ROG Ally

TheIrishGrover

So got myself the ROG Ally yesterday and loving it so far. I don't have many Steam games but I do have Game Pass Ultimate and PS Game Pass (Although it's not a patch on MS Game Pass). Now need to get stuck into some emulation

McDermotX

Haven't really got into it as of yet, as I was waiting for a 2TB SSD to arrive (which should be today) before properly setting it up, but seems a nice device, albeit one that feels somewhat disparate to the likes of the Steam Deck, given its reliance on Windows 11 + Asus software. Bit of a messy setup at first, but best to go through the bios updates from the getgo. Steam Deck has its own setup quirks to be sure, but this is a bit more of a slog, though not one that should daunt anyone familiar with installing Windows etc

Feels nice and premium, though I do wish they had used slightly firmer buttons personally, but it's light, very comfortable, and very well put together. Was actually not a fan of the all white look, but I've come around to it. Screen is excellent as well, not OLED fair enough, but it's a quality IPS screen with a high refresh which should provide a nice experience with proper VRR support. Couple titles I tried out seem fine, but won't really dig into it until I do the upgrade.

Love the Steam Deck, but if this unit can get a multiple launcher experience actually usable and feeling unified without too many compromises, it should be a fine handheld PC. All comes down to the software for me, for which I'd normally be very suspicious of Asus - love their hardware (recent controversy aside), and use plenty of it, but their software group has always needed work, and hearing that Armoury Crate was going to be the frontend had me rolling my eyes, but they've put themselves out there and have pushed the Ally hard so we shall see.

super_furry

The price is the problem for me. €850 for what is really not that much more power than the Steam Deck.

Icyseanfitz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120723247#Comment_120723247

i second this, but then the only steam deck you can actually buy in ireland right now is the €650 one anyway

druss

I got one this week as an impulse buy in store. And I'm very happy with initial impressions. Windows 11 is what it is, but I do appreciate that it runs just about anything I've thought to throw at it. Setting up Game Pass, Epic, GOG? No fuss whatsoever.

An impulse to run my archaic copy of Championship Manager 01/02? Not a bother. Run the iso and mount disk. It occurred to me to run a tool which finds regenerated players. Downloaded it and can run it side by side with the CM01/02 game.

I will use it alongside my Steam Deck, but (so far) I think this might be the one that accompanies me on work trips.

brady12

Only thing that tempts me is Game pass handheld. Xcloud on Steam deck can be hit and miss

McDermotX

It's definitely a bit of a work in progress with Windows being both it's greatest strength and weakness, so it does need some attention to detail from the end user, but nothing beyond what is required from a daily Windows user. Lacks the cohesion of the current SteamOS which is the price to pay for it's flexibility, but people do forget how the Deck was out of the gate even within it's own closed environment and how just much it has come on since initial launch, so there's more to come from the Ally, so hopefully the community and Asus will be on top of things.

Biggest issues at the moment are with the performance reduction introduced with the latest bios (though there is nothing to stop someone reverting back - albeit to a probably more unstable bios) and a more concerning issue that has arisen with the MicroSD card reader over the last week with various reports of users killing their cards and/or ability to use cards full stop with potential overheating being a root cause due to the position of the slot next to one of the vents. Asus have acknowledged the reports and are looking into it, but other than dealing with a possible design flaw, measures to reduce the heat via performance or fan speed increase could be in order. Some people have recovered their readers, or used more aggressive fan speed curves, but it's probably a good idea to remove the SD card until more info comes out - as the issue could be related to using the full Turbo mode when plugged in as that really spikes the temps so it's not inconceivable that there is some correlation. Have removed my own for the time being even though I'd not used it.

On the positives, seeing some impressive results, even with the big AAA titles, not to mention some of the older titles that the Steam Deck, while not struggling with, really benefit from the resolution increase (plus the display in general is night and day), not to mention those extra frames. Battery life could use some work, but the fast charging is a godsend. Not without some weird performance levels at 15W in some titles, but some tinkering with settings (and Windows in general) means there's performance increases there to be exploited with further optimization.

TheIrishGrover

So after a couple of weeks with it some points:

• Battery life is terrible but expected I suppose. You won't be taking it on a flight without plugging it in. Typically about 2 hours for me
• I have XBOX Gamepass Ultimate so playing Mass Effect (Downloaded/installed) on it at the moment. Runs great. Cloud play also works great at home (Have not checked remote/mobile yet)
• Emulation config is a bit of a faff but after configuring, works great (Assuming you are not doing anything you shouldn't)
• Steam works great.
• Playstation Remote Play/pass isn't great but this is more down to Sony
• Touchscreen gets HOT when running in Turbo Mode/plugged in
• Back buttons a bit finicky
• It is great to be playing "Proper" full-fat titles on a "handheld" (I don't have a Steamdeck) as opposed to hobbled Switch versions.

If you are planning on configuring stuff I recommend purchasing a USB C Hub. I had 2 screens, keyboard, mouse, USB Mem stick and eth cable attached via hub without issue (I love USB C)

Overall I'm pretty happy with it. Definitely a great device but prob worth waiting until next version that will rob run a bit cooler/more efficiently. You WILL need to bring your charger though if you intend to do anything over a couple of hours.