Pre-ordered the Z1 Extreme ROG ALLY. Being a busy father and husband, blasting through a campaign or playing some 2K etc in quick bursts of around an hour at a time is my gaming life nowadays. Console time commitment isn't like it was when I was a kid where I could sit there for 4hrs at a clip. This device is exactly what I'm looking for
@Bionic Beaver yea agreed I will miss that but StramOS had issues when it came out si we will see what happens a year from now. If I lose that to me I'm OK if I can play all my games on one device
Couldn’t agree more. As a parent an hour is more than enough and as a result this works well for me. Steam had issues on launch and I preordered prior to its launch, it’s keyboard didn’t work for sh*t and software was buggy as hell. Don’t understand why some are comparing the rog to present steam capabilities. With access to more platforms and improved visuals, I’ll work through the buggy start :)
We already have a switch competitor and that's the steam deck. Let the ROG ally be a pc alternative/replacement, It's not going to be a better console than the steam deck, but it'll be a better pc than a steam deck and that's it's own value v.v
Yeah same actually, can even play in desktop mode at 900p with FSR 2 on my 2k monitor. Def drops sometimes but never for very long. Get a relatively consistent 35-40fps most the time.
@@dontaviousnegasi1648I didn’t know it got verified lol. I got my steam deck real early in the release and never had an issue with it on the deck. I’ve even played with some mods like the stock market. A lot of mods don’t work just got to play around and try them out.
I agree with Matt on this one. We live in a world where conveniency is king and with all the little things a lot of people will not want it. I’ve lived this and that’s why I love my steam deck cause it’s easy to use and at work on breaks I can play for a bit but if I have to spend half my break fiddling I’m not gonna use it.
This was almost the perfect Pros vs Cons video. I wish you guys had more of a check list to discuses all the topics, like how long the Steam Deck lasts playing at 8-10 Watts with low to medium settings. I played dirt 4 and other AAA titles and it lasted longer than a 5 hour flight. The Steam Deck was designed to last. As Linus Tech Tips mentioned in that 10 Watts the Steam has higher fps for games by a large amount being the "Secret Sauce" of Valve and AMD custome chip. And, Just like was mentioned being the main idea for a portable, is that it lasts longer than 1-2 hours. Ill list some more Pros of the Steam Deck in another post. Another note slightly mentioned in this video but left out of all the reviews is the for those on a budget or who dont come from wealth who can not afford a $700 mobile device, at $399 (cheaper when on sale) Is not the Steam Deck a great choice and competitor being that the hardware is the same and all you need to do is purchase a $20 or-$40 SD card to have more storage. Its such an easy system to use and allows people to experience Linux and explore all the optomized apps ....etc. Just to note Windows will probably kill the ROG Ally simply because....Its Windows! with all the legal malware, telemetry collecting data collectors running in the back ground garbage. Are we not trying to get away from windows and welcome a new competitor? The question is not when Windows will update a mobile version for mobile devices, but rather, When will Valve release Steam OS as a competitor to Windows becasue it is a more optomized no nonsence OS for the mainstream. Think of the days when Intel controlled the market by pushing out AMD while releasing super expensive chips and adding a (+) at the end even though it wasnt really that much better than the last? until AMD came back swinging while the giant was sleeping. Valve has a chance to make a nice dent in the PC industry with Steam OS.
I think you'll read this and maybe saying that's right but I don't know what you will say : it's clear that R O G Ally is faster and the screen is bigger and better, that's because the steam deck is about a year older, I'm so tired of hearing your fuss about a device that can run cyberpunk, my steam deck does at this time of writing when there are any specifications it is always easier to make a new device better and it is the same between Samsung and Apple it is one device is always better than the other won you are a friend turn it and the same is this the case with handheld gaming machines, one is better than the other, that's how it is now and that's how it will always be, it's nothing new under the sun because that's how it's always been and that's how it will always continue to be so I don't understand why in the house so I say hello I'm so up it's really nothing to be so excited about so in a year there will be a device that is better than R O G Ally or in two years it might be the second generation of steam deck then we have the talk again about one device being better than the other it's a long screw with no end And it will go on forever but will you please write back to me under my name : because I am curious to hear your opinion I have written a comment it is the same one that is written here under your answer and your name is waiting for your opinion on this and if you think almost the same as I do I look forward to finding out of you must have a really good day/evening I look forward to hearing from you
This ROG Ally is not the final product you need to wait for the final product before judging it also updates can fix all windows handheld problems specially that windows handhelds is booming now not being able to play anything you want is a deal breaker. Your buying a game to play all your PC games and not limiting you. All steam games is 100% windows and probably 70% Linux at the same time you can play other platform games as well because it is windows. If all your games work on Steam Deck then good for you but others don't. ROG Ally is not only more powerful and can play all games in PC it is also has 1080p 120hz can set it for older games or not that graphical games. And yes because all my device is 1080p TV, Laptop, Smartphone I can see the difference between 1080p and 720p.
Cyberpunk even has a specific Steam Deck setting in the game? Tons of people play it on the deck completely fine. Please look things up before making a video saying it straight up doesn't work on the deck. It's even verified now.
Something you didn't mention at all - the steam deck isn't available in many countries. The ROG ally is available pretty much everywhere, and can be bought at bricks and mortar retail stores. Add the fact that this can actually use your non steam launcher (gamepass/xbox, origin/ea, uplay/ubisoft connect, battlenet, unreal launcher, gog, etc), and can also be used as a regular windows computer.
Re Rockstar launcher crashing: does that almost daily on my Steam deck. As far as standby on Steam Deck, I literally leave mine sleeping in my bag for a week to 10 days at a time sometimes and it’ll still have 35% battery. Standby on Steam Deck is epic at sleeping, it’s like the housecat of handhelds. Sleeps great, awake at a moments notice ready to roll.
People keep comparing it with the $650 model of the steam deck with all models have the same specs except for memory. You could just buy the $399 model and replace the ssd or buy an sd card. And honestly you are probably gonna need an sd card anyway. So it's not a $50 dollar difference but more like a $300 dollar difference
The 512gb is more for people who want to support valve or get the special carrying case and screen. Otherwise there's no reason to buy the 64 or 256gb. and just buy sd cards for extra storage. The difference in speed is almost non-existent and you are saving yourself almost half the price.
If I didn’t already have a Steam Deck and Switch both with huge backlogs I’d definitely be onboard with the ROG ALLY, there’s simply no room in my gaming rotation for a new handheld but I hope it’s a contender because I’ll probably jump in later down the line.
@@mechanicalmonk2020 in fairness, he said he already has a Steam Deck. So no really huge need to ditch the deck for the additional cost of an Ally at this point I think is what he is saying.
Honestly as someone who owns a Deck already…. The hardware on the Ally of course is great. You would hope that a system that came out 1-2 years after the Deck is more powerful and it is. That being said, I don’t think it’s enough of a jump to justify running out and buying one of these if you already have a deck. Yeah it’s a boost in performance but it’s not an enormous generational jump. The deck still plays the majority of games you would want to play on these devices just fine. If you need AC on deck that badly you can always dual boot, it might not be glamorous but it does work. My personal plan is to wait for the next generation of the deck. I think the real great value will be picking up cheap steam decks off of eBay that people are dumping to get this thing. Imagine picking up a steam deck for like $200 slightly used. That’s where the value is gonna be.
I partially agree with you. I own also the SD and it is fabulous. But for some games especially AAA I really would need a bit more power to get at least 40fps - for me the sweet spot - to have a more smooth gaming experience. Let's see after some driver updates if the Ally will improve gaming experience. But in Germany you will not find any used Steam deck under 400€. Most of them will be sold around 500€ so really price stable 👍 let's see the upcoming days if the SD will get an equal opponent 😊
@@rogert250 I think when (or if) we get some windows updates to work better on these types of systems and after the OEM programs like Armory Crate work out all the kinks then these devices will be pretty appealing. By then, we might be looking at another HW revision. As for AAA, I don’t really ever use my deck for that. It’s more for budget/indie games or emulators honestly, although if you play AAA on it, more power to ya. Different strokes for different folks.
I completely agree with Matt, the hardware looks great, the problem with it is Windows. I have my doubts that any amount of tweaking will solve the Windows problem. It needs a new version of Windows specifically designed from the ground up and optimized for handheld. Without that, the ROG Ally is just wasted potential.
Haha I doubt that Microsoft would make a new version of Windows from scratch just for handheld gaming, you're talking about the same guys that didn't bothered to change legacy elements from the UI until now
And that's where SteamOS comes in, i really hope windows does not improve at all, its been a monopoly since forever anyways, time to make a change once in a while. Now not saying windows will suddently go obselete(duhh), not soon or ever really, just a small increase in steamOS/linux market share, but boy i really hopefull for the future of linux than i ever would for windows due to its long unsunstaneable model from now on.
You don't need a new version of Windows. Just flip a switch in settings that goes into a different gamepad GUI. There is no reason to change anything under the hood
its only good for some console type games... its useless to me without trackpads. I use the trackpads on my Deck for everything, they are awesome... can't live without them.
I have windows on my steam deck, it was super easy to install. And I love windows, having all the games and gamepass, that's where the steam deck really shines, so the rog ally will be awesome to anyone getting it.
You're missing a few things for sure. Since Valve has their own operating system they can push game-specific performance improvements, like Elden Ring had stutter issues on every PC at launch but it was fixed in SteamOS right away thanks to Valve. Due to the hardware being the same they can distribute shader caches to Deck games to reduce load times or stutter depending on the game. They can curate games and inform customers that they run great out of the box with the Verified Badge similar to a seal of quality. The whole point of it is that they have made a console that is also open. If you want to be curated you can and have a good experience without doing anything extra, but you can also tinker if you want and do anything else that Valve hasn't tested like on a PC, it's the best of both worlds. The Ally is good, I would never knock it and I can even excuse Windows not having a handheld gamepad mode. But I find it odd that some people ignore the benefits of curation. P.S. I'd like to have the Ally but can't justify it since I couldn't play many of the games as well as on the Steam Deck due to the lack of touchpads. Huge omission IMO, this way you are basically limited to console games, or I should say games that don't greatly benefit from having a mouse and hotkeys
Just got mine yesterday, and i feel most,if not all, the "problems" they are bringing up have been fixed. Prices have come down too since this vid came out. I got a practically new open box z1 extreme version from best buy for $499. Brand new sealed was $599. I think alot of em had an issue with a sticky bumper button, so ppl just returned em. Which mine did have that problem but it was such an easy 10 min fix. Im absolutely loving this thing!
The Ally actually performs *worse* than the Deck at the lowest power profile. Being better than the Deck in docked mode is nice, I guess, but it would still very much perform like an entry-level PC, which is unsatisfying on a big screen or a 4K TV. I just think the Ally doesn't know what it wants to be. Consider that even Nintendo made the Switch Lite specifically without docking ability.
"The Ally actually performs worse than the Deck at the lowest power profile." - For now... and its not even launched live yet with more optimizations coming Im sure.
@@derekdrozdzakIt will get better but won't beat the SD. Dave2d mentioned that the SD is better at lower power because it has a custom built chip designed for low power. Ally is using a customized laptop chip that's designed for higher power usage so it becomes very inefficient at low power. No amount of firmware update can make up for hardware inefficiencies like that. That's the price of higher on paper specs, you have laptop specs but dont have the same power as a laptop.
I completely agree with Austin on this. This isn't a console. It's a PC. Its just like any PC. You will mess with the settings when you are setting up the game to either get the best graphics or the best performance. The best part is that you have those options and you have the power to give you what you want. This is very similar to a laptop. Except laptops die a lot faster than any of these handhelds. There are many advantages to using windows. The only thing that windows is really missing is a handheld mode. Like I mentioned before, a lot of people using these windows handhelds have not used them as their every day device. A lot of the issues they speak of already has fixes
I hope we get more of the per-game settings options like we have on the Deck. That part was huge for me. Custom controllers, custom performance settings loaded when you start the game. And community-based controller schemes, you can download and test alternative controller layouts.
I’m gonna wait. I preordered it twice and cancelled. I have a Steam Deck and it’s nice. If they figure out the software, it would make sense to upgrade, but not before.
Canceled it also once 😂 But now I will keep the second order and will build myself an opinion about the Ally. Too many tests and different opinions like for the Steam deck at release. After I had the hands on my SD I couldn't give it away anymore 😂 Maybe it will be love at second sight with the Ally 😅
@@rogert250 I’m sure it’s nice, I just don’t think we need to go crazy with preorders. I don’t think it’ll be sold out for months and months. And the Steam Deck will tide me over until I see some software updates that makes it more competitive.
Didn't think of this until I saw your comment, I agree. Been almost a week since their launch event and start of pre-orders and can still go on Best buy and order one for day one arrival for like $760 and change (cause of tax). I would've thought by now there would be a bit of a wait for arrival.
@@vic8230 it's an early adopter device that's targeting Windows PC gaming max power bros. The problem is those people are already rocking Aya Neos, OneXPlayers etc. On the other side the base Deck is half the cost and is upgradeable to double the storage for an extra 100 notes or so. The price is better than I expected in the US but in the UK it's £130 more expensive than the 512GB deck and doesn't include a carry case. So more like £160/£170 more expensive by the time you're done. Which compared to the base deck just makes it worse.
Yeah, people will have so much hate when they pull out their rogue ally to play on the plane, and it turns out to be incredibly hot with a dead battery.
Matt tried to make a mountain out of spending a few seconds changing settings, yes I will absolutely take the performance over a few seconds of convenience
Dude on the left sold me on Steam Deck, but damn, this ROG Ally does look REALLY nice. With the bangin' processor, I could also use it for SDR type stuff listening for aliens. There is no question that software will always improve, and major companies will start to optimize for stuff like it.
The problem with ally is the lack of track pads. Not just to use as a mouse but they have a range of options. As in mapping buttons to them. I use them as hotkeys for some shooters.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1you were missing out. I use them in almost every game I play. Kind of like the back buttons. But if the game your playing has a hot key bar you can map those numbers to the track pad. Or games that don’t have controller support.
@@CaptAxolotl I have a Steam Controller, the trackpads on the deck are a total downgrade. Way too small to be useful. Used gyro instead for aiming. I also just use joystick mouse for games that need a mouse. Works fine.
3:32 If you don't want to fiddle with settings this devices aren't for you. Literally if you play everything at 20w or more then you only have 1 hour or less of gameplay. You need to cap fps, lower the best tdp for each game, lower video settings and resolution. At least Steam deck saves those settings per game. The Ally needs those updates.
Love your chat here. Just wanna say, Matt, it's not defeating the purpose of handheld device. Let's say if suddenly Switch gives you an option to tune the TDP, but you can still game as usual if you don't touch that, do you say it defeats the purpose of handheld? Both the Steam Deck and this Rog Ally can run games without tuning anything. But it's just that the vendors now give you open options to tune it the way you like, does not defect the purpose of handheld.
I think his point was that to make it playable for long periods due to poor battery life and bad UX, you have to plug it in and even use an external keyboard (and at times, an external display), then it's no longer a handheld, it's an underpowered gaming PC.
@@mda187 this. a 30 watt gpu mode with a 40wh battery gives you less than an hour of gameplay. if you are plugged ito the wall why not have a discrete GPU with even more power?
@@mda187 these pc handhelds are all underpowered gaming pcs. Honestly I am not really sold on the whole pc handhelds after getting the deck. If games were optimised for this hardware (like the switch or something) it would be a bit better.
ShareDeck is very useful for a bunch of popular games, hope it gets more contributions. His point was that the Ally's advantage is better performance, but that performance isn't worth much is you can't get any battery endurance. The extremely bad performance at low power is the problem. Ironically if the Deck performed the same as now at lower wattage but got a big boost when docked, people would be praising it. It's about freedom of choice, and when your choices are "bad performance vs bad battery life" some people are going to complain. I mostly expect 3-4 hour battery life on my Deck.
We're at the turning point where new games are so shit it's not even worth buying a new PC or new console for them. So these handhelds are able to perfectly run the best games already. I honestly hope these things get more popular and easier to use because it feels like it just makes more sense to have these things as your all-in-one device.
That's pretty much the reason I want one. The new games are god awful however, with what's already currently available + the fact that it's an emulation beast, I can have pretty much every game I want on a single, tiny, portable device. Since the Ally uses Windows 11, compatibility should be fine so it's easier to use unlike the Steamdeck and for older games, it's better to emulate them, whether a PC port exists or not to avoid headaches and troubleshooting. My only complain is that the batteries aren't quite there yet which is unfortunate. I hope ASUS can mitigate this problem and hopefully I will get one later this year, perhaps a revision model of the Ally.
The ROG Ally meets my needs. I run an asus gaming laptop with a battery life of 1hr50mins and im plugged in a portable battery that drains 120-150watts an hour. Using the 35watt or 65 watt charger will give me more than twice the gaming time on my portable battery is what i need.
8 and 8.1 were great but they should have been parallel to desktop Windows. Microsoft just changed too damn much in the interface but the OS itself was great.
probably gonna get one since Valve won't sell me a deck, and probably going to end up throwing ChimeraOS on it once the drivers are sorted. Watched ETA Prime's video on it and it seemed to be running fairly well already, and I imagine it'll get better once devs get their hands on the devices. I absolutely do not want to mess around with windows on a handheld, I'd just get horrible windows CE flashbacks or something
I have an "old" Aya Neo Pro with ChimeraOS, and it works pretty well, though ChimeraOS hasn't really made an easy way to control TDP for that device. The only other thing is that I like the Steam Deck controls much better overall. The Ally does have full sized sticks though, so that should be an improvement. I find that the offset joysticks on the Aya Neo Pro can be aggravating when you end up hitting the right stick while you're pressing buttons in some games (many games this doesn't matter in because the stick doesn't do anything during the parts of the game where you would be hitting buttons). The other thing is the missing controls. There are no trackpads on the Aya Neo, and the gyro doesn't work as a control method in tandem with the X-Box controls. Perhaps the offset joysticks on the Ally are far enough from the buttons to not be accidentally activated, but I don't believe there are any gyro controls so far, and there certainly aren't trackpads.
I’m with u on that bro I have a steam deck but still picked up the Asus ROG Ally !! I don’t get why everyone has to fight about what is better if u like it get it who cares what someone else fills about it !!! Just game and be happy !!!
That’s what I don’t get, I’m a Deck fanboy, but like I understand that some people don’t want track pads, everyone wants full game support, and not all the fancy things The deck can do or even want to learn linux. People just want a handheld to play games, that’s it. I just love the tinkering the deck lets me do because it appeals to me. Not one device is gonna be perfect for everyone.
1. For me ROG Ally cost almost 2x price of Steam Deck (i paid like ~400$) 2. I got Win 11 Pro on my Steam Deck with few plugins/addons and all work "almost" perfect(I mean it's great but whole devices have some issues). 3. Spare parts - I can find almost all parts for my Deck on iFixit, ASUS didn't said single word about it and im like 99% sure they will be not available in my country. 4. COLOUR - White? No jokes.
Living in a Camper where battery is limited. I got the Rog Ally because I can adjust power. I got the xg 3080 to plugin for more demanding games and at most 320 watts is like 3 amps. I got 400 amp hours of lithium batteries. So for my use case can play some games in ray tracing while on the road! try doing that with a 500 watt desktop. Being able to adjust the power is the best thing for us on the go. As long as you plug it in of course. Nostalgic rom gaming at 10 watts is pretty bad ass if you ask me and it can do that and low screen brightness do just as good as Steam Deck.
5:15 I didn't have any problems setting it up unless someone doesn't have a XBOX/Microsoft account but other wise, no issues on my part and the online keyboard didn't have any problems at all
I’ve also played a lot of games through the epic game store. You have to do a work around using heroic game launcher as a non steam but I have also had no issues with that either
You know what i like both arguments. And i have the steam deck and i pre-ordered the ROG ally day one and you know what ive found. That when i can game on a handheld my appetite for gaming has necer been stronger. I play on my ps5, xbox series x, switch, steam deck, and soon ROG ally. I have some games on each one. I think these devices have been good for me as a gamer
I agree with "The hype is here, it will sell out for now but then it will die down". I like that steam deck is not getting a yearly refresh. More games will be optimized for steam deck compared to other handhelds.
The software improvement of the Ally will depends on the ROG and the community, which is both a question mark right now. How good and committed are ASUS on software side of thing and does the community exists, and does ASUS support the community. Also, with Steam Deck, you can have the power profile settings per game now. Is it already like that at the moment? If not, then you will have to fiddle with it everytime you change game.
Matt is right. I am not buying something to fiddle with the settings. I am not a PC gamer. I turn on my switch or PS5 and play. That's why I like them. I don't want to waste my time doing setting adjustments.
Steam Deck usually works immediately, in the worst case you play around with settings for a few minutes and choose a community-made controller setup. It can store performance and controller settings for each game so you DON'T have to keep changing them around for different games.
@@passintogracegoldenyearnin6310 Is it worth the price? It seems a bit pricey for a first handheld. I wanted to wait for the next one to see if they work out the issues with it.
@@Kikibrat2 Depends, really. Sounds like it will be at least a year before the next Switch, but you could also say the next Switch is finally only a year away. I would say, in terms of value....the Switch Lite is cheap at 200 but the real Switch for 300 is better. Docked mode, bigger screen, replaceable controllers. Switch OLED for 350 is also an upgrade in picture quality and better kickstand. So then the Steam Deck is 400, plus like $30-40 for a 256GB MicroSD to get decent storage. $50-100 more than Switch OLED. It can technically emulate a Switch, but mostly it can play lots of games made for PC. You will get better picture quality and better frame rate on Steam deck. You also may need to change some settings the first time you run a game, mostly to change the controls or improve battery life. Downloadable controls are built into Steam and you can have the Deck save different power settings for each game based on your preference. There is a small, but real chance that an update will temporarily break a game (this happened with RDR2). It does not have as good of battery life as the Switch but it's better than most handhelds. You can install other games stores and various emulators on the Steam Deck. You may be able to play spme games you already own. Steam has sales up to 75% off regularly. Overall playing on the Deck is cheaper than Switch because the games can be much cheaper. Ally is 600 for the base model and 700 for the extreme model, with no independent testing on the base model yet. It sounds like there are updates fixing some of the early reported issues, software is improving. At medium power it's faster than the Deck and at high power it's much faster, but at LOW power it seems to run very poorly. It's between the Switch and the Deck in terms of size and weight. I think the battery life is a big problem if it can't run well at low power, and if it needs to be plugged in I could get a 3050 Ti laptop or an HX80G mini desktop for the same money. I think the Steam Deck still rules the game for now. Switch is cheapest up front but the games are expensive. Ally is more expensive and doesn't seem like a real leap in _handheld_ gaming unless you're willing to stay plugged into a 3m USB cable at all times. The big thing with the Deck is making sure any new game runs well while you're still in the refund window.
From what most other reviewers have mentioned, while the Ally can overpower the Deck at max TDP, the Deck outperforms the Ally at low (sub-10W) TDP. So if you actually intend to use these as a mobile device, you’d be better off with a Deck. EDIT: According to Dave2D (5/29), even with the newest drivers that substantially improve 15+W performance this still holds true for sub-10W. Obviously Elden Ring or Cyberpunk at 3-5 W is a pretty bad idea, but plenty of games-for example, turn-based, indies, and puzzle-are going to do just fine and won’t benefit all that much from the higher end.
@@grantmckenzie787 I mean it'll overpower the deck at just 15w, theoretically you'll get 2 hours or more out of that. That's totally fine for a powerful pc gaming handheld
@@conner_productions If I want high fidelity, I have a desktop rig for that. The entire point of a mobile device is that it’s mobile. 2 hours is hardly acceptable, and it’ll be even worse a couple years from now as the Li-ion battery degrades, as all Li-ion batteries do.
At. 3:00 he says he couldn't get cyberpunk 2077 to run on the steam deck. I put in at least 100 hours of cyberpunk 2077 on the steam deck. With a mixture of high medium and low settings at mostly 30 frames per second
The biggest power play Valve could do, is to release SteamOS to the public before this release and support for the new chip. I'm going to buy this and intend on running steamOS(HoloISO) instead of windows besides a handful of games that can't run on SteamOS.
I'd love for them to do this just to see if Asus tries to lock it down and keep you from booting into Linux. It's pretty obvious that Microsoft is subsidizing the price on this thing (if you don't think this is the case, why is the Head of Xbox Hardware, Roanne Sones, sitting in their launch event interview?). It looks bad to Microsoft if people start installing Linux on it after probably propping this release up.
@@mda187 you know, it's entirely possible that both the Deck and the Ally just cost less than their price to make. We've been conditioned so much with decades of the "loss leader" myth that we're unwilling to believe that a good deal could just be a result of good design and economies of scale.
@@mechanicalmonk2020 Very possible, no "NVidia tax" on the Ally. I've gotten full size Ryzen 7 laptops for about $600. Also for the SD, Gabe said the goal was to "not lose money on each device". Their original sales model estimated the $400 model would be the most popular, so the base model should cost less than that to produce and ship. The $530 and $650 models would therefore have about $100 and $180 better margins at least. Based on high sales of middle and best models, they probably paid off the development cost already. They said a lot of testing was volunteer hours. But as the Ally is being sold in retail and not directly, when you also include the "retail tax" yes it's likely that their open partnership with Microsoft includes a subsidy. Even $20 per unit is an extra $20, right? The bigger question is whether the Microsoft partnership includes some real help with improving the interface and battery life.
With a Linux-based OS, you can compile the kernel and tweak and system configuration to EXACTLY what your hardware needs, meaning improvements to battery life and performance. You can't do that with Windows I think developers need to start focusing on Linux as at very least a second-class citizen for gaming. The ROG Ally is a impressive piece of handheld, but I really think they should have went with a custom Linux system just like Valve.
And if they went with that route, I believe the price would be higher. The reason why they managed to cut the price down because Microsoft subsidized it, so it can be "official" Game Pass handheld machine.
@@OneWingedVic yeah, this is the real reason why they didn't do it. Custom Linux development, even with the help from Valve, may have significant cost because of the need to manually develop a compatible solution. Not to mention, the need to publish the source code to Linux mainline (except you wanna be a dick like Nvidia, of course)
Thank you Matt for your skepticism and input on this device! Too many ppl are promoting it as the greatest instead of from a Ease-of-use standpoint. I appreciate both opinions, tbh.
You see people on reddit talking about how all they do on their steam deck is fiddle with the settings. So that is a dumb point to keep complaining about on the rog ally.
Actually, GPD WIN (and subsequent GPD devices) are the true pioneer on this...Ayoneo kind of out competed GPD and is the current leader on this form factor on the higher end hardware (Steam Deck have less powerful hardwares)
They made mention of GPD at the end of the video, and said that they don't really recommend them because all the product they've had of theirs have died.
cyberpunk 2077 is actually decent on the steam deck, sure they got their own steam deck settings, but i still gotta edit some stuff around and get roughly 30fps but its still playable and im loving it so far
Steam Deck is better for both casuals and power users, while the Ally is for regular PC gamers that are only used to Microsoft's Windows. If you have a powerful gaming desktop and you want a good handheld experience to complement it, you'll get a Steam Deck. If you don't have a PC and you're considering a cheap gaming laptop as your primary gaming device, then its when Ally may be an interesting choice.
I think if your gonna make a windows gaming handheld...the screen should be 8 inches.. you gotta see what your going to type and read...specially on setup.
"It's not easy to upgrade the SSD on the steam deck." Me with zero tech capabilities playing my upgraded steam deck that took about 15 minutes to upgrade the hardware and another 10 to image the SSD.
If it has Linux put a cell modem on it use a blue tooth headset rather have that then a new I phone have it automute when calls come in make a deal with a carrier for 2 year plans or whatever will help install base quickly
Getting it!! I get that there's a huge price difference between this and the entry level Steam deck but I'm happy to shell it out for windows 11. I'm travelling and to have access to office applications with a blue-tooth foldup keyboard with touch pad? This thing doubles as a laptop, I can play my Steam, Epic games, EA GOG, and Xbox library, has more or less comparable life and performance to more expensive laptops (at least in South Africa). Plus I can upgrade it to a full gaming PC system with external graphics cards when I'm home. I loved the Idea of the Steam Deck an God bless Gabe for making it. But This product is just right for me. Can't wait to drop a deuce and play Diablo IV at the same time!!
I think Steamdeck competitors like this will really take off once they figure out the same trick Valve managed to pull off - games still being playable in 10W mode. The lowest power mode of this ROG is still higher and so battery life is worse. You can turn it down even further, but games become entirely unplayable. Once they figure this out, it'll just be down to Microsoft to properly optimise Windows for handhelds. Or creat a custom off-shoot dedicated for handhelds - though I doubt they will go _that_ far. Oh and one other thing it _desperately_ needs is a touch pad like the Steamdeck. Navigating a mouse cursor using the joysticks is a nightmare at the best of times, as is the touchscreen without a stylus to help.
Saw a video I think Dave2d made on it. Its the custom AMD chip that steam deck has that's specifically designed to work from 1W-15W while these other handheld chips are modified laptop chips which are designed to draw much higher power so they become very inefficient at lower wattage.
steam deck on sale 350....2 tb ssd aliexpress 130...15 antiglare screen....20 bucks case..thats around 550 for a fully decked out steam deck with 1tb more storage than the highest end deck..also cyberpunk is deck verified it plays fine on deck...its default 30..but you can get it to solid 40
1 downside, the steam deck comes with a carrying case, the rog ally does not, thats kind of a let down to not include 1. No one is mentioning that in their "vs" videos
Tablet PCs, UMPC, Netbooks, 2 in 1's, Windows has had almost 20+ years to figure out the software of smaller screen devices, and it STILL hasnt gotten it right. And Asus from a support perspective given recent things with their software support from their own phones to the recent motherboard issues, for me does not inspire much confidence in the Ally. Not to mention as well, Hardware OEM's across the board have a notorious history of making terrible consumer facing software. The Ally is great from a raw specs perspective. But the software implementation, and questionable long term software and hardware support is definitely a legitimate and valid concerrn. To those that do get it I hope you enjoy it, to those who dont or have concerns about it you are right in that opinion as well.
I was interested in getting a steam deck towards the end of the year so that I can play my backlog on the go, but the release of the Ally has gotten me to reconsider for sure. On one hand I appreciate the affordability and streamlined nature of the steamdeck os, but on the other hand the compatibility of windows and the significant amount of extra performance of the ally is really enticing. I would be interested in a windows device mainly so that I can run gamepass games localy, though the ability to put my switch or 3ds to sleep and pick the game right up later on is basicly a requirement for me nowadays. I guess I`l wait to see if windows does indeed get that quick resume and the handheld mode, because that would convince my to go for the ally for sure
As someone that's owned a Steam Deck for over a year the one thing I'll say is I hope you don't plan to play any RTS or Strategy games, I'd honestly be way more interested in the Ally if they included Trackpads but for some reason they didn't. I don't know if you know anyone that has a Steam Deck but if you do I encourage you to try it out and load up some mouse heavy games I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. honestly it seems really silly because they basically excluded a huge swath of games by not having trackpads.
@@matthamende6359 no, I don`t onow anyone with a steam deck, nor do I plan on playing RTS games. I`m primarily hoping to play my backlog and emulate PS2 games, and maybe ps3 and xbox 360 if I can. I`m mainly interested in a device like this so that I can play my games in bed or while on vacarion, and my 2 main requirements are that I want to be able to play fh5 localy via the xbox app (preferably at 60 fps), and emulate gt4 with no lag. For the xbox thing, I know I would need to install windows on the steam deck, which I understand is doable but not an optimal experience, and at that point it might be worth it to fork over the extra cash and get the ally for it`s significantly better performance, even if in europe it costs close to twice as much as a base steam deck with a decently sized sd card. I think I`m going to have to look at more reviews and performance comparisons between both devices, and give it a good long long think while I wait to see if the user experience gets improved on the ally, before I come to a final decision towards the end of the year
@@kuma-bw1we trackpads aren`t great on a laptop, and even less so for gaming, because of the unergonomic and unnatural placement and feel. I can see how, if treated more like a low profile thumbstick, or if used to do more swipe like movements with your thumb, the steam deck`s trackpads might actually be really nice to use, atleast on more stategy/puzzle style games, if not on 1st person shooters (I can`t deal with shooters on a controller for the life of me, so a well placed trackpad might not be the worst thing, in that situation). The whole point is also to be handheld, and trying to use a mouse simply wouldn`t be doable
@@andreanastacio9548 are u trying to sell me that trackpad is better than touch screen? look at android and ios, how about get excellent touch screen support like mobile smartphone instead? I just can not support trackpad, no matter which version.
Pre-ordered the Z1 Extreme ROG ALLY. Being a busy father and husband, blasting through a campaign or playing some 2K etc in quick bursts of around an hour at a time is my gaming life nowadays.
Console time commitment isn't like it was when I was a kid where I could sit there for 4hrs at a clip.
This device is exactly what I'm looking for
Similar story here.
@@hackman460 yep, me too - I have a Steam Deck and I just wanted the games I like to play.
Well you gonna miss the suspend function then.
@Bionic Beaver yea agreed I will miss that but StramOS had issues when it came out si we will see what happens a year from now. If I lose that to me I'm OK if I can play all my games on one device
Couldn’t agree more. As a parent an hour is more than enough and as a result this works well for me.
Steam had issues on launch and I preordered prior to its launch, it’s keyboard didn’t work for sh*t and software was buggy as hell. Don’t understand why some are comparing the rog to present steam capabilities.
With access to more platforms and improved visuals, I’ll work through the buggy start :)
Matt: optimize and play. Don’t wanna touch anything
Austin: power user, let’s get the max performance, touch all the settings.
I think Matt legitimately wants it to be like the switch or a console. Which neither of these are that.
We already have a switch competitor and that's the steam deck. Let the ROG ally be a pc alternative/replacement, It's not going to be a better console than the steam deck, but it'll be a better pc than a steam deck and that's it's own value v.v
I've never been so annoyed by this guy he was whining the entire time
@@MrJustek switch is no way s steamdeck competitor switch is limited to 30 fps and doesn't play pc games
@@MrMagicAmmo I feel bad for his couch
I’ve put over 100 hours into cyberpunk on steam deck. I have never heard anyone having issues with it.
I had to look at the comments because I was thinking the same thing 😮
Right what’s wrong with him it’s even verified
Yeah same actually, can even play in desktop mode at 900p with FSR 2 on my 2k monitor. Def drops sometimes but never for very long. Get a relatively consistent 35-40fps most the time.
@@dontaviousnegasi1648I didn’t know it got verified lol. I got my steam deck real early in the release and never had an issue with it on the deck. I’ve even played with some mods like the stock market. A lot of mods don’t work just got to play around and try them out.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one thinking this….
You can run Cyber Punk on the steam deck. I've played it myself.
He said he wants plug and Play....
I agree with Matt on this one. We live in a world where conveniency is king and with all the little things a lot of people will not want it. I’ve lived this and that’s why I love my steam deck cause it’s easy to use and at work on breaks I can play for a bit but if I have to spend half my break fiddling I’m not gonna use it.
This was almost the perfect Pros vs Cons video.
I wish you guys had more of a check list to discuses all the topics, like how long the Steam Deck lasts playing at 8-10 Watts with low to medium settings. I played dirt 4 and other AAA titles and it lasted longer than a 5 hour flight. The Steam Deck was designed to last. As Linus Tech Tips mentioned in that 10 Watts the Steam has higher fps for games by a large amount being the "Secret Sauce" of Valve and AMD custome chip. And, Just like was mentioned being the main idea for a portable, is that it lasts longer than 1-2 hours. Ill list some more Pros of the Steam Deck in another post.
Another note slightly mentioned in this video but left out of all the reviews is the for those on a budget or who dont come from wealth who can not afford a $700 mobile device, at $399 (cheaper when on sale) Is not the Steam Deck a great choice and competitor being that the hardware is the same and all you need to do is purchase a $20 or-$40 SD card to have more storage. Its such an easy system to use and allows people to experience Linux and explore all the optomized apps ....etc.
Just to note Windows will probably kill the ROG Ally simply because....Its Windows! with all the legal malware, telemetry collecting data collectors running in the back ground garbage. Are we not trying to get away from windows and welcome a new competitor? The question is not when Windows will update a mobile version for mobile devices, but rather, When will Valve release Steam OS as a competitor to Windows becasue it is a more optomized no nonsence OS for the mainstream.
Think of the days when Intel controlled the market by pushing out AMD while releasing super expensive chips and adding a (+) at the end even though it wasnt really that much better than the last? until AMD came back swinging while the giant was sleeping. Valve has a chance to make a nice dent in the PC industry with Steam OS.
I think you'll read this and maybe saying that's right but I don't know what you will say : it's clear that R O G Ally is faster and the screen is bigger and better, that's because the steam deck is about a year older, I'm so tired of hearing your fuss about a device that can run cyberpunk, my steam deck does at this time of writing when there are any specifications it is always easier to make a new device better and it is the same between Samsung and Apple it is one device is always better than the other won you are a friend turn it and the same is this the case with handheld gaming machines, one is better than the other, that's how it is now and that's how it will always be, it's nothing new under the sun because that's how it's always been and that's how it will always continue to be so I don't understand why in the house so I say hello I'm so up it's really nothing to be so excited about so in a year there will be a device that is better than R O G Ally or in two years it might be the second generation of steam deck then we have the talk again about one device being better than the other it's a long screw with no end And it will go on forever but will you please write back to me under my name : because I am curious to hear your opinion I have written a comment it is the same one that is written here under your answer and your name is waiting for your opinion on this and if you think almost the same as I do I look forward to finding out of you must have a really good day/evening I look forward to hearing from you
This ROG Ally is not the final product you need to wait for the final product before judging it also updates can fix all windows handheld problems specially that windows handhelds is booming now not being able to play anything you want is a deal breaker. Your buying a game to play all your PC games and not limiting you. All steam games is 100% windows and probably 70% Linux at the same time you can play other platform games as well because it is windows. If all your games work on Steam Deck then good for you but others don't. ROG Ally is not only more powerful and can play all games in PC it is also has 1080p 120hz can set it for older games or not that graphical games. And yes because all my device is 1080p TV, Laptop, Smartphone I can see the difference between 1080p and 720p.
Cyberpunk even has a specific Steam Deck setting in the game? Tons of people play it on the deck completely fine.
Please look things up before making a video saying it straight up doesn't work on the deck. It's even verified now.
Something you didn't mention at all - the steam deck isn't available in many countries. The ROG ally is available pretty much everywhere, and can be bought at bricks and mortar retail stores.
Add the fact that this can actually use your non steam launcher (gamepass/xbox, origin/ea, uplay/ubisoft connect, battlenet, unreal launcher, gog, etc), and can also be used as a regular windows computer.
Bro I can't find an ROG Ally here in the Philippines yet. 😅
Re Rockstar launcher crashing: does that almost daily on my Steam deck. As far as standby on Steam Deck, I literally leave mine sleeping in my bag for a week to 10 days at a time sometimes and it’ll still have 35% battery. Standby on Steam Deck is epic at sleeping, it’s like the housecat of handhelds. Sleeps great, awake at a moments notice ready to roll.
People keep comparing it with the $650 model of the steam deck with all models have the same specs except for memory. You could just buy the $399 model and replace the ssd or buy an sd card. And honestly you are probably gonna need an sd card anyway. So it's not a $50 dollar difference but more like a $300 dollar difference
The 512gb is more for people who want to support valve or get the special carrying case and screen. Otherwise there's no reason to buy the 64 or 256gb. and just buy sd cards for extra storage. The difference in speed is almost non-existent and you are saving yourself almost half the price.
@@VictorRodriguez-zp2do yeah I've got the 256GB and picked up a 1TB MicroSD on sale and have like 100 games installed some of them AAA
Actually, Matt cyberpunk does run on steam deck
If I didn’t already have a Steam Deck and Switch both with huge backlogs I’d definitely be onboard with the ROG ALLY, there’s simply no room in my gaming rotation for a new handheld but I hope it’s a contender because I’ll probably jump in later down the line.
In fairness your Steam Deck backlog would be the same as your ROG Ally backlog
@@mechanicalmonk2020 in fairness, he said he already has a Steam Deck. So no really huge need to ditch the deck for the additional cost of an Ally at this point I think is what he is saying.
Don’t have either , but Rog Ally can emulate switch perfectly. I’ll be picking it up for sure .
I have both a Switch and Steamdeck. Thr Ally plays all thr games in my steam library much better.
Since I treat the SD as a console, I might wanna wait till there is an SD 2 or SD pro
Honestly as someone who owns a Deck already…. The hardware on the Ally of course is great. You would hope that a system that came out 1-2 years after the Deck is more powerful and it is. That being said, I don’t think it’s enough of a jump to justify running out and buying one of these if you already have a deck. Yeah it’s a boost in performance but it’s not an enormous generational jump. The deck still plays the majority of games you would want to play on these devices just fine. If you need AC on deck that badly you can always dual boot, it might not be glamorous but it does work. My personal plan is to wait for the next generation of the deck.
I think the real great value will be picking up cheap steam decks off of eBay that people are dumping to get this thing. Imagine picking up a steam deck for like $200 slightly used. That’s where the value is gonna be.
I partially agree with you. I own also the SD and it is fabulous. But for some games especially AAA I really would need a bit more power to get at least 40fps - for me the sweet spot - to have a more smooth gaming experience. Let's see after some driver updates if the Ally will improve gaming experience. But in Germany you will not find any used Steam deck under 400€. Most of them will be sold around 500€ so really price stable 👍 let's see the upcoming days if the SD will get an equal opponent 😊
@@rogert250 I think when (or if) we get some windows updates to work better on these types of systems and after the OEM programs like Armory Crate work out all the kinks then these devices will be pretty appealing. By then, we might be looking at another HW revision.
As for AAA, I don’t really ever use my deck for that. It’s more for budget/indie games or emulators honestly, although if you play AAA on it, more power to ya. Different strokes for different folks.
I can't wait to pick-up somebody's deck for cheap in the nearish future!
I completely agree with Matt, the hardware looks great, the problem with it is Windows. I have my doubts that any amount of tweaking will solve the Windows problem. It needs a new version of Windows specifically designed from the ground up and optimized for handheld. Without that, the ROG Ally is just wasted potential.
Haha I doubt that Microsoft would make a new version of Windows from scratch just for handheld gaming, you're talking about the same guys that didn't bothered to change legacy elements from the UI until now
There is one. Windows S .
@@user-ot7wb8sy1v Never heard of Windows S. But I have heard about S mode. If you're talking about that, probably would gimp it more than help it.
And that's where SteamOS comes in, i really hope windows does not improve at all, its been a monopoly since forever anyways, time to make a change once in a while.
Now not saying windows will suddently go obselete(duhh), not soon or ever really, just a small increase in steamOS/linux market share, but boy i really hopefull for the future of linux than i ever would for windows due to its long unsunstaneable model from now on.
You don't need a new version of Windows. Just flip a switch in settings that goes into a different gamepad GUI. There is no reason to change anything under the hood
its only good for some console type games... its useless to me without trackpads. I use the trackpads on my Deck for everything, they are awesome... can't live without them.
I have windows on my steam deck, it was super easy to install. And I love windows, having all the games and gamepass, that's where the steam deck really shines, so the rog ally will be awesome to anyone getting it.
Awesome, can't wait to get mine!!!!
Well said !!!
Really shines with Windows? No thanks
You're missing a few things for sure. Since Valve has their own operating system they can push game-specific performance improvements, like Elden Ring had stutter issues on every PC at launch but it was fixed in SteamOS right away thanks to Valve. Due to the hardware being the same they can distribute shader caches to Deck games to reduce load times or stutter depending on the game. They can curate games and inform customers that they run great out of the box with the Verified Badge similar to a seal of quality.
The whole point of it is that they have made a console that is also open. If you want to be curated you can and have a good experience without doing anything extra, but you can also tinker if you want and do anything else that Valve hasn't tested like on a PC, it's the best of both worlds.
The Ally is good, I would never knock it and I can even excuse Windows not having a handheld gamepad mode. But I find it odd that some people ignore the benefits of curation.
P.S. I'd like to have the Ally but can't justify it since I couldn't play many of the games as well as on the Steam Deck due to the lack of touchpads. Huge omission IMO, this way you are basically limited to console games, or I should say games that don't greatly benefit from having a mouse and hotkeys
@@Generic_RUclips_Username_ wrong, and windows has gamepass.
Just got mine yesterday, and i feel most,if not all, the "problems" they are bringing up have been fixed. Prices have come down too since this vid came out. I got a practically new open box z1 extreme version from best buy for $499. Brand new sealed was $599. I think alot of em had an issue with a sticky bumper button, so ppl just returned em. Which mine did have that problem but it was such an easy 10 min fix. Im absolutely loving this thing!
the things i love about my steam deck are cokmpletely lost on this ally like quick resume and support im prolly going to cancel my preorder
The Ally actually performs *worse* than the Deck at the lowest power profile. Being better than the Deck in docked mode is nice, I guess, but it would still very much perform like an entry-level PC, which is unsatisfying on a big screen or a 4K TV. I just think the Ally doesn't know what it wants to be. Consider that even Nintendo made the Switch Lite specifically without docking ability.
"The Ally actually performs worse than the Deck at the lowest power profile." - For now... and its not even launched live yet with more optimizations coming Im sure.
@@derekdrozdzakIt will get better but won't beat the SD. Dave2d mentioned that the SD is better at lower power because it has a custom built chip designed for low power. Ally is using a customized laptop chip that's designed for higher power usage so it becomes very inefficient at low power. No amount of firmware update can make up for hardware inefficiencies like that. That's the price of higher on paper specs, you have laptop specs but dont have the same power as a laptop.
I completely agree with Austin on this. This isn't a console. It's a PC. Its just like any PC. You will mess with the settings when you are setting up the game to either get the best graphics or the best performance. The best part is that you have those options and you have the power to give you what you want. This is very similar to a laptop. Except laptops die a lot faster than any of these handhelds. There are many advantages to using windows. The only thing that windows is really missing is a handheld mode. Like I mentioned before, a lot of people using these windows handhelds have not used them as their every day device. A lot of the issues they speak of already has fixes
I hope we get more of the per-game settings options like we have on the Deck. That part was huge for me. Custom controllers, custom performance settings loaded when you start the game. And community-based controller schemes, you can download and test alternative controller layouts.
I’m gonna wait. I preordered it twice and cancelled. I have a Steam Deck and it’s nice. If they figure out the software, it would make sense to upgrade, but not before.
Canceled it also once 😂 But now I will keep the second order and will build myself an opinion about the Ally. Too many tests and different opinions like for the Steam deck at release. After I had the hands on my SD I couldn't give it away anymore 😂 Maybe it will be love at second sight with the Ally 😅
@@rogert250 I’m sure it’s nice, I just don’t think we need to go crazy with preorders. I don’t think it’ll be sold out for months and months. And the Steam Deck will tide me over until I see some software updates that makes it more competitive.
@@rogert250 I feel like ASUS must have produced a ton of these, hence the preorders still available and the $699 price point.
@@j_dun4830didn't Asus say they aren't selling as many pre orders as they hoped?
Considering you can still pre-order one and get it day one I don’t think they are selling as fast as ASUS thought they would be.
Didn't think of this until I saw your comment, I agree. Been almost a week since their launch event and start of pre-orders and can still go on Best buy and order one for day one arrival for like $760 and change (cause of tax).
I would've thought by now there would be a bit of a wait for arrival.
@@vic8230 it's an early adopter device that's targeting Windows PC gaming max power bros. The problem is those people are already rocking Aya Neos, OneXPlayers etc.
On the other side the base Deck is half the cost and is upgradeable to double the storage for an extra 100 notes or so. The price is better than I expected in the US but in the UK it's £130 more expensive than the 512GB deck and doesn't include a carry case. So more like £160/£170 more expensive by the time you're done. Which compared to the base deck just makes it worse.
14:00 That's such a great feature of the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch. Every console, handheld, gaming device needs this going forward.
Yeah, people will have so much hate when they pull out their rogue ally to play on the plane, and it turns out to be incredibly hot with a dead battery.
@@TheRealStus"I KNEW I SHOULD'VE BOUGHT A STEAM DECK!!!"
Steam Deck has better quality of life features fr.
You can hibernate windows
Being able to sleep mode and not have to quit my game is a big feature for me with SD. I literally take it everywhere and play when I have the chance.
Matt tried to make a mountain out of spending a few seconds changing settings, yes I will absolutely take the performance over a few seconds of convenience
3 months later and we still have this issues on the software side with addition of design flaws that can potentially kill your microSD cards.
"Well running is a generous term for the switch" LMAO Subbed!
Cyberpunk absolutely runs in steamdeck. Currently playing it on the deck, having a good time.
i dont know why he said it doesnt run , mine looks great running at 45 fps
Dude on the left sold me on Steam Deck, but damn, this ROG Ally does look REALLY nice. With the bangin' processor, I could also use it for SDR type stuff listening for aliens. There is no question that software will always improve, and major companies will start to optimize for stuff like it.
The problem with ally is the lack of track pads. Not just to use as a mouse but they have a range of options. As in mapping buttons to them. I use them as hotkeys for some shooters.
Never used the trackpads on the deck when I had one.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1 cope then you probably just play console games on it
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1you were missing out. I use them in almost every game I play. Kind of like the back buttons. But if the game your playing has a hot key bar you can map those numbers to the track pad. Or games that don’t have controller support.
@@traestephen7276 Projecting much?
@@CaptAxolotl I have a Steam Controller, the trackpads on the deck are a total downgrade. Way too small to be useful. Used gyro instead for aiming. I also just use joystick mouse for games that need a mouse. Works fine.
3:32 If you don't want to fiddle with settings this devices aren't for you. Literally if you play everything at 20w or more then you only have 1 hour or less of gameplay. You need to cap fps, lower the best tdp for each game, lower video settings and resolution. At least Steam deck saves those settings per game. The Ally needs those updates.
This is really a tv show. Feels like I'm watching those ads that tried selling you on this product, on Satellite
Love your chat here. Just wanna say, Matt, it's not defeating the purpose of handheld device. Let's say if suddenly Switch gives you an option to tune the TDP, but you can still game as usual if you don't touch that, do you say it defeats the purpose of handheld? Both the Steam Deck and this Rog Ally can run games without tuning anything. But it's just that the vendors now give you open options to tune it the way you like, does not defect the purpose of handheld.
I think his point was that to make it playable for long periods due to poor battery life and bad UX, you have to plug it in and even use an external keyboard (and at times, an external display), then it's no longer a handheld, it's an underpowered gaming PC.
@@mda187 this. a 30 watt gpu mode with a 40wh battery gives you less than an hour of gameplay. if you are plugged ito the wall why not have a discrete GPU with even more power?
@@mda187 these pc handhelds are all underpowered gaming pcs. Honestly I am not really sold on the whole pc handhelds after getting the deck. If games were optimised for this hardware (like the switch or something) it would be a bit better.
@@168original7 Deck Verified is the answer
ShareDeck is very useful for a bunch of popular games, hope it gets more contributions. His point was that the Ally's advantage is better performance, but that performance isn't worth much is you can't get any battery endurance. The extremely bad performance at low power is the problem.
Ironically if the Deck performed the same as now at lower wattage but got a big boost when docked, people would be praising it. It's about freedom of choice, and when your choices are "bad performance vs bad battery life" some people are going to complain. I mostly expect 3-4 hour battery life on my Deck.
the cutt-offs are crazzyy lol like yall gotta match talk time left had so much he wanted to say
lol
I want to buy an handheld gaming device and right now im tempted on getting a steam deck to game on the 10 watt mode to maximize battery
We're at the turning point where new games are so shit it's not even worth buying a new PC or new console for them. So these handhelds are able to perfectly run the best games already. I honestly hope these things get more popular and easier to use because it feels like it just makes more sense to have these things as your all-in-one device.
That's pretty much the reason I want one. The new games are god awful however, with what's already currently available + the fact that it's an emulation beast, I can have pretty much every game I want on a single, tiny, portable device. Since the Ally uses Windows 11, compatibility should be fine so it's easier to use unlike the Steamdeck and for older games, it's better to emulate them, whether a PC port exists or not to avoid headaches and troubleshooting.
My only complain is that the batteries aren't quite there yet which is unfortunate. I hope ASUS can mitigate this problem and hopefully I will get one later this year, perhaps a revision model of the Ally.
The ROG Ally meets my needs. I run an asus gaming laptop with a battery life of 1hr50mins and im plugged in a portable battery that drains 120-150watts an hour. Using the 35watt or 65 watt charger will give me more than twice the gaming time on my portable battery is what i need.
Omigod with a power bank that large, you could play for more than a DAY on the Deck.
When Austin said Windows 8 would have been ideal for devices like this he sadly wasn't wrong.
8 and 8.1 were great but they should have been parallel to desktop Windows. Microsoft just changed too damn much in the interface but the OS itself was great.
Im having a hard time finding that video you made @austin on what exploits to use to make it a gaming pc. Any chance you could link it?
I personally like the fact that it runs Windows and have already planned on getting a compact mouse and keyboard I can use with it when needed.
You finna need it most of the time, gonna need a big carrying case for that battery bank too, Goodluck lugging all that around
@@JDabz96 I didn't say anything about a battery bank? But alright
@Kenjionigod ohh based off everyone's input about battery life. It's a must
My favorite thing about watching these this is videos is trying to figure out which is Matt and Austin, which one is mom and which one is dad 😄
Their both Dad, trying to explain their choices to mom 😅
probably gonna get one since Valve won't sell me a deck, and probably going to end up throwing ChimeraOS on it once the drivers are sorted. Watched ETA Prime's video on it and it seemed to be running fairly well already, and I imagine it'll get better once devs get their hands on the devices. I absolutely do not want to mess around with windows on a handheld, I'd just get horrible windows CE flashbacks or something
I have an "old" Aya Neo Pro with ChimeraOS, and it works pretty well, though ChimeraOS hasn't really made an easy way to control TDP for that device. The only other thing is that I like the Steam Deck controls much better overall. The Ally does have full sized sticks though, so that should be an improvement.
I find that the offset joysticks on the Aya Neo Pro can be aggravating when you end up hitting the right stick while you're pressing buttons in some games (many games this doesn't matter in because the stick doesn't do anything during the parts of the game where you would be hitting buttons). The other thing is the missing controls. There are no trackpads on the Aya Neo, and the gyro doesn't work as a control method in tandem with the X-Box controls. Perhaps the offset joysticks on the Ally are far enough from the buttons to not be accidentally activated, but I don't believe there are any gyro controls so far, and there certainly aren't trackpads.
Can't wait to buy one of these barely used in a year
You guys are entertainment I ordered my Asus ROG because that's what I wanted all this back and forth is giving me a headache
I’m with u on that bro I have a steam deck but still picked up the Asus ROG Ally !! I don’t get why everyone has to fight about what is better if u like it get it who cares what someone else fills about it !!! Just game and be happy !!!
That’s what I don’t get, I’m a Deck fanboy, but like I understand that some people don’t want track pads, everyone wants full game support, and not all the fancy things The deck can do or even want to learn linux. People just want a handheld to play games, that’s it. I just love the tinkering the deck lets me do because it appeals to me. Not one device is gonna be perfect for everyone.
Matt needs to research more before he talks cyberpunks runs great on the steamdeck
Cyberpunk literally has a Steam Deck graphical setting. It is definitely playable on Steam Deck.
GPD pioneered it
Ayaneo showed it didn't have to look like a garage hacked prop from an 80s movie.
SteamDeck made it mainstream.
Can't get the SteamDeck in Norway... so already pre ordered the Rog Ally (Z1 Extreme).
1. For me ROG Ally cost almost 2x price of Steam Deck (i paid like ~400$)
2. I got Win 11 Pro on my Steam Deck with few plugins/addons and all work "almost" perfect(I mean it's great but whole devices have some issues).
3. Spare parts - I can find almost all parts for my Deck on iFixit, ASUS didn't said single word about it and im like 99% sure they will be not available in my country.
4. COLOUR - White? No jokes.
Living in a Camper where battery is limited. I got the Rog Ally because I can adjust power. I got the xg 3080 to plugin for more demanding games and at most 320 watts is like 3 amps. I got 400 amp hours of lithium batteries. So for my use case can play some games in ray tracing while on the road! try doing that with a 500 watt desktop. Being able to adjust the power is the best thing for us on the go. As long as you plug it in of course. Nostalgic rom gaming at 10 watts is pretty bad ass if you ask me and it can do that and low screen brightness do just as good as Steam Deck.
5:15 I didn't have any problems setting it up unless someone doesn't have a XBOX/Microsoft account but other wise, no issues on my part and the online keyboard didn't have any problems at all
I’ve also played a lot of games through the epic game store. You have to do a work around using heroic game launcher as a non steam but I have also had no issues with that either
Last time I checked THPS 1+2 doesn’t work.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1I haven’t tried that. Have played a few games through epic.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1 It works now.
I'm replacing my 3080 Ti/10700K mini-ITX PC with the ROG Ally + XG Mobile RTX 4090 😎👍
Oh hell yeah, should be bad ass!!!
I think we need something like XBOX OS - stripped down windows 11, laser focused on gaming and XBOX Gamepass
You know what i like both arguments. And i have the steam deck and i pre-ordered the ROG ally day one and you know what ive found. That when i can game on a handheld my appetite for gaming has necer been stronger. I play on my ps5, xbox series x, switch, steam deck, and soon ROG ally. I have some games on each one. I think these devices have been good for me as a gamer
you get it... agreed
I agree with "The hype is here, it will sell out for now but then it will die down". I like that steam deck is not getting a yearly refresh. More games will be optimized for steam deck compared to other handhelds.
One literally runs windows meaning games will always get optimized not to mention driver updates
I spent 1500 on a onexplayer 2 a few months back and love it. This for 700 is absolutely worth it.
The software improvement of the Ally will depends on the ROG and the community, which is both a question mark right now. How good and committed are ASUS on software side of thing and does the community exists, and does ASUS support the community.
Also, with Steam Deck, you can have the power profile settings per game now. Is it already like that at the moment? If not, then you will have to fiddle with it everytime you change game.
Controller mapping too, and community-made controller maps.
Matt gonna catch hell for that Cyberpunk 2077 take. Lol
Matt is right. I am not buying something to fiddle with the settings. I am not a PC gamer. I turn on my switch or PS5 and play. That's why I like them. I don't want to waste my time doing setting adjustments.
Steam Deck usually works immediately, in the worst case you play around with settings for a few minutes and choose a community-made controller setup. It can store performance and controller settings for each game so you DON'T have to keep changing them around for different games.
@@passintogracegoldenyearnin6310 Is it worth the price? It seems a bit pricey for a first handheld. I wanted to wait for the next one to see if they work out the issues with it.
@@Kikibrat2 Depends, really. Sounds like it will be at least a year before the next Switch, but you could also say the next Switch is finally only a year away.
I would say, in terms of value....the Switch Lite is cheap at 200 but the real Switch for 300 is better. Docked mode, bigger screen, replaceable controllers. Switch OLED for 350 is also an upgrade in picture quality and better kickstand.
So then the Steam Deck is 400, plus like $30-40 for a 256GB MicroSD to get decent storage. $50-100 more than Switch OLED. It can technically emulate a Switch, but mostly it can play lots of games made for PC. You will get better picture quality and better frame rate on Steam deck. You also may need to change some settings the first time you run a game, mostly to change the controls or improve battery life. Downloadable controls are built into Steam and you can have the Deck save different power settings for each game based on your preference. There is a small, but real chance that an update will temporarily break a game (this happened with RDR2). It does not have as good of battery life as the Switch but it's better than most handhelds.
You can install other games stores and various emulators on the Steam Deck. You may be able to play spme games you already own. Steam has sales up to 75% off regularly. Overall playing on the Deck is cheaper than Switch because the games can be much cheaper.
Ally is 600 for the base model and 700 for the extreme model, with no independent testing on the base model yet. It sounds like there are updates fixing some of the early reported issues, software is improving. At medium power it's faster than the Deck and at high power it's much faster, but at LOW power it seems to run very poorly. It's between the Switch and the Deck in terms of size and weight. I think the battery life is a big problem if it can't run well at low power, and if it needs to be plugged in I could get a 3050 Ti laptop or an HX80G mini desktop for the same money.
I think the Steam Deck still rules the game for now. Switch is cheapest up front but the games are expensive. Ally is more expensive and doesn't seem like a real leap in _handheld_ gaming unless you're willing to stay plugged into a 3m USB cable at all times. The big thing with the Deck is making sure any new game runs well while you're still in the refund window.
From what most other reviewers have mentioned, while the Ally can overpower the Deck at max TDP, the Deck outperforms the Ally at low (sub-10W) TDP. So if you actually intend to use these as a mobile device, you’d be better off with a Deck.
EDIT: According to Dave2D (5/29), even with the newest drivers that substantially improve 15+W performance this still holds true for sub-10W. Obviously Elden Ring or Cyberpunk at 3-5 W is a pretty bad idea, but plenty of games-for example, turn-based, indies, and puzzle-are going to do just fine and won’t benefit all that much from the higher end.
That's not true, the Ally can run over 10w unplugged so its more powerful whether plugged in or not
@@conner_productions yeah but way less battery at higher tdp
@@grantmckenzie787 I mean it'll overpower the deck at just 15w, theoretically you'll get 2 hours or more out of that. That's totally fine for a powerful pc gaming handheld
@@conner_productions If I want high fidelity, I have a desktop rig for that. The entire point of a mobile device is that it’s mobile. 2 hours is hardly acceptable, and it’ll be even worse a couple years from now as the Li-ion battery degrades, as all Li-ion batteries do.
@@bubbledoubletrouble 2 hours of great 40-60fps gameplay is 100000% acceptable
At. 3:00 he says he couldn't get cyberpunk 2077 to run on the steam deck. I put in at least 100 hours of cyberpunk 2077 on the steam deck. With a mixture of high medium and low settings at mostly 30 frames per second
The biggest power play Valve could do, is to release SteamOS to the public before this release and support for the new chip. I'm going to buy this and intend on running steamOS(HoloISO) instead of windows besides a handful of games that can't run on SteamOS.
I'd love for them to do this just to see if Asus tries to lock it down and keep you from booting into Linux. It's pretty obvious that Microsoft is subsidizing the price on this thing (if you don't think this is the case, why is the Head of Xbox Hardware, Roanne Sones, sitting in their launch event interview?). It looks bad to Microsoft if people start installing Linux on it after probably propping this release up.
@@mda187 you know, it's entirely possible that both the Deck and the Ally just cost less than their price to make.
We've been conditioned so much with decades of the "loss leader" myth that we're unwilling to believe that a good deal could just be a result of good design and economies of scale.
@@mechanicalmonk2020 Very possible, no "NVidia tax" on the Ally. I've gotten full size Ryzen 7 laptops for about $600.
Also for the SD, Gabe said the goal was to "not lose money on each device". Their original sales model estimated the $400 model would be the most popular, so the base model should cost less than that to produce and ship. The $530 and $650 models would therefore have about $100 and $180 better margins at least. Based on high sales of middle and best models, they probably paid off the development cost already. They said a lot of testing was volunteer hours.
But as the Ally is being sold in retail and not directly, when you also include the "retail tax" yes it's likely that their open partnership with Microsoft includes a subsidy. Even $20 per unit is an extra $20, right? The bigger question is whether the Microsoft partnership includes some real help with improving the interface and battery life.
Going to be traveling for work next year, this will be perfect! Save up later for a top end gaming laptop. But this works for now
i dont wanna deal with it. And the fact that I cant pause the game when I put it to sleep is a deal breaker
With a Linux-based OS, you can compile the kernel and tweak and system configuration to EXACTLY what your hardware needs, meaning improvements to battery life and performance. You can't do that with Windows
I think developers need to start focusing on Linux as at very least a second-class citizen for gaming.
The ROG Ally is a impressive piece of handheld, but I really think they should have went with a custom Linux system just like Valve.
And if they went with that route, I believe the price would be higher. The reason why they managed to cut the price down because Microsoft subsidized it, so it can be "official" Game Pass handheld machine.
@@OneWingedVic yeah, this is the real reason why they didn't do it. Custom Linux development, even with the help from Valve, may have significant cost because of the need to manually develop a compatible solution. Not to mention, the need to publish the source code to Linux mainline (except you wanna be a dick like Nvidia, of course)
More electronics for Austin to complain about the unweildy size
Thank you Matt for your skepticism and input on this device! Too many ppl are promoting it as the greatest instead of from a Ease-of-use standpoint. I appreciate both opinions, tbh.
Same!
I agree with Matt and the settings issue.
It's a retro gaming system unplugged or a budget gaming laptop tethered. Handheld needs something in tge middle.
You see people on reddit talking about how all they do on their steam deck is fiddle with the settings. So that is a dumb point to keep complaining about on the rog ally.
Actually, GPD WIN (and subsequent GPD devices) are the true pioneer on this...Ayoneo kind of out competed GPD and is the current leader on this form factor on the higher end hardware (Steam Deck have less powerful hardwares)
They made mention of GPD at the end of the video, and said that they don't really recommend them because all the product they've had of theirs have died.
Next iteration of these handhelds is gonna be great i believe. Especially the Ally
Did you disable SCREEN sleep? Why it's separate, I don't know, but it is.
cyberpunk 2077 is actually decent on the steam deck, sure they got their own steam deck settings, but i still gotta edit some stuff around and get roughly 30fps but its still playable and im loving it so far
Steam Deck is better for both casuals and power users, while the Ally is for regular PC gamers that are only used to Microsoft's Windows. If you have a powerful gaming desktop and you want a good handheld experience to complement it, you'll get a Steam Deck. If you don't have a PC and you're considering a cheap gaming laptop as your primary gaming device, then its when Ally may be an interesting choice.
Austin evans channel does not have the ROG ALLY video.
I think if your gonna make a windows gaming handheld...the screen should be 8 inches.. you gotta see what your going to type and read...specially on setup.
"It's not easy to upgrade the SSD on the steam deck."
Me with zero tech capabilities playing my upgraded steam deck that took about 15 minutes to upgrade the hardware and another 10 to image the SSD.
If it has Linux put a cell modem on it use a blue tooth headset rather have that then a new I phone have it automute when calls come in make a deal with a carrier for 2 year plans or whatever will help install base quickly
I only give myself a huge purchase once every decade or so. I splurged this year with a ps5 and a new car. I'll pick up one of these in 2033.
He try to sell bad device, next! I’ll wait for version 2 or 3. While I’m waiting going to pick up 64gb steam deck and upgrade SSD.
You can run cyberpunk on the steam deck. I have it on mine and runs fine
Meanwhile..here I am playing cyberpunk with mods enabled on the steam deck going whaaaaaa...
Ideal? Surely not.
Palatable? Yessir.
Did he just lie and say cyberpunk dont run on the deck when in fact it does ? But he claims he owns a steam deck ?
Matt I can easily get 30 fps on cyberpunk for steam deck. Not only me I seen many other people get playable fps too
Cyberpunk runs on Steam Deck and its pretty playable at 30-40fps on handheld
Getting it!! I get that there's a huge price difference between this and the entry level Steam deck but I'm happy to shell it out for windows 11. I'm travelling and to have access to office applications with a blue-tooth foldup keyboard with touch pad? This thing doubles as a laptop, I can play my Steam, Epic games, EA GOG, and Xbox library, has more or less comparable life and performance to more expensive laptops (at least in South Africa). Plus I can upgrade it to a full gaming PC system with external graphics cards when I'm home. I loved the Idea of the Steam Deck an God bless Gabe for making it. But This product is just right for me. Can't wait to drop a deuce and play Diablo IV at the same time!!
I think Steamdeck competitors like this will really take off once they figure out the same trick Valve managed to pull off - games still being playable in 10W mode. The lowest power mode of this ROG is still higher and so battery life is worse. You can turn it down even further, but games become entirely unplayable. Once they figure this out, it'll just be down to Microsoft to properly optimise Windows for handhelds. Or creat a custom off-shoot dedicated for handhelds - though I doubt they will go _that_ far. Oh and one other thing it _desperately_ needs is a touch pad like the Steamdeck. Navigating a mouse cursor using the joysticks is a nightmare at the best of times, as is the touchscreen without a stylus to help.
Saw a video I think Dave2d made on it. Its the custom AMD chip that steam deck has that's specifically designed to work from 1W-15W while these other handheld chips are modified laptop chips which are designed to draw much higher power so they become very inefficient at lower wattage.
steam deck on sale 350....2 tb ssd aliexpress 130...15 antiglare screen....20 bucks case..thats around 550 for a fully decked out steam deck with 1tb more storage than the highest end deck..also cyberpunk is deck verified it plays fine on deck...its default 30..but you can get it to solid 40
1 downside, the steam deck comes with a carrying case, the rog ally does not, thats kind of a let down to not include 1. No one is mentioning that in their "vs" videos
Tablet PCs, UMPC, Netbooks, 2 in 1's, Windows has had almost 20+ years to figure out the software of smaller screen devices, and it STILL hasnt gotten it right. And Asus from a support perspective given recent things with their software support from their own phones to the recent motherboard issues, for me does not inspire much confidence in the Ally. Not to mention as well, Hardware OEM's across the board have a notorious history of making terrible consumer facing software.
The Ally is great from a raw specs perspective. But the software implementation, and questionable long term software and hardware support is definitely a legitimate and valid concerrn. To those that do get it I hope you enjoy it, to those who dont or have concerns about it you are right in that opinion as well.
Are you saying you don't fiddling with the steam deck with dual booting on the deck
LOL I'm running Cyberpunk from the Epic Store on my Steam Deck.
I think putting Linux on the ally could save it, thanks to valve putting in the hard work to make Linux gaming great.
uhm steam deck stock settings on cyberpunk is high graphics 30 fps.... why do yous say it dont work?
Just picked up the Z1 Extreme edition. Software is honestly not an issue at all for me. Its definitely more bang for the buck than the steam deck.
I will wait in the future future till the make the gaming pc Handjeld with the best technology
Mrwhosetheboss compared the ROG ALLY and the Nintendo Switch and when he tested the batteries, the Switch was at 69% and the ROG ALLY was dead.
I was interested in getting a steam deck towards the end of the year so that I can play my backlog on the go, but the release of the Ally has gotten me to reconsider for sure. On one hand I appreciate the affordability and streamlined nature of the steamdeck os, but on the other hand the compatibility of windows and the significant amount of extra performance of the ally is really enticing. I would be interested in a windows device mainly so that I can run gamepass games localy, though the ability to put my switch or 3ds to sleep and pick the game right up later on is basicly a requirement for me nowadays.
I guess I`l wait to see if windows does indeed get that quick resume and the handheld mode, because that would convince my to go for the ally for sure
As someone that's owned a Steam Deck for over a year the one thing I'll say is I hope you don't plan to play any RTS or Strategy games, I'd honestly be way more interested in the Ally if they included Trackpads but for some reason they didn't. I don't know if you know anyone that has a Steam Deck but if you do I encourage you to try it out and load up some mouse heavy games I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. honestly it seems really silly because they basically excluded a huge swath of games by not having trackpads.
@@matthamende6359 no, I don`t onow anyone with a steam deck, nor do I plan on playing RTS games. I`m primarily hoping to play my backlog and emulate PS2 games, and maybe ps3 and xbox 360 if I can. I`m mainly interested in a device like this so that I can play my games in bed or while on vacarion, and my 2 main requirements are that I want to be able to play fh5 localy via the xbox app (preferably at 60 fps), and emulate gt4 with no lag. For the xbox thing, I know I would need to install windows on the steam deck, which I understand is doable but not an optimal experience, and at that point it might be worth it to fork over the extra cash and get the ally for it`s significantly better performance, even if in europe it costs close to twice as much as a base steam deck with a decently sized sd card.
I think I`m going to have to look at more reviews and performance comparisons between both devices, and give it a good long long think while I wait to see if the user experience gets improved on the ally, before I come to a final decision towards the end of the year
I hate track pads on laptop, always bring a mouse with me. I think you guys are just crazy. I have never met anyone that like track pad.
@@kuma-bw1we trackpads aren`t great on a laptop, and even less so for gaming, because of the unergonomic and unnatural placement and feel. I can see how, if treated more like a low profile thumbstick, or if used to do more swipe like movements with your thumb, the steam deck`s trackpads might actually be really nice to use, atleast on more stategy/puzzle style games, if not on 1st person shooters (I can`t deal with shooters on a controller for the life of me, so a well placed trackpad might not be the worst thing, in that situation).
The whole point is also to be handheld, and trying to use a mouse simply wouldn`t be doable
@@andreanastacio9548 are u trying to sell me that trackpad is better than touch screen? look at android and ios, how about get excellent touch screen support like mobile smartphone instead?
I just can not support trackpad, no matter which version.