ROG Ally, the first e-sports handheld of ROG Republic of ASUS, will be officially launched on June 13th. Many players are very interested in it, but is ROG Ally worth buying? Game console? At the same time, what kind of gaming experience can we expect from it?
Before the product was officially launched, the author had the honor to borrow the much-anticipated ROG Ally from ASUS. After a period of actual use and evaluation, I think that before buying ROG Ally, players may think about 5 key issues and judge Is it suitable for this game console?
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ROG Ally Minor Cons Written Up Front
Regarding the appearance and detailed specifications of ROG Ally, we have mentioned a lot in previous articles, but after the author actually got some details, I think there are two points that can be discussed in particular.
The first is the screen,ROG Ally features a touch panel with 7-inch FHD resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 7ms response timethe color rendering of this screen is really very good. Although the four sides are still framed by black bars, there will be no problem of the screen being too small when viewing it. It is not only responsive and the brightness is high enough, even small text can still be read very clear.
The screen used by ROG Ally is the best among similar products. The overall visual comfort is good-looking. You can also use the GameVisual function in the built-in Armory Crate SE to quickly switch between multiple sets of screen settings; but because the screen brightness is high enough, Therefore, after a long time of operation, there will be a feeling of slight heating, and it will be quite sensational if the touch operation is performed again at this time.
Another experience that is slightly less than expected is the analog joystick,Although there is no big problem with the sensitivity, the dial feels hardThe author’s impression is that the sense of feedback is a bit poor, and the sense of positioning in each direction is not clear enough. It may be because I am used to the relationship with the Xbox joystick. I personally think that the joystick of ROG Ally still has room for improvement.
In addition to the above two points, other details of ROG Ally are above the standard, not like a pioneer product, no matter the extra back M1/M2 key, trigger key and AXBY key, etc., it is almost as soon as you get it. It can be operated naturally without any discomfort.
Although ROG Ally is heavier than Nintendo Switch, it is lighter than Steam Deck.Because the counterweight position of the battery and the fan is reasonable, it is very balanced to hold; However, it is recommended that the elbows should still lean on the table or other flat surfaces when playing, otherwise the muscles will still feel sore after holding it for a long time.
Question 1: Is ROG Ally expensive?
After talking about the small shortcomings in the details of ROG Ally, then we will directly cut into ROG Ally’s biggest plus: Affordable price. Please note that what the author said here is “reasonable”, not “cheap”. After all, compared with Steam Deck, the starting price of ROG Ally is 23,999 yuan, which is still relatively high.
Purely from a hardware point of view, ROG Ally has a high-performance AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 12CUs RDNA 3 internal display chip, 120Hz high-brightness screen, 16GB LPDDR5 memory, 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, Wi- The combination of Fi 6 connection capability and so on is probably the specifications of entry-level thin and light notebooks.
However, ROG Ally packs all these features into a compact size of the size of a handheld, but the price is less than 24,000, and it even has certain gaming capabilities. “Eye” became “Housekeeping Eye”.
If consumers are hesitant to buy ROG Ally just because of the price, I really can’t think of any reason to dissuade them, andDon’t forget that this handheld also comes with a legitimate Windows 11 operating systemif you want to say that the disadvantage is that the 512GB storage capacity is not enough, and the SSD cannot be replaced by consumers. After installing several sets of large games, the hard disk space is almost consumed.
Conclusion: Is the ROG Ally expensive? It’s not expensive at all, and if you only look at the hardware, it’s even worth a little bit. With relatively few competing products in the market and relatively limited products, ASUS is willing to offer a price of 23,999 yuan, and the CP value is indeed satisfactory.
Question 2: What games can ROG Ally play?
If you want to answer which games ROG Ally can play, the most simple and straightforward answer is“As long as it is a game that can be executed on Windows, ROG Ally can play everything”after all, it is a Windows computer, but it looks different from other computers.
According to the author’s actual measurements of a variety of games from Steam, Ubisoft Connect, and Epic Games, such as “Inheritance of Hogwarts”, “Far Cry 6”, “Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey”, etc., basically all of them can be installed smoothly Execution; In terms of operation compatibility, for those works that already have joystick and controller support, benefiting from the standard Xbox joystick configuration, there is no obstacle.
but even ROG Ally can run almost any Windows gamebut there are two types of works, the author still does not recommend running them on handhelds. One of them is competitive FPS, and the other is real-time strategy RTS. Very recommended.
After all, although ROG Ally has a touch screen, it does not have a touchpad like Steam Deck, so for high-precision operations, or games that require accurate control of the keyboard and mouse, such as “APEX Heroes”, “CS: GO”, “Empire of the Century”, “Empire of Civilization”, etc., ROG Ally in pure handheld mode will definitely make you feel like being manipulated, unless you choose an external keyboard and mouse.
As for mobile gamers and audio gamers, since ROG Ally has a built-in touch screen, as long as the game can be executed (even through a virtual machine), there is actually no problem in playing it. Compared with ordinary computers, Having native touch control has become a major advantage of the handheld, not to mention GalGame, turn-based RPG, card and racing games that are most suitable for handle control.
In summary, if you areIf you like games with complex operations and a lot of keyboard and mouse control, then ROG Ally can play (or execute games), but it is not suitable for you to startbecause the control ability of the joystick + touch screen still has its shortcomings. Although an external keyboard and mouse are one of the solutions, it loses the important features of ROG Ally that should be easy to carry and play anywhere.
Question 3: Is the performance of ROG Ally good?
As a game console, but also a Windows computer, performance is naturally the focus of most gamers. ROG Ally uses AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, which contains 12CUs RDNA 3 internal display chip. According to the author’s test, ROG Ally plays most games very smoothly, but it can’t be demanding in the case of high frame rate. Excellent picture quality performance.
Constrained by the overall power consumption of the handheld,The frame rate target of ROG Ally in AC power mode is about 1080p, 60fps; as for the pure battery-powered handheld mode, the target is 720p, 60fpsIt is a reasonable and comfortable sweet spot.
| AC power | Battery | |
| Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (1080p, low quality) | Average 52fps | Average 36fps |
| Far Cry 6 (1080p, low quality) | Average 51fps | Average 36fps |
| CrossMark | 1673 | 1337 |
| 3DMark FireStrike (total score) | 6953 | 5646 |
| 3DMark TimeSpy (total score) | 3023 | 2222 |
| 3DMark Wild Life | 17477 | 12281 |
| PCMark 10 Extended | 6294 | 5323 |
In other words, facing the picture quality adjustment of most games, if the setting is based on the above two principles, players should not encounter the situation that the game cannot run. .
Remember, the primary goal of playing games on ROG Ally is smoothness, and the picture quality can only be ranked second. For this handheld, smoothness is no problem in most game situations, so I think its performance “Good enough”; however, if the player is a fan of image quality and ultra-high frame rate, then ROG Ally, whose performance is limited by heat dissipation and power consumption, obviously cannot satisfy you.
Question 4: Is the battery life of ROG Ally long enough?
Unfortunately, battery life is currently the biggest pain point of ROG Ally.Compared with Nintendo Switch, ROG Ally with x86 processor as its core inherently has a disadvantage of more power consumption, especiallyIn the case of heavy computing load, 2 hours of playing time has reached the limit in principle, and light load can probably last up to 4 hoursafter all, it is still running Windows, and there is still a gap compared to Steam Deck.
For a handheld that focuses on portability, the power barrier makes it impossible for players to find a reasonable way to extend the use time of ROG Ally. Although it is very convenient to charge through USB-C, ASUS also designed a battery for ROG Ally. It is a lightweight gaming all-in-one charger, but none of these can change the fact that its battery life is biased.
The only thing that can convince the players is that ROG Ally may still feel a little sore in the arms after holding it for a long time, so it was impossible to play for too long in a purely handheld situation, so after about 2 to 3 hours, due to insufficient power The opportunity to let yourself and the machine rest together sounds like a reasonable situation.
Question 5: Is ROG Ally scalable?
Regarding the scalability of ROG Ally, the author believes that it can be discussed in two aspects: “hardware” and “software”.
First of all, in terms of hardware,Since the capacity of the built-in 512GB SSD is really unable to cope with the huge storage space requirements of today’s games, it is almost absolutely necessary to expand through the microSD cardFortunately, ROG Ally directly supports UHS-II specifications, so players don’t have to worry about reading speed, just remember to buy a large-capacity high-speed memory card.
At the same time, ROG Ally can also be connected to an external XG Mobile e-sports graphics card external box, so that the graphics and computing capabilities can be further improved. For players who need to use it as a desktop computer, it is still an option; even if it is purely used for audio-visual entertainment, office , documents, etc., with the HDMI output of the e-sports all-in-one charger to the TV, computer monitor, ROG Ally can also easily handle it.
However, the entire ROG Ally has only one USB-C port. Even if the gaming external all-in-one charger is connected, there is only one USB Type-A port. For those who want to connect a mouse, keyboard, flash drive, etc. at the same time The situation of multiple devices is indeed not enough. This may also be the blind spot that ROG Ally will produce when multitasking outside the game environment.
As for the software, I can only say ROG Ally wins Windows, loses Windows. Due to the use of the Windows operating system, it can be said to have 100% compatibility with most computer software. Those software you use on desktops and laptops can of course be used on ROG Ally, so the software is scalable. , Excellent support.
However, trying to operate the Windows 11 operating system on a handheld can really be described as “inexplicable”. Although we know that Microsoft has worked hard to improve the touch operation experience of Windows, but in actual use,Especially on ROG Ally’s 7-inch screen, I still feel very uncomfortable.
Whether it is typing through the small keyboard on the screen (entering the account number and password of the game platform), selecting files in the file manager (managing screenshots, etc.), operating the web browser, installing and executing applications, or even adjusting the built-in settings of Windows, The author can still feel that the current Windows 11 is still a thing that needs a mouse and a keyboard. It is obviously not born for the logic of touch operation, let alone the joystick that is almost completely useless in desktop mode.
In comparison, Steam Deck in desktop mode has the precise assistance of the touchpad, and the overall operation feels much better, not to mention that Valve has also created an exclusive game interface that allows players to completely cut from the desktop mode.
Although ASUS tries to integrate game functions through Armory Crate SE, so that ROG Ally can try not to enter the Windows desktop environment, but it is still difficult to avoid in actual use.Players will definitely still encounter times when they need to deal with the traditional Windows interfaceat this time, if the operation is slightly unsatisfactory, the anger in the heart will soon arise spontaneously.
Conclusion: Should I buy the ROG Ally gaming console?
ASUS has planned many usage scenarios for ROG Ally, such as Me Time for personal exclusive use, We Time for audio and video output shared by multiple people, Pro Time for external devices to enhance performance, etc., which improves the versatility of this handheld Many, before buying, maybe you can think about which one is the most frequently used situation.
ROG Ally is a handheld game console with a beautiful appearance, good hardware performance, and good software support. It also has a certain degree of multitasking. With a price of less than 24,000, I think it is suitable for light PC gamers. , and for those who want to take the game with them and get an uninterrupted gaming experience in their spare time, such as commuting and traveling, it is indeed a product worth trying.
But for serious, hard-core gamers, and consumers who expect to completely replace laptops, ROG Ally’s insufficient battery life and unpleasant operating experience under the traditional Windows interface may become the key reasons to prevent you from starting .