me at first and then I thought well I can just swap out the NVME and call it a day lol. Great review btw, very informative. I got it open box with a GS warranty.
Great video as always.
Good to know sending it off to Asus helped. My SD card slot messed up but I didn’t send it in yet because I installed a 2TB SSD. I guess I can go without it for a month.
I definitely recommend sending it in to ASUS Vs Geek Squad. They know their unit better than anyone else, and all of the nuances.
Does opening up the unit and changing the SSD void the warranty?
@MrTekSuggest ive been in the same place with my device. Should you remove the 2tb drive and put the original back in? Ive heard some ppl are getting back other refurbished devices instead of their own
@@Tyler-hs9eu Definitely remove your 3rd party 2TB SSD and replace it with the original before sending it in for service.
@@MrTekSuggest thanks so much for the reply. Your experience gives me some consolation as ive really only seen negative experiences with RMA on youtube/reddit so ive just kinda accepted the loss of the sd drive but now I think Ill go through with it!
Too many handhelds! I use my Steam Deck most, but I’m looking at getting a Windows handheld. I may be using Switch more soon because I have SMB Wonder on the way. Also, I’m LOVING Spider-Man 2! The cinematics and storytelling are top notch! Thanks for the review!
I had 2 ROG Allys brick. First one was from best buy the second was from asus. Third unit ran but then I had the sd card issue. Also it was more uncomfortable than the steam deck.
Big note: that 2230 port. You can get a 90 degree converter for the port. I did this and got a 4tb 2280 drive for less than the price of the 2tb 2230 drive.
I ended up selling off my Ally and went back to the Steam Deck. I just felt like I spent more time tinkering than playing on it, and there's just something nice about sitting back in my recliner and firing up a game on the Deck without tinkering. Sure it's not like that for EVERY game, but it works on enough. I think I gave up on the Ally when I was in Vegas for work and the SD card failed for a 3rd time and most of my games were on the card. Thank God I at least had Xbox Game Pass to stream games on that subpar hotel wifi.
ironically I sold my steamdeck i got fed up with tinkering around just to get it play triple A games, Id rather just play them
Lol I sold My steam deck the moment the rog ally was announced and I don't regret it one bit. I hated the steam deck. It's interesting you talk about tinkering because that's all I did on the steam deck especially if the game didn't have a green check mark. Even games that do have a green check mark I've had issues and have had to use I believe it's called the beta version of proton and I've had to switch around which versions of proton I use on the steam deck to run certain games smoothly. I think your comment kind of gives a false narrative that the steam deck just works and is like an Xbox or PlayStation 5 or switch but it's really not. It's close Don't get me wrong but it's not as smooth as someone may think reading your comment. That's not the only downside if you want to play a game on any platform other than Steam you're going to be doing a crapload of "tinkering" as you put it. You know how much time I spent on the Linux desktop on the Steam deck just trying to play game pass games without streaming them? More than I'd like to admit and I'm not a fan of streaming games over the internet, too much latency. I eventually dual-booted windows on the steam deck, but it definitely was janky. I had many driver issues. Even after Valve released official audio drivers I had issues with audio in Windows on the Steam deck constantly. I've never had to tinker with the rog ally not a single time. I installed Steam, I installed the Epic games store, I installed Game Pass, and I installed EA play. I haven't had a single issue with any of those stores or games I've downloaded through them not a single one. The only issue I've had is the one explained in this video but I had that repaired and returned to me in less than a week through Best Buy and it's been fine ever since. Because our experiences appear to be vastly different I'm genuinely curious what you mean by tinkering? are you talking about windows and issues with games running on Windows properly? Or are you talking about tinkering with the rog ally because of the hardware issues you mentioned and trying to get it to work?
@@aaronjohnson2547 outside of the SD card slot being unusable, I had a few AAA games that tended to crash pretty often. WWE 2K23, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Starfield all pop to mind first. I also had issues with Diablo 4 having static sound that turned out to be the audio driver constantly re-enabling Dolby headphone support for the speakers. And of course there was dealing with Windows on a handheld. One of the biggest things I liked on the Deck was suspending a game if I was going to hop back into it next time I picked my Deck up and with Windows that just isn't possible right now.
I don't spend too much time in Linux on my Deck since most of the games I want to run in have in Steam. I did download Heroic which handles the Epic and GOG games for me, it even puts the shortcut into Steam so I can launch from the main interface. As for streaming, there are apps now that will take care of GeForce Now and Game Pass, or you can follow the guides they provide one time to setup a working interface and then launch that also from Steam. The Deck allows you to tinker if you really want to, but for the most part it gives you the closest experience to a console you'll find on the PC side. No, it doesn't run everything, but if the games you want to play have a green checkmark, I've found many even have Steam Deck specific settings so they're optimized from launch.
There’s way more tinkering done on the steam deck 😂 I hated that device for a lot of reasons. Rog ally completely destroyed it from every angle. But I give props to steam for creating this pc handheld hype
@@aaronjohnson2547 interesting. I've barely spent any time in the Linux side unless there's something specific I wanted to do that wasn't part of Steam, like setup Game Pass or GeForce Now streaming. Otherwise when it comes to Steam games, most games I've played have had a green or yellow check and I've had no issues. My Ally may have been tainted by more hardware issues but there was definitely Windows related management I had to do to make sure I didn't have stuff in the background hurting game performance. If I wanted to play a AAA game I also usually had to restart the whole console before I launched or I'd have issues. FF7 remake was probably the last game I tried before I gave up, and it ran fine for me on the Deck. I wouldn't say it's a console like experience, the same as an Xbox, PS5 or Switch, but it's probably the closest I've had with actual PC gaming.
Love my Asus Rog Ally!
I couldn’t decide until I held the ally it’s badass looks great deck is great as well but idk to dull looking for me
Fantastic review!! Subscribed.
I’m glad you went into such detail with your interactions with Asus with respect to the SD card reader issue. Hoping you can do a Legion Go review when it drops!
Great review, I love the Rog ally but Im personally waiting for the 2nd gen version, these first gen handheld PCs are awesome but I guarantee in 1.5 to 2 years, the newer versions will be significantly better. A slightly bigger screen (but not as big as the legion), and maybe 25% better battery life, and it'd be a no brainer. Might even replace my laptop.
Personally I wish they went with a darker body color too, would love a grey version.
4090 is 70% faster than rtx 3090. And this after 2 years.
Bigger screen but not as big as the legion, make you're mind up 😂
Lol, two things that are very difficult to pull off. Larger screen typically means a larger device, and a 25% increase in battery is unlikely, especially now that it has to power your larger screen.
I wouldn't consider these handheld pc first gen due to how much of these came out before the steam deck
@@bigload6 The panel on the legion is nice and large, but it's also an 850g handheld. I prefer a bit more portability, which is why the Ally appeals to me.
Honestly im leaning towards the deck, i feel like handhelds are meant to be a portable experience and the steam deck oled has the best battery life in the handheld market. Plus it looks beautiful 😍.
Get the oled, it has sooo many improvements besides the screen. Its more efficient, much better battery and pretty much everything has been upgraded.
If you don't wanna play demanding games then sure...go for that...
Nobody ever comments the trackpads on the Steamdeck, which i can't really live without. For strategy games likes the ones from Paradox, its critical.
I tend to lean towards the Geek 1S (with the screen upgrade) and the GPD Win 4 as the best handheld gaming devices but being that they're both some chunky boys that outweigh both the Ally and the Steam Deck, I end up going back to the Ally to satisfy my regular gaming on the go needs. When it comes to heat dissipation, the right hand side of the GPD win 4 gets toasty.
Yep, those are all good handhelds. VRR and heat dissipation from the Ally grips are a few of the main perks that keep me coming back
I’ve had my steam deck for over a year. Recently I was debating between an OLED Steam Deck and a ROG Ally.
I ended up just deciding to keep what I have, I appreciate the low maintenance aspect of the steam deck and if I want amazing graphics I can stream from my 3080 Ti/5950X PC to my LG OLED TV via my Steam Deck Dock.
I will upgrade to the Steam Deck 2 when it comes out.
Just got rid of my Steam Deck after picking up my ROG ally extreme. No regrets, and I don't see any coming. It's a beautiful machine for on the go gaming. I still need to check it out being docked and played on my tv.
Have you updated it to have steam os? Seen lots of ppl with steam os on the ally
@@Frenchii9YT I have not, mainly because I'm pretty happy with the default setup.
Bought my Ally on launch. My device had audio crackling issue from the right speaker, as I used earphones majorly it didn't bother me much. Now, the issue has gone automatically. I think it was software related or something. I love the new Steam Deck OLED but due to performance gap, I just cannot give up my Ally. I do not play AAA games on Ally, but I also don't play pixelated or 'too indie' games. I majorly play games which are old (about 5-15 years old) but they were AAA in their time (like Mass Effect LE , Prey, Dishonored, Fallout New Vegas etc., games that I missed). My main gaming station is my PC. What I would love is an OLED screen on the ally, that is all that it is missing according to me, and of course the batter, ooooof.
Rog ally is the best handheld ever made. This thing is a dream handheld device
I'm an IT and we have so many issues with the Lenovo laptops (We have Lenovos and HP laptops) that I just do not trust the Legion Go
Funny enough, we use Lenovo in most Healthcare areas just fine in Sweden 😅 the whole hospital I work in use Lenovo mini desktop PCs. The Dell ones we had however was so bad, bluescreens, fans being faulty, veeery sensitive hdmi port etc.
A spare gaming laptop with nvidia 960M still works. A some 2-3 year old Lenovo 14" laptop still works.
I've had more issues with Acer as a private consumer than Lenovo.
I LOVE the speakers !
I'm in super love with my Ally. The attention and money I used to pour into my gaming rig.. I give to my Ally now. The performance, graphic capability and how quiet this thing is. It's goddamn perfect
Steam Deck, eat your heart out
We have to thank Valve (and Nintendo) though for their handheld entries kickstarting the trend
@@jackedwards6130Nintendo sure but I'd assume Asus has had the Ally in mind for longer than a year
@@user-to1su2iy4d That sounds like you're just speculating that but regardless, the chance of it taking off without the valve as an existing platform is slim
@@jackedwards6130 *Edit: Not speculative lmao I got off my lazy mental arse and did some research and seems the Ally was in production for a solid 5 years.* If you think it took Asus a year to conceptualize, engineer and manufacture the Ally you might come to that conclusion but the chances of that are also slim. Also considering handheld PCs were a thing before the Deck. I do agree the Deck definitely slingshotted the handheld PC market into the mainstream though
@@jackedwards6130no sir - PSP is the one that REALLY did it.
I had the same issue and I've owned the ally since day one of its release. I brought it to Best Buy and it was repaired and back in my hands in less than a week. You don't have to RMA the rog ally directly with ASUS you can go to your local Best Buy and tell them to RMA the device for you and they'll send it off to their local repair centers in your state. This is a much quicker process than sending it into ASUS directly for repairs. I also own a steam deck and I'm going to be honest I hate that thing. The limitations of the steam deck became annoyingly apparent The moment I wanted to play a game on literally any other platform than Steam. The steam deck is also too heavy any extended play in my hands would start to go numb because it's too heavy and awkward I have never once had that issue with the rog ally.
This is a really great review. Thank you.
Really great and detailed review that covers most of the important aspects to ensure a good comparison. Except the most important aspect, battery life. Since these are handheld devices, I find a battery comparison between the three devices essential. The steam deck not only wins in 15W performance comparison between the three devices most of the time, it also does it while consuming less energy. For some people a 30w mode is no option if the device is empty after under an hours. Otherwise one of the best comparisons I have seen especially after all the updates the Rog Ally underwent!
Just picked up my ROG Ally as I travel quite a bit. I absolutely love it but also agree with all things mentioned here. The updates are a complete faff and the battery life means you gotta carry an EVs worth of backup power. These were all compromises I was aware of when I picked up the device so I'm not too disappointed. I tend to be a "one game at a time" person so the SD card has yet to come into play either. As for Spiderman 2.... It's not grabbing me like the first game and in certain areas, the graphics feel like a step back but it's early days yet.
The SD card reader sits under a heat pipe with no thermal shielding. Some are saying newer units now come with thermal shielding, but my advice is simply not used the SD card altogether. You can buy a 2TB 2280 SSD for the price of a 1TB SD Card. So buy the right angle adapter and 2280 SSD and keep it moving.
Legion Go will be my go to soon
Coming from using stem deck this one is a beast
Was about to return the ally. But then tried ps3 emulation. It’s better than my 9700k desktop. Upgrading my desktop would cost more than buying the ally.
Most comprehensive review out there.
I like the performance and how quiet it is. But the battery, even at 15W (unless if ASUS has fixed it with a firmware update) will struggle with getting a proper playthrough session in some 3D games.
Here's the elephant in the room I rarely see mentioned; power vs ease of use.
I own and love my Switches (Original, OLED, Lite) Ally (with the XG Mobile 3070), Deck (I have the top end, wife and kiddo the lowest end), RG405 (Anbernic), Retroid 3+ metal case and probably another handheld or two.
The Ally is at the far end of power, but amongst all I have, the biggest pain to use. The Retroid is on the far opposite end (once set up).
The deck is smack dab in the middle, and while it gets so much play time from me. I'm likely getting the OLED Deck LE, and after that, I probably won't touch my Ally anymore because of the updates, terrible sleep state, etc. The Ally takes about 20 or so minutes to play on average if I use the XG with it, and although it's ridiculous once working, it's just such a pain.
Ive had plenty of time with my ally and love it. Have had no problems and also i don't use the SD card. I bought a 2tb ssd.
10-15W Steam Deck is a king, excellent support
I bought the Ally a couple of weeks ago and loved it for a bit. I found my unit to be loud, the haptics were kind of bad in my opinion, the battery life I was getting want not good, and the ergonomics of it, even with the Skull and Co grip case sucked for me. I decided to keep my steam deck, but am looking forward to all this competition coming to this market! PLEASE don't be a one and done Asus!
I love my deck but the screen is too small, the legion go will definitely be my new go to. I also run windows on my deck and big picture mode is essentially steam game mode.
Do you think the SDeck-OLED HDR being 7.4in will be good enough?? My switch oled just crapped out & ordering one om Thursday morning
@@hazeydaze8396 more then enough, i dont get why this guy says the screen is small.
Best video on Ally so far.
The 2280 mod you can buy is game changing. It's overall cheaper to buy the mod for $10 and a faster 2280 NVMe M.2
My only rog ally complaint. Should have just made it heavier/thicker and out in a bigger battery.
It's the heat. But I just picked one up, thank you for the content.
Well put together video man, very cool
iam loving my rog ally barely touching my xbox since owning the rog
Rule #1 don't play triple A games from SD cards... SD cards are very fragile and not save for storing important datas... my conclusion since SD cards came out..
Correct! They were designed for phones and cameras not to run desktop PC OS's
This is why I got the deck the sd card issue is so bad but still looks beautiful and has great performance
Great video bro ..keep them coming!!
What software you running to get that PS library?..also x-men 😍
Retrobat!
Selling the deck for the Ally, the Z1 Extremes are going for $380 on used hardware sites now. So long linux, lack of VRR, and meager docked performance.
Wow this review is lit! Thanks!
The rog paired with the Xg is a no brainer for me. It genuinely is the best pc I’ve had. Beats the hell out of the Alienware rtx 3070 I had. Ever since finding out about these handhelds, I’ve quickly fallen in love and am only playing on handhelds. If Lenovo supports egpu, might switch over. Love the fuck out of my ally tho
I have it, it's a pain.
Its jank precludes easy use. Even with the XG (3070), I still tend to play the Deck by far more.
So would yall suggest I buy the ally? Because I was gonna buy it instead of the deck or legion go
I have the sd card reader problem too. Really sucks. I don't wanna send it in right now since I would have to take out my 2tb ssd and reformat the whole thing when I get it back. Too much of a hassle. So it's a device without an sd card slot atm and that just really sucks.
I selled it for the exact same reason you mentioned in the beginning. I feel like the legion go has much more to offer , with 144hz maybe the VRR absence will be forgivable.
The drivers update on 3 different apps was a big no for me too
Love my Ally. Too many handhelds.
The more handhelds the more competition. The more competition all the better for the consumer.
@@NERODIEM I’m not saying “there’s too many handhelds because there actually is - I’m saying it because that was the phrase given to say if you made it all the way to the end of the video to show you watched it. Otherwise I totally agree
Deck Oled or Ally? Which is guys? I've been waiting for the new Deck to drop before I buy. Thanks for the input. Happy gaming ✌🏼
I never had the micro sd problems like other people but i love the freedom to tweak my programs compared to steam decks stupid linux thing. Rog ally suffers from its sleep function. Rog ally looks better with the rgb. Not a fan of the sharp angle corners gets in the way of gripping the back.
Very well done analysis. Any plan to review the Legion Go?
I honestly just gave up on the sd card and upgraded my internal memory, I have so many other devices to play my roms. It was super annoying at first, but I live with it
There are also micro sd 2 usb C adapters..it will stick out but atleast you can have it mobile with you..when in dock you can use the full power
I think the Legion maybe too big for the assignment. I feel like what the handheld market should be going for is something as Strong as the Ally Extreme, as efficient as the Steam deck, but with the foot print of the switch. The Steam deck is a LITTLE too wide, the Legion is definitely too big, the Ambernics are too “weak” feeling. The ROG LOOKS to be the perfect size. I’ll have to get one and see
Heat sink modded the SD controller chip on mine, never a problem since…
I would have zero problems with the eGPU port if the port could double as a display out cable adapter, with that functionality it would actually be a the best option for a desktop dock while leaving two USB ports free.
The SD card problem on ROG Ally has been solved in new products.
His voice is so relaxing 😂
I sold my Deck because i honestly didnt use it that much. Have a large backlog of Switch games to finish as well as Quest games. But the Ally is intriguing to me because of my ceaseless Battlefield itch that occasionally needs to be scratched.
great review made my decision thx
Great and informative video!
Luckily, the heat issue hasn't occurred on my unit, so I am keeping the old bios without the fan speed up noise.
Also, considering getting a Steam Deck OLED because of the short battery life on the Ally, I love it, but when I travel, I always worry about how long the battery is going to last.
Ayaneo 2s is my favourite
Why do you need the SD card slot when you can shove like a 4TB nvme ssd into it super easily lol
I believe you can control the volume via the armory button or one of the quick access buttons. Way to many handheld ♡♡♡ 143
There is a video by ZAC BUILDS that has permanently solved the SD card overheating issue.
It's Analneo!