Asus ROG Ally Update

Here is my first update on my experience with the Asus ROG Ally, portable pc gaming console.
-TDD

[haakonht]

The fact that I can jump in bed, plug in the charging dock and have a fully fledged Windows PC in my bedroom, or at the hotel or literally wherever I am is pretty awesome.

[OptikalOfficalMusic]

“The nature of pc gaming” you totally get the point. A lot of people aren’t familiar with pc gaming and all that comes with it. Pc gaming is not as seamless as a console platform where it’s optimized for one set of hardware. I don’t care if you have a maxed out pc, if you wanna get the most out of your setup you need to learn how to optimize all your setting. Setting up my ally was no less complicated than setting up a gaming laptop. This review touched up on a lot of perspectives about the device and what’s it use case is. Wish more content creators would touch on this point. The freedom of optimizing your device is a privilege not a burden.

[AndrewD]

I sold my steam deck to buy this. I spent my whole time with the deck, which I loved, trying to turn it into more of a PC. I love customizing and tinkering with stuff while being able to play more DRM protected games

[ThePaintedTarget]

You can still get a lot more battery life out of the deck because of how well optimized the custom chip is, i play plenty of games at 6-8 watts and get 4-5 hours of battery life, that to me is the major benefit of the Steam Deck over Windows handhelds like the Ally.

[oscardbedoya]

I played 14 hours straight on the Ally, went to bed at 3am. No issues. Diablo 4, COD, Doom eternal, Horizon, and 2 easy to run games. No issues. Its a MACHINE!!!! I finally can be a HAPPY COUCH

[tonytony-fcgq]

This is the CLEAREST comparison seen both in the video capture and what you’re saying, Thanks

[Thanos]

I've had mine for a few days and you are right about all these issues. I spent a solid 4-5 hours just doinf updates and applying patches. I am glad that Asus is putting a lot of support behind this product. The Steam Deck is good but the fact that I can use the Ally as a PC in a pinch is the best selling point for me. I spend a lot of time out of town and this is just the right size.

[Jaxvr]

I'm fine with the Steam Deck being 60hz and 1280x800 because most of the time, games run at 30fps or 60fps and if I want higher graphics, I can just use my PC

[Ray-rtyh]

The updates were crazy with the Ally, including the issue of time syncing not allowing certain critical updates. Once the updates are done the device is amazing. Watching YouTube, Netflix on it is great. Running Launchbox Bigbox runs with no issue. I can even load games straight from DVD with an external drive. This is basically a laptop with a controller instead of a keyboard. The power capability is impressive. I can do pretty much everything I set out to do with this machine. Only thing lacking is storage, but there's ways around that. Overall Asus knocked it out of the park.

[TheForsakenghost]

Here’s a tip if you are doing updates leave it plugged in. Not sure why but took care of 95% of my issues

[stephanepiquemal]

You can do a lot more than just running Steam Games on the Steam Deck as well, it's also a PC. It has a Linux, a different OS, but it's also very capable of running different launchers and stores without Windows clunkyness.

[duppex]

I live in the UK, Back in the 90s, 50hz PAL for all consoles was the standard. I saved up my Pocket/Saturday Job money just so I could purchase an imported NTSC Super Nintendo for the 60hz/Higher refresh rate game play. 😎

[FREEZA_AKA_MR_COOLA]

Got it day one and it’s my introduction to pc gaming and I’m loving it so far the screen is great sometime I can’t believe it’s a handheld

[AJerseyJohnnyEntertainment]

Only do updates when it's plugged in. It goes super fast. And I was streaming from my xbox series x to my ally and it was amazing I was getting 120fps at 1080p and it looked amazing

[PatitoDiAnime]

Hi,
I like a lot your comments about the console. I recently moved in a small flat and i travel often for work. I have already a laptop from my company, it is much more easier for me to put in my backpack the rog ally and a 140watt powerbank to recharge the laptop and the rog ally together. I will replace the internal drive with 2TB ssd soon ahaha. I like it because i can play at games when i have more time and i can still connect it to projector or external monitor. Because i have already a wireless mouse and keyboard and even the gamepad xbox series x. I can even use photoshop, premiere and microsoft office in the Ally. I can do everything and if i need more power i can take the XG Mobile.

[Hyde]

As someone with a G14, I wanted to like the Ally; the lack of trackpads, the TDP limits capability, the singular focus of the steam deck, and my own preference for Linux over Windows really made the decision for me clear. That said, I hope the Ally makes Valve push limits for their next iteration and if so I will greatly appreciate the Ally's contribution to competition in the market.

[younggun]

Steamdeck is great for emulation, playing ur steam library, and just a more game console type feel. The ally i use for watching shows and anime, browsing the web, and playing xbox gamepass games directly off the handheld. They are both great and im glad i can afford to have both 😁

[elDoochebag]

Comparisons to the Atari Lynx!!! Genius!!

[akhi_zayd]

I love my deck but I'm honestly contemplating whether to sell it and pick up the ally

[jamiealexander]

Great review. Glad to have you back. You always have the best reviews