Asus ROG Ally review

05 August 2023
This review has been a long time coming, but with Asus making constant improvements to the performance and user experience, it made sense to hold off for a while.

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  • Anonymous
  • vaS
  • 06 Aug 2023

WhoCaresTM, 06 Aug 2023Not as provileged as me? You're acting as if the St... morePrivileged is not limited to social status or wealth but seeing as you already pre-judged Steam buyers in the last part of your post, it looks like we'll just have to agree to disagree.

    • W
    • WhoCaresTM
    • 0mU
    • 06 Aug 2023

    Daemon Targaryen, 06 Aug 2023Calling them e-waste when pretty much everything now which ... moreWhy are you replying to me just to discuss Steam Deck vs Ally with yourself?

    And yes, smartwatches are e-waste. They're the biggest useless e-waste od them all.

    Phones and tablets aren't. Phones are very necessary for communication, and tablets are great for work if you use them for work and not just to watch YouTube.

    And yes, all handhelds are e-waste because of the built in battery and very low battery life.

      • W
      • WhoCaresTM
      • 0mU
      • 06 Aug 2023

      Anonymous, 06 Aug 2023You will be waiting forever. These things are the only way ... moreNot as provileged as me?

      You're acting as if the Steam Deck is a third world country device and it's flying off the shelves in central Africa, when the truth is almost everyone buying it are people who already own good gaming PCs but just want to have yet another gadget they won't use, or they want to play their PC games during the 10 minutes of free time on lunch break at work.

        • W
        • WhoCaresTM
        • 0mU
        • 06 Aug 2023

        Hemedans, 06 Aug 2023Play games with deck at same Quality as your Miyoo, RP2+ an... moreNo, you won't get better battery life, just on par with my small handhelds. The key word is small.

        Why on Earth would I buy something 3-4 times as large, heavy, and expensive, to play the same games? That would be insane!

          • W
          • WhoCaresTM
          • 0mU
          • 06 Aug 2023

          AnonD-1044551, 05 Aug 2023They built it for a specific target audience. Everyone does... moreI wondered why you chose the word lifestyle, but then I remembered people buy crap just to show off, and the Steam Deck and ROG Ally are exactly those kind of devices: useless for anything other than to show off.

            • f
            • fsdfds
            • b8g
            • 06 Aug 2023

            Battery technology is long overdue for a huge leap. These gaming handhelds are still pointless until then.

              The inferior and cheaper hardware usually won their generation.

              VHS over Betamax
              NES over Master System
              PlayStation over Nintendo 64
              PlayStation 2 over Xbox and GameCube
              Wii over PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
              Game Boys always won (from OG to GBA)
              DS over PSP
              3DS over PS Vita

              Teraflops
              Xbox Series X: 12.1
              PlayStation 5: 10.3
              ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme): 8.6
              Xbox One X: 6
              PlayStation 4 Pro: 4.2
              Xbox Series S: 4
              ROG Ally (Z1): 2.8
              PlayStation 4: 1.843
              Steam Deck: 1.6
              Xbox One S: 1.4
              Xbox One: 1.310
              Switch: 0.3932

              Gigaflops
              Switch: 393.2
              Wii U: 352
              Xbox 360: 240
              PlayStation 3: 230.4
              PS Vita: 28.8
              Xbox: 20
              Wii: 12
              GameCube: 9.4
              PlayStation 2: 6.2
              3DS: 4.8
              PSP: 2.6
              Dreamcast: 1.4

              Get Steam Deck if you want something closer to a console experience. Get a ROG Ally if you want a Windows PC handheld. Most of these gigantic handhelds do have terrible battery life.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • S2T
                • 06 Aug 2023

                How is this is any way a product type for GSMarena to review ?

                  Anonymous, 05 Aug 2023GSMArena should compared this one-by-one to steam deck for... moreThere is no need for that as there are a ton of comparison with test doing exactly that.
                  The conclusion is always the same - Steam Deck has much better software, UI, fewer bugs, better battery life and Asus is much stronger in terms of SOC, quieter and will pretty much kill your SD card in a week or two.
                  As a Steam Deck owner, I can't wait for 2. gen, not because it will be faster, better screen etc. but because Asus showed a lot of aspects can be improved upon.
                  I even used my Deck as a work PC for two weeks - Libre Office, Teamviewer, some light virtualization etc. connected to 4K display ... it was a fun and quiet experience as my work load is usually not demanding much of that SOC.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • ypc
                    • 06 Aug 2023

                    This and the steam deck are all handhelds only. Nintendo Switch is the best handeld because you can use it docked with joycons. Honestly I stopped pc gaming for a while because they were that fun. Only con i have with mine is i don't think it supports 4k display out.

                      Anonymous, 06 Aug 2023Just a quick sidenote ETAPrime in YouTube have review lots... moreNo, don't go for ETA Prime, not unless it's for SBC like Raspberry Pi.

                      Watch Retro Game Corps for the small/cheap/ARM based gaming devices.
                      Watch The Phawx for the large/expensive/x86 based gaming devices.

                      Other honourable mentions are Taki Udon, Tech Chap, SimpleAlpaca, Dave2D, Linus, etc.

                        How to run windows 11 in your pocket:

                        Buy this

                          Daemon Targaryen, 06 Aug 2023Calling them e-waste when pretty much everything now which ... moreGood choice for picking Deck , I have tried Ally and it's considerable powerfull with newer SoC but it feels like playing games on a windows tablet with controller attached to it's side(with usual windows quirk) while Deck gives proper handheld gamming experience.

                            Anonymous, 06 Aug 2023The channel is ok if you approach it with the knowledge tha... moreI find ETA Prime too enthusiastic. He's not critical enough. Every gadget he talks about it is great. He's too much of a salesman. But I do like him. I follow ETA Prime, Taki Udon, and Russ of Retro Game Corp. My personal favorite is Russ and it seems he has tons of fanboys. Russ is the one along with Blaine Locklear who helped me jailbreak/mod my Vita back in January. Russ criticizes which I prefer to hear.

                            I also sub to other gaming nerds. I like Bob Wulff of WULFF DEN. He's got a nice-looking wife. Same with Wood Hawker (BeatEmUps). Those guys who were born in 1989 and 1990 but look like they starred in The Stoned Age (1994). They look like headbangers with their awesome long hair. They look like guys I hung out with in high school.

                            I like Jason Lindsey (MetalJesusRocks) but I've seen some Reddit comments hating on him. Then again, everyone gets hated on from Reddit. I used to follow Lady Decade but ever since she cried for money last year, I stopped watching her and her husband, Richard Varty (Top Hat Gaming Man). They do make tremendous retro documentary videos.

                            There are so many to name.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 61x
                              • 06 Aug 2023

                              ASUS : Let me introduce you the most expensive device with 1-2 hours of battery life. Take it or leave it.

                                WhoCaresTM, 05 Aug 2023Until we see new revolutionary battery tech that quadruples... moreCalling them e-waste when pretty much everything now which includes the endless number of smartphones, tablets, and smart watches can be called e-waste.

                                I do agree that battery life isn't quite there yet with these giant handhelds. I'll be waiting when 4-5 hours starts to become average for AAA titles under high settings. This could take quite a while as even the Vita and Switch doesn't really offer this for their graphic-intensive games.

                                Between the Deck or Ally, I would pick the Deck because it's cheaper and I try to pay as little as possible for video games. Deck will also have longer customer and online community support. Look at a the accessories made for it. And I've seen countless comparisons and Deck is more console-style which I prefer while Ally is more PC.

                                Asus could ditch the Ally 1 fast since they're mostly pushing hardware out while Valve is more about selling software. I have a bad history with Asus anyway. But I love that the Ally does exist. Keeps Valve motivated unlike Samsung with foldables. Competition is a great thing. Can't wait for the Switch 2 next year.

                                  Great handheld, What's the use of a gaming PC when you already have one that's very fast and very power efficient. Maybe to play 4K or 8K by consuming more than 500W of power?

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • R3I
                                    • 06 Aug 2023

                                    Interesting that, according to that fps comparison, GTA V is the only game on the list that I like which hits 60fps (and beyond). I'll pick a different handheld.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • vaS
                                      • 06 Aug 2023

                                      Anonymous, 06 Aug 2023Just a quick sidenote ETAPrime in YouTube have review lots... moreThe channel is ok if you approach it with the knowledge that he is sponsored. Only recently did he just change the wording of his video titles to less sensational ones. And yeah, he's been caught multiple times reuploading a video and then put up a new title/thumbnail for it.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • vaS
                                        • 06 Aug 2023

                                        WhoCaresTM, 05 Aug 2023Until we see new revolutionary battery tech that quadruples... moreYou will be waiting forever. These things are the only way to play for some people who aren't as privileged like you to play on desktops or laptops. Powerbanks as high as 60000Mah exist and users can just plug them in. Laptop owners wouldn't even play on battery and they are always plugged in. Samec concept.

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