The handheld gaming market is fiercer than ever, with all gaming brands wanting a piece of the pie. While Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch kicked off the revolution, the ASUS ROG Ally beats both of them when it comes to gaming flexibility, as being Windows-based based you are not being locked to a single storefront out of the box. The crucial difference, however, is the much higher price tag of the ASUS ROG Ally, that is, until today, as you can get $100 off it, taking the base model to precisely the same price as the entry-level Steam Deck for just $399.99 at Best Buy.
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Why the ROG Ally is an ideal gaming handheld
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As a Steam Deck owner, I initially chose Valve’s handheld for its affordability. While I appreciate my Steam Deck, its reliance on the Steam store can be limiting unless you’re willing to navigate complex workarounds to access other game launchers. Many of my colleagues at Windows Central have the ROG Ally, and its Windows-based operating system allows you to play any game you could on a gaming PC, including using the Xbox PC app. The ASUS ROG Ally is currently the closest equivalent to a true Xbox handheld.
The ASUS ROG Ally is more powerful than Valve’s Linux-based Steam Deck and is also cheaper than the Lenovo Legion Go. Running newer or more demanding games on the Steam Deck often requires extensive tweaking with Proton to achieve acceptable performance. In contrast, the ROG Ally handles a broader range of games more effortlessly. Though if you are planning on buying this for more demanding games I would stress that the Z1 Extreme version is the much better choice. No gaming handhelds are as powerful as top-tier gaming laptops and desktops, but they still deliver impressive performance for on-the-go gaming. You just need to be careful to choose the right handheld for you.
There are two versions of the ROG Ally available: the more affordable option features an AMD Z1 (non-Extreme) processor, ideal for cloud gaming and less taxing titles, while the more powerful Z1 Extreme version is better suited for running games locally and with higher performance. Both models come with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD. You can also expand your SSD storage easily if you feel comfortable doing so, we have a thorough guide on upgrading the ROG Ally SSD to show you how.
Its worth noting that the ROG Ally X is set to be released soon. It will have double the battery capacity of the the ROG Ally, 24GB and other spec upgrades as you can see in our ROG Ally X coverage. It will hit the market at $799 though and most users will still find the original ROG Ally to be a great choice especially at the much lower price. For more information, check out our ROG Ally vs. ROG Ally X guide.
With Windows 11, the ROG Ally can access any game service or retailer that a regular computer can right out of the box. This means you can easily play non-Steam games like Fortnite via the Epic Games Store, or Minecraft from the Windows store.
Having the right accessories can greatly enhance your experience with the ROG Ally. For instance, since gaming handhelds often have limited battery life, one of the best ROG Ally power banks can help you play your favorite games longer and is pretty much essential for any gaming handheld you choose. There are a bunch of great ROG Ally and Steam Deck accessory deals in the Amazon Prime Day sales now too.
