I don’t want to upgrade to the ROG Ally X.

[@ultraviolet2497]

Never let people forget the warranty fiasco until we start seeing an improvement on it

[@anthonybenjamin4311]

Ok bro

[@fujinshu]

They started to address the SD card reader, if that’s any improvement.

[@SeaJay4444]

I already have a steam deck which I'm super happy with, but yeah not going to buy anything major from Asus until they get their shit together

[@piwan9007]

I'm more curious how other countries have this issue

[@sTuPiDiScOoL_]

Im in Europe and have one golden rule never buy an Asus product directly from Asus as silly as that sounds even before all this with there cs came out from personal experience with another product I bought a while back 💯I. E cetra earbuds first thing ever bought direct doa 🚫🧢

[@Robin0928]

Even as a newly converted Steam Deck skeptic-turned-user, the reason why the Deck is running circles around the rest of the pc handheld space is that everyone else is basically making laptops, machines that are updated every year with slightly better specs, while Valve (seemingly) is treating the Deck as a real console, which is meant to last for years and years without an upgrade. Which is fine for the enthusiast crowd and is creating these improvements for future releases and allows for new jumping on points to the handheld ecosystem, but incremental upgrades don't make a ton of sense for your average consumer who wants to make a purchase and not feel ripped off a year later when the better version shows up

[@dduartez99]

That’s just because they’re basically the only ones that can do that. Asus does NOT have an online store to make up the margins, so they have to rely on near yearly upgrades.

[@grimthereaperz]

@@dduartez99 it's because valve is wholly owned company without any shareholder, valve "size" is tiny compared with many publicly traded company, so they can just do what they want without pleasing/licking those shareholder that push profit profit profit above all else

[@NoName-qd6vp]

They upgraded the Deck with the OLED model...

[@Robin0928]

@@NoName-qd6vp eh, it really isn't much of an upgrade. Better screen and *slightly* faster ram, but the cpu and gpu are the exact same

[@dduartez99]

@@grimthereaperz that is simply not true. Valve is still a company, and is profit driven as every company is.

[@izcondoralexander]

The pricing for the ROG Ally X is simply too exorbitant. In my country, it is priced at $970, which is far too high. At that price point, I could purchase both a PS5 and a Steam Deck LCD

[@pixelman2626]

Same with my country. The Z1E version doesn't seems to be different to US price, it was around $704 but the new Ally X price right now is at $918 which is too much for me. I'm gonna watch for Ally 2

[@stare4539]

you can buy a gaming laptop

[@ckh.joseph]

Surprisingly from where I am it is priced exactly the same as the Z1E's original MSRP But they discounted the Z1E so there's a ~$150 difference

[@petershahan533]

Same in my country is 920 euros Very expensive

[@mosdefinitelynot]

@@stare4539Gaming laptops are even more expensive

[@drewmoney_au]

The Ally X is USD$1,065 in Australia (AUD $1599). So dang expensive.

[@akajase7059]

I thought we were getting screwed! I got my ally for $1100aud at the time and when I saw $1600 I thought they had screwed up

[@behema9815]

Thats 600 bucks more than i spent on my previous one, absolutely bull

[@itscrikey]

Definitely not worth the spending of AU$1599 for bugger all improvements.

[@basshead.]

Australia isn't a 3rd world country. You should afford it easily.

[@itscrikey]

@basshead. pfft jog on knobhead. We pay so much more for Tech in Australia, don't join a conversation without having half clue to the subject matter.

[@techgroveusa]

While the upgraded battery and features are appealing, it's hard to justify shelling out that much cash for minimal improvements. It's especially hard when weighing it against its already good predecessor and the emerging competition.

[@Anonymous-sb9rr]

It's not meant for people who have the old one, it's meant people who don't have one yet.

[@crimsoncloud6352]

Precisely.. and those looking into the hand held market or those that dont have a PC and would want a desktop setup and portabilty. because you can use it like a pc. I dont think he pointed out the pros that out weight the cons. Especially with screens.. omg oled screen wow... too bad you cant run AAA games with no VRR Lol that oled screen is a waste. Now put that oled screen on the ally and i bet chu its a much better steam deck if isnt already. Sure you can dual boot on both but you get better outcome duel booting a windows than a linux os booting windows. theres alot of things in play here. If you already have a huge steam deck library then go for the steam deck. If you play alot of console games and newer titles get the Ally. Or if you need a desktop setup get the ally. yes it considerly better than the steam deck hardware wise you wont get the same perforamce on a steam deck with triple A games. Yes the Linux is a better alternative with a smoother OS. But the ally can literally be turned into a steam deck... again i think he speaks biased. Because theres no way id buy a steam deck oled when it cant even compete in the higher end of gaming. ​@Anonymous-sb9rr

[@UNLISTEDWEB]

I have the old Ally! And i am getting the new Ally X!. One usb on the old one is just fun killer. With old Ally there was no way to charge if i plug in my monitor. My asus portable monitor also has one usb (PD/Display) port so switching to Ally x is a solution to charge my handheld and monitor at the same time.

[@cyberspacedweller637]

@@Anonymous-sb9rr…and want to pay twice as much

[@KarlRock]

That battery life is incredible. I'll probably hold off for the Ally 2 or Steamdeck 2. My current Ally is serving me good enough.

[@TheTyisawesome]

That's what I think too. It's not enough right now for me to think: this old Ally isn't the one I want, but it's a cool mid gen refresh. I'm certainly more interested in a full blown version 2 hopefully in a year or 2 that I'd like to assume is in the works now.

[@ninad871]

Karl what do you think is worth between the ally X and the lenovo legion go?

[@KarlRock]

@@ninad871 Ally because its smaller form factor. I really would not want anything bigger than it.

[@DivyanshBalchandani]

Quick Ques: Should I buy the OG Ally or save a bit more for the X? Battery life is not a huge factor for me. Just want your opinion, seeing as you're already using it. Also, love your vids. I visited Babu to get a few games for my brother from your recommendation. Thanks so much for that!

[@KarlRock]

@@DivyanshBalchandani get the OG then and you’ll save some $$$. I usually play it plugged in to the wall on my bed. Check out the Steamdeck OLED too - it’s good

[@adriannasyraf3534]

next version of ally will feature a kickstand as its selling features

[@trulyirrelevant17]

And still nobody will use it lol

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

I'm hoping the Ally 2 comes out in a year with an OLED screen and USB4.2 and the new AMD APU (42% performance increase)

[@Kanecobond]

@@trulyirrelevant17 I love it on my Legion Go + Detachable controls. They were pretty much selling point and were better that I thought they were when I actually got the device and used it. Quickly replaced my Ally X. Love the tabletop mode you can convert it too, like the Switch... and a portable tablet work station you can turn it into in a very small form factor you can set it too + with a bigger screen at the same time. Also that FPS mode... although I don't use it. The FPS switch as a byproduct turns of the X-Input device for the Joycon-like detachables and quickly without headaches as a gaming station don't have to worry about if Player 1 is being sequestered by them when using 4 regular bluetooth controllers with you and a couple of buddies. Looking forward towards what the Legion Go 2/X/Pro might have in store.

[@cyberspacedweller637]

For only 3x the price of the OG Ally

[@_jg00]

Working at BestBuy when the original came out they we had people returning these every single day for the first couple weeks.

[@guadalupe8589]

Why?

[@AustinRucker]

still get people returning them at my store

[@wearyolive76]

apparently evryone under ally vids worked at bestbuy

[@mrsabo15]

@@guadalupe8589most people didn’t understand what they were buying and it was windows based. So they didn’t like it.

[@RorschDG-2]

@@guadalupe8589Burnt SD Cards

[@MasterBrineLP]

in Germany the Ally cost 699€ UVP and in 99% of the time its on sale for 579€ and the Ally X launched for 899€ ☠

[@danieloberhofer9035]

To those not fluent in German: UVP means MSRP, including VAT and other sales tax.

[@MasterBrineLP]

@@danieloberhofer9035 thx man. Didnt thought about that 😅

[@markdove5930]

Yah it's a no on both for me. This is too expensive and the old one is probably going to have hardware failure down the line.

[@wirrexx]

Yeah the msrp is way to high. But if I had to buy it now. I’ll go for rog ally x. But too poor right now. For that price some laptops go for 899 on sale with a rtx 4060

[@BananaBlooD9517]

It's 1 099,99 $ Cad before tax, 1265 $ in Quebec which has the biggest sales tax at 15%. That's 915 USD or 842,20 € after tax. The original is sold at 900$, often on sale at 700$. Canada really has a good price compared to other countries. I'm gonna wait for the next gen to see if it's worth upgrading.

[@tytyguy1able]

Aaaaaaaand this is why i waited. No need to upgrade when i can just start with the better Ally X

[@Stape_Playshion]

Same!

[@theonemanopinion2764]

I got my Ally Z1E for £400 new! Also managed to snag a XG mobile 6850m XT for £500 new! Yeah kinda expensive for a desktop replacement, but it’s perfect for my current situation as a small pc for my gfs house as we aren’t living together yet and I don’t want to transport my desktop!

[@rhoderzau]

Much longer battery, cooler, quieter, refined buttons, more ports, improved audio, faster charging and 10% faster, plus new "color". People upgrade their phones each year for less.

[@Dornvud]

Valid

[@rhoderzau]

Bazzite OS (i.e. Steam OS) will be going straight on mine

[@Marta1Buck]

Yes, but most people I know don't "upgrade" until something breaks, mostly the screen

[@AustinMichael]

Still not worth it. One bad upgrade choice really isn't justification for another.

[@rhoderzau]

@@AustinMichael true regarding the justification but I’d say there’s plenty there to make it worth it, personally at least.

[@RedheadLG]

I really love my Legion Go. I don't care about battery life as I always use my devices on the charger, and the screen is just gorgeous. For me, it's all about the screen, the performance, being able to play any game I want, and the really sturdy, flexible kickstand. This is what's so great about more and more competition in the space - we can all get what fits best with our own use cases.

[@adriandasilva2968]

Isn't it just a slow laptop if you use it charging all the time?

[@RedheadLG]

@@adriandasilva2968 I have a gaming laptop and the performance of the Legion Go is comparable, but in a much more portable form factor. It's obviously way lighter and doesn't require a separate controller or mouse. I can easily use it in bed, unlike a big, bulky laptop. I haven't used the laptop for gaming since getting the Legion Go.

[@stevegonzales527]

Already got the ally extreme. Not worth the upgrade. Most people spend their time plugged in with handhelds anyways even with the steam decks. The 2-3 hour battery life is fine for me I don’t need to be glued to a screen while I’m out on trips.

[@karthikmurali6012]

Agree 👍

[@rklrkl64]

Having Windows 11 on it is a dealbreaker for me - ETA Prime had the right idea and installed Bazzite on it instead and immediately elevated the end-user experience above any other Windows handheld. I think this is a hard sell for OG Ally owners - leaving the APU and screen the same and then charging a lot more for (mainly) the bigger battery doesn't make the upgrade justifiable. If you have the money to afford it and put Bazzite on it, then I can see this being worth buying if you don't have a Deck or Ally already. For everyone else, I think it's a hard pass.

[@wantonlaughterb5559]

That’s what I ended up doing on day one. Wife jacked the steam deck so I wanted to try something different but the same 😂

[@YellowLightNinja]

Even as someone who loves my Ally with all my heart and would never pick a SD over it as long as i live, i genuinely could never recommend this to someone over the SD if theyre entirely new to the concept of PC gaming. Its SO easy to setup a SD whereas with my Ally, if i didn't already have like a decade of Windows under my belt it would have been the most infuriating experience on earth

[@mreverybody1150]

That's why people are installing Bazzrite on it...

[@crusherman96]

Dude what? More people are familiar with windows than Steam OS. As someone who's really tech savvy, I hated constantly having to adjust settings to make games run on steam deck and having to check protondb to see if they'll work. Not only that, if I wanted to install games from other launchers, I have to Google it and try to follow someone's instructions. I just bought an Ally X. It's so easy to use. I don't have to look up how to do anything. I just press play and game on. I know all the games will run on Windows and worst case I put the settings to low. It's so easy.

[@WolfyWagsTail]

I'll wait for the full gen 2 ally at this point.

[@Username_CC_]

Expect 6 -12 months after AMD zen 5 launches

[@bravedwarf]

@@Username_CC_ain’t the new chipset already announced the soc (should see them this fall)

[@TheTyisawesome]

Same this is mid not enough

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

@@bravedwarf Yes. New APUs in Q4, so wouldn't be surprised for an Ally X 2 this time next year.

[@pawelczubinski6413]

i upgraded, also added new 4TB to it like to the old one. It is totally worth it. all games that didn't work on Ally now run smootly. also black looks so much better.

[@ltraltier6009]

The only real upgrade for this is the bonus USB-C port and double the battery life. I think I'll just buy a 80wh battery and already have an adapter with way more ports that is cheaper than the $200+ "upgrade" added to the price tag. If you already have a OG Z1E like I do, just pass on this one.

[@theabyss86]

Bought my son the ally x on Black Friday for Christmas. First handheld pc. I was gonna get me one too but I’m sure some new stuff is dropping in 2025. I’ll get something then

[@4RILDIGITAL]

It's a balancing act for sure, choosing between the bigger battery life yet cost-prohibitive aspects of the Ally X and the still solid performance with a smaller price tag of the original Ally.

[@NexGen-3D]

I picked up a Legion Go as an upgrade to the Steam Deck, I ended up turning off half of the CPU Cores as they are over kill and just chew battery, they are upgraded the wrong things in these machines, just increase the GPU cores and the battery size, that's it, there is no point increasing CPU performance, as they are always under utilised and the GPU is always maxed out.

[@fuzzymuppet1990]

Ive been saying this forever !

[@NexGen-3D]

@@fuzzymuppet1990 To be honest, Id prefer to have just 2 cores with hyperthreading boosting to high clock speeds than 8 cores 16 threads running at like 500mhz flat, as this is what it does, if you shut of 4 of the cores, the 4 that are running, run much faster, power usage also drops and the games actually run better.

[@masternas45]

I need more cores for ps2 & ps3 game emulation. 🙂‍↕️🥲🥲🥲

[@NexGen-3D]

@@masternas45 Yes I get that, but the primary focus of these machines is PC Gaming, emulation is an alternative use, and a good use though, but engineers are still focusing on the wrong areas, at least we can shut off cores, but they need to concentrate on adding more GPU cores, double the ram, increase the battery size, and shift more of the power budget over to the GPU, currently all of these machines are at 5 to 10% CPU utilization while pushing over 90% on the GPU, the Steam Deck is actually a more balanced system than these newer faster machines.

[@Momi_V]

The issue is that the Steam Deck is using custom silicon (the channel "High Yield" has some amazing die analysis videos) while everyone else is using repurposed laptop chips. Even the "Z1 Extreme" is just a binned 7840U with the NPU disabled. And in an Ultrabook the extra cores might be very useful (Photo and Video editing, multitasking, etc.) and a different balance between CPU and iGPU is implemented. Especially since some of those laptop chips are paired with dGPUs. But a "true" handheld SoC with something like 4xZen5 and a 12-16CU RDNA3+ iGPU would be very interesting. Anything bigger would likely be very memory bound, but an optimized SoC with fewer Cores, less PCIe I/O, etc. might finally get to truly usable battery life even at 1080p

[@smallbutdeadly931]

Remember guys, don't buy ASUS products unless you want to be painfully rejected and/or nickel and dimed by ASUS support

[@PixogenPixels]

@@smallbutdeadly931 I mean if child slave labor didn’t stop people from buying stuff… I don’t think warranty issues will.

[@smallbutdeadly931]

Difference is that warranty support is something that can directly affect the consumer

[@maxiynacho]

Just buy from best buy

[@pixelman2626]

that's only happened on North America region. ASUS customer support everywhere especially in Asia is good

[@thamburkerkey]

Also, don't buy their routers. The overpriced pieces of shit can't even detect External IP addresses.

[@JonaaBLKWL]

My boyfriend wanted a Rog Ally. I got myself the Steam Deck because I dislike messing with Windows on a desktop and couldn't imagine myself using the Ally at all. but if nothing better than the Ally X is out by christmas, I'll get him that because I know he'll love it.

[@drill_fiend1097]

Why not lenovo legion go?

[@JonaaBLKWL]

@@drill_fiend1097 he's an Asus fanboy

[@drill_fiend1097]

@@JonaaBLKWL He should see some Louis Rossmann videos about ASUS and their terrible customer support... he won't be loyal to ASUS anymore after that viewing. Also, if you dispute Alley repair fee within the warranty period... they will literally ship the device back to you, with even more parts missing. Yeah, that means they will literally take mobo out if you were just replacing battery and didn't like the bill.

[@LianCasablacks]

Man I need to get me this kind of gf before X-mas

[@mreverybody1150]

@@LianCasablacks I got the Deck without one, it's cheaper and you get more time to play...

[@pixels_per_minute]

I wish Valve would hurry up a bit and get an official Steam OS release out for us to install on whatever we want. Windows is the biggest issue I have with any of these devices. Well, that and the fact ASUS would rather scam you than fix your device.

[@carlangelo653]

I actually prefer windows in these handhelds, but then again I use mine more like a portable dockable PC rather than a dedicated gaming console

[@Zerotymn]

@@carlangelo653I mean you basically buying a laptop with controller built in and no keyboard. As much powerful these window handhelds are, the experience on the steam deck is just better due to the operating system was custom designed for it. You don’t even have to touch your screen like 80% of the time to type and there are trackpads to use in desktop mode which I don’t know why other window handhelds try to copy yet.

[@bm-cy7ek]

@@carlangelo653 Same Windows any day.

[@shepistired]

From what I understand it's just, genuinely difficult to have it work on most configurations of PCs idk

[@M1szS]

Ever heard of Linux? Steam OS is literally Arch Linux, just customized for the steam deck controls

[@Primate541]

The Steam Deck OLED for Australians is the most expensive of these new wave of handheld PCs, but I still chose to get one over its competitors because I feel Steam is the only company that I can trust to support the device and ecosystem going forward. Its commitment to pushing the platform forward has been proven and tested, they are just doing things nobody else from a hardware or software side are doing. And for markets where the Deck is sold locally, there really isn't any competition on value too.

[@linuxnext]

did you get it from big w? or somewhere else?

[@benhoughtonmusic]

@@linuxnext i preordered mine through kogan, arrived december just before xmas!

[@salocin9009]

Yes the Deck OLED is the most expensive, but I’ve seen LCD Steam Decks going for around AUD $750 new (sometimes for 256G). I’d wait a bit for prices to stabilise, LCD decks were the same price as Ally’s when they first arrived in Australia.

[@DizzyAndHigh]

@@linuxnext Gotta go with dodgy grey market sellers like Kogan 😩

[@husky3g]

Sucks man. Take a vacation to the states and pick one up cheap over here. The Legion Go or the Ally X are both decent competitors, no doubt. You guys get those cheaper than we do, in actuality. Converted they are about 70 USD cheaper for you guys when converting from AUD to USD. The Steam Deck OLED 512GB in the U.S. is $549 USD which is $823.71 AUD, converted. Much cheaper than the Ally honestly. About $350 AUD cheaper.

[@JeskidoYT]

shortcircuit at 1 AM? smells like embragio time is up

[@Collin_J]

Biphasic sleepers rejoice! Then get a snack, use the bathroom, and fall back asleep

[@chriscole9621]

10pm for me

[@thebeast7590]

@@chriscole9621 pst brother how do you do

[@McSmurfy]

8am for me

[@TheWWWyrm]

Time zones exist

[@szymonrocks]

I bought a used Asus rog a couple of months ago for $570 CAD, a $40 dongle on Amazon and I didn’t steal a usb mouse and keyboard from work. I enjoy my gaming experience and I’m in no rush to upgrade.

[@fewew7898]

eGPUs are nice in theory but every time I tried using them they're a massive pain. It sometimes takes couple of restarts and 15 minutes of fiddling before the GPU acceleration is working. And waking up from sleep it would stop working too. I would not replace my desktop PC with a handheld + eGPU combo. If you aren't permamently plugged into an enclosure I would just get the original Ally and a powerbank for $60.

[@Kysa2]

The Ally X is $1241 in Canada with tax and the OG Ally is around $550-$799 with and/or open box from Best Buy. My Ally is open box and it came brand new

[@aleksei8884]

I was considering the ally x, then I remembered I have a pc with a 4080 and a Nintendo switch lying around somewhere for my handheld needs

[@lincoln537]

Same + Steam Deck, PS Vita and so on and yet I still want it

[@DeepStone-6]

You can get a used Ally 1 for $350 the Ally X at $800 is just not it.

[@Woupsme]

Depends on your needs. I have a nice desktop PC, but I play more on my Steam Deck since it's more convenient.

[@pieceofschmidtgamer]

@@DeepStone-6 Is that the Z1 or Z1 Extreme Ally 1?

[@DeepStone-6]

@@pieceofschmidtgamer Z1 extreme

[@ericbauer4559]

If I do upgrade to the X, I'll wait for the price to drop a bit first. I already have an egpu to go along with it. Asus addressed everything I complained about with the ally. Still a steep price to justify.

[@bjrn-oskarrnning2740]

Y'know, with handhelds being on the rise, this would be a good time for a (shudder) Windows 8.1 retrospective. It was designed for touch screens, after all, so I'd be curious to see how it fares on devices like these.

[@Anon20855]

would be difficult to test since I guess there's no drivers for 8.1 , but good idea indeed

[@Nickearl1]

I bought my OG ROG on an open box deal and was not disappointed. Bring new to the handheld pc market. I placed my order yesterday for the X in brand new condition. If you got a great deal on your original ally this maybe worth the upgrade

[@Draknad]

I mean the amount of increase isn't so great, but for people like me in NZ you can't get a steam deck of any kind (which is just rude considering where Gaben lives). So could be a good option.

[@jonevansauthor]

That is legitimately insane. He could probably afford to give them away free to every citizen there and barely notice the change in his bank balance. Certainly it wouldn't be hard for him to get them on sale in New Zealand.

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

​@@jonevansauthorIt's hard to get anything in New Zealand. They are super restrictive about what's allowed to be sold there.

[@jasontomica8938]

WHAT HAPPENS IF U NEVER OWNED ONE AT ALL LIKE MYSELF, THEN WHICH WOULD U CHOOSE?

[@bulldogsplash1]

In .y local cex the original is half the price of the new one. That's enough of a reason to pick the OG

[@squishtomar1676]

New keyboard to fix your Caps Lock

[@kota7789]

Laughs in 95wh battery upgrade on my gen1 Ally. Things sick now. Yeah, I’ve got a big ole’ block off the back of my ally but it’s really not that bad and the little extra weight feels great to me. I don’t see me upgrading to the Ally X until this one kicks the bucket.

[@MrBasilion]

I wanna see it used as a workstation. Is it an alternative to a laptop? a good stand, a dock etc could make this a gamechanger.

[@TheTyisawesome]

I play this handheld anywhere I want lol but I use this with a dock at home like a desktop with a desk setup.(It's just like my old PC but better) I use it with a portable monitor and wireless KBD/Mouse while traveling for a sweet hotel room setup. It's a versatile little PC

[@the_undead]

All of these devices effectively are laptops as far as the operating system is concerned, I don't know about for the Ally or Legion go but I know the steam Steam deck dock that valve sells functions identically to a laptop dock and would allow you to use this thing like a docked laptop

[@celestintessier2776]

If you get a Lapdock or a Nexdock !

[@kevinolsen73]

I'm with you Linus. I bought my Ally Extreme like a month before the announcement of the X. If I had known, I would have waited and paid the extra. But now that I already have the OG, I can't justify the upgrade. I wish I had those extra features, but now I'll have to wait for the 2nd or even 3rd Gen before I spend that kind of money on a handheld again.

[@rhekman]

0:11 TomTom appreciates that it's only 11% heavier.

[@Arutemysu]

I recently got the AyaNeo Flip DS 32GB RAM, and I can say, I am happy I got the AyaNeo over the Asus Ally. I am literally using 26GB, and most is for the GPU.

[@flemtone]

Steam Deck OLED all day every day, especially with the new 6.10 kernel.

[@axelgamer6293]

what does that kernel version improve exactly? I’m buying the SD like today so I’m interested lol

[@BennyBanano1]

​@@axelgamer6293bump

[@sulac4ever170]

I also would be interested in your insider knowledge ... care to share? 😊

[@sijedevos2376]

Legion go all day every day, especially with that build in stand and big screen

[@diddymies]

nothin​@@axelgamer6293

[@SkaMacanan]

Retro Game Corps has a comprehensive review tackling the battery life and performance options to toggle on a few select games. It's a really good, in-depth review, imho.

[@Paulie8K]

I had the OG Ally since launch and love it. Use it almost daily. These improvements are great for someone just getting into pc gaming handhelds, but it's a super tough sell for OG owners. For $800 I want the Ally 2 with a new SOC, OLED screen and more in addition to these current small upgrades.

[@KushiTTV]

got a battery pack or plugged in all the time?

[@communistjrotc1]

I mean imma pick up a open box x at best buy for $641 and give my gf my og ally.

[@asawarai]

The actual best plan is to go get a gently used original ROG Ally for $400 and pop a bigger drive in it. Sure you lose battery life gains but that's mostly it. Worth saving a few hundred bucks. The SD card likely failing is offset by your new drive.

[@chrixantorres]

appreciate the review yeah is expensive but i don't have any other handheld + i play mihoyo games that aren't in steam. 100 bucks more for more battery and storage is not THAT crazy, but it's definitely expensive.

[@CHT1992]

The issue is that it's just not 100 bucks more. The older Z1 models are being sold on discount, which makes it even worse to compare to the ally x. You can nearly buy 2 Z1E for the price of 1 ally x in some countries. The improvements are there, but is it really worth paying almost 2x the value for such improvements...? Performance wise, it is the top dog most likely, but next gen APUs are going to quickly change things on performance side. If we see a rog ally 2 sometime later this year or early next year, that ally will most definetely beat the ally x in performance and will be somewhat downgraded from there. Like a mix of Z1E specs but using newer hardware for performance gains (new APU, 16gb ram at higher MT/s just like the X, 512gb storage, slightly improved battery, hardly see them changing the design too much or the display) Anyways, this same issue applies to other new handhelds being released, like the msi claw 2, zotac zone and the likes. Zotac zone is 800 bucks, the price on this thing is overkill considering the time window it will be released in, it should have been 700 bucks just like legion go or 750 bucks MAX.

[@miuletzmitzu6641]

100$ sure. But the thing is, the Rog Ally Z1E is around 500-600$ new. It often goes on discount, for as low as 399$ (Where I'm from at least). The Rog Ally X however is 900$ and it has been 900$ since release, not even one discount. 399$ vs 900$ is a BIG difference. 500$ for some extra battery life (that I can easily get with a powerbank) ain't worth it.

[@Cosmitzian]

My number 1 concern is actually just the bad ergonomics on the old Ally. I really want those rounded new corners, the smaller buttons and just the more comfortable fit. Battery comes a close second but i've learned to just expect 1h of actual playtime from 80% to 10%.

[@krash3x]

I got a legion go and haven't touched my ROG Ally or Steam Deck since. I love that huge screen, and don't ever feel it necessary to plug it into a second monitor.

[@the_undead]

If I was grabbing a handheld, I'd probably personally grab the steam deck because of its price competitiveness, but that colossal screen on the legion go is very tempting

[@Sayre777]

I wish I’d heard of the legion go before I bought the ally ha

[@Matzahfiend]

I lucked out with a Refurb Ally Z1 Extreme, that was defective so Best Buy gave me a brand new one at the same price. $500 for a brand new Z1 Ex Ally. I mainly use it docked at work, and the short battery life does stink, but my average play session in handheld isn't long enough forthat to be an issue. Save the money guys, until the 2 comes out.

[@geamckay]

I literally just upgraded my 8 year old pc to an og ally cause I didn't see value difference. I did get it on sale for $530 cad, I cant wait to test it out.

[@Momi_V]

I'd have bought it if it came with Strix Point (Zen5/RDNA3+) but as it stands the price is too high for a last gen CPU, even with the better battery life. IF I'm spending that much money I don't want to see something 30% faster coming out two months later for 100$ more. Kraken Point (the smaller 8 core variant) might also have been interesting for 720p with AMAZING battery life. With the smaller, more optimized chip 8-10 hours of real world gaming might be possible without too much tuning.

[@saideep1008]

I have a question on graph at 00:45 timestamp. Why does it say 200 nits in both graphs at 60% and 45% bright? Is that expected to happen? I am not sure how this works

[@bondy15]

They put both devices at the same measured screen brightness, for the Ally that 200 nits happens at 60% of its maximum and for the Ally X it happens 45% of the max.

[@iz723]

Ally X has greater max brightness.

[@CanIHasThisName]

Basically the brightness in nits is what they measured, that is the physical output of light the device provides. The percentage is how bright they had to set the device to reach that, meaning the software settings. As others already said, from this you can conclude that if a device reaches the same brightness at lower percentage, it can reach higher maximum brightness.

[@iz723]

@@CanIHasThisName do you really lick the inside of popcorn packages?

[@the_undead]

It means to reach 200 nits brightness. You need to go to 60% brightness on the Ally and you need to go to 45% brightness on the Ally X

[@jstudios3756]

I use the original ROG ally and play forza at 1080p medium settings and get a rock solid 60fps. More people use 1080p than you probably think especially with non FPS games.

[@kittleeagle]

Goit an open box excellent condition OG Ally for $450 at bestbuy the other day. It's not worth $800 from that stand point

[@ultimatebreak827]

Yea I might either trade in or or sell my ally for an open box x

[@pieceofschmidtgamer]

Which version of the OG Ally? Z1 or Z1 Extreme?

[@haynknight2002]

Same I bought a Z1X open box excellent about a week ago for $450 and I have zero regrets! Bought a 2tb nvme, a case, and a screen protector and I still paid less than an Ally X. Win in my book.

[@Fizzybig]

Z1 extream ​@@pieceofschmidtgamer

[@kittleeagle]

@@pieceofschmidtgamer Extreme

[@sturdybutter]

Honestly, when I decided on the new steam deck last winter it was the oled that ultimately made the decision for me. That outweighs the performance in my opinion. If I want to play a game that really needs the better hardware to run, I’ll play it on my PC.

[@nintendork07]

for these gaming handhelds can you guys please include gaming in your battery life tests? like one or two games at different wattage levels. that would be much more useful than a KZbin endurance test or CPU / GPU stress test for battery life

[@marcogenovesi8570]

benchmarking gaming is highly inconsistent as it depends from the game, the settings and the level/map/whatever in game

[@ethanlieske9678]

As a person with an OG ally and the income to buy more or less what ever I want gaming wise, even I am not sold on the ally X. Sure its better but I use my ally mostly in 1-2 hour sessions near a wall or on a plane, and I mostly play older games or emulate older gamers where the extra horse power is not needed.

[@pixel_overkill]

I absolutely love my ROG Ally. I'm so glad the community figured out how to remotely fix the SD slot issue due to the fuses having either cold solder joints or bad fuses. Mine I fixed with resoldering the fuses.

[@TheTyisawesome]

Curious how wide spread it really was because I've had an Ally and been actively using it and the SD card slot daily since July of last year no problems. Works great for me to keep retro ROMS stored

[@abidchy4479]

@@TheTyisawesome Wow! You are one of the lucky ones. My SD card slot is still a virgin cause I never needed it to run games on sd card anyway.

[@marcinlegacy9660]

From 44min to 2h on turbo 25W - Man, for many users what will be THE KEY to buy X. I'ts great improvement. For me it was pain that plaing AAA games outside on 25W I had to always bring powerbank with me and plug in.

[@I_am_ENSanity]

Going to stick with my Steam Deck Oled.

[@christycho9871]

Already having the original Ally, this is not worth an upgrade. But if you don't have a Windows handheld PC, THIS is the one to get, hands down. I have no issues running Windows on mine. It's much faster than my dust collecting Deck, and the VRR is the final necessary attribute. The Deck is only good for retro gaming or playing very undemanding, old games on its inferior hardware

[@SAGEPRXNCER]

it’s like 1 AM RIGHT NOW

[@caedon0]

Go to bed

[@bueny_]

Just change your timezone to sth. more reasonable

[@e4iojk]

The rest of the world also exists

[@Futura2500]

Its like 6:50am right now :)

[@chriscole9621]

10pm

[@zodiacfml]

I think pricing is pretty ok if you still don't own an Ally but personally, pricing is thin and light laptop territory. Additionally, next gen APU around the corner likely with 32GB

[@chriscole9621]

The gpd win 4 can be equipped with 64gb of RAM with the 8840u. And can come with 4tb SSD out of the box already

[@zodiacfml]

@@chriscole9621 those are crazy expensive. id just get a laptop

[@spreencer]

@8:11 Waaaait is he saying there's two different screens that shipped with the first ally that differ in peak brightness??

[@DavidAddis]

First I've heard about this, too!

[@spreencer]

@@DavidAddis Hope I'm misunderstanding because they launched on "500 nits" and my og 400 nit steam deck is definitely brighter than my ally

[@james8606]

The battery life on this device is a massive thing. For me I'm not upgrading maybe Asus offered a upgrade price I might but I enjoy my ally and don't often use it outside the house and if I do I tend to have a power outlet. I also own the 3080 gpu for it too. That said this is a great upgrade and good to see Asus taking on user feedback and improving on it. It will definitely be interesting to see what the Ally 2 brings to the table especially with processor upgrades and one thing I'm looking forward to is the new UI that is coming later on this year.

[@timvlogtv512]

That Asus gameboy has more battery than my 15inch laptop 😭😭

[@MrBananers]

already had a steam deck and recently went with the legion go for 600. So far Im liking the decision I made as it will be mostly plugged in as a media device with occasional handheld play whenever someone wants to use the tv. No need for me to pay more for the ally X.

[@BlazikenBurst]

Is this a re-upload cuz it feels familiar

[@joeykeilholz925]

We've been here before

[@fmulleady]

I have the ROG Ally X and the Legion Go. The Go may have less battery life but it has a superior screen with a far more immersive gaming experience. Windows is way easier to navigate & use too.

[@familhagaudir8561]

I don't want to get scammed during warranty repairs for defective hardware, so I don't want to buy from ASUS.

[@_ghr0_]

It's just been priced out of the range of the people who want to buy these things. Valve has figured out the sweet spot being $550 when it comes to pricing and $700+ is enthusiast level. This is cool and all for the people who travel on planes frequently but not a viable mass market product.

[@shadowracer1259]

People rlly commenting before you could see the end of the vid😭

[@anthonybenjamin4311]

Like what you're doing rn?

[@ultraviolet2497]

@@shadowracer1259 lots of people aren't going to watch to the end of the video, but they will look at comments

[@haynknight2002]

I bought a Z1X open box excellent about a week ago for $450 and I have zero regrets! Bought a 2tb nvme, a case, and a screen protector and I still paid less than an Ally X. Win in my book.

[@plastikloser]

when they do make a steam deck 2, i would love to see that big boy battery and larger nvme. Valve isnt perfect, but they are most consumer friendly out there, which gets my money

[@jonevansauthor]

Yes, 2280 NVMEs are the way everything should be, unless the entire device is not long enough. If 2230s weren't vastly more expensive, and even hard to get hold of sometimes, I'd see a point but they're just inferior and more expensive and there's plenty of space available, since no-one is going to whine if a device is 1.5mm thicker to accommodate it, even if there isn't already enough free volume inside the case. It's crazy that even the MS Surface and the ASUS Z13 use 2230s.

[@fankrys]

$150 is not an issue, but i still wonder if i would prefer the higher performance and compatibility of the ally or the superbe OLED screen and battery life of the steam deck. I don't own a handheld yet, only only plan to buy one. Ah, choices, choices...

[@muhammetzencirli2042]

X is now better than OLED in terms of battery. If you research and look at the tests, you will see that it is true.

[@cringelord216]

Because of the ally x I was able to get a ally z1 extreme for $360 from best buy

[@youllbeallright470]

People will have to wait a year to buy the Ally x at half it's price today.

[@ChaliceBlade2]

I've already bought couple of accessories and upgrades needed for my Ally Z1E and it feels like a waste letting it go so soon. Asus released the Ally X way too soon, its as if they're giving us a sneak peek of what the Ally 2.0 will contain at least. I feel what they should be focusing is providing better accessories. When I bought mine from a local store, there was no screen protector, no hard casing, no dock to use for monitor, keyboard and mouse (their charger dock is trash), and no upgrade service available. Everything else was from third party and surprisingly really good quality, especially JSAUX.

[@SvGPlayer831]

in other words its worth the upgrade the price is the only negative, clickbait video title for views, the x is way better than the original ally in every way except gpu who u fooling

[@LaurenGlenn]

This is a great update. Full 2280 nvme, USB support for external GPUs now. Definitely upgrade

[@Rushil69420]

Why would an embargo end at 1AM EST lmfao

[@user-ll4wu3kb2m]

Because the southern Hemisphere exists buddy , I picked up my ally x 6 hours ago

[@bwfextreme]

@@user-ll4wu3kb2mBuddy, southern and northern hemispheres don’t have different time zones. I’ll assume you just had a brain fart and meant to type eastern hemisphere

[@user-ll4wu3kb2m]

@@bwfextreme buddy, the Greenwich time system is a man Made concept and doesn’t actually represent “real time “ they literally moved the time zones based on preferences for countries hence why they aren’t straight lines…… it’s not real sheep

[@user-ll4wu3kb2m]

@@bwfextreme owned baby girl

[@-B.H.]

Actually better priced than I thought it would be. But it still just makes the Steam Deck all that more compelling. That is outside of wanting to play very specific games with launchers/kernel DRM in Windows.

[@TruthDoesNotExist]

considering what a clusterf*ck windows handhelds are, I would never consider these compared to the linux steamdeck with the great suspend features and other quality of life and stability the linux based handhelds have. windows barely has a place on desktop and it certainly has no place on the console space

[@NickelExpressCycling]

It's not so bad. I have both. I love the SD for quick bursts/long trips. But the ally is so much better for relaxing around the house.

[@ultimatebreak827]

@@NickelExpressCycling that is fax

[@Futura2500]

Tbh I had a steamdeck i got so frustrated with setting changes to get thing to work - I ended up getting an ally - games just generally work on the ally. Also some games just flat out dont work on the deck

[@Pytte]

you can put bazzite on this if you need linux

The allay X in switzerland is "only" 955USD, which is expensive. But the steam deck oled 1TB also costs 850USD the least up to 1100 USD, because valve decided to not sell it in the middle of europe. Prices are msrp + tax

[@CameronRides]

So late in the evening for videos lol

[@themaskedwander]

My local official partner exclusive seller sold the original for €800 and its now down to around €700. The Ally X appeared on their site a week ago for €850. Wasn't a bad price, for a new one. Until like 2 days ago right before launch it went from €850 to €950 for it. As much as I did wanna get one for the eGPU support over the Deck, I can't pay that much for what is the same device as the original Ally Its so hard to justify thr Ally X being the same model but small upgrades when its €150 more than the original RRP of the Ally and now is around €250 more than getting a new boxed Ally Z1E

[@josephmull2158]

For christ sakes can we change the tune for the sound test..

[@Cemruto]

It is 900 dollars in Denmark and it is over 1000 dollars without the preorder deal... Asus if you want customers, do better with the prices .

[@RNorthex]

Or 550 for the 512 oled Seems like the answer is pretty straightforward: if you really _need_ the performance and the battery life, this is the choice For everyone else, especially if you want something with a warranty, the SD just continues to run victory laps

[@sigma682]

Making this decision even harder is that I just picked up an open box Ally for $410 that still has 11 months of warranty (23 months because the confirmed MicroSD issue). 2230s are near price parity with 2280s. Even if you already have 2280s lying around there are $6-$10 adapters. My biggest concern was the 16 gb of RAM, and considered upgrading the RAM chips myself for $80 (32gb)-$130 (64gb) which is very risky, or $300 for a professional to do it, but then I’d void my warranty and we’re approaching Ally X pricing without any risk, includes the larger battery and all the other improvements My biggest disappointment is the omission of the XG mobile connection but at least there’s still eGPU support.

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

they took out the xg mobile because nobody is buying them. Like 1/10000 users might actually use an EGPU.

[@TheUnHappySponge]

In Australia you can get a new Steam deck oled from a second hand seller for about $1300 (Valve hates Australia, so you can't buy from them) and the Ally X is $1600. My experience with the Steam Deck Oled has been Amazing and I don't see myself coffing up extra even for the more powerful Ally. I don't really play competitive online multiplayer games so I have no issue with that aspect of the Steam deck. The original Steam Deck is about $800 in Australia which seems like a great deal for someone looking for a PC with a more console feel.

[@Bordz_92]

It was an easy purchase for me. Coming from a PC gaming background, already used to spending 2k plus. I went ahead and purchased this although this is my very first handheld besides a switch oled.

[@jorismak]

The games are starting to appear thay have issues with the 16gb shared pool on the original (and SD). And they work way way better on the AllyX. The 24gb internal ram and settjng the gpu ram to 8gb fixed instead of driver dynamic helps more than reviewers imagine.(Source: DF)

[@RolandDobbins]

That’s why it needs 32GB of RAM at a minimum.

[@3fkups]

Considering I got a Ally just a few days ago for $350 on sale nah can't beat that price. Specially since I can ignore it's major flaws since I plan to use it as a low end desktop gaming pc mostly so don't care about low battery life or sd card or buttons getting stuck.

[@3fkups]

And yes I could have gotten the low tier Steam Deck for only a bit more but I like the idea of being able to run my Epic and Gog games without having to jump through extra hoops.

[@THEHEADOFTHEPACK]

My steamdeck was £250 for a refurb 64gb, put a 512gb SSD and a 512 micro SD , I have a 1tb console with incredible emulation support and the ability to install everything I could on a Rog ally. Rog ally is just too expensive and I felt confident buying a steamdeck because valve is committed to this level of hardware - I'm not going to get updated into obscurity as Asus gives up supporting older platforms

[@Kanecobond]

Very tempting... but I moved from the original Ally to the Legion Go, so I'm bit more interested in what the Lenovo will do since they're releasing/revealing whatever it is they're working on later... they have the advantage and position to 1-up everything the Ally X just accomplished over the OG Ally.

[@cirmothe9]

As an early ally adopter, I won't buy this one. But I will buy the next device that hopefully has a significant performance increase as well as the battery improvement from this one.

[@spartan2188]

I have the ROG ally with Z1 Extreme. The X is a decent upgrade, but I'll wait for the ROG Ally 2 or whatever they'll call it. The performance increase on the X is not enough for me to upgrade.

[@Heldermaior]

Man... The only thing that really ticks my boxes on the Ally X is the 80Wh battery. But, I can get an original ally on sale for 400 pounds. And an X will cost me 800... And I see the original Ally more as a mini PC replacement. To keep it plugged in to the mains and use the extra CPU cores to run some games better on an external 1080p display making extensive use of FSR and XeSS. That battery though... Damn... I love my OLED because I can play CP2077 for over 2 hours on the go. This 80w battery means I can play at similar settings for 30% longer getting very close to 3h.

[@Rileygee0224]

I still daily the LCD steam deck, I haven't felt the need to upgrade for a few reasons, mainly cost. I don't feel like spending $500 or more on a very similar product when I primarily only play emulators or easy to run games like Half life or games that take little to no battery life. I would love to try the Ally or MSI claw but again until I magically come across lots of money, I'm loyal to one.

[@MBTCxGrouP]

My Ally X is arriving soon. I have a Steamdeck OLED and an OG Ally Z1 Extreme. The SD is good, but it lacks performance. The OG Ally has the performance, but the batterylife sucks. And there is your selling point: You want a Handheld! Yes you heard right. A handheld is a device for playing on the go and the OG Ally isnt good at this. So the Ally X is the best of both worlds...perofromance with incredible batterylife. Here in germany its 899€. My OLED was 700€ and my OG Ally 600€...so yeah its expensive, but a top tier Ayaneo or ONEX is more expensive and can do nothing like this. In the end it depends on what you want and what you can afford...for me its a game changer and I want exactly that + I can finally sell my OLED and OG Ally, bcause I dont need them together anymore 👍