Minor Correction - at around a minute, I have text that says 2560x1440 for the Legion Go, but it's actually 1600p. Also, 1280x720 for the Steam Deck, and my voice says 1280x800. 1280x800 is correct, the text is wrong - my fault on both.
Do you think the steam deck, lenovo Legion go, and rog Ally will still be around in a few years or more. How many years do you think these three handheld PC like consoles will still be around?
Great review! I decided on the Steam Deck OLED for a lot of the points you mentioned. The whole appeal of PC handhelds to me is the portability and ease of use. I like being able to just wake up my console, have my Steam library right there and jump into my game like I would for my Switch, 3DS or Miyoo. I like knowing I can have a solid 2-3+ hour gaming session on the go without needing a portable battery or access to a wall socket. ROG Ally and Legion GO are awesome, but with the battery life and type of games I'd probably intend to play on them, I feel like I might as well boot up my PC.
For me i went with the rog ally a few days ago and havent regretted at all. The biggest issue people have with the ally is windows 11 but since im used to it being a pc gamer, i see it as a pro because now i have full control, opposed to steam were your limited, so i can use xbox cloud and emulate now.
Xbox cloud also works on the Steam Deck. You can play Games Pass games on there no problem. I got it to work and tinkering too much scares me. Relatively simple. Especially with YT guides. Also wut? Emudeck on the Steam Deck is sooooo easy to set up and emulate old consoles and games! It's crazy just how easy fans have made it to emulate! I'm mostly saying this just in case someone else stumbles on this comment and thinks the Steam Deck can't do either of those things when it absolutely can! It's fair enough if people wanna buy the more expensive handheld PCs but I wouldn't want them to fork out the extra money cos they think Steam Deck limits them! Steam Deck OS is open source! You can do whatever!
Steam OS is cool and all. But the restrictions to games is not worth it to me. I’ll rather have the Ally for the slightly bigger screen, refresh rate, speakers, and bigger game library with less restrictions.
Great comparison mate, I'm gonna go with ROG Ally due to the performance, speakers, ergonomics, software, and they recently added gyro support so it's a plus point for me!!
honestly, i love that the steam deck's screen is only 800p. i know that sounds weird, but it makes hitting native res a hell of a lot more attainable, and a lot of the games i like don't have the prettiest image scaling.
A lot people walk through that reasoning, but most games that would be too demanding to push more pixels support separate UI and render resolutions, including any games with FSR support. Lots of games UI just look frankly terrible at that resolution, such as Elden Ring. And in the case of the Legion Go, the resolution is quite a smart decision in that 720p scales cleanly to the the display res.
I hope Valve's general release of Steam OS happens soon. I know they promised it now that version 3.5 is out. I think it would be interesting to see what other companies come up with for their version of a "Steam Deck" that caters to different types of customers hardware-wise, but still want what Steam OS offers.
I own all 3 of these devices and i love all 3 , so i use my rog ally exclusively for fighting games I just feel the form factor is easier to pull off difficult combos,i use my deck for old AAA games and indie games and the legion go for AAA games. Imo the legion go screen is better then the steam deck OLED. I hate the fact most games i want to play on my deck don't work and as janky as Windows is it's a much better experience for me.
Joey keeps talking about "ease of use" as a negative against Windows. As a PC gamer, I am at HOME with Windows. When you buy a Windows handheld and long into your Windows account, it links it to your prior settings, like favorite files, bookmarks, homepage....and other cloud based stuff. You are right at home and off and running. With a Linux device, you get none of that,- AND you end up having to jump through hoops to get certain games from Epic or Uplay,( or any other game launcher) just to get them to work, while having zero prompts on how to get the games running. The problem with Linux is that nobody supports it. Nobody uses it, which makes for a very uncomfortable learning curve for everyone.
Agreed…Steam Deck is only easier for playing Steam Deck verified games and only emudeck (without emudeck, emulation would have also been easier on Windows). Outside of that, you have to hope someone made a Linux install script for that thing or you have to search for instructions.
You forgot to mention that both Ally and Go have so much performances headroom at 20 or 30W and also Ally has external gpu support through xg mobile Port
I travel a lot for work so looks like the Steamdeck is the clear choice. Last thing I want is for the people around me thinking I am vacuuming my plane seat.
I don't own any of these but the Steam Deck OLED seems like it would be the best for me. Nice simple interface and good battery life. It's powerful enough for what I would want to play as well. Plus OLED screens are beautiful
for the price and all I would get the ally.. its way less than a gaminh laptop, even if u get a powerbank and upgrade the ssd u pay less for great specs very comparable to a gaming laptop
@@shineonnent.7951I get it but a laptop isn't a good way to game on the go or sit on the couch or lay in bed or ride in the car . 2 different uses but similar is all I'm saying. 😊
Awesome video, hope to see more X86 handhelds to market. I just began using my limited Edition OLED steam deck and I enjoy the ease of configuring emulation through emudeck. Not sure if the other devices are as simple or have other challenges but the amount of support thrown to the steam deck is noticeable and appreciated, it goes a long way to the overall experience. In addition, while battery life is good on the steam deck, it also charges quite fast.
All have their benefits depending on use case. For my use case i went with Ally. I dont care about battery as i play at home with an outlet nearby. I prefer full Windows. I prefer a lighter system for long play sessions. I dont need other features like tablet mode as i already habe a tablet. Fan noise and sound is important to me as i dont like using headphones. Finally i like i can mod my Ally and insert a 4TB 2280 SSD.
2280 swap isn't that hard .just don't get a 2280 with the chip exposed on both sides cause it will be Overtop one of the hottest part of the unit . I went with a 2230 2 tb and put a heatsink on it ! Also get rid of black dust flap . I'm running over 30 watts and still staying under 70c most times
These performance tests seem off. What bios and OS version are you using? The OLED by and large has slightly higher performance at 15w tdp than the go or the ally.
No one peoples talking about how amazing this presentation, the edits are very clean, from the colours/fonts/images, how he edit all of this stuff & put so much effort are beyond amazing. For me this is the best comparison review, very clear, side by side, ultra HD video, on point, nice bacgrund colours selection, detailed, easy to understand 💯 For me steam deck is all rounder, but there is no shame or wrong choosing all these 3 device.
Since I only own the Deck OLED I cannot give a proper rating but from what I’ve tried in stores to me I think the Ally is much better for me than the Legion Go. It’s just way too big for me. Steam deck is about the limit for handheld size and the Ally is even better in terms of size. My main complaint is the 40whr battery in the Ally as it could be bigger, allowing for longer run times
Legion Go 15w LCD brightness 70% battery running time is about 2 hours. SteamDeck also drains the battery in about 2 hours in an AAA level game that uses up 15W. Is this a benefit? The only time Steam Deck has battery benefits is when playing 2D indie games like Enter the Dungeon. Are you carrying around this huge device to play those games? In that case, a Nintendo Switch or Android phone would be a better alternative. umpc is probably not a machine that was released just to play indie games or sfc emulation. There are superior alternatives such as Elden Ring Baldur's Gate 3, and Steam Deck is not ahead of Legion Go or Rog Elly in any aspect, from performance to battery, in that game
Now this is a solid ass comment that I can 100% agree with from the outside looking in since I don't have any of these consoles yet because I haven't reached a decision. Which would you suggest , ally vs lenovo go ?
After seeing the windows handhelds I can’t think of a reason why anyone would go with the steam deck. The ally is cheaper, more powerful and runs windows so you can run steam in big picture mode to get the same experience as the deck and the Legion Go has the best screen with better performance if you want to pay more.
steam deck all the way, i don't want portable windows tablet like device on my hand when i want to go outside or chilling on the bed, i have my pc and see the windows all day when I'm working, and i don't want to see that crappy windows when I'm away of my pc, i want a console like device like ps vita and Nintendo switch with a ease of use to have a fun.
That new deck is just so well flushed out i feel it's hard not to wven consider it. I could care less for the go's fps feature, weight and size. I think to me the Ally just fits my need for performance and great sound, still very portable and light. Kinda interested in the deck OLED for sure, but the performance/compatibility unfortunately is just not there. I think the upcoming years look promising in terms of improvements for all of these consoles.
FYI, if you were lucky enough to get a limited edition OLED Steam Deck, it's about 20 grams lighter than even the regular OLED. That puts it within 10g of the smaller Ally. My LE OLED weighs 619g.
That Lenovo is pretty cool, but it seems like it may have too much going on. The Asus seems great (and as of Dec 4, 2023 its on sale for $400 at Best Buy!), but the Deck does look like the best option. I just kinda hate how they chose to make the different options of system.
For me as best overall for my needs. 1. LGo 2. Ally 3. Steam Deck I dont need a fancy GUI to play my games. Launching from desktop is just fine. I just want the raw power to play at 800p/720p and to downsize my travel carry-on...It's just my LGo and work laptop now instead of 2 laptops, 2 handhelds and a tablet.
@@theo5675 I actually do get more than an hour on my LGo and Ally battery esp at 15w. You're talking to someone who owns all 3 and actually knows how to tweak Hell i was used to being tied to the wall with as a day 1 steam deck adopter where battery life very comparable to LGo and Ally...and yet all of sudden people like you say I am not playing on a handheld. Fact is, LGo suited my needs whereas SD never gave me enough confidence to get rid of my gaming laptop.
I get that, but I already have a powerful gaming PC at home, so why would I want a device for gaming on the go that gets very loud and hot with bad battery life? If I’m sitting on a plane/train/bus etc for hours, the last thing I’d want is a device that runs quickly out of battery, is uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time and annoys everyone around me with fan noise…that’s why I play truly demanding games on my PC and when traveling I casually play on my Steam Deck that stays quiet and cool at all times. I think the Legion Go/Ally only truly makes sense for people that don’t have a gaming setup at home and want a handheld device as their one-and-done for their gaming needs, you can take it with you and when you’re at home you hook it up to a monitor, otherwise I think the Steam Deck is the better option.
@@natusMCMII I do have a powerful PC at home along with a gaming laptop, but I also travel heavily for work. Sometimes 2 weeks out, sometimes 1-3 months. This time I havent been home since april 2023 except for 2 total days. LGo gave me enough confidence to downsize my travel needs where I always wanted more out of the steam deck in some games (40fps min) like elden ring, death stranding etc etc. Since i was used to LCD SD battery life, tied to the wall and virtually having no time to play a game outside of my hotel/airbnb then I didnt care so much abt the OLED battery life at all...I dont need that battery life if I'm practically not going to use it besides moving around from couch to bed.
Considering you can run the Deck at 15W for the same amount of time as the other two at 10W, perhaps the performance gap isn't as large as it seems here?
found myself almost fully agreeing with the comparison... all except the sticks, very very surprised the ally sticks won out, i dont even think its subjective, they are the loosest sticks out of the 3 (i dont own the legion but have held it), the deck OLED has some nice resistance so you get more control i find and they are not slippy and feel good. I guess if you like looser sticks the ally would be the one... on a side note i find on the ally i own that the outer edge wears on the sticks a lot, i know the OG deck had that issue to, cant be sure how OLED will behave in this regard. Also i had to take my ally sticks out of the device to put tape around the stem so the caps would fit tighter because over a few months they became looser on the stem and would click when rotating... yeh the ally sticks are just pretty crap, but feel nice enough on the thumb. besides that seems like a spot on comparison.
I've had my Ally the longest of the three, besides having the LCD Deck before, but yeah I much prefer the loose Ally sticks. Haven't had any worn issues at all on mine, I didn't know that was an issue. Sticks will likely be preference, but yeah I really enjoy the Ally's.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thats fair, i had a feeling it would come down to resistance, i think the ally moves a bit too far away from traditional controller resistance for me while the deck oled is almost xbox controller like.
people really out there acting like the oled screen makes the deck much better. anytime i boot up my deck it just makes me want to get on my laptop or pc instead. an oled screen yet the same crappy internals.
I had to go ally purely for size. I never even considered a steam deck because of the size, but the ally was the first one that wa "manageable" while being a full on windows PC. I love it. Im sure the steam deck is great too. I want to buy them all.
I know you've tried to keep things level in balancing your thoughts but the ROG and I believe also the GO have turbo modes, charger plugged in. In this mode the boost over deck is around 50%. If you're playing AAA games then plugged in, turbo is vital.
I´ve personally gone with the Ally because I like having it docked on my TV a lot of the time (I have barely used my PS5 since. Only for RUclips and Netflix) and the Decks´ power is a bit anemic for that. The battery life is an issue though. I constantly have to strap my power bank to the back when I´m on the go. I´m actually thinking about doing the 90Wh mod for mine.
Informative video 👍, you say the Legion Go has open EGPU support which is cool but I think it would be fair to mention ROG Ally having the XG mobile support. I understand its super expensive and not everyone will have it but owning one myself really brings out that "switch dock" type feeling of on the go vs when I come back home.
I have the Ally and Steam Deck OLED. Even though I enjoy the OLED on a few low powered games, I still prefer the Ally. The Ally made me retire the LCD Steam deck.
My no.1 pick would be oled deck, but the price in my country is more expensive then the ally, same with lenovo , around 30% more then ally, i pick ally and just enjoy it till steam sold officially in my country. Im confident will not clear my backlog even when the ally 2 or deck 2 comes later on 😂😂
As someone on the fence (always tempted by these!), I'm probably going to wait out this round of handhelds unless GTA6 runs well on them. My backlog of games is deep enough I can stick to Switch, retro handhelds, and PC. If GTA6 is console-only it might force me to buy a new console, otherwise I'll figure out what combination of laptop / PC / handheld I need to run it and work accordingly.
Steamdeck fanboys claim that 15w performance is similar. However, my Legion Go 15w Timespy benchmark performs 2500 points and Steam Deck performs 1500 points. Where is it similar? Actual Windows game running performance is no different from the benchmark. What about better performance on Linux if you open Steam OS on Steam?
The steam deck colour on the persona start screen is poor compared to the others. The red looks pink etc.. On the Asus Rog the my fans ain't that loud on this video 🙈 The speaker tested will sound different because of the location of the legion go speakers.. The battery is definitely better fkr thr steam deck. But with a poor fps on most games and low resolution it was always going have better battery
VRR Screen with low frame compensation in these type of devices is the best feature of all. Only ROG Ally has it. Why is it the best? Because these devices will frequently run games fluctuating fps a lot. On Steam Deck, you are able to change the refresh rate of the screen, which is cool, but you will still feel like a stutter if frames drop below 40fps, for example. On the ROG Ally, you can just leave the frame so unlocked and enjoy a very smooth experience. If you lock the fps, you won't actually tell that much when the frame drops below your capped frame rate. The Legion go is the worst one... It doesn't even have the same feature SD has. ROG Ally or Steam Deck are they way to go depending on your likes and needs. Sorry Legion Go, but 800g and no VRR screen kills you
You know most people who are bashing other's devices haven't even tried the other devices. They are just trying to justify their purchase for some odd reason
If you are gonna buy one,, replace your 10 old PC with regular using, emulation, which one to get? Im gonna use mine more like a regular pc than carry it around
I have a question, which is best for emulators ? I personally don’t care to play big games when I can easily do all that on both my pc and my p5 but I was debating getting the deck mainly for games to cater towards my inner child.
Hard to chose, the Steam Deck is the best at pretty much nothing except Steam implementation, but it's also the worst at nothing and good everywhere, you just wish for a Steam Deck 2 that has all the qualities the Rog and Lenovo ones have
After owning all of them thr legion is the winner. The stema deck second and the ally last. I wanted a oled deck but i cnst go back to stwam OS and a smaller screen now
I did have the GPD Win 4 2022, I did a video on that you can see. The OneX I'd love to get, but a bit too expensive for Canada and they haven't replied to sending me one.
As someone who games at 4K 240Hz on my gaming PC, I'm actually glad Valve stuck to 800p. This resolution is fine for that screen size. Upping the res on portable gaming devices is just counter intuitive as it will make games run slower and the device work harder than it should be for barely noticeable result in screen clarity. 😗
The Steam Deck is the best choice for me. It does everything I'd expect from a handheld. If you want a more powerful device you can just grab a "gaming" laptop in case you wanna travel or a gaming PC.
@@UltraLeetJ What I meant is why would you even want to have so much power in hendheld. If you are fps hungry, get a laptop or PC. That's my opinion and you can't take that away from me.
That's a good choice for it's cheaper and you will get the same performance without the 25% upgrade which if you can afford it grab the oled but at the moment if you want to get into the eco just grab a 64gb model and update the ssd to 1 or 2tb and you good to go same experience and you can get the lcd model to look vibrant. Like valve has did a wonderful job with updates
If you REALLY want one and are on a tight budget I guess go ahead, otherwise I’d highly advise you to save a few more bucks and get the OLED version, the upgrades are really nice compared to the LCD version.
can´t speak for the Steamdeck or Legion, but the Ally Analog Sticks are CRAP, mine arrived Dead on X Axxis (Left Stick) and at all they feel Sluggish. After alot of Research, it seems, its a wide Spread Problem on Ally to Arrive with at least one Dead Analog Stick.
Now that is bad what happens if your device gets really hot and the fan is not blowing hard, but it's blowing the same since when it was cool, now that is bad, you'll need that fan to blow hard as it can to keep it cool, maybe wrong but, you see what I'm trying to say
legion go is good i play sons of the forest at 1600p,also no suttering in any games ive played so far all ran at 1600p and the screen size is awesome i dont gotta squint to shoot someone like 25 ft away in fps games, the screen size is also good for like hulu or some Netflix after playing some games, also feels premium,load times are also really good
The kick in the nuts for me even with the Oled is the 90hz refresh rate. the ROG and the GO have 120 and 144hz refresh rates IF YOU CHOOSE TO TURN THEM ON for higher power consumption. The fact that those features completely arent there for me to be used on the steamdeck Oled while its docked really hampers it.
Nice review. The problem I have had with the steam deck is many of my games are not verified or they have issues of some kind. Only about a third of my steam games are verified. I have the Rog Ally also now and so far every game plays and runs really smooth. I suppose that is because all the steam games are designed to run on windows.
I would say just download and see if it works. Verification isn't necessary. Only game I've had issues with ever was Baldur's Gate which has since ran more than fine.
I actually haven't had this issue at all, but I can see it if you're using quacked games instead of legitimate. Otherwise, everything has basically just worked surprisingly.
@@jasper5945so before OLED, the options is just gaming laptop. Btw, LGo was the only device that gave me enough confidence to get rid of my gaming laptop when traveling.
It's the ease of use. I can play games like Hogwarts Legacy or Horizon Zero Dawn on and off throughout the day easily with the sleep feature. Tapping the power button turns the screen off. Tapping it again hours later puts me exactly where I was within a few seconds. The sleep feature is just one example. As for issues with incompatible games, I just stream from my series x.
log is bigger and better. Its pricey but open box price is pretty good. Fans can be noisy, but you're less likely to run Into overheating. If you have big hands or medium large its perfect
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Minor Correction - at around a minute, I have text that says 2560x1440 for the Legion Go, but it's actually 1600p. Also, 1280x720 for the Steam Deck, and my voice says 1280x800. 1280x800 is correct, the text is wrong - my fault on both.
Also the Legion Go is 2560 x 1600
Head in hands. I need more coffee.
Bro and hz or fps?
The best bro
Do you think the steam deck, lenovo Legion go, and rog Ally will still be around in a few years or more. How many years do you think these three handheld PC like consoles will still be around?
At 15w on the steam deck the performance is comparable to the others at the same 15W TDP with about double the battery life of the others
Great review! I decided on the Steam Deck OLED for a lot of the points you mentioned. The whole appeal of PC handhelds to me is the portability and ease of use. I like being able to just wake up my console, have my Steam library right there and jump into my game like I would for my Switch, 3DS or Miyoo. I like knowing I can have a solid 2-3+ hour gaming session on the go without needing a portable battery or access to a wall socket.
ROG Ally and Legion GO are awesome, but with the battery life and type of games I'd probably intend to play on them, I feel like I might as well boot up my PC.
Exactly
For me i went with the rog ally a few days ago and havent regretted at all. The biggest issue people have with the ally is windows 11 but since im used to it being a pc gamer, i see it as a pro because now i have full control, opposed to steam were your limited, so i can use xbox cloud and emulate now.
Its not wrong either my bros, i think the only cons is only the battery life, others are really greats
Xbox cloud also works on the Steam Deck. You can play Games Pass games on there no problem. I got it to work and tinkering too much scares me. Relatively simple. Especially with YT guides.
Also wut? Emudeck on the Steam Deck is sooooo easy to set up and emulate old consoles and games! It's crazy just how easy fans have made it to emulate!
I'm mostly saying this just in case someone else stumbles on this comment and thinks the Steam Deck can't do either of those things when it absolutely can! It's fair enough if people wanna buy the more expensive handheld PCs but I wouldn't want them to fork out the extra money cos they think Steam Deck limits them! Steam Deck OS is open source! You can do whatever!
Steam OS is cool and all. But the restrictions to games is not worth it to me. I’ll rather have the Ally for the slightly bigger screen, refresh rate, speakers, and bigger game library with less restrictions.
Great comparison mate, I'm gonna go with ROG Ally due to the performance, speakers, ergonomics, software, and they recently added gyro support so it's a plus point for me!!
honestly, i love that the steam deck's screen is only 800p. i know that sounds weird, but it makes hitting native res a hell of a lot more attainable, and a lot of the games i like don't have the prettiest image scaling.
It doesn't sound dumb they knew what they were doing cause 1 it looks good and 2 it performs well while still getting a okay battery life
A lot people walk through that reasoning, but most games that would be too demanding to push more pixels support separate UI and render resolutions, including any games with FSR support. Lots of games UI just look frankly terrible at that resolution, such as Elden Ring. And in the case of the Legion Go, the resolution is quite a smart decision in that 720p scales cleanly to the the display res.
I hope Valve's general release of Steam OS happens soon. I know they promised it now that version 3.5 is out. I think it would be interesting to see what other companies come up with for their version of a "Steam Deck" that caters to different types of customers hardware-wise, but still want what Steam OS offers.
lol funny
I own all 3 of these devices and i love all 3 , so i use my rog ally exclusively for fighting games I just feel the form factor is easier to pull off difficult combos,i use my deck for old AAA games and indie games and the legion go for AAA games. Imo the legion go screen is better then the steam deck OLED. I hate the fact most games i want to play on my deck don't work and as janky as Windows is it's a much better experience for me.
Joey keeps talking about "ease of use" as a negative against Windows. As a PC gamer, I am at HOME with Windows. When you buy a Windows handheld and long into your Windows account, it links it to your prior settings, like favorite files, bookmarks, homepage....and other cloud based stuff. You are right at home and off and running. With a Linux device, you get none of that,- AND you end up having to jump through hoops to get certain games from Epic or Uplay,( or any other game launcher) just to get them to work, while having zero prompts on how to get the games running. The problem with Linux is that nobody supports it. Nobody uses it, which makes for a very uncomfortable learning curve for everyone.
I'm a Windows guy. SteamOS is just easier for normal people with only Steam games, like I mentioned. I don't like Linux, but even I can admit it.
Agreed…Steam Deck is only easier for playing Steam Deck verified games and only emudeck (without emudeck, emulation would have also been easier on Windows). Outside of that, you have to hope someone made a Linux install script for that thing or you have to search for instructions.
You forgot to mention that both Ally and Go have so much performances headroom at 20 or 30W and also Ally has external gpu support through xg mobile Port
Might as well not have an egpu on the Ally with that stupid port 😂
@@Hotcatfish1 what is stupid is more the price of their gpu.. like 1500€ for a mobile 3080 is crazy
@@shattia yep put me off the Ally completely!
I travel a lot for work so looks like the Steamdeck is the clear choice. Last thing I want is for the people around me thinking I am vacuuming my plane seat.
I don't own any of these but the Steam Deck OLED seems like it would be the best for me. Nice simple interface and good battery life. It's powerful enough for what I would want to play as well. Plus OLED screens are beautiful
Simple interface you think. Lol good luck I own a steam deck and run into issues with it daily. Recommended the lenevo
got the go 2 days ago been playing bo3 and sons of the forest on it at 1600p running awesome no sutters
@@Hotcatfish1 user error
@@pietheijn-vo1gt haha sure mate 🤣
@@Hotcatfish1 I know for a fact that’s cap, you probably don’t own any of those lmao
for the price and all I would get the ally.. its way less than a gaminh laptop, even if u get a powerbank and upgrade the ssd u pay less for great specs very comparable to a gaming laptop
It's 300 less than Acer predator with 3060 I would just get a laptop
@@shineonnent.7951I get it but a laptop isn't a good way to game on the go or sit on the couch or lay in bed or ride in the car . 2 different uses but similar is all I'm saying. 😊
@@youngjustin82 true
Great video, thanks for the comparison. Seems relevant with people holiday shopping for devices in this category right now
Awesome video, hope to see more X86 handhelds to market. I just began using my limited Edition OLED steam deck and I enjoy the ease of configuring emulation through emudeck. Not sure if the other devices are as simple or have other challenges but the amount of support thrown to the steam deck is noticeable and appreciated, it goes a long way to the overall experience. In addition, while battery life is good on the steam deck, it also charges quite fast.
thanks bro this was so useful❤
Bro in Germany there´s 649€ for the Asus ROG Ally and 769€ for lenovo. I´ve chosen the Rog Ally I got for 480€ Used on Ebay.
All have their benefits depending on use case. For my use case i went with Ally. I dont care about battery as i play at home with an outlet nearby. I prefer full Windows. I prefer a lighter system for long play sessions. I dont need other features like tablet mode as i already habe a tablet. Fan noise and sound is important to me as i dont like using headphones. Finally i like i can mod my Ally and insert a 4TB 2280 SSD.
How did you get a 4tb because the size of the nvme isn't a full stick?
@@Ifalvarado he picked the Ally the guy obviously doesn't know what he's doing 😂
@@Hotcatfish1he probably watched that eta prime video about putting a 2280 nvme on a rog ally and wants to copy it.
If you succeed, let me know, I’m also itching to take it apart and insert it from my PC 2280 to 4t into an ally
2280 swap isn't that hard .just don't get a 2280 with the chip exposed on both sides cause it will be Overtop one of the hottest part of the unit . I went with a 2230 2 tb and put a heatsink on it ! Also get rid of black dust flap . I'm running over 30 watts and still staying under 70c most times
These performance tests seem off. What bios and OS version are you using? The OLED by and large has slightly higher performance at 15w tdp than the go or the ally.
SUPER good review, options to think about. Thanks Joey
No one peoples talking about how amazing this presentation, the edits are very clean, from the colours/fonts/images, how he edit all of this stuff & put so much effort are beyond amazing.
For me this is the best comparison review, very clear, side by side, ultra HD video, on point, nice bacgrund colours selection, detailed, easy to understand 💯
For me steam deck is all rounder, but there is no shame or wrong choosing all these 3 device.
Wow, thank you!
Since I only own the Deck OLED I cannot give a proper rating but from what I’ve tried in stores to me I think the Ally is much better for me than the Legion Go. It’s just way too big for me. Steam deck is about the limit for handheld size and the Ally is even better in terms of size. My main complaint is the 40whr battery in the Ally as it could be bigger, allowing for longer run times
What case do you have on the ROG Ally in this video please? i'm looking for a case and i'm assuming it has a front cover?
Skull n Co!
Thank you 😊
love my Ally ROG 😎
Legion Go 15w LCD brightness 70% battery running time is about 2 hours. SteamDeck also drains the battery in about 2 hours in an AAA level game that uses up 15W. Is this a benefit? The only time Steam Deck has battery benefits is when playing 2D indie games like Enter the Dungeon. Are you carrying around this huge device to play those games? In that case, a Nintendo Switch or Android phone would be a better alternative. umpc is probably not a machine that was released just to play indie games or sfc emulation. There are superior alternatives such as Elden Ring Baldur's Gate 3, and Steam Deck is not ahead of Legion Go or Rog Elly in any aspect, from performance to battery, in that game
Now this is a solid ass comment that I can 100% agree with from the outside looking in since I don't have any of these consoles yet because I haven't reached a decision. Which would you suggest , ally vs lenovo go ?
After seeing the windows handhelds I can’t think of a reason why anyone would go with the steam deck. The ally is cheaper, more powerful and runs windows so you can run steam in big picture mode to get the same experience as the deck and the Legion Go has the best screen with better performance if you want to pay more.
The legion GO sucks - NOTHING on it runs smoothly
steam deck all the way, i don't want portable windows tablet like device on my hand when i want to go outside or chilling on the bed, i have my pc and see the windows all day when I'm working, and i don't want to see that crappy windows when I'm away of my pc, i want a console like device like ps vita and Nintendo switch with a ease of use to have a fun.
Legion Go for me. Why? SD slot actually works. Looking at you Ally...
That new deck is just so well flushed out i feel it's hard not to wven consider it. I could care less for the go's fps feature, weight and size. I think to me the Ally just fits my need for performance and great sound, still very portable and light. Kinda interested in the deck OLED for sure, but the performance/compatibility unfortunately is just not there. I think the upcoming years look promising in terms of improvements for all of these consoles.
FYI, if you were lucky enough to get a limited edition OLED Steam Deck, it's about 20 grams lighter than even the regular OLED. That puts it within 10g of the smaller Ally. My LE OLED weighs 619g.
Yep.
Did you remember to add the weight of the sd card as well?
Great unbiased review with all positives and negatives laid out without personal opinion. I review your review 10/10 .
That Lenovo is pretty cool, but it seems like it may have too much going on. The Asus seems great (and as of Dec 4, 2023 its on sale for $400 at Best Buy!), but the Deck does look like the best option. I just kinda hate how they chose to make the different options of system.
For me as best overall for my needs.
1. LGo
2. Ally
3. Steam Deck
I dont need a fancy GUI to play my games. Launching from desktop is just fine. I just want the raw power to play at 800p/720p and to downsize my travel carry-on...It's just my LGo and work laptop now instead of 2 laptops, 2 handhelds and a tablet.
U won’t get more than hour on battery it’s not a handheld at that point if ur always plugged in
@@theo5675 I actually do get more than an hour on my LGo and Ally battery esp at 15w. You're talking to someone who owns all 3 and actually knows how to tweak
Hell i was used to being tied to the wall with as a day 1 steam deck adopter where battery life very comparable to LGo and Ally...and yet all of sudden people like you say I am not playing on a handheld.
Fact is, LGo suited my needs whereas SD never gave me enough confidence to get rid of my gaming laptop.
I get that, but I already have a powerful gaming PC at home, so why would I want a device for gaming on the go that gets very loud and hot with bad battery life? If I’m sitting on a plane/train/bus etc for hours, the last thing I’d want is a device that runs quickly out of battery, is uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time and annoys everyone around me with fan noise…that’s why I play truly demanding games on my PC and when traveling I casually play on my Steam Deck that stays quiet and cool at all times.
I think the Legion Go/Ally only truly makes sense for people that don’t have a gaming setup at home and want a handheld device as their one-and-done for their gaming needs, you can take it with you and when you’re at home you hook it up to a monitor, otherwise I think the Steam Deck is the better option.
@@natusMCMII I do have a powerful PC at home along with a gaming laptop, but I also travel heavily for work. Sometimes 2 weeks out, sometimes 1-3 months. This time I havent been home since april 2023 except for 2 total days.
LGo gave me enough confidence to downsize my travel needs where I always wanted more out of the steam deck in some games (40fps min) like elden ring, death stranding etc etc.
Since i was used to LCD SD battery life, tied to the wall and virtually having no time to play a game outside of my hotel/airbnb then I didnt care so much abt the OLED battery life at all...I dont need that battery life if I'm practically not going to use it besides moving around from couch to bed.
@@natusMCMIIthe ally nor GO fan is that loud...you steam deck fans boys are the worse
Considering you can run the Deck at 15W for the same amount of time as the other two at 10W, perhaps the performance gap isn't as large as it seems here?
found myself almost fully agreeing with the comparison... all except the sticks, very very surprised the ally sticks won out, i dont even think its subjective, they are the loosest sticks out of the 3 (i dont own the legion but have held it), the deck OLED has some nice resistance so you get more control i find and they are not slippy and feel good. I guess if you like looser sticks the ally would be the one... on a side note i find on the ally i own that the outer edge wears on the sticks a lot, i know the OG deck had that issue to, cant be sure how OLED will behave in this regard. Also i had to take my ally sticks out of the device to put tape around the stem so the caps would fit tighter because over a few months they became looser on the stem and would click when rotating... yeh the ally sticks are just pretty crap, but feel nice enough on the thumb. besides that seems like a spot on comparison.
I've had my Ally the longest of the three, besides having the LCD Deck before, but yeah I much prefer the loose Ally sticks. Haven't had any worn issues at all on mine, I didn't know that was an issue. Sticks will likely be preference, but yeah I really enjoy the Ally's.
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds thats fair, i had a feeling it would come down to resistance, i think the ally moves a bit too far away from traditional controller resistance for me while the deck oled is almost xbox controller like.
Ally and the Deck OLED are the very best handhelds on the market. The Legion I'm returning for various reasons - it's not as good .
people really out there acting like the oled screen makes the deck much better. anytime i boot up my deck it just makes me want to get on my laptop or pc instead. an oled screen yet the same crappy internals.
I had to go ally purely for size. I never even considered a steam deck because of the size, but the ally was the first one that wa "manageable" while being a full on windows PC. I love it. Im sure the steam deck is great too. I want to buy them all.
still deciding
can you lend me your three units so i can decide
Honestly the ROG Ally all the way 👍🏻
I know you've tried to keep things level in balancing your thoughts but the ROG and I believe also the GO have turbo modes, charger plugged in. In this mode the boost over deck is around 50%. If you're playing AAA games then plugged in, turbo is vital.
I´ve personally gone with the Ally because I like having it docked on my TV a lot of the time (I have barely used my PS5 since. Only for RUclips and Netflix) and the Decks´ power is a bit anemic for that. The battery life is an issue though. I constantly have to strap my power bank to the back when I´m on the go. I´m actually thinking about doing the 90Wh mod for mine.
Informative video 👍, you say the Legion Go has open EGPU support which is cool but I think it would be fair to mention ROG Ally having the XG mobile support. I understand its super expensive and not everyone will have it but owning one myself really brings out that "switch dock" type feeling of on the go vs when I come back home.
I ❤ my Rog ally
Fx audio app helps the go.
For me Rog Ally is the best between this 3 for me. I need VRR 1080p than OLED 720p
I just wish the Ally lasted longer than 2 hours.
What would all of you recommend to have as a handheld and living room console in one? I think the steam deck could have to low resolution for the tv.
The screen resolution isn't the resolution it outputs to the TV at, but to answer your question, likely the Go.
Which do you prefer???? Are you returning the legion back? If no why not?
I prefer the Steam Deck OLED currently.
I have the Ally and Steam Deck OLED. Even though I enjoy the OLED on a few low powered games, I still prefer the Ally. The Ally made me retire the LCD Steam deck.
Steam Deck Oled 💯
Same
My no.1 pick would be oled deck, but the price in my country is more expensive then the ally, same with lenovo , around 30% more then ally, i pick ally and just enjoy it till steam sold officially in my country. Im confident will not clear my backlog even when the ally 2 or deck 2 comes later on 😂😂
Can I ask what kind of shell do you have for the ally.. I’m trying to get a good one and yours seems pretty nice.. anyway good video
It's the Skull n Co gripcase.
Does anyone know what game he is playing at 15:50
Sea of Stars
Looks great thanks!@@JoeysRetroHandhelds
As someone on the fence (always tempted by these!), I'm probably going to wait out this round of handhelds unless GTA6 runs well on them. My backlog of games is deep enough I can stick to Switch, retro handhelds, and PC. If GTA6 is console-only it might force me to buy a new console, otherwise I'll figure out what combination of laptop / PC / handheld I need to run it and work accordingly.
Was going to get a steam deck, but the ROG is at Best buy for $400
Steamdeck fanboys claim that 15w performance is similar. However, my Legion Go 15w Timespy benchmark performs 2500 points and Steam Deck performs 1500 points. Where is it similar? Actual Windows game running performance is no different from the benchmark. What about better performance on Linux if you open Steam OS on Steam?
I want a legion go so I can play maple story from bed 😅hahahaha
What do you like the best?
My personal ranking
1st Steam deck
2nd Asus rog ally
3rd Lenovo legion go
Same, I owned all three and after using my Oled for a week I returned my LGo and sold my Ally
@@Christian-eq7uhsame here battery was terrible on the windows ones
The steam deck colour on the persona start screen is poor compared to the others. The red looks pink etc..
On the Asus Rog the my fans ain't that loud on this video 🙈
The speaker tested will sound different because of the location of the legion go speakers..
The battery is definitely better fkr thr steam deck. But with a poor fps on most games and low resolution it was always going have better battery
VRR Screen with low frame compensation in these type of devices is the best feature of all. Only ROG Ally has it.
Why is it the best? Because these devices will frequently run games fluctuating fps a lot.
On Steam Deck, you are able to change the refresh rate of the screen, which is cool, but you will still feel like a stutter if frames drop below 40fps, for example.
On the ROG Ally, you can just leave the frame so unlocked and enjoy a very smooth experience. If you lock the fps, you won't actually tell that much when the frame drops below your capped frame rate.
The Legion go is the worst one... It doesn't even have the same feature SD has.
ROG Ally or Steam Deck are they way to go depending on your likes and needs.
Sorry Legion Go, but 800g and no VRR screen kills you
You know most people who are bashing other's devices haven't even tried the other devices. They are just trying to justify their purchase for some odd reason
If you are gonna buy one,, replace your 10 old PC with regular using, emulation, which one to get? Im gonna use mine more like a regular pc than carry it around
Legion Go with eGPU - ADT UT3G.
So which one run vr better
What games is he playing in this video?
Appreciate the info! Do you have a link to the retro 16bit music used in your vid?
Should be in the description!
So should i go with legion go? Or Steam Deck Oled? I still havent decided ..
did you choose ?
Nice video..., but Asus is "Asoos" not "Ace-us", but tomato... tamato I guess.
I refuse to say Asoos lol
Fine, but if you say Asoos in one of your videos I'll subscribe ;-p @@JoeysRetroHandhelds
3:19 is PS4 loud
The legion god battery life is a bit surprising and sad I thought it would be a lot better due to the larger battery.
I have a question, which is best for emulators ? I personally don’t care to play big games when I can easily do all that on both my pc and my p5 but I was debating getting the deck mainly for games to cater towards my inner child.
Depends on what you want to emulate, Ally and Go have more power to do better PS3 and 360.
No doubt it's the steam deck community support and how easy it is to start emulation is ridiculous if you want the best emulation system it's the deck
Ally is second
tbh i want to emulate ps2, ps3, psp, gameboy, ds and etc games @@JoeysRetroHandhelds
PS3 would still be Ally or Go.
i like that RoG Ally Case, looks nice. what case is it though if you dont mind my asking , id like to get it, thanks man
It's the Skull n Co one!
@@JoeysRetroHandhelds 👍🏽
Hard to chose, the Steam Deck is the best at pretty much nothing except Steam implementation, but it's also the worst at nothing and good everywhere, you just wish for a Steam Deck 2 that has all the qualities the Rog and Lenovo ones have
After owning all of them thr legion is the winner. The stema deck second and the ally last. I wanted a oled deck but i cnst go back to stwam OS and a smaller screen now
Please. Get onex and gpd win4, want ur opinion
I did have the GPD Win 4 2022, I did a video on that you can see. The OneX I'd love to get, but a bit too expensive for Canada and they haven't replied to sending me one.
Hi, I'm Joey, and these are my bigass handheld.
Hah
As someone who games at 4K 240Hz on my gaming PC, I'm actually glad Valve stuck to 800p. This resolution is fine for that screen size. Upping the res on portable gaming devices is just counter intuitive as it will make games run slower and the device work harder than it should be for barely noticeable result in screen clarity. 😗
The Steam Deck is the best choice for me. It does everything I'd expect from a handheld. If you want a more powerful device you can just grab a "gaming" laptop in case you wanna travel or a gaming PC.
ally costs way less than "a gaming laptop" and does pretty much the same as one, just in case u werent aware
@@UltraLeetJ What I meant is why would you even want to have so much power in hendheld. If you are fps hungry, get a laptop or PC. That's my opinion and you can't take that away from me.
@projecttrukdude out here trying to start a war lol
@@timidalchemist8475he wildin lmaoo
@@jordanmocny2690deadass LMAOO like chill
You know, those issues, you will not notice them if you dont compare one from the other.
Ally fits the best for me tbh
If valve stop playing and put the 7420u inside the deck oled I’d switch back to valve
What about anti cheat games?
Steam deck won't play them unless you install windows on it
The normal Steam Deck without OLED is what I’m looking to get.
Get the OLED one. You'll thank me later
Terrible choice worse battery life, and it's not 90hz
I'd HIGHLY recommend steam deck oled
That's a good choice for it's cheaper and you will get the same performance without the 25% upgrade which if you can afford it grab the oled but at the moment if you want to get into the eco just grab a 64gb model and update the ssd to 1 or 2tb and you good to go same experience and you can get the lcd model to look vibrant. Like valve has did a wonderful job with updates
If you REALLY want one and are on a tight budget I guess go ahead, otherwise I’d highly advise you to save a few more bucks and get the OLED version, the upgrades are really nice compared to the LCD version.
Steamdeck and Rog were way too small for me. My hands cramped up within minutes.
can´t speak for the Steamdeck or Legion, but the Ally Analog Sticks are CRAP, mine arrived Dead on X Axxis (Left Stick) and at all they feel Sluggish. After alot of Research, it seems, its a wide Spread Problem on Ally to Arrive with at least one Dead Analog Stick.
That Legion Go fan, holy hell.
Now that is bad what happens if your device gets really hot and the fan is not blowing hard, but it's blowing the same since when it was cool, now that is bad, you'll need that fan to blow hard as it can to keep it cool, maybe wrong but, you see what I'm trying to say
Is not complicated. OLED destroys the pathetic contrast and blacks of the IPS ones. Easy pick
Still torn between Ally 7 inch display and Legion go 8.8 inch
Ally is balanced i would go with Ally
legion go is good i play sons of the forest at 1600p,also no suttering in any games ive played so far all ran at 1600p and the screen size is awesome i dont gotta squint to shoot someone like 25 ft away in fps games, the screen size is also good for like hulu or some Netflix after playing some games, also feels premium,load times are also really good
Legion go full fan speed. " you ready for take off?" WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The kick in the nuts for me even with the Oled is the 90hz refresh rate. the ROG and the GO have 120 and 144hz refresh rates IF YOU CHOOSE TO TURN THEM ON for higher power consumption. The fact that those features completely arent there for me to be used on the steamdeck Oled while its docked really hampers it.
You can manually adjust the refresh rate on all 3 of them. I don’t see the issue.
Nice review. The problem I have had with the steam deck is many of my games are not verified or they have issues of some kind. Only about a third of my steam games are verified. I have the Rog Ally also now and so far every game plays and runs really smooth. I suppose that is because all the steam games are designed to run on windows.
I would say just download and see if it works. Verification isn't necessary. Only game I've had issues with ever was Baldur's Gate which has since ran more than fine.
I actually haven't had this issue at all, but I can see it if you're using quacked games instead of legitimate. Otherwise, everything has basically just worked surprisingly.
These devices are to expensive to have my games crashing on me after twenty minutes of play.
ngl its asus over here no doubt cuz 64gb lcd steam deck is 20000 and the asus is 16000 and the legion isnt even here
For steam deck i thing the price is killer if u lose your steam get stolen the price and the availability is just top dog
All three are very available
@@crestofhonor2349where can you get a brand new deck and get it by today? Hmm no where!
The Steamdeck is lucky it got an OLED update. Otherwise, I would question why its here.
its still the best one when you got low tdp
Best battery life
nah, its gonna be steam deck or gaming laptop. no place for ally or legion go tbh, 1-2 hr battery life then 1-2 hr charging is just stupid
@@jasper5945so before OLED, the options is just gaming laptop.
Btw, LGo was the only device that gave me enough confidence to get rid of my gaming laptop when traveling.
It's the ease of use. I can play games like Hogwarts Legacy or Horizon Zero Dawn on and off throughout the day easily with the sleep feature.
Tapping the power button turns the screen off. Tapping it again hours later puts me exactly where I was within a few seconds.
The sleep feature is just one example. As for issues with incompatible games, I just stream from my series x.
Good video, but it doesn’t help me in my final decision... 😂
log is bigger and better. Its pricey but open box price is pretty good. Fans can be noisy, but you're less likely to run Into overheating. If you have big hands or medium large its perfect
The legion go proves that bigger is not always better
I mean it is better but okay
@@Hotcatfish1Not even close. Windows devices are shit.
@@CrackHeadDaddy mate I own a steam deck and it can be so fustrating sometimes using Linux
@@Hotcatfish1not really. Better is subjective
@@Hotcatfish1 whatever you wanna tell yourself man