ASUS Details ROG Ally Specs - $699 Gaming Handheld With AMD Z1 Extreme

[phoronix]

Phoronix: ASUS Details ROG Ally Specs - $699 Gaming Handheld With AMD Z1 Extreme

Today was the big reveal of ASUS' ROG Ally with the specifications and pricing in full for this new gaming handheld that will be shipping on 13 June...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/ASUS-ROG-Ally

[RejectModernity]

No trackpads = dead on arrival

[avis]

• Twice as fast as SteamDeck in pretty much everything
• Runs Windows 11 by default, i.e. no problems with emulation/translation, DRM, anticheats and everything and you can run Windows software as well
• A much better screen - 1080p 120Hz
• Supports an external GPU

Note: don't buy the Z1 version, buy the Z1 extreme instead - the difference in performance is staggering, the price difference is just $100.

Here's a ton of reviews + Ars Technica's one.

[FireBurn]

Would love to know if the screen can do HDR & adaptive sync

[andyprough]

I'm going to assume that Microsoft is paying Asus a little for each device sold. And that they've gotten involved in the design, which probably means it will be a problematic device, at least initially.

Other than that, it's just another sub-$1,000 device that some people will put GNU/Linux distros on, whereas others will use it with Win11 for a few years until Asus and Microsoft abandon it and leave them with a worthless gadget for the trash bin.

[gsedej]

When you don't know how else to market product, then you put "Dolby Atmos audio" or something

[Grinness]

• Twice as fast as SteamDeck in pretty much everything
• Runs Windows 11 by default, i.e. no problems with emulation/translation, DRM, anticheats and everything and you can run Windows software as well
• A much better screen - 1080p 120Hz
• Supports an external GPU

Note: don't buy the Z1 version, buy the Z1 extreme instead - the difference in performance is staggering, the price difference is just $100.

Here's a ton of reviews + Ars Technica's one.

Not that compelling reading the review (at least at the moment)
... and not having Linux (but Windows11) it is a no-go (at least for me):

I wrote a couple weeks ago about how, despite having only recently purchased a Steam Deck, I wasn't too concerned that the ROG Ally would "kill" it. Now that I've had some hands-on time with the Ally, most of what I wrote holds up.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/the-asus-rog-ally-runs-windows-eats-battery-and-needs-time-to-cook/

In the meantime, I'll keep exploring The Witcher's continent from my Steam Deck. It's not as smooth, but it's far more predictable.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/the-asus-rog-ally-runs-windows-eats-battery-and-needs-time-to-cook/

[NeoMorpheus]

Nice device, wrong OS.

Can I get a refund if I purchase one and replace windows with proper SteamOS 3?

[evasb]

Steam Deck had a 1-year head start to launch Steam Deck in more countries as possible, but they were very slow to sell new units.

If Valve doesn't want to launch a Steam Deck 2 so soon, they need to increase their shipments with a world launch and lower the prices. But I don't think Valve will do that.

[Linuxxx]

One clear advantage the Steam Deck has over the ROG Ally is that its memory is connected via a 256-bit bus, whereas the ASUS one only sports a 128-bit interface, according to Digital Foundry.

Anyhow, hopefully Valve manages to release the rather big SteamOS 3.5 update before the Ally launches, since that alone should already bring a noticeable performance improvement, thanks to the Linux 6.1 LTS kernel instead of the 5.13 one the Deck is still rocking.

Maybe I should consider writing an article with some of my tweaks on top...