Customer Ratings & Reviews

Pros and cons: ROG Ally Z1 Extreme — The best handheld gaming PC with Windows. Pros: One of the most powerful handhelds on the market thanks to its AMD Z1 Extreme processor, this is a stellar gaming experience for AAA or even indie titles — and rivals some gaming laptops. Its 7-inch full HD touch screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate Wow! is gorgeous, crisp and buttery-fluent experience, for even the stutter-bug, butter glob game. The ROG Ally is different because of its adaptability. It runs Windows 11, natively supporting a wide variety of gaming platforms, from Steam and Xbox Game Pass to Epic Games (and beyond). When paired with its ergonomic design and light weight, this is a joy to use in long bouts of gaming. One of the most impressive features of the cooling system is that it is able to maintain a consistent performance without overheating. Battery life is decent for a device this powerful, and the option to hook up the ROG XG Mobile external GPU future-proofs it for even more demanding gaming. ASUS has built a handheld beast that sets a new standard for portable gaming. The ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is worth every penny if you're a casual gamer or a hardcore enthusiast.

This is a pretty awesome device. It worked perfectly for what I was looking to use it for. I tested a few games on it including Hogwarts legacy and Elden Ring and they ran surprisingly well and better than I thought they would. My main goal was to play Everquest on a handheld device and this gave me that opportunity and it worked great!

An amazing portable device that lets you play all your PC titles on the go or even in desktop mode. Storage is way too small for nowadays and battery drains rapidly on intensive games. It has its flaws but could be improved with accessories and upgrades.

I found that I really do enjoy this device but it’s not perfect. The battery life is bad. I find myself looking for the power outlet or a battery bank all the time. The directional pad gives false diagonal. That will affect you in fighting games. The last is that it uses windows. It’s a blessing and a curse. I like that i can load games from different launchers other than steam but it’s windows so you have to be willing to tinker inorder to get some games to work right. The performance is why I really like this device.

The ROG Ally met all expectations and even exceeded some, and I have been using the device daily as a laptop replacement since Christmas. Using a third party dock, I prop up the Ally and use a keyboard and mouse to do my college work on. The screen is beautiful, and 1080p looks incredibly sharp on a 7” display. The speakers are incredible and make you feel immersed in the content being displayed. And finally, gaming is so fun on the Ally. I have been mostly using it for emulation, as I have a higher end gaming desktop to play AAA games. It has been running amazing, and anytime I hand it to a friend to play games with me, we put the display down to 720p and it runs anything we throw at it. Highly recommend

One of the best things in the upcoming era of gaming! Handheld gaming devices are starting to become more prominent with this one being one of the premium choices. The competition with others will allow consumers to possibly get these products at a competitive price. I find this to be more used for my Single Person games than my PC as I can play it anywhere, even on my bed. I do find some games straining the device and I wish it had a bit more power. Overall, at the discounted price, I would recommend this product for anyone comfortable with the Windows UI and wanting a portable gaming format.

I've always been a dedicated console gamer and never ventured into the PC realm but i decided to take a chance with this system. It was a definite shock to my brain trying to wrap it around the ins and out of PC gaming in a handheld but i managed to get the hang of it after watching A LOT of tutorial videos on youtube. I mostly use this for emulating older games from PS1, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, SNES and Genesis. I love that i can play these older games on the go. Its very true about the short battery life but overall its a great handheld system.

This item from asus is a beast, cant hardly compare to the steam deck because it all comes down to “personal preference”. Yes this devices has come issues but they are not bad issues. The rog ally performs just as good and if not better than the steam deck. The comfort feels great in hand and there are alot of options due to having windows 11. Battery life drains really fast but what do you expect from a device that packs alot of tech. This is not a switch or some hand held gaming device that would hold hours of gaming. Just get a high watt battery bank and youll be set for a few extra hours. If compared to the steam deck, that product had issues when it was first launched but in time it gotten smoother and i feel like it would be the same with the rog ally because its fairly new, i just keep my ally plugged in while playing. Note, if its plugged in to a higher watt charger. It performs better.

This is an awesome device, but the battery life is horrendously bad. I spend most of the time playing the ROG Ally plugged in, but if you want to take this device on the go, then this isn't the device for you. Playing Assassin's creed syndicate with maxed out setting at 1080p will get you a little over an hour of game play tops. Playing God of War at maxed settings at 1080p will get you a max play time of about 50 minutes. As it relates to the display, this looks way better than the steam deck, and being able to play any game on xbox game pass or Steam on this device is a big plus. Overall, it is a solid device but still needs work in the software department to make this device better.

I still own a Steam Deck, but I prefer the ROG Ally. Having said that, I think console-only gamers will prefer the Steam Deck because, in a strange reversal, the Linux-based operating system "just works" as a prepackaged experience while the Windows-based ROG Ally requires frequent tinkering (this is literally a desktop version of Windows, after all). Tinkering isn't easy with fat fingers and a tiny screen, which is another point in favor for Steam Deck and its unusually precise dual trackpads. ASUS's Armoury Crate is a preloaded application that attempts to simplify the front end experience, but I often find myself avoiding it because it isn't as slick as SteamOS and requires updating far too often. I think most PC veterans will prefer ROG Ally as well, especially those who frequently emulate older consoles or plan to use the device for anything other than Steam-related activities. Yes, you can also emulate games on Steam Deck, but I just don't like jumping through the hoops Emudeck requires (such as constantly switching between Gaming Mode and Desktop Mode) and I've had no issues running Fightcade on the Ally either. I find it's a lot easier for me to set up shared folders for ROMs and save states to get a more seamless transition from desktop gaming and portable gaming. Having said that, Steam Deck probably scores yet another point for even having the option between Gaming and Desktop mode, whereas the Ally is pretty much Desktop mode only (unless you count Armory Crate as its gaming mode). I even prefer the Steam Deck's face buttons, battery life, and speakers just a TINY bit more, but the 120hz display is enough for me to look past those barely perceivable shortcomings. The display is also 1080p, but let's be real: 720 and 1080 look pretty much the same at this size. Yes, Windows is awkward to get the hang of in a touchscreen interface, but doing anything outside of Steam Deck's Gaming Mode is also awkward without a keyboard and mouse. Which brings me to another point: either one of the devices is improved by a USB dock ($40-100) for peripherals. I find that these "extras" are more necessary than optional in the long run, so there's another expense you can look forward to. You should also plan on a case as well; D-Brand just came out with theirs, but I had already purchased the Skull & Co. GripCase for $20 which massively improves the grip and has a simple solution to requiring a dorky kickstand. I can think of quite a few features I like better in the Steam Deck than in the ROG Ally (I haven't even mentioned the Ally's overheating SD card issue, which is frankly a ridiculous oversight in this day and age), and yet I still prefer the ROG Ally overall.

Feels great in the hands, preforming realy well with title one games. not heavy at all. Only complaint is battery life, haven't quite figured out the best settings for it yet

Specs are great and plays many AAA games at high frames. I have no issue at all with the performance of the device when it comes to the game that can be played. I played BG3, Cyberpunk, GT5 and RDR2 with no issue in handheld mode. BG3 was probably the most resource heavy and it dipped FPS to 21 in handheld mode. Battery life is poor- could only get about 1hr of time on turbo mode when playing BG3. I have two big complaints about the system and both have to do with the utility of the device when it is connected to the TV. 1) trying to connect Ally to a monitor or TV is not simple at all and is very finicky. You can’t just plug it into the charger/HDMI device and go like you can with a Switch (or even a laptop) you’ll often get artifacts on teh monitor or screen and in some cases the screen will only occupy a corner of your TV set and leave the other 3/4 static imaged. It also blanks out occasionally and runs hyper slow FPS. I use the official charger so this should not happen 2) There is no native controller remapping within ASUS Armory Crate and there is no way to use an external controller (Xbox in my case) to control desktop mode. This makes it imposible to unlock the device with just a controller if it’s connected to a TV- you MUST pick up the device and enter the PIN or fingerprint. This also means if you want to switch games while connected to a TV or monitor you have to get up to get the device and use the built in controllers to access Armory Crate because you can’t map a button combo on your external controller to do it for you. There are two dedicated buttons on the device for Armory Crate and system menu- neither can be accessed in any way other than this or the touch screen. I ended up returning the device based on its lack of TV friendly interfaces.

The ally is a solid handheld. It continues to get more polished and smoother as they release updates. This works solid at both gaming on the ally, and streaming from a gaming pc. Using parsec was a breeze, and it allows me to play all my games at max settings 120fps. I love that it offers a full windows desktop, and the controls on the device are very nice. The buttons are smooth and Tactile, and the joysticks are comfortable. My only complaint is in windows sometimes text is a little small on a screen that size, but that's par for the course. I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a handheld, and especially if you can stream to it. I use Xbox game pass regularly, and this gives an easy way to use it. Also, don't expect great battery, I find an hour and a half on most games is the maximum. If I stream I can bump that to 2-2.5 hours.

I sold my steam deck and took a chance on the ally. It feels sooooo much better to hold in my hands steam deck. Also built in amory crate apps make this very easy to navigate windows on the handheld. No, its not perfect but its very close in my opinion. Many will complain about battery life but until we have some kind of breakthrough in battery technology were not going to get long battery life from somehting this powerful. Would also like to add that my first device came defective. The left joystick would not register horizontal inputs. Was able to return and replace it the very next day at bestbuy with no issues. Ive played many hours on this thing already. The fan noise is as quite as all the reviews say. The speakers are fantastic. The exhaust does get pretty hot but its the only thing that gets hot on this device. Really well made. I couldn’t recommend it enough

Perfect for on the go gaming. Graphics are better then expected, sound is loud and clear, battery doesnt last as long as I was hoping but a portable charger will fix that.

The Ally is an amazing device perfect for playing games. It will take about a day to get it set up and do driver updates, but once you get everything set up the device works wonders. Definitely not a boot and play device, though. This is for more advanced users. I will say there are plenty of YouTube videos on how to optimize this device for your needs and help you get this set up which helped me a lot! Battery life is not the best, but for my needs I havent had many issues with it. I suggest when playing battery you keep it on Performance mode as Turbo mode will really drain the battery. I think this device is the start of a new era of PC gaming for the general public.

Good for on the go gaming battry cuoukd be better but overall i enjoy it

So this is exactly what i needed and have been searching for for years. If you play on the go alot, expect to have to buy a good power bank, you will need a 45-65 w because the cheaper ones are 10w and will not charge as fast. A good screen protector and case. Look to spend at least another 100-150 especially if you want to dock and play on your TV. A Xbox controller or PC controller adds another 80$ so you're almost at the price of a gaming laptop. But more portable. I feel like the price could be adjusted a little bit but it is what is. On it's own the batter lasts 1-2 hours if you're on turbo and sometimes because the best games take alot of cpu it will make it hot so you'll have to have it on tubo. Other then that if you get all that is needed to actually make it portable and functional it is great

Love the Asus ROG Ally, i been using it to play diablo 4 when im not able to do it in my pc. Definetly lives up to it for diablo 4, however i have medium to large hands and holding it is painful after a short time. I love how the steam deck is much bigger and that helps to not have your hands cramp. Found the same issue with the nintendo switch, at least we can get bigger side controllers for it. I will definetly keep using it for my gaming needs but finding a good layout that works to make sure your hands dont cramp will take a bit. I hope they make cases with a bit of longer hand placement. Otherwise i think is mostly software they need to polish little by little.

Works well and has no issues playing games and using apps. Didnt take long to get it started right after opening from the box. It can run just about anything i want it to, though you may need to lower some of the settings in game depending on how demanding that game is. The storage can handle only 3 or 4 high end games before running out. With most games starting to come out with a download size of 100+ GB, its hard to play everythint you want on it without needing to clear up space first. Havent tried using an SD card to expand the storage but have heard bad things about putting an SD card in it. Overall, a good purchase in my opinion.