We are not friends. - ROG Ally Z1 

yeah no. i have 2 asus amd gaming laptops and its been over 2 years and we never got an official usb4 bios. which they marketed the product with.

​@hidingmyrealname kinda different for these things dude it's constantly gettinf updates to the bios ..... there is only 1 of them that asus makes so I don't see them stopping support any time soon lol

I'm not in the loop to really know but I'd be a bit surprised if they can really 'fix it' at least not when you are talking to real parity with the Steamdeck level - though I do expect there is quite some room for improvement left with how badly the Ally got trashed last time I saw a comparison. But as the hardware is fundamentally different... Having those extra cores in CPU and GPU parts will always have some power demand even while they are are idle as they can get, and when trying to schedule the game threads for best performance per watt they are unlikely to actually really be that shut off - task scheduling is a black art, but it is definitely easier to find an optimal with less cores to play with, and with less cores there is less parasitic drain for no performance from the 'off' unused cores (not that i am suggesting the Deck is at that real optimum either).

The Z1 Extreme version didn't beat the Steam Deck at 10w, so I doubt a processor that is far less powerful in both core count and GPU horsepower is going to be any better really other than a margin of error.

It wouldn't age well unless they included OLED deck numbers which I dont think they had when they produced this video.

Well, Steam Deck does that too, unfortunately

How do yall not have your own usb c cables

​@@PhenomRommy concern is: 1. Will my individual direct usb c charger gave enough power to charge it well 2. Will using a third party adapter affect my battery life in the long term

Its better that way. If you buy a laptop charger with a USB C slot you'll find that it will break in your bag within a few months if you keep it plugged in.

@@dorian6021 The cable and charger connectors, if you keep them connected or not. Because when the cable is not removable they build large amount of strain relief which is not possible with a removable plug. And if you choose to unplug it stuff builds up inside the connector I have bought a xiaomi charger that had a removable plug. The cable deteriorated very fast and the inside of the usb port of the charger got chipped in just half a year. The charger is on its last legs now, I can't carry it with me Whereas my lenovo nonremovable usb C chargers have been pulled, abused, stepped on, chugged on the bottom of my backpack for years, etc and are still like new. Phone chargers are smaller and have less of an issue with this.

I was thinking this exactly, could've saved the money going 720p 90hz and making the screen smaller. If the screen was smaller, 720p wouldn't even look bad.

​@@mrscopes2852720p just looks like garbage now though. No matter what screen size lol. We've been very used to better display devices now.

720p at this screen size wouldnt even look bad.@@mrscopes2852

Big facts honestly

well the z1 model is going for 400$ rn on sale and the extreme is 200$ more at 600$ and both are on sale. So do you think I should save some money and get the z1 model?

​@@mhmadmatar9835 in my opinion you should buy the Z1 version its cheaper and there aren't any significant differences when you compare it to the Z1 extreme

​@mhmadmatar9835 No. Because the Steam Deck beats the normal Z1. The Steam Deck OLED can be found for just a bit more money. It is better in nearly every way.

No, the Steamdeck has issues too. First, good luck trying to get Forza working with many wheels…. Second, you have to do some pretty janky things to get other games running. Unless you’re willing to switch SteamOS for Windows.

I just got the same deal. I hope it was a good decision

Asus changed their pricing of the z1 based ally to 399 and I think it is not going to change anytime soon (neither increase back to 599 nor lower than 399)for its price it’s good but z1x sometimes gets a 100 dollar discount but have to look out for the sale again to get at that price

If u want 5 year support play on a console. PC gaming is a different beast and new tech comes out every week.

The ally is in a state where there is no need for an update. You can always refine things but I actually don't need more from Asus. The system is quiet while having good performance and the shipped software is not buggyal at all. I haven't had a single crash on that machine. All functions of AMDs graphics driver and Asus armory crate overlay are working without problems. It's a finished and polished product. (just don't ask about the sd card slot xD) The only thing that kinda annoys me is that it uses 12h clock instead of 24h clock in the Asus software and that the LEDs are still too bright on the lowest setting, but you can change that in the software too.

@@sNajlicious and if windows releases an update that breaks the overlay, what's your plan?

@@Harvey2Tall New tech coming out doesn't make the older ones obsolete and is even a plus for PC as you can upgrade if you want more specs or performance whereas for consoles, you're stuck with whatever comes with it for the devices lifetime.

@@fidelisitor8953 you completely missed my point.

Mine either ♥️ the best handheld

That’s it I’m gonna get it, have you tried ps3 or Xbox 360 emulation? If so how is it?

@@ethanhayward2424 everyone says they are good at all emulation

Until you realize that you could get open-box for $450, and that's double the performance.

You could probably find a better LAN/Mini PC for less than $350 or at the same price. Biggest flaw with all of these handheld PCs is that they kinda suck to use on a TV.

​@@formerlycringewhy they suck at tv?

@@ShinigamiDa Performance suffers with the increased pixel count

​@@lupo1237why do you have to play at high resolutions? Some people still have 720p screens.

Overpriced? Definitely. Underpowered? Their devices have some strong processors.

For that price, it’s a steal. I’m a casual gamer and don’t need all the extra power. People were too harsh on z1 because of its price but for $200 less, it’s a no brainer

​@@Joker-yu5kpI'd think I'd rather get a steam deck still at that price

I just bought mine yesterday on best buy the exact price and model you got, watching all these reviewers and reading comments really made me somewhat regret my decision and started contemplating, because no one seems positive talking about the cheaper model. just reading your comment really helped me put my mind at ease knowing there is someone who finds the lower spec model good especially since its a 200 dollar savings, its literally the price of the apple iphone se 3rd gen depending on your fees and taxes. im mainly gonna play genshin, my suika watermelon game, maybe try fortnite on it, and then a bunch of random indie titles i found on steam on the go. so i definitely know for sure that this purchase was meant for me. i just hate that there is no one on youtube who is willing to showcase real time performance with a base z1 chip in the ally with every resolution and graphic settings possible.

@@Joker-yu5kp totally agree... and thats why the steam deck is the most popular handheld... mainly the price, even though its not the most powerful handheld. its just simple and affordable

I got Z1 for Christmas it's still in the delivery box I have to wait until Christmas, but I'm hoping it can run Real Time Strategy Games fairly smoothly like Age of Empires.

good pads aren't awful to work with. And they are already placed in a practical manner. Laptop touchpads are often ass, specs wise, but also can only be put in an awkward place :S

@@randomguydoes2901 yea the Deck's touchpads are quality ones and its not awkward to use them at all. You can even play RTS games with them, although you wont perform as well as M/KB

Fr, I already hate windows on handhelds, but the idea of dealing with it without having trackpads? Having to rely on touch controls and analogue sticks? That’s my personal hell.

Honestly, this. If you spend any time in desktop mode those pads are indispensable.

​@@CaptainEffortI've been using the Ally for a week now and you'd be surprised how 'okay' it is to navigate windows using the touchscreen. Tiny little icons are no problem to touch and select and the screen is very responsive.

And then.....

Why did you update the bios?

Cause the bios update was gonna allow 900p support, perfect middle gound for the ally, 720p was pretty good but bit blurry, and 1080p on some titles like outer wilds was too much, it ran in the 20s in 30w turbo mode everything on low 1080p and 40 to 45fps in 720p, 900p was gonna give me stable 30fps if i locked the frame rate at 30

​@@legendsneverdyeget a console

@chriswright8074 doesnt mean i dont have an updated pc with a 4080, got the ps5 and a switch, just wanted the ally cause i could catch up with a couple games in the steam library and also finally realize my dream of playing kingdom hearts 2 on a handheld, sadly that was also riddled with stability issues, ran at perfect 120fps at 15w though, but the changes in framerate locks of the port made it super unstable

they did a great job

At that point might as well use a laptop tbh

This is a good point as I also have a 14inch laptop but it's also nice to have a little ROG Ally Screen when you don't need/want that bigger screen but want that handheld functionality@@alex1212456

I’ve been using my Ally more for the same reason. The screen was way better than the Steam Deck LCD, and alot of games that gave me trouble just worked on the Ally. I did trade my Steam Deck for the OLED, and although the screen looks better, my primary is still the Ally.

I have both a Steam Deck and Z1 Extreme Ally as well. The Ally made me nearly forget about my Deck. Being able to just download Game Pass and then play Lies of P is awesome. Even more so because the VRR screen makes it so that I never feel any dips below 60.

​@alex1212456 can you play a laptop in your hand like a handheld? With your point might as well get a desktop and monitor then.

also, as someone who has used windows ALL their life (started playing on computers at like age 7; im 23 now) i fucking LOVE linux. like, LIGHTYEARS over Windows.

yea man i agree with you linux can be more customized due to it's light weight

way better than windows in that sense

Valve have a massive advantage with SteamOS in that they can change and fully integrated it to the hardware, whereas with the ROG and Legion Go, they are at the mercy of Windows and all the flaws that come with it, Windows could never be as integrated unless Microsoft give them further access in altering it, which is highly unlikely. Because of the quality of life improvement that SteamOS offers in so many areas with the Deck, many of us are not interested in these rivals. The irony is, I would be more interested in them if they offer a SteamOS option that's optimised and fully integrated to use the hardware, like SteamOS is with the Steam Deck. Also, the Steam Deck is starting to pull gamers in from consoles that wanted to get into PC gaming but don't want to deal with the mess that PC gaming has, especially with Windows. The funny thing is, if anyone would say to me 2 or 3 years ago that I would prefer to use Linux over Windows to play PC games, I would think they were crazy, and yet here we are where SteamOS is a better option for many that want a simpler gaming device without the mess of setting the OS up, driver updates, bios settings and all that, the Steam Deck is the close's thing to a console in PC form, whiles offering all the benefits of PC openness, that will appeal to a lot of users, PC and console alike.

Same. I still have my Ally, but I rarely use it. It's more powerful than SD at almost twice the TDP, at which point it's not that portable anymore, and at 15W it has wildly inconsistent frame times. SD is more... polished experience, despite really bad screen (but that issue is fixed in OLED model).

As opposed to steam deck gerting 4 hours+ even on demanding PS4 quality titles.

​@gamechannel1271 give me an example lol I own a z1 extreme version and deck, both atrocious batteries lol

Just ordered the same deal seams like a good price

I just got the same deal. I hope it was a good decision

@@SevenPilot got mine in today runs great

@@stevengilley5107how are you liking it?

@@stevengilley5107bro hows it been with the ally ive ordered one but im anxious

I'd choose the legion go over the ally however I'd heavily consider the support the deck has over the others. I've got the deck and the community is insane.

Just don't use the SD card, or if you need to, just carry around a little USB-C microsd reader to plug in when in use. I haven't gotten my OLED Deck yet of course, but compared to the original, I use the Ally WAY more. Being able to run it as a normal-ass Windows computer is amazing, and being able to play all my GOG, Epic, itch, battlenet, etc games on it with no hassle is fantastic.

@@Brogboolius_Maximus I get what you mean, the Steam Deck isn't better and definitely not as powerful as the Ally. I just personally feel like if I spend that kind of money it should work flawlessly regardless of how fast it is. I'm glad you're enjoying your Ally though.

@@RonnieDeuce87 No, I'm with you there. It's definitely a bit fiddlier than the Deck, which annoys me, and I have a feeling that once I see the OLED Deck's screen, I won't be using my Ally much. It does have some major upsides though, that's all.

@@RonnieDeuce87 take a look at the Lenovo Legion Go, awesome machine, and the bigger screen is so worth it :)

​@@Brogboolius_Maximusreminds me of "you are holding it wrong". Not a real solution. It's clear hardware design flaw. Shows the lvl of Asus QC.

Ye

Lenovo >>>>>>

Ordered my oled yesterday

Steam deck if you don't want to play triple A game. The rog ally z1 Extreme is the king for triple A games...because it has free sync and VVR ..if you don't mind being very limited I agree.

Steam deck is great but it has no vrr which is tough coming from a PC

How have you been liking it so far? I'm thinking about getting it for that price too.

Seconded. Sure looks a lot better.

If you set wattage the same, battery life is within the margin most of the time. I think the SteamDeck Oled provides the jump in battery to separate it from the rest

Here is my issue though i dont want my games too look like Junk i want it to look good so that means i need more Performance out of it if i get something that is more Efficient i still look at the Texture Quailty and if i see it worse then what something else is i will call the company out then if they say but the Battery lasts longer i tell them that is a weak point bye

You can play less demanding games in the 7 watt mode of the ally which gives you over 4 hours of gameplay. I never needed it to be unplugged that long. I mostly play on the couch or in bed where a cable is nearby. I prefer having the option to play every game in good quality. You can always use a power bank most of us already have to prolong it on the go. The OG steam deck has a bad screen and an OS I don't like to work with. My stuff is often pirated and from launchers which are not steam

Skill issue @@sNajlicious

@@sNajlicious just buy the games, stop pirating them lmao

They are kinda loose, but it’s not really a problem when you get used to them. Spent a lot of time with the ally and then when I booted up my ps5 again my controller felt like it was stuck or something.

How are you liking it since this post?

@@Dirt_heart I returned it, had some fun with it but it’s so big and cumbersome that it’s just as easy to bring my gaming laptop on trips.

@@louisfox553 This info helped a lot. Thanks for letting me know!

Really? That seems like a big oversight by LMG

did you watch the video lol

​@swimmerboy172 they make them all the time.

Thanks for catching! We've cut that part out of the video and it should update soon. - Bell

@@ShortCircuit cut the hate out the videos.

This doesn’t hold ground, there is a little something called Amazon, and a little word called “Import” that’s what I will do to buy my SteamDeck from the comfort of my home country where Valve doesn’t sell the Deck Directly.

@@TheJakeblake import taxes. here in brazil is around 90%

I just grabbed one for my 9-year-old for Xmas for 399.99. I mean, he plays Roblox, Minecraft, and browser games, mainly, so I'm not worried about him doing anything too extreme for a while lol.

You damn right

Yes, they always are. But portions of these chips didn't meet quality standards so they were disabled and it is sold as a lower tier. It's called binning, the industry has been doing it since the 90s. This chip is physically identical to all AMD Z, U, and HS tier chips.

how does it perform? what games are you playing on it???

@@jerryg4534 So far the biggest game I have played on it is DOOM Eternal. I am hitting a solid 60 fps on low settings with RT off. I can get around 80 fps on DOOM (2016) medium to high settings. It massively outperforms the Nintendo Switch of which I bought the TOTK Limited edition OLED for $360.00. I knew I was buying the lower spec Ally but for 399.99 I think is a deal. I am running Steam with no issues. It seems a lot of the software hang ups are fixed and my Ally boots right into Windows 11 no problem. Armoury Crate works better agter updating it. At 599.99, I can not recommend the Ally Z1. For 399.99 it is certainly the right value. I have not yet played HALO Master chief collection on it yet. Bluetooth works great. WiFi is very fast if you are within 20 feet of the router. I can hit 750 mbps if I am next to the WiFi router. I don't know how it compares to the OLED Steam deck but the Ally 1080p 120hz screen is a big deal. It surpassed my expectations by a wide margin. FYI, DOOM (2016) runs kind of crappy in open GL. I switched over to Vulkan for much better performance. It has 16 gb of ddr5 ram 6400 memory that is subdivided to the GPU. 11.7 usable dram and 4 gb of vram. You can adjust the vram up to 8 gb with a CPU performance loss down to 7.7 gb of dram. Yes, the ram is shared with the integrated graphics. If you want superior gaming performance you will need a tower or gaming laptop. If you want mid range performance for Steam on the go with NS like portability, this is the ticket. For what I payed, I am very happy. It is a matter of personal preferences.

thats what I saw and Im thinking of selling my hp victus 16 with a 3050 for it because honestly, I like the mobile experience more. If i ever need to do any desktop work, Ill just hook it up to a monitor and I should be fine

@@mhmadmatar9835 I would not trade a gaming pc for the Ally. The Ally is a great device but will never match the performance of your Victus RTX 3050 desktop. If that is something you want to do I obviously am not going to be able to stop you. I would recommend keeping your desktop and saving your dollars to add the Ally to your collection. I bought the Ally and did not sacrifice my gaming pc to do so.

I did the same. Access to my Game Pass library is a game changer. Running most games at 900p with a steady 60 frames. 100% worth it.

steam deck software is holding it back... windows is much better i can play any game i want

@@itsquiwi8780 in terms of optimization the steam deck is doing a hell of a lot more with a hell of a lot less. valve did say that they wanted to release the operating system and there is a fan-made steam os out there that performs fairly well. also now that the steam OLED is out the battery life on it is actually pretty amazing. only being able to play for about an hour before my ROG dies fucking sucks.

😂😂😂😂 are you from the future

​@@itsquiwi8780oh yes I'd like to meet steam proton It makes it so you can play any windows-based game on the steam deck if they didn't have something like that in place to steam deck would never be as popular as it is And you could also just dual boot

@@itsquiwi8780You can still almost play anything from its desktop mode

no lol, thank god i don't use sd cards tho lol

I bought a used Lenovo Booststation for around 100€ last year, and it uses Thunderbolt 3. It's pretty good for what it is, and even if I'm stuck at TB3 specs, the price was amazing. You should look into things like that on the used market. Even though the Asus ROG Ally is locked down by a proprietary interface (so don't expect any 3rd parties), the Lenovo Legion Go and many other PC handhelds (deck not included) seem to work perfectly fine with TB3 egpus.

There are companies like GPD that have USB 4.0 and Oculink connections for EGPUs.

Setting the ram allocation to auto causes problems

Pretty sure they do.

that exists. as ,mentioned below the lenovo boost station exists. but there is also the razer core x (there are 2 versdions. 1 with usb typa a connectors for keyboards and such + an ethernet jack and 1 that is just a gpu dock) i recently bought a an egpu dock called the "TH3P4G3". i plan on putting my 4090 in it arrives.

You're kind of right, but it's also a product problem. valve controls every aspect of it's product. They have a rigorous R&D process that allows them to tailor build the deck at all levels (hardware and software, going from the hardware all the way up to steam+proton) to fit the needs of the customers. The Ally itself is literally just a weird form factor laptop. Asus has made some device specific drivers for it and added a layer to windows for navigation, but they don't have the same level of control over what it does that valve does over the SD.

Where is it £450 too?!cheapest I can find is 600.....

Nice price, where did you buy that from?

@@Larseus bestbuy

@@jordanthom8963 best buy

It's 450 right now on Best Buy

Not really a direct answer to your question, but what about when valve release SteamOs 3 to install on a device like an Ally? Dual boot to windows or steam..

Bruh they’re scamming you. While we may not have the steam deck, we’ve got the Z1 Extreme here in South Africa

Steam Deck is Available from Kogan online store in Australia

Are you a threat to the US and are in the sanctioned countries list?

Are you sure? The one on jbhifi says it's the Z1E?

What are you talking about, JB Hi-Fi have sold the Z1E for months.

does that not defeat purpose of the better hardware?

@@Eskoxo Well when you need better performance you can go back to full performance settings. You set the limit - you don't get limited.

@@Eskoxo no, because i just switch it to manual (35 w) when i want to play games.

You'd think they would mention fixing a system-breaking flaw, but ASUS gonna ASUS

My serial number starts with R5, I can send it into ASU and they’ll fix the issue? Mine never overheated with the SD card slot but I’d rather just have it fixed then wait for it to happen

@@Mark-es5tx You could try, but if nothing is wrong they'd have no reason to approve the RMA, so they might not do it. Not all units failed, mine is a launch unit and the SD Reader never failed, not that I use it much as I much prefer the NVMe because SD Cards are slow. If you want to force it, get a Cheap MicroSD card and hammer (install > uninstall > repeat) games on it, or just play a Disk IO intense game off of it (so most open world games typically). It'll either fail or not, in which case you'd be RMA'ing for no reason anyways.

Thanks for this info. I just ran to my new Ally to check the serial number and was relieved to see R8.

Only matters on Windows though

Wouldn't recommend doing that with the SD, it's already not that powerful, and it would end up at the same performance level as the Switch. Just lower the TDP/FPS/Brightness of the display or a combination of all three and you can already double the battery life you're usually getting.

The new OLED version of the steamdeck addresses that to a degree. Larger battery and more efficient screen adds a fair bit more battery life.

@@zoopa9988 Honestly, same power level as the Switch is fine by me if I could could get x86 compatability and less standby battery drain than I currently get on my Steam Deck. For my Switch, I can leave it unplugged for a weekend and barely lose any battery. I've not seen the same results with Sleep and my Steam Deck

@@jamiedyas9080 definitely looks promising. I currently have the $400 Steam Deck model, so it'd be a bit before I could splurge on the new one and see if it fixes my battery gripes. One thing I'm curious about is standby drain, which I mentioned on another comment. I find my Steam Deck dies at idle quicker than a normal handheld console, so I'd love if the OLED fixed that up.

@@NigelMelanisticSmith Do you mean when its asleep? if so, yes that issue is annoying at how fast it drains while its "off". I did some googling on that previously and found you can make a setting change which shuts it down instead of putting it to sleep. Takes a little longer to turn on, but it lasts so much longer when unused.

This one is the same price as the 512GB stream deck. The original is only $70 more. And have better specs.

@@jimmymcgill6778 the 512gb OLED steam deck is $550....

Very overpriced, excluding those outside of available reasons why would you ever get this over the 512 sd oled?? Windows?? It isn't any faster, it's built (seemingly) way worse, has half the controls, and it's still £20 more. Unless they were to like, cut the screen, storage, and os i don't see it ever being cheap enough, and after all that i doubt it'd even have any ups against the lcd sd, it's just dead in the water

So, what exactly makes it overpriced if in your mind it is not underpowered?

It's literally less powerful than the Steam Deck and costs more. Extremely overpriced for the hardware