@@WulffDen I have some free Steam Deck jank for you: Getting the virtual keyboard takes severl seconds for no good reason. Mouse controls in Desktop are radically different depending on Steam running in the background or not. Returning from desktop to game mode wile being docked causes a black screen that is fixed be disconnecting and recommending the official steam deck dock.
It works fine for me. But the issue is it doesn't unanimously work for everyone. Which makes it terrible since it's launcher is required to legally play it
EA will prevent you from playing EA games regardless of circumstances. I will never forget buying Crysis like 10 years ago on Origin and then trying to run it legitimately with a cool tech support bro on the line for like half an hour until he just apologized, laughed it off and sent me a link to a cracked executable. It was an awesome site, I've used it multiple times since, good guy.
Timestamps for those who want em: 00:00 - Intro 01:54 - Price 02:56 - Size/Build 03:38 - Screen 04:27 - y not buy stem dek? 05:21 - UI 07:17 - Michaelsoft Binbows 10:03 - XG Mobile External GPU 11:01 - Performance 12:14 - Battery woes 13:27 - More Windows nonsense 13:52 - Games that don't play on Deck 14:46 - Emulation 17:01 - Console-like experience on Windows? 18:26 - Final thoughts 19:16 - Bob stop yelling at us
Got it open box with a 516gb micro SD card for $600, and didn't even look like the box had ever been opened. My use case, as a parent who wants to spend more time with his son, has been a gamechanger. He has a wireless mechanical keyboard and mouse next to the dock on his nightstand so he can play on his TV at 90mhz, or pop it off, and bring it downstairs so we can spend some quality time on the living room tv or just playing in the same room. I can hop on the steamdeck and he brings his Ally down and we hang out a couple hours he normally would have spent in his room. Being a Windows device instead of SteamOS made all the difference in the world.
@@yangster5106bit of a late answer but the steam deck runs steam os, which is based off of Linux. Therefore you cannot run windows applications unless there's a Linux version available
Sorry, sort of an incomplete answer, steam deck os also has a kind of layer on top of Linux that it runs that's able to translate Windows code into something more generic and portable so it can run on Linux. The problem is that this kind of adds in a few steps and it can't fill in all the "gaps" so to speak, so not every game will run this way
Why no mention of freesync/vrr? I feel like its a pretty killer feature for these low end gaming pcs. Dont have to perfectly optimize the game to get that solid 40 or 50 or 60 fps, or whatever you decide. Can get it around whatever you are comfortable with and then let the display handle any dips. Solid review though!
Because a lot of the reviews are done my tech channels with a higher rate of tech savvy people. Not every channel will focus on the same stuff. Not every channel targets the same audience.
Yeah when I was a kid and single I had all the time to setup anything as long as it can be done. Now with a lot less time I don’t need stuff totally streamlined but my patience and time is a lot shorter.
Because the setup isn't really that difficult for for example me. I work in IT so even if not everything goes quite as it is supposed to it's still quite trivial. It's probably going to be a lot more difficult for someone that doesn't constantly have to deal with fixing IT issues. That's why different channels target different audiences, most tech channels have a focus on tech savy people.
Tbf Wolf didn't mention low power draw (TDP) gaming (so for indies, emulation and pre-2014 AAA) performance is trash just like every PC gaming handheld, except... the Deck. You have to really increase the power envelope on the Ally, and therefore battery draw. That's huge, because what that translates to is a max battery life of 3.5-4h whereas the Deck is over 7h. Also, I'd love to see how instant suspend/resume works because again, that's kinda huge in a handheld. Referring to Windows sleep feature, some have said it doesn't work for games, whereas others have said it works on some games, and yet others have said it works on the same games as the Deck.
😂😂😂 I thought the exact same thing as soon as I heard him say that. "This is a windows handheld, but, keep in mind, if you use windows on it, it will void your warranty." -Asus
Dumbass drama that nobody cares about. I couldnt care less about some random motherboard issues. Asus has been making quality products for more than 20 years. I trust them
That's why at this point, I'm not afraid anymore to go with one of these other Chinese companies like AYANEO or AOKZOE. You'll get horror stories about support from every brand.
Best thing about this is that it’s giving SteamDeck competition which is gonna be great for them to improve their own hardware still saving up to get my SteamDeck! 😌
@Maria Flores gonna guess Valve isn't scared of their competitions because they know their playerbase/customers will be loyal to Valve. Or maybe the are happy that there is competition and they can see what the competition is doing (good/bad) and take that as a learning lesson for them to make improvements for themselves.
@@ryuno2097 Valve isn't afraid because they have fuck-you levels of cash that lets them sell all of their hardware at a huge loss and still be financially stable. That's literally the only reason the Steam Deck is able to undercut all of its competition. whether or not that's sustainable in the long-term is up in the air.
@@warbossgegguz679 it's more that they can have the steam deck at a low price for the same reason consoles are so cheap, the razor and blades model, they lose money on the "console" but gain it back from the games
So true that's the one area that keeps me from upgrading tbh. There are so many use cases for them I think it's a really under appreciated feature. It's great for emulator hot keys and certain games like dragon age I was able to map a number pad to the track pad which makes it pretty playable. On gta 4 I was able to make a weapon wheel with the track pads.
That was one of the big sellers for me as I liked the Steam Controller. But something about the Steam Deck pads seemed off and I dont like using them. I think its because the Steam Deck itself is too big.
@@TylerMBuller12 dang this is was also thinking on guildwars 2 and other mmorpg in steam, because it use alot of hotkeys to function and trackpad is a big help for me, i can use a trackpad for inventories and other settings or even quest logs and missions, deck is something different and a few extra fps performance will not convince me upgrade., since i have main pc my only purpose to deck is my portability to play gw2 and ff14 even im away in my pc.. other than that will play AAA in may main with Ultra preset and high res for better gaming experience
@@rommelchristophermanicad4389 how does ffxiv Performs on steam deck? Or how is the Overall experience? Going to work away from home soon and thinking about getting one.
I am perfectly happy with my Steam Deck, but pretty happy to see some competition with different features. I don't like ASUS' disingenuous marketing, but the device looks pretty decent. I'm sticking with the Deck, since I have been able to get everything I want out of it - games I wouldn't play otherwise, emulation, 3rd party launchers after tinkering, and have plenty of my Steam backlog to catch up on! I prefer to play Destiny 2 on my main PC with mouse/keyboard, and no Game Pass, so my use case isn't begging for the Ally right now.
With the stream deck track pads, i can play project zomboid on a handheld. This is what other companies are not getting. Valve knows that the trackpads are the closest substitute for a mouse. Also, Playing with the trackpad on fps games coming from a mouse and keyboard is an easy adjustment. The trackpads is just a beast of a feature as you can set a ton of shortcuts with it. Plus!!!! We have a 4 grip buttons while others are just 2
@@lankylemon8555 I have xbox series s for my main gaming system and retroid pocket 3 plus for handheld. Both of them are budget and great for the price
@@drunkhusband6257 hardware is indeed important and that includes input, without any alternative to the deck's trackpads present on the Ally i haven't even considered the upgrade
@@drunkhusband6257 This mentality is why the Ally is gonna be the Game Gear of handheld PCs. On paper it all looks good, but while it has great specs it's failing at being what it's designed to be. An on the go device.
Yeah but steam deck been out longer, it had massive issues at launch but steam kept the updates coming and fans helped out alot too. If ROG updates the software for this and game updates support this product it’ll beat out the steam deck in the 10 watt mode.
I think the hardware is awesome and creates the potential. The software and user interface experience just needs to catch up. I’m very confident it will via updates.
Hopefully the community gets a SteamOS image working for the Ally. For a handheld gaming PC, Windows just won't be a good experience no matter how hard manufacturers try to make it work. Yea there will be issues with anti-cheat (I'm a bit biased anyway because I don't care for multiplayer games), but a SteamOS image optimized for the Ally will be a much better experience.
In Europe: Steam Deck 512GB Comparison: Price difference US: +50$ ✅ Price difference EU: +120€🤯 (130$) Of course the price-performance ratio is still good but €799 is €799. SD 512GB 679€ vs ROG Ally 799€
I understand why people have been comparing this to top priced Steamdeck, but you could upgrade storage on Steamdeck to match the top spec for a lot cheaper
I upgraded my Asus ALLY ROG from default 512GB to 2TB using a $180 WD 2TB 2230 SSD from Amazon. Not sure where you're getting this "for a lot cheaper" from... 🤔🤔
@@UptownNYC base Steamdeck is 64GB, $400. To upgrade to a 512GB steam deck, you could either buy the top spec at $650 (similar price to ROG ally) or buy a $60 512GB 2230 SSD. So now comparing a $460 Steam deck to an ROG ally has less to do with storage and more about the spec differences mentioned in the video
Something to keep in mind about the price difference is the location. The Ally vs Deck is 700$ vs 650$ making it more appealing in America, but here in Portugal for example (and i assume most of Europe is similar) it's actually 800€ vs 680€, so 120€ difference instead of 50$. Still good for the price, but a harder sell, even more so if you consider we can get the 64gb Deck and swap the ssd for a 512gb one for 480€ (420€ + 60€), making it a 320€. At that point i'm not sure if the Ally really is worth 60~70% more.
@@UnderOurOath Cost me $1,006 here in Ontario Canada. I bought the 256 GB Steam Deck when it first launched and it cost me around $700. Yeah, there is more tech in the Ally, but the 1080p screen is useless, same with the 120hz refresh rate. I have to drop most AAA games that came out in the last 5 years to 720p and low to maybe, possibly get 60hz. Granted Asus ruined the performance with the latest bios update, but until they fix it I have officially paid more for less with the Ally.
@@guerillatactix3834 Yeah I do actually feel the same way about it, I paid €660 for it, but right now, my steam deck fairs better in a lot of ways, I hope that Asus fixes this issues fast..
If it had touchpads, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, but without them I don't think I can justify the price because 9 times out of 10 I'd be grabbing the Steam Deck. We just started playing Necesse and man are the touchpads useful in that game which also integrates them perfectly with native Steam Input. Other games like Dwarf Fortress would be basically impossible. And yeah I could play graphically demanding games on the Ally but those also tend to benefit a lot from touchpads which are simply more accurate than analog sticks in most cases and also provide ample room for hotkeys
@@chumlee9562You're the one coping. The ally is only slightly more powerful with awful battery life for way more money. And the original comment is right, not having touchpads is a massive drawback
120hz is very useful, because instead of locking at say 40hz for 40fps you can keep it at 120hz. A single frame drop at 40hz is really jarring and really long (25ms), whilst that same frame drop at 120hz is only 8ms long
I think absolute price point is most important for people as it doesn't replace an actual desktop PC. And you can't beat the steam deck in that regard (I don't have one). Also, it feels like we entered the Car Telephone era of handheld PCs, still these just appear super cranky and primitive. In a few years I hope we're talking about them more like smart phones.
I hope all who are purchasing the ROG will be pleased with its performance. My self will be sticking with my SD because the community has been a pleasure to learn from.
Your not supposed to buy every new thing every year. Guess what next year another handheld will come on. It's like the cellphone trap. If you bought the deck you got at least 3+ years if your in to newest high end games. But indies will play forever. My next handheld may be in 2025 or later. The tech is advancing so fast for handhelds.
@@NatsumeKonno Honestly I hope Steam releases a Steam Deck 2. I'd rather upgrade to a better version of the Steam Deck in like 4 years rather than worrying about what other company has some new handheld to try.
I sold my SD and used a promo code for 10% off from having a Best Buy Card and then got 5% back in gift cards. That has me at about a $150 dollar difference, so for that I felt like it was worth it
@@thequeen901 most likely they will but not for a very long time. To most people 10 years is the normal cycle now. To me I think they just wanted to push a handheld to promote there new steamos. Even on windows the gaming mode UI is there now. No matter what handheld you buy steam will always make money. Thats why you don't see valve making games anymore.
@@NatsumeKonno Their last games they made were for VR. But I think they work on with many studios on the Steam store to help them with problems and Steam has been worked on and continuously has been improved. Counter Strike 2 is coming out this year! Counter Strike is one of the biggest FPS shooters to date without major problems that COD suffers from.
Important to note that most (likely all) of the games that 'don't work' on the Steam Deck, actually do - The problem is the anti-cheat not whitelisting the Steam Deck SKU, possibly due to it running Linux. Many games with anti-cheat have either added support or whitelisted the Deck, and run great. Those that do not are tied to corporate decisions, not hardware or even OS limitations. As an example, Destiny 2 runs perfectly on the Deck, until the the AC kicks/bans the player. This was found some time ago when the AC didn't have an immediate check on boot-up which it does now/last I checked.
It's a really good device and I bought an Asus ROG ally for my brother, he really loved it. One of the only issues he had was the grip and it's a bit more complicated. But other then that it's a really good device, I still prefer the steam deck but I'm happy that there's competition for the steam deck. I don't regret buying the ROG ally for my brother.
One of the biggest aspects of a handheld pc/console was skipped, the fact that you can turn off and resume the Deck during games way better than any windows pc handheld can.
I don't understand the knock on Windows 11 lol. You literally have the most customizability and the best compatibility with it. 11 is also fine in touchscreen mode as of late.
I'm a trucker and this thing is pretty much exactly what I want. I don't like gaming on laptop, so this with an EGPU is perfect. I could use it in the terminal standalone, then when I get back to my truck I can dick it to the EGPU,use it on my monitor and have a full PC experience
Man i'm a college student doing inbetween jobs from time to time, the Steam Deck is a blessing to me not only i am able to play most games i missed years ago and also newer games. Plus i also dualboot with Windows 10 so now i use it as a weird looking laptop. Surely the other portable pcs are more powerful than the Deck, but this one is more than enough for me. Let's not forget the touchpads are a gamechanger.
I know it probably doesn't make much sense...but I really want to put Steam OS on the ROG Ally. It would use less memory and battery, be easier to navigate and feel cleaner overall. And it would even be quieter too. I can't wait for the software to be available to the public.
@@YakultLitro Why would ASUS need to make the drivers? The Ally has an AMD APU, similar to the Steam Deck's AMD APU. AMD already has Linux drivers for their hardware. Linux should work just fine on the Ally.
@@HealyHQ You need drivers for the peripherals. The controller, audio, WiFi/Bluetooth, display adjustment, etc. These should be common parts and already fully supported by the latest Linux kernel but you never know for sure until you get everything working. I own a couple laptops where the stupid trackpad is not even natively supported by Windows or Linux. I had to use an external mouse when reinstalling the OS and setting it up.
@@HealyHQ sure you got drivers for main components, but the controllers etc.. you cant expect it to work 100% on linux without a proper driver. prime example of this would be the side buttons. you can't expect it to work just like the steamdeck side buttons where it opens the quick access menu and steam options. Same reason why Valve created drivers of SD for windows, to make sure every buttons work and all of its connectivity peripherals.
Asus is watching all these reviews and I hope they are getting all good new ideas and projects they are thinking to roll out new updates and content for the ROG Ally -- it's only going to get better and better
I love touchpads at Steam Deck and possibility to set controls in my way. For example, at rpg games I am using left touchpad as mulni button for my I, J, U or M what really rejects me of the most RPG like games at switch. Or circle menu for weapons at Borderlands or The Outer World. Or that back buttons which made for me fighting in Hogwarts Legacy less annoying. No performance can replace it. It's the best gamepad ever made and I often prefer it than mouse and keyboard
I'm just hoping that ASUS will do continual support and updates for the ROG Ally. I'll probably end up picking up one later on after it gets a few updates just to have an extra handheld to play around with.
alot of time they i have to say what asus or anything else tells them to say just to make there stuff look good but i have a to say this is a shitty system/pc mini
Since i use the steam deck.. i only want my sticks like that! When i first saw the deck i was really skeptical! But now I can’t imagine a controller stick lay out on a handheld. Also the windows thing is something i dont care about.. the deck does a great job making stuff compatible. My deck is perfect for the games i play on it! Yes a better screen would be great.. but i can live with it. i also believe the market for devices you use longer than a year should get bigger! We live in a world where we buy stuff and a year later its old news and it needs to be newer newer newest.
This video may be old, but I just picked up my ally a few days ago and I’m in love with it. for what you get at the price range it’s at I don’t think you can even get a comparable laptop for the same amount
This is by far the most honest and detailed review I’ve ever seen on not only the ally but any handheld. Bro you rock. I subscribed for this. I’m Ssooo glad RUclips suggested this today on my home page. You have my full support if this is the content and quality and format I can see in the future. I’ll also browse the rest of your other videos and watch some. I really like your video style and the honesty !!! Honesty for me IS EVERYTHING! you seem to be a realist and very clear with everything. I really really appreciate it man ! ❤
When you tried performance, you didn't indicate what profile you were using. There are 3 profiles: Silent, Performance, and Turbo. The Ally should be way more powerful than the Steam Deck because of the specs.
It turns out it isn't as much higher as the raw specs would lead you to believe. It is a more powerful handheld, with a competitive price when it comes to performance, but Valve worked to have a custom APU and built the OS basically from the ground up. At some of the lower power consumption levels, the steam deck even beats out the ally.
After three months of learning to code I've realized how difficult it is to write efficient code. And steam really optimized so many things in the steam deck.
@@owusuphilipable Dude, everything I said was factual. I think the Ally is amazing, price included. It is a FACT that ROG is using AMD APUs (Z1 and Z1 Extreme) that's meant for handhelds, and not one made specifically for the Ally (Like Aerith). It is a FACT that windows tends to have more overhead when compared to Linux in basically every scenario unless you go in and strip it down. Reviews show that the performance isn't the 2X that Asus promise, that's not an opinion. You also have to take into consideration that the resolution is greater, meaning that in general games would either look worse if you play them at 720 given it's not its native resolution, or take up more resources if you run it at native. Taking all of that into consideration: the ROG ALLY still seems to be a great addition to the handheld gaming market.
@@owusuphilipable there has been a lot of benchmarks proving that what he's saying is true. Also something to keep in mind the ally has twice the amount of cores than the same deck does. You really think that's not going to use more power?
To me I still lean toward the steam deck. Software support and usability > specs for me. Some big features missing from the Ally like no wake games from sleep state is a dealbreaker for handheld. I also trust Valves long term support and development for Steam deck over Asus and Microsoft's. Atm I feel like owning an Ally is going to be a constant jank fest, having to find work arounds, Windows updates breaking things, lack of support from Asus in long term.
@@xMRxLAMAx Valves dev team released 100 updates in the first year alone for steamdeck, with constant improvements and bug fixes. The difference between now and release is huge. They can do that because their revenue comes from the game store not the hardware, they are incentivised to keep people engaged on their platform. In contrast, Asus makes all of its money on the hardware, and past the point of you buying the device has no incentive to improve on or develop anything. "Ultra lol" lol
I just sold away my steam deck not even a month, I had a hard time on this thing, I bought this steam deck and I thought I'm happy and so excited to play my kofIV, but not what I expected. The steam deck actually can't handle even a fighting games, FPS keeps dropping, seriously lacking all the way even I low down the resolution graphics all stuff, at the end I give up and play on my gaming laptop. I bought the Asus Rog ally on the next day and it was surprised me honestly, I installed my kofIV , it's run smoothly on 60fps, 720 resolution, that's not necessarily go all the way to 1080 just on 7 inch screen, the colour the graphics it was damn cool and it's really worth it, what you pay and what you get guys. Think before you buy either steam deck or the Rog ally, if you plan not to play AAA games or high graphics games,then steam deck is great, but if you intend to play high resolution or high FPS games, you won't go wrong on Rog Ally, trust me.
Asus - Improve software? Sure.... I really wish all those Alley users the best, but my next purchase is the Steam Deck and not the Alley. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the Alley, but the Steam Deck is just my choice for several reasons: SteamOS, so no vendor lock-in but open source. Huge community, so problems are tackled soon. Constant software improvements by Valve/Steam, so the device is always up-to-date. And the price does help a lot. I already have a fast 512Gb 30 mm SSD laying around, so for me the Steam Deck is €419. As the ROG Alley is almost €400 more expensive (almost double the price of the Steam Deck) it's not very attractive to buy one, even if it has better hardware specs. I rather add that €400 to the buy of my next GPU. Of course someone else can have a different view, but for me buying a Steam Deck is simply the best option...
The downgrades to touch screen use on Windows 11 compared to Windows 10 are insane. At the same time though, you can do WiFi setup in Steam Big Picture Mode which is kinda funny.
My big issue is also its biggest advantage: It runs Windows. It'll have better game compatibility, but also means it's subject to Microsoft bloat. So this could easily end up running worse over time thanks to OS updates.
Also that compatibility difference is getting tinier and tinier over time. Still, Windows probably will keep its advantage, but if 90-95% games run on Steamdeck, then it's already great news. From my personal experience, as a Linux Mint user and Steam gamer, all of my most played games run smoothly, and about 85% of my library works fine, so it's not that far from good gaming experience on non-Windows computers.
@@RooiGevaar19 You make it sound like comparability is 95%. It's still A WAYS to go. Comparability on Windows is km and km ahead of Steam Deck, and I own a Deck and a GPD. I can play significantly more things on my GPD than my Deck with better specks, but the ease of use with my Deck is what makes me enjoy it. It's also better value for the dollar one spends on it.
You know what, this would be a beast if only they partnered up with valve.. Valve wanted other manufacturers to use their SteamOS.. This specs + steamOS will be awesome.
Other Windows handhelds existed before the Steam Deck came out, but I got the SD because of the price point and SteamOS. Oh and the fact that they made it so easy to fix and maintain. Like how cool is it that you can buy the base model for $400 and then upgrade the storage and controls for not that much more time/money?
I'd be careful with the upgrades. There's been a rash of Sabrent and WD 2230s that have been failing in the Deck on Reddit. Some have even fried the motherboard and killed the Deck too. While I'm not sure the ROG Ally is upgrade friendly either, please remember you own your risk. Valve will not fix it if you upgraded drive fries it.
I bought the 512 and I love mine I spent 725.00 I got the highest model and that beautiful case was legit! 700 and you get no case!? 🤣🤣🤣 I hate windows so for me the steam deck is king I have my Xbox game pass and all the games I love are emulators. I have quite a few pc games I love them too. I saw reports the rog ally overheated for a few testers so I will probably wait until maybe Christmas because to be honest I game on my ps5 and I have remote play setup through my steamdeck so I don’t bother my wife. I have not regretted my purchase and regardless of how fast the rog ally is I’m just not going to buy the launch version. Also what if this gets a bios update that bricks it? Asus isn’t going to replace it. Valve goes above and beyond for their customers.
@@progxdt This is true. But they won't fix it anyways at this point because I'm out of warranty. So I'm just happy that I can buy replacement parts and upgrades in the first place. If everything dies and there's nothing I can do $400 isn't going to hurt nearly as much as $700+ like the windows handhelds available.
Cancelled my preorder today as for some reason my gut tells me to wait to see how this goes once its released.even the little thing like the review copies were all open and ready set up gives me a bad feeling....why do that unless they know it would be a negative in reviews if they didnt.
I'm probably a small section of gamers when it comes to this, but I'm genuinely curious, does it have Gyro like the Steam Deck? And can you map it to any FPS game, or any game that could use it like the steam deck? If it can be mapped outside of 'Steam Deck Input', and gyro can be used in other launchers/natively that could be insanely cool.
@@InvalidUser_ That's pretty close to a deal breaker for me. It not having the trackpads is MY deal breaker, but not having gyro just edged it out of consideration.
I heard it has gyro it's just not supported in the review units software just yet, so who knows if it will be there by launch. People also forget you can add non-steam games to steam and use steam input like that. That's a very useful feature for playing non-steam games on the deck and will probably work fine on the ally
Love my steamdeck but it wont let me play COD with the boys at a better resolution. Got a kid now and this thing just solved my problem with 1080p 60fps... Lets gooooo
I feel like all that power is wasted on it, especially since it has the same battery as the Deck. It's no doubt impressive hardware, but unless you want to play connected to a charger the entire time it would seem a bit beside the point of being handheld. Now, I could see this thing being a great laptop replacement with a decent dock. And i feel like heat and noise would get annoying if you want to get all those high settings
while the rog ally is better on paper, the steam deck just has a proper console experience. the software is far more polished, the community support is there for those who want it, and the company has an excellent track record of supporting the product through updates.
I kinda wish it traded the 120hz screen for better buttons. Then, if there's a 120hz version, I'd think that one would come with better specs to fascilitate it. This seems like an odd flaw on an otherwise great competitor, how did they manage to keep the price this low? Personally, I think I'm still leaning towards Steam Deck by quite a bit, especially because you COULD put windows on it if you end up wanting a game not on steam after all. (Well, I'd assume there's still differences, if the Ally turns out more versatile even with that taken into account, that can be a strong benefit over the Steam Deck besides x or y being more convenient)
Asus is Chinese. Most tech companies utilize sweatshops but Chinese companies can outcompete sweatshops by using concentration camp slave labor. Slaves are cheaper than minimum wage workers.
Glad more players are entering the space and hope they sell enough to keep it going and not bail. Will stick with the Steam deck for another year or so but want to see what comes out. Want a seamless handheld to dock+eGPU experience, using an eGPU docking bay where we provide our own gpu that is upgradeable, and not a $1500 converted laptop gpu or whatever. I still play a lot of Switch because of the OLED and easy handheld/dock experience.
I think the biggest thing that holds me back from the Ally or even the Steam Deck is the fact that they advertise portability but run out of battery so fast. I kinda fell into that trap with gaming laptops, I had gotten a Razer blade and was astonished at how much power it packed but I couldn’t use it for most other things a laptop would work for. If I wanted to take it to a day of classes, I always had to lug the massive charger with me all the time. For now, these devices seem more like proof of concepts rather than true portable windows gaming. For now I’m gonna stick to my Switch where I can have a 5 hour long session of Tears of the Kingdom without it dying on me, with my heavier games being saved for my desk PC
its like a gaming laptop, but smaller and handhelds .. most gaming laptop users play while plug in. so its seems the same as the all handhelds out there, the key factor of it is you play with your palm
That’s because Switch uses smart phone processors (ARM chips) as opposed to PC processors (x86) so your Switch will typically last as long as a modern mobile device because technically it’s no different from a cellphone as far as the internals. These companies are trying to make portable PCs which is always going to be an issue because we haven’t yet gotten to the point where we can have a portable x86 device that doesn’t run out of battery significantly quicker than ARM devices.
I loved The Verge's particular note that the Steam Deck can play *more* games on the basis of the controls. And that's really the important part. Touchpads and gyro controls are more important than you think, so even though Windows 11 opens the doors to a lot more titles thanks to anti-cheat support, it hobbles your freedom and flexibility to play PC-specific titles. Sure, the Deck isn't the best option for an RTS, but it'll be a damn sight better to play on Deck than on Ally. There's also the importance of endurance. Reviewers testing light indie titles are finding the Ally still sucks back 15ish watts due to Windows overhead, playing games like Stardew Valley. That's hilarious and once again says that Windows is NOT a good choice for a handheld right now.
Yeah I think it's a very specific kind of gamer who would have an issue with game compatibility. The kind who plays multiplayer games with their PC gamer friends and would feel excluded if they can't play the same games as everyone else. If you treat it more like a console, where you find games compatible with your device rather than the other way around, there won't be an issue. There are so many games that work great on Steam.
I rather stick a pen in my eye then use the touch pads on the steam deck. They are pure garbage. The asus has gyro hardware but does not have the software for it yet.
As silly as a reason to check this out and maybe sell my Steam Deck as it is, I'm curious what the experience booting up OBS and using a remote app to start/stop recording is. I basically use my Odin to record emulators for videos and love it for that but the idea of squashing my use case for an Odin with a Steam Deck together? Sure, why not lol. I'd probably pay for most of it by selling both of those devices anyway.
I love the honest review. Someone who isn’t absorbed by SteamOS. I own a GPD Win4 and a Steam deck. Playing COD isn’t possibly on the Steam Deck unless you install windows but then it becomes difficult to use. I enjoy how big picture mode, its well optimized but if I want to play my games not on steam I have to find different ways of loading them like litrus. It’s not as convenient.
@@LiteraryCurtastrophe for ease of use it’s awesome. Having a keyboard and mouse are game changers. The down side is the device gets really warm at high TDP.
Valve makes their profits by selling games on the deck, that’s just like every other console, but asus doesn’t have that so they are for sure going to release newer versions faster (if it sells enough) just like they do on their other products. Will they keep the updates for this Ally or will they just forget it?
If the Ally does well they will only do the bare minimum related to support, if it sucks then it's safe to say that it will be dead in less than 1 year
@@bionic-beaver If device (sales) do not meets higher management expectations, support will last until most free Game Pass expire or how much ASUS and Microsoft contractually involved make it Win11+Game Pass box (handheld).
I constantly hear two things. 1. It has horrible battery life 2. The face buttons stick If this device is gonna have QC issues, it's not ready to release yet. This close to the release window with these kinds of issues in the hands of multiple people doesn't inspire a heck of a lot of confidence. I currently have one of these on preorder, but I am heavily considering cancelling it.
*Steam* *Deck* *vs.* *ROG* *Ally* It comes down to preferences and what you want from a handheld. Hence, why it's not a cut and dry answer. I feel Deck is more PlayStation and ROG Ally is more Xbox since it's Microsoft Windows. ETA prefers Ally. He has more of a PC gamer background. Russ (RGC) prefers Deck. He's like myself. He has more of a console background. I like Russ pointing out the inferior suspend/sleep feature on the ROG. That's important to me. I think which is better really doesn't matter. Many of us drive different cars. You might drive a sedan, coupe, hatchback, SUV, truck, van, etc. Maybe you prefer a motorcycle. Or some don't drive and use public transportation. That's the same here. What if I prefer saving $200 and getting the Deck? Am I making a wrong decision because I do not need the most powerful handheld? I'm already happy with Vita and Switch graphics! I think both of these handhelds are pretty cool. They both do have crappy battery life and some might be better off getting a real gaming laptop. Expect 90-100 minutes of gameplay. If I had to pick one, it's easily the Steam Deck even with its inferior specs. I just trust Valve more than Asus. Their ecosystem and online community support is better. Will probably have better accessories since the installed base is higher. Don't have the greatest history with Asus or Windows or two of them together. I will never forget that Asus Transformer tablet. I had the lid when closed set to shutdown because if I didn't, battery life would die overnight in standby from a 100% charge. Then it happened again a year later on my Zenfone Go. I never looked at Asus ever again after that. Reliability and trust are important. I've seen reviews for the ROG Ally and they're not the highest scores. The Verge gave it 5/10. Another gave it a 6/10. Another gave it 4/5 stars. Some are saying it's not really the Steam Deck killer or whatever. Hence, I had a feeling it's the latest "flavor of the week". I doubt a Steam Deck killer will ever exist unless they match that $399 price tag. In 1 to 2 years, there will be another more powerful PC handheld than this Ally. That's how quickly PC gaming improves. I'm just waiting for the next Switch. Switch 2? Super Switch Entertainment System (SSES)? Switch Ultra 64? Switch U? Whatever the hell they'll call it. I do prefer the simpler pick up and play. No fuss about it. No jumping through hoops. And I'm not the biggest Nintendo fanboy at all. Don't play Pokémon, Smash Bros, Metroid, or even much Zelda. I play Super Mario games and Mario Kart games, that's really it. I prefer the Japanese-style games. Notice Mario and Solid Snake are American characters written by Japanese men? I find that cool seeing an American character from a Japanese man's perspective. My childhood was mostly shaped by Japanese developers like Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Square, Namco, Capcom, Konami, etc. Before gaming became more Westernized by the 2000s with PCs and Xboxes. Before all the first-person shooters that flooded the market. So I'll always prefer a Japanese company for my gaming needs even if that company from Kyoto can act like real, evil, corporate jackasses. Hurry up with that next Switch, Nintendo! On par to a PS4? Bring it! I hope we'll get over 5-hours battery life like we're getting with the Switch OLED instead of 1.5 we're mostly getting with the Deck and Ally for AAA titles. Folks should go watch that *Mrwhosetheboss* video between ROG Ally and Switch OLED. Arun gives a great perspective on the type of gaming preference you want from a handheld. I prefer that console-style of over half a decade over the more complicated and fast-evolving nature from a PC.
You bring up some great points. I liked the PlayStation / console vs. Xbox / PC analogy. I also love Japanese games (especially JRPGs) and can't stand FPS games. I find Japanese games set in fantasy genre environments (based in medieval settings with mythological themes) fascinating, specifically because they're filtered through a Japanese lens. Although I'm somewhere in the middle of the PC versus console spectrum, as my family were early adopters for Windows PCs, and I got my first one in 1992. Playing Blackthorne, Ultima 7, Prince of Persia and Warcraft was an awesome experience back in the day. I have been fascinated with the idea of handheld PCs ever since I first read about that SmachZ and Alienware's prototype called the UFO. I almost talked myself into backing the SmachZ on their crowdfunding scam. For some reason though, I dont feel a need to get this Ally, and I don't have much enthusiasm for it. I've got an ASUS ROG gaming laptop, and I guess that's probably the reason why. I can play PC games and use all the windows apps I need already, whether I'm sitting in bed or on the couch.
I prefer to gaming on my PC. But, if I decide to get one these, I would go for the steam deck. I hope Asus fixes their sticky buttons as it seems to be a common issue with other reviews
After having days after launch, after 2 months of having it. I got rid of the fluff of not needed software, replaced Armory crate with playnite and optimized the battery life with manual mode,auto tdp and 720p; I got it to the point where the battery life is very close to the steam deck. I love this more than the steam deck due to windows because of mods for my VN, Elden RIng and a few others. It will take a min to setup but you can customize it the way you want in the long run. If you like tinkering get the ALLY if you dont get the steam deck. Both are good options.
I think I'm going to get this with the external GPU. Having the same device to game on the go and at my desk is just worth it. I've got 3 kids and everytime I sit down at my desktop to play I've got 40mins of updates and sometimes the cloud saves need a bit of massaging to get going.
I ended up pre-ordering the Ally but one thing I am actually worried about it the OS. Using windows is a plus for me, but I am hoping the launcher gets some updates from what we have seen. Also, the guality. If you order this and you get it from best buy it might be worth forking over for the best buy warranty. I know I did.
My main concern at this point is the fact it's from Asus. Not counting their recent mobo issue, they have a spotty history with ongoing support and Q/C. I'm a long-term Asus user with PC parts and laptops and had no major issues personally but have heard stories. I really want this (and preordered) but I have a strong feeling this will stop getting Asus support quickly. Either because the Ally 2 will come out in 2024/5 or they just give up on handhelds altogether. Hopefully, they treat this like a console and just push updates for 3-4 years before making a new device. But even if the support is gone, I don't own a Steam deck yet so getting this will give me longer life with new games. And, when it does start slowing down, hopefully, the Steam deck 2 is out and I can switch over. My PC library is spread across all the main launchers so I really want a Windows handheld - before the Ally announcement I was going to get a Steam deck, 1 tb SSD, and wins a license to dual boot. So price-wise it would be almost comparable to just getting the Ally but with less power.
There was also bad stories about Steam Machines and controllers, but in the end it didn’t matter. This melodrama with Asus is getting out of hand. The worry is concerning some of Asus’s past products, this is a new type of product and the reviews for it are mainly positive. Windows is the main issue but also is the main reason we can play most if any game.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, Valve makes their profits by selling games on the deck, that’s just like every other console, but asus doesn’t have that so they are for sure going to release newer versions faster (if it sells enough) just like they do on their other products
@@rezarn2103 so let's hope it sells enough for continued support but not too well that Asus pushes the Ally 2 next year lol I think if they do push an upgrade in under 2 years, they might get new users but they will probably lose or piss off their existing ones. Steam has basically confirmed they won't release a major hardware update soon so people can safely buy decks anytime.
Sorry the fact that its a windows pc is the main reason i wanted this Im moving into an RV and the low wattage and the fact that I can move around with my pc makes a great option to me.
@@technicallyme You said you wonder how launch box would run without windows shell. Launchbox is also the name of a program. It's a front end which you could argue, that so is armory Crate, I get what you mean now though
Lol literally… I think asus paid him to do the review… he also said destiny 2, fortnite, and cod wasn’t on the deck when i played all of them already through windows 10 pro off of an sd card at that 😳🤦♂️
Honestly, when the time comes, I think im still just gonna go with the steam deck cheaper price. It's upgradeable in a few areas and easy to take apart. Not to mention even though its not on windows it does run on linux which is turning out to be actually super excellent with people making all kinds of crap for it and they are working on making games more optimized for linux/the steam deck anyway so there just isn't enough incentive for me to spend all that money on something that isn't that much better overall.
Here, in France, the Deck is 419€/679€ and the Ally is 799€. Not really comparable for games on a budget, even more if you can swap the SSD by yourself (and the SD can also run windows)
I don't doubt you. For me it'd defeat the whole point. I mostly play my Deck at home during breaks or before bed. If I want to spend the effort to boot into something as inconvenient as Windows, I can just use my desktop PC. And yeah that makes the Ally pointless for me.
@@maxiynacho I played gta v and fortnite mortal kombat and destiny blacks ops 2 on windows cause I have a lot free games with epic games it’s better tbh u need get software for the controller and u can get software Lower screen to 40hz to save battery 120 ghz I don’t is gonna be worth it cause handle aren’t even gonna hit fps bench marks pass 60 but that’s ok
I bought one 3 days ago.. My take ... You need a usb dock to set up and add games in desktop mode.. Like a windows device it will take time to setup.. Once you have it setup up its AWESOME.. Bought mine Saturday morning and wasnt really gaming on it till Sunday evening.. Sat night i was bummed i spent all day installing games and doing updates without playing.. Sunday arvo i was playing Tekken 7.. By Monday i had Steam, Epic, EA, XBOX, Emu Station running sweet. .I can totally see people looking for a console giving up...This is a handheld gaming PC. The desktop vs gamepad control switch isnt well explained but is CRUCIAL to understand in getting ish running right... Pro Tip; When setting up you will need desktop mode.. When you launch a game make sure its in gamepad mode...
Is this also fine using it PC like, like using Discord, plugging in an USB Micro like the Rode and game on it? Well, assuming having a good USB dock. I'd rather have the ROG over buying a Graphics card for like 400-600.
An external battery pack, like, a good one, one tha would extend the mobile usability of the device for a good amount of time, would be a better accessory than that ridiculous expensive external gpu.
I'm one of the few folks who owns more games on GoG than on Steam and plays more on Xbox app due to Game Pass than on Steam, so this could be the pc handhled I've been waiting for. I was dissapointed by that CLD screen from Steam Deck and to see a full 1080p oled screen aside from the Switch is mindblowing. I'm a little worried about battery life and the UI silliness of using Windows 11. I wonder if there's a way to build an UI for it like maybe GoG Galaxy can have a patch for that since that can open up every other game from a different platform...
I just cancelled my preorder for the ROG Ally. It seems like a great device, but ASUS went wrong with a 40wh battery, especially on Windows. The Steam Deck also has a 40wh battery, but two things make it more efficient at making that battery last longer, and that's the fact that it runs Linux, which uses a lot less background operations compared to Windows, and the fact that it runs games with better performance at lower heat levels. Getting but a single hour of gameplay on a triple A game tells me that the ROG Ally just isn't there yet, and battery life is half the battle with any handheld. Valve really shock up this industry with a $400 console that has been wiping the floor with its competitors faces at low wattages.
It costs 900$ here, so i will wait for one from Lenovo or something. I can afford 900$, but how much will i use it since my Desktop PC is by far more powerful. 500$ is fine if i don't use it much.
Do You know right that If you really want you can install Steam OS based on Linux also in the ROG ally? :') If your main concern is the battery, but remember depends from point of view, still lots of game that windows can run, they can't even starts in Linux
Nah, for the performance the Rog Ally pulls with that screen, it actually does wonders with the battery. Lowering the refresh rate, wattage, and limiting fps can also be done in the Rog Ally with similar effects on extending the battery. Unless there is a massive breakthrough in how batteries are made, don't expect smaller+powerful devices to have any good autonomy, not now, not ever.
@@JavierSegura Lowering the refresh rate, wattage, and limiting fps and why then overpay for a more powerful processor, 120 Hz screen, if in the end it's useless?
@@JavierSegura WulfDen said he only gets 1 hour playing RE4R on the ROG Ally. Personally, that’s not enough efficiency for a battery. The AOK ZOE has a 60wh battery inside a frame that’s about the same size as the Deck and Ally. I think that would have been better for a windows device.
While I'm for sure going to wait until the XG Mobile stuff comes down in price, it does make sense for someone like me. (I'm a Tech Enthusiast & fall into a super niche category) As I have a Flow Z13 Gaming tablet that can also benefit from that XG Mobile, there are some extra benefits, especially when traveling with this ecosystem of devices, etc. However, for the average person, I agree, the XG Mobile stuff just doesn't make any sense. Just build a really nice PC for that price.
Oh, you'd be surprised. I don't pay full price for anything, even for really high-end tech. If what you say is true, I get around that by buying refurbished, used, or some kind of credit or coupon I've earned with a store rewards, etc. Actually, just a day or two ago, I literally just bought the ROG Ally and got money off with my BestBuy Rewards, so I didn't even pay full price for a pre-ordered brand new high-performance handheld.
Lol @justin Reschke I do have a Steamdeck already and love it. I still might get it just not day 1. I’ll try out one of my buddies ROG and then if I like it get it.
Glad to see more competition in the handheld PC gaming space! Have to say, I absolutely despise Windows myself (enough to use Linux on my gaming desktop), so the only case I would really consider getting one of these would be if Valve released SteamOS 3 for general PCs. The ease of use of the Steam Deck is just superior to me, though I definitely feel the pain of less games (which is somewhat alleviated by the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta on the Deck). Since I can always dual boot Windows on my main machine for those few games, I'm fine with the reduction in games on my handheld.
Thank you sooooooo much for testing Destiny 2 when no one else did but you and Jimmy Champagne at Deck Ready. Now I am having no remorse at preordering the Ally just to play that addiction anywhere. ❤
Bob, I'm going to need to see some sort of bar graph or infograph showing the spectrum of jank with each of these handhelds.
I will do this for you.
@@WulffDen Please include an X axis (or Y if you’re nasty and do it sideways) made up of all the most popular emulation handhelds.
@@WulffDen I have some free Steam Deck jank for you: Getting the virtual keyboard takes severl seconds for no good reason. Mouse controls in Desktop are radically different depending on Steam running in the background or not. Returning from desktop to game mode wile being docked causes a black screen that is fixed be disconnecting and recommending the official steam deck dock.
How could you say no to Russ? What a guy. See bob immediately "I will do this for you"
@@krux02 You mean you can't Dual-boot SteamOS and Windows on steam decks?
I love how the EA app BS prevents you from playing your EA games, regardless of which OS your device is running.
Crack em.
Idk why shitty proprietary apps that ‘update’ and fuck everything up quarterly are a necessity for these companies
EA really is a garbage company in every way imaginable. I gave up trying to install EA app on my Steam Deck because it was a pain in the
It works fine for me. But the issue is it doesn't unanimously work for everyone. Which makes it terrible since it's launcher is required to legally play it
EA will prevent you from playing EA games regardless of circumstances. I will never forget buying Crysis like 10 years ago on Origin and then trying to run it legitimately with a cool tech support bro on the line for like half an hour until he just apologized, laughed it off and sent me a link to a cracked executable. It was an awesome site, I've used it multiple times since, good guy.
Timestamps for those who want em:
00:00 - Intro
01:54 - Price
02:56 - Size/Build
03:38 - Screen
04:27 - y not buy stem dek?
05:21 - UI
07:17 - Michaelsoft Binbows
10:03 - XG Mobile External GPU
11:01 - Performance
12:14 - Battery woes
13:27 - More Windows nonsense
13:52 - Games that don't play on Deck
14:46 - Emulation
17:01 - Console-like experience on Windows?
18:26 - Final thoughts
19:16 - Bob stop yelling at us
Thx 🙏
Gods work
Thanks
You the real MVP
Thank you'
Video starts here 8:25
Thank you sir, how I hate stupid senseless speech to artificially increase the video
I found the stuff prior to 8:25 useful personally but to each their own
@@anemite2 you know it's a joke right?
Thank you so much.
Thanks Thor at Home.
Got it open box with a 516gb micro SD card for $600, and didn't even look like the box had ever been opened.
My use case, as a parent who wants to spend more time with his son, has been a gamechanger.
He has a wireless mechanical keyboard and mouse next to the dock on his nightstand so he can play on his TV at 90mhz, or pop it off, and bring it downstairs so we can spend some quality time on the living room tv or just playing in the same room. I can hop on the steamdeck and he brings his Ally down and we hang out a couple hours he normally would have spent in his room.
Being a Windows device instead of SteamOS made all the difference in the world.
Hi I just stumbled upon this subject and am very ignorant about everything. Why does the Windows OS VS Steam OS matter?
@@yangster5106bit of a late answer but the steam deck runs steam os, which is based off of Linux. Therefore you cannot run windows applications unless there's a Linux version available
Sorry, sort of an incomplete answer, steam deck os also has a kind of layer on top of Linux that it runs that's able to translate Windows code into something more generic and portable so it can run on Linux. The problem is that this kind of adds in a few steps and it can't fill in all the "gaps" so to speak, so not every game will run this way
@@SoraRoxas111 appreciate the response!
Why no mention of freesync/vrr? I feel like its a pretty killer feature for these low end gaming pcs. Dont have to perfectly optimize the game to get that solid 40 or 50 or 60 fps, or whatever you decide. Can get it around whatever you are comfortable with and then let the display handle any dips. Solid review though!
This device can't do 40, but it goes to 45, I believe it's 15-30-45-60-120
@@JDabz96 naw it's 30-120hz with this panel.
This is why I like wolf. Nobody else is talking about the setup experience. Or how it was staged for review.
Because a lot of the reviews are done my tech channels with a higher rate of tech savvy people.
Not every channel will focus on the same stuff. Not every channel targets the same audience.
Yeah when I was a kid and single I had all the time to setup anything as long as it can be done. Now with a lot less time I don’t need stuff totally streamlined but my patience and time is a lot shorter.
@@soarlozer2808 slowly it gets boring to just set it up
Because the setup isn't really that difficult for for example me. I work in IT so even if not everything goes quite as it is supposed to it's still quite trivial. It's probably going to be a lot more difficult for someone that doesn't constantly have to deal with fixing IT issues.
That's why different channels target different audiences, most tech channels have a focus on tech savy people.
Tbf Wolf didn't mention low power draw (TDP) gaming (so for indies, emulation and pre-2014 AAA) performance is trash just like every PC gaming handheld, except... the Deck. You have to really increase the power envelope on the Ally, and therefore battery draw. That's huge, because what that translates to is a max battery life of 3.5-4h whereas the Deck is over 7h.
Also, I'd love to see how instant suspend/resume works because again, that's kinda huge in a handheld. Referring to Windows sleep feature, some have said it doesn't work for games, whereas others have said it works on some games, and yet others have said it works on the same games as the Deck.
Think it's a bit of a stretch to call Asus reputable after their last week.
😂😂😂 I thought the exact same thing as soon as I heard him say that.
"This is a windows handheld, but, keep in mind, if you use windows on it, it will void your warranty."
-Asus
Dumbass drama that nobody cares about. I couldnt care less about some random motherboard issues. Asus has been making quality products for more than 20 years. I trust them
That's why at this point, I'm not afraid anymore to go with one of these other Chinese companies like AYANEO or AOKZOE. You'll get horror stories about support from every brand.
To be fair, he’s comparing to those other Chinese knockoff handhelds lol
Yeah that does have everyone nervous👀
Best thing about this is that it’s giving SteamDeck competition which is gonna be great for them to improve their own hardware still saving up to get my SteamDeck! 😌
It's pc hardware…it's not any different than what is been for the last 20 years
@Maria Flores gonna guess Valve isn't scared of their competitions because they know their playerbase/customers will be loyal to Valve.
Or maybe the are happy that there is competition and they can see what the competition is doing (good/bad) and take that as a learning lesson for them to make improvements for themselves.
@@ryuno2097 Valve isn't afraid because they have fuck-you levels of cash that lets them sell all of their hardware at a huge loss and still be financially stable. That's literally the only reason the Steam Deck is able to undercut all of its competition. whether or not that's sustainable in the long-term is up in the air.
I still love my SD..
@@warbossgegguz679 it's more that they can have the steam deck at a low price for the same reason consoles are so cheap, the razor and blades model, they lose money on the "console" but gain it back from the games
For me is the trackpad that does it. It lets me play tons of diferent games on my steamdeck that are not gamepad friendly
So true that's the one area that keeps me from upgrading tbh. There are so many use cases for them I think it's a really under appreciated feature. It's great for emulator hot keys and certain games like dragon age I was able to map a number pad to the track pad which makes it pretty playable. On gta 4 I was able to make a weapon wheel with the track pads.
Likewise.
That was one of the big sellers for me as I liked the Steam Controller. But something about the Steam Deck pads seemed off and I dont like using them. I think its because the Steam Deck itself is too big.
@@TylerMBuller12 dang this is was also thinking on guildwars 2 and other mmorpg in steam, because it use alot of hotkeys to function and trackpad is a big help for me, i can use a trackpad for inventories and other settings or even quest logs and missions, deck is something different and a few extra fps performance will not convince me upgrade., since i have main pc my only purpose to deck is my portability to play gw2 and ff14 even im away in my pc.. other than that will play AAA in may main with Ultra preset and high res for better gaming experience
@@rommelchristophermanicad4389 how does ffxiv Performs on steam deck? Or how is the Overall experience? Going to work away from home soon and thinking about getting one.
I am perfectly happy with my Steam Deck, but pretty happy to see some competition with different features. I don't like ASUS' disingenuous marketing, but the device looks pretty decent. I'm sticking with the Deck, since I have been able to get everything I want out of it - games I wouldn't play otherwise, emulation, 3rd party launchers after tinkering, and have plenty of my Steam backlog to catch up on!
I prefer to play Destiny 2 on my main PC with mouse/keyboard, and no Game Pass, so my use case isn't begging for the Ally right now.
With the stream deck track pads, i can play project zomboid on a handheld. This is what other companies are not getting. Valve knows that the trackpads are the closest substitute for a mouse. Also, Playing with the trackpad on fps games coming from a mouse and keyboard is an easy adjustment. The trackpads is just a beast of a feature as you can set a ton of shortcuts with it. Plus!!!! We have a 4 grip buttons while others are just 2
@Popcorn I completely agree about trackpads. I actually enjoy playing Civ and 4X games, and other genres just not possible or worse on other devices.
@@salitz91 🧢, I'll decimate you in age of empires 2 with my keyboard and mouse, while you fiddle with the trackpads 😂
@@SWOTHDRA haha fair, mostly just done turn based. At least I can map the back hotkeys for wolololol
@@SWOTHDRA decimate me senpai
Fantastic comparison! Looking forward to the Ally. Thanks Bob!
- Stubbs
I dont have the money to buy these handhelds but its still fun watching these kind of videos
That makes two of us
Steam deck is a pretty budget option
@@lankylemon8555 I have xbox series s for my main gaming system and retroid pocket 3 plus for handheld. Both of them are budget and great for the price
Are you old enough to work? What's your situation?
@@KennyMaximum third world country my friend, in my country its too expensive, 5x more expensive
The magic of ASUS price becomes completely obsolete in EU countries where after taxes you get a price of like over 900 USD.
Little biased as I already have a steamdeck but the software experience is king its gonna be hard to topple the deck with that.
Yes hardware is great but it has too many compromises compared to the Steam Deck, which is a lot more polished experience overall
The hardware is the most important part, more fps is always better.
@@drunkhusband6257 hardware is indeed important and that includes input, without any alternative to the deck's trackpads present on the Ally i haven't even considered the upgrade
@@drunkhusband6257 This mentality is why the Ally is gonna be the Game Gear of handheld PCs. On paper it all looks good, but while it has great specs it's failing at being what it's designed to be. An on the go device.
@@sirdinkus6537 What makes it any less on the go that an underpowered steam deck?
Yeah but steam deck been out longer, it had massive issues at launch but steam kept the updates coming and fans helped out alot too. If ROG updates the software for this and game updates support this product it’ll beat out the steam deck in the 10 watt mode.
I think the hardware is awesome and creates the potential. The software and user interface experience just needs to catch up. I’m very confident it will via updates.
Have you ever owned an Asus product? Or used Windows for that matter? Meaningful updates are a foreign concept to both of them.
@@sirdinkus6537 My Asus laptop had plenty of meaningful updates. Windows computers aren't rocket science to figure out...
@@brandont7214Your laptop, not everyone elses laptops
Hopefully the community gets a SteamOS image working for the Ally. For a handheld gaming PC, Windows just won't be a good experience no matter how hard manufacturers try to make it work. Yea there will be issues with anti-cheat (I'm a bit biased anyway because I don't care for multiplayer games), but a SteamOS image optimized for the Ally will be a much better experience.
@@bionic-beaver we get it…you don't know how to use a pc
In Europe: Steam Deck 512GB Comparison:
Price difference US: +50$ ✅
Price difference EU: +120€🤯 (130$)
Of course the price-performance ratio is still good but €799 is €799.
SD 512GB 679€ vs ROG Ally 799€
Yeah similar in UK, a £130 difference (approx 160USD).
Steam Deck 512GB is £569 vs £699 (SD 64GB is £349, so 1/2 the price).
Is there a reason as to why is it so much more here in Europe?
400€ SD performance is same as premium one. So... SD 400€ vs ROG Ally 800€. Price to performance ratio is still good?
I understand why people have been comparing this to top priced Steamdeck, but you could upgrade storage on Steamdeck to match the top spec for a lot cheaper
I upgraded my Asus ALLY ROG from default 512GB to 2TB using a $180 WD 2TB 2230 SSD from Amazon. Not sure where you're getting this "for a lot cheaper" from... 🤔🤔
@@UptownNYC base Steamdeck is 64GB, $400. To upgrade to a 512GB steam deck, you could either buy the top spec at $650 (similar price to ROG ally) or buy a $60 512GB 2230 SSD. So now comparing a $460 Steam deck to an ROG ally has less to do with storage and more about the spec differences mentioned in the video
Something to keep in mind about the price difference is the location. The Ally vs Deck is 700$ vs 650$ making it more appealing in America, but here in Portugal for example (and i assume most of Europe is similar) it's actually 800€ vs 680€, so 120€ difference instead of 50$. Still good for the price, but a harder sell, even more so if you consider we can get the 64gb Deck and swap the ssd for a 512gb one for 480€ (420€ + 60€), making it a 320€. At that point i'm not sure if the Ally really is worth 60~70% more.
Those look expensive
Don't forget they have to pay state taxes depending on each state.
That makes the total cost almost the same for everyone,
@@UnderOurOath Cost me $1,006 here in Ontario Canada. I bought the 256 GB Steam Deck when it first launched and it cost me around $700. Yeah, there is more tech in the Ally, but the 1080p screen is useless, same with the 120hz refresh rate. I have to drop most AAA games that came out in the last 5 years to 720p and low to maybe, possibly get 60hz. Granted Asus ruined the performance with the latest bios update, but until they fix it I have officially paid more for less with the Ally.
@@guerillatactix3834
Yeah I do actually feel the same way about it, I paid €660 for it, but right now, my steam deck fairs better in a lot of ways, I hope that Asus fixes this issues fast..
If it had touchpads, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, but without them I don't think I can justify the price because 9 times out of 10 I'd be grabbing the Steam Deck. We just started playing Necesse and man are the touchpads useful in that game which also integrates them perfectly with native Steam Input. Other games like Dwarf Fortress would be basically impossible. And yeah I could play graphically demanding games on the Ally but those also tend to benefit a lot from touchpads which are simply more accurate than analog sticks in most cases and also provide ample room for hotkeys
If if if if.. cope 😂
@@chumlee9562 If bought something for 730 bucks and didn't use it then I'd need to cope. Don't be a chump
@@chumlee9562You're the one coping. The ally is only slightly more powerful with awful battery life for way more money. And the original comment is right, not having touchpads is a massive drawback
Honestly with it missing the two back buttons and the touchpad be making it feel like it’s missing more than 10 buttons compared to the deck
IF there are touchpads 😂
120hz is very useful, because instead of locking at say 40hz for 40fps you can keep it at 120hz. A single frame drop at 40hz is really jarring and really long (25ms), whilst that same frame drop at 120hz is only 8ms long
That's exactly how I run mine. Everything is smooth as butter.
I think absolute price point is most important for people as it doesn't replace an actual desktop PC. And you can't beat the steam deck in that regard (I don't have one).
Also, it feels like we entered the Car Telephone era of handheld PCs, still these just appear super cranky and primitive. In a few years I hope we're talking about them more like smart phones.
I am a huge Destiny player and seeing you play Destiny on this device I will go preorder now. Thanks!
Can do the same on steam deck for much cheaper lol and can guaranteed undocked it wouldn’t perform much better then the deck
@@TechManDanN you guarantee it?
@@Mike-sp7zv nope lol I got a legion go now
@@TechManDanN lol
I hope all who are purchasing the ROG will be pleased with its performance. My self will be sticking with my SD because the community has been a pleasure to learn from.
Your not supposed to buy every new thing every year. Guess what next year another handheld will come on.
It's like the cellphone trap. If you bought the deck you got at least 3+ years if your in to newest high end games. But indies will play forever. My next handheld may be in 2025 or later. The tech is advancing so fast for handhelds.
@@NatsumeKonno Honestly I hope Steam releases a Steam Deck 2. I'd rather upgrade to a better version of the Steam Deck in like 4 years rather than worrying about what other company has some new handheld to try.
I sold my SD and used a promo code for 10% off from having a Best Buy Card and then got 5% back in gift cards. That has me at about a $150 dollar difference, so for that I felt like it was worth it
@@thequeen901 most likely they will but not for a very long time. To most people 10 years is the normal cycle now. To me I think they just wanted to push a handheld to promote there new steamos. Even on windows the gaming mode UI is there now. No matter what handheld you buy steam will always make money. Thats why you don't see valve making games anymore.
@@NatsumeKonno Their last games they made were for VR. But I think they work on with many studios on the Steam store to help them with problems and Steam has been worked on and continuously has been improved. Counter Strike 2 is coming out this year! Counter Strike is one of the biggest FPS shooters to date without major problems that COD suffers from.
Important to note that most (likely all) of the games that 'don't work' on the Steam Deck, actually do - The problem is the anti-cheat not whitelisting the Steam Deck SKU, possibly due to it running Linux. Many games with anti-cheat have either added support or whitelisted the Deck, and run great. Those that do not are tied to corporate decisions, not hardware or even OS limitations. As an example, Destiny 2 runs perfectly on the Deck, until the the AC kicks/bans the player. This was found some time ago when the AC didn't have an immediate check on boot-up which it does now/last I checked.
I'd argue that the Ally supports even less games than the Deck due to the fact that it lacks touchpads. Those things are a must for mouse heavy games.
Depends more on how you play what games…
Fewer. And that makes no sense, controller support and control mapping are pretty great
@@dumkopf Good luck trying to play any strategy games without a mouse or a touchpad.
@@unibu1534D pad is fine.
@@sirlimen333 For MOUSE heavy or mouse only games? Are you sure about that?
It's a really good device and I bought an Asus ROG ally for my brother, he really loved it. One of the only issues he had was the grip and it's a bit more complicated. But other then that it's a really good device, I still prefer the steam deck but I'm happy that there's competition for the steam deck. I don't regret buying the ROG ally for my brother.
One of the biggest aspects of a handheld pc/console was skipped, the fact that you can turn off and resume the Deck during games way better than any windows pc handheld can.
Isn't that more of a windows feature. My pc does that
@@tykendrick800 It's not on the same level Linux has it on the Steam Deck.
I don't understand the knock on Windows 11 lol. You literally have the most customizability and the best compatibility with it. 11 is also fine in touchscreen mode as of late.
I'm a trucker and this thing is pretty much exactly what I want. I don't like gaming on laptop, so this with an EGPU is perfect. I could use it in the terminal standalone, then when I get back to my truck I can dick it to the EGPU,use it on my monitor and have a full PC experience
Man i'm a college student doing inbetween jobs from time to time, the Steam Deck is a blessing to me not only i am able to play most games i missed years ago and also newer games. Plus i also dualboot with Windows 10 so now i use it as a weird looking laptop. Surely the other portable pcs are more powerful than the Deck, but this one is more than enough for me. Let's not forget the touchpads are a gamechanger.
I know it probably doesn't make much sense...but I really want to put Steam OS on the ROG Ally.
It would use less memory and battery, be easier to navigate and feel cleaner overall. And it would even be quieter too. I can't wait for the software to be available to the public.
unless Asus create drivers for Linux.. doubt it be the same experience.
I hated the steamOS experience. Very flawed and loads of bugs.
@@YakultLitro Why would ASUS need to make the drivers? The Ally has an AMD APU, similar to the Steam Deck's AMD APU. AMD already has Linux drivers for their hardware. Linux should work just fine on the Ally.
@@HealyHQ You need drivers for the peripherals. The controller, audio, WiFi/Bluetooth, display adjustment, etc. These should be common parts and already fully supported by the latest Linux kernel but you never know for sure until you get everything working. I own a couple laptops where the stupid trackpad is not even natively supported by Windows or Linux. I had to use an external mouse when reinstalling the OS and setting it up.
@@HealyHQ sure you got drivers for main components, but the controllers etc.. you cant expect it to work 100% on linux without a proper driver. prime example of this would be the side buttons. you can't expect it to work just like the steamdeck side buttons where it opens the quick access menu and steam options. Same reason why Valve created drivers of SD for windows, to make sure every buttons work and all of its connectivity peripherals.
Asus is watching all these reviews and I hope they are getting all good new ideas and projects they are thinking to roll out new updates and content for the ROG Ally -- it's only going to get better and better
Only if they get rid of Windows 🤣🤣🤣
@@jeanhazen2578Windows is literally the best in terms of comparability and customizability. What a horrible take
I love touchpads at Steam Deck and possibility to set controls in my way. For example, at rpg games I am using left touchpad as mulni button for my I, J, U or M what really rejects me of the most RPG like games at switch. Or circle menu for weapons at Borderlands or The Outer World. Or that back buttons which made for me fighting in Hogwarts Legacy less annoying. No performance can replace it. It's the best gamepad ever made and I often prefer it than mouse and keyboard
I'm just hoping that ASUS will do continual support and updates for the ROG Ally. I'll probably end up picking up one later on after it gets a few updates just to have an extra handheld to play around with.
alot of time they i have to say what asus or anything else tells them to say just to make there stuff look good but i have a to say this is a shitty system/pc mini
Since i use the steam deck.. i only want my sticks like that! When i first saw the deck i was really skeptical! But now I can’t imagine a controller stick lay out on a handheld. Also the windows thing is something i dont care about.. the deck does a great job making stuff compatible. My deck is perfect for the games i play on it! Yes a better screen would be great.. but i can live with it. i also believe the market for devices you use longer than a year should get bigger! We live in a world where we buy stuff and a year later its old news and it needs to be newer newer newest.
This video may be old, but I just picked up my ally a few days ago and I’m in love with it. for what you get at the price range it’s at I don’t think you can even get a comparable laptop for the same amount
Its much smaller which helps with the cost
This is by far the most honest and detailed review I’ve ever seen on not only the ally but any handheld. Bro you rock. I subscribed for this. I’m Ssooo glad RUclips suggested this today on my home page. You have my full support if this is the content and quality and format I can see in the future. I’ll also browse the rest of your other videos and watch some. I really like your video style and the honesty !!! Honesty for me IS EVERYTHING! you seem to be a realist and very clear with everything. I really really appreciate it man ! ❤
When you tried performance, you didn't indicate what profile you were using. There are 3 profiles: Silent, Performance, and Turbo. The Ally should be way more powerful than the Steam Deck because of the specs.
It turns out it isn't as much higher as the raw specs would lead you to believe.
It is a more powerful handheld, with a competitive price when it comes to performance, but Valve worked to have a custom APU and built the OS basically from the ground up.
At some of the lower power consumption levels, the steam deck even beats out the ally.
After three months of learning to code I've realized how difficult it is to write efficient code. And steam really optimized so many things in the steam deck.
@@Fernando-ek8jp lies 😂 steamdeck fan boy
@@owusuphilipable Dude, everything I said was factual.
I think the Ally is amazing, price included.
It is a FACT that ROG is using AMD APUs (Z1 and Z1 Extreme) that's meant for handhelds, and not one made specifically for the Ally (Like Aerith). It is a FACT that windows tends to have more overhead when compared to Linux in basically every scenario unless you go in and strip it down.
Reviews show that the performance isn't the 2X that Asus promise, that's not an opinion. You also have to take into consideration that the resolution is greater, meaning that in general games would either look worse if you play them at 720 given it's not its native resolution, or take up more resources if you run it at native.
Taking all of that into consideration: the ROG ALLY still seems to be a great addition to the handheld gaming market.
@@owusuphilipable there has been a lot of benchmarks proving that what he's saying is true. Also something to keep in mind the ally has twice the amount of cores than the same deck does. You really think that's not going to use more power?
To me I still lean toward the steam deck. Software support and usability > specs for me.
Some big features missing from the Ally like no wake games from sleep state is a dealbreaker for handheld.
I also trust Valves long term support and development for Steam deck over Asus and Microsoft's. Atm I feel like owning an Ally is going to be a constant jank fest, having to find work arounds, Windows updates breaking things, lack of support from Asus in long term.
So… you mean like how the steam deck was at launch… ultra lol
@@xMRxLAMAx Valves dev team released 100 updates in the first year alone for steamdeck, with constant improvements and bug fixes. The difference between now and release is huge. They can do that because their revenue comes from the game store not the hardware, they are incentivised to keep people engaged on their platform.
In contrast, Asus makes all of its money on the hardware, and past the point of you buying the device has no incentive to improve on or develop anything. "Ultra lol" lol
I just sold away my steam deck not even a month, I had a hard time on this thing, I bought this steam deck and I thought I'm happy and so excited to play my kofIV, but not what I expected. The steam deck actually can't handle even a fighting games, FPS keeps dropping, seriously lacking all the way even I low down the resolution graphics all stuff, at the end I give up and play on my gaming laptop. I bought the Asus Rog ally on the next day and it was surprised me honestly, I installed my kofIV , it's run smoothly on 60fps, 720 resolution, that's not necessarily go all the way to 1080 just on 7 inch screen, the colour the graphics it was damn cool and it's really worth it, what you pay and what you get guys. Think before you buy either steam deck or the Rog ally, if you plan not to play AAA games or high graphics games,then steam deck is great, but if you intend to play high resolution or high FPS games, you won't go wrong on Rog Ally, trust me.
Software can be improved over time, and this will help the Ally succeed or not.
But for now, it's Steam Deck all the way baby.
Asus - Improve software? Sure....
I really wish all those Alley users the best, but my next purchase is the Steam Deck and not the Alley. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the Alley, but the Steam Deck is just my choice for several reasons: SteamOS, so no vendor lock-in but open source. Huge community, so problems are tackled soon. Constant software improvements by Valve/Steam, so the device is always up-to-date. And the price does help a lot. I already have a fast 512Gb 30 mm SSD laying around, so for me the Steam Deck is €419. As the ROG Alley is almost €400 more expensive (almost double the price of the Steam Deck) it's not very attractive to buy one, even if it has better hardware specs. I rather add that €400 to the buy of my next GPU.
Of course someone else can have a different view, but for me buying a Steam Deck is simply the best option...
The steam deck is miserably underpowered, very overpriced for what you get.
@@drunkhusband6257 what should this $400 mobile computer be then?
@@drunkhusband6257 💀💀💀
The downgrades to touch screen use on Windows 11 compared to Windows 10 are insane. At the same time though, you can do WiFi setup in Steam Big Picture Mode which is kinda funny.
My big issue is also its biggest advantage: It runs Windows.
It'll have better game compatibility, but also means it's subject to Microsoft bloat. So this could easily end up running worse over time thanks to OS updates.
Also that compatibility difference is getting tinier and tinier over time. Still, Windows probably will keep its advantage, but if 90-95% games run on Steamdeck, then it's already great news. From my personal experience, as a Linux Mint user and Steam gamer, all of my most played games run smoothly, and about 85% of my library works fine, so it's not that far from good gaming experience on non-Windows computers.
@@RooiGevaar19 You make it sound like comparability is 95%. It's still A WAYS to go. Comparability on Windows is km and km ahead of Steam Deck, and I own a Deck and a GPD. I can play significantly more things on my GPD than my Deck with better specks, but the ease of use with my Deck is what makes me enjoy it. It's also better value for the dollar one spends on it.
You know what, this would be a beast if only they partnered up with valve.. Valve wanted other manufacturers to use their SteamOS.. This specs + steamOS will be awesome.
Other Windows handhelds existed before the Steam Deck came out, but I got the SD because of the price point and SteamOS. Oh and the fact that they made it so easy to fix and maintain. Like how cool is it that you can buy the base model for $400 and then upgrade the storage and controls for not that much more time/money?
The steam deck will still make a good door stop…
I'd be careful with the upgrades. There's been a rash of Sabrent and WD 2230s that have been failing in the Deck on Reddit. Some have even fried the motherboard and killed the Deck too. While I'm not sure the ROG Ally is upgrade friendly either, please remember you own your risk. Valve will not fix it if you upgraded drive fries it.
I bought the 512 and I love mine I spent 725.00 I got the highest model and that beautiful case was legit! 700 and you get no case!? 🤣🤣🤣 I hate windows so for me the steam deck is king I have my Xbox game pass and all the games I love are emulators. I have quite a few pc games I love them too. I saw reports the rog ally overheated for a few testers so I will probably wait until maybe Christmas because to be honest I game on my ps5 and I have remote play setup through my steamdeck so I don’t bother my wife. I have not regretted my purchase and regardless of how fast the rog ally is I’m just not going to buy the launch version. Also what if this gets a bios update that bricks it? Asus isn’t going to replace it. Valve goes above and beyond for their customers.
@@progxdt This is true. But they won't fix it anyways at this point because I'm out of warranty. So I'm just happy that I can buy replacement parts and upgrades in the first place. If everything dies and there's nothing I can do $400 isn't going to hurt nearly as much as $700+ like the windows handhelds available.
Cancelled my preorder today as for some reason my gut tells me to wait to see how this goes once its released.even the little thing like the review copies were all open and ready set up gives me a bad feeling....why do that unless they know it would be a negative in reviews if they didnt.
I'm probably a small section of gamers when it comes to this, but I'm genuinely curious, does it have Gyro like the Steam Deck? And can you map it to any FPS game, or any game that could use it like the steam deck? If it can be mapped outside of 'Steam Deck Input', and gyro can be used in other launchers/natively that could be insanely cool.
The answer to all your questions here is no
@@InvalidUser_ That's pretty close to a deal breaker for me. It not having the trackpads is MY deal breaker, but not having gyro just edged it out of consideration.
@@InvalidUser_ Ah, that's pretty dissapointing all things considered. However, thank you for the answer, it was much appreciated 👍🏾
I heard it has gyro it's just not supported in the review units software just yet, so who knows if it will be there by launch. People also forget you can add non-steam games to steam and use steam input like that. That's a very useful feature for playing non-steam games on the deck and will probably work fine on the ally
It says has gyro on Ally BB page. So maybe.
Love my steamdeck but it wont let me play COD with the boys at a better resolution. Got a kid now and this thing just solved my problem with 1080p 60fps... Lets gooooo
I feel like all that power is wasted on it, especially since it has the same battery as the Deck. It's no doubt impressive hardware, but unless you want to play connected to a charger the entire time it would seem a bit beside the point of being handheld. Now, I could see this thing being a great laptop replacement with a decent dock. And i feel like heat and noise would get annoying if you want to get all those high settings
This guy's content fills the void that classic game room left. I can't explain it, maybe it's the laid back vibe
Want? Need? No monies... 😢
Get your CDL, become a mixer driver. You'll have monies but no time to play....😢
Make a Onlyfans
I like how one of the games in the thumbnail is playable on steam deck
while the rog ally is better on paper, the steam deck just has a proper console experience. the software is far more polished, the community support is there for those who want it, and the company has an excellent track record of supporting the product through updates.
Mhm that’s why I bought the steam deck instead 😂 enjoying the hell out of this thing
Besides the many other reasons, one considerable pleasantry of Wulff Den videos is discovering new (g)old OSTs through the intros.
I kinda wish it traded the 120hz screen for better buttons. Then, if there's a 120hz version, I'd think that one would come with better specs to fascilitate it.
This seems like an odd flaw on an otherwise great competitor, how did they manage to keep the price this low?
Personally, I think I'm still leaning towards Steam Deck by quite a bit, especially because you COULD put windows on it if you end up wanting a game not on steam after all. (Well, I'd assume there's still differences, if the Ally turns out more versatile even with that taken into account, that can be a strong benefit over the Steam Deck besides x or y being more convenient)
Asus is Chinese. Most tech companies utilize sweatshops but Chinese companies can outcompete sweatshops by using concentration camp slave labor. Slaves are cheaper than minimum wage workers.
Yeh the hardware company dealing with hardware a lot longer than valve totally not capable of offering an competitive price
@@xMRxLAMAx The thing is, Valve is selling them at a loss. Got a snarky comeback for that one or did you not miss the point this time?
Your definition of a cheap price point is a lot different from mine. The ROG Ally is £700 here in the UK.
Glad more players are entering the space and hope they sell enough to keep it going and not bail. Will stick with the Steam deck for another year or so but want to see what comes out. Want a seamless handheld to dock+eGPU experience, using an eGPU docking bay where we provide our own gpu that is upgradeable, and not a $1500 converted laptop gpu or whatever. I still play a lot of Switch because of the OLED and easy handheld/dock experience.
You did not just play 1080 snowboarding music in the beginning. I love you.
I think the biggest thing that holds me back from the Ally or even the Steam Deck is the fact that they advertise portability but run out of battery so fast. I kinda fell into that trap with gaming laptops, I had gotten a Razer blade and was astonished at how much power it packed but I couldn’t use it for most other things a laptop would work for. If I wanted to take it to a day of classes, I always had to lug the massive charger with me all the time. For now, these devices seem more like proof of concepts rather than true portable windows gaming. For now I’m gonna stick to my Switch where I can have a 5 hour long session of Tears of the Kingdom without it dying on me, with my heavier games being saved for my desk PC
its like a gaming laptop, but smaller and handhelds .. most gaming laptop users play while plug in. so its seems the same as the all handhelds out there, the key factor of it is you play with your palm
That’s because Switch uses smart phone processors (ARM chips) as opposed to PC processors (x86) so your Switch will typically last as long as a modern mobile device because technically it’s no different from a cellphone as far as the internals.
These companies are trying to make portable PCs which is always going to be an issue because we haven’t yet gotten to the point where we can have a portable x86 device that doesn’t run out of battery significantly quicker than ARM devices.
I'm glad my Deck isn't loud like everyone elses. I normally change my Refresh to 40hz , currently playing NMS and running great, getting ~4 Hr battery
I loved The Verge's particular note that the Steam Deck can play *more* games on the basis of the controls. And that's really the important part. Touchpads and gyro controls are more important than you think, so even though Windows 11 opens the doors to a lot more titles thanks to anti-cheat support, it hobbles your freedom and flexibility to play PC-specific titles. Sure, the Deck isn't the best option for an RTS, but it'll be a damn sight better to play on Deck than on Ally.
There's also the importance of endurance. Reviewers testing light indie titles are finding the Ally still sucks back 15ish watts due to Windows overhead, playing games like Stardew Valley. That's hilarious and once again says that Windows is NOT a good choice for a handheld right now.
Yeah I think it's a very specific kind of gamer who would have an issue with game compatibility. The kind who plays multiplayer games with their PC gamer friends and would feel excluded if they can't play the same games as everyone else. If you treat it more like a console, where you find games compatible with your device rather than the other way around, there won't be an issue. There are so many games that work great on Steam.
@@seeibe man I just wished genshin was one on the list, but that's just it, the other games works just fine
I rather stick a pen in my eye then use the touch pads on the steam deck. They are pure garbage. The asus has gyro hardware but does not have the software for it yet.
@@creaturecore13 do you have a steam deck?
@@Jaxv3r i have since sold it, the person who now owns it loves it as he does not own any real gaming pc or laptop.
Happy 10 year anniversary Mr. Wolf Den!!
As silly as a reason to check this out and maybe sell my Steam Deck as it is, I'm curious what the experience booting up OBS and using a remote app to start/stop recording is. I basically use my Odin to record emulators for videos and love it for that but the idea of squashing my use case for an Odin with a Steam Deck together? Sure, why not lol. I'd probably pay for most of it by selling both of those devices anyway.
This thing has so many cool features, but I didn’t see you mention if it’ll make my dad come home
Sold my steam deck
And got the rog ally
I love the honest review. Someone who isn’t absorbed by SteamOS. I own a GPD Win4 and a Steam deck. Playing COD isn’t possibly on the Steam Deck unless you install windows but then it becomes difficult to use. I enjoy how big picture mode, its well optimized but if I want to play my games not on steam I have to find different ways of loading them like litrus. It’s not as convenient.
What's your opinion of the Win4?
@Jacob B anti cheat doesn’t work in Linux
@@LiteraryCurtastrophe for ease of use it’s awesome. Having a keyboard and mouse are game changers. The down side is the device gets really warm at high TDP.
@@Madblaster6 and by really warm, I assume you mean "oh damn, is this going to melt?" 😅
@@LiteraryCurtastrophe no more like it’s getting sweaty to hold but not enough to hurt or feel like it’s melting. Just uncomfortable.
Will stick to my dual boot steam deck. Best of both worlds.
The steam deck can still be dual function. Door stop or paper weight. 😂
As a Linux gamer I dont understand how a clunky unoptimized desktop operating system on a handheld is a good thing.
Who could imagine that a system built today would be faster than one designed two years ago?? ASUS is amazing 😂
The impressive thing isn't really the performance, but the price.
This makes no sense you guys are the ones comparing it instead of acknowledging that it's more powerful
Excited for this review but want to say that I loved that little intro edit, good shit
Valve makes their profits by selling games on the deck, that’s just like every other console, but asus doesn’t have that so they are for sure going to release newer versions faster (if it sells enough) just like they do on their other products. Will they keep the updates for this Ally or will they just forget it?
If the Ally does well they will only do the bare minimum related to support, if it sucks then it's safe to say that it will be dead in less than 1 year
@@bionic-beaver If device (sales) do not meets higher management expectations, support will last until most free Game Pass expire or how much ASUS and Microsoft contractually involved make it Win11+Game Pass box (handheld).
I constantly hear two things.
1. It has horrible battery life
2. The face buttons stick
If this device is gonna have QC issues, it's not ready to release yet. This close to the release window with these kinds of issues in the hands of multiple people doesn't inspire a heck of a lot of confidence. I currently have one of these on preorder, but I am heavily considering cancelling it.
*Steam* *Deck* *vs.* *ROG* *Ally*
It comes down to preferences and what you want from a handheld. Hence, why it's not a cut and dry answer. I feel Deck is more PlayStation and ROG Ally is more Xbox since it's Microsoft Windows. ETA prefers Ally. He has more of a PC gamer background. Russ (RGC) prefers Deck. He's like myself. He has more of a console background. I like Russ pointing out the inferior suspend/sleep feature on the ROG. That's important to me.
I think which is better really doesn't matter. Many of us drive different cars. You might drive a sedan, coupe, hatchback, SUV, truck, van, etc. Maybe you prefer a motorcycle. Or some don't drive and use public transportation. That's the same here. What if I prefer saving $200 and getting the Deck? Am I making a wrong decision because I do not need the most powerful handheld? I'm already happy with Vita and Switch graphics!
I think both of these handhelds are pretty cool. They both do have crappy battery life and some might be better off getting a real gaming laptop. Expect 90-100 minutes of gameplay. If I had to pick one, it's easily the Steam Deck even with its inferior specs. I just trust Valve more than Asus. Their ecosystem and online community support is better. Will probably have better accessories since the installed base is higher.
Don't have the greatest history with Asus or Windows or two of them together. I will never forget that Asus Transformer tablet. I had the lid when closed set to shutdown because if I didn't, battery life would die overnight in standby from a 100% charge. Then it happened again a year later on my Zenfone Go. I never looked at Asus ever again after that. Reliability and trust are important.
I've seen reviews for the ROG Ally and they're not the highest scores. The Verge gave it 5/10. Another gave it a 6/10. Another gave it 4/5 stars. Some are saying it's not really the Steam Deck killer or whatever. Hence, I had a feeling it's the latest "flavor of the week". I doubt a Steam Deck killer will ever exist unless they match that $399 price tag. In 1 to 2 years, there will be another more powerful PC handheld than this Ally. That's how quickly PC gaming improves.
I'm just waiting for the next Switch. Switch 2? Super Switch Entertainment System (SSES)? Switch Ultra 64? Switch U? Whatever the hell they'll call it. I do prefer the simpler pick up and play. No fuss about it. No jumping through hoops. And I'm not the biggest Nintendo fanboy at all. Don't play Pokémon, Smash Bros, Metroid, or even much Zelda. I play Super Mario games and Mario Kart games, that's really it.
I prefer the Japanese-style games. Notice Mario and Solid Snake are American characters written by Japanese men? I find that cool seeing an American character from a Japanese man's perspective. My childhood was mostly shaped by Japanese developers like Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Square, Namco, Capcom, Konami, etc. Before gaming became more Westernized by the 2000s with PCs and Xboxes. Before all the first-person shooters that flooded the market.
So I'll always prefer a Japanese company for my gaming needs even if that company from Kyoto can act like real, evil, corporate jackasses. Hurry up with that next Switch, Nintendo! On par to a PS4? Bring it! I hope we'll get over 5-hours battery life like we're getting with the Switch OLED instead of 1.5 we're mostly getting with the Deck and Ally for AAA titles.
Folks should go watch that *Mrwhosetheboss* video between ROG Ally and Switch OLED. Arun gives a great perspective on the type of gaming preference you want from a handheld. I prefer that console-style of over half a decade over the more complicated and fast-evolving nature from a PC.
You bring up some great points. I liked the PlayStation / console vs. Xbox / PC analogy. I also love Japanese games (especially JRPGs) and can't stand FPS games. I find Japanese games set in fantasy genre environments (based in medieval settings with mythological themes) fascinating, specifically because they're filtered through a Japanese lens.
Although I'm somewhere in the middle of the PC versus console spectrum, as my family were early adopters for Windows PCs, and I got my first one in 1992. Playing Blackthorne, Ultima 7, Prince of Persia and Warcraft was an awesome experience back in the day.
I have been fascinated with the idea of handheld PCs ever since I first read about that SmachZ and Alienware's prototype called the UFO. I almost talked myself into backing the SmachZ on their crowdfunding scam. For some reason though, I dont feel a need to get this Ally, and I don't have much enthusiasm for it. I've got an ASUS ROG gaming laptop, and I guess that's probably the reason why. I can play PC games and use all the windows apps I need already, whether I'm sitting in bed or on the couch.
I prefer to gaming on my PC. But, if I decide to get one these, I would go for the steam deck. I hope Asus fixes their sticky buttons as it seems to be a common issue with other reviews
Gpdwin4,ftw
After having days after launch, after 2 months of having it. I got rid of the fluff of not needed software, replaced Armory crate with playnite and optimized the battery life with manual mode,auto tdp and 720p; I got it to the point where the battery life is very close to the steam deck. I love this more than the steam deck due to windows because of mods for my VN, Elden RIng and a few others. It will take a min to setup but you can customize it the way you want in the long run. If you like tinkering get the ALLY if you dont get the steam deck. Both are good options.
I think I'm going to get this with the external GPU. Having the same device to game on the go and at my desk is just worth it. I've got 3 kids and everytime I sit down at my desktop to play I've got 40mins of updates and sometimes the cloud saves need a bit of massaging to get going.
Or get faster Internet. That makes more sense.
@@josephoverstreet5584 I'll yell at my gigabit ISP to get 2 gigabit
I ended up pre-ordering the Ally but one thing I am actually worried about it the OS. Using windows is a plus for me, but I am hoping the launcher gets some updates from what we have seen.
Also, the guality. If you order this and you get it from best buy it might be worth forking over for the best buy warranty. I know I did.
Side note: I'm wondering if we will get custom launchers from modders.
Custom launchers? It's a windows desktop pc you can replace the launcher with playnite if you want too.
My main concern at this point is the fact it's from Asus. Not counting their recent mobo issue, they have a spotty history with ongoing support and Q/C. I'm a long-term Asus user with PC parts and laptops and had no major issues personally but have heard stories. I really want this (and preordered) but I have a strong feeling this will stop getting Asus support quickly. Either because the Ally 2 will come out in 2024/5 or they just give up on handhelds altogether. Hopefully, they treat this like a console and just push updates for 3-4 years before making a new device.
But even if the support is gone, I don't own a Steam deck yet so getting this will give me longer life with new games. And, when it does start slowing down, hopefully, the Steam deck 2 is out and I can switch over. My PC library is spread across all the main launchers so I really want a Windows handheld - before the Ally announcement I was going to get a Steam deck, 1 tb SSD, and wins a license to dual boot. So price-wise it would be almost comparable to just getting the Ally but with less power.
There was also bad stories about Steam Machines and controllers, but in the end it didn’t matter. This melodrama with Asus is getting out of hand. The worry is concerning some of Asus’s past products, this is a new type of product and the reviews for it are mainly positive. Windows is the main issue but also is the main reason we can play most if any game.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, Valve makes their profits by selling games on the deck, that’s just like every other console, but asus doesn’t have that so they are for sure going to release newer versions faster (if it sells enough) just like they do on their other products
@@rezarn2103 so let's hope it sells enough for continued support but not too well that Asus pushes the Ally 2 next year lol
I think if they do push an upgrade in under 2 years, they might get new users but they will probably lose or piss off their existing ones. Steam has basically confirmed they won't release a major hardware update soon so people can safely buy decks anytime.
Second video I watched of yours. Very straight forward and in depth. Definitely subscribing brother. Great review.
I hope they will make a battery upgrade pack in the future.
Sorry the fact that its a windows pc is the main reason i wanted this Im moving into an RV and the low wattage and the fact that I can move around with my pc makes a great option to me.
I wonder how launch box without the windows shell would run
This is what I’ll be using when I get my unit. Specifically big box with the colorful theme to launch everything on it
@@deviljuanjox129 that's what I was thinking as well
It would not run, it relies on specific libraries that are only licensed for Windows.
@@Dracossaint I thought the ally was running windows?
@@technicallyme You said you wonder how launch box would run without windows shell. Launchbox is also the name of a program. It's a front end which you could argue, that so is armory Crate, I get what you mean now though
You cannot compare the top price steam deck model instead of the lowest one because they both perform the same with some extra storage.
Lol literally… I think asus paid him to do the review… he also said destiny 2, fortnite, and cod wasn’t on the deck when i played all of them already through windows 10 pro off of an sd card at that 😳🤦♂️
im keepin my steam deck. if i wanted more power id just use my actual desktop pc
Nah facts, like people looking for a portable PC that extremely powerful I just want my steam games playable on the go 😂
@@Vjkeys well what iv Been hearing now is that asus is not really supporting the ally anymore. Now I'm really glad I stuck with my steamdeck 🤣
Honestly, when the time comes, I think im still just gonna go with the steam deck cheaper price. It's upgradeable in a few areas and easy to take apart. Not to mention even though its not on windows it does run on linux which is turning out to be actually super excellent with people making all kinds of crap for it and they are working on making games more optimized for linux/the steam deck anyway so there just isn't enough incentive for me to spend all that money on something that isn't that much better overall.
I pre-ordered mine for $619 after taxes and fees. We will see if it's worth it.
I bought the higher end model, after taxes it was $756
@Jacob B Sorry that $27 breaks the bank for you, I can't imagine losing any sleep for a $27 purchase.
Here, in France, the Deck is 419€/679€ and the Ally is 799€. Not really comparable for games on a budget, even more if you can swap the SSD by yourself (and the SD can also run windows)
The deck is pretty solid for windows use. I keep a windows 10 boot sd card for windows only stuff like gamepass.
Me too I have dual both with steam is and windows 11 btw the steam deck is better too me than his new console and cheaper lol
@@theradgamerx it's hard to let go of quality of life features like the touch pads, gyro functionality, and just the streamlined quality of steam OS.
I don't doubt you. For me it'd defeat the whole point. I mostly play my Deck at home during breaks or before bed. If I want to spend the effort to boot into something as inconvenient as Windows, I can just use my desktop PC. And yeah that makes the Ally pointless for me.
Windows gave me shit performance on my steam deck. No idea why.
And even if the performance was good, it still isn’t nearly as good as it should be.
@@maxiynacho I played gta v and fortnite mortal kombat and destiny blacks ops 2 on windows cause I have a lot free games with epic games it’s better tbh u need get software for the controller and u can get software Lower screen to 40hz to save battery 120 ghz I don’t is gonna be worth it cause handle aren’t even gonna hit fps bench marks pass 60 but that’s ok
I bought one 3 days ago.. My take ... You need a usb dock to set up and add games in desktop mode.. Like a windows device it will take time to setup.. Once you have it setup up its AWESOME.. Bought mine Saturday morning and wasnt really gaming on it till Sunday evening.. Sat night i was bummed i spent all day installing games and doing updates without playing.. Sunday arvo i was playing Tekken 7.. By Monday i had Steam, Epic, EA, XBOX, Emu Station running sweet. .I can totally see people looking for a console giving up...This is a handheld gaming PC.
The desktop vs gamepad control switch isnt well explained but is CRUCIAL to understand in getting ish running right... Pro Tip; When setting up you will need desktop mode.. When you launch a game make sure its in gamepad mode...
Is this also fine using it PC like, like using Discord, plugging in an USB Micro like the Rode and game on it? Well, assuming having a good USB dock. I'd rather have the ROG over buying a Graphics card for like 400-600.
@@YataNr1 In my experience it struggles when outputting games to a TV so i am not sure I would buy it primarily for that.
@@sc239 ok thanks. Apart from that you can basically use it as a Windows 11 PC too, right?
@@YataNr1 Yea it runs as a Windows 11 pc all good. Hopefully it just needs a patch because it SHOULD be able to output games..
An external battery pack, like, a good one, one tha would extend the mobile usability of the device for a good amount of time, would be a better accessory than that ridiculous expensive external gpu.
I'm one of the few folks who owns more games on GoG than on Steam and plays more on Xbox app due to Game Pass than on Steam, so this could be the pc handhled I've been waiting for. I was dissapointed by that CLD screen from Steam Deck and to see a full 1080p oled screen aside from the Switch is mindblowing. I'm a little worried about battery life and the UI silliness of using Windows 11. I wonder if there's a way to build an UI for it like maybe GoG Galaxy can have a patch for that since that can open up every other game from a different platform...
I just cancelled my preorder for the ROG Ally. It seems like a great device, but ASUS went wrong with a 40wh battery, especially on Windows. The Steam Deck also has a 40wh battery, but two things make it more efficient at making that battery last longer, and that's the fact that it runs Linux, which uses a lot less background operations compared to Windows, and the fact that it runs games with better performance at lower heat levels. Getting but a single hour of gameplay on a triple A game tells me that the ROG Ally just isn't there yet, and battery life is half the battle with any handheld. Valve really shock up this industry with a $400 console that has been wiping the floor with its competitors faces at low wattages.
It costs 900$ here, so i will wait for one from Lenovo or something. I can afford 900$, but how much will i use it since my Desktop PC is by far more powerful. 500$ is fine if i don't use it much.
Do You know right that If you really want you can install Steam OS based on Linux also in the ROG ally? :') If your main concern is the battery, but remember depends from point of view, still lots of game that windows can run, they can't even starts in Linux
Nah, for the performance the Rog Ally pulls with that screen, it actually does wonders with the battery. Lowering the refresh rate, wattage, and limiting fps can also be done in the Rog Ally with similar effects on extending the battery.
Unless there is a massive breakthrough in how batteries are made, don't expect smaller+powerful devices to have any good autonomy, not now, not ever.
@@JavierSegura Lowering the refresh rate, wattage, and limiting fps and why then overpay for a more powerful processor, 120 Hz screen, if in the end it's useless?
@@JavierSegura WulfDen said he only gets 1 hour playing RE4R on the ROG Ally. Personally, that’s not enough efficiency for a battery. The AOK ZOE has a 60wh battery inside a frame that’s about the same size as the Deck and Ally. I think that would have been better for a windows device.
You can boost to 35watt TDP when you plug it in.
While I'm for sure going to wait until the XG Mobile stuff comes down in price, it does make sense for someone like me. (I'm a Tech Enthusiast & fall into a super niche category)
As I have a Flow Z13 Gaming tablet that can also benefit from that XG Mobile, there are some extra benefits, especially when traveling with this ecosystem of devices, etc.
However, for the average person, I agree, the XG Mobile stuff just doesn't make any sense. Just build a really nice PC for that price.
So I'mma tell you this now. The XG mobile stuff will never come down in price
Oh, you'd be surprised. I don't pay full price for anything, even for really high-end tech. If what you say is true, I get around that by buying refurbished, used, or some kind of credit or coupon I've earned with a store rewards, etc.
Actually, just a day or two ago, I literally just bought the ROG Ally and got money off with my BestBuy Rewards, so I didn't even pay full price for a pre-ordered brand new high-performance handheld.
@@JakeSulinjr . Believe me I'm the same way LOL I canceled my pre-order when I found out that I can get 10% off if I use my best buy credit card lol.
that intro gives me LIFE!!!! WHAT!! Love it
I’m so on the fence because I want this but can’t justify having both. I’m gonna wait till some of my personal friends get it and get their opinion.
Just get both.
@@justinreschke3642 boy that's $1100 total
@@JeskidoYT That's a small price to pay for happiness.
Lol @justin Reschke I do have a Steamdeck already and love it. I still might get it just not day 1. I’ll try out one of my buddies ROG and then if I like it get it.
I can't wait to get wait to get mine very soon im so excited❤🔥🎮
Glad to see more competition in the handheld PC gaming space! Have to say, I absolutely despise Windows myself (enough to use Linux on my gaming desktop), so the only case I would really consider getting one of these would be if Valve released SteamOS 3 for general PCs. The ease of use of the Steam Deck is just superior to me, though I definitely feel the pain of less games (which is somewhat alleviated by the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta on the Deck).
Since I can always dual boot Windows on my main machine for those few games, I'm fine with the reduction in games on my handheld.
Thank you sooooooo much for testing Destiny 2 when no one else did but you and Jimmy Champagne at Deck Ready. Now I am having no remorse at preordering the Ally just to play that addiction anywhere. ❤