Beware the ASUS ROG Ally Reviews

My ASUS ROG Ally review. Looking at Benchmarks and performance of the retail units
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[@Mr.Quinlan888]

The fact that Asus included Office and McAfee in this product tells everything you need to know right there. Good job calling them out Dave.

[@cameronbosch1213]

I mean, Office I can understand because of the Microsoft partnership, but McAfee!? No, no, no.

[@Futura2500]

its great that its more than just a gaming device - so handy on my business trips and holidays I can now just take 1 device

[@WeaponsArtist]

"Everything you need to know" Just run a fresh install and get rid of McAfee, not that difficult...? PITA no doubt, but your over here acting like it's a dealbreaker.

[@teach9023]

@@Futura2500 No one is sincerely using Microsoft Office products with this device without some extra peripherals. Be serious

[@xmlthegreat]

​@@WeaponsArtist and then people make fun of Linux while saying stuff like this... Steam Deck works out of the box.

[@michaels9917]

Dave2D is really nailing that "mad scientist isolated in his lab" look.

[@Justakatto]

I'm starting to think that it's the "troubled dad" look lol

[@snappycattimesten]

I’m waiting for the Kleenex boxes on the feet

[@sharknatho2406]

i'm jealous of his flow!

[@jaughnekow]

giving me Rick vibes.

[@zxcv97]

His hairline is getting bald lol that's why he doing long hair now 😊😅😅

[@Evie0133]

That performance gap with the new update really makes your review THE DEFINITIVE one to watch, it really is a surprising gap :o

[@losteden6390]

It'll only get better again Asus has said ...

[@FenrirAlter]

@@losteden6390 ye, nobody cares what Asus says. Shit manufacturer

[@markwrobel9558]

@@losteden6390 ya i def believe it this product is like brand new

[@darkdiablo1601]

why surprising? it should be performing like a 7840u, day 1 it performed like a 6800u lol

[@markwrobel9558]

@@darkdiablo1601 if i spent up to 1k on a handheld which ones the best

[@RaedVS]

Really appreciate the extra mile you go through to deliver us the experience the manufacturer intended, instead of just using it as it and calling it a day. 🙏🏻

[@xenocide2519]

THIS is why I dig Dave's reviews. He WILL point out the flaws. He's my top one and Jarrod's. They think about the consumer first and if it's worth our money or if we'll even like it. I did not know that the steam deck was made to last a few years. It's a good point on it and would love to hear from Asus or if they'll make the new Ally 2 more long lasting. Either way, now I got doubts. I might still buy it, especially cuz my vacation time is coming up and need one or a laptop. Either way, thanks Dave. You rock!

[@savanthsunnyt]

The detail. He waited. Done each game battery drain test. That's alot of dedication. I love his videos because, his reviews always be on side of user perspective. Sweet, simple, short. Great review as usual. Thanks, I was waiting for yours to come.

[@deality]

Definitely

[@mikew6554]

One of the things I had forgotten about coming back to PC gaming was the amount of troubleshooting you need to do before you can play a game. It's not terrible, but having to do that on a hand held would be a deal breaker for me.

[@flamingscar5263]

this is where the steam deck prevails, for gaming it just works, only issues arise if you play untested games, but if its rated playable or verified it just works, now let me reiterate, thats for gaming, using the steam deck for desktop work still has a ways to go

[@ufcfan3940]

Yep

[@cameronbosch1213]

I've played "unsupported" games and about 25% of even those games just work. And not to mention, Valve has been killing it in terms of software updates. In fact, I'd say that right now, I would get the Steam Deck over the Ally UNLESS you ONLY play games with anti-cheat crap.

[@teach9023]

The Steam Deck does a surprisingly good job of 'consolizing' the PC experience for lack of better words

[@hardcoregammer1964]

I rarely ever have to troubleshoot anything. Usually, with both handhelds and my desktop, I just load and play. Unless I want to crank up performance.

[@Nick-pc9tf]

You make a good point, Dave. When life has so much going on, you just want things simple and quick. That’s the appeal of consoles, quick resume and so on. Turn on and a couple of clicks and you’re set. Like a Nintendo Switch. No to bloat, pop ups, multiple programs to get things done, etc.

[@Bos_Meong]

Holy shit, the control setting are very barebone, it doesnt even have gyroscope, per game profile, advanced deadzones, etc. Steam deck customization is just mind blowing. It's even work for non-steam games

[@peter_parkour]

If I remember correctly most of the Steam deck reviews were the same when it was initially launched. That it's a product that "needs improvement". But Valve actually committed to it and supported the device and now we have an awesome version of the device. I hope Asus does the same here but like Dave said they are a hardware company. But here's to hoping.

[@kampru6867]

for me the main problem of Ally is that it didnt really fix any of the problems people have with Deck .... on the contrary it made them even worse ... thx to being overly focused on "onpaprer" highest specs possible

[@roningai4791]

@@kampru6867 BS they already fixed some issues like for example things in armory crate. And there will be further improvments. The Steam Deck also had its flaws when it came out.

[@rommelchristophermanicad4389]

Exactly what they doing with their laptop is what they going to do in their handhelds. Just hope they don't f*ck up this like their TUF gaming laptop

[@KhanDisco]

ASUS software support just plain sucks. Just look at their Armory Crate, or even their RGB software...utter garbage. Love their hardware, loathe their software.

[@kampru6867]

@@roningai4791 you misunderstood what i meant ... i meant the complains reviewers had about the deck (so stuff like battery and so on)

[@dragon2knight]

Not surprised at all, ASUS really hasn't been on the ball lately across the board....at least they are getting their collective shit together and are fixing this one. Thanks for reporting on it Dave, I see no one else doing this lately!

[@Nsfwstar]

I mean valve did it worse with the software pf the deck, so to be honest i guess asus is doing it better than valve xd The first version of steam os 3.0 was crazy xd

[@Tha_Lyons]

@@Nsfwstar people forget so fast. ppl are comparing the ally to the already updated SD , the SD issues at launch too. but people forgot all about that LULZ

[@dragon2knight]

@@Nsfwstar Um, never said Valve was perfect, not even once. I've got a SD, and I've had it since launch. They fixed it up good, and hopefully so does ASUS on this one. I'm not a Windows guy so it's not in my wheelhouse so to speak, but I hope they succeed, it's a good handheld all told.

[@samtherat6]

@@NsfwstarValve fanboys are rabid, it’s crazy.

[@teach9023]

@@Tha_Lyons The bigger problem is that the ASUS story regarding motherboards came out right around reviews dropping. It's not just about the SD software, it's about ASUS as a company not being trustworthy, beyond this product.

[@BalkanBiker]

4:30 look at that fan noise difference! That's huge. Ally is basically silent while Steam Deck sounds like a high end video card.

[@AdioAurel]

My wishes as a Flow X13-XGM owner for the next Ally version: - Larger Screen easily 10"+ - Strong kickstand - Trackpad - Removable controllers - More buttons - Another USB port - Maxed out SSD option - Camera front+back - Detachable Keyboard Cover

[@tomokig2655]

I think this was the first review which really discussed the support philosophy from Asus and the user experience. I know from experience that Asus is pushing the product to life-support when a new product is for sale - I had some smartphones with exactly this issue in my past. More critically I see the user experience for now - Microsoft Windows is not made for such a device (at least for now) and their own solution is just a band-aid to get the system up running. That it is expected from the customer to do the configuration and optimization kills this device for many customers. Even thoug I have the experience I do no longer have the patience for doing this - in that regard Valve has simply the better solution. If you want just mobile gaming without in-depth tinkering then you should get a Switch or a SteamDeck - if you want the power and flexibility and do not fear tinkering then the ROG Ally is a good choice.

[@s4shrish]

Ironically, people said the same thing when the Deck came out ("If you are okay with tinkering, you can get deck") That speaks volumes to Valve's efforts in improving Steamdeck and also standardising it. Because unlike the Steam Machines, which were basically too much and too many, Steam Deck will prolly not have such a fast cycle (maybe 3 years?) meaning devs can actually target it, and test and optimise around it.

[@psaunder1975]

A big difference is that the steamdeck is part of an ecosystem, and Valve continues to get returns from investing into the Steamdeck. For Asus, I expect they make large % of their profits on initial purchase (I don't know if they have their own Store in Armory care), so perhaps not a big incentive to keep investing it's improvement over time, like Dave said, they would probably prefer to sell you Ally2 in 2 years, which is a shame. I'm considering getting an Ally anyway to use as portable gaming/laptop.

[@FutureNaught]

I have an ASUS ROG Phone 5, and I think they only put out one or two updates during the entire life of the device. I took it to a phone repair shop a few months ago, and the tech there laughed when he saw the most recent update was January of 2022.

[@cyntheticgaming]

Had the steam deck for the past 6 months and absolutely love it. Still trying to stay on top of what’s happening with this product too but I won’t be sure until it falls into the hands of the public and the real problems are uncovered

[@nonpondo_]

Even then, my biggest concern is the point he raised with longevity, issue with big hardware manufacturers is if they're under a certain price, have the products don't work and then they'll last for a year or 2 max, fact of the matter is if I go to best buy and they tell me I would get geek squad protection on it, I'm simply not gonna get it

[@cyntheticgaming]

@@nonpondo_ that’s a really good point!

[@JohnCiaccio]

Exactly. Thanks Dave. I was going to buy a 7840U handheld because I felt the benchmarks was so much better. However Asus is a large experienced manufacturer and uses 2 fans. An looks really nice.

[@FairyTailGrey]

I bought an Asus Rog Ally and i really love this product, the screen is simply AMAZING. About Asus not supporting with the new model, if they do that i will stop buying them anything. (I dont think is the best costumer approach)

[@jjwebb8432]

This is the most honest and best review I have seen of a product. Well done. Subscribed.

[@thomaskristan7325]

Great review! The problem is that they currently don’t have a way to financially keep the support for this device like you want. Can’t truly compare that aspect to valve. I see it being a new device every year or two which they specialize in unfortunately

[@itsprod.472]

Yup like how they handle their support on ROG phones only 1 year or 2 if you are lucky, from what I remember

[@haakonht]

Absolutely, and it is important to keep this in mind. But the advantage of running native windows is that ASUS do not necessarily need to do anything for games to run because AMD did a driver update that lets it run for PC, or Microsoft did a DirectX update or whatever. Not because *they HAVE* to update it because *it doesn't work if they don't* So it's give and take. The big concern to me would be stuff like stick replacements and general aftermarket support, but then again - if you manage to find the part numbers then Aliexpress will probably be able to provide.

[@Mutio86]

Seeing all this handhelds comming out I am really looking forward to the next Steamdeck.

[@Madblaster6]

Dave is hitting all the right points. Even though it drains battery faster due to high Watts it charges a lot faster too. When I play BOTW on the steam deck I get 2 hours of batter but it takes longer than that to charge. My GPD Win 4 runs it at faster drain but I can recharge the battery in much less time and get back to being portable.

[@Ifalvarado]

How does botw run on steam deck? Was there a lot of skipping due to performance? Was the gpd4 that much better?

[@muizzsiddique]

​@@Ifalvarado BotW can run somewhere between 40-55 fps (you could try tweaking the Graphic packs some more to get it higher). Also, the game can become more demanding during combat so it's safer to run the display at a lower fps.

[@ZeroChanceLance]

Wait, do emulators work on the steam deck

[@cyjanek7818]

@@ZeroChanceLance they do, on rog ally too

[@etaashmathamsetty7399]

@@ZeroChanceLance the emulation experience on the steam deck is much better than any other hand held out there right now

[@davidcane7211]

The SF6 example is interesting considering the number of people jumping ship to the Ally because they're tired of 'jumping through hoops' to get games working on the Steam Deck. They're gonna be pretty disappointed when they realise they have more/different tweaking to do just to get games to run. The performance looks great though.

[@bramwilhelm3600]

Hey Dave, long time viewer here! Recently purchased a steam deck and I was suffering from buyers remorse with the deck when I saw people raving about the ROG Ally. You're really helped me realise how nice the deck is and how long the shelf life is, and that for me as an emulation geek the deck is probably a better idea when it comes to battery life. I got dual boot working for windows with CoD. Thank you, have a great day!

[@petersziraki7672]

I just bought my Steam Deck after watching all of those Ally reviews. The Ally can be powerful, but it is still not working as a console. You can not snooze it with a push of a button. You can do that with the Steam Deck and that is a must-have for this portable form factor in my opinion.

[@YouCanCallMeMich]

It does have a sleep function so you can pick up where you left of but it eats away battery. Wish it was as intuitive as my SD tho.

[@oo--7714]

The sleep function is hit or miss on the deck, most of the time it just resets the game.

[@MattWiles]

I’ve just bought a Deck too…. Today! I’ve spent hours, maybe days on end researching and comparing both devices. I even have the Ally on order too, but I’ll cancel that. It ultimately came down to the software and hardware synergy on the Deck. I don’t want to use Windows and I don’t even want GamePass… I hate subscription models and don’t want to support them. I’m quite new to Steam but I love what I see and I want more of that. The Deck hardware is so much nicer. The Ally looks like a cringy cheap gaming PC. Plastic rubbish. I also want to try trackpads. I love RTS games.

[@ThaexakaMavro]

@@oo--7714 lol absolutely not ! even yuzu works

[@YouCanCallMeMich]

@@oo--7714 That's bullshit :p I've been using my SD for over a year now and it has reset my SD like 3 times in the thousands of times I've put it in sleep mode :p

[@nrgamingtech2797]

My theory for the 9W performance is because it has 8 cpu cores, those 4 extra cores' impact are significant in a very limited power scenario. Now if they disable those 4 extra cores on 9W that would be nice

[@nathanlamaire]

And they have to disable those cores physically. It's known issue of Ryzen processors being underpowered on low wattage especially when battery is removed

[@seeibe]

From my testing of various games on a Steam Deck vs 6800U handheld, the CPU is not the issue, the GPU is. It rarely goes lower than 10W on the 6800U, meanwhile the Steam Deck GPU goes as low as 1W on some titles.

[@nrgamingtech2797]

@@seeibe would be nice if you could do the test on the 7840U, because the 6800U has different GPU with a different architecture, so that conclusion can't be final

[@Unicornpirate]

Asus probably won't support the Ally that long. Like you said, in 2 years people are gonna get the Ally 2. This is essentially a gaming laptop in the form of a handheld and Asus pumps out laptops left and right. That's why I went for the Steam Deck.

[@cameronbosch1213]

You made a good move. Which model did you get?

[@MattWiles]

Same here. Ordered it today. The 512 model with etched glass. I just don’t want to open it up, so I’ve gone for the highest storage.

[@frenchalcantara8424]

​​@@MattWiles don't hesitate and upgrade your steam deck from 512 gb to 2Tb, I'm not even particularly smart or technical person in terms of electronics and i managed to upgrade it. Months ago 2230 2Tb's cost like 400 - 500, now it's half than that. You can probably wait it out if you want it... So it lowers even more.

[@DeterminedTorres]

Not only that, I just feel like Windows is not the best option when it comes to PC handhelds. Although, ChimeraOS is a thing for Ally users to utilise soon for those who loved SteamOS as much as I do.

[@Astelch]

dnt buy asus they been pumping out sponsorships to try to hide the fact of their bios problem that fried every 7000x3d models while blaming the user and not replacing a single thing!

[@landofsyn2980]

Update**** currently this thing is amazing and blows the steam deck out in my subjective opinion... obv objectively, it's faster for newer games. But tbh can't go wrong with any of these things now a days

[@MPPC10]

Come on Dave, we ne ayeneo 2s review!! You had it for a week already!

[@dariszn2378]

This, Is why I watch Dave2D and why I knew it wasn't all doom and gloom early on. Thank you for the video! Keep being great.

[@DizzyDJW]

They could easily keep the support up if they dedicate a team for the original ROG Ally, they have the money to afford it, and there are still millions of programmers out of work, so there would be no excuse. That being said, with ASUS being a hardware-based company, selling some of the best high-tech computers I've seen, they could easily make the ROG Ally upgradeable, and modular. Making it last FAR longer than any handheld on the market.

[@mikairu2944]

Asus is a hardware company first, so no, I don't expect them wanting their products to never need disposing

[@milkyy4168]

I don’t think they’re going to suddenly revise the entire system just to make it modular. Only thing that isn’t soldered is the ssd and an entire motherboard would be expensive. Plus, selling new, difficult to replace motherboards would be extremely difficult and not a good business move. Asus is a company, not a group of hobbyists.

[@azenyr]

They will just make Ally 2 in 6 months. Don't dream too loud. My G14 stopped having driver/bios updates and improvements after half a year, and a bit more after the new one came out and now mine is completely abandoned. It's the maxed out 2500€ G14. Zero support. All the software support is now exclusively windows/linux updates and AMD/Nvidia drivers and that's it. Zero Asus involvements.

[@madl99]

​@@azenyr what update do you want beside windows, and gpu driver? Are you really like bloated software getting update?? I had asus 10 years ago and newly asus lately. They had been decreasing bloatware to the max and build it as clean as possible. in the past they had software like splendid, wavemaxxx audio, touchpad driver, instant on, even powerdirector😂

[@zakarum1996]

​@@azenyr pp ppplllppppppp

[@BigTandJC]

Steam deck only plays games from steam. Asus can play any windows game or app

[@ManomiiFox]

hell you can even code on it if you want!

[@RyouEmerald]

I've had the steam deck for a long time, but I am getting the ROG Ally. I'm okay with tinkering a bit. I've been doing that with my own computer forever. I will of course be removing that extra software for sure. The main thing is there just simply are lots of games I like to play that don't work on the steam deck. Niche japanese games seem to have the hardest time just running, and its been a big pain point for me. So after being away from my computer a week and only having the steam deck I figured I did need something that just ran windows and that happened to be the weekend the preorder for these started.

[@reintgenrc]

I agree with the premise of this video. Though I've had some software glitches with my Ally, I haven't encountered any of the issues early reviewers had with stuck buttons.

[@TheAdammantium]

Just a tidbit; @ 4:55, the feature is (what I believe) a staple for all ASUS laptops. I have a ROG Z13, and it has the same app with that feature as well - and it is definitely appreciated knowing my battery has a longer lifespan.

[@Nugromant]

Well you're right on the support stuff, Asus has a bad reputation there, it launches new cool stuff and then next gen is out of frame, like remember the external Gpu's stuff? the Mothership laptops which were supposed to be upgradable and then died, there's been several Asus stuff that never grew old and had a lack of support.

[@Zoolookuk]

Good review. The Steam Deck suffered from the same thing though, early release with barely finished software. It's almost a completely different machine now than from 12 months ago. I agree it needs to feel more like a console than a PC. The best feature by far is launching a game and being straight into the action, or even better unpausing from 3 days ago and picking up right where you left off. Microsoft needs to do a lot of work in Windows to get that level of refinement.

[@jedbaldwin]

I have to disagree with this take. The Steam Deck experience today is practically identical to how it was in April of 2022 when I got my Steam Deck. Is it different? Yes, but that comes down to developer support of the steam deck. The actual interface and functionality is very similar. We’ve got new tools to control performance and battery life, sure. We have community tools to enable plugins and better desktop mode support, yes. But the fundamental paradigm of downloading and running games on the go is practically identical. The flow of the software is very similar. I don’t think that can appreciably change for the Ally as long as it uses Windows.

[@tr4pkeedyoungking677]

Dave i got that ally and its a beast. Why does everyone hate on it so much? It literally plays MW3 better than my rig and im rocking a rtx 2080 super

[@AndriusDyrikis-qw7vx]

Nice I want one so I can use it for excel, word and power point!

[@joescalon541]

I bet the printer spooler is enable as well. Main issue with the ally is windows. Having been running modded/stripped down version of windows for year, you can get 10-15% more FPS if you take out all of windows bloatware. Windows needs a one click gaming button that pauses all unneeded windows stuff. I bet the ally gets more fps and batter life with tiny11 or ghost spectre w11…

[@LuminousSpace]

i might try to install atlas os

[@92JinKazama]

Dave, thanks for the review! I heard some reviewers talk about input lag. Was that something you encountered with the Ally?

[@ithildiess8305]

Huge communities supporting a product they love. This warms my heart feels like back when older games had huge mod followings like StarCraft broodwar. Quake 3 arena mods. Etc. When so many people put in effort to make something they love better. It just becomes an awesome experience for everyone involved. And your interested in the game for many many years to come. Steams huge community is what makes me come back to buy their games so I can play with all their stuff and support that communities provide. 10/10 steam keeps gaming alive.

[@ColorblindMonk]

I'm glad I got mine from Best Buy, since I can just return it. I thought SteamOS had jank, but I never thought I would fall out of love with this thing in just one day. From the first hour (after updating everything) of tweaking my Ally and the 10 solid hours that followed, I could not get a single feature working correctly or consistently.

[@redbirdriot]

I really hope that since they're partnering with Best Buy, it means some stores might get demo units bc, while it's large, I just love the controls of the Steam Deck, and I would really want to get this in my hands to know how it compares. It does look cool, just different to a Steam Deck and some good/bad things respectively. I appreciate this more balanced review.

[@GDoggProductions]

yeah same , it would be great to actually have this device in my hands before I even remotely think of jumping ship

[@xxnike0629xx]

The main issue with this form factor that many people worry about is analog stick draft. Unless these are using hall sensors, they should at least have detachable controls like the Switch so you can just either replace the controllers or just send the controllers in for repairs.

[@robertwendal5894]

I have replaced the the right joystick on my steam deck. It's so easy and the community support is incredible. I think Asus would be wise to open up right to repair options like valve has. Xbox and Nintendo essentially make e-waste components, yes you can change them on their controllers but they are designed in a way you may break them in the process.

[@colevandyken2871]

The joysticks are connected via daughter boards so replacing shouldn’t be too much of an issue

[@HugoCoolDude]

I own a steam deck since launch, and have been watching the inspired competition, here’s why no one has beaten the deck: Inputs & price. The entire experience of playing, buying and setting up games on the deck is really slick. The reviewers show some of the AAA popular titles, but we all have that game that is 15 years old, you used to play with a keyboard and mouse, and now you’re curious whether you can play it again, but like a boss while taking a leak. With the deck you can. For me, this game is Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, its amazing. It runs amazing on deck too. But its sooo much more fun with the Gyro Aiming, keyboard mapping and layering and trigger shortcuts. You can make splinter cell play like assassins creed odyssey, by automatically lowering/equipping the gun at half trigger, scope on full squeeze, switch ammo types with the back buttons, etc etc. All the inputs, especially starting at 400 eu, its amazing. Stick in a 1 tb sd card and you’re golden. Unfortunately, the reviews from IGN and other of the steam deck were made when it just launched, and they were ironing out the kinks. So it only got a 7/10. But with how its working right now, I bet that would have been 9/10. These competitors are coming close, but only offer windows machines to play Halo or other shooters, on my deck I can play Civ, age of empires, cities skylines, and Among Us, because of all the input mapping and track pads. So, really the question is has any device beaten the Deck yet? And these FPS and wattages numbers really don’t tell the whole story. Especially when you figure in the price….

[@deshawzn79]

The hate on the Ally got the price to drop thanks its better then the steam deck in almost every way

[@ManomiiFox]

nope, ally has 2 version, one is weaker. the weaker one is 200 dollar cheaper.

[@area_of_andy]

For me, it's not just a gaming device. I also use it as a regular PC by connecting it to a monitor and then need everything Windows has to offer like the Office programs ect. So for me, the full Windows 11 was an important reason to buy.

[@komruz]

Its an all in one, portable gaming, desktop gaming with xg mobile and home pc when docked to a monitor. That's a big thing missed from the review, idea is that it can replace many things you have, laptop, desktop and tablet and perform better than those. With a portable monitor, wireless keyboard n mouse Yr ready to go content creating. Yes change the internal specs every year or so, it's what laptops manufacture do (and mobile phones). Just keep the layout the same. Makes sense to get your moneys worth and improve on performance on the same games. Gaming mobile phones always change the spec every year for performance gains. If they don't change people will just buy laptop or other handheld gaming brands as shown on your review. This will kill off the steam deck and version 2 will just be laughing at it. Low wattage performance on steam deck isn't that much better. Plus most game you can't play or just really bad quality due to not being powerful enough. The ally has flexibility, and expansion from the XG mobile. Ticks alot of boxes but would have been good to have ocilink or tb 4 support due to the price of the XG mobile. I remember the steam deck being so glitchy when it came out and only supported a hand full of games. People where modding this to install windows and use as an all in one but it isn't a good experience. The ally is just something what comsumer want and will more developement it will be a killer

[@jeremybai8283]

it's 360p only for me but I do hear sounds

[@briangadsden841]

I'm sure Valve will release software updates to make SteamOS better, but the performance of Steam Deck won't change. Both of these products will have Gen 2 versions within 2 years so just decide which one you can live with more easily today.

[@ThaexakaMavro]

Well you can overclock the gpu to 2000 undervolt so your statement is not entirely true

[@TheLoreNiac]

@@ThaexakaMavro Numbers schnumbers. Video of it running RPCS 3 God of War 3@60fps or your statement is untrue.

[@toumakoushik31416]

Ice-cream written on Dave's t shirt in katakana is just next level 👌🏻👌🏻

[@MihaiTrica]

As always, Dave's heart is in the right place and is so big Asus might finally listen to him and us. If Asus announces a new ROG Ally in the near future, I fear this device will have better lifespan from using SteamOS bases firmware.

[@Xaponz]

We need to wait until Asus fully updates Armory Crate. When they add the ability to disable cores, I think that is where we will see the biggest gains in low wattage performance. Going from 8 to 4 cores should (in theory) boost performance of the remaining 4 cores while maintaining the same low 9w. If that theory holds true, then the RDNA 3 and Zen 4 APU should out perform the Deck's RDNA 2 and Zen 2 APU purely from efficiency. Again, no way to confirm this until Asus releases that feature.

[@marcgtsr]

this battery limiter is so good, I have an oneplus 5, almost 7 years and the battery still good, I even bought a replacement and never installed it! lol

[@seste87]

With Steam Deck, the support and platform is the product. And it’s more so a product for the developers, which is why you see the new AAA games coming with Steam Deck support almost built in. A open pc console with an infinite, reasonable game store. Ally has none of that, which is why it might not fail now, but if will fail its customers in the long run. To this day you can pick up an original Game Boy and play and have a good time. That’s the Deck.

[@Ryan_Wiseman]

The whole card failure point is also a major reason why I'm not trusting the ROG for awhile. ASUS Rog has been pitched by many as "great cause they have Xbox Gamepass". As much as that can give you access to AAA games, it also is fairly limited once you go outside of that ecosystem. SteamOS works best with Steam, which while may not be as perfectly current as third party launchers, still has the bulk majority of games you could want. I feel like for games like Halo, Call of Duty, you get the better specs, esp if through Xbox's own gamepass system. But if you want to have optimization for lower powered games or anything through Steam, good luck, since SteamOS does the best at power management across games so you don't have 2 hours of gameplay with older games.

[@wusaint]

As a Steamdeck owner and avid PC gamer I just really can't get fully behind a Windows handheld. I like Windows as an option to flip over to when a game doesn't work with Steam OS but for daily gaming use....no. It's just not built for this fom factor. I hope Microsoft eventually looks into giving us a version of Windows for handhelds though.

[@kishore715]

Easily the best review out there. You’ve touched base on what a regular persons experience would be.

[@AverageJoe483]

Yeah it was crazy after I saw the reviews I cancelled my preorder. The reason ? After seeing the reviews it wasn’t much better than my SD. But NOW I placed my preorder again for the Ally 😂. Roller coaster of a week !

[@kishan10000]

Should I buy or not?

[@dohctorclark]

I don’t know what KZbin algorithm led me to this in my home feed, but thanks for this. What a great, honest take / update on the ROG Ally. Subscribed 👍🏻

[@LionMagnus8]

My main quirk with the steam deck is many games aren't supported and you have to go through loops to get them running anyway. With ROG Ally it's windows and way easier for me to move what's already on my pc on there and have the same experience being able to run any programs&games I want

[@jayleyy]

Well said Dave! Especially the MS Office, seriously, they expect kids to bring this to school when they forget their laptops and the Ally save your day scenario 😂. But there needs to be justifications for ASUS to support Ally for long term which I suspect is for their ROG Armory Crate to receive valiant supports and increased user base, so they can comfortably support Ally in the long run. 🤞

[@chikensaregood9500]

I don’t even see any kids using this realistically, the nintendo switch yes but this is more of a console for adults

[@jayleyy]

@@chikensaregood9500 hmm.. I guess this is a societal impact. The kids around my area are always using the latest gadgets, even for primary school kids (elementary schools for other countries), they carry iPhone 11-13 easily. But if you ask me, yes the Nintendo switch is much easier to use as opposed to a handheld Windows console.

[@Awesomesauce1313]

​@@chikensaregood9500 maybe not kids but teens i could see actually using this

[@ejicon3099]

You pretty much convinced me to get a steam deck. Thank you.

[@smittywerbenjagermanjensen752]

Imagine this beast had a sim card and be putting it right next to our ears lol. It still would be nice to have that feature without Hotspot if wifi is not available in certain remote locations.

[@Exodus-sh5mq]

Dave got his Doc on in the lab, cooking up the next DeLorean, doing tech stuff on the side to pay for parts.

[@annonymeight6278]

These updates are poised to elevate the device far beyond the competition, rendering other handhelds comparatively inadequate. The level of excitement surrounding this product is palpable, and I am eagerly looking forward to experiencing firsthand the remarkable features and performance offered by this cutting-edge device.

[@luckysxm]

You sound like an ad...

[@annonymeight6278]

@@luckysxm 😅😅Not really, i just love the Rog Ally

[@Awesomesauce1313]

Asus is that you on your alt account?

[@AdetomiwaYefalo]

I like that it has Microsoft office and all, it’s an handheld gaming PC with Win11 that you could still dock and perform all office tasks on. Connecting the external GPU by ASUS turns it into a beast which gives the experience close to a desk top gaming PC. Many will buy both to replace their laptops and still get the portable handheld experience. It’s the bug on windows I do not like at all, can be so stressful.

[@chavsny1578]

I don't agree about removing things like Office. For many people, me including, this serves as more than just gaming so I would very gladly use this as a mini computer.

[@Adam1llion]

OMG thank you so much for this! People keep comparing a "Prototype" to a 1 year released device. I had the SD and it was amazing. But the ROG Ally is going to push the AAA titles and low end gaming too like emulation. I am excited to see what the Ally looks like in a year. The SD got better after the year and I see the Ally doing the same thing.

[@Magic3x]

He only says literally twice in this video. Is that enough? Isn’t it cool to use it every sentence?

[@hokayson6518]

I've just installed Windows To Go on an SD card for my Deck, after you install the drivers from the Steam Windows resources page & turn on the visual keyboard auto-popup, it's great! Now I've got the standard Deck experience for 90% of things I want to do, & a Windows install for the ones that don't work on the Deck yet 😊 Oh & btw I went with installing on an SD card instead of dual booting off the internal storage so that my Deck experience remains totally separate from the Windows one. You just press volume down when you hit the power button to turn on, & then select which to boot when you want to switch between them. Love it.

[@PeteOliva]

Nice analysis! Really good look at some of the intricacies that most reviewers don't talk about.

[@lufasumafalu5069]

why a single male youtuber like dave made far better review than corporate Linus Tech Tip

[@memo29b]

The only Windows based handheld that may sway me from Steam Deck is one with a really good OLED screen

[@SigmaGrindset-vg4oh]

Not even an OLED is worth the bloatware + spyware + stability issues that Windows "provides". I was on the verge of buying myself an office laptop Asus Vivo 16X with the 5800H CPU and the OLED screen, but then I realised that the OLED protection software wouldn't run properly on Linux, which is a huge pass for me. Fuck Windows (and I guess ASUS for being so pro-windows), fuck bloatware, fuck crappy drivers. And this video proves my point, btw. MS OFFICE ON A FUCKING GAMING CONSOLE?! It is clear as day that Asus had a deal with Microsoft for this whole operation to happen. And if they are willing to put such bloatware on the gaming console that requires maximum resources for performance, then you can imagine what they are willing to do for just some more profit. And don't get me started on the crappy drivers and stability issues. Not even a portable PS5 + LG WOLED screen as a handheld would be worth, if it means using Windows. Fuck. Window.

[@AllCarsUnited]

You'll miss the ergonomics , multitude of buttons and pads . It legit feels like a video game system

[@memo29b]

@@AllCarsUnited true tbh

[@Terreos]

Glad these firmware updates are coming out before release. It would be pretty bad if we got these at launch and they were not fully ready.

[@RahulKumar-vh4xr]

Wonderful video!!! I have been very happy with my SD, other than two issues: screen and having to deal with non verified games. The Ally seemed like it was perfect in correcting those two issues. But, I’m a Mac user, and I don’t want to deal with windows tweaking and worrying about setting up a game.

[@taoin5560]

I love this thing, it’s a great hand held, it also works well as a mini computer, turbo mode is insane when it’s plugged in. I like to play Darkest Dungeon 2 at 4K and steam deck really struggles (you can tell by how slow the coach moves), while is plays and looks fantastic. Had it running Spider-Man at very high in 4K. So yeah definitely for retro games, steam deck is probably better. Windows is annoying on a handheld, but once you in a game it’s amazing.

[@TheSometimeAfter]

🤡

[@TimidSylveon]

I get what you mean, Dave. As someone in engineering, it surprises most people when I use "basic" machines like an iPhone. For most other things? Absolutely I want an Android so I can spec/modify it. But I bought my phone for the fact that it "just works" and it saves me time. It allows me to leave my engineering work separate from family time and such. I'm sure I'm not explaining it well, but that's kinda my take.

[@michaelangelo1887]

I have had this exact same situation but with video production on MAC vs PC. I loved my PC. Built a computer and everything. But I still switched to Mac because it just felt so intuitive to use and also because all of my devices and apps synced so well out of the box. As a business owner that time saved is priceless.

[@Gabilleta]

Your rationality doesn't make sense. You want a phone that "just works" so that's why you bought an iPhone? So what you're implying is that NO android phone in the market "just works". You don't have to justify your purchase by subtly putting down every other product just to try and flex that you bought an iPhone. My Pixel, Galaxy, Xiaomi, Red Magic, etc ALL "just works". They all do the "phone" stuff just fine. A $300 phone does the "phone" stuff just fine. All of the phones that I mentioned do things that an iPhone would only dream of, but because an iPhone can't do them or have those features, they often get called gimmicks, that is until Apple adopts it and THEN it becomes a must have.

[@paracetamol9116]

​@@Gabilletagot a bit too emotional there bro😅

[@Gabilleta]

@@paracetamol9116 someone doesn't have a real comeback 🤡

[@TimidSylveon]

@@Gabilleta Considering he’s getting actual likes instead of liking his own comment like you are, I’d say it was a pretty good comeback/point lol. Anyway, I’m familiar with Android devices. That’s actually why I said I specifically like them when I want to get to my engineering side. But when I’m at home with my family, I just want a simple device that works and isn’t over complicated. One that won’t give me “Application has stopped responding” or “SystemUI has stopped responding” (the latter coming from a surface duo 2). An iPhone or even a simpler device like even a regular old flip phone are just a lot better because they don’t have so many complications. It just makes it so you don’t have to tinker with so many things. Even iOS is getting that way these days and the setup is getting super complicated (see Stage Manager on iPads) which is unfortunate. Like Dave said, it’s not something you can really explain. It’s just something you get as you get older. You just want something straightforward outside of work (especially engineering) to have fun with your family. Doesn’t mean you hate the more advanced stuff. You just want something abstracted to as simple as possible.

[@shawnrossi6364]

That was a great review. I pre-ordered the Ally but after seeing how easily steam deck is to play I'm more interested in that now.

[@8marky8mark8]

You didn't go wrong don't worry. Newer device and much more powerful.

[@christophermartin7744]

It's not as easy as he makes it sound. You still have to wtweak most of the games you want to play. Just the other dasy, I had to switch the default profile on a game I was playing to proton experiamental (after trying several proton builds) and then I had to drop back into SteamOS to specify a community controller profile because the default one simply didn't work with that game. If it's an older game or not "Steam Verified"... which is still about 30% of the ones I try) you will have to fiddle and tweak to get them to work and a lot of times, they stil don't work no matter what you do.

[@gregyance9901]

Stay with the Ally , much more compatibility , better performance , old AAA games playing over 60 fps will be awesome, better screen

[@AllCarsUnited]

The buttons/ pads and the ergonomics on the deck make it by far the most comfortable hand held device. It doesn't feel like just another pc

[@Djep1taph]

​@@gregyance9901nah Asus is a shitty company

[@matzebob]

Very happy to see you addressing my two main concerns here, that this is less of a plug and play concept than the SteamDeck (mostly) is, and that long term platform support is questionable.

[@jiezhao88]

Valve nailed it with steam deck for casual gamers like me who only have a few hours here and there. It is cheap and hassle free. Alloy has great specs but I won’t pay for that price for causal gaming and no time to mess about with the configuration settings

[@rocknflip66]

6:07 exactly! steamdeck is a handheld PC that feels very console. less tinkering vs hassles from graphic settings down to the controller setup. steamdeck just feels straight to it.

[@ChristopherToro]

The Ally is already getting support before it’s official release. Considering that, it’s impressive and I’m sure Asus will continue to support the handheld. If the reviews have any use, it’s to show how much Asus is listening to feedback. Steam deck was no angel day one, that system was giving me tons of issues, it’s a process but hopefully enough Asus continues to listen to feedback to help this handheld grow like the Steam Deck has.

[@ItsJustHenriHeck]

To your point at the end even if Asus themselves stops supporting it I'm sure the community will keep it going if it garners love from the fans

[@nicholashooper9538]

Would they though?.... if Asus release another device that is better in every other way, no amateurs would support it. I have been a follower of handheld devices for a long time, and using abernic as an example, the community will not develop for it if no one is playing it. It is what worries me the most and I have pre-ordered. I am not buying the device on the hope that the community will support it once the new best shiny thing comes out, they will not, Valve is not the same as ASUS

[@ItsJustHenriHeck]

@Nicholas Hooper no reason to think they wouldn't if the current device is a solid one. People still support sega dreamcast, ps vita etc if it's a solid device and garners a community people will support it.

[@Dare2Blink]

I think the troubleshooting issues come down to it being a very new product and Asus could definitely solve it using their pre-installed software so set the best settings for the game like nvidia does on pc. On a separate note if I have this device to my 8 year old son and he came back and said it does not work I would use the opportunity to teach him problem solving and how not to quit easy 😜

[@bandito241]

I don’t know about Office, but having Mcfee as a default app is because they probably pay Asus to have it there. The device could’ve been higher if it didn’t had that app preinstalled.

[@donjohn3351]

When the Asus Linux OS is released I'll check it

[@kartikkaushik9811]

I disagree. I love the fact that it comes with Microsoft Office installed. One of the strengths of Windows is having compatibility with those programs, why would you want to limit the capabilities of your device when it runs those apps natively? If your laptop dies, having a backup machine that can run Microsoft Office natively can be a life saver and I love that ASUS includes that. I am also the sort of person that really enjoys configuring and settling up games just the way I like them, so the fact that ASUS went that direction makes me happy

[@SirDragonClaw]

@Dave2D I am 100% going to use office on mine all the time, I imagine most people will open up a word doc from time to time on it.

[@dcpowered]

Well said, Dave. Asus is all about selling us new hardware often but lack of long-term support kills it for me. I am going for the Steam Deck!!

[@Multimayhem45]

Odd I still get support for my old ass motherboards and laptops I have. Hell, even my ROG2 phone still has support even though I don't use it. Not sure what he means by support...

[@japkoslav]

TBH, the more I know of ROG Ally, more reviews are seen, I will keep my Deck and patiently wait for Deck 2.0. I had really high hopes for Ally, but Asus, yet again, was able to crush my expectations.

[@gringotico1759]

Consider it a good thing. They'll give you a a beautiful looking piece of hardware that barely works and keep all your money once you realize what you got yourself into. Be very careful when buying something from Asus; get a refund immediately if something feels off, something I learned the hard way.

[@roningai4791]

@@gringotico1759 sure thats why they are decades on the market because they build shit. Do you people really believe yourself what you say?

[@VenturePictures]

Agreed. It's why I went with the SteamDeck in the end really. Little more long term and better experience for gaming.

[@patrickgamo5959]

Dave! Questions: 1. Which feels better in the hand? SD, 2s, or the Ally? 2. All things considered (ergonomics, performance, price, support, etc.), if you were to get out either of the windows handhelds, which would you pick among the two on your desk? 3. Niche: which one would make for a better pc/laptop replacement?

[@ThePowerOfOneThePowerOfTwo]

Based off of numerous comments I've read while searching for info on both, I think the the answer to #3 is the ROG Ally

[@SharapovaFan]

I feel like ROG Ally reviews should always focus on low wattage performance first (15W) on docked mode in a separate section. The Steam Deck defined that 15W portion. It's the barometer for every PC gaming handheld in the near future. Besides which, they all have similar battery capacities. 15W usually gives about 2 hours of game time. Anything higher and the returns are just diminished. Still, I'm upset the ROG Ally can't even get parity with the Steam Deck at 9W. Zen 4 is so much faster than Zen 2 that even at lower clocks, it should be destroying the Steam Deck.

[@alexauga]

I understand why this is important to many people, but I also think it's like buying a Ferrari then driving it in economy mode to get an extra 20km mileage on your Sunday drive.

[@SharapovaFan]

@@alexauga I don't think the ROG Ally can be compared to a Ferrari at all. It's meant as a gaming handheld first, not a desktop replacement. It DOES make a good desktop replacement, considering how fast its 8 core Zen 4 chipset is. But it's primarily a handheld, so its performance as a handheld in the metrics of battery life and performance relative to battery life is what I believe is paramount.

[@inf_vibes]

I clicked so fast that the video had no sound and 144p

[@maxducoudray]

Same thing happened with Steam Deck. Early updates added so much to it.

[@SlefmadeAndFriends]

I specifically want the Ally over the steam deck, because of windows. I will do Speedruns to go on that thing and LiveSplit isnt working properly on SteamOS. So for my niche use case it will (hopefully) be perfect. I had the Steam Deck on Pre order and opted out, since installing windows on the steam deck seemed wrong.

[@chikensaregood9500]

You’re reviews never disappoint man thank you!!! I was already leaning towards steam deck but this cleared any shred of doubt! Steam deck it is!!

[@lucianowod]

Cleared what? It's pretty simple if you want longer battery life, better controls and ease of use, lower resolution / frames go with the Deck if you want a beautiful 120hz display, a 4nm chip with the capabilities of a normal pc and gaming in one, and RSR/high fps go with the Ally. Lol

[@jaimsalta]

Can't wait until supplies settles in our own countries this will be my first and go to handheld. Let's gooo

[@jayalfonso7445]

Well explained!!! Great Review, this helps a lot to which system I eventually would like to get.