Packing an AMD Z1 Extreme chip, super quiet fans and an excellent 1080p display, the ASUS ROG Ally is the Steam Deck’s biggest rival yet. And thanks to a platform based on Windows instead of Linux, it has way better game compatibility too. So to see which handheld PC is right for you, we pitted both systems against each other to see which portable gaming machine reigns supreme.
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/Engadget
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/engadget
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/engadget
Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/engadget
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@engadget
The Engadget Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-engadget-podcast/id1142790530?mt=2
More about Engadget Audio: https://www.engadget.com/podcasts/
Read more: http://www.engadget.com
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SAM RUTHERFORD: Right now, we're in a sort of Renaissance for handheld gaming PCs. You see, after bringing renewed attention to the category last year, the Steam Deck is facing its toughest opposition yet in the ASUS ROG Ally.
That's because in addition to a sleeker design, ASUS's portable gaming machine features a number of fancy components including a high res, 120Hz 1080p display, some really nifty cooling, and even a new chip from AMD designed specifically for handheld PCs.
All told, it's one of the most compelling alternatives to the Steam Deck yet. So instead of doing a normal standalone review, this time I want to do something a bit more [? faceoffy. ?] Because let's be honest, the real question most people are asking is if you should get Valve's handheld or this newcomer from ASUS.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
First things first, let's talk about pricing. At $700, the Ally appears to be way more expensive than the Steam Deck which goes for as little as $400. Or sometimes even less if you catch Valve running a sale. At the time of the recording, base Steam Deck costs just $360 which is $40 off.
Meanwhile, the top-end model is going for just $520 which is a big $130 discount from normal. That said, because the Ally comes with a 512 gig SSD as standard, it's not really fair to compare it to the $400 base Steam Deck which only has 64 gigs of onboard storage.
That means a better comparison is a fully loaded model, which features the same amount of storage along with Valve's upgraded anti-glare etched screen which is the version I used for all of my comparisons. So even when compared to the most expensive $650 config-- you know, the normal pricing for the Steam Deck-- the Ally still costs about $50 more which means for people on a budget, Valve's machine is the better value.
Oh, and one more thing to consider is that unlike the Steam Deck, the Ally doesn't come with a case. ASUS charges an extra $40 for that. And after lugging this thing around for the past few weeks, I can definitely say you're going to want some form of protection to prevent the screen from getting scratched or from putting too much pressure on the joysticks when you toss it in a bag. So that's another small advantage the Steam Deck has when it comes to pricing.
Now, let's take a look at the Ally's design which has some notable departures from the Steam Deck. Measuring 11 inches wide and weighing 1.34 pounds, at least on paper, the Ally appears to be very similar in size to the Steam Deck. But those figures don't fully encapsulate how much smaller the ROG really is.
At 0.83 inches, the Ally is half as thick as the Steam Deck. You also only get two buttons around the back. While in front, ASUS doesn't include those little touch pads like you get on Valve's machine which may be a bit of a downer for anyone hoping to play traditional mouse-and-keyboard games.
That leaves you with a very familiar Xbox-style layout with two joysticks, a standard assortment of face buttons and shoulder triggers along with some extra shortcuts for quick settings and ASUS's Armoury Crate app. There's also a handy fingerprint sensor built into the power button, a volume rocker, and a single USB-C port which you can use on its own for data and charging but also for hooking up ASUS's XG Mobile dock.
And just like the Steam Deck, the Ally has a microSD card slot for expandable storage which is very appreciated. Overall, it's a very functional setup. All the controls are easy to reach, and I haven't had any issues with buttons getting stuck like I've heard about from some other users.
I also appreciate how the Ally's smaller bezels make the device feel more compact even if its 7-inch display is the same size as the Steam Deck's. That said, the one thing I do miss are bigger grips in the back. Because while I know ASUS is going for something slimmer, holding the Ally just doesn't feel quite as secure or comfortable.
Speaking of the display, the Ally screen is one of its best features. Not only is it a 120Hz panel, its 1080p resolution is also sharper than the Steam deck's 800p. On top of that, the Ally is way more colorful and a touch brighter at around 475 nits versus closer to 400 nits for the Steam Deck.
When viewed side by side, there's no competition. The Ally screen pops with rich hues and sharper details which really helps when you're trying to read small tooltips on a tiny screen.
Now without getting into a big debate about how much resolution you really need on a portable PC, the Steam Deck's lower res and more washed out looking display has been one of my biggest complaints about the system since launch. So I'm really happy to see the panel ASUS picked out for the ally even if you can't always take advantage of its 120Hz refresh rate in more demanding games.
However when it comes to picking a winner, that's a bit tougher. The Ally's slimmer dimensions are great for frequent travelers. And I think anybody can appreciate a nicer screen. On the other hand, while the Ally's buttons and joysticks feel a tiny bit tighter, they aren't meaningfully more responsive.
And again, you only have a pair of rear buttons and no touchpads. So for this category, we're looking at more of a tie. As for performance, the Ally has a significant leg up over the Steam Deck as it supports AMD's new Z1 Extreme APU and 16 gigs of RAM.
I should also mention that there will be a cheaper version of the Ally with a non-Extreme version of the Z1 chip due out some time later this year. But obviously, that's not available yet. Unfortunately, out of the gate, the Ally's performance was really kind of underwhelming That is until ASUS released an updated set of drivers and firmware a couple of weeks after launch.
Originally, with both the ally and the Steam Deck set to 15 watts, frame rates in games were very, very similar. In "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" at 720p in high settings, the Ally averaged 43 fps while the Steam Deck hit 42 fps. So basically neck and neck. And it was nearly an identical situation in "Cyberpunk 2077" where both systems hit 44 fps at 720p on medium.
Frankly, that's not very impressive for a fancy new silicon. And it's really far off some of the claims ASUS made about the Ally pre-launch. But then I updated the system which, by the way, took more than a couple install and restart cycles, and that's when the Ally really started to distinguish itself.
With the Ally fully patched, frame rates jumped up by 15% to 25%. And the Ally started to hit 54 fps in "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" and 50 fps in "Cyberpunk 2077" at the same settings. That's a noticeable difference. But it gets even better, because while the Steam Deck tops out at 15 watts, The Ally also has a turbo mode that boosts total power draw to 25 watts or 30 watts if you're plugged in.
So with the 25-watt turbo mode activated, I was able to get 60 fps in "Tomb Raider" and 67 fps in "Cyberpunk" which is pretty impressive for a handheld PC. So even though the Ally doesn't even come close to offering double the performance of the Steam Deck like ASUS initially boasted, for people who want big performance in a portable device, the Ally is the easy pick.
Of course, with all that oomph comes diminished endurance. In general, I found that the Ally typically only lasts about an hour and a half to 2 hours on a charge, you know, depending on the title. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck often gives you 2 and 1/2 to 4 hours or even longer for less demanding fare.
But to really put that into perspective, I played "Diablo IV" on both machines at medium settings starting at 100%, and I didn't stop until they died. The Ally conked out at 1 hour and 31 minutes compared to 2 hours and 7 minutes for the Steam Deck.
And let's not forget, "Diablo IV" doesn't have native Linux support so the Steam Deck runs it in an emulation layer which uses some extra power. In short, if you really care about getting the longest lasting handheld PC, the Steam Deck is it.
As for audio, the Ally has some rather punchy front-firing stereo speakers which sound a lot better than what you typically get on a similarly priced laptop. But to me, the more impressive thing is what you don't hear, fans blaring in the background. I'm not entirely sure what kind of voodoo ASUS did to the Ally's internals, but it's surprisingly quiet. It barely registers above a whisper even while running benchmarks. And when compared to the whiny whir that's almost always coming out of my Steam Deck--
[WHIRRING SOUND]
--the Ally is definitely the more family-friendly device. I can game on it while watching TV with my wife without her needing to turn up the volume or worse, take it from me. And that's a small but important way to maintain a happy home.
The last major difference between the Ally and the Steam Deck is their software. Instead of going with something like Valve's Linux-based Steam OS, ASUS went with Windows 11. The idea was to ensure that the system works with all of the major game stores like Steam, Battle.net, Epic and more which it does.
On top of that, ASUS tweaked its Armoury Crate app to serve as a game launcher while also being the place where you can adjust various settings like the Ally's RGB lighting. One tap on the right button lets you see all your installed titles at a glance, while a tap on ASUS's other button on the left brings up a menu for quick settings like operating modes, game profiles, et cetera, both of which are really handy.
The small issue is that when you're not using Armoury Crate, Windows 11 still feels clunky. Microsoft's OS simply isn't designed for smaller devices without keyboards that often have to rely on touch controls. Yes, there is a dedicated desktop mode toggle that lets you use the right joystick to move your mouse and the right shoulder buttons to click, but that sort of feels more like a Band-Aid than a solution to having a purpose-built gaming UI, you know, more like Steam OS.
But more importantly, even though the Ally can run basically every Windows game ever made, the experience isn't always super smooth. For example, when I tried to play "Street Fighter 6," the game booted up in windowed mode and cut off the bottom of the UI so I couldn't see the navigation menu.
And even after I sorted that out, the game still ran poorly. At its default settings, I was getting just 20 fps which made the game run like a slideshow. So then I had to spend the next 10 minutes fiddling with the graphics settings. Meanwhile on the Steam Deck, I got a consistent 60 fps from the jump which was kind of a surprise since I was not expecting a game that has only been out for about a month to be this well optimized on Linux.
There's a flip side to all these though. Because while you can install games like "Diablo IV" on the Steam Deck, even though they aren't available on Steam and they aren't Steam Deck verified, it can be a real chore to get them up and running. You have to install the Battle.net launcher, manually change the Steam Deck's compatibility mode, and then add that as a non-Steam game.
And then you kind of have to do it all over again because you have to install "Diablo IV" itself, change that compatibility mode, and then manually add that to Steam Deck's library too. And that's skipping a lot of the more complicated steps in between.
Now there are a ton of online how-tos to guide you through the process. But if this is your first time trying this process on Linux, you're looking at a 10 to 15 minute procedure at best. There's no just sitting down and hitting play. In contrast, getting "D4" to run on the Ally was a breeze. And even though the game runs relatively well on both systems, there were a few more hitches and stutters on ASUS's machine.
Overall, Steam OS is generally easier to use unless you run into a game that isn't Deck-verified or just doesn't run on Linux at all which is where the Ally has an advantage. But is that enough to hand the win to ASUS? I'm not so sure which leaves this category in sort of a draw as well.
So let's tally everything up. After getting a chance to test both devices side by side, I've got a few takeaways. The first is that I'm even more impressed with the Steam Deck than I was at launch. Over the past year and change, Valve has put a ton of work into polishing and optimizing it.
I don't think any gadget in recent memory has gotten as many updates as this thing. And now that there are over 10,000 Steam Deck verified games, it's library ain't shabby either. We're at the point where you can play new AAA titles like "Street Fighter 6" on day one while other games like "Cyberpunk 2077" are getting custom graphics settings specifically for the Deck, so you don't need to spend a ton of time tweaking performance.
But more importantly, starting at just $400, the Steam Deck is the easy pick if you're on a budget. As for the ROG ally, simply calling it a more powerful Steam Deck doesn't feel quite right. Thanks to its Z1 Extreme chip, it definitely has an edge in performance.
But for all that speed, there's a trade off in battery life. Even with both systems running at 15 watts the Steam Deck lasted longer every time which means that Ally isn't always the best companion on longer trips. You also don't get built-in touchpads or as many rear paddles.
And while you can run basically any game ever made on it, Windows 11 just isn't as well-optimized for systems like this as Steam OS. Valve has a big advantage here thanks to being in charge of both software and hardware design for its device. However, while I like and appreciate the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally's gorgeous screen and super quiet fans would always have me kind of looking over my shoulder like that distracted boyfriend meme.
OK, so which one should you get? Well, to answer that, you really need to figure out what kind of gamer you are. Thanks to Steam OS, I'd argue that the Steam Deck offers a simpler, more console-like experience, you know, just so long as your games have been verified to play nicely on Valve software.
The Steam Deck's touch pads also help out in titles that were originally designed for mouse and keyboard, so it's really important for you to have an idea of what you want to use these things for. Meanwhile, if you're more of an enthusiast who loves likes to tinker with settings and will appreciate higher frame rates and the sharper display, the Ally might be the machine for you.
It's also the more portable of the two. So if you really care about packing light, that might be the deciding factor. Also, if you are even thinking about trying to use one of these things as a portable desktop, you know, by plugging it into a monitor, ASUS XG Mobile dock gives you an easy way to add more performance because of its built-in GPU along with a range of connectivity options. But with prices for those starting at above $1,000, that'll cost you.
The other big unknown is how well ASUS is going to support the Ally. Because as we've seen with the Steam Deck, without regular updates, good hardware can only take you so far. But regardless of which one you pick, there's a lot to like about the latest generation of handheld gaming PCs. And I hope this is only the beginning of a long line of compelling devices.
But tell me what you think. Is the Steam Deck more your speed? Or do you want something with a bit more horsepower like the ROG Ally? Let me in the comments down below. And as always, stay tuned to Engadget for more news, reviews, and hands-ons.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
