Features and Design
Design-wise, the Asus ROG Ally looks unapologetically gamery.
On top there are also two wide air exhausts.
Build quality is superb.
The sensation of holding a well-constructed piece of hardware doesn’t diminish when you grip the machine.
Six Phillips head screws secure the bottom panel and are relatively easy to remove.
Replacing the internal SSD is straightforward, unlike on the Steam Deck.
Kudos to Asus for keeping it simple.
The ROG Ally retailsfor $700.
The rig comes with the aforementioned 512GB NVMe SSD and 16GB of dual-channel memory running at 6400MT/s.
Ergonomics
Despite the sharp corners, the ergonomics of the ROG Ally are not compromised.
As we mentioned earlier, the grips could have been slightly thicker.
We like the super-long charging cable very much.
Let’s begin with the dual analog sticks, an essential component of any handheld gaming PC.
At least they’re quite easy to replace.
All you have to do is unscrew the two daughter boards and then unscrew the stick mechanisms.
The four face buttons feel great on touch, are flat and quite wide.
The letters are etched below the plastic so there’s no way the markings will fade over time.
On the flip side, they wobble a lot and rattle a bit when pressed.
Not a great showing, with multiple users and some reviewers reporting their buttons got stuck.
We’ve played hours of Lumines Remastered and Dead Cells with the D-pad, and we really like it.
We’d like more if they were your regular conductive rubber buttons instead.
The two bumpers are also clicky but much easier to press.
They’re fine, but nothing to write home about.
Finally, the two bottom paddle buttons feel cheap and feature hollow clicky feedback, like DS4’s touchpad.
The biggest omission and one of the most serious downsides of the Ally is the lack of trackpads.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
Wireless performance is great, and we’d often see download speeds maxing out our 500Mbps internet plan.
Performance in multiplayer games is also spotless.
The stereo speakers present on the Ally are amazing for a handheld gaming gear.
They’re extremely loud yet clear, even at maximum volume.
The USB-C port tops out at 10Gbps and features DP-Alt mode (DisplayPort 1.4).
Other ports include a 3.5mm combo audio jack and a microSD card reader that supports UHS-II memory cards.
The number of reports continued to rise steadily, leadingAsus to acknowledge the issuein mid-July.
However, the SD card issue persists.
Applefixedthe issue with a software update so we hope Asus will come up with a similar, software-based solution.
We’d then move the games between the card and the SSD and back once a day.
It’s incredibly bright, with Asus citing a maximum brightness of 500 nits.
The display offers 100% coverage of the sRGB color gamut and produces vibrant, punchy colors.
It’s a delight to view during gaming, and we are truly impressed by it.
A few touches can leave visible smudges.
On the other hand, the minimum brightness could’ve been lower.
Windows simply isn’t optimized for devices with small screens that lack keyboards and trackpads.
The first time we powered on our Ally, we were met with a barrage of updates.
We weren’t able to start gaming until the evening.
This was immensely annoying at first, but we had no choice than to get used to it.
We hope that the rumored Windows Handheld Mode ends up being more than a mere hackathon project.
The second component of the software package on the ROG Ally is Asus' Armory Crate.
However, its performance could be better.
Despite the powerful CPU within the gear, the app can be sluggish at times.
Unlike Armory Crate, Command Center operates exceptionally well and is very quick to launch, even in-game.
These shortcuts include jumping to desktop, launching Task Manager, taking a screenshot, or showing Task Viewer.
Moving on to performance, the Asus ROG Ally packs anAMD Ryzen Z1 ExtremeAPU.
The 512GB Micron SSD managed to reach read and write speeds of 4,323 MB/s and 1,823 MB/s, respectively.
just note that Turbo mode is limited to 25 watts when running on battery power.
We used the most recent BIOS version available (BIOS 322).
For example, when plugged in, Turbo mode can surge to nearly 50W for a few minutes.
We ran game benchmarks until each power mode stabilized at its nominal value and then began recording results.
Finally, Turbo mode is needed if you want to achieve 60fps in modern AAA games at 1080p.
it’s possible for you to easily turn RSR on in Command Center.
This combination was the only one that didn’t cause stutters during longer, hour plus, gaming sessions.
This is an impressive result, given the ROG Ally’s dimensions and form factor.
We implemented an aggressive fan curve that kept temperatures below 70 degrees Celsius even in CPU-demanding games.
The noise was noticeable, but just barely, with the speakers set to about 20 percent.
Raising the volume to approximately 30 percent almost entirely masked the noise from the two fans.
The 40Wh cell within the ROG Ally is adequate but far from impressive.
The battery lasted one hour and 58 minutes while playing Dave the Diver with Performance mode active.
Finally, with Turbo mode active, playing Forza Horizon 5 resulted in 58 minutes of battery life.
Given the 40Wh capacity, the battery life could have been better, especially in Performance mode.
The charging time is reasonably fast.
Our Ally went from zero to 100% in about an hour and a half.
As for idle battery drain, Asus puts the rig to sleep rather quickly after turning the screen off.
Limiting the frame rate to 40 frames per second inRivaTunergave us an additional 20 minutes of battery life.
The good news is that disabling CPU boost did not affect gaming performance in most games we tested.
Our Forza Horizon 5 result at 30W and at 1080p resolution remained steady at about 60fps.
Another way to extend battery life and reduce thermals is by using the AutoTDP feature.
If you want to try these two options yourself, check outHandheld Companion.
Asus ROG Ally vs.
When it comes to size and ergonomics, we slightly prefer the Steam Deck.
However, for multi-hour gaming sessions, the Ally is the better choice.
We also find the analog sticks and face buttons on the Deck to be of noticeably higher quality.
But do remember to get silicone grips for the Deck’s analog sticks because they lack grip.
In terms of performance, the Ally has a clear advantage at TDPs higher than 10W.
The software competition isn’t even close; Valve’s handheld decisively outperforms the Ally in this category.
Regarding the screen and the audio setup, the ROG Ally is the clear winner.
The Ally’s speakers are also markedly better.
They’re louder, have more bass, and a more pronounced stereo effect.
In terms of battery life, the Deck takes the crown.
At its maximum 15W TDP, our Deck can last significantly longer than our Ally.
Apart from gaming performance, another category where the Ally takes a resounding win is wireless performance.
The Wi-Fi chip inside the Deck is arguably the worst feature of Valve’s handheld.
For instance, wireless performance often drastically slows while downloading games.
Before we recommend which of the two handhelds to buy, we must first provide a disclaimer.
Therefore, kindly consider this as a recommendation only after Asus resolves the SD card reader issues.
When it comes to Switch emulation, both devices perform decently.
For this reason alone, we cannot recommend the ROG Ally until the matter is fully resolved.
The cooling setup is a highlight; we have nothing negative to say about it.
Conversely, the decision to omit a trackpad is something we find perplexing.
Then, there’s the software experience, which is the single worst aspect of the ROG Ally.
Windows is not an operating system designed for handheld devices without a keyboard or trackpad.
As a first-gen machine, the Asus ROG Ally is by no means a bad handheld gaming PC.
The gaming performance is mostly impressive, and we can imagine many owners ending up loving the equipment.
