The Ally wasn't dead when you unboxed it. The carboard that covers the Ally, the literal first thing you see when you open the box, says that you have to plug the device in for the first time to initialize it. EDIT: You don't have to type in task manager. Hold the M button and tap down on the d-pad opens task manager. M+Left shows desktop, M+Up pulls up keyboard and M+Right opens multi-window. If you're not inclined to look through armory crate and find these details out for yourself, you could always watch numerous tips and tricks videos right here on youtube.
That task manager shortcut is gonna be super helpful. The desktop one will be too. I’d just been using the ROG pop out menu to do it. Thanks! I guess it’s fine for the thing to be dead out of the box. Seems kind of stupid though. Kills all the excitement of unboxing it and I can’t name the last piece of tech I purchased that was dead out of the box. Makes the Ally X look bad.
@@AndrewTaylorYT But it wasn't dead. It's purposely done, because Asus doesn't know how long the thing will be sitting on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere, so rather then have the battery trickle down to nothing and then ACTUALLY be dead, it's put it into a sort of deep hibernation mode. It's the equivalent of how some old school electronic toys back in the day would have the little plastic tab that you would have to pull out which would allow the battery circuit to connect and start working.
@@TheInfiniteDraw If it was not dead why did it give me a battery dead indication after I tried to turn it on after a few minutes plugged in?? I get the concept for toys but nobody does that in tech like this. Completely shut down that battery would’ve been fine to boot the system for many months. It doesn’t really matter that much at the end of the day. But if you’re correct then someone on the product team made that choice and I think it is a poor choice. Damages the first initial experience the user has with the products. There are ample studies and leagues of research done on what kind of things affect and damage user experience with products. This is just very clearly a disappointing thing to experience when you purchase your brand new piece of tech. Every laptop I’ve opened in the last decade had battery and turned on instantly. Every PSP vita and DS Steam Deck and cell phone have had battery in the box when I opened it. You pretty much gotta start charging the system after you turn it on but its still apart of the first impression for the user and choosing to ruin that is an indication of how poorly inept the product team for the Ally X is.
@@AndrewTaylorYT I find it very hard to believe your device gave you a battery dead indicator for a device where the manufacturing date couldn't have been longer then a few months out, maybe maximum even a year, unless you had a defective battery, which clearly you didn't. Almost every electronic device that is released has a battery that is pre-charged to around 70-80%, because that is the state that it is the safest for trickling loss and sitting on shelves. It's also why as an extra precaution, the battery is put into deep sleep mode. Plenty of electronics do this, especially ones that have larger batteries in smaller form factors. Literally the Steam Deck LCD model did the exact same thing. Steam even has a support page which mentions that initializing the Deck requires plugging it in first to take it out of deep sleep mode. I get you might have found it annoying, but your problem would have been solved if you had just noticed the instructions with the pictures that showed plug in and then hit power.
@@AndrewTaylorYT It's a windows product, the target audience know how to search in Google and fix Windows things. It's for advanced PC Gamer. But probably that'll be the next move for the next handhelds, put Linux based OS ready to Plug and Play for the average user (like Playtron), but the option to change to Windows for the advanced user
Title should be "I have a problems...." not trying to be harsh but every single thing was a complaint... its a handheld complains about it... its windows complains about it... less color... ONLY POSITIVE the Speaker... "They popped off hard..." It is in fact a handheld... wild man I almost never comment and felt obligated I hope your channel is successful but this is crazy just shaking my head WOW hand held is not a laptop
Were any of my criticisms incorrect? I never implied it wasn’t a handheld. I gave it the flowers I think it deserved. Games run great. Speakers are actually insane in still confused why ROG laptops have terrible speakers and this thing was given the absolute treatment. I criticized the OS and user experience pretty aggressively. That’s kinda the point of purchasing a product and reviewing it. I’m still playing on it. My points still stand though. The thing isn’t a better handheld than the steam deck which is cheaper and it’s not a better high power gaming computer than a laptop. It does what both sides do but worse. Doesn’t seem worth 800 bucks. Like I also said. They make the experience a bit better for users and ergonomics for me at least (I think I might just have big hands) and I’ll be up to purchase it. I love game consoles and all the adjacent stuff. The hardware is dope. Thanks for watching! First video I’ve really harped on a product.😂
Because you're comparing WINDOWS to Linux/Steam OS when you knew going in this was a WINDOWS handheld. Did you think that Microsoft created a special version of Windows just for handhelds? So yes it's going to take a bit longer to update & set up properly. It doesn't have a custom OS designed specifically for handhelds like the Steam Deck. It's running the same Windows as on every PC & laptop. You should have known that going in. So you therefore review it based on how it works after it is updated & set up. Giving it a negative review because the Windows handheld is not running Linux/Steam OS is just ridiculous. Oh, and simply install Playnite.
Once you do the start up set up it goes easy down the road I’ve enjoyed my ROG X it’s not heavy at all what are you talking about . I believe the ROG Ally is the best portable PC
I am loving my Rog Ally X... I sold my OG LCD steam deck cause I don't understand Linux at all and I don't have time to tinker with different launchers and settings to play different games.. Ally X is my personal computer, i dont have any laptop or desktop and I'm loving it cause I've always wanted something handheld and powerful plus i can do all my work on it as well because i travel a lot. So, Ally X as a handheld pc is just perfect for me !!!
That’s awesome! Unique use case for sure. I had never used Linux before getting the steam deck and don’t really know where you were forced to learn Linux because i still don’t lol. And you can play every single game on it through Steam OS so I’m not sure what other launchers you were trying to get going either. It would be pretty cool to use a handheld as a full time PC i just would hate the amount of accessories needed to have a good computer experience. Video editing on the Ally X would be so frustrating unless i brought around a ton of gear in which case a laptop would be more convenient.
@@AndrewTaylorYT It’s really not that much, I fit everything in a sling bag. I have a dock, folding keyboard and mouse and travel LED screen. At home I just dock it and use a keyboard, mouse and 32 inch monitor. It runs everything I need.
@scubasteve1555 that’s fair! If you use it as a docked PC 100% of the time why not invest in a mini PC? Something that could be super portable but do a lot more as far as rigging it up? I just still can’t wrap my head around getting a better product for the same price. The only reason I could recommend an ROG Ally X which I actually did today is if you travel a ton and have little to no extra bag space and really wanna be able to play mutiplayer games and shooters at the hotel. If you’re docking constantly why not a mini PC? If you’re gonna have desk space why not a gaming laptop? If you just want a mobile experience and have a good setup for big games why not go cheaper and get a steam deck or one of the ayano handhelds? I love the creativity but aren’t there just better options for your use case??
@@AndrewTaylorYT Because I travel the world and want to work and game. I don’t use it as a docked PC 100% of the time. I’ve tried a gaming laptop and they are just too big and bulky for as much as I travel. I just had a business trip to Scotland, I docked my Ally X and worked during the day, gamed at night in the hotel or used it to watch Netflix, Disney + etc plugged into the hotel TV. The Steam Deck (I had one) is underpowered. It also has compatibility and limitations that a Windows based gaming device doesn’t have. There’s not a mini PC available that is as portable and can play games. For my use case this is clearly the best option that allows me to do everything I need.
@scubasteve1555 I know it’s more expensive but I’ve heard awesome things about these. www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1815324-REG/asus_rnuc14srku7168aui_rog_nuc_760_full.html steam deck isn’t under powered. It’s kinda perfectly powered. Plays pretty much everything with playable frame rates.
I don’t get why are you almost the only one talking about this major issue, I did this mistake back then when switched from console to pc, I knew it would be the worst experience but had to make the mistake to get convinced, I am a software engineer myself (I can deal with bugs and issues). But the whole purpose of playing games is to leave work and have some break to enjoy the time. Having fun on a windows machine doesn’t make sense to me at all since 2015 till now. I still don’t get it how people leave the “plug and play” and play on a windows machine and in this case a windows handheld. Maybe they don’t work that much? Or gaming is their job so playing games is the way they make money. I don’t know. Or I am just weird 😂
Some people have talked about it. The Ally community can get super angry when people bash on this issue. I agree with you completely though. Thanks so much for watching.😊
Playing games isn’t the same for everyone. For you a console “plug and play” experience is what your prioritise, but are consoles even plug and play anymore? Every few weeke you have to spend an hour updating the game, operating system and now even controller while not getting the functionality, Game library or performance of a windows pc
Outside of the updates, Windows is not as cumbersome as people make it out to be. Personally I use XOS (better performance, no bloat, and no Windows telemetry) but that's not recommended. It's harder to install and configure apps on Steam Desktop mode. I fail to understand how it's difficult to install an EXE file and take a few mins to configure a game. You even have more choice for front ends including big picture mode. I love my Steam Deck but I would not install SteamOS on an ROG Ally. Asus did a fantastic job on the software the make the device easier to user. The ability to adjust TDP, updates to firmware, updates to bios, set macros. Also, the ability to quickly adjust settings Like CPU boost, controls, resolution, FSR etc. In addition each game can have specific adjustments including CPU boost, TDP, Gyro. Lastly you can calibrate all the sensors and controls. Sure you can use third part apps but nothing comes close to having it all in one spot and per game profiles. I even set macros to easily minimize, maximize, or exit a game. When I hear someone say I don't want to think about what I'm doing and play a game, it bothers me because it's usually at the cost of customizability and functionality. In this case the cost is loss of game support and quick desktop functions. I'm tech savvy and found it satisfying when I found the best way to install NFS unbound on the SD, for example, through the EA app but it's so much easier in Windows. Then making the game appear from the app in the steam library was a whole other adventure finding a code to point the EXE to the correct proton instance but it's not worth it when the experience is better on Windows and accomplishes the same thing with no costs or loss of function.
I actually agree with a lot of things you’re saying. I by no means want to take away the depth of customization something like PC gaming offers. I have an absurd level of customization on the Steam deck. From audio to UI to booting and closing animations to custom inputs that change depending on macros etc. On the deck though that depth is as deep as the user wants. Windows setup and all of the stuff on the Ally would be really tedious to a new user but more tech savvy individuals can navigate it just fine even if it is kinda tedious. I just think products should be designed intelligently and have a good attention to every detail. Windows on the Ally just doesn’t while I think Steam OS on the deck does. If something like ROG Armory Crate was the default on the ally where you turn it on and setup the ally in the crate and do everything through there I think that would be incredible. If I then had the option to choose the boot into “desktop mode” that was Windows so I could do anything I could want I think that would be better. I think there should be layers of depth to a game console like this. Level 1 should be boot up and play games. Level 2 should be dive into the computer inside of it and do awesome stuff. Level 3 should be opening up the terminal and really getting granular. That’s just my philosophy on products most of the time.
I have the OLED and the X I find myself picking up the OLED to game more. Thinking about returning the X I love it but whenever I’m gaming on it I keep thinking man is 800$ worth it why not just get a gaming laptop
I dont mind windows im used to it, but why I wont switch from my steam deck is more buttons on the back and trackpads, with action sets and radial menus , it gives me almost unlimited number of buttons.
That’s true. I need to remember to bring that up in the comparison I do. The control mapping ability in the steam deck is unmatched. Also the track pads are life saving for a handheld like this. So confused as to why the Ally X didn’t include something like that.
If you want a plug and play experience you should just stick with steam deck. This is for people who want wider compatability I mean you can play any PC games on ally that is the reason why i prefer this over steam deck.
I would recommend a steam deck at this point. I don’t want to try more windows handhelds. I wanna try the Lenovo legion GO. Heard decent things. I really really wanna try this ayaneo.com/product/AYANEOAIR.html I’ve heard some awesome things and not awesome things about random ayaneo handhelds. They seem really awesome though. Hope to do videos on them soon!
I agree that the initializing process takes you by surprise initially and you don't expect how long it takes from turning it on for the first time to actually playing! However, it would've been the right thing to connect to a monitor, keyboard and mouse and set up Windows this way! Saves you a lot of cursing, heartache and frustration.
I understand the comparison between prices of a X and a laptop, but tbh I owned an rog strix with an 18 inch screen, nvidia rtx 4080 and I returned it last year. That thing was too much of a pain in the ass to carry around, too loud. The ROG ally X is perfect (besides the price) that it can push all the games I want to at least 60 fps, with some going to 120. And I think people are REALLY underestimating it's VRR which is a standout from other handhelds in the market.
That’s fair. I can’t really argue with that. I’m really curious to see the follow up to the Ally X. With some tweaks I could see myself really liking it but one of those tweaks needs to be the price.
@@AndrewTaylorYT Best buy was constantly putting the original ALLY on sale, granted that one had a large amount of returns probably due to the SD card problems. I wouldnt be surprised to see the X on at least $50 to $100 discount around the holidays, might be an easier sell to people.
Thanks for your video! I sold my LCD steam deck to a friend after buying the OLED steam deck. He is not a PC person at all. He has an old surface computer as his personal PC and only plays console games. He reached out to me about getting a gaming handheld. He didn’t want to get the switch as 1, it’s old now, and 2, he doesn’t like Nintendo games. He initially asked me about the PS Portal. But I told him I had a Steam Deck that I thought would be perfect. He loves it. He treats it basically as a console. Every game he owns is just from Steam and he has never used the desktop mode, I don’t even think he knows about it. And with your comments, yeah, there’s no way he would be able to use any other windows hand held. So if all these other hand held manufactures want to be successful, they definitely need to figure out a way to skin Windows properly.
I’m happy you enjoyed! Glad your friend is enjoying the deck. I 100% agree. The steam deck competitors need to figure out the user experience so it’s more welcoming to a mass audience. Thank you so much for watching!😊
I never had the need to buy a gaming laptop or get into pc gaming since I’m mainly play my games on my 3 consoles I owned but then the oled came out decided to buy it I did mainly to play steam cozy games on the go but was disappointed I couldn’t play Fortnite or Roblox or wow not with some work around/dual booting.i then decided to buy a rog ally x and now pretty much happy taking both pc handheld on the go to play my games
That’s awesome! If your goal with a handheld is multiplayer games then the Ally X is probably the best you’re gonna get. I can’t get around MP games on my handhelds though. I just can’t play as good as i could on a setup with a full display and more frames and such. I start losing gunfights i know i should be winning and I’ve just gotta go get on the big gaming machine lol. Like i did say in the video though. Destiny 2 on the Ally X is really really awesome.
Also it's not just supposed to play PC games. It's an emulation powerhouse! It's the best emulation handheld out there that can rip everything emulation has to offer including PS3 and only limited by the compatibility of the emulator itself to the games... But I get your point that if you're buying it 95% to play modern PC games, I just think the best way to play PC games are on a gaming PC/Laptop. But for me it's worth it because I want a handheld that can handle all emulation first and foremost. Then a handheld I can also use it to stream from my PS5/PC... and then third a device that can kinda play newer games on its own.
You are 100% the right person for the Ally X. As a powerful small computer it’s super sick. You can do so much interesting stuff with handheld PC console dealios. I do an absurd amount of emulation on my Steam deck. I haven’t found myself wanting to emulate a lot of ps3 games on it but I can play a lot of that generation and the ps4/xbone generation on Steam. Using it as a streaming computer is a sick idea. I’m currently working on a video where I’m gonna try and rig up a “high end streaming setup” with a Steam deck and a Mac Studio.😂 The ROG Ally X has some power and you can push it to do some awesome stuff.
Thanks for the support lol. I’m not trying to bash the thing because it’s just a thing. I really haven’t had a good experience with it. Have had constant game crashes on it today even. I’m just not a super big fan of this handheld. Thanks so much for watching.😊
I feel you with the Windows experience, and a lot of what PC gamers like (tweaking, modding, emulating) I just don't. I just want to get into my games. That said, the Ally's versatility and ability to play most anything to throw at it, make it hard for me to go back now. Armoury Crate helps a lot and I do think with handhelds becoming more popular, Windows will develop a gaming OS. Now, I lucked up and got my Ally X for $500. And I got it to try and likely return, but I'll be keeping it.
Microsoft could solve these problems that’s true. I’d prefer that they opened up windows a bit and allowed the manufacturers to develop their own front end OS for the handhelds. Would make all the different systems feel more unique and be more creative.
Im loving my asus ally X , plays much games and ps3 and 360 games on the Go. I cant complain like yall do about windows Updates i love when their are updates shows they care . Steam deck plays way less games as smooth as the asus ally plays . And i will be getting the next version when they have the Z2 chip
Thanks for the Video Andrew. Thats the first honest Video I saw since Ally X released. Loads of Influencers BS on Day 1 (they all got the Ally X for free). I m saying that cause, I bought one Ally X, and I returned it. I had the same experience like you did. I ended up installing Bazzite. But I was enoyed by the lack of Colors and contrast vs my Steam Deck OLED + the Switch OLED (and all my OLED TV Screens)... and the Fan noise... man !!! The fan kicks in even when the device is Idle. The Steam Deck is just Silent, 0db when you're browsing games or settings. So I returned it. But Can't wait for the SteamDeck 2 or Ally X2 (with an optimized SteamOS) OLED screen and ...TB5 for eGPU
Some really great observations. I agree the out of box windows experience isn't good enough for a handheld. If I had one of these I'd have to run bazzite and steamOS when it becomes available. A lot of people think more power = gooder, but thats not always the case. I'm hopeful that with steam deck as a single performance profile, and the death of Moore's law, developers will push for better optimization and greatly extend the useful life cycle of the steam deck. I mean doom eternal runs ultra settings at pretty much locked 60 FPS on deck because ID understands this, and ultimately the extra development costs will be recouped in higher sales over a broader device pool. I've been really enjoying your videos, keep up the great work 👍
Thank you so much for watching! I agree with all your points. The bigger PC handhelds get the more Devs will be forced to focus on optimization over diminishing returns as far as high fidelity and such. I’m glad you’re enjoying the content. I have a lot of different things I want to do and a lot more to talk about than gaming handhelds and tech as well. I hope to make you guys proud! Thank you so much for being apart of the channel.😊
Crazy seeing this video lmao because my ally x has been a dream. Also you can use the joystick as a mouse and the right bumper to click. You don’t have to just use it as a touch screen
if you wanna simulate a Oled Display go on AMD Software (settings Gear icon) Display and Toggle Custom Colour, then Set it how you please to make it more not so washed out, I just have my Saturations set on 138.
I’ll give it a go! I don’t think that really accurately simulates an OLED. There is something to OLED pixels and the perfect blacks and all of that. I’ll try messing with the display settings to make it more enjoyable though for sure.
@@AndrewTaylorYT it might help but unsure you aren’t doing this with a game on otherwise it’ll set it for that specific game. source where i got it from ua-cam.com/video/TFGh1-RX6Is/v-deo.htmlsi=wRfJM6_fwJwimjzE
@@AndrewTaylorYT make sure you aren’t doing this while a game is on, do it way before otherwise it’ll only set the colour to that specific game Source where i found it from. ua-cam.com/video/TFGh1-RX6Is/v-deo.htmlsi=wRfJM6_fwJwimjzE
Honestly, you should just get past the learning curve. Many of the Windows on a handheld issues are solved by Armoury Crate shortcuts. When you first open up Armoury Crate, it shows you how to use it. It's not hard and pretty intuitive how they used the right controller as a mouse. The "just get a laptop" argument is silly; the whole point of a handheld is to have the freedom to play anywhere I want, whenever I want, like in my car on my lunch break. I can't do that with a laptop.
First of all. The argument “you should just get past the learning curve.” Is wild. But second, I have. I know how to use it and I’m perfectly able to use it. That doesn’t change how tedious it is. Also, the argument for getting a laptop is that you can use it anywhere. It’s a far better value for the money. If you NEED a handheld you can get a worlds better experience by going with a cheaper device. The Ally X doesn’t make sense at the price point. Doesn’t deliver an experience that’s better than cheaper handhelds and it’s as expensive and giving a worse experience than cheap gaming laptops.
@boogidaball in the video you talk about how Armoury Crate doesn't even show you how to use the software, which is false because that's one of the first things it did when I got the device.
@boogidaball The point is, handhelds can be played anywhere. Laptops, on the other hand, cannot. You have to be plugged into a power source, which is why buying a laptop is even more foolish. Just get a desktop PC. The Ally X offers the best performance and battery life out of any handheld device there is; no alternative is available at a cheaper price.
@anubis3647 laptops don’t have to be plugged into the wall to game. We see all kinds of wattage limiting software now. The specs in the ally are being expanded upon on laptops. We are seeing windows laptops built on ARM infrastructure. That’s all just not true. If you want a handheld for handheld experiences there are cheaper and better options. If you want high power mobile experiences there are better and similar priced options. The Ally X isn’t a standout in either of the product categories.
I've been enjoying the ally x. The only game that really bogged it down was DCS. My complaint is squeaky buttons. I frequently pair with a Xbox controller
Hands down the best review I’ve seen of this. I’ve watched a ton of reviews that just say the same thing over and over, listing the specs etc. You actually spoke about your experience with it as a regular person - the set up, the weight etc. keep it up!
Thanks so much! I try to avoid specs because I know you can find those in every single other video on UA-cam. I really like to dive in to how it feels to actually use and own products. Thanks so much for watching!😊
I have both the Steam Deck and Ally X and I love both. I swapped in a 4tb drive and use Playnite frontend and have all my Steam, Epic, and emulated games in one list. It plays a lot of games the Steam Deck just isn't manly enough for. Also you mention only getting 30 to 40 fps in COD but with some tuning I get closer to 60.
That’s fair! I played a lot of MW3 and more recently a lot of the black ops 6 beta so it could be the beta that was giving me the cod frame rates I’m not sure. I went pretty plug and play and didn’t mess with much. I’ve yet to try to play games on the deck that it isn’t “manly” enough for so maybe that’s a me thing.
I get what you mean but there is a lot of short keys to get into the task manager. I think the experience coming form PS5 to handheld it’s actually prettt good. I didn’t not come in with the expectation of it being as powerful as my PS5 but it surprised me. I think those who have been on PC and expect high quality will be disappointed but I went in open minded and glad I can play games I want instead of limited on what my switch can handle.
You are correct about the shortcuts for task manager. I personally came directly from a big gaming PC. I got a steam deck oled and this. The steam deck is just so much better of a user experience than the ally. Like I said in the video. The ally x is pretty great once you’ve got all of the games you’re gonna play installed and never have to leave armory crate. It’s still just so tedious to navigate anything but that though. Thanks for watching!
I tried it. The ally x. I returned it. Right analog stick too close to the screen and it creates havoc when playing games. Also I have to restart the system when it has hiccups. Rarely that happens with the steam deck OLED I got. I’ll get the ally 2 with an OLED screen and steam os support lol
I didn’t even mentioned that. Besides the stick placement and ergonomics forcing you to arc your thumb which is really u comfortable with someone with big hands. It’s so close to the screen that you constantly hit it. Every time I wip my aim left in a shooter I hit the touch screen. Poor hardware design.
Windows is perfect for the ROG Ally X. Update everything, afterwards disable everything not required (one drive, updates, widgets), uninstall all the nonsense windows installs (office, linkedin, etc), use a launcher that boots with the operating system and forget windows is down below. I even killed windows defender and only use armoury crate. Done. I much prefer linux as an operating system, but whether people like it or not, windows works better (today) than anything linux available for the AllyX, mostly due to the controller management. If you only want to play games, bazzite will do, but if you're into emulation, there's a lot of issues with it and windows will be better overall.
I'll check out bazzite. I do like emulation but I will probably stick to using emu deck on my steam deck. All the solutions you mention sound like it would make the Ally X a fairly enjoyable handheld. Theres absolutely no reason the end user should have to do all of that though. ROG should have done all of that and given us the complete and "fairly enjoyable handheld". Thanks so much for watching!
Steam deck was the first of its kind, in regards to pc gaming, but I got rid of mine got the Ally X and I'm amazed how good it is and now with bazzite installed on a separate drive I have a steam os like system and windows and it all runs great. Everyone has their own preference and yours is Steam Deck which is cool. Mine ALLY X all the way
I hadn’t heard of bazzite until I uploaded this. Kind of wanna try it. Like I said at the end of the video. Ally X is close to me really enjoying it. Throw an OLED on there and up the ergonomics a bit more as well as better the software experience and I’m sold.
@EMULATIONODIN I hope it’s a big overhaul. Bigger footprint and display would be nice. Overhaul the software. Keep the same mission statement for the product but cut cost at least a hundred bucks. Would be the definitive handheld.
So I’m thinking making the set up process for tough gaming easier and an OLED screen may fix the problem. I currently have a gaming laptop which runs very good considering it has a 32GB ram with NVIDIA 3050 but was thinking about switching to handheld pc gaming, although seeing how you described the problems which is something I was concerned about, I’m gonna wait till they release the next model with an OLED screen and what I’m sure will be at least some performance improvements.
I agree. As well as the all around user experience in the system. The OS just causes problems. If you’re curious about handheld gaming, I couldn’t recommend the Steam deck oled enough.
For me, the ROG ally X is still good product and it’s more comfortable because I did tread it on. It’s probably design for FPS games because of the economic design except 120 Hz display it’s all right for playing FPS games. I just wish they put one 144 Hz on display they will be good for FPS games we’ll see because they may consider to increase the cost if you put that display
@@AndrewTaylorYT why worthless? Because if you’re gonna add a high refresh rate it’s gonna increase the cost maybe it’s gonna cost $1000 handheld it’s gonna be crazy price tag.
@Russiangamerpro2021 the 144 hz would be a useless addition. The difference between 120 and 144 is incredibly negligible and the system won’t often be pushing frames over 120. Also the display is just too small for any of these additions to feel meaningful.
The only thing the Deck has over the X is the larger OLED screen. SteamOS is coming to the X. You also mentioned nothing about Fluid Motion Frames which doubles fps in some games.
The steam deck has a lot more than a big OLED screen over the Ally X. It has better value for the price. It has far better ergonomics. It has a better OS. It works consistently and is less buggy. Fluid motion frames is great but I couldn’t care less about double the frames on a 7 inch display that’s sitting in my lap while I’m playing. The fact they’re putting time into trying and getting me 120-200 frames on a handheld like this rather than an actual good user experience is mind blowing.
I agree. The steam deck and the Legion Go both come with fantastic cases and the Ally X is more expensive and a lesser experience AND they don’t even give you a case. Wild.
Yea like I said it’s smoother. It’s a little more detailed but I wouldn’t say it’s even slightly sharper than the steam deck. The IPS just kinda blends together. Contrast and vibrancy aren’t even remotely close to the steam deck. That’s genuinely just the fault of the technology in the panel though. I’m genuinely perplexed that they didn’t do a slightly larger OLED display on the ally x. Would’ve looked incredible and made the battery even better.
Your belief on what a console is don’t do you any favors in this reviews. it’s beautifully shot and is high quality but the content seems to be done in bad faith. Or maybe just a bit out of touch. It might just be me. Interesting opinions though
Thanks for watching! I’m struggling to get my head around “my belief” on what a console is. By definition it’s a computer that’s primary purpose is gaming. Is that not what these handhelds are? The only buttons built into them are for gaming. There’s no world where the manufacturers don’t make these with the primary expectation that people buy them to play video games. If we understand the primary focus of the product doesn’t that make it perfectly fair to review it on how good it is at that? The whole “problem” I’ve presented in the video is that the ROG Ally X makes it really tedious to get to the point where you can do what the device is meant to do. Once you get there it does great but everything between buying and loading into a game is pretty miserable.
@@AndrewTaylorYT I looked at the rest of your content and I think I found out why you came to most of your conclusions. I think for your audience your review might make sense
That’s next up on my list for handheld PCs to do a video on. The Lenovo Legion Go video is on the schedule to upload on October 4th 😂. I’ll pick one up in a couple weeks.
I can’t say it’s worth 800 bucks for multiplayer games. But if you really really want it then it’s up to you. You’ll wanna have good WiFi though. Packet bursts in black ops 6 are already bad enough. I just dropped a brand new video doing a comparison between the two systems and I say basically the same thing. If you NEED MP games on the go and don’t wanna grab a gaming laptop then the Ally X is the one to buy. Thanks for watching!
Windows is definitely the worst part of the Ally. I definitely have mine set to boot right into Steam Big Picture. Oddly enough Windows is also the selling point for me. Despite how much it makes me mad, more intricate mod support with script extenders and more accessible Emulation is what I was looking for. I’m not sure if you did it but if you boot into the BIOS you can set a better/higher VRAM allocation so I did a 14/10 split and it made a huge difference in a lot of more intense games.
I’ll look into it. I do agree with you by the way. Windows kind of is the point which is frustrating. I’m not sure if you can do stuff like SteamOS on windows. Ideally you could boot the system and it would be a custom OS until you wanted to leave over to the desktop mode. Shouldn’t have to do “Windows” setup. It should be ROGos setup and ROGos that runs on windows. Idk. If windows is gatekeeping stuff like this id rather wait for steam with proton layers to make everything playable on Linux or for devs to just start making everything compatible for Linux.
@@AndrewTaylorYT more or less what I do! I dot. Have a steam OS dual boot (I looked into Chimera) but I have it set to run steam when windows logs in like is pretty standard and then I set it to always start in big picture mode. Then 90% of the time I can bypass anything windows 😂 Microsoft needs to make a windows on controller tho. Super lightweight. Streamlined settings that are relevant. Button combos for passwords. Controllers that support finger prints for TV’s etc kind of thing
Thanks for your honesty overall I was about to spend $800 but smh I’m not computer savvy at all…..smh I have a steam deck and still have trouble with it so I only play steam deck games without installing emulators etc. and I only play my steam deck when I want play something different from my PlayStation or Xbox. Anyway thanks again
How is it out of touch? I kinda just state my opinions and show footage. I think the video is perfectly in touch for your average not already PC gamer and I state that in the video.
@@AndrewTaylorYT eh. Beautifully shot. Out of touch for the very reason you mentioned. Thanks for the comment because now I understand why it feels bad faith. It leans into who it’s not for so much. This can be done with even the best products. It’s why I felt some deck reviews were out of touch. But maybe that’s your audience. First time viewer. I mentioned that your opinion was valid but it was made for people who play only consoles games or don’t know what windows gaming is at all it seems. An analogy. You reviewed a Swiss Army knife and you assumed all anyone needs to with it is spread butter.
Never thought i can make a decision after watching this video. Im watching all the current handheld gamig pc reviews and really into the handheld itself. But watching this i just make sense just to buy a gaming laptop AND steam oled. Thank you.
windows 11 is perfect for this device I don’t get the hate. I have my Pc but it’s in my hands and I know how to use the OS already. And it’s not a bad experience. The update thing is pretty obvious that when you get a devise that’s been siting in a box since manufacture date using a operating system that gets frequent updates that theres gonna be updates to handle when you open it. Not that inconvenient.
I love both of mine but I will say you have to be like me and have dealt wit windows forever so when problems do arise I can normally fix it Havent had me except on my legion go
I know it’s later in the video so not everyone sees that but I do say that. It’s super annoying and a new user would lose their minds but I know how to navigate windows and get around and do all of that and playing games on the ally can be a great time! It’s interesting as far as who you think the Ally X is actually for. After I do the comparison video for the Ally and the deck I want to pick up a legion go and see how it is. It seems super interesting. Does it have a lot of similar issues?
Steamdecks 16:10 screen had a gread impact same with laptops 16:10 aspect ration is way way better in my opinion the 16:9 screen of ally made me squint while playing weird that with that small difference in ratio has a great impact
I agree with that. Idk man I just can’t love the Ally X as much as I tried. It couldn’t stop crashing trying to play shadow of war tonight and the on screen keyboard won’t work to log me into halo infinite. Starfield even crashed. What’s worse is that it makes me go into the windows settings to uninstall games rather than just doing it from the armory crate. Why in the world am I trying to game on this thing.
Nope, it's not a "games console" it's a Windows handheld. That means the experience is going to be absolutely no different than a desktop or laptop. Just a smaller screen. We get it, you're a Steam Deck fanboy. But this thing plays more games than your cute little Steam Deck. Big games too like Battlefield, CoD, Destiny. It's also a fully functioning Windows PC. Which some of us like having that capability for when we're not playing games. And given this thing plays more games, has more power & performance, and you can install software like Playnite & make it every bit as good as the Steam Deck, it makes it a no brainer for those of us who could care less about brand names & simply want the most games, performance & features for our money.
That is true. It is worth reiterating though. Only reason I could recommend the thing is if you really specifically want a windows handheld for windows reasons or you wanna play multiplayer games on a handheld. I feel like other products offer a better experience for everything else.
I’d have to think on that. I think I’d still recommend the steam deck. That being said I’d still recommend saving a little more and trying to catch a used steam deck oled on Facebook marketplace or eBay.
At the end of the day oh it's so bad and I don't like it doesn't feel good but it amazing and I have another question for you if you so hate Windows why do you own Windows devices
Bro.... install a big ass hard drive, split the partition in half, and install Bazzite (Steam OS). Save the Windows OS/Armory Crate bull for the games that require it for Anti Cheat software (Destiny 2) and Game Pass crap. Use the Bazzite partition for the rest. It pretty much turns it into a faster/better Steam Deck. Sprinkle in some emulators (PSX, PS2, PS3, Xbox, every Nintendo console) and you pretty much have the Thanos of handhelds. Just gotta tinker for a little bit.
@boogidaball uncomfortable is subjective. For me, it's a similar feel, although the weight difference is noticeable. The SD OLED has a better screen, no question... but the X has it in performance. And it can literally play EVERY game. Not just the Steam curated ones. Way more versatility.
Thx for keeping it real. Assures me i made the right choice with steam deck. Those type of issues u mention would bug the hell out of me . Im an oled snob and prefer a more polished experience over specs
Same!! I’m really excited to do the 1v1 video between the two handhelds. The quality of experience is so much better than the more powerful version. There are good points for both sides though.
I'll check it out! If I can primarily boot directly into it that would be great. Having to boot into windows and then go to armory crate is so dumb and annoying.
@@AndrewTaylorYT from what I saw in videos and people talking you can literally boot into it.. I mean you have to first log-in on to your pc but once you log-in Playnite kicks in and then you have a console menu that shows all yours games.. another thing that people told is that once you select a game Playnite opens up the launcher of said game boot him up and then closes the said launcher, don't know if that happens all the time but you should test it out
That would be cool if it were the case. Besides the fact theres no reason it should've been dead this wasn't the case. I plugged it in and the charging light turned on and when I booted it up it would shut off due to low battery. The thing was a hundred percent dead.
I was going to comment the same thing. You have to plug it in before first boot. The same is true when you open it up to replace the NVME drive. After opening it up, even on a full battery you have to plug it in before boot.
@@AndrewTaylorYTOn the originally Ally, the plastic on Ally had instructions images that said to plug it in before powering it on but I went back to your unboxing section and it seems they changed it on the Ally X.
one of the realest reviews i've read about this product. I found most of your gripes with the ergonomics very accurate whilst others channels put it just under the Steam Deck when the Steam Deck is clearly 10x more comfortable. Windows sucks, Armoury Crate felt gimmicky and my controller at some points stopped registering inputs on it forcing me to restart. Screen is just too small compared to the Steam Deck, it makes Windows horrible to use.
Im glad you enjoyed! I watched a lot of videos on the Ally too and was so confused as to why people weren't more upset with it. Im thinking maybe ROG has strict sponsored video requirements or something. The ergonomics on the Ally are bad. I can't play more than 40 minutes without needing to put it down because my hands are cramping. The steam deck might be one of the best ergonomic gaming devices ive ever used.
Thanks so much! Sorry about the music. Had a bit of a copyright problem with a licensing website I used and had to take down the video and re edit all the music into the video. Didn't do my due diligence with audio mixing the second time around.
In some games for sure. Doesn’t really affect the experience much in handheld. One thing I never talked about because I never really do it is the dockability. I always play handheld with my handhelds but the Ally X is prob the best docked handheld. Operates like a low powered PC and is reliable enough for 30-60 frames in 1080p with most games on low settings.
@refrefwgwgwegew not a couple hundred dollars more? The extra few frames on a 6 and a half inch display? Like I said in the video. I can enjoy Elden Ring on the steam deck much much more at 40 frames with better ergo and a better display than I can on the Ally X at 60 frames with worse ergonomics and a worse display. Both feel good and play smooth enough. Visually there is such a little difference that it does not matter. The OLED display vs the higher frame IPS display isn’t even close.
No I know I’m sorry. This video got it kinda bad. I had a fully different version of this video that was edited to different music and it was all meticulously mixed and mastered and then I had a massive problem with licensing when I uploaded this video. The website I was using for licensed music had this big white listing problem and I had to delete the video and very quickly re edit the whole thing with different licensed music from a different platform and I rushed the whole thing to get the video back up which led to the music being a bit to loud at times. Won’t happen again. That intro in the video was so so much better with the original song I had picked too.😞
Ngl now that I think about it I probably should have gotten a very expensive gaming laptop lol I forgot those existed when I bought this. I figured all I have to do is travel with this, my dock, mouse and keyboard, and Xbox controller. With the laptop I just need a controller 😅
Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying. Most backpacks also have a dedicated laptop spot that you aren’t gonna put an ROG Ally X in. Seems better for travel to have a laptop and controller.
I returned mine and then I saw the announcement. However the OS release isn’t out. I hate announcements to future release. Just release it already and let the community help fix the bugs.
I’m really curious to see how that goes. In theory it’ll be amazing because it solves a lot of the Ally’s problems but at the same time. If you’re gonna install steam OS on it. Why not get a steam deck oled for cheaper?
@MistaWells it does. You could check out my steam deck video for specifics or when I upload my rog ally x vs steam deck oled video I’ll go into it. The specs are less yes but the experience isn’t less “good” for the end user. The PPI is still great. The OLED looks far better than the Ally X display, and while you do get less frames you you still get perfectly playable frames for most games. Only things I’ve done on the Ally I don’t do on the steam deck are play some multiplayer shooters. After trying Elden Ring on the Ally I wanted to go back to the steam deck OLED because of how much better of an experience it is. Ontop of that the steam deck is cheaper and the operating system is so absurdly better for the handheld experience.
@@AndrewTaylorYT right which is why steam os would make the ally that much better. It's light weight and optimized for handheld use which means easy menu navigation and better performance in games. The only disadvantage would be not being able to play MMO type games like you mentioned. But I'd argue if you want a device like this you're probably not getting it for cod or Fortnite. My theory is most of the Ally's biggest problems will be fixed once they start shipping with steam os. I'm sure they will continue to offer a windows version for those who want it though. 😁
I did the same. Mac is just so much better for everything except for gaming. I’ve got an upcoming video where I’m going to replace my mobile machine with a new windows laptop for a week and I’m gonna see how it goes.
I know it sounds like torture but those new ARM chips seem really awesome. Some of the laptops have some awesome hardware in them also. It’ll be a fun video. I doubt it’ll make me sell my Mac Studio but it’ll be a fun experiment either way!
I agree. Curious to see what comes of Valve allowing Steam OS to be natively installed on devices like the Ally. Could be super cool. Still, the 800 dollar price is brutal.
@@AndrewTaylorYT that’s the thing for me the price and the all the tedious things you mentioned it just takes away from the experience, I think Microsoft should make a simple operating system for handhelds otherwise the whole user experience is dead of they should integrate the Rog ally interface better so you land on the home page of the Rog instead of windows but that’s just me what do I know lol 😂 great video though love your channel 🥰
@@RetroWolf13after you do initial setup you can start in ArmouryCrate, which then goes right to Steam Big Screen, so besides that initial setup you can avoid Windows. Or just get rid of Windows and install Bazzite
I have the original rog ally z1, Sure windows 11 is a pain on these kinds of systems but I definitely prefer the rog ally over the steam deck. For 1 the off set joysticks, and 2 I just think the system looks overall better then the steam deck.
@@casualtrips9571 see I beg to differ I think the deck is more premium and looks way better than the rog ally and the deck is more of a console experience and has a gorgeous OLED screen and it doesn’t melt my SD card when it starts to get hot lol 😂
How so? I think I mention it in this video and I know I mention it in the video that’s coming out this weekend. I might just have weirdly large hands? I couldn’t see the steam deck ergonomics cramping even small hands but I could see the Ally X being comfortable for certain sized hands.
For me, the Legion go is more bulkier than the ROG Ally X because I feel like I just don’t like the Legion go because the software is still not good the overheating is still having a problem and the fan noise is still have a problem so I don’t like that Lenovo Legion go I prefer the Rog ally x because I just like that handheld because you can plug an external graphic card and it has a USB 4 which is good for me to use it
Which then makes me have to deal with task manager. Hot keying to windows apps doesn’t fix the problem. Should be able to close a game from Armory Crate.
@@AndrewTaylorYT the Ally X is a sports car. Takes extra maintenance, you need to learn to drive it to use it to its full potential, but when you do, it sings. The steam deck, like consoles, are the everyday car, for people that just want to get to work & stop at the grocery store. Their target markets are not the same.
@@AndrewTaylorYT im 100% serious. im gay as hell and you're totally my type you don't have to do anything with this information i just wanted to say it
It is literally by definition a gaming console. Yes it is a PC. It is a handheld gaming console PC. It’s hardware design literally limits it from being considered just a PC.
@@AndrewTaylorYT that sounds like a nightmare. Pass, there’s a reason why handhelds are a thing - laptops don’t do it. Sounds like you don’t like handhelds.
Honestly, you just don’t know what you’re doing. They are literally Shortcuts straight to Task manager , why are you using the screen instead of switching the input to mouse with the thumsticks ,
The input with the stick was annoying and kinda tedious. At the same time. Why would I want it to bring me to task manager??? Why can’t I close games from armory crate? I even had the same annoying run around tonight. You hit install in the armory crate and it just throws you into the windows uninstall menu to make you search for the game you wanna uninstall. It’s dumb and unintuitive. The Ally X forces you to constantly jump through hoops and do tasks that the software should do.
@@AndrewTaylorYT I don’t know he just gotta get used to it, once you do, it’s not that bad, I grew up on PC game so I’m used to windows , I’m pretty much lost on consolesn
@deairreoh I use a gaming pc to play most games. I’m not unfamiliar with windows. I just have an expectation that a company should develop software that ties into the hardware. This creates an all around positive user experience. Like I said in the video. I know how to navigate all the stuff and get to where I want to be and get done what I need to get done. That doesn’t change the fact though that doing it on a small 6-7 inch handheld touchscreen or stick SUCKS. Windows is perfectly adequate on a keyboard and mouse because that’s what it was made for. You’ve gotta do better when making a software for a system that has a completely different user hardware interaction. That’s why I think windows is a problem on the Ally X.
The Ally wasn't dead when you unboxed it. The carboard that covers the Ally, the literal first thing you see when you open the box, says that you have to plug the device in for the first time to initialize it.
EDIT: You don't have to type in task manager. Hold the M button and tap down on the d-pad opens task manager. M+Left shows desktop, M+Up pulls up keyboard and M+Right opens multi-window. If you're not inclined to look through armory crate and find these details out for yourself, you could always watch numerous tips and tricks videos right here on youtube.
That task manager shortcut is gonna be super helpful. The desktop one will be too. I’d just been using the ROG pop out menu to do it. Thanks! I guess it’s fine for the thing to be dead out of the box. Seems kind of stupid though. Kills all the excitement of unboxing it and I can’t name the last piece of tech I purchased that was dead out of the box. Makes the Ally X look bad.
@@AndrewTaylorYT But it wasn't dead. It's purposely done, because Asus doesn't know how long the thing will be sitting on a shelf in a warehouse somewhere, so rather then have the battery trickle down to nothing and then ACTUALLY be dead, it's put it into a sort of deep hibernation mode.
It's the equivalent of how some old school electronic toys back in the day would have the little plastic tab that you would have to pull out which would allow the battery circuit to connect and start working.
@@TheInfiniteDraw If it was not dead why did it give me a battery dead indication after I tried to turn it on after a few minutes plugged in?? I get the concept for toys but nobody does that in tech like this. Completely shut down that battery would’ve been fine to boot the system for many months. It doesn’t really matter that much at the end of the day. But if you’re correct then someone on the product team made that choice and I think it is a poor choice. Damages the first initial experience the user has with the products. There are ample studies and leagues of research done on what kind of things affect and damage user experience with products. This is just very clearly a disappointing thing to experience when you purchase your brand new piece of tech. Every laptop I’ve opened in the last decade had battery and turned on instantly. Every PSP vita and DS Steam Deck and cell phone have had battery in the box when I opened it. You pretty much gotta start charging the system after you turn it on but its still apart of the first impression for the user and choosing to ruin that is an indication of how poorly inept the product team for the Ally X is.
@@AndrewTaylorYT I find it very hard to believe your device gave you a battery dead indicator for a device where the manufacturing date couldn't have been longer then a few months out, maybe maximum even a year, unless you had a defective battery, which clearly you didn't. Almost every electronic device that is released has a battery that is pre-charged to around 70-80%, because that is the state that it is the safest for trickling loss and sitting on shelves. It's also why as an extra precaution, the battery is put into deep sleep mode.
Plenty of electronics do this, especially ones that have larger batteries in smaller form factors. Literally the Steam Deck LCD model did the exact same thing. Steam even has a support page which mentions that initializing the Deck requires plugging it in first to take it out of deep sleep mode.
I get you might have found it annoying, but your problem would have been solved if you had just noticed the instructions with the pictures that showed plug in and then hit power.
It wasn’t dead. You absolutely need to plug it in. It won’t give you anything without plugging it in
The main reason that made me buy the ROG ally x was because it's windows based.
To each their own. Windows can have some value. Doesn’t make it a good user experience on a handheld.
This is the exact reason I have avoided it lol. Windows is so heavy
@@NickTerry1 Dual Boot with SteamOS or any Linux based OS made for Ally
@danielnieto1782 why would an average user know how to do that.
@@AndrewTaylorYT It's a windows product, the target audience know how to search in Google and fix Windows things. It's for advanced PC Gamer. But probably that'll be the next move for the next handhelds, put Linux based OS ready to Plug and Play for the average user (like Playtron), but the option to change to Windows for the advanced user
Title should be "I have a problems...." not trying to be harsh but every single thing was a complaint... its a handheld complains about it... its windows complains about it... less color... ONLY POSITIVE the Speaker... "They popped off hard..." It is in fact a handheld... wild man I almost never comment and felt obligated I hope your channel is successful but this is crazy just shaking my head WOW hand held is not a laptop
Were any of my criticisms incorrect? I never implied it wasn’t a handheld. I gave it the flowers I think it deserved. Games run great. Speakers are actually insane in still confused why ROG laptops have terrible speakers and this thing was given the absolute treatment. I criticized the OS and user experience pretty aggressively. That’s kinda the point of purchasing a product and reviewing it. I’m still playing on it. My points still stand though. The thing isn’t a better handheld than the steam deck which is cheaper and it’s not a better high power gaming computer than a laptop. It does what both sides do but worse. Doesn’t seem worth 800 bucks. Like I also said. They make the experience a bit better for users and ergonomics for me at least (I think I might just have big hands) and I’ll be up to purchase it. I love game consoles and all the adjacent stuff. The hardware is dope. Thanks for watching! First video I’ve really harped on a product.😂
Because you're comparing WINDOWS to Linux/Steam OS when you knew going in this was a WINDOWS handheld. Did you think that Microsoft created a special version of Windows just for handhelds?
So yes it's going to take a bit longer to update & set up properly. It doesn't have a custom OS designed specifically for handhelds like the Steam Deck. It's running the same Windows as on every PC & laptop. You should have known that going in. So you therefore review it based on how it works after it is updated & set up. Giving it a negative review because the Windows handheld is not running Linux/Steam OS is just ridiculous.
Oh, and simply install Playnite.
Whats playnite ??@@nonyabusiness6084
@@AndrewTaylorYT this video negative as fuuu..
Yeaaaa. Didn’t enjoy the thing very much.
When the title said it had a problem , I didnt think windows would be the problem. Because its a windows handheld....smh
Life is full of surprises. But yeah. The problem with the Rog ally x is the terrible user experience in the operating system.
Get clickbaited 😂
@@AndrewTaylorYT this is super easy to resolve dude just uninstall and install linux its not that hard brah, dramatic video
preach, whack vid. clickbait
@iRaven-_- its crazy, windows is perfect, you can carry like a portable PC. It's awesome.
Once you do the start up set up it goes easy down the road I’ve enjoyed my ROG X it’s not heavy at all what are you talking about . I believe the ROG Ally is the best portable PC
It wasn't dead when you took it out the box you have to plug it in first it's a safety feature
I am loving my Rog Ally X... I sold my OG LCD steam deck cause I don't understand Linux at all and I don't have time to tinker with different launchers and settings to play different games..
Ally X is my personal computer, i dont have any laptop or desktop and I'm loving it cause I've always wanted something handheld and powerful plus i can do all my work on it as well because i travel a lot. So, Ally X as a handheld pc is just perfect for me !!!
That’s awesome! Unique use case for sure. I had never used Linux before getting the steam deck and don’t really know where you were forced to learn Linux because i still don’t lol. And you can play every single game on it through Steam OS so I’m not sure what other launchers you were trying to get going either. It would be pretty cool to use a handheld as a full time PC i just would hate the amount of accessories needed to have a good computer experience. Video editing on the Ally X would be so frustrating unless i brought around a ton of gear in which case a laptop would be more convenient.
@@AndrewTaylorYT
It’s really not that much, I fit everything in a sling bag. I have a dock, folding keyboard and mouse and travel LED screen. At home I just dock it and use a keyboard, mouse and 32 inch monitor.
It runs everything I need.
@scubasteve1555 that’s fair! If you use it as a docked PC 100% of the time why not invest in a mini PC? Something that could be super portable but do a lot more as far as rigging it up? I just still can’t wrap my head around getting a better product for the same price. The only reason I could recommend an ROG Ally X which I actually did today is if you travel a ton and have little to no extra bag space and really wanna be able to play mutiplayer games and shooters at the hotel. If you’re docking constantly why not a mini PC? If you’re gonna have desk space why not a gaming laptop? If you just want a mobile experience and have a good setup for big games why not go cheaper and get a steam deck or one of the ayano handhelds? I love the creativity but aren’t there just better options for your use case??
@@AndrewTaylorYT
Because I travel the world and want to work and game. I don’t use it as a docked PC 100% of the time.
I’ve tried a gaming laptop and they are just too big and bulky for as much as I travel.
I just had a business trip to Scotland, I docked my Ally X and worked during the day, gamed at night in the hotel or used it to watch Netflix, Disney + etc plugged into the hotel TV.
The Steam Deck (I had one) is underpowered. It also has compatibility and limitations that a Windows based gaming device doesn’t have.
There’s not a mini PC available that is as portable and can play games. For my use case this is clearly the best option that allows me to do everything I need.
@scubasteve1555 I know it’s more expensive but I’ve heard awesome things about these. www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1815324-REG/asus_rnuc14srku7168aui_rog_nuc_760_full.html steam deck isn’t under powered. It’s kinda perfectly powered. Plays pretty much everything with playable frame rates.
I don’t get why are you almost the only one talking about this major issue, I did this mistake back then when switched from console to pc, I knew it would be the worst experience but had to make the mistake to get convinced, I am a software engineer myself (I can deal with bugs and issues). But the whole purpose of playing games is to leave work and have some break to enjoy the time. Having fun on a windows machine doesn’t make sense to me at all since 2015 till now. I still don’t get it how people leave the “plug and play” and play on a windows machine and in this case a windows handheld. Maybe they don’t work that much? Or gaming is their job so playing games is the way they make money. I don’t know. Or I am just weird 😂
Some people have talked about it. The Ally community can get super angry when people bash on this issue. I agree with you completely though. Thanks so much for watching.😊
Playing games isn’t the same for everyone. For you a console “plug and play” experience is what your prioritise, but are consoles even plug and play anymore? Every few weeke you have to spend an hour updating the game, operating system and now even controller while not getting the functionality, Game library or performance of a windows pc
Outside of the updates, Windows is not as cumbersome as people make it out to be. Personally I use XOS (better performance, no bloat, and no Windows telemetry) but that's not recommended. It's harder to install and configure apps on Steam Desktop mode. I fail to understand how it's difficult to install an EXE file and take a few mins to configure a game. You even have more choice for front ends including big picture mode. I love my Steam Deck but I would not install SteamOS on an ROG Ally. Asus did a fantastic job on the software the make the device easier to user. The ability to adjust TDP, updates to firmware, updates to bios, set macros. Also, the ability to quickly adjust settings Like CPU boost, controls, resolution, FSR etc. In addition each game can have specific adjustments including CPU boost, TDP, Gyro. Lastly you can calibrate all the sensors and controls. Sure you can use third part apps but nothing comes close to having it all in one spot and per game profiles. I even set macros to easily minimize, maximize, or exit a game.
When I hear someone say I don't want to think about what I'm doing and play a game, it bothers me because it's usually at the cost of customizability and functionality. In this case the cost is loss of game support and quick desktop functions.
I'm tech savvy and found it satisfying when I found the best way to install NFS unbound on the SD, for example, through the EA app but it's so much easier in Windows. Then making the game appear from the app in the steam library was a whole other adventure finding a code to point the EXE to the correct proton instance but it's not worth it when the experience is better on Windows and accomplishes the same thing with no costs or loss of function.
I actually agree with a lot of things you’re saying. I by no means want to take away the depth of customization something like PC gaming offers. I have an absurd level of customization on the Steam deck. From audio to UI to booting and closing animations to custom inputs that change depending on macros etc. On the deck though that depth is as deep as the user wants. Windows setup and all of the stuff on the Ally would be really tedious to a new user but more tech savvy individuals can navigate it just fine even if it is kinda tedious. I just think products should be designed intelligently and have a good attention to every detail. Windows on the Ally just doesn’t while I think Steam OS on the deck does. If something like ROG Armory Crate was the default on the ally where you turn it on and setup the ally in the crate and do everything through there I think that would be incredible. If I then had the option to choose the boot into “desktop mode” that was Windows so I could do anything I could want I think that would be better. I think there should be layers of depth to a game console like this. Level 1 should be boot up and play games. Level 2 should be dive into the computer inside of it and do awesome stuff. Level 3 should be opening up the terminal and really getting granular. That’s just my philosophy on products most of the time.
I have the OLED and the X I find myself picking up the OLED to game more. Thinking about returning the X I love it but whenever I’m gaming on it I keep thinking man is 800$ worth it why not just get a gaming laptop
EXACTLY. I feel literally identical.
Have the same feeling
I dont mind windows im used to it, but why I wont switch from my steam deck is more buttons on the back and trackpads, with action sets and radial menus
, it gives me almost unlimited number of buttons.
That’s true. I need to remember to bring that up in the comparison I do. The control mapping ability in the steam deck is unmatched. Also the track pads are life saving for a handheld like this. So confused as to why the Ally X didn’t include something like that.
@@AndrewTaylorYT with circle menus, and sub circle menus, thats dozens of buttons.
For RPG's for FPS weapon wheels etc.
Trackpads are essential.
If you want a plug and play experience you should just stick with steam deck. This is for people who want wider compatability I mean you can play any PC games on ally that is the reason why i prefer this over steam deck.
so with all these negatives directed at this specific device what would be your recommendation for a windows handheld?
I would recommend a steam deck at this point. I don’t want to try more windows handhelds. I wanna try the Lenovo legion GO. Heard decent things. I really really wanna try this ayaneo.com/product/AYANEOAIR.html I’ve heard some awesome things and not awesome things about random ayaneo handhelds. They seem really awesome though. Hope to do videos on them soon!
I agree that the initializing process takes you by surprise initially and you don't expect how long it takes from turning it on for the first time to actually playing! However, it would've been the right thing to connect to a monitor, keyboard and mouse and set up Windows this way! Saves you a lot of cursing, heartache and frustration.
I 100% agree with that. Windows happens to be a PC OS that’s made for a keyboard and mouse.😂
I understand the comparison between prices of a X and a laptop, but tbh I owned an rog strix with an 18 inch screen, nvidia rtx 4080 and I returned it last year. That thing was too much of a pain in the ass to carry around, too loud.
The ROG ally X is perfect (besides the price) that it can push all the games I want to at least 60 fps, with some going to 120. And I think people are REALLY underestimating it's VRR which is a standout from other handhelds in the market.
That’s fair. I can’t really argue with that. I’m really curious to see the follow up to the Ally X. With some tweaks I could see myself really liking it but one of those tweaks needs to be the price.
@@AndrewTaylorYT Best buy was constantly putting the original ALLY on sale, granted that one had a large amount of returns probably due to the SD card problems. I wouldnt be surprised to see the X on at least $50 to $100 discount around the holidays, might be an easier sell to people.
@paulink I would purchase and keep an ROG Ally X if it was $599 probably. Seems like a good price.
You go via the control panel of your grapichs card. There you can adjust the Colors to make it better
You’re 100% right; get a good laptop for a better mobile gaming experience. I want to add that you know your stuff and speak well; much love, ♥️🤲🏼
Thanks so much. Means alot! Thank you so much for watching!!❤️
Thanks for your video! I sold my LCD steam deck to a friend after buying the OLED steam deck. He is not a PC person at all. He has an old surface computer as his personal PC and only plays console games. He reached out to me about getting a gaming handheld. He didn’t want to get the switch as 1, it’s old now, and 2, he doesn’t like Nintendo games. He initially asked me about the PS Portal. But I told him I had a Steam Deck that I thought would be perfect. He loves it. He treats it basically as a console. Every game he owns is just from Steam and he has never used the desktop mode, I don’t even think he knows about it. And with your comments, yeah, there’s no way he would be able to use any other windows hand held. So if all these other hand held manufactures want to be successful, they definitely need to figure out a way to skin Windows properly.
I’m happy you enjoyed! Glad your friend is enjoying the deck. I 100% agree. The steam deck competitors need to figure out the user experience so it’s more welcoming to a mass audience. Thank you so much for watching!😊
I never had the need to buy a gaming laptop or get into pc gaming since I’m mainly play my games on my 3 consoles I owned but then the oled came out decided to buy it I did mainly to play steam cozy games on the go but was disappointed I couldn’t play Fortnite or Roblox or wow not with some work around/dual booting.i then decided to buy a rog ally x and now pretty much happy taking both pc handheld on the go to play my games
That’s awesome! If your goal with a handheld is multiplayer games then the Ally X is probably the best you’re gonna get. I can’t get around MP games on my handhelds though. I just can’t play as good as i could on a setup with a full display and more frames and such. I start losing gunfights i know i should be winning and I’ve just gotta go get on the big gaming machine lol. Like i did say in the video though. Destiny 2 on the Ally X is really really awesome.
Also it's not just supposed to play PC games. It's an emulation powerhouse! It's the best emulation handheld out there that can rip everything emulation has to offer including PS3 and only limited by the compatibility of the emulator itself to the games...
But I get your point that if you're buying it 95% to play modern PC games, I just think the best way to play PC games are on a gaming PC/Laptop. But for me it's worth it because I want a handheld that can handle all emulation first and foremost. Then a handheld I can also use it to stream from my PS5/PC... and then third a device that can kinda play newer games on its own.
You are 100% the right person for the Ally X. As a powerful small computer it’s super sick. You can do so much interesting stuff with handheld PC console dealios. I do an absurd amount of emulation on my Steam deck. I haven’t found myself wanting to emulate a lot of ps3 games on it but I can play a lot of that generation and the ps4/xbone generation on Steam. Using it as a streaming computer is a sick idea. I’m currently working on a video where I’m gonna try and rig up a “high end streaming setup” with a Steam deck and a Mac Studio.😂 The ROG Ally X has some power and you can push it to do some awesome stuff.
I would only recommend this device for people who are vary tech savvy , I love this device I use it a lot for emulation and COD
I agree. It’s also great for both of those uses.
Cmon guys why bash a video based on his experience it varies
Thank you for being honest 😊
Thanks for the support lol. I’m not trying to bash the thing because it’s just a thing. I really haven’t had a good experience with it. Have had constant game crashes on it today even. I’m just not a super big fan of this handheld. Thanks so much for watching.😊
I feel you with the Windows experience, and a lot of what PC gamers like (tweaking, modding, emulating) I just don't. I just want to get into my games. That said, the Ally's versatility and ability to play most anything to throw at it, make it hard for me to go back now. Armoury Crate helps a lot and I do think with handhelds becoming more popular, Windows will develop a gaming OS. Now, I lucked up and got my Ally X for $500. And I got it to try and likely return, but I'll be keeping it.
Microsoft could solve these problems that’s true. I’d prefer that they opened up windows a bit and allowed the manufacturers to develop their own front end OS for the handhelds. Would make all the different systems feel more unique and be more creative.
Im loving my asus ally X , plays much games and ps3 and 360 games on the Go. I cant complain like yall do about windows Updates i love when their are updates shows they care . Steam deck plays way less games as smooth as the asus ally plays . And i will be getting the next version when they have the Z2 chip
Thanks for the Video Andrew. Thats the first honest Video I saw since Ally X released. Loads of Influencers BS on Day 1 (they all got the Ally X for free). I m saying that cause, I bought one Ally X, and I returned it. I had the same experience like you did. I ended up installing Bazzite. But I was enoyed by the lack of Colors and contrast vs my Steam Deck OLED + the Switch OLED (and all my OLED TV Screens)... and the Fan noise... man !!! The fan kicks in even when the device is Idle. The Steam Deck is just Silent, 0db when you're browsing games or settings. So I returned it. But Can't wait for the SteamDeck 2 or Ally X2 (with an optimized SteamOS) OLED screen and ...TB5 for eGPU
Thanks so much man. I pissed off the Ally X fan boys pretty hard with this one but it’s the honest experience. Thank you so much for watching.😊
Some really great observations. I agree the out of box windows experience isn't good enough for a handheld. If I had one of these I'd have to run bazzite and steamOS when it becomes available. A lot of people think more power = gooder, but thats not always the case. I'm hopeful that with steam deck as a single performance profile, and the death of Moore's law, developers will push for better optimization and greatly extend the useful life cycle of the steam deck. I mean doom eternal runs ultra settings at pretty much locked 60 FPS on deck because ID understands this, and ultimately the extra development costs will be recouped in higher sales over a broader device pool.
I've been really enjoying your videos, keep up the great work 👍
Thank you so much for watching! I agree with all your points. The bigger PC handhelds get the more Devs will be forced to focus on optimization over diminishing returns as far as high fidelity and such. I’m glad you’re enjoying the content. I have a lot of different things I want to do and a lot more to talk about than gaming handhelds and tech as well. I hope to make you guys proud! Thank you so much for being apart of the channel.😊
Crazy seeing this video lmao because my ally x has been a dream. Also you can use the joystick as a mouse and the right bumper to click. You don’t have to just use it as a touch screen
I struggle sometimes with windows on legion go. I can't imagine the pain it is with ally's small screen.
As someone who wants to try the Legion Go. You’re spooking me😂. Thanks so much for watching!
@AndrewTaylorYT it's not hard. If you just want to game, just set steam big picture mode to start when you start windows.
if you wanna simulate a Oled Display go on AMD Software (settings Gear icon) Display and Toggle Custom Colour, then Set it how you please to make it more not so washed out, I just have my Saturations set on 138.
I’ll give it a go! I don’t think that really accurately simulates an OLED. There is something to OLED pixels and the perfect blacks and all of that. I’ll try messing with the display settings to make it more enjoyable though for sure.
@@AndrewTaylorYT it might help but unsure you aren’t doing this with a game on otherwise it’ll set it for that specific game. source where i got it from ua-cam.com/video/TFGh1-RX6Is/v-deo.htmlsi=wRfJM6_fwJwimjzE
@@AndrewTaylorYT make sure you aren’t doing this while a game is on, do it way before otherwise it’ll only set the colour to that specific game Source where i found it from. ua-cam.com/video/TFGh1-RX6Is/v-deo.htmlsi=wRfJM6_fwJwimjzE
Honestly, you should just get past the learning curve. Many of the Windows on a handheld issues are solved by Armoury Crate shortcuts. When you first open up Armoury Crate, it shows you how to use it. It's not hard and pretty intuitive how they used the right controller as a mouse. The "just get a laptop" argument is silly; the whole point of a handheld is to have the freedom to play anywhere I want, whenever I want, like in my car on my lunch break. I can't do that with a laptop.
First of all. The argument “you should just get past the learning curve.” Is wild. But second, I have. I know how to use it and I’m perfectly able to use it. That doesn’t change how tedious it is. Also, the argument for getting a laptop is that you can use it anywhere. It’s a far better value for the money. If you NEED a handheld you can get a worlds better experience by going with a cheaper device. The Ally X doesn’t make sense at the price point. Doesn’t deliver an experience that’s better than cheaper handhelds and it’s as expensive and giving a worse experience than cheap gaming laptops.
@boogidaball in the video you talk about how Armoury Crate doesn't even show you how to use the software, which is false because that's one of the first things it did when I got the device.
@boogidaball The point is, handhelds can be played anywhere. Laptops, on the other hand, cannot. You have to be plugged into a power source, which is why buying a laptop is even more foolish. Just get a desktop PC. The Ally X offers the best performance and battery life out of any handheld device there is; no alternative is available at a cheaper price.
@anubis3647 laptops don’t have to be plugged into the wall to game. We see all kinds of wattage limiting software now. The specs in the ally are being expanded upon on laptops. We are seeing windows laptops built on ARM infrastructure. That’s all just not true. If you want a handheld for handheld experiences there are cheaper and better options. If you want high power mobile experiences there are better and similar priced options. The Ally X isn’t a standout in either of the product categories.
@@AndrewTaylorYT cheaper and better such as ?
Didn't like the steamdeck because it doesnt get 60fps
Eh. That’s fair.
I've been enjoying the ally x. The only game that really bogged it down was DCS. My complaint is squeaky buttons. I frequently pair with a Xbox controller
I noticed that and mentioned it in my comparison video between the Ally and steam deck. The Ally buttons all get squeaky super fast. Odd.
Hands down the best review I’ve seen of this. I’ve watched a ton of reviews that just say the same thing over and over, listing the specs etc. You actually spoke about your experience with it as a regular person - the set up, the weight etc. keep it up!
Thanks so much! I try to avoid specs because I know you can find those in every single other video on UA-cam. I really like to dive in to how it feels to actually use and own products. Thanks so much for watching!😊
I have both the Steam Deck and Ally X and I love both. I swapped in a 4tb drive and use Playnite frontend and have all my Steam, Epic, and emulated games in one list. It plays a lot of games the Steam Deck just isn't manly enough for. Also you mention only getting 30 to 40 fps in COD but with some tuning I get closer to 60.
That’s fair! I played a lot of MW3 and more recently a lot of the black ops 6 beta so it could be the beta that was giving me the cod frame rates I’m not sure. I went pretty plug and play and didn’t mess with much. I’ve yet to try to play games on the deck that it isn’t “manly” enough for so maybe that’s a me thing.
I get what you mean but there is a lot of short keys to get into the task manager. I think the experience coming form PS5 to handheld it’s actually prettt good. I didn’t not come in with the expectation of it being as powerful as my PS5 but it surprised me.
I think those who have been on PC and expect high quality will be disappointed but I went in open minded and glad I can play games I want instead of limited on what my switch can handle.
You are correct about the shortcuts for task manager. I personally came directly from a big gaming PC. I got a steam deck oled and this. The steam deck is just so much better of a user experience than the ally. Like I said in the video. The ally x is pretty great once you’ve got all of the games you’re gonna play installed and never have to leave armory crate. It’s still just so tedious to navigate anything but that though. Thanks for watching!
I purchased the ally and ally x specifically cause it runs full windows
Nice! Thanks for watching!
I tried it. The ally x. I returned it. Right analog stick too close to the screen and it creates havoc when playing games. Also I have to restart the system when it has hiccups. Rarely that happens with the steam deck OLED I got. I’ll get the ally 2 with an OLED screen and steam os support lol
I didn’t even mentioned that. Besides the stick placement and ergonomics forcing you to arc your thumb which is really u comfortable with someone with big hands. It’s so close to the screen that you constantly hit it. Every time I wip my aim left in a shooter I hit the touch screen. Poor hardware design.
I maybe use the touchscreen a little put i primarily use the right stick as a mouse, just change the mouse speed and its great
Windows is perfect for the ROG Ally X. Update everything, afterwards disable everything not required (one drive, updates, widgets), uninstall all the nonsense windows installs (office, linkedin, etc), use a launcher that boots with the operating system and forget windows is down below. I even killed windows defender and only use armoury crate. Done.
I much prefer linux as an operating system, but whether people like it or not, windows works better (today) than anything linux available for the AllyX, mostly due to the controller management. If you only want to play games, bazzite will do, but if you're into emulation, there's a lot of issues with it and windows will be better overall.
I'll check out bazzite. I do like emulation but I will probably stick to using emu deck on my steam deck. All the solutions you mention sound like it would make the Ally X a fairly enjoyable handheld. Theres absolutely no reason the end user should have to do all of that though. ROG should have done all of that and given us the complete and "fairly enjoyable handheld". Thanks so much for watching!
Steam deck was the first of its kind, in regards to pc gaming, but I got rid of mine got the Ally X and I'm amazed how good it is and now with bazzite installed on a separate drive I have a steam os like system and windows and it all runs great. Everyone has their own preference and yours is Steam Deck which is cool. Mine ALLY X all the way
I hadn’t heard of bazzite until I uploaded this. Kind of wanna try it. Like I said at the end of the video. Ally X is close to me really enjoying it. Throw an OLED on there and up the ergonomics a bit more as well as better the software experience and I’m sold.
@@AndrewTaylorYT Bazzite is class bro give it a go and defo agree an oled screen would have been great.
@@EMULATIONODIN I have no idea why they didn’t do an OLED. Would’ve made the battery even better as well!
@boogidaball would have made sense to be honest, but Rog Ally 2 is going to be a monster
@EMULATIONODIN I hope it’s a big overhaul. Bigger footprint and display would be nice. Overhaul the software. Keep the same mission statement for the product but cut cost at least a hundred bucks. Would be the definitive handheld.
So I’m thinking making the set up process for tough gaming easier and an OLED screen may fix the problem. I currently have a gaming laptop which runs very good considering it has a 32GB ram with NVIDIA 3050 but was thinking about switching to handheld pc gaming, although seeing how you described the problems which is something I was concerned about, I’m gonna wait till they release the next model with an OLED screen and what I’m sure will be at least some performance improvements.
I agree. As well as the all around user experience in the system. The OS just causes problems. If you’re curious about handheld gaming, I couldn’t recommend the Steam deck oled enough.
For me, the ROG ally X is still good product and it’s more comfortable because I did tread it on. It’s probably design for FPS games because of the economic design except 120 Hz display it’s all right for playing FPS games. I just wish they put one 144 Hz on display they will be good for FPS games we’ll see because they may consider to increase the cost if you put that display
I wouldn’t say that the Ally X has an economic design. Also it has a 120 hz display. A 144 hz display here would be worthless.
@@AndrewTaylorYT why worthless? Because if you’re gonna add a high refresh rate it’s gonna increase the cost maybe it’s gonna cost $1000 handheld it’s gonna be crazy price tag.
@Russiangamerpro2021 the 144 hz would be a useless addition. The difference between 120 and 144 is incredibly negligible and the system won’t often be pushing frames over 120. Also the display is just too small for any of these additions to feel meaningful.
The only thing the Deck has over the X is the larger OLED screen. SteamOS is coming to the X. You also mentioned nothing about Fluid Motion Frames which doubles fps in some games.
The steam deck has a lot more than a big OLED screen over the Ally X. It has better value for the price. It has far better ergonomics. It has a better OS. It works consistently and is less buggy. Fluid motion frames is great but I couldn’t care less about double the frames on a 7 inch display that’s sitting in my lap while I’m playing. The fact they’re putting time into trying and getting me 120-200 frames on a handheld like this rather than an actual good user experience is mind blowing.
another problem is you have to buy an case for the rog ally yourself if this was for 599 like u said i would buy that over the steam deck
I agree. The steam deck and the Legion Go both come with fantastic cases and the Ally X is more expensive and a lesser experience AND they don’t even give you a case. Wild.
The display is fine . It’s sharper and th vrr make gaming smoother then it does on the steam deck
Yea like I said it’s smoother. It’s a little more detailed but I wouldn’t say it’s even slightly sharper than the steam deck. The IPS just kinda blends together. Contrast and vibrancy aren’t even remotely close to the steam deck. That’s genuinely just the fault of the technology in the panel though. I’m genuinely perplexed that they didn’t do a slightly larger OLED display on the ally x. Would’ve looked incredible and made the battery even better.
@@AndrewTaylorYT the steam deck is underpowered
Your belief on what a console is don’t do you any favors in this reviews. it’s beautifully shot and is high quality but the content seems to be done in bad faith. Or maybe just a bit out of touch. It might just be me. Interesting opinions though
Thanks for watching! I’m struggling to get my head around “my belief” on what a console is. By definition it’s a computer that’s primary purpose is gaming. Is that not what these handhelds are? The only buttons built into them are for gaming. There’s no world where the manufacturers don’t make these with the primary expectation that people buy them to play video games. If we understand the primary focus of the product doesn’t that make it perfectly fair to review it on how good it is at that? The whole “problem” I’ve presented in the video is that the ROG Ally X makes it really tedious to get to the point where you can do what the device is meant to do. Once you get there it does great but everything between buying and loading into a game is pretty miserable.
@@AndrewTaylorYT I looked at the rest of your content and I think I found out why you came to most of your conclusions. I think for your audience your review might make sense
You should try the legion go. Also these things aren't really a console. They are handheld computers.
Working on a Legion Go video right now!
@@AndrewTaylorYT kewl
I use my Xbox Elite controller and mouse and keyboard on docked mode always. I use it as a home console/gaming pc
do you know the 1 solution to most issues that u mentioned with the ally x? 3 words, LENOVO Legion Go!
That’s next up on my list for handheld PCs to do a video on. The Lenovo Legion Go video is on the schedule to upload on October 4th 😂. I’ll pick one up in a couple weeks.
Windows based... ewww
No
Gaming Hanel, it’s considered to be a type of console mix with PC together and that’s how it turned out to be a type of handheld machine
Yea that’s basically what it is. It’s a game console running a PC OS.
Got a steamdeck and love it but wanna play black ops 6 on the go is this worth it for multiplayer games?
I can’t say it’s worth 800 bucks for multiplayer games. But if you really really want it then it’s up to you. You’ll wanna have good WiFi though. Packet bursts in black ops 6 are already bad enough. I just dropped a brand new video doing a comparison between the two systems and I say basically the same thing. If you NEED MP games on the go and don’t wanna grab a gaming laptop then the Ally X is the one to buy. Thanks for watching!
Windows is definitely the worst part of the Ally. I definitely have mine set to boot right into Steam Big Picture. Oddly enough Windows is also the selling point for me. Despite how much it makes me mad, more intricate mod support with script extenders and more accessible Emulation is what I was looking for. I’m not sure if you did it but if you boot into the BIOS you can set a better/higher VRAM allocation so I did a 14/10 split and it made a huge difference in a lot of more intense games.
I’ll look into it. I do agree with you by the way. Windows kind of is the point which is frustrating. I’m not sure if you can do stuff like SteamOS on windows. Ideally you could boot the system and it would be a custom OS until you wanted to leave over to the desktop mode. Shouldn’t have to do “Windows” setup. It should be ROGos setup and ROGos that runs on windows. Idk. If windows is gatekeeping stuff like this id rather wait for steam with proton layers to make everything playable on Linux or for devs to just start making everything compatible for Linux.
@@AndrewTaylorYT more or less what I do! I dot. Have a steam OS dual boot (I looked into Chimera) but I have it set to run steam when windows logs in like is pretty standard and then I set it to always start in big picture mode. Then 90% of the time I can bypass anything windows 😂 Microsoft needs to make a windows on controller tho. Super lightweight. Streamlined settings that are relevant. Button combos for passwords. Controllers that support finger prints for TV’s etc kind of thing
I wanted to know if this thing can be better with the xg mobile 4090 from asus (right now on Best Buy is $1500 )
Thanks for your honesty overall I was about to spend $800 but smh I’m not computer savvy at all…..smh I have a steam deck and still have trouble with it so I only play steam deck games without installing emulators etc. and I only play my steam deck when I want play something different from my PlayStation or Xbox. Anyway thanks again
No problem! Glad it was helpful for you.😊
I would watch a few other reviews too. Not that his opinion isn’t valid. But it’s a bit much or out of touch.
How is it out of touch? I kinda just state my opinions and show footage. I think the video is perfectly in touch for your average not already PC gamer and I state that in the video.
@@AndrewTaylorYT eh. Beautifully shot. Out of touch for the very reason you mentioned. Thanks for the comment because now I understand why it feels bad faith. It leans into who it’s not for so much. This can be done with even the best products. It’s why I felt some deck reviews were out of touch. But maybe that’s your audience. First time viewer. I mentioned that your opinion was valid but it was made for people who play only consoles games or don’t know what windows gaming is at all it seems. An analogy. You reviewed a Swiss Army knife and you assumed all anyone needs to with it is spread butter.
Never thought i can make a decision after watching this video.
Im watching all the current handheld gamig pc reviews and really into the handheld itself. But watching this i just make sense just to buy a gaming laptop AND steam oled.
Thank you.
windows 11 is perfect for this device I don’t get the hate. I have my Pc but it’s in my hands and I know how to use the OS already. And it’s not a bad experience. The update thing is pretty obvious that when you get a devise that’s been siting in a box since manufacture date using a operating system that gets frequent updates that theres gonna be updates to handle when you open it. Not that inconvenient.
No problem! Glad you enjoyed. That’s what I
Would recommend if you could do both. The ROG Ally X just feels like an incomplete experience.
I love both of mine but I will say you have to be like me and have dealt wit windows forever so when problems do arise I can normally fix it
Havent had me except on my legion go
I know it’s later in the video so not everyone sees that but I do say that. It’s super annoying and a new user would lose their minds but I know how to navigate windows and get around and do all of that and playing games on the ally can be a great time! It’s interesting as far as who you think the Ally X is actually for. After I do the comparison video for the Ally and the deck I want to pick up a legion go and see how it is. It seems super interesting. Does it have a lot of similar issues?
Steamdecks 16:10 screen had a gread impact same with laptops 16:10 aspect ration is way way better in my opinion the 16:9 screen of ally made me squint while playing weird that with that small difference in ratio has a great impact
I agree with that. Idk man I just can’t love the Ally X as much as I tried. It couldn’t stop crashing trying to play shadow of war tonight and the on screen keyboard won’t work to log me into halo infinite. Starfield even crashed. What’s worse is that it makes me go into the windows settings to uninstall games rather than just doing it from the armory crate. Why in the world am I trying to game on this thing.
Nope, it's not a "games console" it's a Windows handheld. That means the experience is going to be absolutely no different than a desktop or laptop. Just a smaller screen. We get it, you're a Steam Deck fanboy. But this thing plays more games than your cute little Steam Deck. Big games too like Battlefield, CoD, Destiny. It's also a fully functioning Windows PC. Which some of us like having that capability for when we're not playing games. And given this thing plays more games, has more power & performance, and you can install software like Playnite & make it every bit as good as the Steam Deck, it makes it a no brainer for those of us who could care less about brand names & simply want the most games, performance & features for our money.
Exactly all of the problems appear only during the startup. After that just power on and play
C'mon it ain't that bad. It's not miserable like you said it is. Everyone knows it is a handheld Windows PC first (thus comes with updates).
That is true. It is worth reiterating though. Only reason I could recommend the thing is if you really specifically want a windows handheld for windows reasons or you wanna play multiplayer games on a handheld. I feel like other products offer a better experience for everything else.
what do you recomended steam deck lcd or rog ally z1 extreme?
I’d have to think on that. I think I’d still recommend the steam deck. That being said I’d still recommend saving a little more and trying to catch a used steam deck oled on Facebook marketplace or eBay.
At the end of the day oh it's so bad and I don't like it doesn't feel good but it amazing and I have another question for you if you so hate Windows why do you own Windows devices
Bro.... install a big ass hard drive, split the partition in half, and install Bazzite (Steam OS). Save the Windows OS/Armory Crate bull for the games that require it for Anti Cheat software (Destiny 2) and Game Pass crap. Use the Bazzite partition for the rest. It pretty much turns it into a faster/better Steam Deck.
Sprinkle in some emulators (PSX, PS2, PS3, Xbox, every Nintendo console) and you pretty much have the Thanos of handhelds. Just gotta tinker for a little bit.
At that point isn’t it just a more uncomfortable steam deck with a smaller and worse display? Kinda defeats the point of spending all of that money.
@boogidaball uncomfortable is subjective. For me, it's a similar feel, although the weight difference is noticeable. The SD OLED has a better screen, no question... but the X has it in performance. And it can literally play EVERY game. Not just the Steam curated ones. Way more versatility.
Thx for keeping it real. Assures me i made the right choice with steam deck. Those type of issues u mention would bug the hell out of me
. Im an oled snob and prefer a more polished experience over specs
Same!! I’m really excited to do the 1v1 video between the two handhelds. The quality of experience is so much better than the more powerful version. There are good points for both sides though.
all i want is a more powerful steam deck! then i can get that, dual boot windows for a few anticheat games, and i'm set. i can't wait for the deck 2
Hey Andrew I think you should try add Playnite to the Ally X
I heard that it's really good and brings some of the experience of consoles
I'll check it out! If I can primarily boot directly into it that would be great. Having to boot into windows and then go to armory crate is so dumb and annoying.
@@AndrewTaylorYT from what I saw in videos and people talking you can literally boot into it.. I mean you have to first log-in on to your pc but once you log-in Playnite kicks in and then you have a console menu that shows all yours games..
another thing that people told is that once you select a game Playnite opens up the launcher of said game boot him up and then closes the said launcher, don't know if that happens all the time but you should test it out
@tiagooliveira2611 that’s fair! Interesting. I’ll look into it! Thanks so much for watching!
The only issue is that the steam deck is weak. Newer games really struggle with it.
You know you have to plug it in to turn it on. It wasn’t dead that’s just how initial power up works
That would be cool if it were the case. Besides the fact theres no reason it should've been dead this wasn't the case. I plugged it in and the charging light turned on and when I booted it up it would shut off due to low battery. The thing was a hundred percent dead.
I was going to comment the same thing. You have to plug it in before first boot. The same is true when you open it up to replace the NVME drive. After opening it up, even on a full battery you have to plug it in before boot.
@@AndrewTaylorYTOn the originally Ally, the plastic on Ally had instructions images that said to plug it in before powering it on but I went back to your unboxing section and it seems they changed it on the Ally X.
one of the realest reviews i've read about this product. I found most of your gripes with the ergonomics very accurate whilst others channels put it just under the Steam Deck when the Steam Deck is clearly 10x more comfortable. Windows sucks, Armoury Crate felt gimmicky and my controller at some points stopped registering inputs on it forcing me to restart. Screen is just too small compared to the Steam Deck, it makes Windows horrible to use.
Im glad you enjoyed! I watched a lot of videos on the Ally too and was so confused as to why people weren't more upset with it. Im thinking maybe ROG has strict sponsored video requirements or something. The ergonomics on the Ally are bad. I can't play more than 40 minutes without needing to put it down because my hands are cramping. The steam deck might be one of the best ergonomic gaming devices ive ever used.
You must think Linux is godlike
Love the video brother but next time tone down the volume on the background music please 😭
Thanks so much! Sorry about the music. Had a bit of a copyright problem with a licensing website I used and had to take down the video and re edit all the music into the video. Didn't do my due diligence with audio mixing the second time around.
@@AndrewTaylorYT no problem, keep it going with the videos!
you might have nice things to say about the doubled fps :)
In some games for sure. Doesn’t really affect the experience much in handheld. One thing I never talked about because I never really do it is the dockability. I always play handheld with my handhelds but the Ally X is prob the best docked handheld. Operates like a low powered PC and is reliable enough for 30-60 frames in 1080p with most games on low settings.
@@AndrewTaylorYT it does experience the experience on handheld. Try wukong.
@refrefwgwgwegew not a couple hundred dollars more? The extra few frames on a 6 and a half inch display? Like I said in the video. I can enjoy Elden Ring on the steam deck much much more at 40 frames with better ergo and a better display than I can on the Ally X at 60 frames with worse ergonomics and a worse display. Both feel good and play smooth enough. Visually there is such a little difference that it does not matter. The OLED display vs the higher frame IPS display isn’t even close.
Bro, you need to balance your background music better or just kill it overall especially starting at 2:45 lol
No I know I’m sorry. This video got it kinda bad. I had a fully different version of this video that was edited to different music and it was all meticulously mixed and mastered and then I had a massive problem with licensing when I uploaded this video. The website I was using for licensed music had this big white listing problem and I had to delete the video and very quickly re edit the whole thing with different licensed music from a different platform and I rushed the whole thing to get the video back up which led to the music being a bit to loud at times. Won’t happen again. That intro in the video was so so much better with the original song I had picked too.😞
Ngl now that I think about it I probably should have gotten a very expensive gaming laptop lol I forgot those existed when I bought this. I figured all I have to do is travel with this, my dock, mouse and keyboard, and Xbox controller. With the laptop I just need a controller 😅
Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying. Most backpacks also have a dedicated laptop spot that you aren’t gonna put an ROG Ally X in. Seems better for travel to have a laptop and controller.
Too heavy? Dude go to the gym, it’s perfectly fine after you get used to the different shape of the steamdeck.
you should do an updated review with steamOS installed, once it releases for the ally
I returned mine and then I saw the announcement. However the OS release isn’t out. I hate announcements to future release. Just release it already and let the community help fix the bugs.
I’m really curious to see how that goes. In theory it’ll be amazing because it solves a lot of the Ally’s problems but at the same time. If you’re gonna install steam OS on it. Why not get a steam deck oled for cheaper?
@@AndrewTaylorYT isn't the oled less powerful? I always figured the difference in price between the steam deck and the ally had to do with the specs
@MistaWells it does. You could check out my steam deck video for specifics or when I upload my rog ally x vs steam deck oled video I’ll go into it. The specs are less yes but the experience isn’t less “good” for the end user. The PPI is still great. The OLED looks far better than the Ally X display, and while you do get less frames you you still get perfectly playable frames for most games. Only things I’ve done on the Ally I don’t do on the steam deck are play some multiplayer shooters. After trying Elden Ring on the Ally I wanted to go back to the steam deck OLED because of how much better of an experience it is. Ontop of that the steam deck is cheaper and the operating system is so absurdly better for the handheld experience.
@@AndrewTaylorYT right which is why steam os would make the ally that much better. It's light weight and optimized for handheld use which means easy menu navigation and better performance in games. The only disadvantage would be not being able to play MMO type games like you mentioned. But I'd argue if you want a device like this you're probably not getting it for cod or Fortnite. My theory is most of the Ally's biggest problems will be fixed once they start shipping with steam os. I'm sure they will continue to offer a windows version for those who want it though. 😁
I’m honestly glade I went back to console and just use a Mac for my computer needs now. Windows is trash.
I did the same. Mac is just so much better for everything except for gaming. I’ve got an upcoming video where I’m going to replace my mobile machine with a new windows laptop for a week and I’m gonna see how it goes.
@@AndrewTaylorYT have fun with that 😂
I know it sounds like torture but those new ARM chips seem really awesome. Some of the laptops have some awesome hardware in them also. It’ll be a fun video. I doubt it’ll make me sell my Mac Studio but it’ll be a fun experiment either way!
40 frames on cod…. Jeeze in ultra? Cmon…
Heavy 😂😂😂 you have the strength of a four year old girl then Omg
I bought the original ROG and I can gladly say I will never buy a windows based system ever again. The steam deck in my opinion is King.
I agree. Curious to see what comes of Valve allowing Steam OS to be natively installed on devices like the Ally. Could be super cool. Still, the 800 dollar price is brutal.
@@AndrewTaylorYT that’s the thing for me the price and the all the tedious things you mentioned it just takes away from the experience, I think Microsoft should make a simple operating system for handhelds otherwise the whole user experience is dead of they should integrate the Rog ally interface better so you land on the home page of the Rog instead of windows but that’s just me what do I know lol 😂 great video though love your channel 🥰
@@RetroWolf13after you do initial setup you can start in ArmouryCrate, which then goes right to Steam Big Screen, so besides that initial setup you can avoid Windows. Or just get rid of Windows and install Bazzite
I have the original rog ally z1, Sure windows 11 is a pain on these kinds of systems but I definitely prefer the rog ally over the steam deck. For 1 the off set joysticks, and 2 I just think the system looks overall better then the steam deck.
@@casualtrips9571 see I beg to differ I think the deck is more premium and looks way better than the rog ally and the deck is more of a console experience and has a gorgeous OLED screen and it doesn’t melt my SD card when it starts to get hot lol 😂
I didn’t like the steam deck was hurting my hands
How so? I think I mention it in this video and I know I mention it in the video that’s coming out this weekend. I might just have weirdly large hands? I couldn’t see the steam deck ergonomics cramping even small hands but I could see the Ally X being comfortable for certain sized hands.
Nothing like the Steam Deck imo
It’s kinda similar but it doesn’t get close to hitting the quality that the steam deck oled offers.
Waiting on Legion Go X
Picking one up this week!
Good video, u deserve more subscriber 👍🏻
Thank so much.😊
For me, the Legion go is more bulkier than the ROG Ally X because I feel like I just don’t like the Legion go because the software is still not good the overheating is still having a problem and the fan noise is still have a problem so I don’t like that Lenovo Legion go I prefer the Rog ally x because I just like that handheld because you can plug an external graphic card and it has a USB 4 which is good for me to use it
I haven’t used the legion yet but I’ve heard about its size. I’m curious to give it a go. I’d still take the steam deck OLED over both.
Its a PC.
Yea it’s a little gaming console pc that’s running windows.
put bazzite on the bro
Yeah the og is bricking if update gpu driver also asus are scum man.
Tell us you know don't know how to use windows without telling us you don't know how to use windows...
Learn the button shortcuts, 1 button press gets you to task manager
Which then makes me have to deal with task manager. Hot keying to windows apps doesn’t fix the problem. Should be able to close a game from Armory Crate.
@@AndrewTaylorYT the Ally X is a sports car. Takes extra maintenance, you need to learn to drive it to use it to its full potential, but when you do, it sings. The steam deck, like consoles, are the everyday car, for people that just want to get to work & stop at the grocery store. Their target markets are not the same.
@@ip4pwn1Probably the best analogy I've heard about these devices so far...
bro you are so attractive
No u bro😉
@@AndrewTaylorYT im 100% serious. im gay as hell and you're totally my type
you don't have to do anything with this information i just wanted to say it
Noted. I’ll take the compliment! Either way thank you so much for watching.😊
Stop crying bro😂
The ally x isn’t a console. It’s a handheld pc
It is literally by definition a gaming console. Yes it is a PC. It is a handheld gaming console PC. It’s hardware design literally limits it from being considered just a PC.
But I don’t want a gaming laptop. I can’t play call of duty on a laptop on the couch.
You 100% can play call of duty on a laptop on the couch. It sits in your lap and you hold a controller.
@@AndrewTaylorYT that sounds like a nightmare. Pass, there’s a reason why handhelds are a thing - laptops don’t do it. Sounds like you don’t like handhelds.
Honestly, you just don’t know what you’re doing. They are literally Shortcuts straight to Task manager , why are you using the screen instead of switching the input to mouse with the thumsticks ,
The input with the stick was annoying and kinda tedious. At the same time. Why would I want it to bring me to task manager??? Why can’t I close games from armory crate? I even had the same annoying run around tonight. You hit install in the armory crate and it just throws you into the windows uninstall menu to make you search for the game you wanna uninstall. It’s dumb and unintuitive. The Ally X forces you to constantly jump through hoops and do tasks that the software should do.
@@AndrewTaylorYT I don’t know he just gotta get used to it, once you do, it’s not that bad, I grew up on PC game so I’m used to windows , I’m pretty much lost on consolesn
@@AndrewTaylorYT when I had a steam deck, I instantly put windows on it !!!!
@deairreoh I use a gaming pc to play most games. I’m not unfamiliar with windows. I just have an expectation that a company should develop software that ties into the hardware. This creates an all around positive user experience. Like I said in the video. I know how to navigate all the stuff and get to where I want to be and get done what I need to get done. That doesn’t change the fact though that doing it on a small 6-7 inch handheld touchscreen or stick SUCKS. Windows is perfectly adequate on a keyboard and mouse because that’s what it was made for. You’ve gotta do better when making a software for a system that has a completely different user hardware interaction. That’s why I think windows is a problem on the Ally X.