ASUS is coming for the Steam Deck: HUGE PRICE DROP on ROG Ally Z1 

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I think you are wrong. They are dropping the price because they cannot move the z1 Ally. Not because they are trying to be more competitive. My guess is they are going to lose money on that price drop. It is also not a move by Asus. This is a move by Best Buy. I bet they don't even reup their stock after this.

Best Buy was selling Rog Ally Z1 at $399 during Christmas and the Extreme for $600. This is not the first time it's been $399. Asus announced a new handheld is coming this year so Best Buy is likely trying to get rid of them with the new Ally coming.

I think one of the big use cases for the base Z1 that often gets overlooked is retro emulation. You can get an open box z1 for just $330, that’s only $30 more than a base Ayn Odin 2 and $40 cheaper than the Odin 2 Pro and can run everything including PS3/WiiU/Xbox360 which the Odin 2 can’t (yet) while also having the benefit of being able to take it into a BestBuy if you run into trouble rather than rolling the dice with a Chinese manufacturers customer service.

That also means a newer edition coming out, thus unload the old stock at cost pretty much.

I bought the ROG Ally and returned it the next day. It was a nightmare to set up. Windows 11 kept overwriting the graphics card every time it restarted. 3/4 the time it wouldn’t wake up from sleep mode. The buttons were working right. It was a nightmare honestly. I bought the Steam Deck OLED and it was super easy to set up and play. I’ve had no issues whatsoever. I absolutely love it. The OLED screen looks amazing.

Great reviews thanks!

Where's the video comparing steam OS to windows? Didn't see it in the description.

I would say save little more get steam deck oled or z1 extreme ally depending on the game, like Xbox or ps5 all depends the games. But at $400 is more personal preference.

I bought my ROG Ally Z1 a few days ago from Best Buy + open box and got it from $399 to $240. At that price point it's basically a steal! I intended to use this to run indie games, emulators and older triple A titles and didn't need the Z1E since I have a desktop PC build for modern AAA games. All I can say is for PC builders who love tinkering this is a better option versus the steam deck. I don't understand how people are saying this isn't worth it. Emulators, Game pass, and Steam, etc. expands the library and use of the device since its running windows as well.

cant wait for when the orange pi neo comes out to see how it competes up with the steam deck

I just got the Z1 for $320 open box and it’s so fucking fun.

I thought he was going to benchmark, those digital trends benchmarks are old. There have been tons of updates on the ally.

Is the regular ally worth it?or is the extreme one the only way to go

I bought rog ally and happily playing horizon forbidden west in a bed, but in the future want to try steam deck too.

I was planning to get a steam deck until I learned about the black screen of Death and how they are outsourcing repairs to what sounds like a Walmart of tech companies. I would be willing to chance it but my luck isn't good.

I thought the lcd steamdeck wasn't staying around?

nice video men, keep with good content

I have the Legion Go now. But as for the Rog Ally Z1 Version vs the Original Steam Deck. I'm going with the Rog Ally Z1 version all the way. You can just play more games with ease. for $400 bucks and with Windows 11 out of the box. That's a Steal. Dope video.

Picked up the ally because retro games up to ps3 and Nintendo switch

I switched to rog ally after using steam deck but i dont regret my choice even after seeing the oled steam deck. Not having to wonder if its steam deck verified is bliss. Ive played like way more pc compatible games than when i had steam deck but the downside is all those windows updates that come out frequently. They both suck at battery life tho for AAA games anyway

what happen with your left thumb?

Sooo... If I emulation kind of guy, which one to get :D?

I got the Asus ROG ally Z one edition for $299 at Best Buy. At that price, it is an amazing purchase. It plays all the switch games I wanna play, plays every emulator, And I can play cyberpunk and destiny!

is that the one that fry sd cards?

i dont think oled on these type handhelds like these arent a must since they use cheap oleds panels.i saw someone had issues on steam oled screem in just 3mos of use. so lcd is just fine as long as its high resolution.

Holy shit, this is the first video where in the chargers were shown on the review. I know it does not matter to most but some of us take into consideration the charger of these devices

Also ally 2 coming this year

I don't think the Z1 is worth it, the Z1 extreme is a bigger difference

I have the z1 extreme and my first 2 devices left and experience no one desires. Thankfully got protection plan and am not afraid to politely trace down geek squad territory management and politely again voice my frustration. My r 8 model has been great and I'm very glad I have one. Petrified it will just brick up one day tho. I have never experienced the SD card issues but my first 2 experiences would have put most ppl off. I do not have a PC tho and desperately want to just enjoy games and have a Windows device in my hand. I got hella kids and work hella hours, I love my desk set up but nothing more than my series s portable monitor and tablet go there as I'm not there that much. I do have a Windows device I can take anywhere now. Unless I ever get into video editing this is all the power I need and can do my spreadsheets if need be. It will be a few years before I fully replace my console and shield TV pro with a handheld PC tho as their quality assurance in all companies right now is something that lacks. If steam was my thing and most of my games were there id have a deck but I like the options PC gaming allows and Xbox imo is still worth it for the consumer who just wants to game. I'd say if anyone is still looking at this on the fence get the z1 extreme from best buy if you like it keep it and get the protection plan within 14 days or Asus is good for one year as well and is just as good, but be prepared to possibly get a faulty unit. To me writing a few emails and store visits getting my issues fixed was worth it as opposed to going down a PC set up rabbit hole at this point in my life.

I bought Legion go instead of Steam Deck oled. I still prefer performance and screen resolution.

Thanks for doing this comparison.. Some people act like price does not matter but it does. I got my 64 GB LCD Steam Deck back when it was on sale. I have since upgraded the SSD to 1 TB and installed a 1 TB Micro SD Card. I LOVE it! With that said, I am already out of space and I want to have an easy way to play my Amazon Games, GOG games, Epic Games and stream games from my Xbox and the ROG All Z1 for $399 is looking really good for all that. Thanks again!

Yeah the z1 isn’t a steam deck competitor, now if it was the z1 extreme that’s a different case

The z1 reduce to a 900p or 720p panel offers more fps when I play Diablo 4 on a 15watt tdp I get 60-70fps and more with the 25watts the z1 is not that bad as people think since the z1 extreme is 8 cores and 16 threads the z1 with 6 cores and 12 threads that’s where you get the big performance gap so the regular z1 resolution have to be reduced

I bought an open box Z1 and it’s the best bang for your buck! The cheapest gaming PC you can buy and it’s portable.

The z1 is better at 720 or 900p and there is a lot of games I play with the z1 not extreme and the steam deck struggles with those titles

WOW, Nice! I already have 2 original Steam Deck, but Asus Rog Ally Z1 at $400 is pretty nice~ XD

To think that I just bought a Z1 Extreme Ally for $350 😅

The Z1 model should have came with a 720p panel to at least save more battery with along with it's lower powered cpu.

I need Windows for my old programs

If I didn’t have a Steam Deck I’d hop on that deal. I do prefer the Steam Deck ergonomics but I’d slightly prefer Windows to proton.

I bought it not long ago and love it so far.

Steam Deck easy. The only important reason the Ally (extreme) in general is better than Deck is power and VRR. Z1 model is just a waste of money

I prefer the Legion Go to the ROG Ally any day.

Deck all the way

Your thumbnail is kinda clickbait

I'm a Z1 Ally Owner and a previous LCD SD owner here, I love it. Got it @$399 w/ 3 months of Game pass, it is also my main PC. A lot of people that don't want to tinker or optimize Windows have the misconception that it is trash, it is not. I'm playing Helldivers 2 @ 720p upscaled to 1080p w/ Quality rendering, 35-45fps on 15w, low/med settings tweaked, I can go 1080p, but I change rendering to Balanced to keep in the 35-45fps range. I'm a System Admin (DoD 12yrs, Sec+, etc.) and if you know what you're doing, the Z1 is a no brainer at the $399 price point. Battery life wise, yes, it does suck depending on the game, but you can push it mostly at 10w, but you have to have the system @10w and the game has to have a Auto Graphics option, or benchmark option to game comfortably at 10w. As for the MicroSD, I have a R8 serial batch model, I've played HD2 for 6 hrs., 30w, and it's still working (make sure to format as NTFS or you'll have issues installing games). The main thing I'll say is don't believe the benchmarks, tinkering its key, the alternative is installing Bazzite. Hopes this helps the non-tinkers and non-tech professionals. **And uninstall the OpenGL/Vulkan compat app if installed.

Z1 never made sense. Z1 extreme offers a huge performance boost so I understand it’s niche, but the non extreme Z1 is going up against a behemoth with almost no advantages that separate it from the Steamdeck.

It's $299 now.

I would never by a Z1 version of the Asus ROG Ally. Only the Z1 Extreme version makes any sense to me. Asus dropping the price is also an indication that they want shift stock ahead of launching the next gen Asus Ally later this year.

Ergonomic. Ergonomic. Ergonomic. Then battery. Then we can start looking at the next priority

Was down to $299 yesterday.

Also a class action law suit is otw the rouge overheats the Sd card slot and frying people Sd cards

battery life is king. steamdeck baby.

Software is one thing but the bigger picture and overall package is better off with the steam deck..

Xbox Game Pass!!! That’s where the ROG shine!!!!

Rog Ally with stuck buttons is an instant no buy for me. Video over at the 3:12 mark. Thank you.

I dig the price but with worse performance at 15w, and similar performance at 25w, even though it has a better screen, I'm not sure I dig it

Me buying one for £600 2 weeks ago...

Your comment about performance is too misguided, bro the graphs are showing two different things, one is at 1080p at the 25 watt mode, the other is comparaing the 15 watt mode with the steam deck. That doesn’t show whether or not the performance is the same as the steam deck at 25 watts.

Don't forget about the fact that the non extreme version still runs Windows and therefore supports GamePass and GeForce now, which means that even on that weaker device you can get a 4080 performance with several hours of battery life and almost no fan noise as long as you have a decent network connection and a GeForce now subscription. There are definitely drawbacks on everything running natively on the device but considering the price drop below 400$ and the freedom that you get with Windows 11 I think it has a lot of potential. The extreme version performs much better but still not great compared to gaming pcs or current gen consoles plus for demanding games you only get an hour of battery life and a heating up noisy handheld which isn't a satisfying gaming experience to me at all. Paying the 10$ GeForce now subscription and using a docking station I get a decent desktop pc plus a quiet long lasting high end gaming handheld even with the non extreme version.

Interesting gamer thumb 00:55

Welcome to 4 months ago.

I will pick an Asus rog ally.

I believe they dropped the price because the original difference between the z1 and z1 extreme price was 50$ and performance was a huge gap. Im guessing 90% or more of people who bought it spend the exta 50$ to get the better unit. Asus dropped the price to get rid of the stock of z1 that just have not been selling, that being said even if people think they can compete with the steam deck, valve themselves if not concerned because it doesn't matter who makes and sells the handheld most people will buy their games from steam if it's not free on gamepass or cheaper elsewhere. Valve isn't looking to compete considered they make the steam deck and sell it at a loss and make their money back on the games that we buy from them, just like the playstation and xbox. So honestly people buying a different handheld might actually be making valve more money then buying the steam deck.

i mean i like my 379€ steam deck 512gb refurbished dont use it doh :) but wanted to buy it again after i got my 64gb at launch as the 2nd bach in december or januari liked it played with it a month and sold it for double cause no use and needed the money. but here am i again buying one. even doh i wanted a 64gb refurbished slap a 2tb ssd in there and never use it its pretty cool the 512gb way better then 64gb is anoying atleast back in the day, otherwise yeah nah i dont game on the go, i have my pc. on my break i dont game after work i sit on my pc. when im out i dont game, i dont even game on my phone anymore.... and still its the kid in me that loved portable gaming console.. i havea gpd xd that i bought like in 2018 love that thing use it once a year... got a psvita in 2020 for 50€ cause hacks love it played on it like 5hours its been eating dust ever since... its just the 12 year old me who loved my psp back then and when i saw a pocket pc with windows XP and the htc hd2 phone running linux android windows i loved that stuff...

The Z1 (non extreme) is so bad tho lol

get neither and save up for SD oled

Rog ally oled

Nah bruh, z1 is bad they wanna get rid of it... this bait vid 😂

The z1 is a waste of silicon.

Has worse performance because the ally is pushing 120hz 1080p screen instead of 800p 60hz

Steamdeck is the best for sure 🎉

how are they coming after steam deck if ROG Ally Z1 is worse in pretty much everyway than SD?

Windows is not fun wen it comes to handheld gaming def not optimized get a steamdedk before legion and ally I have all 3

wow

Only thing i care about is the fan noise cause oh my fucking god, i have LCD Steam Deck and the fan is so loud i actually start thinking if i wouldn't be better with the Switch, THE SWITCH. I'm so sensitive to it while playing, might be because i had PS4 and hated that air fryer cause of it. I just want my devices to be quiet

software is still horrible, untill they make a steam os type of software their device will be worse, while the specs might be better I just want the fluid performance all around because I don't play triple A games on it.

Steam OS is user friendly Champion… Windows is …….. ……. …… Loading……😂

One x PLAYER…🤓…. Most compact handheld pc…

45 min battery life .. that’s terrible.. I would never buy a device with only one hour battery life .. 😂 i keep my Nintendo switch

I don't get the Ally being hard to use. We were playing games on it on the way home from Best buy. Easiest hand held I have used. If you can use a laptop or desktop pc with windows 11 its basically the same thing. I can just download a game and run it without even changing any settings. I sold the Steam deck after trying the Ally out. It is cool how I can even mod games on it. Its the best device I own and I have a gaming pc, series x, ps5, switch, ect. Its portable and I already own 200 games that run on it. There are like 5 Ally's at work now and none have had a problem. I am playing Rise of the Tomb Raider now on the Ally and have moded outfits for Lara. This beats the console versions because they can't mod most games. I can set the Ally up to match the battery life of the Steam deck easily. Why not just plug the Ally in? I have a charger in my vehicle, at work and at home so there is no problem. Steam deck was laggy, low resolution and sound quality was half what the Ally is. If you try both you will pick the Ally. I saw this happen over and over at work. Steam deck can't even play call of duty online or many none Steam games. A friend finally installed windows 11 on his Steam deck to get it to play the games.

Bro is lying about the fluidty of ally vs steamdeck if u wanna game out the box get steamdeck if u wanna have to customize every game get ally and buttons stuck def happen also rog

Z1 has a weak chip close to the ps4 that’s why they are trying to get rid of it, spend that extra 100 bucks to get the z1 extreme for double the performance then the z1 or just settle for deck

It's terrible. Don't get it.

they must have TONS of normal Z1 and are burning the stock, that thing can barely run windows 11

Hate rog ally love steam deck oled

I feel like the Z1 Ally just doesn't compete unless you're really desperate for a Windows handheld... And even then, running Windows, I feel like you _need_ more power. The Steam Deck in that performance range is just gonna be the better option imo, not to mention the far better battery life when you can lower the TDP.

They want to get rid of this trash thats the main reason...

Not the z1 extreme…..nah im good

These companies are just kidding themselves. Valve & Nintendo has a platform to sell games. And isnt worry about Asus, MSI, etc. Hardware bc the money is in game distribution

Clickbait

At the end of the day the Deck is still leaps and bounds better because Windows on a hand held is trash.

Eh z1 is bad just go for the extreme. Z1 can't play Dragon's dogma 2 while extreme can with low settings..

Steam deck >>>>>> Asus Rog Ally

asus cash grab or steam god tier gaming machine with constant updates? who is dumb enough to buy an ally just admit you love your wallet being r4ped