ROG ALLY 8 Months In: Can It Still Hold The Edge As King Of Windows Handhelds

[@ETAPRIME]

What would you like to see added to the ROG ALLY 2? Me personally, OLED display, bigger battery, USB4 and RDNA4 iGPU.

[@Muench13]

An OLED display, one that is possibly a little bigger, would be great. However I think the form factor is perfect so I wouldn’t want any changes that make the Ally larger / heavier.

[@agelikemilk351]

Bigger display, bigger battery, RTX 4090 mobile

[@Vistortion]

Right there with you! I love mine, I’ll be posting my own videos in a bit.

[@VoyeurOfMisfortune]

WWAN support all the way

[@jeofthevirtuoussand]

Only 2 sku for rdna 4 tho .... maybe with rdna 5 . I wonder if rdna 5 will be lunched only a couple of months after rdna 4

[@samsoulee]

This thing completely changed my gaming habits and my life, I almost never play my full fat desktop computer anymore. My wife is way happier to see me on the couch for some reasons. and I'm always impress at how powerfull it is. especially with "Lossless scaling"

[@cloudycolacorp]

I love how transformative PC handhelds are, just huge existing libraries ready to go

[@Mrbowgod]

Same for me, I jump on my PC when I need some more juice when I'm playing with my friends. Other than that, it's just the allu

[@manuelcardenas1044]

😅 I've wondered if it happened to someone else, mi wife also likes it better when I play in my handheld consoles (switch/steam deck) rather than on the TV/monitor

[@james8606]

Same with me. I ended up buying a 3080 for it so I use this for docked mode and then use the handheld mode when playing games with my little one and on the go. I own a surface for my day to day work ect and ally has replaced my pc and consoles.

[@vsvdamarlo]

Lol same here. First gaming device she actually likes😂😂

[@Arrakiss20]

I bought the basic Z1 version just for emulation. Running PS1/PS2/N64/Dreamcast/Gamecube games on it and i love it.

[@main_tak_becus6689]

How is the battery life?

[@5555dhoni]

should buy ayn odin 2 instead

[@Fusion05]

​@5555dhoni besides form factor, why the hell would you want an Odin 2 Pro? PC has more emulators plus can run other console type games. On odin you get Minecraft as the best game in terms of content and relation to it's brother versions. Maybe I'm missing something but Odin doesn't make much sense

[@Arrakiss20]

i cant imagine switching from windows to android for better emulation :D @@Fusion05

[@5.0truck]

@@Fusion05 if hes just playing emulation, all the systems he mentioned are running great on odin 2 pro and android. save $200

[@robertsmith20022]

Day one adopter who hasnt had any issues. Wouldnt trade this thing for any other handheld. Cant wait for the 2 to come out

[@redm2n]

I hope they call the Ally 2, The Nemesis

[@Jiff_af]

ROG Ally got me back into gaming more often. It’s definitely a game changer. Sadly My SD card slot has consistently given me issues. I’ve simply given up on it

[@rs305]

My SD card reader recently fried and bricked my 1TB card. Luckily teamgroup replaced my damaged SD card via RMA return.

[@Tyler-hs9eu]

Just send it in RMA, i did it with mine and got it working just fine, was a worthwhile wait

[@YelNatSttocS]

I have 2 Allys and both of them have sd card reader issue. I RMA both and they are now working fine for 3 months rn.

[@Vegan_Lifting]

I've never used the SD card slot. I'm using an small USB card reader with 1 TB SD Card. I would always prefer the USB port to an integrated card reader. I use memory cards on all my Windows handhelds via USB. An integrated card reader is the least important thing about the device.

[@flamingo-stabbingo]

@@Tyler-hs9eu what is RMA?

[@lucidx88]

I still love my Ally. My go to handheld

[@lareka11]

same here

[@danielhulan3058]

I had one but switched to the legion go. I love the ally but I had too many problems with it. I also love my onexgpu with my Go. It's great.

[@РикСанчез-ь9з]

@@danielhulan3058 please tell me is the performance of onexgpu enough? Are you displaying on a monitor or using a Legion Go screen?

[@dopeeyx7605]

@@danielhulan3058 i’ve been playing sons of forest on the legion go & its perfect.. Still want a 2nd console for more space, dithering between the Ps5 pro & Ally 2 that’s releasing later this year

[@daiashthomas]

Does it run switch emulation and PS3?

[@MHuxel45]

I got an ally Z1 extreme on sale at Best Buy for $100 off and used some store credit, so mine cost me around $450. I’ve been loving it. I am a Mac guy and this is my intro to windows pc gaming. I grabbed some cheap 100watt usb-c laptop chargers on Amazon so I can charge it from my bed, my couch, or anywhere in the house and play at 30watt tdp for basically all my games. I’ve got a dock set up for my living room tv, and for my desk when I want to do keyboard and mouse gaming. I play it all over the house and love it. I’ve sunk about 80 hours into HZD in anticipation of the sequel launch on steam later this month. I couldn’t be happier.

[@solidust573]

HZD runs beautifully on the Ally. Played it for the first time this week. Ally runs it like a boss 👍

[@MHuxel45]

@@solidust573as I said, I’m new to PCA gaming. I didn’t realize how good things look even not at 60fps. I usually play HZD on 30 watt turbo docked on high settings 1080 with the fps capped at 60, but the actual fps typically hovers anywhere from 40-50. But that’s really perfectly smooth to me. When I’m unplugged I play at 720p medium settings at 15 watt, and it still chugs my battery, I’m lucky to get an hour of gameplay it feels like. What kind of settings do you play at?

[@zigga967]

@@MHuxel45 Bro, this is my story as well! Because of the Ally, I just recently built a $2k gaming rig (7900xt GPU with a 7800x3d CPU, All AMD). Im hitting over 200-240 frames on EVERYTHING at ultra 1440p. Trust me, its stunning in comparison to console gaming I did my whole life till I got an Ally. You get the new fluid motion frames update on your ally drivers? its jacking up the performance!!

[@bradleythatcher2869]

My Ally is my only PC now. I love it so much. I love docking it and taking it on the go.

[@jojooflondon]

How is your experience while docked cause I plan to get a rog ally to be my main computer too.

[@nathanjayroda8908]

My Ally is my only PC too. I use it for work and for play. It's awesome!

[@5555dhoni]

same here, im using ally as main pc

[@curiousjef]

What is your docking device using ?

[@curiousjef]

​@@nathanjayroda8908you use it for what kind of work ? Im planning to use it too for work and gaming. I've ordered z1 non extreme.

[@MugShotDogGrooming]

My Ally literally changed my gaming experience. Ive been able ro run anything I've thrown at it from lethal company to Hogwarts legacy. Ive even played some wild hearts. I know that those games may not be super demanding, but from a console gamer recently converted to some pc gaming, its a switch on steroids. It is such a beast and i love it.

[@zigga967]

@iamhome405 The Ally helped me to completely ditch console gaming to PC (bought a 7900xt rig). Amazing device that I recommend to anyone whos hesitant to jump into PC (consoles are simplistic) and leave those lackluster consoles behind.

[@leex187]

Just bought mine it’s coming tomorrow can’t wait it’s my first gaming pc I’ve been a console lover but wanting to try something new

[@mrbrit6746]

How have you been getting on with it?

[@OneLastScholar]

Bro loves it so much he can't go to KZbin anymore.

[@carltonleboss]

That desktop background is sick.

[@a7mednj787]

Just ordered mine. I'm so excited!! Update: It's among the best investments I've ever made...

[@Guckkasten85]

Got mine a week ago. You can be excited! But be aware that the first time set up might take a while... after all the updating is done, it's awesome though

[@_Nar0070x0]

It’s a great device. & yea lots of updates but then it runs like butter. Lmk if u run into any issues I’m a pro with this baby now lol

[@_Nar0070x0]

@@a7mednj787 definitely recommend you upgrade the storage because ure gonna want to play everything on this thing. I went up to a 2gb ssd & super easy to install.

[@a7mednj787]

@@Guckkasten85 will keep that in mind thanks!

[@BristolMatt]

I had to return a couple of Rog Ally's or unfortunate reasons. I got a Legion Go and its brilliant but boyyyyy do i miss my Ally. The audio is unreal, and the visuals smooth as butter and had a spark of colour that is hard to describe. Good times.

[@PS5ProROGPhoneROGAllyuser]

Still is, my fave "handheld" PC of all time next to my fave "gaming" smartphone of all time which is ROG Phone series.

[@DManLewis1]

LMFAAAAOOOO

[@MrTurtlebird]

This is my go to handheld. I love my Deck OLED but 9 times out of 10, I reach for my Ally first. The performance, the speakers, the compatibility, the comfort, the 120hz VRR display, just a perfect device for my needs. I can't wait to see where Asus may go with future versions.

[@DeckTested]

So, I picked up an Ally to test out personally and I was VERY impressed with it. However I just hated the idea of having a device with the SD card design flaw. I still see people reviewing on retail sites saying their reader died on recent units. This shouldn't be something an end user has to deal with and until they revise the design the Ally is a write off in my books. Everything else though was really great, I just don't like the idea of having a device cost this much and feeling like I can't utilise one of the features. My wishlist for Ally 2 is; OLED display, 16:10 ratio, black option, 1TB storage as standard to match higher tier SD OLED (512GB just isn't enough), relocated SD card reader, bigger battery and of course an updated APU. Then this will be an easy buy for any PC gamer looking for a handheld companion.

[@UnrealNeal]

Bought one open box for $500, replaced with a 2TB ssd, and dual booted bazzite (steam os), and was on the fence on returning it due to battery life. But once I started noticing how much better performance was compared to my steam deck.. it’s been hard for me to let it go! It’s built solid, my steam deck triggers creak and can flex for example, Battery life is bad but definitely depends on the game you are playing, tdp, and in game settings. It’s a keeper!!!

[@alifaraj9040]

How much do you think the battery life will be annoying?

[@johnmurphy5106]

@@alifaraj9040 it's annoying but just get a long cord to plug it in if you are doing longer play sessions. if you are on the go then bring a battery pack you can plug it into.

[@M4rio21]

For me a borderless screen would be nice, but it's been perfect for me. Absolutely love it. Use it almost every day, not just for gaming but for content consumption.

[@TheSixthSLoT]

Are you watching corn on it?

[@Inzpectre]

​@@TheSixthSLoTcome on bro...

[@RetroCrisis]

I don't know if anybody else feels the same, but I've gotten so used to the track pads on the Steam Deck, not having those on the Ally would be a deal breaker for me.

[@gerpogi]

Never used it

[@Yoshi278]

The trackpads are a definite make or break for me too. The amount of utility they can provide is absurd lol.

[@jaynosowsky9708]

Never needed them on my ally ...why would you need them anyways??

[@HaussPray]

I have an ROG Ally Extreme and it's honestly replaced my laptop at this point. I stuck a 4TB 2280 NVME in it, heat shielded the MicroSD slot, replaced the right joystick with a hall effect one, and replaced the charger with a decent laptop charger to get those higher wattages when wanted. It plays everything I want it to, including Palworld and Baldur's Gate 3. Add in a simple USB C dock and it functions just fine as a work machine/personal computer when needed.

[@eli2210]

How did you heat shield the micro as slot??

[@BurritoMage]

Why jusr the right stick?

[@HaussPray]

@@BurritoMage The ROG Ally has a "fun" design issue. The two triggers are both hall effect, meaning they have there own magnets inside the casing. Trouble is, when swapping in hall effect joysticks, the left trigger's magnet is too close to the joystick and throws off the hall effect sensors. I spent quite a few days trying to find a means to make it work, but the magnet is just too close for any magnetic shielding to be effective and trying to adjust the software to account for the interference leaves the joysticks with only about 30-40% of the usable range. In the end, I just went back to the standard joystick on the left. Kept the hall effect on the right though, so still feels good there.

[@waynekavanagh5552]

Legion GO has been the new king for a few months after the software and BIOS updates. Ally is great device but the Legion GO took the crown and is definitely a superior device.

[@Techguy104]

The go been amazing

[@InceptionAnims]

Also just visually better looking

[@hb-hr1nh]

Haven't had any issues with my Samsung 512 pro micro SD so far, but only had my ally for about 2 months. Been running Assassinates Creed Valhalla and Snowrunners as my most played games on the SD card for hours plugged in on turbo mode no issues.

[@mathrinrobinson3167]

I sent my rog ally into the Asus repair center, they fixed the SD card reader by switching out the motherboard and internal component and it's great. The Rog Ally is the best device on the market, performance is absolutely great.

[@ninemilli1266]

😂

[@TechnicalGamerTube]

I use mine docked to study and do 3d printing design. Then I take it with me to play games. it's design is very flexible.

[@Jrcorona7213]

Can’t wait to see what the Ally 2 is gonna be like , I love my ally glad I switched from a steam deck

[@conchobar]

Owned the original Steam for a year, and now have owned the Ally for 8 months. I don't miss my Steam Deck.

[@dwaynewhite2014]

I have had my Ally for about a week now. I've already replaced the 512GB stock NVMe with an inLand QN44 2 TB NVME. I figured use the brand @etaprime used. I like the Ally a lot! I look forward to traveling with it rather than dragging a gaming laptop with me. Only issue is the battery life. Still, I am really enjoying it.

[@PeteTalksTech]

I built my KZbin channel around the ROG Ally since starting as a KZbinr 9 months ago, I’m so grateful this incredible handheld came out and has been an absolute gamechanger for so many of us! 🎉🎊

[@craigshorey6764]

I love my Rog Ally. I bought it based off your original review. I use it for gaming and as a small lightwight graphic design/illustration computer that I can take anywhere. With a foldable keyboard and mouse and using a Samsung Tab S6 lite with SuperDisplay to use as an drawing monitor makes for a great portable workstation and gaming rig.

[@marijuana_smoker]

- Bigger battery - Oculink port - TB4/USB4.0 port - OLED (+ smaller bezel) - 2280 NVME - Removable controller (like legion Go) - Upgradable RAM (or 32GB min)

[@leonard8766]

If they do this I'll buy 😂🎉

[@ezg8448]

TB4 can just die. Any hardware that uses TB at doubles or triples in price.

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

2280 nvme support too.

[@marijuana_smoker]

@@Patrick-y4d1z 100% agree, upgradable RAM slot too (sodimm)

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

@@marijuana_smoker Or put 32GB in from the start.

[@bucket638]

The controls on the Steam Deck really do feel better in almost every way. But the Ally isn't bad there just not as polished. That being said, I switched to the Ally and had the choice between the two. The performance makes up for dealing with Windows.

[@PhoenixKeebs]

If I'm being honest all these new handhelds with high resolutions isn't really a good bargain if they can't even run games at that resolution, and refresh rate. I think Valve's Steam Deck Oled is in the perfect position with the 800o 90hz display. I think instead of upgrading the resolution and the refresh rate for the Steam Deck two. They should upgrade the performance and try to get games to run at high settings with good battery life. All at 800p 90hz. Maybe 900p but I don't want to be greedy. Idc if it's even at high settings if it's able to run AAA games at low/medium at a constant 90Hz, I'll be happy

[@nemmy8568]

I only had mine for a day and it got bricked during an update. Returned it and got another one and a couple weeks later, the right trigger started squeaking even though I use an external Xbox controller and docked mostly.

[@SLboi]

Love the desktop background! Where can I get it?

[@rounakdutta6211]

I think all new handhelds should have more usb ports, atleast 2. Because one type-c usb port is now handling both charging and data transfer and thus there's a concern of longevity of that port. I think its possible after sometime that one's handheld becomes useless just because of a dead usb port. It happened with one of my cellphones :(

[@jonnyrouse830999]

I love my Ally. Had it since launch no issues. Not as comfortable to hold as the steam deck despite being lighter, but I love the extra power the Ally has for better FPS. Looking forward to the Ally 2!

[@JhustineProvido]

Bought the Deck OLED. I still use the Ally more

[@Guckkasten85]

I think you can more quickly start to play on a steam deck but as soon as you got your ally set up the way you want, ot beats the steam deck in my ways (except battery, which is no issue for me so far)

[@JhustineProvido]

@Guckkasten85 ally battery sucks but it's enough for me. I'm 34 years old and I get tired after 1-2 hours of gaming. I'm not as young as I used to be.

[@Guckkasten85]

​@@JhustineProvidohaha I am 35 years old and I understand you. Had also no issue with the short battery life yet.

[@JhustineProvido]

@@Guckkasten85 sad reality of getting older lmao

[@nzagorsky]

I got Deck OLED as well and want to switch to Ally now. Got a terrible headaches and dizzy because of the PWM on Deck.

[@AceFondu]

I got an AYA 2S instead and I really love it. Hall sticks, great screen, and don't have to worry about SD cards frying. Admittedly though the price of the Ally is much better, and it has that better screen too.

[@kdubspencer3390]

The real king is the legion go .The only downside to it is legion space doesnt look good , and the speakers aren't the best you have to open the settings in realtek and use fx sound and your all set. But the legion go has dual usb4 ports , hall effect thumbsticks, removable controllers, 7500mhz ram , larger 8.8" screen ,better resolution, fps mode ,better battery vs the ally and it can be used as a tablet im not against the ally but none of those things are present in the rog ally .

[@zomg346]

I sold mine and got oled deck.the battery and screen is so worth getting playing last epoch and usually lasts abit over 4 hours

[@theseph28]

Just watch the screen burn in

[@zomg346]

@@theseph28 yeah most of the time these happens if you play with max brightness mine is somewhere between 70% and it’s still really bright.

[@theseph28]

@@zomg346 brightness on OLED is always crazy

[@BananaBlooD9517]

​@@zomg346It has one of the worse burn-in we've seen from a major company. Oled brun-in is no joke

[@wilspeight15]

I had the ally for a while I enjoyed it when I had it but after an update BitLocker came up and I could not get back in. They say that's not supposed to activate on its own but it did after an update. Couldn't get back in and Microsoft no longer answers their phones so anytime I buy another handheld I will make sure it does not have BitLocker capabilities or just to avoid Microsoft as a whole anymore

[@tylerpark7193]

Love your videos! Picked up a legion GO 2 weeks ago loving it. Looking forward to a few months from now with more updates.

[@CosmeticFear]

I got my Ally about a week or so ago, and I've been absolutely loving it. Usually keep it plugged in for that extra performance, so I don't have to worry about battery life. Runs pretty much everything I throw at it flawlessly, and my SD card is still running strong.

[@JstMst]

Overall I'm happy with Ally. Only the joystick sticks rub against the edge and scratches occur. I have now solved this situation by purchasing and using rings. However, I wish they had designed it more carefully.

[@Guckkasten85]

Got a used ROG ally for an amazing price last week and I love it. Using big box (launchbox) as front end with it and it's amazing. Even can install cd based games via my usb dvd drive.

[@oppositealive3966]

Was so close to pulling the trigger on one untill I heard about MSI Claw, gotta wait for console reviews on that before I pull the trigger on a Handheld.

[@wc8561]

The fact it can play Cyberpunk and HD2 over 60fps is amazing for an APU.

[@tjaRoxasXIII]

I tried the Ally for a week while on vacation and while many claim that the grip is comfortable, I actually hated the shallow grip profile and the slightly awkward to press L1 and R1 bumpers. It was light as a feather, but I still couldn't hold it comfortably. I also felt like I was charging it constantly. The original price at launch also had me running to just pick up a used LCD Steam Deck which I upgraded the storage in for about half the total price. It's much heavier, but I could hold it for much longer and with the better low-power management, I could get it to play some of my older titles, 3D platformers included, for upwards of 5 - 6 hours on their 3-watt TDP. Even still, I miss the display and that APU performance every single day.

[@N3tigen]

As z1 extreme equivalent to Ryzen 9 7940hs. So is ROG Ally good mini pc too .😮

[@marijuana_smoker]

More like 7840U.. but yeah, its hell of a portable "PC"

[@atomic...]

Got mine maybe like 3 weeks ago and it still impresses me how powerful and capable the device is, its a massive step up from my crappy old laptop. Maybe for an Ally 2/refresh I'd like to see more ports for one, one USB C port isn't enough, a USB 3.0 charger dock, More storage from factory, A better micro SD card slot placement (don't know if mine has died I don't have a micro SD card) HALL triggers and joysticks, more powerful APU and maybe more ram.

[@chadweirick]

I don't know that I would say that the Ally has ever been the king of Windows handhelds. It's sort of an inbetweener. There are cheaper, bigger, more RAM, more storage, smaller, etc. It's sort of a middle-of-the-road, but good value.

[@biablojackson9176]

i have mine a month now and i love it still a lot to learn and my son bought one because he liked my ALLY so much fun and i've spent plenty of money.

[@KayLeclaire138]

I got mine back in January and I've been playing it daily ever since. I set it to 6gb for everything, and I have yet to find a game I wanted to play that doesn't hit 1080p 30fps or more with some FSR. The fact that I can play Alan Wake 2 at all in a handheld format is mind blowing.

[@KayLeclaire138]

Forgot to add my SD card slot did fry a card, but it was within the Amazon return window. I upgraded the hard drive to 2tb for two reasons. 1: it's my main PC, and 2: writing to an SD card was insanely slow. The ADATA drive now downloads 60gb games in about 20 minutes with my 400mbps connection. On the card that took 90 minutes, on the stock drive it took about 35

[@DeadVoivod]

I didn't have a problem with the SD card slot in the beginning when people were complaining but it eventually happened to me too, smaller cards are still recognized though. I put a Corsair MP600 CORE XT 4TB NVMe inside and that's pretty much what I need, not using the SD card slot anymore, although it is a bit annoying as it is supposed to work.

[@michaelholt5419]

Just purchased an ally about 2 weeks ago and it's one of the only purchases I've made in the last few years where I haven't had buyers remorse after the first few days. Im loving it so far. But I have been afraid to even use the sd card slot after reading about it burning them out.

[@HelicopterRidesForCommunists]

Sold my Deck for the Ally and never regretted it. The sd died within 3 days though. I did get it fixed through Best But, but it took weeks, so I bought the Legion Go in the meantime. I was going to sell the Ally and keep the Go, but couldn’t let go. Decided to keep them both. Would love to get better and better versions of all of these handhelds - my preference is equal between streaming my desktop PC 3090 to them on the couch and in my chair at my big 4k monitor, which I think says a lot about their value.

[@the_real_dethknot]

I've had mine for about 6 months now and the only thing i had fail on me is the SSD upgrade. I got a 2TB Samsung 990 and the adapter for it. Installed it and did the cloud recovery, and for about 2 months it was working fine. Then one day in the middle of watching a buddies Twitch stream it had a error and had to restart and would no longer see the SSD. I tried redoing the cloud recovery but it failed. So, I swapped out the SSDs again and wen back to the 512gb that came with it and it has been working flawlessly since. As for the 2TB SSD, I sent it back to Samsung to get it replaced. Even with this fail, I still recommend this to friends.

[@millagramnavy]

I've had mines less then a week I love I watched damn near every video on it funny thing is I've been watching your videos for other tech items not handheld's wasn't even looking for the rog when I bought it my girl seen it and it was love at first sight for me

[@nightlion4968]

I hope they make it more ergonomic to hold. I like mine but it is very awkward to hold, they need to make the end parts of the controller longer

[@joker10064]

What is the wallpaper he is using ? Does anyone know how can i get this cool wallpapers

[@samsonvarughese9002]

The ROG Ally has become the best electronic purchase I have ever made. I use it more than my phone. It plays everything I have thrown at it. My gaming PC hasn't been turned on in months.

[@RubenNeves22]

Oh believe me this little machine it's not going anywhere any time soon, changed my habits and how I felt about gaming, so convenient, comfortable, light, powerful, I'm always amazed how amazing the Ally performs on the heavier titles, to me ? It's the best handheld. It does it all

[@takashy87]

I don't recall Asus ever really addressing the SD card issue outside of "adjusting the fan curves" months ago, which didn't seem to do anything for the SD card issue. I had to RMA mine twice now, with the 2nd time being 2~3 weeks ago. 1st time was basically 2~3 months after launch / getting it, so the micro SD slot basically lasted a few months before completely dying.. :|

[@harisiregar232]

My ally is still going strong! Love it, a few nitpicks are there is no touchpad and its a little on the heavier side

[@MrMovees87]

I got my Ally a good few months back in October, was able to save over $100 on the Z1 Extreme model with it being open box when I bought it from Best Buy, and I absolutely love it

[@sevc007]

Can't wait for Ally 2

[@Averagedestiny2addict]

I’m leaving for college soon. I pre ordered it and I’ve nearly used it, I bet I will in a few months

[@zigga967]

Good luck with college. As a heads up, your age is right around the time I stopped gaming as much. trust me, as you get older you'll game like a kid again lol.

[@Averagedestiny2addict]

@@zigga967 i appreciate the good wishes. I doubt I’ll ever stop. I hope not.

[@unspoken000]

Love my Ally. I use a portable 100w battery brick with a 100w rated usb c cable for my needs on the go. Solves my battery needs. I tinker a bit so I’ve installed Nabora, chimeraos, Bazzite, etc on the Ally and games run ten times better on the device if you prefer the Linux route, but you loose some features without Armory crate. If you’re willing there are work arounds. All in all a great device for it being the first iteration!!

[@HarlemsFinest85]

Got mine last Friday (Z1 X), and I like it so far (still working to "loving" it). I did end up buying a 2TB SSD because I know I will run through that 512GB.

[@danielhulan3058]

I had an ally but returned it when the sd card burnt out. Also the fact that you have to get an xgmobile is ridiculous if you want to run an egpu. I picked up a Legion Go and an onexgpu egpu and it is absolutely awesome! I love my legion go and have had no problems. I really did love the ally but those problems with sd card and egpus was enough to make me change.

[@BoomerCosmo]

Didn't realize how big this thing was.

[@eliezerortizlevante1122]

It is, its pretty holding great with the 780M custom drivers. Fluid Motion Frames made this device pretty decent at 18W susbtained

[@ExecutionerDan]

I absolutely love my ally. Amazing for emulation. Emudeck slaps on it. Being stationed overseas means im constantly on the move so i cant really build a whole pc and keep it on me at all times. I get TAD'd out too often. The ally was legit the perfect solution.

[@TheJonOsborne]

Thanks ETA! The ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is still my go-to all-in-one unit that can literally pull off anything!

[@Dr.D00p]

24 or 32GB of RAM and a minimum 1TB storage needs to come with the Ally 2, more so than a more powerful APU which isn't really going to be available until we'll into 2025.

[@solkalibri1376]

Your wish will be granted, grasshopper.

[@Alilolilou]

i'd love to see removable controllers on the rog ally 2

[@solkalibri1376]

Your wish will be granted, grasshopper.

[@benlau2045]

I think the ROG ally 1 will be a very good handheld and mac mini-like pc for a long time. Despite all its drawbacks, you can’t deny it is a good powerful machine for game, work, and entertainment. For its prime issues, i don’t use the SD card reader much and for the battery, you just have to do some software tweaks , reduce the resolution and treat it a bit like a gaming laptop on the go. I’ve reserved light games for on go gaming but heavy and AA games will be fore when docked. You have to adjust your usage a bit for sure going from device to device, be it Steam deck, Legion Go, MSI claw or nintendo switch ….no matter what. But the ROG is the best for me.

[@BLACKSYNTH]

I've only used the ROG Ally, I'm glad I bought it. the thumb sticks and buttons feel fantastic, I feel they upgraded them somewhat somewhere about 2 months ago, Early units people say they feel a bit loose or whatever, and people who bought one recently say they feel better than steam decks. but I cant compare , I've had mine 3 weeks. I like the functionality of Windows, I like the small compact size, I wish it had 2 USB-C , the screen looks really good, I do use the Xreal Air 2 OLED AR glasses most of the time with this so the screen is less important to me plus I get longer battery life as theres no screen, and the BEAM powers my glasses, 512 storage is not much use these days So I bought a sorbent 2TB SSD which add considerably to the cost. I have a 4090 PC but I must say in these 3 weeks I've not really turned my main PC on much. and I'm playing more games like indie titles and revisiting old 90's dos games that I wouldn't normally bother.

[@TheSixthSLoT]

The Ally was great when I had it. Unfortunately, mine started having issues that made it so bad that it eventually refused to stay on, so I had to RMA it. Once that trust was broken, I sold it immediately upon getting it back. But when it was working, it was super nice. My only complaint is that it has atrocious battery life, which is a pretty big deal for a portable device.

[@davidalchujian7759]

agree on everything except i do not play my ally unplugged from power for any reason. i have given up on the SD card slot long ago and have 2 TB SSD. my days off are either spent lying in bed playing or in the living room hooked up to the XG mobile. they had a rough start, but i’m totally happy with mine

[@TechnicolorTube]

Rog Ally 2 should have a black color as an option, a larger battery, a relocated SD card, 2280 nvme support, and a higher end model with 32gb's of LPDDR5X ram at 7467MT/s speed.

[@rs305]

You can buy a $10 bracket for the 2280. Just added a 2TB m.2 2280 drive. Easy to install , check out other videos on KZbin regarding this easy mod.

[@RyanSaotome]

I can confirm they didn't fix the micro SD card problem. I bought mine in December during the deals on Best Buy, and after about a month my micro sd started to randomly stop reading the card. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

[@datdamadude]

I got my z1 extreme from best buy, i got it open box fair and it was 541 and only missing the manual, i was going to return it after i used it for a road trip and get the oled steam deck, but man i fell in love with this thing and ive never had a pc but I've def gotten used to windows and its quirks

[@ExiaQ00]

I remember I was on the verge of buying a steamdeck and saw the April fools advettisment for the Ally. I knew it was real from the get go. I love valve for pushing the handheld pc market in a big way. The ally had everything I was looking for. In terms of a more powerful apu, VRR and 1080p screen, and being windows based. Not to mention the RGB. And I haven’t looked back. Now that MSI claw is out that’ll be my second handheld only because I wanted a device with Hall effect joysticks (my ally has stick drift in two games already) and I’m a huge fan of MSI. Here’s hoping Msi and intel can greatly update the drivers and bios to put the claw on the same level of performance as the Ally.

[@VoyeurOfMisfortune]

Ally with external graphics dock makes it the king among all the handhelds

[@FZFALCON]

😂 Then you buy PC

[@seanbrent4245]

Defeats the purpose in a handheld entirely. It’s a cool feature but making it be the king when you tether it to a dock is pointless

[@VoyeurOfMisfortune]

you prove your lack of experience. with the dock it only needs 200watts of power for maximum performance. Still playable while handheld. Solar panels can power this easily. we all plan to put down our handhelds at some point in the day, i can simply do more with mine in that state than you can comprehend. @@seanbrent4245

[@VoyeurOfMisfortune]

it can perform equal to a 3070 with 8 core ryzen cpu at half the wattage , not including what an external display would need@@FZFALCON

[@OblivionPrime]

@@seanbrent4245 Not really... no different than using a switch with its dock

[@Fusion05]

If they could sell at a similar price, the Ally 2 needs An oled screen, more ram, and a better gpu. An SD card on the controllers side would be great (heck might as well have one on each side if cheap enough). Hall based stuff would be great but if it's decently easy to diy I think it's fine. Only other thing would be maybe an oculink port or TB4 so we could potentially add an even better GPU.

[@jonathanhaney9235]

needs more ram, fix the stick wobble, and 2280 ssd support would be nice. also direct drivers from AMD are a must.

[@danfuture4409]

The battery killed it for me. I still have mine, but playing with the steam deck makes me happy especially the OLED.

[@thealandude9146]

Seeing the performance of Z1 Extremem really makes me excited for what the processor would be like for the next Steam Deck however long away that is

[@alex-yj9jx]

I bought my Ally around Christmas last year, and i absolutely love it, its become my main gaming machine, i tend to grab it more often than i do my switch or my G14 these days, my only issue with it is that my sd card reader has died twice since then... Ive RMA'd it once already, and it worked for a good month after that until literally just yesterday... At this point i dont think its worth the trouble of going thru another RMA process so ill just shell out for a 2TB SSD and be done with it... Its a shame such a great handheld is held back by a design flaw that any experienced board designer could probably spend 2 seconds looking at and notice... On the Ally 2, id like to see a bigger battery, a nicer display (16:10 OLED perhaps?), and the ability to use eGPU's that arent ASUS's proprietary BS, but along with all that, id like to see the sd card reader be relocated to a spot where thermal stress isnt an issue, since to me that really is the biggest flaw with this device.

[@dogfrog9543]

Just recently got the Steam Deck OLED, this was my 2nd choice, but the OS was what sold me on SD. I like the controller layout on Ally better. Once they get the Steam/Holo OS working fully I may grab one of these

[@_Nar0070x0]

I use my ally every single day. I take it to work lol. Pros: Display is beautiful 120hz 😍 Speakers are amazing 😭 Runs everything 🙌🏼 SD card slot works still 🤞🏼(4 months so far) Battery charges fast 🔋 Fans are so quiet 🤫 Runs cool 🥶 Cons: Initial setup requires so many updates (Windows,armory crate,amd, Microsoft store)

[@RagingFlash]

Had a problem with my right analogue, then when it came from ASUS had a problem with the left fan. Still waiting for the second repair. Using Steamdeck for the moment. In Windows Handheld, ally is best, but in handhelds, Steamdeck is better for some situations and Ally for others. Love both. ( Steamdeck Oled has the best screen atm. )

[@michaels9917]

There is someone working on an oculink adapter for the Ally. It should be an egpu game changer.

[@tedmosely6582]

I have a problem with this thing. Emulation won't save in handheld mode. Unless I run it off my external hard drive. Mgs4 Won't start says Restart the game and delete some data. I have A512 Samsung SD. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.

[@BananaBlooD9517]

I think it's the emulator having a hard time being on the sd card/saving on the sd card. You'd get a better answer on the emulator forums.

[@luis51785]

Just bought an R9 Ally, hoping to not run into any issues, so far loving it

[@YOUNGJBR]

How’s it going?

[@tebo2286]

Man, I came so close to pulling the trigger on the Ally except for what I consider its "Achilles heel" in my humble opinion, the lack of a USB4 port. I'm not a big fan of companies trying to lock consumers into their ecosystem with propriety technology and for this single reason, I gave the Ally a pass. That said I do believe it's an awesome device but not for me. I'm simply waiting for the Legion Go to mature a bit with updates and all that jazz, also considering the upcoming MSI Claw

[@Guckkasten85]

Did only hold the Legion go in my hand once and it is a monster of a device... I only recommend it if you have big big hands. The ROG ally feels way more comfortable for me. But different people have different hands. Since I have a full desktop pc as well, I don't care about the gpu ports at all.

[@BananaBlooD9517]

​@@Guckkasten85The Legion Go is about 33% heavier and quite a bit bigger than the Ally. I didn't test the Legion Go but just looking at the specs tells me it's too big and heavy (it's twice the weight of the Switch Oled 💀)

[@ezekadenas5139]

Nice video broo the wallpaper do you have looks very nice where can I get it please

[@LegionIscariot]

They need to eventually make a revised version. Like the Steam Deck. 1TB storage.

[@amirmasoudashrafi1592]

These small handheld PCs are really cool. I'm waiting for the nex Gen of them. Want to see one with a SOC a specifically made for a device like this. they can deliver PS4 Pro lvl performance while plugged in 2-3 years.

[@fabiorodrigues6960]

Ordered one for my birthday done some research before comparing it to the rest of the competition. It looks like the most reliable and best for performance atm. Hoping to be proven right 👏🏽 great video

[@ninemilli1266]

Just called the only handheld with sd card failure Reliable 🤣😂

[@fabiorodrigues6960]

@@ninemilli1266 just upgrade the internals 😂idk why you think one thing causes it to be unreliable and plus i haven’t ran into that issue yet?🤷🏽‍♂️