The Asus ROG Ally Vs The Steam Deck: Handheld Deep Dive

The ASUS ROG Ally is a Windows-based handheld that is one of the more well-known competitors aiming to take a piece of a market currently dominated by the Steam Deck. ASUS’s ROG brand is one that PC gamers in particular greatly value and place a premium on, something that allows it to take on the Steam Deck, which also benefits from Valve’s immense brand value and offers a unique solution for gaming on the go in a market where users previously used to turn to gaming laptops as their go-to option.

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When Did The ROG Ally Release?

While the Steam Deck has been out since February 2022, the ROG Ally was officially released on the 13th of June 2023. The team at Game Rant received a review unit for testing and detailed its impressions on what handheld gaming looks like on a Windows-based console as opposed to the Steam Deck.

The ASUS ROG Ally’s Z1 Extreme Variant performance during Game Rant’s hands-on preview left us impressed given its significant hardware upgrades on offer versus the Steam Deck.

The Steam Deck Versus The ASUS ROG Ally Z1X/Z1: Hardware Specs Head To Head

The Steam Deck faces off against 2 different SKUs of the ASUS ROG Ally: a beefier Z1X-based trim that offers a much more powerful APU, and a more budget-conscious Z1 trim that is often on sale at various retailers. The Steam Deck itself offers three different SKUs: an entry-level 256GB LCD model, a higher-end 512GB OLED model, and an ultimate 1TB OLED model that comes with an exclusive theme, a superior carrying case, and an exclusive startup movie.

The Internals: Diving Into What Powers Your Experience

The Chips Powering It All

There is no denying that the Steam Deck is 1-upped by the ASUS ROG Ally in all meaningful hardware benchmarks simply because of the underlying differences between the APUs on the two. With the now somewhat-aging Zen 2 cores in a quad-core offering on the Steam Deck versus a much faster octa-core Z1 Extreme powered experience on the ROG Ally with much greater leeway when it comes to power available to the SoC (up to 15W vs up to 30W on the Ally), this is hardly a fair comparison but one that the ROG Ally wins easily.

The AMD Z1 Series APUs are expected to power multiple handheld consoles in the coming days with the ASUS ROG Ally expected to be the first of many. (Source: AMD)

This is reflected thanks to both the higher IPC (instructions per cycle) count that Zen 4 cores come with versus the older Zen 2 cores and the higher clocks the ROG Ally brings to the table, with the Z1 Extreme able to push even 5.1 GHz sustained, if thermally allowed to do so. The 12 RDNA 3-based graphics cores on the Ally versus the 8 RDNA 2-based cores on the Steam Deck further cement its position as the superior console when considering potential performance.

This is somewhat nullified when it comes to the ROG Ally’s Z1 trim, which offers a lower core count but, much more importantly, a significantly weaker APU config when it comes to the GPU, comprised of just four compute units, albeit with an RDNA 3 architecture advantage.

The Steam Deck OLED keeps to the same hardware configuration as its predecessor offers when it comes to the APU with no major changes in performance expected as a result. It does, however, leverage a 6nm manufacturing process for its APU, leading to lower thermals and power consumption on the go versus the older Steam Deck.

Storage & Memory Options

Both the ASUS ROG Ally & the Steam Deck ship with 16GB of LPDDR5 memory accessible by the APU. While the ASUS offering is slightly faster at 6400 MT/s, the Steam Deck, despite being over a year older, also clocks in at a respectable 5500 MT/s. However, users of the Steam Deck OLED see clocks bumped up to 6400 MT/s to match the ROG Ally.

In terms of internal SSD offerings, this gets more interesting as the Steam Deck comes in 3 flavors; the 64GB gets eMMC storage while the 256GB and 512GB get SSD storage that works below the PCI-E 3.0 speeds that the console is capable of with the 512GB clocking in slightly faster than the 256G unit’s module. It must be noted that the console itself restricts speeds to a maximum of 2 lanes of PCI-E 3.0, meaning that the console is limited to ~2000mbps of I/O even if you find a faster storage module.

Likewise, the Steam Deck OLED comes with a similar NVMe configuration, but with two larger capacities on offer at 512GB and 1TB, respectively. These are also limited to the same throughput speeds as their predecessor due to the PCI-E 3.0 limitations in play that carry over to the refreshed Steam Deck OLED.

Compared to this, the ROG Ally comes with PCI-E 4.0 support out of the box and an SSD to match, which caps out at approximately 5000mbps of storage speeds that dwarf anything that one could get similar speeds with on a Steam Deck (or a Steam Deck OLED). While the advantages of this are debatable, considering that in most real-world scenarios the Steam Deck does well enough on its SSD variants to not warrant a major overhaul in terms of raw potential speeds, the option is good enough to have for those looking to compare the two.

Both consoles support microSD cards but the ROG Ally does tend to edge out the Steam Deck with UHS-II support, which allows approximately three times the effective speed of the Steam Decks UHS-I speeds.

Power: Charging & Capacity

A 40WH Battery powers both the base Steam Deck & ROG Ally, but the ROG Ally has a potentially more significant power drain potential thanks to a full HD display and a much more powerful processor coupled with a full-fledged version of Windows running on it. That being said, efficiency also kicks in here and allows both to perform similarly unless you engage the Ally’s Turbo mode which, based on most tests, runs less than an hour when charged at full capacity.

This does turn into a contest that favors the Steam Deck OLED, which comes with a heftier 50WHr battery instead. Both variants of the Steam Deck come with a bundled adapter that caps out at 45W, while the ROG Ally comes with a significantly faster 65W version. The Steam Deck OLED’s adapter, however, has a 2.5M cord versus the original SKU’s 1.5M offering.

Networking Options & Connectivity

Both the Steam Deck and ROG Ally are powered by USB-C connectors which feature the ability to also connect to external displays, add to or function with more devices, and connect to Ethernet ports. On the networking end, the Steam Deck uses Wi-Fi 5 (AC) and Bluetooth 5.0 to communicate, while the ROG Ally pushes much more recent tech (Wi-Fi 6E plus BT 5.2).

This is a major letdown in our opinion, as Wi-Fi 6 was a mainstream standard when the Steam Deck launched and having better wireless internet in a handheld would have considerably made life easier for the multitude of users that often complain about limited download speeds and higher latency while gaming, especially when most of the current networking hardware is Wi-Fi 6/6E compatible today.

The updated Steam Deck OLED offers both Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support out of the box, which brings it back into contention when it comes to networking prowess under the hood.

Display & Audio Specifics

With a 7-foot, 16:9 aspect ratio, a brighter 500-nit screen, a refresh rate of 120Hz with up to a Full HD resolution, and VRR support, the Ally is well-positioned to be the best handheld in the market when it comes to display quality alone for some time.

The Steam Deck also offers a 7-inch screen, but runs at a lower HD resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio with a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz. While that isn’t an issue on its own, as we found during our play tests, with even the Steam Deck feeling fairly sharp in the display department, there is no denying that it is dwarfed by ASUS’s offerings here.

The Steam Deck OLED, however, brings things closer, offering an arguably better display than the ROG Ally by leveraging superior OLED technology while raising the refresh rate to a cool 90Hz for users that play titles where that is relevant. It also increases the screen size on offer to 7.4 inches, a subtle but very noticeable difference versus its predecessor.

On the audio front, things are much more equal thanks to both the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally packing decent speakers, even if the latter’s bundled ones are Dolby Atmos certified. Both have dedicated 3.5mm audio jacks in tow and Bluetooth if you wish to connect to a wireless headset.

The ROG Ally: A Pricey Friend?

ASUS ROG Ally

The Asus ROG Ally is the ultimate handheld system for PC gamers. Relying on the new AMD Ryzen Z1 series of processors, the ROG Ally can handle any game thrown at it. The 7-inch 1080p Full HD display with FreeSync Premium on the system provides gamers with a crystal clear and smooth gaming experience. The advantage of the ROG Ally is that it can run most Windows-compatible games and is compatible with Xbox Game Pass titles. It also comes with 3 months of Game Pass Ultimate. The ROG Ally also features an ergonomic design that makes gaming for long periods enjoyable.

Dimensions

2 Speakers with Dolby Atmos

Playing Time

1.3-4+ hours

Brand

Asus

Weight

1.34 lbs

Chipset

AMD Ryzen Z1 / Z1 Extreme

RAM

16GB LPDDR5

Storage

512GB NVMe SSD (PCIe 4)

Wireless Connectivity

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Headset Compatibility

Wired, Wireless

Display

7-inch LED IPS

Output resolution

1080p

Graphics

2.8 GHz AMD RDNA 3

Ports

USB-C, Custom Asus PCIe Port

Pros

• Powered by a state-of-the-art Z1 Extreme APU
• Has an excellent, beautiful display
• Runs a full version of Windows

Cons

• Very expensive
• Runs out of power extremely fast in turbo mode

The ASUS ROG Ally is an excellent handheld console that is looking to replace the Steam Deck at the high end for console users needing to game on the go. It is unapologetically a complete gaming PC and packs some of the best hardware money can buy for a handheld unit. With an excellent screen, plenty of connectivity wirelessly, and a battery life that matches the competition, the Ally is actually lighter than the Steam deck by about 10%, making it a more portable choice, even if slightly so. It also offers slightly smaller and thinner dimensions to boot.

While there is a 256G Z1-powered version planned down the line, ASUS makes the ROG Ally lead with its guns blazing and a price tag to match, though any comparison to the Steam Deck’s $650 512G version makes it look appealing – that is until you consider that you can easily configure the Steam Deck’s based model with a terabyte of storage and still have $200 spare with a bit of DIY incentive.

At the same time, you get much more in terms of choices with the ASUS ROG Ally thanks to its adoption of Windows. Unlike multiple games that need to be ‘certified’ by Steam to work on Steam Deck, as a full-fledged Windows PC, it will run everything perfectly if it is able to match it at a specifications level. This does make it considerably more flexible compared to the Deck, and while you can install third-party launchers, such as Epic Launcher, you’ll have to do so with small workarounds. If you are looking for tweaks or mods for games that often rely on them, this might be a superior solution given that it is running Windows out of the box.

The Steam Deck: Acceptable Performance In Many Capacities

Steam Deck

Valve’s long-awaited portable console is here, and it’s taking the handheld gaming market by storm. Valve partnered with AMD to create Steam Deck’s custom APU, optimized for handheld gaming. It is a Zen 2 + RDNA 2 powerhouse, delivering more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games in a very efficient power envelope.

4K Capabilities

Yes

Screen

7″ diagonal 1280 x 800px (16:10 aspect ratio) 60Hz

Storage

64 GB – 512 GB

CPU

AMD APU Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz

Battery

40Whr battery. 2 – 8 hours of gameplay

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0 and Dual-band Wi-Fi radio, 2.4GHz and 5GHz

Ports

1x USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt-mode support; up to 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz, 1x USB 3.2 ,1x Micro SD slot, 1x 3.5 audio jack

Dimensions

298mm x 117mm x 49mm

Weight

Approx. 669 grams

Audio

Stereo with embedded DSP for an immersive listening experience and Dual Microphone Array

Pros

• Comes in multiple capacity sizes
• All units have upgradability potential
• Offers an acceptable gaming performance
• Comes with excellent controls

Cons

• Hardware specifications are somewhat dated in 2024
• Does not run a complete build of an OS

The Steam Deck by Valve is a handheld that got people thinking about handheld PC gaming thanks to recent advances in power draw and portability on laptops and low-powered PCs. In a way, the Steam Deck is the de facto precursor to the ROG Ally. It runs a custom version of Debian Linux and has you covered when it comes to the basics, no matter which SKU you go for out of three offerings. It is also slightly heavier and bulkier than most of its competition, including the new OLED SKU that also clocks in slightly lighter than its predecessor.

Steam Deck OLED

The Steam Deck OLED is the perfect handheld gaming console for gamers who wish to take their games on the go. It brings the entire Steam library in a handheld form factor that is ergonomic, grippy, and easy to use. The OLED model is an upgrade to the standard LCD model of the Steam Deck, and it boasts a slightly larger display that is brighter, sharper and refreshes at 90 Hz. 

Storage

512 GB

Weight

680 grams

Playing Time

3-12 hours

Brand

Valve

Chipset

6nm APU

Wireless Connectivity

WIFI 6E

Headset Compatibility

3.5mm, Bluetooth

Display

7.4-inch OLED

Pros

• Offers a better, larger OLED display that can do 90Hz
• Comes in larger capacities (512GB/1TB)
• Has a larger battery than the ROG Ally
• Uses a 6nm APU
• Comes with Wi-Fi 6E and BT 5.3

Cons

• Costs significantly more than the entry-level Steam Deck option
• Continues to have limited availability

Likewise, the Steam Deck OLED is not a new console by any means. It would be best to think of it as a massively upgraded take on the original Steam Deck with more storage space, a significantly better display, and a larger battery life in tow.

Smaller upgrades include, but are not limited to: a higher refresh rate, a more power-efficient APU, up-to-date networking, and a slightly longer power cord. These features may be subtle, but they are key to offering a better Steam Deck experience in 2024.

Depending on how you see it, the tighter integration with Steam’s custom SteamOS can be useful when you look at it as a more bloatware-free approach to an OS, and Valve is quite frank about its limitations. The ASUS ROG Ally is a more versatile console thanks to its OS choice, but that might not be the best choice for gamers looking for tighter integration with their Steam libraries, no bloatware, and relatively limited use for a ‘smarter’ gaming console.

The Steam Deck’s biggest assets are both its brand value and the effort that Valve has put in to ensure games work well with it, thanks to its thorough testing regime. This, coupled with a significantly cheaper entry-level model at $500, means that the ROG Ally is merely a competitor turning up the heat on Valve’s brainchild, and one that is by no means something you can write off, even in 2024.

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FAQ

Q: When did the ASUS ROG Ally Release?

The ASUS ROG Ally was released on the 13th of June 2023 for $700 for the 512G Z1 Extreme-powered model. A lower-end Z1-based $500 model with the same capacity is also in play and often sees itself trading at a discount in a bid to compete with the entry-level Steam Deck SKU.

Q: Is the ASUS ROG Ally Worth It?

Yes, for users looking for a better spec’ed handheld console on the market that comes packed with plenty of current-gen technology, the ROG Ally is worth the cost, even if it clocks in as much as $300 more than the base mode of its competition for the about-to-release handheld console.