I'm Australian and valve are determined to avoid taking money from us for the steam deck (not available here going on more than two years after launch). This might be a good alternative as its actually available in Australia (with local warranty etc) Price is A$1299 which is close to what gray market importers are charging for the 64gb Deck
Also an Australian, you can get the 512GB on the grey market for about $1200. I bought a second hand one for less than that and it's been a dream. Rog Ally looks cool too, but I don't see how they continue to support the device financially down the line.
Just grabbed an outlet one in my country. Steam deck is only grey imported here and costs more than the Ally. I got my Ally for about 100 bucks lower than the store price. Pretty much the same price as the nerfed version the Ally. Seems really great, so many games that can run on 1080p with good performance.
Loved hearing about your experience, Matty. I absolutely love my ROG Ally, the fact that it runs a game like Ghostwire Tokyo and Exoprimal like a charm is absolutely insane, and has changed the way I play games after a day of work. Good stuff as always, man!
The ROG Ally is the closest thing to an Xbox handheld in 2023. Being able to play native Xbox games (PC version) on the go has always been a dream of mine. Also, the Ally has made me appreciate Xbox Play Anywhere titles more than ever before. It’s not a perfect device but I would highly recommend it.
Cool to know that it’s capable of those games at a cross gen level. I am curious how it will handle current gen games. Does it play PS+ as well? I have the ROG Ally, but haven’t had time to go through the Windows setup process. Are there any videos you recommend for a more user friendly setup. I was really impressed from what I have seen. I can finally play some cool indie games on steam that my sad laptop can’t run. Thanks for your input.
@@Mitchropolitan I haven't had my Ally for too long so I haven't played a lot of the games you're alluding too. BUT there are tons of videos out there of people playing Forza Horizon 5, Diablo IV, Cyberpunk, etc. The Ally is capable of playing almost any game as long you optimize the in-game settings. In regards to PS+, there is no PlayStation Store or PS launcher available on Windows so you're limited there. And in terms of setup, I simply recommend deleting every app that you won't be using. This helps free up storage and RAM. You can also find plenty of setup videos on TH-cam.
@@Mitchropolitan it does play ps plus but the native pc app if you use ps remote play then the ally controller won’t work you’ll have to use an app called chiaki there’s good videos on how to set it up here on youtube
If I weren't already in the Xbox ecosystem it probably wouldn't have been worth it for me, but with Game Pass and Play Anywhere I feel like this is my ideal device (despite the jank of Windows 11). And I've noticed certain titles act like Play Anywhere (console and PC versions with a single purchase with synced progession) even if they're not advertised as Play Anywhere.
I really like my ROG Ally but unfortunately I did have an issue with overheating as the Ally did cook one of my SD cards to the point that its not usable on ANY PC. I use an external SSD to add games instead and will not use the card reader until ASUS enables a permanent fix. I have adjusted the fan curves to compensate for the heating issues but the fans are indeed much louder than the default settings.
We got a display for the ROG Ally at work recently and it's actually scary how hot it gets. The metal bracket they used to secure it (vented btw) gets almost too hot to touch. About half of the units we sell end up getting returned. I've been told the micro-SD card slot is in a problematic location and accidentally ejects frequently. I think it's a cool device but I'll be waiting for the next revision.
@@j_dun4830 never said it was haha ! Try replying to the correct post ? Yeah just because yours doesn’t overheat then every single other machine must be ok ? Yeah right …
More of a steam deck guy myself. The ROG looks cool, but I really love steam os and the tailored experience it provides, even if I have to sacrifice compatibility
@@Jedebiahexcept it’s not. Sleep mode isn’t the same, and there are still a ton of windows processes always running in the background. It’s a joke to pretend like you can just play exclusively in steam big picture mode on the ally, unlike the much more superior SD. I’ve had a windows handheld before and I know how janky the experience is on windows, which makes sense because these handhelds are just laptops with the two primary input devices sawed off and replaced with a controller.
@@Jedebiah Yeah the new big picture update is sick. Still some other differences I like about steam os (game overlay, sleep mode), but it's cool that more people are getting access to the new UI!
I dont think we'll ever get a handheld xbox device (well the one in this video is probably the closest) but with cloud gaming, you can do that on literally any mobile device. It is extremely easy to just buy a wireless bluetooth controller and game pass and boom you can play on your phone almost anywhere. I am still blown away that its possible to boot up an xbox game on my phone and just play it. I don't use this feature myself, but i can imagine if i had had this when i was young, i dont think i would've ever played on anything else xD
The ROG Ally sounds pretty awesome, but I had already ended up getting the Steam Deck. Matty you should do a comparison on the two and lay out your opinions on both :)
You cannot get Xbox or PlayStation on the deck. There’s videos saying you can and I tried countless times to do so and it never works🤷🏻♀️if they made it an easier user friendly process then the steam deck is really all you’d need. I’m looking for a handheld for Xbox and PlayStation.
I have been trying to figure out if I want the Ally or a Steam Deck. I think I am edging toward the ally, it would pair nicely with my ROG laptop. Thank you for this video Matty, it helped me a ton.
I was on the fence like you. I went with the ally. It's amazing. It's going to take some tinkering and knowing your way around windows but it's amazing. I haven't touched a pc since HS and I'm 33.
24hrs later and I must say, this is one of the best gaming purchases I have made. I can hold Skyrim, fucking halo 3, next gen gta 5 and soon starfield in my hands, wherever i want at double the power/fps of a steamdeck. Insane.
I absolutely love it!! Been using it for a month and I pretty much run all my games in performance mode or a manual mode at 18 watts and I run every AAA game at 60+fps and Better battery than 25watts! And it's also my retro machine as well!
Love my rog ally! I just beat ds1 and am about 1/2 way through ds3 and having a blast. So cool to play console quality games in bed before I go to sleep. It really is impressive
i went with the GPD WIN 4 for my handheld. But i was told that this ASUS ROG was the better option due to the power and optimization. Good review. Thanks.
Awesome review! I don't just get games from Steam, so this handheld is more for me. I'm just worried about how much it would cost if something like a button stops working and it needs repairs.
The biggest issue I’ve seen with the Ally is just Windows. There’s only so much Asus can do even working with MS and without a dedicated gaming mode from MS like the Steam Deck has it just seems bloated. I still just want MS to make a dedicated handheld Xbox built on Xbox architecture especially seeing what the engineers managed with the Series S in such a small package. I am ironically more interested in the Ally as a desktop gaming and work PC with its specs and price point, but with Windows 12 rumored to be like a year out I’d rather just wait for the next model. I do unironically love the handheld revolution and that Valve and Asus aren’t just copying the Switch. I know this isn’t the first time we’ve seen handled gaming PCs, but it is the first time they’ve been so affordable and accessible with great dedicated gaming UIs (or an effort) and that console like plug and play mentality. I’m hugely hoping they boost PC gaming on the whole and really make console gaming go the extra mile (because when the initial cost and user accessibility barriers get dismantled PC gaming just becomes a clear beast compared to console).
it doesnt have track pads like the steam deck so for certain games it might not feel good unless you hook it up to a monitor and keyboard mouse (at that point just play on a full PC)
I’ve had mine for a few weeks, it’s a beast. I only play it plugged up and in performance mode. Runs everything I’ve thrown at it smooth as butter. Haven’t noticed it get to hot, but im not playing super new AAA titles either.
@@2greenifyI play Spider-Man at 15w unplug most of the time; the graphics & preformance is quite good. of course 25W plug in turbo mode is even better.
@@2greenifyI got 3 hours playing chained echos at 7w 720p 60fps The battery discussion is quite dumb. There’s no device that can play AAA games like RDR2 for 3+ hours. But playing the right games at low wattage and and 60fps capped and 720p, 3 hours on a handheld is extremely great. And 1hr 30m playing 1080p60-120 on AAA games
The idea of handheld gaming has always been appealing but I've never spent much time on those systems despite owning many of them over the years. It is good to see handhelds take such a massive step forward these days though.
@@EverythingIsMahogany I owned gba, ds, and have a switch but the overwhelming majority of my gaming life is on PC, consoles, and arcades when those were still a thing. Any situation where handheld would shine like long trips or toilet bowl sessions I would read a book or listen to music. That is strange to you?
Personally I will wait until the battery technology gets better for these things. At the moment I dont really care for handheld gaming, I just play at home. But if one day theres a handheld with similar specs and 5+ hours on maximum performance im in.
Thanks for the video bud. Cloud gaming has just been an awful experience so far for me and have been waiting for a proper handheld with downloads n such. This being essentially a gamepass machine sounds amazing. Many of us love handheld gaming on the couch who grew up with it.
I watched this on my phone and couldmt resist switching to my ally to watch it before playing Street fighter 6 Im not old enough for the original gameboy but the advance was my first handheld. I stopped after upgrading to the sp, havent had a handheld since because none of em had games i wanted till now. I have em ALL MUAHAHA!!!!
I’ve been absolutely in love with my ROG ally since launch day. The amazing performance and beautiful display have been worth every penny. This also happened to be my gateway to PC gaming, so I’ve been getting to enjoy that as well.
I was just looking at the Asus Ally today at Best Buy and sales person warned me from buying it. 😮 They said Best Buy got a lot of these returned because of over heating problems. Wait for the next version.
I love the rog ally! I'm surprised how xcloud runs great on it. Xcloud ran fine the latency has not been an issue and getting 120 fps which I was surprised about
I love mine. I use it in docked mode with a 2TB drive in the dock and runs all games I have thrown at it and good graphics settings and fps. I also play it in handheld mode and even cyberpunk runs around 40/50fps in 15w mode and very playable. I'm looking forward to starfeild on it. For the portable xbox yes it is a portable xbox, ps and switch. I've had no issues with heat, sd card ect My setup is games I want to play on TV are on dock ssd, games I want to play more often than others both docked and handheld I've put on internal ssd and emulators I've installed on 1tb Samsung sd card. No issues at all with anything and after the last bios update I get 30w docked mode. Looking forward to seeing the improvements as well as how this type of gaming evolves as I definitely think it's the start of something people will buy into.
I have both steam deck and ROG Ally but I still prefer Steam deck over Ally..Steam Deck might not have the best display compared to Ally but the comfort is there for long hour gaming..
You don't need 1080p on a handheld! They need to make these things with reasonable screens. There's no point on having a really high resolution screen on a handheld. It's bad for the user. Takes more power to run and tweeting for triple AAA games. 1080p is enough or even 720p like the switch.
I have the steamdeck and I personally don't find myself picking it up that much. If I'm home I'd rather use my big tv or pc. If I'm out I'm probably too busy to game. Cool gadget though.
I'm tempted by the Ally but as a Steam Deck owner running Win11 I feel I would miss the track pads. I also think I want a handheld that supports all eGPU and nothing proprietary. For me that's the next evolutionary step here... Hope that is something that is possible in the Steam Deck V2 over thunderbolt 4...
the overheating problems occur when playing games whilst charging, and is very consistent. it is obviously entirely avoidable, but I don't want to have to stop playing the moment the battery gets low.
Jesus christ. Yall still having these issues. Just use a custom fan curve. It'll be louder yes but I STAY docked and no, I have ZERO overheating issues
@@robertsmith20022 it is a handheld console, which means that it is meant to be taken outside, excessive noise is disrespectful & inconsiderate to those around you (you ever had to sit in a room with someone with a laptop that role-plays a jet?), so whilst yes, increasing the fan speed does fix the problem, it also creates a new one, an imperfect solution caused by insufficient QA testing.
@@MJS-lk2ej it's not just a handheld, its a PC in a handheld form factor. slightly more powerful. also, its not even that loud, its so much more quiet comparing it to a gaming laptop. this device's APU is only as powerful as a GTX 1660 anyways.
I love mine so much its pretty much a middle ground between series s and x, with a monitor i can get forza horizon 5 at 1440p 60 med settings or even 4k 60 at low settings
Still rockin' my Odin Pro here for, not only, my streaming needs. A slot for a sim card, so I can use my 5G subscription, would have been better, but it is what it is. Sad that some of these handhelds are annoying to get in Europe.
They killed their own product by rushing it. Fried sd cards, screen gets too hot to touch, even the power plug gets blazing hot. Also if you're playing on the most recent bios the fans are loud on any power setting.
I have had a steam deck for the last year and so far I am very happy with it. I would love to play windows game pass, but I’m hoping that around some point the deck gets dual boot. Would also love a cross comparison Matty.
Xbox is sponsoring this thing, and it have freaking windows, those two things are literally saying this is a Microsoft handheld, so yeah it is the Xbox handheld people were looking for In a side note Microsoft sponsored another product the Logitech g cloud, is basically a handheld console but focus on cloud gaming, so basically Microsoft is appealing for both users, the local and the cloud, those guys are genius :v
I cant wait to get my hands on an ROG Ally, does it come with a built in screen recorder like mobile or is it going to need a 3rd party app for recording, thanks 👍🏻
I can’t decide between the Ally or Steam Deck. I plan on getting one of these at the end of the year. The sd card issue on the Ally is concerning though. I hate being indecisive about this, lol.
Dont listen to him about wait You will be waiting 2 and a half years Just get the steam deck You will love it and so far durable 2 and a half years Steam deck 2
Steam Deck, but I would youtube some comparison videos between the two. They are both good in their own rights but the community support for steam deck is leagues ahead at this point. If you do decide to get steam deck, make sure you install cryoutilities
I had both and I'd go with the Ally hands down - the screen and sound are so much better, throw in performance and being able to play everything! Do not regret selling my deck at all!!
U got an hour and a half with 84%battery life left over while playing mass effect 2!? How? Evening on the rog when i play it lasts like 45 mins. You'd be lucky if u get an hour or a little bit over an hour.
I’ve owned the ROG ally a couple weeks now, also own a steam deck, switch, ps5 and 4090 pc for context and this review certainly comes off as sponsored way more than I liked. Here’s the thing with these handhelds, they play triple A games but most often not at native resolution 60fps… it just rarely happens. Every now and then you play a game like sifu which will hit 1080p max settings at comfortably above 60fps but it’s an outlier, boot up red dead 2 and you are below 60 at 720p low settings and the thing is a struggling mess. It’s to be expected of a handheld ofcourse and for every game like red dead I come across there is a game like hades which runs silk and plays amazing but I don’t feel like this review tells the whole story and I feel sorry for anybody looking into this device not knowing too much about it because you would have them believe it’s a 1080p 60fps handheld powerhouse. A lot of people will be disappointed… many compromises need to be made and that should be made clear.
Can you only play your game pass games? Or can you play the games you bought on your Xbox from the store? ( wondering if I have to buy the same game twice in order to play on Xbox and this)
I’m extremely intrigued by the Persona series. I love fighting games and jrpgs. And Persona has both. Do I have to play them in order? Are they stand alone like Final Fantasy? If so, can I get recommendations on a particular one? 🤔 I’m only loosely familiar with I think P4. I think that’s who crossed over with BlazBlue ?
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm Australian and valve are determined to avoid taking money from us for the steam deck (not available here going on more than two years after launch). This might be a good alternative as its actually available in Australia (with local warranty etc)
Price is A$1299 which is close to what gray market importers are charging for the 64gb Deck
Also an Australian, you can get the 512GB on the grey market for about $1200. I bought a second hand one for less than that and it's been a dream. Rog Ally looks cool too, but I don't see how they continue to support the device financially down the line.
Just grabbed an outlet one in my country. Steam deck is only grey imported here and costs more than the Ally. I got my Ally for about 100 bucks lower than the store price. Pretty much the same price as the nerfed version the Ally. Seems really great, so many games that can run on 1080p with good performance.
Loved hearing about your experience, Matty. I absolutely love my ROG Ally, the fact that it runs a game like Ghostwire Tokyo and Exoprimal like a charm is absolutely insane, and has changed the way I play games after a day of work. Good stuff as always, man!
Ghostwire Toyko is one of the most basic games ever made though lol
The ROG Ally is the closest thing to an Xbox handheld in 2023. Being able to play native Xbox games (PC version) on the go has always been a dream of mine. Also, the Ally has made me appreciate Xbox Play Anywhere titles more than ever before. It’s not a perfect device but I would highly recommend it.
And if you have a good internet connection Xbox cloud gaming can be very fun
Cool to know that it’s capable of those games at a cross gen level. I am curious how it will handle current gen games. Does it play PS+ as well? I have the ROG Ally, but haven’t had time to go through the Windows setup process. Are there any videos you recommend for a more user friendly setup. I was really impressed from what I have seen. I can finally play some cool indie games on steam that my sad laptop can’t run. Thanks for your input.
@@Mitchropolitan I haven't had my Ally for too long so I haven't played a lot of the games you're alluding too. BUT there are tons of videos out there of people playing Forza Horizon 5, Diablo IV, Cyberpunk, etc. The Ally is capable of playing almost any game as long you optimize the in-game settings. In regards to PS+, there is no PlayStation Store or PS launcher available on Windows so you're limited there. And in terms of setup, I simply recommend deleting every app that you won't be using. This helps free up storage and RAM. You can also find plenty of setup videos on TH-cam.
@@Mitchropolitan it does play ps plus but the native pc app if you use ps remote play then the ally controller won’t work you’ll have to use an app called chiaki there’s good videos on how to set it up here on youtube
If I weren't already in the Xbox ecosystem it probably wouldn't have been worth it for me, but with Game Pass and Play Anywhere I feel like this is my ideal device (despite the jank of Windows 11). And I've noticed certain titles act like Play Anywhere (console and PC versions with a single purchase with synced progession) even if they're not advertised as Play Anywhere.
I really like my ROG Ally but unfortunately I did have an issue with overheating as the Ally did cook one of my SD cards to the point that its not usable on ANY PC. I use an external SSD to add games instead and will not use the card reader until ASUS enables a permanent fix. I have adjusted the fan curves to compensate for the heating issues but the fans are indeed much louder than the default settings.
Have you come accross burning smell from ally fans area
Is this still a problem in 2024?
@MisterUrbanWorld On the OG Ally yes. Can't speak on the newer versions.
i was wondering if i signed in with my xbox account can i download my purchased games from my xbox . or just only the game pass ?
Yes
"Can i or can i not?"
"Yes"
@@pistanthrophobiamisanthrop4953
We got a display for the ROG Ally at work recently and it's actually scary how hot it gets. The metal bracket they used to secure it (vented btw) gets almost too hot to touch. About half of the units we sell end up getting returned. I've been told the micro-SD card slot is in a problematic location and accidentally ejects frequently.
I think it's a cool device but I'll be waiting for the next revision.
What games are you playing
This
Yeah make sure you dont play games that make the device too hot haha ! Sounds like a great design ….
@@reaper378that's not true, I've had it since launch and had no overheating issues.
@@j_dun4830 never said it was haha ! Try replying to the correct post ? Yeah just because yours doesn’t overheat then every single other machine must be ok ? Yeah right …
Big fan of ROG. Great quality, huge satisfaction for years.
More of a steam deck guy myself. The ROG looks cool, but I really love steam os and the tailored experience it provides, even if I have to sacrifice compatibility
all you have to do is launch steam big picture on the ally and it’s identical to steam os
@@Jedebiah let them have their copium
@@Jedebiahexcept it’s not. Sleep mode isn’t the same, and there are still a ton of windows processes always running in the background. It’s a joke to pretend like you can just play exclusively in steam big picture mode on the ally, unlike the much more superior SD. I’ve had a windows handheld before and I know how janky the experience is on windows, which makes sense because these handhelds are just laptops with the two primary input devices sawed off and replaced with a controller.
@@Jedebiah Yeah the new big picture update is sick. Still some other differences I like about steam os (game overlay, sleep mode), but it's cool that more people are getting access to the new UI!
ROG's main advantage is connection to e-gpu. I have bought a 4090 asus e-gpu and it is amazing.
I dont think we'll ever get a handheld xbox device (well the one in this video is probably the closest) but with cloud gaming, you can do that on literally any mobile device. It is extremely easy to just buy a wireless bluetooth controller and game pass and boom you can play on your phone almost anywhere. I am still blown away that its possible to boot up an xbox game on my phone and just play it. I don't use this feature myself, but i can imagine if i had had this when i was young, i dont think i would've ever played on anything else xD
The ROG Ally sounds pretty awesome, but I had already ended up getting the Steam Deck. Matty you should do a comparison on the two and lay out your opinions on both :)
Consider it done ;)
I second this notion. I am one of those on the fence between the two. Almost bought the deck but held off when i heard the Ally was actually good
You cannot get Xbox or PlayStation on the deck. There’s videos saying you can and I tried countless times to do so and it never works🤷🏻♀️if they made it an easier user friendly process then the steam deck is really all you’d need. I’m looking for a handheld for Xbox and PlayStation.
Great get with that AMD Sponsorship Matty, I've been thinking about maybe picking this up. 👾👾👾
I have been trying to figure out if I want the Ally or a Steam Deck. I think I am edging toward the ally, it would pair nicely with my ROG laptop. Thank you for this video Matty, it helped me a ton.
I was on the fence like you. I went with the ally. It's amazing. It's going to take some tinkering and knowing your way around windows but it's amazing. I haven't touched a pc since HS and I'm 33.
Had both and while ally has growing pains (just like steam deck did at launch) it's my perfered handheld
Imagine if they released an xbox special edition of this, with official xbox controller sticks and buttons and an xbox skin
Absolutely loving Rog Ally. It's my main gaming system now. I also bought a 4090 asus e-gpu and the games run like butter at 4k 60-120 fps.
I absolutely love my Rog Ally - best handheld I've owned and I've been playing handhelds since the original gameboy ...
Am 70 years old and am still gaming lol
Super distracted by that poster in the background yelling "my toe my toe" in my head lol
Super excited to try mine out once it's set up. Literally just got one today! Thanks for the honest takes man.
24hrs later and I must say, this is one of the best gaming purchases I have made. I can hold Skyrim, fucking halo 3, next gen gta 5 and soon starfield in my hands, wherever i want at double the power/fps of a steamdeck. Insane.
@@xLemperxdid you get the regular Z1 ? How’s the performance on the games you have ? I want to get one but on the fence
I will buy an ROG Aly soon. I don’t know when but SOON 😊
I absolutely love it!! Been using it for a month and I pretty much run all my games in performance mode or a manual mode at 18 watts and I run every AAA game at 60+fps and Better battery than 25watts! And it's also my retro machine as well!
Those Exo Primal frame pauses were legit.
Absolutely love mine! Your review on it is spot on!
Just watching your video on my ally. Great vid. Hope it will play starfield well.
Currently playing a fully modded fallout 4 on the Ally and it’s amazing.
Love my rog ally! I just beat ds1 and am about 1/2 way through ds3 and having a blast. So cool to play console quality games in bed before I go to sleep. It really is impressive
i went with the GPD WIN 4 for my handheld. But i was told that this ASUS ROG was the better option due to the power and optimization. Good review. Thanks.
I just bought a steam deck after yours and Cog's video! Got me hyped!
I'm happy for you 🥳. I fully understand why you gave a good review 🎉. Besides this video, keep up the good work 👍
Awesome device, got it a couple of weeks ago 🔥🔥
Awesome review! I don't just get games from Steam, so this handheld is more for me. I'm just worried about how much it would cost if something like a button stops working and it needs repairs.
The biggest issue I’ve seen with the Ally is just Windows. There’s only so much Asus can do even working with MS and without a dedicated gaming mode from MS like the Steam Deck has it just seems bloated. I still just want MS to make a dedicated handheld Xbox built on Xbox architecture especially seeing what the engineers managed with the Series S in such a small package.
I am ironically more interested in the Ally as a desktop gaming and work PC with its specs and price point, but with Windows 12 rumored to be like a year out I’d rather just wait for the next model. I do unironically love the handheld revolution and that Valve and Asus aren’t just copying the Switch. I know this isn’t the first time we’ve seen handled gaming PCs, but it is the first time they’ve been so affordable and accessible with great dedicated gaming UIs (or an effort) and that console like plug and play mentality. I’m hugely hoping they boost PC gaming on the whole and really make console gaming go the extra mile (because when the initial cost and user accessibility barriers get dismantled PC gaming just becomes a clear beast compared to console).
Is this worth picking up for PC Game Pass as the primary use? Because this would be my main reason to buy.
it doesnt have track pads like the steam deck so for certain games it might not feel good unless you hook it up to a monitor and keyboard mouse (at that point just play on a full PC)
^ Exactly what this person said. I would say yes it’s worth it but it depends on the games you intend on playing.
Yes fully worth it.
Its powerful enough to run the highest demanding games at 60fps, given its as low as 720p low settings but still
One thing I'm wondering is how is Starfield going to run on the Rog Ally🤔
in the worst case scenario Cloud is still an option
Better than any other handheld...
Runs great on the extreme
@Daveosbeatz Yeah I played it on my Rog as soon as it came out. I actually preferred playing it on the Rog over my Xbox.
I’ve had mine for a few weeks, it’s a beast. I only play it plugged up and in performance mode. Runs everything I’ve thrown at it smooth as butter. Haven’t noticed it get to hot, but im not playing super new AAA titles either.
Sadly plugged is the only way to play decently. On battery I'm better of with a steakdeck.
@@2greenifyI play Spider-Man at 15w unplug most of the time; the graphics & preformance is quite good. of course 25W plug in turbo mode is even better.
@@2greenifyI got 3 hours playing chained echos at 7w 720p 60fps
The battery discussion is quite dumb. There’s no device that can play AAA games like RDR2 for 3+ hours. But playing the right games at low wattage and and 60fps capped and 720p, 3 hours on a handheld is extremely great. And 1hr 30m playing 1080p60-120 on AAA games
@@2greenify love me some steak deck, medium rare
@@glennhkboy I get that, doing exact the same with the same game. Was only talking about battery life which isn't as good.
I’ve had mine since launch. I love it.
The idea of handheld gaming has always been appealing but I've never spent much time on those systems despite owning many of them over the years. It is good to see handhelds take such a massive step forward these days though.
You never owned and put in time on not one type of Gameboy? That’s insane to me
@@EverythingIsMahogany I owned gba, ds, and have a switch but the overwhelming majority of my gaming life is on PC, consoles, and arcades when those were still a thing. Any situation where handheld would shine like long trips or toilet bowl sessions I would read a book or listen to music. That is strange to you?
@@RoyConwell nah bro. I hear ya
yet nobody innovates mp3 players (crying noises)
I was playing Honkai Star Rail on my Ally and it ran beautifully, pretty happy with it.
Personally I will wait until the battery technology gets better for these things. At the moment I dont really care for handheld gaming, I just play at home. But if one day theres a handheld with similar specs and 5+ hours on maximum performance im in.
Thanks for the review I definitely want to buy one of these now
Thanks for the video bud. Cloud gaming has just been an awful experience so far for me and have been waiting for a proper handheld with downloads n such. This being essentially a gamepass machine sounds amazing. Many of us love handheld gaming on the couch who grew up with it.
I watched this on my phone and couldmt resist switching to my ally to watch it before playing Street fighter 6
Im not old enough for the original gameboy but the advance was my first handheld. I stopped after upgrading to the sp, havent had a handheld since because none of em had games i wanted till now. I have em ALL MUAHAHA!!!!
I’ve been absolutely in love with my ROG ally since launch day. The amazing performance and beautiful display have been worth every penny.
This also happened to be my gateway to PC gaming, so I’ve been getting to enjoy that as well.
The speakers are incredible
This thing made me never touch my deck ever again.. it’s amazing
FO3, FO:NV, FO4, Skyrim, Oblivion and Morrowind run perfectly on the Steam Deck... Why'd you need to wait, Matty?
Yes, it is for me. I haven't turn on my SeriesS for a week now (i feel sorry for my S😅).
I was just looking at the Asus Ally today at Best Buy and sales person warned me from buying it. 😮 They said Best Buy got a lot of these returned because of over heating problems. Wait for the next version.
I love the rog ally! I'm surprised how xcloud runs great on it. Xcloud ran fine the latency has not been an issue and getting 120 fps which I was surprised about
I love mine. I use it in docked mode with a 2TB drive in the dock and runs all games I have thrown at it and good graphics settings and fps.
I also play it in handheld mode and even cyberpunk runs around 40/50fps in 15w mode and very playable. I'm looking forward to starfeild on it.
For the portable xbox yes it is a portable xbox, ps and switch. I've had no issues with heat, sd card ect
My setup is games I want to play on TV are on dock ssd, games I want to play more often than others both docked and handheld I've put on internal ssd and emulators I've installed on 1tb Samsung sd card. No issues at all with anything and after the last bios update I get 30w docked mode.
Looking forward to seeing the improvements as well as how this type of gaming evolves as I definitely think it's the start of something people will buy into.
I love my AokZoe A1 pro. The 19:10 ratio is great for retro gaming!
Getting one after watching this! Thanks man!
Amazing you have literally nothing negative to say about it
I have both steam deck and ROG Ally but I still prefer Steam deck over Ally..Steam Deck might not have the best display compared to Ally but the comfort is there for long hour gaming..
If you choose Steam Deck although the screen is much worse, I will consider this as an note to not buy the Ally and stay much longer to my SD512
I love my ROG Ally!!! It's really the best way to have high quality gaming on the go...
You don't need 1080p on a handheld! They need to make these things with reasonable screens. There's no point on having a really high resolution screen on a handheld. It's bad for the user. Takes more power to run and tweeting for triple AAA games. 1080p is enough or even 720p like the switch.
I have the steamdeck and I personally don't find myself picking it up that much. If I'm home I'd rather use my big tv or pc. If I'm out I'm probably too busy to game. Cool gadget though.
Sounds like a well thought out purchase
@@reaper378 eh it's hard to know how much you'll use a novel product like that until you try it.
It's still super cool when I do, so no regrets.
I'm tempted by the Ally but as a Steam Deck owner running Win11 I feel I would miss the track pads.
I also think I want a handheld that supports all eGPU and nothing proprietary. For me that's the next evolutionary step here...
Hope that is something that is possible in the Steam Deck V2 over thunderbolt 4...
the overheating problems occur when playing games whilst charging, and is very consistent. it is obviously entirely avoidable, but I don't want to have to stop playing the moment the battery gets low.
Jesus christ. Yall still having these issues. Just use a custom fan curve. It'll be louder yes but I STAY docked and no, I have ZERO overheating issues
@@robertsmith20022 it is a handheld console, which means that it is meant to be taken outside, excessive noise is disrespectful & inconsiderate to those around you (you ever had to sit in a room with someone with a laptop that role-plays a jet?), so whilst yes, increasing the fan speed does fix the problem, it also creates a new one, an imperfect solution caused by insufficient QA testing.
@@MJS-lk2ej it's not just a handheld, its a PC in a handheld form factor. slightly more powerful. also, its not even that loud, its so much more quiet comparing it to a gaming laptop. this device's APU is only as powerful as a GTX 1660 anyways.
I love mine so much its pretty much a middle ground between series s and x, with a monitor i can get forza horizon 5 at 1440p 60 med settings or even 4k 60 at low settings
Can I play my entire Xbox purchase library on this device? Or only game pass??
Most titles require 720 to 900p for decent battery use. At 1080p, expect to hit Turbo mode and be tethered to a wire or get a power bank.
Does it have remote play or is it only game pass games?
Still rockin' my Odin Pro here for, not only, my streaming needs.
A slot for a sim card, so I can use my 5G subscription, would have been better, but it is what it is.
Sad that some of these handhelds are annoying to get in Europe.
They killed their own product by rushing it. Fried sd cards, screen gets too hot to touch, even the power plug gets blazing hot. Also if you're playing on the most recent bios the fans are loud on any power setting.
Love mine, doing a House NV runthrough on the go has been awesome. Vegas runs well even on 10W and 720 high settings, pretty good if you ask me.
I'm getting mine this week! I can't wait to play Mass Effect on my break at work away from the kids lmao 😂
I have had a steam deck for the last year and so far I am very happy with it. I would love to play windows game pass, but I’m hoping that around some point the deck gets dual boot. Would also love a cross comparison Matty.
the steam deck already has dual boot
@cirotheb5 he probably passed out when he seen this ☠️
As someone who mods any game they can I'm curious how it or the steam deck will handle starfield and Skyrim modded.
If it gets at hot as my rog zephyrus then you'll be losing fingerprints playing this thing.
Can you dock this and put it on your tv? And can you use an xbox controller with it?
my wife wants to play FO76 with me on it. would like to know how well that runs / overheats.
I love that there's choices for those of us who are on the go. I love the steamdeck tho
Are there some accesorios like controllers or k board/mouse for this?
Xbox is sponsoring this thing, and it have freaking windows, those two things are literally saying this is a Microsoft handheld, so yeah it is the Xbox handheld people were looking for
In a side note Microsoft sponsored another product the Logitech g cloud, is basically a handheld console but focus on cloud gaming, so basically Microsoft is appealing for both users, the local and the cloud, those guys are genius :v
I cant wait to get my hands on an ROG Ally, does it come with a built in screen recorder like mobile or is it going to need a 3rd party app for recording, thanks 👍🏻
Sheesh thought this would be more comparable to the logitech gcloud, for that price may as well get the ayn loki
Remote play PS5 with chiaki, you can run silent mode 10W and below and plau for hours no problem haha.
So for me Xcloud run flawless, so I use my phone and Xbox connect to it great fun. Still would be cool with a Roge ally
4:22 I was literally rubbing my screen to clear that dust particle 😅
I can’t decide between the Ally or Steam Deck.
I plan on getting one of these at the end of the year.
The sd card issue on the Ally is concerning though.
I hate being indecisive about this, lol.
Dont listen to him about wait
You will be waiting 2 and a half years
Just get the steam deck
You will love it and so far durable
2 and a half years
Steam deck 2
Steam Deck, but I would youtube some comparison videos between the two. They are both good in their own rights but the community support for steam deck is leagues ahead at this point. If you do decide to get steam deck, make sure you install cryoutilities
I had both and I'd go with the Ally hands down - the screen and sound are so much better, throw in performance and being able to play everything!
Do not regret selling my deck at all!!
If you have the budget for the rog ally is far better of course
The Ally is cool!
Not sure if you redeemed your free gamepass codes or not, but if you do, they'll actually stack on your current sub 👍👍
‘Modern game that looks and runs great’, Matty shows Exoprimal that is hardly playable from the start.
U got an hour and a half with 84%battery life left over while playing mass effect 2!? How? Evening on the rog when i play it lasts like 45 mins. You'd be lucky if u get an hour or a little bit over an hour.
Iam comming from playstation and bought the ally with the xbox game pass iam loving it
Would the Asus out perform the XSS when it comes to playing Starfield?
Crazy how game pass isn't on steam deck
Does your Xbox game ultimate pass carry over to this system?
it pass to wherever you can run xbox app There are samsung tvs with Xbox app where you can play games
Xbox Series + All ROG + PlayAnywhere = Best place to play games hands down!!!
Imagine exploring new Atlantis 😅 on this device when starfield drops that would be amazing asf definitely going to pick this up
Must suck when Microsoft pays you for damage control
That Majin M necklace is hard
I’ve owned the ROG ally a couple weeks now, also own a steam deck, switch, ps5 and 4090 pc for context and this review certainly comes off as sponsored way more than I liked.
Here’s the thing with these handhelds, they play triple A games but most often not at native resolution 60fps… it just rarely happens. Every now and then you play a game like sifu which will hit 1080p max settings at comfortably above 60fps but it’s an outlier, boot up red dead 2 and you are below 60 at 720p low settings and the thing is a struggling mess. It’s to be expected of a handheld ofcourse and for every game like red dead I come across there is a game like hades which runs silk and plays amazing but I don’t feel like this review tells the whole story and I feel sorry for anybody looking into this device not knowing too much about it because you would have them believe it’s a 1080p 60fps handheld powerhouse. A lot of people will be disappointed… many compromises need to be made and that should be made clear.
Can you only play your game pass games? Or can you play the games you bought on your Xbox from the store? ( wondering if I have to buy the same game twice in order to play on Xbox and this)
So games yes as long as you have the ultimate Xbox pass
I’m extremely intrigued by the Persona series. I love fighting games and jrpgs. And Persona has both.
Do I have to play them in order? Are they stand alone like Final Fantasy? If so, can I get recommendations on a particular one? 🤔
I’m only loosely familiar with I think P4. I think that’s who crossed over with BlazBlue ?
My biggest concern is the lack of storage. 512 gigs just isnt much with recent games.
Well I was able to replace the ssd with a 1 tb one and it wasn’t hard
@@dimes305Congrats?
@@kennymccormick8295 wait a second… do you have a problem?
This makes me really happy. I’m buying this. I don’t own any Xbox products so this will be my first. ❤🎉
I love my ally, I have deck as well and I do prefer it sort of but I pretty much always use the ally now because it's just easier and more powerful.
I play the game high on life on the ROG ally and it runs pretty well no complaints from me