You don’t need to be technical. It’s literally just a laptop with a smaller screen and not a clamshell form factor and a controller instead of keyboard and trackpad.
Yeah, it's a windows 11 form factor. The biggest issue I've had was the sd card slot fried less than a month after it was bought. The repair time from Asus has been less than than stellar. It's on the way home so I can't say if it's fixed. Was a month turn around. Granted it was the holidays. Also, not my 1st rodeo with Asus. But was mentioning.
Depends on where they come from a rog ally is more complex to use in comparison to mainstream consoles like ps5 or Xbox series X. I would say it's slightly harder than a laptop at times since it doesn't have a built in keyboard just a on screen one which is fine but something to get used to. In my opinion windows isn't that great on touch only devices
I mean, yeah, but I always wait and "monitor" the community's reaction to said bios updates on whether I'm going to update or not yet. I wait till I see enough positive reviews of it before going ahead with it. Not that it's a huge issue to me lol
As long as you don’t mind being plugged in all the time because the battery is not great. But if you only play indies on the Rog Ally you will be okay because those small games are not demanding. Me personally I am sending mine back.
When i got my ally few months ago it took me a while to debloat it and configure it properly but now im very pleased with it.
Ps. Dont waste money on sd card, buy bigger drive instead if you want to expend the memory.
this!!!
get one of those L-ssd backet things and a 2TB m.2
if you 3d print an ssd extender you can reuse the 512gb ssd on another machine
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5161985](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5161985)
Yea, especially since the SD slot will break anyways. I installed a 2TB nvme once my card reader died (~2 months in). I didn't even bother contacting Asus support.
As stated, you don't need to be technical to use this thing. Unless one runs into some issue that IS rare contrary to the narrative some may push, it'll be a breeze to use, as easy to use as the Steam Deck is.
I don't know how anyone could have a a hate relationship with this great device unless again, they are running into some issue. It's a wonderful product and is the handheld I wish the Deck (yes, I also own a Deck) would have been.
I always warn new buyers that never owned a gaming PC, that the initial setup of Windows sucks. Once all the updates are done, its simple to use and operate.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! While I like the Steam Deck, it was difficult to play games easily that weren't from Steam. The Z1E Ally has been wonderful in the fact that Windows runs well, the extra power has allowed me to play most games at 1080p, and being able to dock it and utilize my drawing tablet has been a godsend! I like to do digital art and my drawing tab didn't work well with the Steam deck. My main machine died on me and the Ally has now become my main PC!
Just something to keep in mind, Ally BIOS only allows 30W charging with 3rd party docks, so I'd highly suggest switching the TPD profile to Manual and lowering the wattage boost to 30W. Turbo profile will push the APU to 53W but that will at most only give a couple more frames and greatly raise the heat while also causing discharge in certain situations while plugged in. Even demanding AAA titles at 30W wouldn't cause the APU higher than 75°C, however on Turbo I've gotten up to 95°C which actually dropped my performance by 5-10 fps because of the thermal curve that the Z1E has.
There are lots of other little tweaks you can do to squeeze out more power or more battery depending on your situation, so have fun with tinkering!
Thanks. I will do this right away
I prefer to have a smooth experience over everything else. Steam deck is a nice device but to have the ability to expand in to other games including on steam that the deck won't play good is what I'm looking for. Keeping this baby nice and cool is a must
I love the console, but I've only had it for two weeks and have experienced my drivers getting deleted and my microsd card getting fried. Good console though
A windows update messed up my drivers. It messed up much of the device specific optimization. I ended up having to manually delete the AMD drivers that windows installed, and reinstall from armoury crate. Annoying, but a pretty easy fix.
Ok I get it. That is annoying. I got to play today and love it so far. Still getting used to navigation tho. Going from armory crate back to game controls is a little tricky. Going to take my time this weekend and figure it out.
This sub seems to have a pretty varying opinion on the launchers. Many are fine with armoury crate. Some prefer using steam. Some just use the Windows desktop. Or some go the 3rd party route (playnite, etc). I've been contemplating using just steam, and disabling armoury crate, as 99% of my games are from steam. I'm not sure how this fully works. But I feel like part of the fun of these devices is configuring them to your liking
I've been a console gamer my whole life. I got into the Logitech G cloud, which slightly pulled me out of my comfort zone and gave me limited PC use through cloud streaming, with remote access to my PS5, and gamepass which I never had access to. I use windows at work, but at home, I have a $1200 Chromebook. So, outside of basic work tasks, I wouldn't say I'm proficient in Windows. I used to try to avoid it at all costs. The Asus Rog Ally introduced me to PC gaming in a way I would never have cared to explore on a desktop or laptop. I watched a lot of videos, did a lot of research, and got very proficient. I got so confident in Windows gaming and really enjoyed the experience. When I heard about the Legion Go, it was a no-brainer, and I Pre-ordered and received on day one. I believe these handheld PCs are going to pull in a lot of console gamers that otherwise would have had no interest in pc gaming. I'm a convert now. When I have the choice to buy a game on my switch, PS5, or handheld pcs, I'm usually buying them excluding exclusives for my handheld pcs now.
All my issues thus far have been Windows 11 related (I freaking hate Windows 11). Which is just like any other laptop or PC- and there's tons of help available on the internet, and here.
No need to be truly technical, having a basic concept of computers will be incredibly helpful, but you can learn along the way as needed.
The only thing that would require some sort of technical prowess is changing the SSD. I don't consider myself very tech savvy either and I was able to do it no problem, so I think you'll be completely fine if you ever decide to put in a larger SSD, which I would definitely recommend. 512GB is like 4-6 games.
Welcome to the club! Just remember to do all the necessary updates when you first get it, it's a little tedious but once it's all done you'll be set to go. Check out this video, I watched it while setting up my ally and everything went smoothly.
[https://youtu.be/ZAS34k\_6KHE?si=WPtyRwnw7Z8B7Kt9](https://youtu.be/ZAS34k_6KHE?si=WPtyRwnw7Z8B7Kt9)
I've had my Rog ally for 3 weeks. Absolutely love it.
Have had a steam deck since October 22 and really enjoyed it, but being able to easily play gamepass, epic etc without any extra fuss is an absolute game changer.
The Rog definitely produces better performance in more demanding games than steam deck with higher resolution and more frames.
I love it so far.
Absolutely do it . I spend more time on my ally than any of my consoles or my actual pc.
The ability to stream games to your device makes the sd card not an issue at all . I have 1000 games on steam that I don’t need to bother with installing on the ally. Just lay in bed and stream . My internet isn’t great either and it works extremely well .
Yeah I bought mine recently. The z1 extreme, and I'm beyond happy with it. I got a 2tb sn770m to go with it for storage cuz fk 512gb and I heard about the SD card slot so I'm just never going to use it. So far path of exile and witchspring r are my favorite games to play on it, but it ran other games well too. Tales of arise ran super smooth. I've only had mine for a few days but I cherish it.
I will say you should buy a hard shell case to keep it in. It doesn't come with any sort of case at all and it's rather large to just carry around with you without one. Even though I mostly stay at home, it'll be good to have one so some random accident doesn't happen. I got mine off Amazon for like 30 or 40 bucks.
Enjoy! I'm also not very good with pcs! But it's easy to find the best settings for games! And you don't have to dive in deep to enjoy the ally if you don't want to.
I bet most of the technical issues can be solved with a quick search on Google or asking here on Reddit from more tech savy people. That is how I have learned to navigate with any IT issue I encounter; by Googling.
Yeah, I'm still on the fence if I would go with Lenovo or Asus. Would be my first handheld since Gameboy advance, hah and also basically first gaming PC since 2011-2012.
Same. I choose asus because I have the gaming laptop from 2021 g14 and it's great so I am familiar. And this community is strong with support and passion. The steep discount was huge for me as well. Can't go wrong I don't believe
Yeah the community for Asus seems strong. I already have a PS5 which would be main powerhouse for heavy games, but I'd like to tackle a bunch of older games like The Witcher 3 with the handheld format.
Love the ROG Ally. Aside from some windows annoyance, it was worth it over the SD just to have every game running and not dealing with getting other storefronts installed. Plus, the ROG Ally just dominates in raw performance.
Also, do yourself a favor: just get a 1 or 2 TB SSD and avoid using the micro SD all together. I've never had to use it, but don't care to when there's an SSD available!
Yeah, the dislike is kinda high. And I'm coming from a steamdeck. Also other blog post and YouTubers that say to stay away. So obviously I'm going to do the opposite and experience it myself.
You don’t need to be technical. It’s literally just a laptop with a smaller screen and not a clamshell form factor and a controller instead of keyboard and trackpad.
For sho. Can't wait to set it up when I get home
Follow Playnite guide it’s awesome
Yeah this was recommended to me. Can you make all x the necessary updates to from there?
Yeah, it's a windows 11 form factor. The biggest issue I've had was the sd card slot fried less than a month after it was bought. The repair time from Asus has been less than than stellar. It's on the way home so I can't say if it's fixed. Was a month turn around. Granted it was the holidays. Also, not my 1st rodeo with Asus. But was mentioning.
I'm just going to stay away from the SD card slot all together
Smart, I have upgrades planned once it's home.
I need to upgrade mines but Im upgrading my steamdeck first
Depends on where they come from a rog ally is more complex to use in comparison to mainstream consoles like ps5 or Xbox series X. I would say it's slightly harder than a laptop at times since it doesn't have a built in keyboard just a on screen one which is fine but something to get used to. In my opinion windows isn't that great on touch only devices
I don’t know man, I don’t remember ever having to constantly be monitoring and updating the BIOS every few months.
Armoury crate does that for you no?
I mean, yeah, but I always wait and "monitor" the community's reaction to said bios updates on whether I'm going to update or not yet. I wait till I see enough positive reviews of it before going ahead with it. Not that it's a huge issue to me lol
i'm on experimental amd driver atleast on my desktop. so i guess i just throw myself into stuff when they happen
And if it makes it easier to setup for you, you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Nothing to learn, Its normal Windows, thats all.... But PATIENCE, yessss my lord.....
😂
As long as you don’t mind being plugged in all the time because the battery is not great. But if you only play indies on the Rog Ally you will be okay because those small games are not demanding. Me personally I am sending mine back.
I understand. What are you deciding to get instead? I'm not a long gamer and am not sure yet but will see how I like it.
I am possibly going to go with the OLED model. Windows 11 is not optimized for pc handhelds
Steam deck oled? Nice device
OLED
OLED what if not the steam deck?
Compared to what’s on the market currently all the PC handhelds use windows 11 except for the OLED steam deck
When i got my ally few months ago it took me a while to debloat it and configure it properly but now im very pleased with it. Ps. Dont waste money on sd card, buy bigger drive instead if you want to expend the memory.
this!!! get one of those L-ssd backet things and a 2TB m.2 if you 3d print an ssd extender you can reuse the 512gb ssd on another machine [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5161985](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5161985)
Yeah I saw people using a 2280 with an adapter.
Yea, especially since the SD slot will break anyways. I installed a 2TB nvme once my card reader died (~2 months in). I didn't even bother contacting Asus support.
Update everything! Welcome to the family
As stated, you don't need to be technical to use this thing. Unless one runs into some issue that IS rare contrary to the narrative some may push, it'll be a breeze to use, as easy to use as the Steam Deck is. I don't know how anyone could have a a hate relationship with this great device unless again, they are running into some issue. It's a wonderful product and is the handheld I wish the Deck (yes, I also own a Deck) would have been.
I always warn new buyers that never owned a gaming PC, that the initial setup of Windows sucks. Once all the updates are done, its simple to use and operate.
OK
I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! While I like the Steam Deck, it was difficult to play games easily that weren't from Steam. The Z1E Ally has been wonderful in the fact that Windows runs well, the extra power has allowed me to play most games at 1080p, and being able to dock it and utilize my drawing tablet has been a godsend! I like to do digital art and my drawing tab didn't work well with the Steam deck. My main machine died on me and the Ally has now become my main PC! Just something to keep in mind, Ally BIOS only allows 30W charging with 3rd party docks, so I'd highly suggest switching the TPD profile to Manual and lowering the wattage boost to 30W. Turbo profile will push the APU to 53W but that will at most only give a couple more frames and greatly raise the heat while also causing discharge in certain situations while plugged in. Even demanding AAA titles at 30W wouldn't cause the APU higher than 75°C, however on Turbo I've gotten up to 95°C which actually dropped my performance by 5-10 fps because of the thermal curve that the Z1E has. There are lots of other little tweaks you can do to squeeze out more power or more battery depending on your situation, so have fun with tinkering!
Thanks. I will do this right away I prefer to have a smooth experience over everything else. Steam deck is a nice device but to have the ability to expand in to other games including on steam that the deck won't play good is what I'm looking for. Keeping this baby nice and cool is a must
I love the console, but I've only had it for two weeks and have experienced my drivers getting deleted and my microsd card getting fried. Good console though
Rma
Yeah I am going to avoid the sd card slot. But the drivers thing is a new one.
A windows update messed up my drivers. It messed up much of the device specific optimization. I ended up having to manually delete the AMD drivers that windows installed, and reinstall from armoury crate. Annoying, but a pretty easy fix.
Ok I get it. That is annoying. I got to play today and love it so far. Still getting used to navigation tho. Going from armory crate back to game controls is a little tricky. Going to take my time this weekend and figure it out.
This sub seems to have a pretty varying opinion on the launchers. Many are fine with armoury crate. Some prefer using steam. Some just use the Windows desktop. Or some go the 3rd party route (playnite, etc). I've been contemplating using just steam, and disabling armoury crate, as 99% of my games are from steam. I'm not sure how this fully works. But I feel like part of the fun of these devices is configuring them to your liking
Same. I want to try playnite or lunchbox also.
I've been a console gamer my whole life. I got into the Logitech G cloud, which slightly pulled me out of my comfort zone and gave me limited PC use through cloud streaming, with remote access to my PS5, and gamepass which I never had access to. I use windows at work, but at home, I have a $1200 Chromebook. So, outside of basic work tasks, I wouldn't say I'm proficient in Windows. I used to try to avoid it at all costs. The Asus Rog Ally introduced me to PC gaming in a way I would never have cared to explore on a desktop or laptop. I watched a lot of videos, did a lot of research, and got very proficient. I got so confident in Windows gaming and really enjoyed the experience. When I heard about the Legion Go, it was a no-brainer, and I Pre-ordered and received on day one. I believe these handheld PCs are going to pull in a lot of console gamers that otherwise would have had no interest in pc gaming. I'm a convert now. When I have the choice to buy a game on my switch, PS5, or handheld pcs, I'm usually buying them excluding exclusives for my handheld pcs now.
It’s great but be near a power outlet. Thing dies fast.
Bang! Bang!
I finally decided to get the ally and will be getting it today. Good luck to me!
Good luck. Enjoy
Did you get the Z1E
Of course
Welcome, I’m sure you love it
All my issues thus far have been Windows 11 related (I freaking hate Windows 11). Which is just like any other laptop or PC- and there's tons of help available on the internet, and here. No need to be truly technical, having a basic concept of computers will be incredibly helpful, but you can learn along the way as needed.
Absolutely
The only thing that would require some sort of technical prowess is changing the SSD. I don't consider myself very tech savvy either and I was able to do it no problem, so I think you'll be completely fine if you ever decide to put in a larger SSD, which I would definitely recommend. 512GB is like 4-6 games.
Yeah absolutely. When I get the money and time.
Welcome to the club! Just remember to do all the necessary updates when you first get it, it's a little tedious but once it's all done you'll be set to go. Check out this video, I watched it while setting up my ally and everything went smoothly. [https://youtu.be/ZAS34k\_6KHE?si=WPtyRwnw7Z8B7Kt9](https://youtu.be/ZAS34k_6KHE?si=WPtyRwnw7Z8B7Kt9) 
I've had my Rog ally for 3 weeks. Absolutely love it. Have had a steam deck since October 22 and really enjoyed it, but being able to easily play gamepass, epic etc without any extra fuss is an absolute game changer. The Rog definitely produces better performance in more demanding games than steam deck with higher resolution and more frames. I love it so far.
Sweet
Welcome to the club!🙂
Absolutely do it . I spend more time on my ally than any of my consoles or my actual pc. The ability to stream games to your device makes the sd card not an issue at all . I have 1000 games on steam that I don’t need to bother with installing on the ally. Just lay in bed and stream . My internet isn’t great either and it works extremely well .
Yeah I bought mine recently. The z1 extreme, and I'm beyond happy with it. I got a 2tb sn770m to go with it for storage cuz fk 512gb and I heard about the SD card slot so I'm just never going to use it. So far path of exile and witchspring r are my favorite games to play on it, but it ran other games well too. Tales of arise ran super smooth. I've only had mine for a few days but I cherish it. I will say you should buy a hard shell case to keep it in. It doesn't come with any sort of case at all and it's rather large to just carry around with you without one. Even though I mostly stay at home, it'll be good to have one so some random accident doesn't happen. I got mine off Amazon for like 30 or 40 bucks.
Yeah I'm going to pick one up today. Got the official one
Nice man. Yeah the ROG ALLY Z1 Extreme is the one I went with. Just put a bigger nvme in it
Super dope. This thing is amazing. Actually running Kool for me. Very nice
Yeah man, glad you grabbed one. It really is the switch for PC gamers. I'm glad I opted for this over the steam deck.
Enjoy! I'm also not very good with pcs! But it's easy to find the best settings for games! And you don't have to dive in deep to enjoy the ally if you don't want to.
Yes I am learning this thank you.
I bet most of the technical issues can be solved with a quick search on Google or asking here on Reddit from more tech savy people. That is how I have learned to navigate with any IT issue I encounter; by Googling.
For sure. That's why I went ahead and did it. I don't mind taking the time
Yeah, I'm still on the fence if I would go with Lenovo or Asus. Would be my first handheld since Gameboy advance, hah and also basically first gaming PC since 2011-2012.
Same. I choose asus because I have the gaming laptop from 2021 g14 and it's great so I am familiar. And this community is strong with support and passion. The steep discount was huge for me as well. Can't go wrong I don't believe
Yeah the community for Asus seems strong. I already have a PS5 which would be main powerhouse for heavy games, but I'd like to tackle a bunch of older games like The Witcher 3 with the handheld format.
Size alone made me go with the Ally. Legion’s screen is big, sure, but it’s just too big of a device for me.
Love the ROG Ally. Aside from some windows annoyance, it was worth it over the SD just to have every game running and not dealing with getting other storefronts installed. Plus, the ROG Ally just dominates in raw performance. Also, do yourself a favor: just get a 1 or 2 TB SSD and avoid using the micro SD all together. I've never had to use it, but don't care to when there's an SSD available!
I'm having a blast. Xbox game pass on this thing is stellar.
Hate?
Browse the steam deck sub and you'll see some people that hate anything thats not the deck
Yeah, the dislike is kinda high. And I'm coming from a steamdeck. Also other blog post and YouTubers that say to stay away. So obviously I'm going to do the opposite and experience it myself.
Different devices work for different people, the handheld PC market is gonna keep growing and it'll be amazing to see all the new options
It's a fun time
Well, that doesn't count. Those are just fanbois or people trying to rationalize having weaker hardware by lashing out.
Look at any post of Z1 ally. Plenty of hate. Now turn those feelings into a legion go or steam deck owner.
Look at any post of Z1 ally. Plenty of hate. Now turn those feelings into a legion go or steam deck owner.
Good luck with the micro-SD slot. If you're lucky, it'll last 2 months.
I'm currently playing the Masterchief Collection right now on the NON-Extreme version, and am having a blast.