Which handheld to get right now? - ROG Ally / Steam Deck OLED / Legion Go / Ayaneo / OneX Player

With the original Steam Deck, Valve kickstarted a new era of super mobile computing, and in mid-2024, you have quite some options when shopping for your ultimate casual gaming companion.
We compared five of the most popular devices available right now to determine which one is worth your hard-earned cash.
Please enjoy our video, and for much more in-depth information, please follow the links below:
EN-Review:
STEAM DECK OLED:
www.notebookcheck.net/Steam-D...
ROG ALLY:
www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-RO...
LEGION GO:
www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-...
AYANEO KUN:
www.notebookcheck.net/Ayaneo-...
ONEX PLAYER 2 Pro:
www.notebookcheck.net/OneXPla...
Time Stamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:41 - Overview, Specs
2:13 - Ergonomics
4:51 - Inputs
5:47 - Ports / Card Readers / Wifi Speeds / Cases / Maintenance
7:41 - Displays
9:07 - Software
9:43 - Performance Testing
12:08 - Fan Noise
13:45 - Battery Runtimes
14:23 - Summary
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#besthandhelds2024 #handhelds #steamdeck #rogally #ayaneokun #onexplayerpro2 #legiongo #lenovolegion #notebookcheckreviews #notebookcheck #notebookcheckreview #rog #rogally2 #steamdeckoled #valvesteamdeck #handheld #handheld2024 #gaming #handheldgaming #handheldreview #techreview #handhelds #lenovolegion #onexplayer #ayaneo #ayaneo

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Hey guys, a little disclaimer. We used the Steam Deck LCD as a stand-in for the video. So you will see the LCD version, but all of our measurements are from the updated OLED model. That was just a limitation dictated by our production workflow. If you want clarification about our measurements and testing procedures for the Steam Deck, please head over to our detailed written review:: www.notebookcheck.net/Steam-Deck-1-TB-OLED-review-Minimalist-performance-maximum-gaming-fun.802764.0.html

[@TheGaryHogue]

I have a Deck OLED 1TB… For me and my uses (New father w/full time job and family)… One of, if not the best gaming purchase I’ve ever made. Perfect for what I need. Side note: I have a self built beast PC to play high demanding games on when I want cranked up visuals.

[@jokerrican7352]

Yup, this is me as well. Deck OLED arrives tomorrow. It'll be nice to have when my wife is watching her shows, and I can just be present while catching up on my single player backlog games. When the house goes to sleep, I can return to my PC...if I can stay awake lol. I also have to travel a bit so the deck will be easier than anything else.

[@TheGaryHogue]

@@jokerrican7352a huge feature that I don’t think it is mentioned enough is the ability to just hit the power button once and put the system to sleep while playing. The standby time is phenomenal and it can go days without draining the battery, and once you turn it back on it right back up where it was with zero issue…. In like 3-5 seconds. I’ve heard from multiple sources that This does not work near as well on any of the windows systems. It will drain the battery extremely quick or sometimes flat out close the game. This has never once been an issue for me. I suppose because it doesn’t have all of windows extra crap running in the background.

[@jokerrican7352]

@@TheGaryHogue that’s a beautiful thing because sometimes, I got to drop what I’m doing with the quickness and rush to action when beckoned by my wife 😂 the kids show no mercy

[@Unicornpirate]

This is the way. PC for desktop or living room TV gaming and Steamdeck OLED for portable gaming. There really is no point for getting a gaming laptop. Save money and get a regular laptop for your on the go computing needs.

[@williamduran3712]

Bought the Ally for the same reason. Love the ability to game in the go and has been the go to for when I have the ability to game with little man around 👍

[@FirstnameLastname-qc3xx]

To anyone out there thinking the lcd deck isn’t good, I just got mine and it’s amazing. If you don’t have the money for the oled seriously the lcd is plenty awesome

[@TheEntzy]

Agreed- as long as your eyes don’t see the Oled panel in person . I had the og deck and loved it. Then upgraded to Ally- and just got Oled deck for the hell of it .

[@areacharlottejukebox]

Had the Ally and loved it ! So much so that it pushed me to get the more expensive but beautifully huge Legion Go! I'm new to PC gaming and it was quite the learning curve just coming from pick up and play console life! But it's not so steep that it will take more than a day or 2 to figure out what you're doing.

[@sherlockholmes870]

not nowadays

[@Davidforprofit]

Might vary based on individual I guess but still worth learning ​@@sherlockholmes870

[@HoodHussler]

The Ally is a monster when plugged in but I had to choose the legion because I needed a bigger screen and my god is it glorious ✨

[@X862go]

Just wish the go had better performance.

[@X862go]

I dropped my go, and it broke 💔 don't drop yours. It's just the left joycon dosen't click.

[@LeftyPencil]

@@X862go my fear with these pricey units

[@emperorbraphomet]

@@X862gobut it does. It’s still one of the best performing handheld.

[@wizardaperture1098]

That big screen definitely immerses you when playing RPG games.👍

[@ricarmig]

After having an Ally, I had to trade it for a Legion Go: the Legion Go has a more comfortable bigger screen, two USB’s with eGPU support, stand and mousepad. I LOVE IT

[@borky1987]

Mousepad? 😅

Love my Legion Go! Nice vid!

[@X862go]

Vary nice 👌 the ROG ALLY screen and speakers are nuts!

[@iatwiatw]

The fan noise and battery life are just as important as raw specs. Holy shit the Kun is embarrassingly loud. Thanks for including those tests! I was a bit hesitant to go for the Deck because of long term value, but it looks like the best one for me.

[@mikehoang31]

Steam Deck went in the right direction by focusing on better battery life than graphics fidelity. People buy a handheld to carry it with them, so battery life is the main priority. If people primarily want high fidelity graphics, they wouldn't be in the market for a handheld in the first place. I hope Steam continues to put battery life optimization in the forefront of their R&D department.

[@ONealskey7]

Ehhh not 100% true. A battery is nice, but for me and many others I travel for work. I play in hotels and never far from an outlet so power is also just as important to play more demanding games. I also don't like to be limited by Linux and if it may or may not work without some pain in the a** workaround. I know the steam deck is a good system just not for me.

[@mikehoang31]

​@@ONealskey7 Wouldn't a gaming laptop be better if it's just stationed in the hotel? You can play more demanding games at a lower cost than Asus ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go.

[@ONealskey7]

@@mikehoang31 yes and no. If You want a long traditional gaming session yeah maybe a laptop is better. I do have a very nice laptop that was quit a bit more money than the Ally and legion go. After a long day I find it more enjoyable to plug in the handhelds while laying in bed as a way to wind down. Setting up the laptop feels like work for some reason and sitting at the desk keeps me awake more rather than winding down. Definitely enjoying these handhelds a ton!

[@ONealskey7]

@@mikehoang31 I just picked up the legion go last week. Comparing it to the Ally. The screen is fantastic, the size doesn't bother me. Legion space itself is awful compared to armory crate. There are things the Ally feels better on when maneuvering windows. But then you see the large screen still as a handheld that is very nice.

[@brcosmin]

You literally read my mind with this comparison. Great job!

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

That's what we do! ;)

[@brcosmin]

@@NotebookcheckReviews you guys are the best

[@HENGBUNG]

Got the Stem Deck OLED and Ally and love it. I would like the Go but I will wait for a second gen to come out because it’s to close in performance to the Ally.

[@capnmoby9295]

I can't choose between steam deck oled and ally z1 extreme. How's the performance in ally? Does it still have terrible framepacing? That's the one thing that's making me hesitant on buying the ally, i already have a beefy powerbank so battery life is out of the question for me

[@HENGBUNG]

@@capnmoby9295 I still see some frame-acing issues on the ally from time to time but for most games it doesn't bother me too much.

[@MrCabbage-qz2vd]

@@capnmoby9295 same situation here, choosing between ally x and steamdeck oled.

[@michaeldidikof634]

​@@capnmoby9295Ally have VRR and much stronger CPU/GPU. It's best handheld at the moment to have fluent frames. All games I play are 50fps+ which is impossible on Deck

[@matthewroach4729]

Can I use a USB gaming mouse with any of these handhelds? ps. I also plan to use xreal glasses (usb-c) with the device. thanks

[@Nizon]

Got the Ally and love it! i prefer the smaller form factor but it is a beast! I played and beat Cyberpunk with no issues. first time playing the game and the screen/speakers and smooth performace made it an incredible experience.

[@valerylionel]

I’ve been reading and doing my research for months. Still don’t know which to pick. I’m not big on gaming and I just want one for the down times so I can play cities XL or RPG games. I do have big hands and I’ve had my switch for years. So still wondering which one to pick. Also I live in the Caribbean so availability is hard for me

[@portfoliocollection8072]

hey guys.. im planning on buy a Rogy aly. So my concern is about heating issue. I'm live in a rather hot weather region. average temp is 35-40 everyday. Will the device get hot and turn off if i game on it for long time? like lets say im gaming on it straight for 7/8 hours, can the device handle it? ' or do i have to like reduce my performance settings and whatnot to keep the device running?

[@adpbobcat]

I love my AokZoe A1pro, its been working like a champ. But if i had to buy another handheld, i would buy the gen 2 or 3 of the legion go.

[@LeftyPencil]

Wish you had the GPD Win 4 the mix, as they've been chugging along for ages before the deck

[@X862go]

Yeah, they are just so expensive 😩 .

[@X862go]

I do love that it looks like a vita

[@LeftyPencil]

@@X862go really woulda been cool for the size comparison But yes, I'm lurking the used market the 2022 version

[@LuciusAugustusRex]

I would like to see a handheld with a SnapDragon X Elite in the next year. See how ARM chips do in that form factor

[@TheLinkedOne]

Legion Go with Bazzite helps with my FOMO with the SteamDeck OLED. My ROG Ally stays windows due to the way Armoury Crate works with it. I do not like legion space. I dual boot my Legion Go. LCD SD is my first love, however low TDP goes a long way.

[@charlestannehill7537]

Nothing beats that oled screen though. 90 hertz is more than enough for portable gaming on the go.

[@conchobar]

The Ally's killer feature is VRR. AAA gaming will mean less than static framerates regardless of device, thus the Ally's VRR offers a smoother gameplay experience.

[@X862go]

Love my rog ally 💓

[@fuentesjuanjose90]

Sold my ally a got the legion go because the go has the thunderbolt 4 great for my egpu ive been using for a while. So i just bought the go and plugged my egpu and it became my new desktop. Once im done on my desktop i just unplug it and take it when im traveling.

[@lyteedge]

The Legion Go is pretty easy to open, too- had no issues getting the back cover off and replacing the SSD.

[@HoodHussler]

Legion Go gang 💪🏻

[@markdavenportjr5129]

Hmmm tough choice for my lunch breaks at work. :)

[@NizarElZarif]

I have the steam deck LCD, while i haven't owned any windows handheld's i tried some in the different stores, i think between the software experience, price, community support, battery life. the steam deck should be the default handheld for most PC gamers as companion device.

[@X862go]

Steamdeck is definitely best bang for the buck, and I own them all. I play my ally more, but that's for pc mods.

[@Kaylas1821]

Nah it shouldn't. Once you leave the handheld mode (or have a big library in gog/epic/ea) you are in for a ride. Unlike on windows where you can do everything in a couple of clicks. So it depends on your use cases.

[@fatboygunsngames1368]

I have no computer Experience at all someone told me to get the steam deck oled but i want the legion do u think it will be to much to handle for a noob 😂😂😂

[@caliguy44]

Waiting to see what Ally X is about next month.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Yepp, thats going to be interesting!

[@ricarmig]

Don’t expect too much. The same chip, bigger battery, faster RAM, fixed SD slot position and cooling and eventually somewhat bigger screen. The Ally 2 will see a new Z2 Extreme chip

[@emperorbraphomet]

@@ricarmigmuch ram I hope. Not just faster ram.

[@ScreamingEagle101st]

If you want to spend 800 - 1k on just a ram increase go ahead lol

[@odysseus681]

I wanted the Go the day I saw it. Have the Steam Deck as well. Was the first of my bunch. Despite the fact, that the Steam Deck has the better integration between OS and hardware, the GO is simply unbeatable for me because of its screen. What you may consider, however, is to increase the VRAM size from 3 to 6 GB. Can be done via BIOS. This helped speed up my games. Just as a hint, maybe to Notebookcheck as well. I think, some of the handhelds have 6GB preset. Why Lenovo went for 3 GB is beyond me. Yes yes, RAM.:p My testing nonetheless gave me much more points in 3D Mark for instance. I think the 16 GB is a drawback on the GO. Btw. sometimes calling my GO Lego because it can be so easily divided into its separate pieces.😂 All together I like your tests. Maybe some information about the VRAM would be nice, since an important criteria for gaming aspect. Anything else was perfect as ever.🎉

[@odysseus681]

Now when I come to think about.., was I even able to set the VRAM to 8 GB in the LeGO?

[@PapaZigg]

The dedicated steamOS and optimization is just a clear winner for me. Performance is decent for a handheld. I can still get away with bg3 with the steamdeck oled. Whats the point of having a more powerful windows handheld when its wonky and has no dedicated os. Until windows introduces a dedicated os for handhelds, im good with the deck.

[@BarelyAverageDude]

both the Kun and OXP 2 have 1st party cases.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Damn, for real? Ill have a look, thanks for pointing it out!

[@Wunnabeanbag]

Nahhhh bro that thumbnail is such a flex😂. Please don’t change it.

[@X862go]

Dropped my legion go once and it broke the left joycon 😢

[@mugenjouproject]

Weird when setting sthe ROG ally ont he defaul t15watts. I get almso t2 horus on teh Witcher 3. Considering that the Steamdeck stays at 15watts as well. kind ainvalidates this test.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

You definitely have a point, but there are endless configuration combinations with these handhelds, and we have to follow our testing policies to ensure that our data is comparable in our database.

[@wolf1326]

I got the Legion Go. I found an open-box one at Best Buy. There are lots of games for it, and I even like playing some of the games I play on my phone on the Legion Go. The only downer is the battery life.

[@AngeezyGoneKrazy]

Question how good are open box products?

[@casasdacaixa]

How much?

[@wolf1326]

@@AngeezyGoneKrazy honestly it was practically brand new I feel like somebody just bought it to review it and returned it and most people don't apply to warranty once they get it so my legion go still has a warranty on it and I can extend it if I want to

[@wolf1326]

@@casasdacaixa I got the most expensive version for 638.09

[@kaimmjattzz]

What’s that game at 14:55

[@jimmyrichards5595]

I'm pretty sure that would be either Jedi: Fallen Order or Jedi: Survior. Probably Survior being shown here since it's the latest in the series.

[@vaishnavraj4657]

Personally I feel Battery Life should be the main priority for a handheld. If a handheld costs as much as a laptop and can lasts less than that even though the laptop has better headroom for thermals and graphics...you might as well get the laptop right. Valve completed knocked it out of the park with the refresh, I currently own an OLED model and can get 8+ hrs on some Indie titles with tweaks. F1 22 gives me close to 4 hrs. The only downside of the steam deck being that it does feel a little cheap and plastic like Apart from that the Legion go makes a lot more sense to get with the USB 4 (can add external GPU later although expensive) as the processor should be more than capable for a lot more years. On the software side, Windows 11 is pretty pathetic on ram usage and on handhelds where ram and Vram are shared, this would eventually be the first bottleneck at 16gb. If asus and lenovo decide to make a custom OS on Linux it may change as valve has got Proton covered. Is it just me who is worried about the ram in these consoles ? I have a gaming laptop and the performance gains I have got just from doubling my ram is quite enormous. Windows is usually at 10GB usage on startup on a side note, most games I've tried work on the steam deck with proton (playability is questionable, but they do load), simple ways of installing games from exe files

[@warlockboyburns]

Using gyro to select large groups of files is what makes handhelds usable in desktop.

[@taylornicty1170]

No GPD?

[@drifter4training]

heard about the recent issue mentioned by gamersnexus ?

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Hard not to hear about it ;)

[@nathanjuan6042]

Its a bit weird that after Asus announced the ally X that video was uploaded. Kind of fishy to me. I mean I have ally for 6 months and never have a problem with that is why I never experienced interacting with their costumer service also have asus laptop before in 2010 till 2015 the Asus K50IJ 14 and never had any problems and issues with it of course I need to replace it for gaming purposes since that is not built for gaming. I say I will not believe it until I have experienced it but since I never had bad experience using asus products as of now I'll still buy their product. Sony , LG and Lenovo already broke my trust having bad experience with their product and bad costumer service so will see if asus will break my trust. Best costumer service that I experience so far for me was samsung.

[@charlestannehill7537]

@@nathanjuan6042 Let me give you some insight. I have been Valve since the beginning. I had a good feeling about them. About 5 years ago I was hit by a drunk driver. Due to that I have nerve damage. Which caused me to drop my SD from 5 feet high onto the impossibly hard flooring surface at the Navy Exchange here in Oahu. Broke the switch clean off the daughter board. Nothing else broke. Not even the LCD. No cracks, nothing. I was shocked. When I contacted Valve asking to buy a replacement daughter board, they RMA'd it right away for free and gave me a new one. No charge. Not one other company will do that. Even though it was my fault. Not to mention my Steam controllers from 2015 still look and work like new. Xbox and PS controllers don't last more than 18 months. And joycons are a joke. And these are supposedly the best at console making. Valve makes some industrial type shit. Give 'em a try. you won't be disappointed. And not only has Gamer's Nexus called out Asus, so has Louis rossman, Jayz two cents, etc. And Gamer's Nexus shit was pretty well documented.

[@HitmonD]

​@@nathanjuan6042that's becquse gamernexus amongst a few other are paid youtubers by rival companies to slander the process exaggerating the issues that have a happened to a very minute amount of people. I didn't have any RMA issues with ASUS in any way. No extortion, like they so boldly claim, no delays, amd it was professional 100%. Don't believe everything g you hear on the internet and just get your own opinion. These products have return policies. It's not that serious

[@ethaniel4505]

imma just wait for the ROG Ally X

[@ONealskey7]

At this point that's probably a good idea. I love the knew technology race between all these companies now. Great for the consumers!

[@EileenTheCr0w]

I'm torn between Ally X, Legion Go, and the Ayaneo Slide. They're all good but with one or two major flaws.

[@X862go]

I would wait to see the price of the ally x. They are talking 3 hours battery, worse case, and extra ports. Currently, the legion go performance isn't very good a bit worse than the steamdeck oled.

[@X862go]

I'm sure they can fix it with drivers. All these handhelds are better one year after release.

[@Erroneous91]

@@X862go I have the LegionGO and have no performance issues, while it’s true that it will get better over time, how in the world are you getting lower performance than the steam deck? There’s something probably wrong with yours or you have misconfigured drivers/tdp or who knows what

[@frankpatterson9682]

Lenovo Legion Go, my choice after owning The ROG Ally and the Steam Deck OLED before it.

[@hk6926]

I returned the go , ok performance , bad battery life and sub par ergonomics. Oled is just perfect .

[@frankpatterson9682]

@@hk6926 For me the SD Oled didnt play a lot of my library. The battery wasnt that great. It did feel good in hand. But I cant with these little 7" screens.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

The Go would be my personal pick as well!

[@rossdev]

Me too, sold my Ally but kept my oled steam deck. I like having a choice between it and the Go.

[@mahmoudalqadoumi1824]

Legion go without any comment, one thing for everything this is legien go 😊

[@Evenmixer]

It's good to see that the Ally X will have a bigger battery when I see the poor battery life results Personally I'm waiting (and hope) that Ayaneo will launch a new Air 2 with Ryzen 8840u

[@mbloof1]

Very nicely done compare of all the differing options available in 2024. I mostly came to the same conclusions as you did - I ended up getting an low end Ally on sale. Selling points over the Steam Deck were the higher resolution screen & wider software compatibility. Granted I've accepted a 'tethered to a power source' use case along with dusting off my >7yo game library bustling with titles that are not challenging to the APU @ 720P or 1024P.

[@verse8833]

Waiting on shipment of my OLED deck

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Sweet, enjoy it!

[@scottsutton140]

Own both the legion go and the ally, and the fps is better on my go, not sure how the ally beats it with your tests.

[@Erroneous91]

Same here, I suppose something is misconfigured as I doubt that there would be such a difference between devices

[@crestofhonor2349]

Of the ones I own, the Legion Go, ROG Ally, and Steam Deck OLED, I like the Ally and Deck OLED the most. Both are fantastic devices and I like the Ally for it's smaller size and quieter fans under 15w and the Deck OLED's battery life and HDR. They are really hard to decide which one I like best. The Legion Go is nice but it's less portable, larger, louder, and has the worst speakers by far

[@aws_exploit]

As soon as i had the opportunity to grt the GO, i sold my deck in a heartbeat and never regretted or looked bsck. Is everything i wanted in a handheld •NICE BIG SCREEN GLORIOUS SCREEN ✓ •DETACHABLE CONTROLLERS✓ DID I SAY THE SCREEN? THE BRIGHTNESS LEVEL IS GOOD TWO PORTS✓ I dont care that much about batteries cuz i dont game that long on handhelds either way and when i do am close to eirher a socket/outlet or i have a power bank. BUT the SCREEN was a huge buying point for me and AM HAVING A BLAST EVEYTIME I TURN IT ON. even when is off is just 👌😘🤤

[@ricki_daynes]

I use moonlight for playing pc games on my iphone😂, searching a gamepad that fit to my ipad but i cant find any😢

[@MaruzSoChill]

If you use ipad mini there is new controller from razer called kishi ultra

[@TheUAProdigy]

What you should mention is the 1% and .1% lows of these games. It leads to a much smoother experience on the SteamDeck as compared to the others.

[@jackykwan2580]

Steam deck cant use lossless scaling which is a game changer. 30 fps can be boosted to 60 and afmf is worse than lossless scaling.

[@draco2xx]

all i know is steamdeck 2 is going to be so much better, im sure valve was testing how the first one would go now they know and what they can improve on so as the legion. legion 2 will also be even better which will make it even harder for me to choose which one to get

[@TheUAProdigy]

@@draco2xx Probably just vrr and more powerful hardware for the SD2 honestly. They nailed everything else.

[@hk6926]

​@@jackykwan2580It doesn't need to .

[@OceanofStarsVR]

The average consumer never pays attention to the 1% lows etc...

[@volodymyrspyrydonov]

Why did you film Steam Deck LCD in the video?

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

I used it as a "stand-in" for the video, unfortunately we it was very complicated to get the OLED model that we used the for testing. And since I own an LCD Steam Deck ... :) We will add a disclaimer to the description to clarify!

[@Chris.in.taiwan]

That German accent is 🔥 🇩🇪

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Thanks, I am doing my best!

[@ignatiusloyolamulti1186]

Summary This text discusses five different handheld gaming consoles: ROG Ally, Steam Deck OLED, Legion Go, Ayaneo, and OneX Player. It compares their unique features and quirks. Highlights 🎮 The Steam Deck was the first to market and runs on a Linux-based operating system. 🎮 The ROG Ally has a flashy design and a 1080p 120Hz panel. 🎮 The Ayaneo has an exotic RAM and storage config, a QHD panel, and a laptop CPU. 🎮 The OneX Player has detachable controllers and a sturdy build. 🎮 The Legion Go has a higher refresh rate, detachable controllers, and a unique FPS mode. 🎮 Ergonomics vary among the handhelds, with the Steam Deck being the most comfortable. 🎮 The screens, inputs, connections, maintenance, and performance of each handheld are compared.

[@0p41]

I'm watching so many video on handhelds as I'm in the market for one. However, I'm doing all this research knowing damn well I'm just gonna settle with the Steam Deck, no matter the pros of other consoles. 😅

[@charlestannehill7537]

You won't be disappointed. Valve makes some quality industrial type shit. My OG Steam controllers are 9 years old, ad still look and function like new.

[@bayarhassan3009]

Rog ally is a little monster compared to legion go size and steam decks apu , besides windows 11 being a big + because of game modding and easy of use when trying to get games from other stores like epic and gog, and don't forget games like fifa and battlefield have anti cheat that triggers on steam deck because of Linux os , and i have seen many pc games and emulator games(rpc3) that are unplayable on steam deck , however if you are spectacle about the battery thats fair cuz its sh*t , in my case i dont have proplem with the battery because in the places i use rog i almost always have access to power cord near me , and those mountable 68w 20000mah power banks will surely fix that issue, i love my rog ally because it played every game i throwed at it smoothly on 1080p with 60fps.

[@charlestannehill7537]

@@bayarhassan3009 rog ally also doesn't have half of the features the legion go does. Or the screen size. Or resolution. Or refresh rate. Plus burns up your sd cards. And windows always has updates and driver issues. Steamos does not. And the steam deck battery life smashes the ally. It can't touch the performance at the same wattage. The legion go and SD are two different ends of the spectrum. The ally falls in the middle with no true commitment or direction. If I'm buying something, I want it to be sure of what it is.

[@bayarhassan3009]

@@charlestannehill7537 high refresh rate and more resolution ? Yeah maybe you will benefit from these "features" when you play games like Stardew valley or hades or play AAA titles with there potato variant 😂😂 , even 1080p and 120hz is a little overkill for a handheld device , the saying win11 has updates and bloat ware blah blah blah is a little exaggerated i have win11 on my main pc and rog ally never had a proplem with updates lol , you know exactly what you get with rog ally if you do a little internet reviewing for instances ( 120hz with vrr which other devices dont have , 1080p , best lcd screen on the market , uses win11 and bad battery life) 2 variant z1 and z1 extreme , looks like if you can read you know what this device pro and cons are.

[@ONealskey7]

​@@charlestannehill7537 pretty sure they addressed the battery use in their comment. You make it sound like the Rog Ally won't even run when not on a charger. The Rog Ally is debatable the best handheld on the market. The legion go is in that debate for sure. The steam deck is awesome but cannot play everything you throw at it. I hope they fix it sor steam deck 2. Windows is absolutely a benefit, people who complain just don't know how to use windows.

[@cloudee_1080_ti]

May the handheld gods help us all, soon HP is gonna try to get in the game and try to make it mad thin 😂😂.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Imagine 🤣

[@MrSkotty1992]

The Nintendo Switched reintroduced gaming handhelds back into the mainstream. The Steam Deck showed that there was an appetite for a gaming handheld in the hardcore community. While I wish the Steam Deck had a bit more power Valve really knocked it out of the park. Out of the box it just works. All you have to do is sign into Steam. You don’t have to go to desktop mode unless you want to tinker. Windows is terrible for gaming and this is even more apparent on an handheld. That being said Asus did a fantastic job with the Ally. I just Asus was more transparent and had better customer service. That being said their engineering team made a really nice piece of hardware.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

I do not really get the whole Windows problem so many of you seem to have. Is it as seamless as the Steamdeck? Well, no. But it is still more than usable (in my opinion).

[@mgsan4702]

Ally SE or X is on the horizon... So no to ally Legon go if you like big boy. Deck OG or OLED for actuall gaming handheld other is just PC in handheld Form so they have windows related problems(WRP)

[@BarelyAverageDude]

I'm going with the KUN.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Why? ;)

[@BarelyAverageDude]

@@NotebookcheckReviews screen my be slightly smaller than LeGo, but it is brighter with better contrast and colours. Kun has a much larger battery, more RAM and ports compared to LeGo, deck and Ally. Support for 2280 SSDs is a win imo (ally needs mod). It feels slightly more ergonomic in the hands compared to the LeGo because of the round shape. 2 trackpads (not as good as the Deck, but better than LeGo) It has the option to add LTE connectivity (1 of only 2 handhelds to have it internally) Also the Face unlock camera can be used as a webcam for ZOOM etc. NO OTHER handheld in this form factor has that feature. That means it can actually replace a computer in a pinch for video calls.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

True on almost all accounts, but I found it to be pretry heavy after a while, even tho the grips do feel really good. And while you are technically right about the Webcam, its really not very good. But I guess better a bad one than none ;)

[@BarelyAverageDude]

@@NotebookcheckReviewsyeah it’s definitely not something worth marketing, but I just thought it was a cool little feature. Only for an emergency situation 😅 As weight goes, I’m used to large devices so it doesn’t bother me.

[@HitmonD]

I got the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme and i dont regret it one bit. Do t listen to the paid youtubers that are hired to slander a good product because their product is in the shadows. Its a wonderful handheld and a heast at that!!

[@gamewizard5158]

Hold out for dedicated graphics or bust!

[@jask4587]

No GPD Win 4 or Mini? With AMD of course...

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Unfortunately we did not have access to the GPD handhelds for this comparison!

[@orochiCZ]

Why are you showing the Steam Deck LCD in the video? All Steam Deck OLED models come with black joysticks, and only the Special Edition has orange joysticks. You can clearly see that they are gray, which is the Steam Deck LCD. The Steam Deck also uses an 800p screen, not a 720p screen, with a peak brightness in HDR of over 1000 nits and in SDR of 600 nits (not under 500 nits, which is the LCD model). The HDR wasn't even mentioned in the video. When showcasing the case of the Steam Deck, you can see that the inner part of the logo is blue, not orange, which is another indication that we are dealing with the LCD model.

[@GutteRep]

It's clear by the garbage color calibration and giant bezels. First video I've seen of this channel and it's not a good start

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

I just used the LCD as a stand in for the video, our measurements are from the OLED version tho! I wanted to add a disclaimer, but it somehow got lost during the edit. Sorry about that!

[@Invid72]

@@NotebookcheckReviews Wait, so you measured only 481 nits on the OLED? That doesn't match up with anyone else's reviews, or even my comparison between my OLED and Legion Go. The OLED is MUCH brighter, even without HDR kicking in. I don't own an Ally, but I've seen them and the OLED is brighter than that too. Not sure what's up with your measurements.

[@charlestannehill7537]

@@Invid72 Yeah, my oled shits on the Ally display model at Best Buy.

[@orochiCZ]

@@NotebookcheckReviews Thanks for responding. However, there are still some discrepancies regarding the specifications and features of the OLED model compared to what was mentioned in the video. The OLED model boasts an 800p resolution and different brightness capabilities in HDR and SDR, which were not accurately represented. Also, mentioning HDR would be crucial since it's a significant feature of the OLED model. It would be beneficial for accuracy and viewer trust if these points could be corrected or clarified in the video or through a pinned comment. Thanks for looking into this!

[@kaizel2264]

Steam deck Oled is the best Value wise and usage wise

[@X862go]

13:17 jet plane 😂

[@gigag3060]

I have the legion go and I love it

[@marksapollo]

I think you’ll find Nintendo Switch reintroduced handhelds back into the mainstream. Steam Deck did it for PC gaming though.

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Very true, but the switch is very much its one thing.

[@draco2xx]

steam deck would've been a steal if the screen size was 8.4inches, i would've bought one

[@charlestannehill7537]

That size comes at a cost. People already say my oled model is huge. The legion is massive to carry around. I know, I have both.

[@SamsFPS]

Me running bazzite linux/steamos on my ally: 🗿

[@X862go]

How's that work 🤔. I use windows for pc mods.

[@SamsFPS]

@@X862go pretty well tbh, just a bit of messing around to get tdp working, and it was good from there. only issue (for me) is anti-cheats, but some will work either way.

[@MrBigpappaT]

Whats the game at 3:31?

[@GenjiTakiyaGPS]

Evil West !

[@MrBigpappaT]

​@@GenjiTakiyaGPS thanks

[@elg2025]

i believe the new rog ally x will be a strong contender as an ovevrall handheld with way better battery, more storage and more rams and a more ergonomic feel. im so excited to get the rog ally x i still dony own any handheld

[@panathaninf]

Got an MSI claw with 15% discount and it rocks! Runs everything great! Better than what i expected. Hail to the new handheld era!

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Ours is on the way, pretty excited for that one too!

[@acolis89]

You want a windows pc on the go, take the strongest one. you want a console, get the steam deck.

[@matthewwain9958]

Now? If after Ally... wait for the X at this point. Bigger battery, hopefully more ram, fixed SD card slot.. just be wary of Asus and their contractors trying to scam you on warranty work. Legion go... might be worth waiting... but nothing has been announced yet, so could be a long wait. Steam deck OLED is the safe and supported choice backed by valve, if you are pure gamer, it seems the smart choice.

[@statzstylz6492]

ROG Ally beats all

[@bwsoldier]

That's not a steam deck OLED it's an LCD

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Yes, you are right. I used it as a stand-in for the video, but the measurements are from the OLED. I wanted to add a disclaimer, but forgot. Sorry about tjat!

[@ScreamingEagle101st]

Steam deck OLED all the way !

[@truenetgmx]

Steamdeck oled ftw - returned legion go - bad ergonomics and heavy, bad os - screen is great but when I have to put it down to game it was just too close to my 14 inch laptop...

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

What bothers you about windows? I really dont get what rallies people so much about it :D

[@snowsh1ne]

@@NotebookcheckReviews Watch Dankpods Steam Deck OLED review. I think he has pretty much the same complaints with windows as me.

[@truenetgmx]

​@@NotebookcheckReviews It is not the hate for microsoft (i grown up using their systems starting on dos), it case by case for me. When I buy a device i expect it is polished experience directed by expected function of the item. Windows with current interface and device maker overlay glued on it just don't cut it. But the biggest problem for me is that I already owned og steamdeck - proof it can be done :) But maby I am niche case, for me biggest tragedy of Legion go was trackpad position and function - if I could transplant controls layout and function it could win me over. I was even looking into diy controllers but there are no small trackpads on the market

[@nathanjuan6042]

​@@NotebookcheckReviews I don't get them either. I have ally and I never understand the hate they have on windows it works fine to me never had a problem and I don't think its hard to use. When you power it it goes straight to Armory Crate which all your games are in its like any other console. That is why I don't get the hate. I have Ps vita and have played with my brother's switch and PS5 and have the same experience with my ally.

[@YoungBloodyBlud]

Should have bought the Ally it is a beast

[@B1u35ky]

Steam Deck isn’t the OG. Ayaneo has been making these for a few years

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Fair enough, well maybe the OG with mainstream success?

[@jeffrothegamer]

Deutch?

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Jepp ;)

[@james8606]

I still think the ally is one best choice here but with the X on the way this could be the better option if it has betterr battey life. But its great seeing alot others in the market.

[@youngtilt5506]

I'm ally all day

[@botp1ayer953]

i would not recommend any asus product to anyone right now. Look like they have a huge lawsuit coming their way and have defects they're trying hide with the ally

[@johnnydoe3603]

Steam Deck is Literally Not Available Outside US and Europe. I am looking forward to the Updated Rog Ally. 😊

[@Wunnabeanbag]

“…sort of…” 😂

[@keerthan7558]

i would prefer a steam deck design for ergonomics with performance of toned down z1 extreme(maybe aim for 6800u performance). 1080p 120hz doesn't make sense on that form factor since you can't run much and it chugs through battery life.720p @90hz is much lighter on GPU without drastic quality loss imo. No point in buying a handheld if it dies within 1-2hrs or needs to be plugged in. might as well buy a gaming laptop for your "portable game station"💀

[@nathanjuan6042]

Your probably not the target market for Legion and Ally. For me I hate playing on 720p because I'm used to 1080p and trust me I can see the difference since I played with my brother's switch and played with my ally the difference was night and day. Gaming laptop is too big and heavy to carry at the same time needs a desk and a mouse to be able use it. There is a lot of people who bought legion go and ally because they are not the target market for the deck . I have a gaming laptop and I hate carrying it because it is too heavy and needs a bigger bag and can't play it without a desk and a mouse.

[@mbloof1]

Considering that laptops with GTX1650's (which can easily run circles around ANY of these handhelds) are still on the market NEW for

[@keerthan7558]

@@nathanjuan6042 yes it is subjective ik that's why i mentioned it is as my perspective, not implying that it needs to be a norm. These things hold me back from buying Ally or Legion Go( this one's too heavy for me) . Would have loved to buy steam deck oled but it's not sold in my country 😭. If i bought something exclusively for gaming then it better run those games for atleast 3-4 hrs like when i'm on a trip. Requiring to plug in charger to get good performance also seems a pain. In that sense it truly carries the annoyingness lf gaming laptops. I too can clearly see resolution difference but it doesn't matter cause at the end of the day if you want to hit those 60fps smooth gameplay you have to either drop the res below 1080p or plug in the handheld. If you play Indie games more ,those can easily run at 1080@60fps+ but there graphics doesn't really matter thatt much so that's there.

[@keerthan7558]

@@mbloof1 780m can perform similar to 1650 at appropriate wattage

[@kysierkevin]

​@mbloofh1 huh? a z1 extreme is more powerful than an outdated gtx 1650

[@simonkonya190]

Nintendo 💪

[@rich2579]

GN covered Asus' abysmal and manipulative customer service... I'm steering clear of the Ally based on just that

[@ab85main73]

Asus is getting flamed rn for predatory practices regarding repairs… steam deck seems like the safest bet

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

Hard to scope how widespread that problem really is atm.

[@ab85main73]

@@NotebookcheckReviews I’d rather sidestep that land mine, I can’t support a company that moves like that, it’s all good until you find yourself on the receiving end you know … great vid tho

[@raphaelpetty1491]

Rog ally gang gang🎉

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

💪

[@cristianJoker2512]

ayaneo and one x player are pure jet engines 😂 , lol

[@Andorski]

0:37 - "As the ultimate OG we got the Steam Deck..." *AYA NEO:* Am I a joke to you?

[@OleksiiK21]

I will save your time it's only 2 handhelds on the market right now which you need to consider - steam deck oled and legion go, everything else is trash including rog ally

[@NotebookcheckReviews]

And why is that?

[@ONealskey7]

Rog Ally is absolutely amazing and literally can pick one up for almost as much as steam deck anyway and it outperforms it except for battery.

[@OleksiiK21]

@ONealskey7 it's not about performance, they all perform good unless you that guy who start shaking when 1 fps drops. It's about device itself and company which makes it and rog ally is far away

[@OleksiiK21]

@NotebookcheckReviews I already explained it to somebody else before in the comments on the different video so I will just copy my previous comment and will paste here, don't judge me I'm just lazy af

[@OleksiiK21]

@NotebookcheckReviews Steam Deck and LeGo are the best handhelds on the market right now. Ally is not even close (not in terms of performance). Screen quality is okay but nothing special, vrr is cool but not critical to lose, performance is a hair better than legion go and depends in what games and settings, VERY cheap feeling and looking build quality(like a toy from aliexpress, even worse), not comfortable to hold if you have around medium or large hand size, no touchpad which is very important for a windows handheld considering the size of allys screen, battery life is the worst out of this three but also depends which games you play and your settings but still its bad bad, no case included, chicken fried micro sd cards, Asus trash customer support and Scam Warranty. At least Ally is a king at something cause it holds a crown.....of most returned item at Best Buy. I own Legion Go, Steam Deck LCD and used to have Ally. If I were rich I would just throw it away but I sold it at the end. Sorry for my English it's not my native language. And in addition to every other handheld the reason I said trash is because it's a small companies which is located far away from US and if something happend to your handheld or if it's not going to work right at some point good luck working it out with manufacturer to get it right or get it fixed, it will be a huge headache

[@VectorGhost]

after seeing the scummy tactics Asus has employed via gamer nexus, the ally will never be a choice

[@charlestannehill7537]

I posted on Reddit commenting on how the new killswitch case for the Ally from Dbrand looks nice, but unfortunately the Ally and Asus are horrible, and man they attacked me! Talk about in denial fanboys. I destroyed every argument they had they resorted to insults and mockery.

[@ONealskey7]

I saw that video and it is something to be concerned with. The fact they make you jump through hoops and try to scam you.

[@yuxia2019]

ROG Scam

[@terryeast]

Steam Deck becoz the price point

[@freedcrypto]

Not many reviewers will mention how dumb ally micro sd positioning is. It'll melt micro sd easily & it already had happened

[@caseyddr]

Steamdeck is a leapfrog compared to it's competition and it isn't even close.

[@ONealskey7]

You mean a jump behind? They need steamDeck 2 already. It struggles to run a lot of games.

[@caseyddr]

@@ONealskey7 leapfrog is a children's toy brand.

[@ONealskey7]

@@caseyddr ohhhh

[@leaftye]

The Asus is way too expensive considering its worthless warranty due to how hostile and illegal Asus have been with warranty service.