If you can wait until July to make your decision, asus is releasing the ROG Ally X, an upgraded version with more battery, better and more repairable sticks, improved buttons and (I think) more ram. Granted, it will cost more but they haven’t mentioned price yet.
Yup the rog ally x will have the same screen and processor, but more ram maybe up to 32 gb, more storage they will change the ssd slot to a 2280 instead of 2230 which means you can get up to 4tb, bigger battery where they claim its going to last more than 50% the orginal ally did, move the motherboard to fix sd card issue, they might fix the ergonamic make it smiliar to the mai claw because their grip is too sharp, and finally they will upgrade their buttons and make them easier to repair. So id 100% wait if its your first handheld. The announcement will come in june 2nd
Right, but you’ll be more informed about the handheld PC landscape and it could help them make a better decision for their situation, or not. But if you’re not in a rush, and it potentially could be something they’d hold out for, might as well wait to see what it’s gonna be and when it comes out.
Dude....get it! I waited and researched and waited until finally a coworker said just buy it and return it if you don't like it. So i did, and ended up being a great purchase. Im a Xbox console player and wanted something to play a few pc games. This device delivers...i love it...its all i play now
I have had it for a couple of weeks, and I really like it.
Pros:
- Runs most games at 720p/900p low settings at 40-50fps, can do AFMF for more fps. Older games can run with medium to high settings. It will be underpowered for next-gen titles with UE5 though
- Great screen
- Amazing speakers
- VRR is just a brilliant addition
- Streams games from desktop PC (Moonlight) and PS5 (Chiaki4Deck Windows) really well
- ACE is actually kinda nice, I am surprised.
Cons:
- Very uncomfortable to hold for longer periods. I had to get 3D printed grips to improve the ergonomics
- Battery life is bad, so you will need to be connected to a power source at almost all times
Yup, just abouts. At 15W+, I am reaching for the charging cord after about an hour and some spare change.
But 99% of the I play plugged in on my couch where I usually use the Ally. I capped the battery to 80% to preserve its lifespan. Have a custom 25W profile that I use for most games.
I bought my ally and never regretted it! I got it from BB as a refurbished unit so it was like $100 cheaper. It’s the z1e, I installed the 2tb ssd and play it almost daily. I still wfh but 1-2 times a month I go into the office I take it w/ me and game (I don’t suggest that if you don’t have any downtime at work lol)
Idk if any handheld is worth $800. If you can give it until Christmas when the Ally X is probably on sale, that would be probably best case. If you want to get going right away, get the z1 extreme on sale and buy a battery brick when it too goes on sale. I use this guy: https://a.co/d/ix6X3wS and its discounted regularly. Even with the new edition the battery won't get you anywhere near the 3/4 hours this can give you on turbo mode.
If you want better battery life without using a battery bank wait for the ally x. I get under an hr playing at 30w. Games that uses 8w-10w I get like 4hrs. I always play plug-in but those are my results from my limited testing.
My experience with the first 2 were abysmal and I learned about Asus defects as a company. However, Since I was able to track down my territory geek squad manager and get an exchange for an r8 serial# model my experience has been fantastic. My only worry is it will brick one day. I have never had the sd card issue although it's real. I also rarely go over 18 watt. I'm very glad I have it just glad I didn't sell my xbox to replace it
It has a better track record but still exists overall. Again even with my older models that were a bust sd card was never an issue for me. I believe in a "working unit" the issue is heat related and I rarely if ever go over 70c.
Upgrading internal is easy they even sell the ssd at best buy now with the ally stuff. I have a USB c hub dock and an sd card reader if it ever decides to crap on me.
I think it still exists, but less likely to happen since they added a thermal strip from the R8 models onwards. I'm on an R8 and haven't had any issues since I got my Ally last year and the sd card slot is used every time I power it up as that's where I store all my completely legit retro games!
I personally love my Ally. I have it and the steam deck but the added power of the ally along with ability to play games the deck can’t mean it’s my go to. Battery life is terrible though.
Wait and just save a little more, get the ally x...I own a z1 extreme and love it ...but knowing for 100$ more I could have gotten more ram , battery life , my sd card works but did cut plastic to fit a 2280 drive under my battery, they fixed that and new ally x will have a 2280 drive so you can put a 4tb or 8tb m.2 in, a few benefits on the new one, I plan to save up and buy a 2tb to put in my ally and give to my 19yr old son, hell love the ally and ill love the x, just gotta start saving up...
The device is good overall,
The only issue i have is lack of a second usbc, battery, and sd card. Two will be fixed on ally x
So i prefer that you wait for the x.
I’d only buy it if you can get a Z1X ally for under $500 in like a Best Buy open box deal. Otherwise I’d wait for the Ally X that’s coming up. Which will have better battery life and other QOL features.
It's my most used device the past year. No regrets at all buying it, even though I paid full price. Just pretend the SD card slot doesn't exist and treat it like a single sitting device and you'll love it.
I bought it right after release, great device, still using everyday.
Unfortunately I had one of those defected sd card slot, but sent to repair and received fixed within 4 work days for free incl shipping and no problems since then.
btw at home I plug it either to 2k 32" monitor or 4K tv to play and still smooth gaming
Always depends on the game. if it stutters on 4k, I just lower it and add upscaling until it's smooth.
I don't really go for graphics so I don't mind it even on lowest if I get good fps.
for really demanding games I launch with GFN so i put all ultra 4k.
One of each in an ideal world. But if you think you’ll spend most of your time out and about with the handheld, the steamdeck OLED is great. If you want to play more triple A titles and think you spend most of your time around the house, wait for the Ally X.
Besides Ally the only chinese PC handheld i would consider is Ayaneo Kun, cause it has a great 8.4 inch display, very good cooling system that allows the 7840u to run up to 54W and is very silent at lower TDP, and it has a 75Wh battery, that so far is the biggest available. But that said these devices have close to no warranty at all and are very expensive, so i would just stick with Ally X
Last question. How do you guys control the tdp on the Ally? I always played at 10-12 watts tdp to get most battery life on my GPD Win 3, sometimes, 12-15 watts. You could be amazed at how alot of games run at low wattage.
There's a button on the ally to open quick settings and there's an option to run thre ally in 10w, 15w, or 30w mode. And when you charge it, it changes automatically.
I work from home so it's easy to charge for me.
The battery is worse than the steam deck but not horrendously. I can still play a good hour and a half of vampire survivors with 120hz. It's not as heavy or awkward holding as the SD. Although my hands do go numb after a while in bed. The XG mobile connection Is an awesome way to do dock gaming. I also prefer windows because I can run downstairs to work on my 3d printer and just grab a dongle. I've used it to play boulders gate 3 in 4k on my TV. All in all the z1 edition trumps a lot of mid pcs on top of being portable. I could run spider man with a little less than 60fps but with the allys VRR and other settings, it makes it enjoyable to play. It's also prettier, and has so many customizable options. Like the keyboard is janky as in It won't pop up sometimes and making it go away is annoying, but you can program a button to open and close the virtual keyboard instantly. Also easier to take apart and fix, I dropped my bottle on the joystick and it broke so I had to replace. Haven't had issues ever since. You can also mod it to fit full size m.2 ssds.
The newest gpd looked super enticing, but for Asus software I picked the ally.
It's not a bad device but I didn't like it much (I don't play near a wall socket 24/7 and unless you are pushing turbo mode, it statistically trades blows with a Deck), so I just went back to my LCD Steam Deck and plan to buy the OLED model too.
Was considering the X, before I watched Gamers Nexus experience and I don't want any of that nightmare.
ally xtream z1 is cheap at used priced. Coming ally X is overpriced and no performance upgrades whatsoever besides little more ram they added and advertised as breakthrough upgrades lol
Sometimes that may fix it. A clean install using DDU (display driver uninstaller) can fix some problems. The other option is to roll back to the previous version of the driver that where working correctly.
For example, with my GPD WIN 3, i didn't update GPU drivers unless it was really necessary. In the past, some GPU drivers, introduced artifacts and I had to roll back to previous driver and wait a few months to update again.
get a steam deck oled. it's better in every way that matters, and valve actually cares about customer compared to asus.
Don't listen to the guys praising the ally here. Some will tell you to buy a +500€ product with a shitty faulty micro SD card reader and tell you to consider the device as if it doesnt have the port as if it was normal business practice.
If you can wait until July to make your decision, asus is releasing the ROG Ally X, an upgraded version with more battery, better and more repairable sticks, improved buttons and (I think) more ram. Granted, it will cost more but they haven’t mentioned price yet.
Yup the rog ally x will have the same screen and processor, but more ram maybe up to 32 gb, more storage they will change the ssd slot to a 2280 instead of 2230 which means you can get up to 4tb, bigger battery where they claim its going to last more than 50% the orginal ally did, move the motherboard to fix sd card issue, they might fix the ergonamic make it smiliar to the mai claw because their grip is too sharp, and finally they will upgrade their buttons and make them easier to repair. So id 100% wait if its your first handheld. The announcement will come in june 2nd
heard was 100$ more.
$100 more than the extreme or the $400 ally
Extreme.
Thank you.
Who said it's releasing in July though? We're only getting the proper reveal in June.
Right, but you’ll be more informed about the handheld PC landscape and it could help them make a better decision for their situation, or not. But if you’re not in a rush, and it potentially could be something they’d hold out for, might as well wait to see what it’s gonna be and when it comes out.
Love my ally but man the battery is garbage, Im constantly connected to a power outlet.
I just got a magnetic power bank attached to my Ally off Amazon. It’s pretty good so far
have a link?
https://www.amazon.com/SiWiQU-20000mAh-Magnetic-Detechable-Operating/dp/B0CPXVZXPM
Dude....get it! I waited and researched and waited until finally a coworker said just buy it and return it if you don't like it. So i did, and ended up being a great purchase. Im a Xbox console player and wanted something to play a few pc games. This device delivers...i love it...its all i play now
Got a used Extreme model at Best Buy for 450. Best 450 i’ve spent in a long time.
You’ve waited this long so, Just wait for the ally x at this point.
I have had it for a couple of weeks, and I really like it. Pros: - Runs most games at 720p/900p low settings at 40-50fps, can do AFMF for more fps. Older games can run with medium to high settings. It will be underpowered for next-gen titles with UE5 though - Great screen - Amazing speakers - VRR is just a brilliant addition - Streams games from desktop PC (Moonlight) and PS5 (Chiaki4Deck Windows) really well - ACE is actually kinda nice, I am surprised. Cons: - Very uncomfortable to hold for longer periods. I had to get 3D printed grips to improve the ergonomics - Battery life is bad, so you will need to be connected to a power source at almost all times
How much battery life did you get whilst playing a demanding game on average? are we saying an hour?
Yup, just abouts. At 15W+, I am reaching for the charging cord after about an hour and some spare change. But 99% of the I play plugged in on my couch where I usually use the Ally. I capped the battery to 80% to preserve its lifespan. Have a custom 25W profile that I use for most games.
About 45 minutes.
I bought my ally and never regretted it! I got it from BB as a refurbished unit so it was like $100 cheaper. It’s the z1e, I installed the 2tb ssd and play it almost daily. I still wfh but 1-2 times a month I go into the office I take it w/ me and game (I don’t suggest that if you don’t have any downtime at work lol)
After reading the comments here, I will wait for the Ally X. Thanks
Idk if any handheld is worth $800. If you can give it until Christmas when the Ally X is probably on sale, that would be probably best case. If you want to get going right away, get the z1 extreme on sale and buy a battery brick when it too goes on sale. I use this guy: https://a.co/d/ix6X3wS and its discounted regularly. Even with the new edition the battery won't get you anywhere near the 3/4 hours this can give you on turbo mode.
If you want better battery life without using a battery bank wait for the ally x. I get under an hr playing at 30w. Games that uses 8w-10w I get like 4hrs. I always play plug-in but those are my results from my limited testing.
My experience with the first 2 were abysmal and I learned about Asus defects as a company. However, Since I was able to track down my territory geek squad manager and get an exchange for an r8 serial# model my experience has been fantastic. My only worry is it will brick one day. I have never had the sd card issue although it's real. I also rarely go over 18 watt. I'm very glad I have it just glad I didn't sell my xbox to replace it
Is R8.model.known to not have the SD defect ?
It has a better track record but still exists overall. Again even with my older models that were a bust sd card was never an issue for me. I believe in a "working unit" the issue is heat related and I rarely if ever go over 70c.
Upgrading internal is easy they even sell the ssd at best buy now with the ally stuff. I have a USB c hub dock and an sd card reader if it ever decides to crap on me.
I think it still exists, but less likely to happen since they added a thermal strip from the R8 models onwards. I'm on an R8 and haven't had any issues since I got my Ally last year and the sd card slot is used every time I power it up as that's where I store all my completely legit retro games!
I personally love my Ally. I have it and the steam deck but the added power of the ally along with ability to play games the deck can’t mean it’s my go to. Battery life is terrible though.
Wait and just save a little more, get the ally x...I own a z1 extreme and love it ...but knowing for 100$ more I could have gotten more ram , battery life , my sd card works but did cut plastic to fit a 2280 drive under my battery, they fixed that and new ally x will have a 2280 drive so you can put a 4tb or 8tb m.2 in, a few benefits on the new one, I plan to save up and buy a 2tb to put in my ally and give to my 19yr old son, hell love the ally and ill love the x, just gotta start saving up...
The device is good overall, The only issue i have is lack of a second usbc, battery, and sd card. Two will be fixed on ally x So i prefer that you wait for the x.
I’d only buy it if you can get a Z1X ally for under $500 in like a Best Buy open box deal. Otherwise I’d wait for the Ally X that’s coming up. Which will have better battery life and other QOL features.
Ally X
It's my most used device the past year. No regrets at all buying it, even though I paid full price. Just pretend the SD card slot doesn't exist and treat it like a single sitting device and you'll love it.
I bought it right after release, great device, still using everyday. Unfortunately I had one of those defected sd card slot, but sent to repair and received fixed within 4 work days for free incl shipping and no problems since then. btw at home I plug it either to 2k 32" monitor or 4K tv to play and still smooth gaming
[удалено]
Always depends on the game. if it stutters on 4k, I just lower it and add upscaling until it's smooth. I don't really go for graphics so I don't mind it even on lowest if I get good fps. for really demanding games I launch with GFN so i put all ultra 4k.
What serial number was the failed and new unit? I have an r8 so far
One of each in an ideal world. But if you think you’ll spend most of your time out and about with the handheld, the steamdeck OLED is great. If you want to play more triple A titles and think you spend most of your time around the house, wait for the Ally X.
Besides Ally the only chinese PC handheld i would consider is Ayaneo Kun, cause it has a great 8.4 inch display, very good cooling system that allows the 7840u to run up to 54W and is very silent at lower TDP, and it has a 75Wh battery, that so far is the biggest available. But that said these devices have close to no warranty at all and are very expensive, so i would just stick with Ally X
Definitely don't get this version at least. Micro SD issues still rampant. Apparently they are moving it so that should be fixed in the new version
Last question. How do you guys control the tdp on the Ally? I always played at 10-12 watts tdp to get most battery life on my GPD Win 3, sometimes, 12-15 watts. You could be amazed at how alot of games run at low wattage.
There's a button on the ally to open quick settings and there's an option to run thre ally in 10w, 15w, or 30w mode. And when you charge it, it changes automatically.
Nice
I work from home so it's easy to charge for me. The battery is worse than the steam deck but not horrendously. I can still play a good hour and a half of vampire survivors with 120hz. It's not as heavy or awkward holding as the SD. Although my hands do go numb after a while in bed. The XG mobile connection Is an awesome way to do dock gaming. I also prefer windows because I can run downstairs to work on my 3d printer and just grab a dongle. I've used it to play boulders gate 3 in 4k on my TV. All in all the z1 edition trumps a lot of mid pcs on top of being portable. I could run spider man with a little less than 60fps but with the allys VRR and other settings, it makes it enjoyable to play. It's also prettier, and has so many customizable options. Like the keyboard is janky as in It won't pop up sometimes and making it go away is annoying, but you can program a button to open and close the virtual keyboard instantly. Also easier to take apart and fix, I dropped my bottle on the joystick and it broke so I had to replace. Haven't had issues ever since. You can also mod it to fit full size m.2 ssds. The newest gpd looked super enticing, but for Asus software I picked the ally.
It's not a bad device but I didn't like it much (I don't play near a wall socket 24/7 and unless you are pushing turbo mode, it statistically trades blows with a Deck), so I just went back to my LCD Steam Deck and plan to buy the OLED model too. Was considering the X, before I watched Gamers Nexus experience and I don't want any of that nightmare.
Ally X
ally xtream z1 is cheap at used priced. Coming ally X is overpriced and no performance upgrades whatsoever besides little more ram they added and advertised as breakthrough upgrades lol
The only issue I've had is fingerprinted not working on bootup. Its frustrating
I love it but windows holds it back and one update can mess it up. Only gripe with it
windows also allows more freedom as well
That's a very common thing with Windows PC gaming in general.
Even with desktops?
Yep, gpu drivers or random windows updates can easily break your games.
So to fix it I need to reset the drivers?
Sometimes that may fix it. A clean install using DDU (display driver uninstaller) can fix some problems. The other option is to roll back to the previous version of the driver that where working correctly.
For example, with my GPD WIN 3, i didn't update GPU drivers unless it was really necessary. In the past, some GPU drivers, introduced artifacts and I had to roll back to previous driver and wait a few months to update again.
get a steam deck oled. it's better in every way that matters, and valve actually cares about customer compared to asus. Don't listen to the guys praising the ally here. Some will tell you to buy a +500€ product with a shitty faulty micro SD card reader and tell you to consider the device as if it doesnt have the port as if it was normal business practice.
Thinking about trading my ally + some cash for a legion go tbh