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[Lunatic_Gamer]

Weeks in the works and delayed owing to BIOS issues, our review of the Asus ROG Ally is finally complete. We're looking at the highest specification PC handheld we've seen yet with the Z1 Extreme processor paired with fast memory and a 1080p 120Hz VRR panel. But we're also looking at Windows 11 - which has traditionally performed poorly in the handheld space. This is clearly the most powerful PC mobile device around - but is it the best?

Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck: can powerful new tech deliver a game-changing handheld?

It's here - and as manufacturer Asus promised - sooner than expected. The Asus ROG Ally arrives just over a year since …

www.eurogamer.net

 

[LakeOf9]

Still impressed at how much they packed into this thing but a shame about the user experience.

 

[Skifi28]

For all the "8tf, twice as powerful as the Deck" very underwhelming. I'd easily pick a deck over this considering the user experience.

 

[bender]

Seems really disappointing unless you are always by a power outlet.

 

[winjer]

For all the "8tf, twice as powerful as the Deck" very underwhelming. I'd easily pick a deck over this considering the user experience.

It's basically a 4TFLOPs machine, because AMD can't get RDNA's dual issue shaders to work with games.

 

[Skifi28]

It's basically a 4TFLOPs machine, because AMD can't get RDNA's dual issue shaders to work with games.

And in terms of real world performance, it seems to hover around ps4 levels so half that. Just meh after all the fuss that was made.

 

[winjer]

And in terms of real world performance, it seems to hover around ps4 levels so half that. Just meh after all the fuss that was made.

Chances are it never reaches the 2.6ghz because of power limits.
It also only uses 6400MTs LPDDR5, so memory bandwidth is very limited.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Weeks in the works and delayed owing to BIOS issues, our review of the Asus ROG Ally is finally complete. We're looking at the highest specification PC handheld we've seen yet with the Z1 Extreme processor paired with fast memory and a 1080p 120Hz VRR panel. But we're also looking at Windows 11 - which has traditionally performed poorly in the handheld space. This is clearly the most powerful PC mobile device around - but is it the best?

Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck: can powerful new tech deliver a game-changing handheld?

It's here - and as manufacturer Asus promised - sooner than expected. The Asus ROG Ally arrives just over a year since …

www.eurogamer.net

Great video. Thanks for posting.

Will be interesting to see what AMD can deliver on a desktop chip with a 65w+ power target.

 

[Leonidas]

Glad I picked up a Deck a few months back

 

[rofif]

For all the "8tf, twice as powerful as the Deck" very underwhelming. I'd easily pick a deck over this considering the user experience.

8 TF!!!! ...8tf that barely matches 1.8tf
I've had an argument few days ago in ally thread. I was laughing off the statement that "it's way stronger than ps4".
Oh yeah.... so much....

 

[SplunkyMunkey]

If anyone would make a good handheld gotta be mark cerny expecially the components that he put into the ps5 If anyone it be him

 

[Gamezone]

Seems really disappointing unless you are always by a power outlet.

Isn't the price close to the Steam Deck, while the 15W mode still performs better?

 

[Zathalus]

8 TF!!!! ...8tf that barely matches 1.8tf
I've had an argument few days ago in ally thread. I was laughing off the statement that "it's way stronger than ps4".
Oh yeah.... so much....

It rather depends on the game, Cyberpunk, Control, GTA V, Witcher 3, and Hitman 3 run quite a bit better on the Ally as compared to the PS4. Games that require a beefy CPU also run on it such as Plague Tale and Dead Space, which the PS4 can't do at all. I suppose it is due to how memory constrained some of the games are.

 

[rodrigolfp]

It rather depends on the game, Cyberpunk, Control, GTA V, Witcher 3, and Hitman 3 run quite a bit better on the Ally as compared to the PS4. Games that require a beefy CPU also run on it such as Plague Tale and Dead Space, which the PS4 can't do at all. I suppose it is due to how memory constrained some of the games are.

Look who you are replying to. Of course he will talk just about a port that under performs on pc.

 

[bender]

The question is, how much can the Ally's performance be improved trough software?

Most tests we've seen show that it really isn't a great performer at lower wattages and really shines at the two highest performance profiles which diminishes the value of it on the go.

 

[rofif]

Look who you are replying to. Of course he will talk just about a port that under performs on pc.

I am not saying it performs bad or unimpressive but sure as fuck it is not 8-10tf they were boasting lol.
Besides - GOW is taunted as a fantastic port for all I know. Don't move the goalpost

 

[IFireflyl]

Seems really disappointing unless you are always by a power outlet.

I only want it to use when I'm in the shitter, or in bed. I'm interested to see how it performs with Steam streaming from my gaming PC. That should vastly improve battery life.

 

[rodrigolfp]

I am not saying it performs bad or unimpressive but sure as fuck it is not 8-10tf they were boasting lol.
Besides - GOW is taunted as a fantastic port for all I know. Don't move the goalpost

DX11 only. Fantastic port... Sure

 

[rofif]

DX11 only. Fantastic port... Sure

Since when being dx11 only is a detriment ?! There is no rt or anything that requires dx12.
People are always looking for command line with games to change back from dx12 games to dx11. It is famously known that games moving to dx12 are often for the detriment to the performance.
Like resident evil games when they patched in dx12 mode.

If You really think that magical dx12 mode would make this game run 4 times faster like 2->8tf, you are delusional.
If anything, dx12 would probably hurt the performance anyway.

I am only calling out asus on their 8,6tf bs... even wired...

 

[Zathalus]

I am not saying it performs bad or unimpressive but sure as fuck it is not 8-10tf they were boasting lol.
Besides - GOW is taunted as a fantastic port for all I know. Don't move the goalpost

It's a good port in many ways but great performance is not one of them. It runs way worse on equivalent or even better hardware compared to the PS4. Probably because the game was not originally designed with PC in mind and then combine that with using DX11 you will leave a ton of performance on the table.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Since when being dx11 only is a detriment ?! There is no rt or anything that requires dx12.
People are always looking for command line with games to change back from dx12 games to dx11. It is famously known that games moving to dx12 are often for the detriment to the performance.
Like resident evil games when they patched in dx12 mode.

If You really think that magical dx12 mode would make this game run 4 times faster like 2->8tf, you are delusional.
If anything, dx12 would probably hurt the performance anyway.

I am only calling out asus on their 8,6tf bs... even wired...

Since DX11 has worse multi threading than DX12. DX12 is lower lvl API. Games that perform better in DX11 than 12 have fuck up DX12 usage. It's very known.

 

[Davevil]

Beyond the specifications, which in a portable system leave the time they find, on an aesthetic level deck >>> ally

 

[bender]

I only want it to use when I'm in the shitter, or in bed. I'm interested to see how it performs with Steam streaming from my gaming PC. That should vastly improve battery life.

My Deck is what I use for the vast majority of my PC gaming and I don't take it on the go, but I'm rarely tethered the power cable. I primarily want the Ally for Gamecube emulation but there seem to be too many quirks with this device, at least out of the gate. I'll probably just wait a few years for the next Deck as having two portable gaming PCs seems wasteful.

You really have to tip your cap to Valve/AMD for their design and what they accomplished in that wattage footprint.

 

[rofif]

Since DX11 has worse multi threading than DX12. DX12 is lower lvl API. Games that perform better in DX11 than 12 have fuck up DX12 usage. It's very known.

It is very well known? Maybe in theory...
In practice, there are just as many games that benefiting from dx12 as hurting...
That was or another (if it's devs fault or dx12 fault) it doesn't matter. The end result is still what it is

 

[IFireflyl]

My Deck is what I use for the vast majority of my PC gaming and I don't take it on the go, but I'm rarely tethered the power cable. I primarily want the Ally for Gamecube emulation but there seem to be too many quirks with this device, at least out of the gate. I'll probably just wait a few years for the next Deck as having two portable gaming PCs seems wasteful.

You really have to tip your cap to Valve/AMD for their design and what they accomplished in that wattage footprint.

I love what Valve has done. I know a large part of their decisions is based on making money, but Gabe is a gamer, and he has helped to make it a great time to be a gamer.

 

[winjer]

I am not saying it performs bad or unimpressive but sure as fuck it is not 8-10tf they were boasting lol.
Besides - GOW is taunted as a fantastic port for all I know. Don't move the goalpost

GOW is not a fantastic port.
It only uses DX11. Has issues with stuttering when entering new areas.
If it used Vulkan, maybe it would be another story...

 

[rodrigolfp]

It is very well known? Maybe in theory...
In practice, there are just as many games that benefiting from dx12 as hurting...
That was or another (if it's devs fault or dx12 fault) it doesn't matter. The end result is still what it is

No, there is not. Even emulators all dropped DX11 and only use 12 or Vulkan.

 

[rofif]

No, there is not. Even emulators all dropped DX11 and only use 12 or Vulkan.

You are generalizing what dx12 would like to be. We are not talking about emulators here either.
DX12 can be helpful as you described but it's not doubling or tripling the fps...

 

[rodrigolfp]

DX12 can be helpful as you described but it's not doubling or tripling the fps...

Only you are saying this...

 

[rofif]

Only you are saying this...

You must be trolling at this point.
have you fucking played and game that offers dx11 and dx12 in recent 3 years ?!
You are out of your mind if you think there is more than 10-15% fps difference between them.
And as I've said - some games run worse with dx12 like famously re2,3 and 7 remakes after getting dx12 upgrade.

Stuttering and multithreading is a different topic. There are dx12 benefits but these are rarely pure fps gains.

I will repeat again to make it clear - DX12 WOULD NOT MAKE ALLY 8TF MACHINE IN GOD OF WAR ALL OF SUDDEN.

Everyone was praising gow port when it came out. It's one of better ports last year. Where is the "bad port" narrative even coming from?!

 

[rodrigolfp]

I will repeat again to make it clear - DX12 WOULD NOT MAKE ALLY 8TF MACHINE IN GOD OF WAR ALL OF SUDDEN.

Again, only you are talking non sense about doubling or tripling or measuring gaming performance by GPU Teraflops only.



Plus no one said anything about GoW being bad port. Just not fantastic or anything like this.

 

[Gamezone]

Better performance at 15W and basically the same battery life as the Steam Deck. And they are almost the same price. Isn't that good?

 

[Thirty7ven]

Shows why people need to temper their expectations for the next Switch unless Nintendo switches it up again.

 

[rofif]

Again, only you are talking non sense about doubling or tripling or measuring gaming performance by GPU Teraflops only.



Plus no one said anything about GoW being bad port. Just not fantastic or anything like this.

Well... I am saying this. I am criticizing asus. not you

 

[THE DUCK]

I'm very disappointed in the benchmarks so far, hopefully things will improve. But I doubt it's going to be a huge jump.

Looks like we still need a closed architechture handheld from Sony or ms.

 

[Zathalus]

You must be trolling at this point.
have you fucking played and game that offers dx11 and dx12 in recent 3 years ?!
You are out of your mind if you think there is more than 10-15% fps difference between them.
And as I've said - some games run worse with dx12 like famously re2,3 and 7 remakes after getting dx12 upgrade.

Stuttering and multithreading is a different topic. There are dx12 benefits but these are rarely pure fps gains.

I will repeat again to make it clear - DX12 WOULD NOT MAKE ALLY 8TF MACHINE IN GOD OF WAR ALL OF SUDDEN.

Everyone was praising gow port when it came out. It's one of better ports last year. Where is the "bad port" narrative even coming from?!

On no planet is the Ally 8TF. First of all the 8TF is calculated by using the dual order FP32 that AMD is now using (not as well implemented as Nvidia and the next gen consoles will use it as well). So it's actually 4TF, but that is only when the GPU has the majority of the power budget allocated to it to maintain the top clocks. Its usually around 2Ghz so is actually only 3TF which is further hamstrung by the console only having 58% of the memory of the base PS4.

 

[Ozriel]

Beyond unbelievable why Asus didn't just put a bigger battery in the Ally. Even the Aya Neo Air has a bigger battery!

 

[DaGwaphics]

Where the power advantage comes in (over the SD) seems to be in the latest games that just don't play well on the SD. There isn't a huge jump at 15w here, but it's enough to get a steadier 30 or 40hz experience on some of these games.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Better performance at 15W and basically the same battery life as the Steam Deck. And they are almost the same price. Isn't that good?

The deck is older so its more mature OS wise, valve sure as fuck have better quality control and customer service than Asus, on top of that they are only similar price if you go for the max capacity deck.

A 64gb deck + 1tb sd card and even a 512gb ssd replacement will run you at least $150-200 less than the ally at $700.

The ally is good but I honestly expected more to make the switch.

 

[StereoVsn]

Beyond unbelievable why Asus didn't just put a bigger battery in the Ally. Even the Aya Neo Air has a bigger battery!

It is rather puzzling. They could have made Ally just a bit larger, but accommodate 50wh or 60wh battery. And that wouldn't really hit the cost all that much.

 

[rodrigolfp]

The deck is older so its more mature OS wise

You can install Steam OS on ROG.

 

[Klosshufvud]

Great video by Richard! I appreciate he actually reviewed this as a handheld. Something likes of ETA Prime failed at when he ran his benchmarks plugged in to a wall. Handhelds really are all about maximum performance at ideal portability (size, battery, fan, heat and so on). The Ally being so limited at sub-15W is indeed very disappointing. It means to actually gain an advantage from Steam Deck, you also need to operate the device at battery killing power draws. It being smaller and lighter is an advantage in the portable field though, but also lacks the godly trackpads that open up so many PC games for controller play.

 

[DenchDeckard]

In for a bigger battery ASAP. Should have had a 60mwh battery

 

[Bry0]

Deck is still the way to go. I got the 64gb model for $400 and a $70 512gb ssd I installed myself. Saves literally hundreds of dollars and I wouldn’t give up the trackpads or 4 backplate buttons for anything. They are great for when you need to go into desktop mode or mapping pc centric game features. Tes4 oblivion is a good example as it uses the left track pad for quick save, walk run toggle and other things like that. It’s just so well thought out.

 

[Gamezone]

How will the battery perform in a 2D game if you set it to the standard (15W) power mode, and turn the graphics down to 720p with a 60 FPS lock?

 

[OverHeat]

This made me cancel my ally preorder. Will wait for the software side to mature my steam deck is enough for the moment

 

[rofif]

This made me cancel my ally preorder. Will wait for the software side to mature my steam deck is enough for the moment

No point getting Aly if you have the Deck imo

 

[DenchDeckard]

Hopefully they get the issues ironed out for as close to launch as possible.

 

[GHG]

The reality is that we will likely have to wait for the deck 2 to reach the promised land.

 

[StereoVsn]

The reality is that we will likely have to wait for the deck 2 to reach the promised land.

Next year rumors sound promising. Whether it's Deck 2 or Ally 2 or whatnot, it should be significantly better. Well, as long as they include a beefier battery.

Not certain we would have Deck 2 with better APU though. From Valve interviews it seemed they weren't in a hurry.