Asus ROG Ally $399 @ Best Buy

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Burticus

Supreme [H]ardness
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https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-r...processor-512gb-white/6543664.p?skuId=6543664

RC71L-ALLY.Z1_512

SKU:6543664

ASUS - ROG Ally 7" 120Hz FHD 1080p Gaming Handheld - AMD Ryzen Z1 Processor - 512GB - White​


At the original price of $599 for the non-extreme version, bit of a hard pill to swallow. But at $399.... hmmm. Tempting alternative to the Deck and for other game launchers (Epic, Battle.net, etc) or emulation stuff.

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edit - looks like they have some open box ones from $299 up. There is a 339 "excellent" one....
 
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How sad is it that even at $400 I am barely moved to be interested? I think these guys made a mistake going on their own and not creating a cohesive platform like Steam did.
 
sk3tch said:
How sad is it that even at $400 I am barely moved to be interested? I think these guys made a mistake going on their own and not creating a cohesive platform like Steam did.
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Yeah I think $300 is about all I would want to sink into something like this.... and I don't have the best history with handhelds. I had a Vita, and it was neat to play with, I just found I didn't mess with it that much. I think for people who travel a lot and want to game on the go (or don't have good gaming pc's) this is more of a match.
 
sk3tch said:
How sad is it that even at $400 I am barely moved to be interested? I think these guys made a mistake going on their own and not creating a cohesive platform like Steam did.
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That is basically the problem with all the other entrants into the market. They fail to understand that what makes the Steam Deck good, is that it balances power with power (yes I put it that way for lols). That is to say they use a lower power APU so that it has reasonable battery life. It has instant wake and sleep (making it by far the best pick up and put down PC handheld) and it's all paired with one of the best displays, sets of speakers, and controls (that we can be assured won't be plastic-ky, feel bad, or be imprecise).

Both this and devices like MSI's claw just don't look like they were designed to be used in the real world. Being attached to a wall for power defeats their purpose as being a portable gaming device.
 
I have both in the house, Ally is great but get the Z1 extreme model if you go that route. I do have to say the new Steamdeck OLED model is absolutely beautiful, I got one for my son and you can install EVERYTHING that the Ally has, so that would be my first choice if I were on the market. The screen is just so much better, so dont be sold on the 1080P screen the new OLED Steamdeck screen blows it away IMO. However with the Ally you can install a standard size NVME I have a 4TB one in my Ally. There is also an issue with Ally's cooking SD cards, the newer models have addressed this issue from what I've been reading. I personally haven't had any issues and have a 1TB SD card in mine with all my emulation roms on there with no issues.
 
Yeah, feeling the temptation on picking up an Ally, Best Buy has a Geek Squad refurb Z1 Extreme for $549 CAD (still includes Best Buy's return policy). Biggest flaw with my Steam Deck is not being able to access my Gamepass games (well, without streaming them).
 
Thank you. $399 is tempting. Not that much more expensive then a Switch. The problems with the pc handhelds are they cost too much are not all that portable and battery life bad. Nintendo had it right with the Gameboy up to the 3DS family you could play multpilayer games like Bomberman, Mario Kart or Pokemon with friends while waiting on line for roller coasters at an amusement park, the system would fit in your pocket when it was your turn to ride the roller coaster and the battery would last most of the day. Switch is about the maximum size for a handheld without being too big. Switch battery can be an issue at in person Pokemon video game tournaments where you have to have external battery charger because if you run out of batteries you lose.
 
Tempting price point, I generally don’t buy first gen hardware for these novel platforms as there’s inevitable growing pains and glaring oversights that are fixed by Gen2.

I haven’t paid super close attention to SteamDeck vs Ally, I think there’s pros/cons to each experience.

SteamOS seems to be more naturally integrated into a handheld since it’s running Big Screen mode and designed for this device, but I still have trust issues with Valve and hardware platforms (their Alpha and streaming hardware were big busts for example). Also, I’ve heard they have compatibility issues with online gameplay since they’re running Linux and there’s concerns with security/cheating, which makes this a total nonstarter for lounging around farming type online games. Also proton support is better I guess but you still need to wait for Valve to do the work which again leads back to trust issues. I did like the OLED upgrade on their gen2 hardware seeing how much of a difference it was for Switch, but their stance on upgrading performance more deliberately was a negative. I also dislike the color scheme and design of Steam devices in general.

Ally is running Windows which is weird due to navigating screens and reading tiny text. Huge discrepancy between performance on the two SKUs is also super weird imo and unnecessarily makes for consumer hesitation like you see in this thread. I like the design of the hardware and while the screen isn’t OLED it looks good and isn’t as bad as earlier devices like Original Switch. It’s kind of large but not heavy and looks and feels premium. Still, I’d like to wait and see a Gen2 before committing. I do also like the native Windows support even though the handheld experience is worse mainly because I can play mindless games like Diablo 4 or Destiny 2 from around the house instead of hopping on my desktop or laptop.

In the end I think the main thing these handhelds have accomplished however is setting the upper bounds of what Nintendo can charge for a Switch 2. Personally I would pay up to $700 for a Switch 2 that checks all the boxes with OLED and a bleeding edge SoC that could handle 1080p/120Hz or higher with NVME storage etc.
 
chizow said:
Tempting price point, I generally don’t buy first gen hardware for these novel platforms as there’s inevitable growing pains and glaring oversights that are fixed by Gen2.

I haven’t paid super close attention to SteamDeck vs Ally, I think there’s pros/cons to each experience.

SteamOS seems to be more naturally integrated into a handheld since it’s running Big Screen mode and designed for this device, but I still have trust issues with Valve and hardware platforms (their Alpha and streaming hardware were big busts for example). Also, I’ve heard they have compatibility issues with online gameplay since they’re running Linux and there’s concerns with security/cheating, which makes this a total nonstarter for lounging around farming type online games. Also proton support is better I guess but you still need to wait for Valve to do the work which again leads back to trust issues. I did like the OLED upgrade on their gen2 hardware seeing how much of a difference it was for Switch, but their stance on upgrading performance more deliberately was a negative. I also dislike the color scheme and design of Steam devices in general.

Ally is running Windows which is weird due to navigating screens and reading tiny text. Huge discrepancy between performance on the two SKUs is also super weird imo and unnecessarily makes for consumer hesitation like you see in this thread. I like the design of the hardware and while the screen isn’t OLED it looks good and isn’t as bad as earlier devices like Original Switch. It’s kind of large but not heavy and looks and feels premium. Still, I’d like to wait and see a Gen2 before committing. I do also like the native Windows support even though the handheld experience is worse mainly because I can play mindless games like Diablo 4 or Destiny 2 from around the house instead of hopping on my desktop or laptop.

In the end I think the main thing these handhelds have accomplished however is setting the upper bounds of what Nintendo can charge for a Switch 2. Personally I would pay up to $700 for a Switch 2 that checks all the boxes with OLED and a bleeding edge SoC that could handle 1080p/120Hz or higher with NVME storage etc.
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Switch 2 is going to be $300-400 and target slightly better PS4 base performance. It is going to be another turd of a system.
 
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Already bought a Legion Go weeks ago, plus this has the 6 core Z1. Might do for the emulation and lower end PC gaming crowd.
 
The Mad Atheist said:
Already bought a Legion Go weeks ago, plus this has the 6 core Z1. Might do for the emulation and lower end PC gaming crowd.
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Do you like the Legion Go? I was on the fence about that one, but looks a little pricey and chonky for me. I like the screen size tho
 
Burticus said:
Do you like the Legion Go? I was on the fence about that one, but looks a little pricey and chonky for me. I like the screen size tho
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I have the Legion Go. With the latest updates, it makes the Legion Go a VERY good Windows handheld gamer.
 
Burticus said:
Do you like the Legion Go? I was on the fence about that one, but looks a little pricey and chonky for me. I like the screen size tho
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I like it, still setting it up tho. Got it for 600usd after using my $100 gift card at Best Buy.
One of the reason I got it is because I can ditch the joycons and use it as a small Windows tablet, it's a manageable 8in screen. The kickstand will let you stand it on all 4 sides without the joycons.

Only issues HW wise is the bottom USB C, I either wished it was move to the bottom center or ditch it for a USB A on top, having it on the bottom to the far side renders it useless while stand, if in was in the center then you could probably use the Switch's dock.
The joycons' rails look weak compared to others with removable controllers, I worry if they might break at some point. It looks like the rails on the tablet can be replaced because I see screws inside, not sure tho.
It uses a 2242 SSD, odd size, I'm not sure why they didn't just go with a 2230, I don't 2240s higher than 2TBs like the 2230s. I have a 2280 adapter coming in shortly, hopefully I can use a duo sided SSD with it, if so then I by another 4TB MP34.
The case has a bit of wasted space, you can only store the mouse puck and the analog stick cap underneath. I'm planning of cutting the that area out so I can at least fit also store the charger.
The joycons should've came with a joining bracket, it feels weird holding them separately.

I heard Lenovo might be releasing a 32GB model, not sure.

Not many wraps for it yet, I'm looking to adapt a NES theme wrap like I see the Switch has.
https://www.luxskinsofficial.com/products/nintendo-switch-oled-retro-nes-skin
 
Went to my local Best Buy to try out a ROG Ally - not sure if I'll find it all that comfortable for long uses. It's kinda flat in the back.
 
SeymourGore said:
Went to my local Best Buy to try out a ROG Ally - not sure if I'll find it all that comfortable for long uses. It's kinda flat in the back.
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It's not too bad. I have a lot of issues with hand soreness and the Ally wasn't any worse on my hands than most controllers or a keyboard and mouse. Though, of course, everyone's hands are different so your milage my vary.
 
Derangel said:
It's not too bad. I have a lot of issues with hand soreness and the Ally wasn't any worse on my hands than most controllers or a keyboard and mouse. Though, of course, everyone's hands are different so your milage my vary.
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Shortly after posting that, I found out about Skull and Co making comfort grips for the Ally, which alleviates my concern.
 
Kirika said:
Thank you. $399 is tempting. Not that much more expensive then a Switch. The problems with the pc handhelds are they cost too much are not all that portable and battery life bad. Nintendo had it right with the Gameboy up to the 3DS family you could play multpilayer games like Bomberman, Mario Kart or Pokemon with friends while waiting on line for roller coasters at an amusement park, the system would fit in your pocket when it was your turn to ride the roller coaster and the battery would last most of the day. Switch is about the maximum size for a handheld without being too big. Switch battery can be an issue at in person Pokemon video game tournaments where you have to have external battery charger because if you run out of batteries you lose.
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I thought the battery would be an issue as well, but I’ve found it it super rare you’re sitting somewhere for over two hours where you can’t plug in. My two primary reasons for getting this were a) commute where I take a nice high-speed train with plugs in a few days a week, and b) on long-haul flights which nearly all now have plugs. I was able to pick up the Z1 version in November back when they were £400 ($500) here in the UK for a second.

It’s really nice playing games like AC Mirage, Odyssey, Unity etc at 1080p medium settings on a device this size. I’m also really enjoying some “old” classics where you can crank the IQ e.g. Dishonored 2. I’ve done the math and the CPU/GPU power around in line with a PS4 Pro which, again, is pretty great for a handheld. And if I’m not wrong, Ally is acually a bit smaller than the switch (at least in length)

It’s been a better solution than my gaming laptop that really just sat in a case at home due to its size (and was much cheaper)

Edit: Regarding the Ally's use of Windows, I actually haven't found any issue with it. It's a gaming handheld, and in my experience, you install a game (from any online service/launcher unlike Steamdeck which requires some tweaking to do this), you see it appear in the Asus Launcher, you launch the game. Unless you're fiddling or settling on the setup, there not much reason to leave the launcher (but the option is there if you want to use other apps). I've actuallly used this with a dock/monitor/keyboard and mouse setup and it is workable little productivity PC.

To echo others, I really wouldn't consider the non-Z1 version. One of the main draws of this device (and others like it) is the decent performance uptick compared to SteamDeck that basically allows you to play any modern game with respectable resolution and IQ -- something not really possible on SteamDeck or lower-end Windows handhelds.
 
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vegeta535 said:
Switch 2 is going to be $300-400 and target slightly better PS4 base performance. It is going to be another turd of a system.
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It'll have been ~7 years since it first launched, so any improvement to resolution, but mainly FPS running Switch 1 titles will be greatly appreciated and that's before the possibility of DLSS. I think sub-$400 is optimistic, but even if the base model is $400-500, these handhelds still test the upper bounds of what people will pay for a gaming handheld device. Maybe a Switch 2 Pro at some point for the niche market that wants something with more bells and whistles? $700 is the ceiling now.

Also for those who didn't want the non-Extreme Z1, BestBuy reduced the Extreme version from $700 to $600, so only $200 more than the non-Extreme if that helps the decision making process any easier.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-r...processor-512gb-white/6542964.p?skuId=6542964
 
Burticus said:
Yeah I think $300 is about all I would want to sink into something like this.... and I don't have the best history with handhelds. I had a Vita, and it was neat to play with, I just found I didn't mess with it that much. I think for people who travel a lot and want to game on the go (or don't have good gaming pc's) this is more of a match.
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Now $300


Marees said:
This is not an April Fool's joke

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-rog-ally-with-ryzen-z1-apu-drops-to-299
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