I'm the Second Person to Touch This - ROG Ally Preview

[Plouffe]

Asus ROG is entering the ring with their own Zen4 RDNA3 handheld, the ROG Ally, and we've got an early look at it. We won't know the price until closer to launch, but so far it's pretty impressive.

 

Check out the ASUS ROG Ally:
US: https://lmg.gg/ROGAllyUS
Canada: https://bit.ly/ROGAllyCanada

 

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

 

 

[creesch]

This video is missing from floatplane. 

[darwin006]

The ability to plug an external GPU is huge. It is one of the biggest things the Steam Deck is missing. Not having hall effect joysticks sucks. RGB lights around the joysticks is dumb and only increases the BOM cost the device. This device is going to be competing against the heavily subsidized $400 Steam Deck increasing the cost of the device with lame lighting gimmicks is not going to help them sell units. Is Asus going to support reparability? Valve is letting people buy just about every part of the Steam Deck and Valve is letting people make third part stuff for the Steam Deck.

 

This device could be really good but I think its more likely that it is going to be shit. It could be worse though, if it was running Android OS is would manufactured e-waste.

[wobkobi]

wtf its real

[WereCat]

Did Linus just leak the price of this thing? lol

[Shreyas1]

As a steam deck owner, I can say that the display resolution being too low is definitely not an issue in my experience. I would much rather have a product that keeps the same resolution and has a longer battery life as a result.

 

I don't think going from 720p to 1080p  or even 1440p is going to be such a big deal when the screen is very small and you are holding it at a reasonable distance 

[WereCat]

5 minutes ago, Shreyas1 said:

As a steam deck owner, I can say that the display resolution being too low is definitely not an issue in my experience. I would much rather have a product that keeps the same resolution and has a longer battery life as a result.

 

I don't think going from 720p to 1080p  or even 1440p is going to be such a big deal when the screen is very small and you are holding it at a reasonable distance 

"Double the performance"

 

So going from 800p to 1080p and from 60Hz to 120Hz does not seems like "Double the performance" will be enough.

 

For the games I play on Steam Deck I could run those at 120FPS even with the SD performance since games like these are not demanding at all.

For anything more demanding I run it at 40Hz/FPS just to get more battery life.

 

One big thing that his ASUS handheld may not have though.... can you put it to sleep in middle of the game and then resume without issues?

[Ultraforce]

I know that I'm not the target audience for the device but personally it felt a bit weird having Linus talk about how great for retro/emulation going from 60 to 120 fps is because outside of an arguement of accuracy I thought that like with gen 7/8 games earlier generations of games often had physics tied to the FPS so if you were using something to get metal slug to run at 120 fps the game would be going at an increased speed or other aspects would break.

[Senzelian]

20 minutes ago, WereCat said:

Did Linus just leak the price of this thing? lol

Did he? I mean I didn't notice anything in the video.

 

But either way, I suspect it's gonna start at $700 at least.

[WereCat]

4 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

Did he? I mean I didn't notice anything in the video.

 

But either way, I suspect it's gonna start at $700 at least.

When he plays it docked with the eGPU he says that he is getting over 60FPS "as should be expected with something that probably costs $2500"

 

They showed the RTX 4090 mobile dock was roughly $1999 so that +  $500 = $2499 

 

Obviously I'm making it into a joke but if Linus really does know something and sneaked this in... we shall know in time

[Senzelian]

8 minutes ago, WereCat said:

When he plays it docked with the eGPU he says that he is getting over 60FPS "as should be expected with something that probably costs $2500"

 

They showed the RTX 4090 mobile dock was roughly $1999 so that +  $500 = $2499 

 

Obviously I'm making it into a joke but if Linus really does know something and sneaked this in... we shall know in time

Well done. I didn't even think about that. But I must say that I think it's going to be a little more expensive, considering how much the Steam Deck costs. 120Hz display, the external GPU connector and the ROG tax. It's gonna be pricey  

[WereCat]

1 minute ago, Senzelian said:

Well done. I didn't even think about that. But I must say that I think it's going to be a little more expensive, considering how much the Steam Deck costs. 120Hz display, the external GPU connector and the ROG tax. It's gonna be pricey  

Yeah. I think it's going to be at the very least $700 probably closer to $900 though.

Also no idea about rest of the specs like storage, RAM (if it's even upgradable), etc...

[samcool55]

If it's double the performance for double the price, is it really a steamdeck competitor?

Yes it's aimed at the same market, but for people with a different budget and also, would comparing a new 1000 dollar computer to a year old 500 dollar computer be a fair comparison? (that's based on the assumption the ROG thing is 800 dollars)

 

Also you can be sure that whatever APU is in that thing that AYA, GPD and ONEXPLAYER are also looking into putting it into their own devices.

It's cool that a big brand is FINALLY trying it too but, it's ROG, it's gonna be expensive.

[CyberneticTitan]

I stopped using my Steam Deck because of game compatibility and software support on Windows required community effort, as well as lacklustre performance in some AAA games.

 

Zen4 + RDNA3 might get me interested in these handhelds again. The USB-C port not being USB4 or Thunderbolt is a major bummer, and I hope they find a way to add this, despite already reserving 8 Gen 3 lanes to their eGPU connector. 120Hz and 1080p are also great additions.

 

This is no doubt going to be an expensive machine. Hope to see it on sale this Black Friday!

[UberPolice]

EPIC

[ToboRobot]

Can you install SteamOS on it?

[NonaHarry]

Someone forgot to blur the reflection.

Not a lot of information though. Time stamp 5:08

[ExcaliburMM]

This is a really impressive preview of a device that looks to be flexing on the Steamdeck pretty hard. And that's not an easy thing to do, but I'd reckon someone like ASUS is pretty well positioned to make a device like this. The external GPU factor is certainly cool, but to Linus's point there's measures they could take to make it even better. The question this video really left me with is this:

Where is Nintendo going to go when its time for a new console?

 

Consider:

-Nintendo ceded the chase of graphical parity with Sony/MS years ago to come at consoles from a different angle.

-The first of these was with the Wii, where they focused on motion controls.

-With the Switch their main differentiator has been portability, which devices like the Steamdeck, Ally, and others are now encroaching on.
-The performance is to such a point that when out and about or at home with an eGPU you can probably outclass the Switch pretty handily.
-Nintendo's hold over certain exclusive titles/franchises seems to get smaller rather than larger over the years, and much like Sega will not be enough to save them.

I don't see a place for Nintendo in the hardware market long term under these conditions, and barring a 3rd angle of attack like going all in on VR next time (which has its own challenges) I can't see how they stay relevant in hardware amongst competitors like these. Its no longer just fringe handheld only brands making units that most kids won't know about. The Steamdeck and now the Ally are by household names with the expertise and pockets to really make a go of it. To me, it seems like Nintendo is going to be chased out of another area where they are going to be too scared to go toe-to-toe in hardware.

Its going to be a real interesting time seeing what consoles, PC, and other gaming devices look like a few short years from now.

[TUF ASUS x570 user]

9 hours ago, Plouffe said:

Asus ROG is entering the ring with their own Zen4 RDNA3 handheld, the ROG Ally, and we've got an early look at it. We won't know the price until closer to launch, but so far it's pretty impressive.

 

Check out the ASUS ROG Ally:
US: https://lmg.gg/ROGAllyUS
Canada: https://bit.ly/ROGAllyCanada

 

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

 

 

Three years ago when I bought the Asus motherboard for my desktop computer I filled out a survey for ASUS. The topic was their new line of laptops and what features I would want them to have. As I scrolled through the list of options I selected "Other" and wrote "docking port for use with external graphics cards" because USB-C alone wouldn't be as fast or robust. About 9 months later I was surprised to se their new line of laptops with their custom Docking port and I was happy that they took my answers to heart. Although I was slightly disappointed that it was released about 3 months after I bought ASUS Stix G15 laptop. I am happy to see that they continue to us this concept for other products. It would be cool if all their gaming laptops came with that port as standard. Maybe I'll finally have a reason to buy one of their products with a Docking port.

[TUF ASUS x570 user]

21 minutes ago, TUF ASUS x570 user said:

Three years ago when I bought the Asus motherboard for my desktop computer I filled out a survey for ASUS. The topic was their new line of laptops and what features I would want them to have. As I scrolled through the list of options I selected "Other" and wrote "docking port for use with external graphics cards" because USB-C alone wouldn't be as fast or robust. About 9 months later I was surprised to se their new line of laptops with their custom Docking port and I was happy that they took my answers to heart. Although I was slightly disappointed that it was released about 3 months after I bought ASUS Stix G15 laptop. I am happy to see that they continue to us this concept for other products. It would be cool if all their gaming laptops came with that port as standard. Maybe I'll finally have a reason to buy one of their products with a Docking port.

On a side note, is anyone annoyed by how Linus continues to complain about the quality of joysticks? I hope ASUS doesn't listen to him because no one cares that much about the joysticks. My brother once bout the GuliKit kingkong Switch controller that Linus reviewed.

Linus did not like the joysticks He says "Think they could have a little less friction around the edge". When my brother received his we both came to the conclusion that Linus didn't push in the joysticks all the way and isn't a real gamer. Those joysticks had no friction at all.

i worry about the things Linus says that will influence the manufacturers. like when he use to say that the bezels on screens were too big. And now its just like: who was asking for that? it didn't matter to the average consumer or gamer. It might have mattered if the average consumer bought multiple smaller screens, but ultrawide monitors were the better option. There's no reason why the bezels on my ultrawide are so small.

[AndreiArgeanu]

6 hours ago, ExcaliburMM said:

-With the Switch their main differentiator has been portability, which devices like the Steamdeck, Ally, and others are now encroaching on.
-The performance is to such a point that when out and about or at home with an eGPU you can probably outclass the Switch pretty handily.

This is another one of those PC vs Console type deals. It's not the same by far. First the Steam Deck costs more, 100£ more for the base model which isn't even in stock, so the price difference end's up being closer to 200£. No one buying a Nintendo console since the Wii has cared about performance, most smartphones can easily beat the switch nowadays but that's never really been a massive problem with Nintendo consoles, it's more about their exclusive title + some kind of gimmick sometimes like motion control or portability. Never mind the compatibility hurdles that come with owning a steam deck, or similar device. The switch is very much plug and play, you pop the game in and it works, no fiddling needed. On the other hand with the steam deck and other PC like machines there's always the hurdle of compatibility, especially when the steam deck is running Linux, there's also the issue of performance and settings in each specific title, trying to either balance quality, fps or battery life and there aren't any games as far as I know that have simple presets that just allow you to go from quality, to fps, to focus on battery life kinda like there is on the PS5 or Series consoles for example. At the end of the day you need to be a little tech savvy to use these consoles, I personally wouldn't gift a steam deck or similar console to my parents or a young child for example, I'd get them a switch.

 

[Mercdoc]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:17 PM, Plouffe said:

Asus ROG is entering the ring with their own Zen4 RDNA3 handheld, the ROG Ally, and we've got an early look at it. We won't know the price until closer to launch, but so far it's pretty impressive.

 

Check out the ASUS ROG Ally:
US: https://lmg.gg/ROGAllyUS
Canada: https://bit.ly/ROGAllyCanada

 

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

 

 

I was super excited for the Ally to arrive. Then 15 days after I got it the SD card reader died. Getting support from ASUS or Best Buys Geek Squad seems impossible. I have been stuck in a marry go round of frustration.... aggravation....and disappointment with them both. Geek squad says ASUS told them to hold for an update that they don't know will come and ASUS says no one has attempted to RMA my serial number as the reader failure was approved to exchange. This all started 4 June and I am looking at another month without. It was great up to the reader failure. Just if you have issues I really hope you get better support than I have. #hating_ASUS #ASUSSUPPORTSUCKS #BESTBUYCUSTOMERSERVICESUCK #GEEKSQUADISAWASTEOFTIMEANDMONEY