ROG Ally

[chikorita157]

Asus is finally releasing the ROG Ally this week, which is a PC gaming handheld. This niche of PC gaming is getting popular thanks to the Valve Steam Deck. Chinese handheld makers like Ayaneo, GPD, OneXPlayer, AOKzoe are making handheld gaming PCs using AMD APUs, but often more expensive.

I decided to pick one up this Tuesday as I'm feeling a bit uneasy with the Chinese handhelds, especially given that tech support can be a pain if something breaks. While my GPD Win 4 is mostly perfect, it has some issues after upgrading the firmware. At least with Asus, I know that I can have it repaired with US support and more possibilities for modifications in the future since this thing will be better supported than any on the Chinese handhelds on the market.

Who knows, I may just sell the Ayaneo Air Pro as I'm not really using it and it's sitting there, collecting dust. Plus, the GPD Win 4 fits my small gaming handheld needs.

 

[gen.knowledge]

Asus is finally releasing the ROG Ally this week, which is a PC gaming handheld. This niche of PC gaming is getting popular thanks to the Valve Steam Deck. Chinese handheld makers like Ayaneo, GPD, OneXPlayer, AOKzoe are making handheld gaming PCs using AMD APUs, but often more expensive.

I decided to pick one up this Tuesday as I'm feeling a bit uneasy with the Chinese handhelds, especially given that tech support can be a pain if something breaks. While my GPD Win 4 is mostly perfect, it has some issues after upgrading the firmware. At least with Asus, I know that I can have it repaired with US support and more possibilities for modifications in the future since this thing will be better supported than any on the Chinese handhelds on the market.

Who knows, I may just sell the Ayaneo Air Pro as I'm not really using it and it's sitting there, collecting dust. Plus, the GPD Win 4 fits my small gaming handheld needs.

I have heard of products made in china not having good quality.

Spoiler: Gross story of someone having a bad experience with something made in China

I once heard that someone bought a spoon that was made in China, and that person thought the spoon was of good quality because it was relatively heavy. IIRC, they made some soup, and they were about to use the spoon they bought. It turns out that the spoon somehow broke and spilt sand (from inside the spoon's handle) all over the person's meal.

 

[chikorita157]

I have heard of products made in china not having good quality.

Spoiler: Gross story of someone having a bad experience with something made in China

I once heard that someone bought a spoon that was made in China, and that person thought the spoon was of good quality because it was relatively heavy. IIRC, they made some soup, and they were about to use the spoon they bought. It turns out that the spoon somehow broke and spilt sand (from inside the spoon's handle) all over the person's meal.

Well mostly everything is made in China, even electronics, although companies are now moving production out of China. I can argue that this applies more to Chinese branded products as they tend to have poor quality control.

Of course, if you look up Tofu Dreg project on Youtube, maybe it's not too surprising. There are building poorly built or cut corners in China that well, fall apart and eventually leads to buildings and infrastructure failing.

Tofu-dreg project - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[yon]

Well mostly everything is made in China, even electronics, although companies are now moving production out of China. I can argue that this applies more to Chinese branded products as they tend to have poor quality control.

Of course, if you look up Tofu Dreg project on Youtube, maybe it's not too surprising. There are building poorly built or cut corners in China that well, fall apart and eventually leads to buildings and infrastructure failing.

Tofu-dreg project - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You get what you pay for. If you pay them to build a high quality product, they will, if you don't, they won't. Cheap very seldom means good after all. Aliexpress seems to be mostly a gamble.

(Issues with buildings etc, points to poor political choices and corruption, which no engineers nor workers can fix ).

So, I'm very curious of your experiences with it. Warm? Cool? How good is the screen? How are the controls? How does it feel? Spell the beans when you can

And how easy is it to replace the analog sticks? They tend to always go sooner or later, so replaceability there is a thing.

 

[chikorita157]

You get what you pay for. If you pay them to build a high quality product, they will, if you don't, they won't. Cheap very seldom means good after all. Aliexpress seems to be mostly a gamble.

(Issues with buildings etc, points to poor political choices and corruption, which no engineers nor workers can fix ).

So, I'm very curious of your experiences with it. Warm? Cool? How good is the screen? How are the controls? How does it feel? Spell the beans when you can

And how easy is it to replace the analog sticks? They tend to always go sooner or later, so replaceability there is a thing.

The thing is, those Ayaneos, GPD Wins, and OneXPlayers aren't cheap. They are close to like $1000

Of course, the control sticks are replacable. They are on boards that had the rumble motor on them. You take them out and then you can disconnect and unscrew the control sticks. Also, the ROG Ally is very easy to get into. I wonder if they will have parts available.

 

[gen.knowledge]

The thing is, those Ayaneos, GPD Wins, and OneXPlayers aren't cheap. They are close to like $1000

Of course, the control sticks are replacable. They are on boards that had the rumble motor on them. You take them out and then you can disconnect and unscrew the control sticks. Also, the ROG Ally is very easy to get into. I wonder if they will have parts available.

@yon, @chikorita157, y'all make good points. I was giving one of the more notable situations I have heard of.

 

[yon]

The thing is, those Ayaneos, GPD Wins, and OneXPlayers aren't cheap. They are close to like $1000

Of course, the control sticks are replacable. They are on boards that had the rumble motor on them. You take them out and then you can disconnect and unscrew the control sticks. Also, the ROG Ally is very easy to get into. I wonder if they will have parts available.

I think they are cheap and not at the same time. Cheap considering the small batches, etc. I can't see them have serious economy of scale going. But expensive compared to those that have economy of scale and a more long term interest. They probably aren't getting deals from AMD exactly, and sadly I haven't seen much in the way of ARM based handhelds (outside of the Switch, which is its own thing) that are neither good nor appealing. Lack of long term support is a no no.

Makes me want to check out a tear down, see if it's the same analog sticks that everyone else uses.

Also, as lamented as it can be, I really miss the joycons on these handhelds. If they could standardize a size we could get some cool innovation. Want touch pads (you de-gen!), go for it, want crazy pants controller layout, you have it! But maybe I could get my favorite layout too for once

 

[chikorita157]

I think they are cheap and not at the same time. Cheap considering the small batches, etc. I can't see them have serious economy of scale going. But expensive compared to those that have economy of scale and a more long term interest. They probably aren't getting deals from AMD exactly, and sadly I haven't seen much in the way of ARM based handhelds (outside of the Switch, which is its own thing) that are neither good nor appealing. Lack of long term support is a no no.

Makes me want to check out a tear down, see if it's the same analog sticks that everyone else uses.

Also, as lamented as it can be, I really miss the joycons on these handhelds. If they could standardize a size we could get some cool innovation. Want touch pads (you de-gen!), go for it, want crazy pants controller layout, you have it! But maybe I could get my favorite layout too for once

Of course, the Big N as a patent on those Joycons.

I am not surprised by how expensive these handhelds are given that they aren’t big compared to someone like Asus, who can negotiate an good price on those chips. There is no wonder the AMD Z1 Extreme ROG Ally is priced at an attractive price. Not to mention, they didn’t have to rely on a portrait display. Still, I hear horror stories about Ayaneos and GPDs, although there isn’t as many big flaws in the Win 4, but a few minor issues.

I did got the ROG Ally today and it’s the same weight as the GPD Win 4, but doesn’t feel like a brick. A lot lighter than the Steam Deck and a more managable size. As for the controls, the jury is out, but I haven’t played around with the device that much. The ROG Ally scores a 2500 in Time Spy, 300 points more than the WPD Win 4 with a Radeon 680M compared to the 780M on the Ally.

The screen is way better on the ROG Ally than the GPD Win 4, which is an okay screen. Both screens put the Steam Deck to shame. I can’t believe Valve would put a shitty screen on the highest end version when the ROG Ally for $50 has a better screen. They drop the ball with that.

Still, I’m seeing the software would be better than Ayaneo with their Ayaspace. I refuse to install that software, because I can’t trust software from China. Still, I wonder what third party mods companies will come up with

Also, I’m pretty sure the ROG Ally uses ALPs sticks, like the Win4. I would like to see Hall Sensor sticks, but they need to figure out the interference issue. The triggers are hall sensors though, as confirmed by Asus.

 

[yon]

Of course, the Big N as a patent on those Joycons.

I am not surprised by how expensive these handhelds are given that they aren’t big compared to someone like Asus, who can negotiate an good price on those chips. There is no wonder the AMD Z1 Extreme ROG Ally is priced at an attractive price. Not to mention, they didn’t have to rely on a portrait display. Still, I hear horror stories about Ayaneos and GPDs, although there isn’t as many big flaws in the Win 4, but a few minor issues.

I did got the ROG Ally today and it’s the same weight as the GPD Win 4, but doesn’t feel like a brick. A lot lighter than the Steam Deck and a more managable size. As for the controls, the jury is out, but I haven’t played around with the device that much. The ROG Ally scores a 2500 in Time Spy, 300 points more than the WPD Win 4 with a Radeon 680M compared to the 780M on the Ally.

The screen is way better on the ROG Ally than the GPD Win 4, which is an okay screen. Both screens put the Steam Deck to shame. I can’t believe Valve would put a shitty screen on the highest end version when the ROG Ally for $50 has a better screen. They drop the ball with that.

Still, I’m seeing the software would be better than Ayaneo with their Ayaspace. I refuse to install that software, because I can’t trust software from China. Still, I wonder what third party mods companies will come up with

Also, I’m pretty sure the ROG Ally uses ALPs sticks, like the Win4. I would like to see Hall Sensor sticks, but they need to figure out the interference issue. The triggers are hall sensors though, as confirmed by Asus.

How is it from a thermal point of view? That's usually a big issue with anything x86 derived, which also means weight. I really wish AMD would jump into the ARM race too, especially since their GPUs are competitive.

 

[chikorita157]

How is it from a thermal point of view? That's usually a big issue with anything x86 derived, which also means weight. I really wish AMD would jump into the ARM race too, especially since their GPUs are competitive.

Probably a lot better than the GPD Win 4. I noticed the Win 4 gets a bit toasty on the right side of the handheld when I play something intensive since everything is packed into a small handheld and not as spread out compared to the ROG Ally.

That said, the scores are here.
ROG Ally Turbo



ROG Ally Performance


GPD Win 4 at 28 W


GPD Win 4 at defaults


Compared to the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally really makes the Steam Deck obsolete, except in low wattage situations (10W), this is someone else's screenshot. I sold my Steam Deck a long time ago.

 

[chikorita157]

After using the Ally more, I think the Ally is a very good console. If you are willing to do some tweaking, I would definitely recommend it over the Steam Deck by a mile. I hated how bulky and big it is (I have small hands, I know). It's not very portable. The Ally is only a little bit bigger in width compared to the Nintendo Switch, but not as heavy as the the Deck.

Also, the Steam Deck fanboys annoy the crap out of me as they really want Valve to have a monopoly on the handheld pc gaming market (r/steamdeck on the Aliensite is a very toxic community filled with Deck fanboys). They bash every competitor harping on those mostly useless trackpads that made the device even bulkier than it needs to. Also, they defend the terrible screen, even on the most expensive model, which is unexcusable. I know there is a $100 screen mod that replaces the scene with a more color accurate and higher resolution screen. Still, the APU on the deck can never handle this resolution except for the lightest games.

If the ROG Ally sells a lot, which it will, I hope Dell with Alienware and Razer come out with their own handheld PC offerings with competitive price points. Once ChimeraOS is fully compatible with the Ally in bringing a Steam OS like experience, I think it can be a contender to become a Steam Deck killer. After all, I don't think Valve will update the Deck until 2026, which it would be very obsolete by then. The APU in it is already showing signs that it can't keep up in the latest demanding games. Sure, it gets optimizations, but it won't look as good and smooth as the Ally or the 6800U handhelds.

Of course, I only bought it since I wanted a bigger screen, something with modding potential from a bigger community, and better support.

Basically, there is absolutely no reason to buy a Chinese handheld PC anymore, mostly because of questionable QC and support along with more expensive price tag.

 

[yon]

After using the Ally more, I think the Ally is a very good console. If you are willing to do some tweaking, I would definitely recommend it over the Steam Deck by a mile. I hated how bulky and big it is (I have small hands, I know). It's not very portable. The Ally is only a little bit bigger in width compared to the Nintendo Switch, but not as heavy as the the Deck.

Also, the Steam Deck fanboys annoy the crap out of me as they really want Valve to have a monopoly on the handheld pc gaming market (r/steamdeck on the Aliensite is a very toxic community filled with Deck fanboys). They bash every competitor harping on those mostly useless trackpads that made the device even bulkier than it needs to. Also, they defend the terrible screen, even on the most expensive model, which is unexcusable. I know there is a $100 screen mod that replaces the scene with a more color accurate and higher resolution screen. Still, the APU on the deck can never handle this resolution except for the lightest games.

If the ROG Ally sells a lot, which it will, I hope Dell with Alienware and Razer come out with their own handheld PC offerings with competitive price points. Once ChimeraOS is fully compatible with the Ally in bringing a Steam OS like experience, I think it can be a contender to become a Steam Deck killer. After all, I don't think Valve will update the Deck until 2026, which it would be very obsolete by then. The APU in it is already showing signs that it can't keep up in the latest demanding games. Sure, it gets optimizations, but it won't look as good and smooth as the Ally or the 6800U handhelds.

Of course, I only bought it since I wanted a bigger screen, something with modding potential from a bigger community, and better support.

Basically, there is absolutely no reason to buy a Chinese handheld PC anymore, mostly because of questionable QC and support along with more expensive price tag.

Except for the lack of SteamOS support I'm sold. Those trackpads always felt, odd, to me. Though I still will never understand the bizarre analog stick layout. PS 4 lyfe!

Also, #smallhandclub

 

[chikorita157]

Except for the lack of SteamOS support I'm sold. Those trackpads always felt, odd, to me. Though I still will never understand the bizarre analog stick layout. PS 4 lyfe!

Also, #smallhandclub

It seems that most handheld PCs besides the Steam deck like using the XBox layout. The GPD with the layout closer to the switch is a bit better, but this is serviceable.

DPad could be a bit better though. That said, I put the Ayaneo Air Pro up for sale after doing a clean install of Windows.

 

[chikorita157]

The Deck Fanboys are at it again making a big deal about the SD Card issue being a deal breaker and ohhh, you should just buy the Deck. Not when it's too bulky, having a crappy screen, and hurting my hands after 10 minutes of playing with the device.

There seems to be a possible solution by upgrading the drivers.

Download Intel Drivers and Software

Download new and previously released drivers including support software, bios, utilities, firmware and patches for Intel products.

www.intel.com

It appears to be some driver issues as suspected. It's not like the Steam Deck didn't have issues when it first came out, it did. There were instances that the devices were broken out of the box and fan issues.

I can't stand steam deck/valve fanboys.

 

[yon]

The Deck Fanboys are at it again making a big deal about the SD Card issue being a deal breaker and ohhh, you should just buy the Deck. Not when it's too bulky, having a crappy screen, and hurting my hands after 10 minutes of playing with the device.

There seems to be a possible solution by upgrading the drivers.

Download Intel Drivers and Software

Download new and previously released drivers including support software, bios, utilities, firmware and patches for Intel products.

www.intel.com

It appears to be some driver issues as suspected. It's not like the Steam Deck didn't have issues when it first came out, it did. There were instances that the devices were broken out of the box and fan issues.

I can't stand steam deck/valve fanboys.

Well I do feel like I've lost all my faith (hah) in SDCards at this point, from handhelds to SBCs to what-nots. I really think M.2 are a good thing.

BUT, it sounds like they just weaponize it, so it's not actually an opinion but some kind of anger ammunition. Geez, I'm happy to talk tech and UX and all sorts of things, but it needs to be in a sensible manner.

I'm still in a holding pattern, but it's an interesting market shaping up. Also shows that the Switch is a great idea. I just so dearly hope we get a Switch 2 and not wacky Nintendo malarkey. (I like the NES, SNES, and Switch, those are good.) Still sad that the high end ones have x86 but no ARM counterparts. Bummer. I like ARM.

 

[chikorita157]

Well I do feel like I've lost all my faith (hah) in SDCards at this point, from handhelds to SBCs to what-nots. I really think M.2 are a good thing.

BUT, it sounds like they just weaponize it, so it's not actually an opinion but some kind of anger ammunition. Geez, I'm happy to talk tech and UX and all sorts of things, but it needs to be in a sensible manner.

I'm still in a holding pattern, but it's an interesting market shaping up. Also shows that the Switch is a great idea. I just so dearly hope we get a Switch 2 and not wacky Nintendo malarkey. (I like the NES, SNES, and Switch, those are good.) Still sad that the high end ones have x86 but no ARM counterparts. Bummer. I like ARM.

SD cards are very finicky, and slow too. I noticed that on my GPD Win 4, the game loads a lot faster. I wonder if I should bite the bullet an put in a 2 TB 2230 SSD, which is expensive.

We’ll see if the SD card dies or not. Still, I am waiting for Nintendo to come out with the next console. As much I like the freedom of the PC handhelds, the battery live isn’t there, which is why I go back to the Switch since it has all the Nintendo games, but with less graphical fidelity.

 

[chikorita157]

It's only a matter of time until someone put in hall sticks. Apparently only the left side has interference because of the hall triggers being near the left stick. There is a work around by turning up the deadzone to 20%, but it's not that ideal, but at least it works. Hopefully someone come up with a better solution or drop in solutions that work out of the box, but it's promising. Something closer to the Ayaneo 1s or AOKZOE, but without having to rely on China support.

I am thinking about just getting a 2 TB ssd as I ditched the SD card. Even without the SD Card reader problems, the game loading speeds are a lot slower than my GPD Win 4, which had a 2 TB SSD.

 

[yon]

I still need to put my Hall Sensor sticks in some joycons. Thing is, none of them are having any issues Kinda wanted to pick up a box of broken ones, but they are insanely expensive on eBay and such. It's crazy, really not worth it. Why are broken joycons so valuable somehow?

 

[chikorita157]

I still need to put my Hall Sensor sticks in some joycons. Thing is, none of them are having any issues Kinda wanted to pick up a box of broken ones, but they are insanely expensive on eBay and such. It's crazy, really not worth it. Why are broken joycons so valuable somehow?

Not sure, but my left one started to drift in Animal Crossing when I played that during the pandemic. I really need to get around to changing all of them.

At least it's an option here. The Win 4 doesn't have any sadly, and still using tradition alps ticks.

 

[chikorita157]

Looks like they might have a fix with SD card reader and cards dying, probably because not enough cooling in Turbo mode.

BIOS 322 on 7/4/23 through MyASUS

• Bug fix: Resolved an issue that caused the ROG Ally to be stuck at the boot up loading screen when users configured a password in BIOS mode.
• Modified the Ally’s fan curve from 30dBA to 35dBA in Turbo mode when plugged in, and from 25dBA to 30 dBA in Turbo mode when using the battery. Changed the minimum fan speed in Manual mode when device hits a certain temperature.

ACSE v1.2.13 on 7/5/23 through Armoury Crate SE

• UX improvement: optimized the panel opacity, resulting in a more visually balanced display.
• New feature: Modified FPS Limiter options to "30/45/60/90/120/OFF".
• New feature: Added BIOS and Armoury Crate configuration information under System settings.
• Bug fix: Fixed incorrect TDP values displayed on the Manual mode icon.
• Bug fix: Resolved an issue when uploading images and recordings for social media sharing.
• Bug fix: Resolved an issue where an error code from Armoury Crate Service tool was displayed (error code: 0xc0000142).
• New feature: Added an “Alt+F4” function in Command Center to quickly exit games and programs.

AMD iGPU driver v31.0.14058.4001 on 6/19/23 through MyASUS

• Bug fix: Resolved some performance issues with the XG Mobile GC32 on the ROG Ally.

AMD iGPU driver v31.0.14058.3001 on 6/16/23 through MyASUS

• Bug fix: Resolved occasional touch screen malfunction when the panel refresh rate was set to 60Hz.

Source: https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/changelogs/changelog-july-5-2023-rog-ally/ba-p/941009