Originally thought to be an April Fools’ joke, the ASUS ROG Ally is a real thing we found out. Well, today, we get a more in-depth look at what the ROG Ally and its Windows 11-powered self brings to the table. Powered by the just-announced AMD Z1 chip, which comes in two flavors that offer up to 8 cores and 16 threads with RDNA 3 architecture for graphics, this handheld seems to have everything that people originally wanted in the Steam Deck… but it’ll cost, according to reports from ASUS, “less than $1,000.” How does the ROG Ally stack up to the Steam Deck in terms of specs and features? Let’s find out more below.
Windows 11 and the AMD Z1 chip make the ASUS ROG Ally a compelling choice
Valve’s Steam Deck has taken handheld gaming by storm. However, the gaming giant didn’t exactly use the latest and greatest hardware in it. As such, the Steam Deck runs a custom operating system and generally requires games to be Steam Deck-verified. However, the ASUS ROG Ally isn’t bound by these same limitations.
You see, the ASUS ROG Ally is powered by Windows 11. Not Windows 11 S, not a Windows 11 lite, but real Windows 11. And for power, it’s backed by the just-announced AMD Ryzen Z1 chip with up to 8 cores and 16 threads of processing power. This allows the ROG Ally to operate without having to worry about certified games.
The Z1 chip comes in two flavors, like we already mentioned. The standard Z1 has 22MB of cache, four AMD RDNA 3 compute units for graphics and a 6-core 12-thread setup for the processor side of things. The Z1 Extreme steps it up to 24MB of cache, 12 RDNA 3 compute units, and 8 cores with 16 threads of power. On top of the powerhouse that the Z1 chip is, it’s based on AMD’s Zen 4 architecture, which means that it leverages both LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X memory, has support for USB4, and more. The RDNA 3 side of things gives compatibility with things like AMD Super Resolution, AMD Link, Radeon Image Sharpening, and more, which are all designed around either better performance or better battery life.
For graphics, the Z1 Extreme tops out at around 8.6 TFLOPS of power, which is around the same amount that a desktop RX 6600 XT gives, according to PC Gamer. While the standard Z1 is closer to an RX 6400, it still is around double the power of what the Steam Deck has to offer in terms of graphics performance.
The Z1, however, isn’t built around the ARM architecture that many might assume it is. Instead, it’s natively X86, which means that it doesn’t have the same limitations as ARM-based chips. You’ll be running a full version of Windows 11, meaning you can enjoy everything Microsoft’s latest operating system has to offer with no limitations except for the power the handheld has.
The ASUS ROG Ally doesn’t end its high-end functions with the Z1 chipset, though. For a screen, you’ll find a 7-inch 1080p display that runs at 120Hz and is compatible with AMD’s FreeSync tear-free technology. In addition to the FHD resolution and high refresh rate, the display hits a 500-nit peak brightness while Gorilla Glass keeps it safe, and the DX anti-glare coating helps keep reflections to a minimum.
For other features, there’s HDMI 2.0 compatibility, a swappable PCIe 4×4 SSD, and a fingerprint sensor on the wake button. We’re expecting a USB4 port somewhere on the unit, given the Z1 is compatible with it, and it would make sense to integrate the likely USB-C power port for data too. However, per The Verge’s hands-on time with the ROG Ally, it might not have one. ASUS has the XG Mobile docking station, which is pretty beefy in what it offers. Using a proprietary connector, the XG Mobile delivers plenty of additional I/O to your ROG Ally, including three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a UHS-II SD slot, USB 3 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, Ethernet, and more. However, the XG Mobile docking station also allows you to bring an eGPU to your ROG Ally, with up to an RTX 4090. This really expands your portable handheld gaming console’s capabilities and brings it almost into the realm of a desktop at that point.
Now, for the moment you’ve been waiting for. Pricing and availability. Well, we have a definite answer for one of the two, and that’s availability (kinda). The ASUS ROG Ally will be officially (like really officially) announced on May 11, which is when pricing and shipping dates will be released. But, in a statement to PC Gamer, ASUS did say that the ROG Ally would come in at “under $1,000” for sure. That could be $999 for the base model, or it could be significantly lower, but all we know so far is that it’s under $1,000.
Electronicsforward’ Take
The ASUS ROG Ally has a lot to offer. Windows 11 could be the factor that either makes or breaks the gaming handheld. On the one hand, Windows 11 and a proper x86 chip means that you won’t have to worry about emulation at all and games will play natively. On the other hand, it’s Windows 11 – which doesn’t always work well, even on desktops. Only time will tell if this is a good move by ASUS or not, but I tend to think it’ll be what sets them apart from the rest of the crowd of portable handheld gaming PCs.
However, the star of the show here is that ASUS chose power over price. While Valve saved some cash and came in with a budget-friendly starting price of $399 on the Steam Deck, ASUS is taking the premium approach and delivering the latest technology possible with plenty of power to handle basically any modern game… for a price. We’re speculating that the base ASUS ROG Ally will start at $999 with the Z1 and go up from there. The Z1 Extreme is really where the handheld will shine, but there’s no indication as to how much that’ll cost yet. Only time will tell if the ROG Ally will be the handheld to beat or it will fade into oblivion as a great idea that was poorly executed.
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