Customer Ratings & Reviews

The general stuff is here, but the details are rough. The pointed corners hurt my hands and were a baffling design choice. The combination of white plastic and holographic stickers mean that it always looks dirty or is about to look dirty. Windows is always getting in the way and the official SteamOS image for this can't come fast enough. The SD card reader will fail at some point. The RGB thumbsticks are cute but the minimum brightness will blind you at night, and as far as I can tell there is no way to have a quick setting to turn them off and back on. Battery life is miserable - outside of the lightest games 90 minutes is the max. At full price, this needs to come with a case. The screen and the performance are both super well-done. The cooling system is another highlight. Even under heavy load this console is quiet enough to let the speakers sound their best and not require headphones. Compared to the Steam Deck it's very unrefined and not a great value. Had I not gotten an "open box - fair" unit I would be pretty upset with the lack of value.

Works great, good quality, and plays an array of games with its great processing power. I do wish the battery lasted a bit longer though. I feel like I have to keep it plugged in for it to really be effective.

I couldn’t decide between the different models but after having many years of using ROG Devices, I choose to give it a chance and it’s awesome! Super fast and plays many of the favorites with ease. Additionally, it has no problem playing steam games. Only issue I’ve come acrossed is with Starfield however, it’s a Microsoft issue not a game or device is. With the recent Windows update, if you try to load Starfield, it says the graphics card drivers are out of date but they aren’t. Because of this, the game does sometimes crash. I’m hoping Microsoft fixes this issues as I do love Starfield. Side Note - This ROG Ally was able to play Starfield with no issues other than mentioned above.

Overall I would not recommend this as an upgrade to a steam deck; however, if you're trying to get a handheld PC for the first time this one offers a lot of things that the Deck doesnt. For one, it can play any windows game natively - no need to worry about compatability. The screen is higher resolution and it looks quite a bit better than the Deck's. That said, you do have to deal with Windows and sometimes that can be a bit Janky. For what's its worth, not nearly as janky as I've found it on a full desktop - it's still the same operating system but seems to work smoother. I do recommend the machine is solid, plays anything I throw at it and I personally like it's design better than the Deck. The sticks and buttons could be a little better - but that's aobut it.

I love this handheld system. The buttons are customizable. The battery lasts me about an hour on the go. But it runs smooth. I definitely recommend this

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!

A absolutely LOVE this thing. The performance is pretty incredible for the price and convenience. Battery life isn’t great, but I’m rarely playing it away from an outlet. It certainly has all the various quirks of PC gaming, but if you have a gaming computer already, you will be familiar with all that entails. Its definitely not gaming console, for better or worse. Its also rather lightweight, and the controls feel great. I thought it was a little lacking in ergonomics, but an inexpensive case fixed this. I really cant recomment this more for somone who wants to bring their gaming pc with them.

This is my favorite device! I play this more than my ps5 lol. Just getting into modding. Battery sucks but i bought an upgraded battery and installed. Now, this is a BEAST!! Crystal clear and plenty of frames.

Absolutely amazing device. I am shocked that since I purchased the Ally on day one, I have played it significantly more than my Steam Deck. I know there have been issues with some devices but just speaking from my experience, I have already logged several hundreds of hours across Silent, Performance, and Turbo Modes and I have no dead-zone issues and my SD Card and SD Card Reader are perfectly fine. I'm not minimizing those issues, just relaying my experience so far. Also, after the latest BIOS Update to increase fan speed I have noticed only the tiniest increase in overall fan noise. It is till far more quiet than the Steam Deck. If you are into PC Gaming and High-end Emulation this device is just about as good as you can get for the price.

The ASUS ROG Ally stands out as a remarkable piece of hardware, boasting impressive capabilities that are sure to catch the eye of any tech enthusiast. Its performance is top-notch, with hardware that can handle demanding applications and games with ease. The visuals are crisp and smooth, making for an immersive experience whether you’re gaming or handling intensive tasks. However, the device is not without its challenges. One significant issue is the time-consuming configuration process. Setting up the ROG Ally and getting it ready for use is not as straightforward as one might hope, requiring a considerable amount of time and effort. This can be a bit of a deterrent for those who prefer a more plug-and-play experience. Additionally, the machine’s heavy reliance on Windows presents its own set of problems. While Windows is a versatile operating system, it doesn’t always translate well to a gaming-focused device like this. Installing and running games outside of a dedicated store can be frustratingly difficult, especially with the built-in controls. This aspect certainly detracts from the user experience, as it limits the device’s potential and accessibility. In conclusion, the ASUS ROG Ally is a piece of hardware with great potential, boasting high-end capabilities. However, its user experience is hindered by a cumbersome setup process and an over-reliance on Windows, which complicates the gaming experience outside of conventional avenues. It’s a device that could reach greater heights with some tweaks to its usability and software integration.

Great system. The only thing I wish is that came with better battery life and didn’t have an SD card holder issue. It’s a known problem though and can be fixed for free. ASUS all the way!

I love this device. This thing plays games well especially if your familiar with windows and dont mind the fine tuning of game settings for some of the newer more intense games to run well. The 1080p screen is just big enough to play comfortably while still keeping games looking good both at 720p and 1080p. Overall device i find very comfortable and being a windows operating system its compatible with so many other programs your not limited to what you can play or do on it by the operating system or a specific game store. Only downside is the SD card port problem so id recommend looking into doing the very easy SSD swap for more space and just forget this thing has a SD Slot.

Do you love gaming on a PC but have a wife and kids?? This powerful handheld gaming PC is perfect for you! The console has been a blast and have been neglecting my gaming rig in the game room and have been playing in bed next to my wife. Is it perfect? No. This system will fry almost all modern SD cards due to the poor heat dissipation around the SD card reader. Does it come with the usual Windows 11 jank? Yes. But if you are used to Windows you will know how to deal with the hang ups.

The performance this pushes out is insane, leagues better than the competing steam deck. The controls feel great but I have to say the analog sticks feel a little sensitive they're not as stiff as the steam deck's but still work good. The screen is miles ahead of the steam deck and the 16:9 display is more fit for games as some have trouble with the taller aspect ratio. And coming with windows instead of linux means compatibility with every game you own not just a few.

I have never had a handheld pc and setting up this device took me a good amount of time. There were many bugs and issues for the first week, but has slowly gotten better after updates. To be honest there are still quite a few bugs that have made it annoying to deal with, but with all that I enjoy what this device has to offer and would buy again. There are big pros and big cons, but it is starting to be more pleasant and time passes. The battery life is terrible, so be ready to have the charger on hand. If you’re on the fence, maybe wait for updates to refine the experience and get one.

Great piece of equipment that straight out of the box can do what the steam deck does a bit easier. You’re able to play Xbox/ epic games/ ea/ Ubisoft games without having to do shortcuts like on the steam deck. The screen is noticeably brighter and colors come out better. The battery life is pretty bad if you play without it being plugged in and the SD card still has some issues. I replaced the SSD card for one that cost $70 and it works much better. The amount of triple A games that you can play is amazing and the current ASUS support system is wonderful. Overall yes it does have some faults, but what system doesn’t? Overall I would highly recommended this.

This is a great handheld gaming PC - be aware that it is running Windows 11, and compared to the slightly less powerful Steam Deck sometimes things require some tinkering to get working properly. The big upside to me is that I can play games that are not from Steam (like XBOX Game Pass or GOG Galaxy) without having to mod or side load extra software. I am able to play Baldur’s Gate 3 at medium settings and it runs very very well. You can increase the amount of RAM the GPU gets access to, and it might even be able to run at high settings with some tweaking. To me, medium settings on the smaller screen look great and it doesn’t require much adjusting.

Best handheld PC I've owned so far, better than the Steam Deck. Great connection to peripherals, Windows based operating system allows me to download more than just Steam. Can run Ubisoft and Blizzard clients as well as Epic Games store with no issue. Graphics are one of the bright spots on this device, you're not looking at setting all the settings to HIGH or ULTRA, however for the size and screen they'll deliver a punch. The screen is one of the best things about this device. High refresh rate, increased brightness and easy of use allow it to make gaming very easy.

Bought this on sale open box over the Steam Deck because it is significantly more powerful, and the size is still compact unlike the Legion Go. The 120Hz VRR display is great and the storage can easily be upgraded with a large 2280NVMe SSD (I put a 2TB in mine). I tested the SD card reader and mine is already fried so be mindful of that, but it's not a feature I cared about. It runs games like Cyberpunk 2077, Forza, and Starfield with ease. Windows takes some getting used too on a device like this, but Asus's software makes it a much better experience. Very happy with my purchase as I've finally found the handheld that meets my needs.

The ROG ally is a beast. Easily keeps up with mid range gaming laptops when used in turbo mode. Yes, the battery drains quickly, but what gaming laptop last longer than a couple of hours at best? No issues with the joy sticks as some reviews have stated, and after a few BIOS updates, most of the bigger bugs have disappeared. As far as windows 11 is concerned, once you have the device setup, you almost never have to use it again, except for updates and such. Everything gaming related is launched through Armoury crate. Storage could’ve been bumped to at least a terabyte, but it can be very easily upgraded. Paired with a usb hub with hdmi output, keyboard and mouse, the ROG Ally is the ultimate portable gaming rig for travel.