Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck – It has been a couple of months since my original Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme , and it’s changed quite a lot. The ROG Companion is still an impressive device, easily beating the Steam Deck when it comes to raw performance. However, several odd updates have put the ROG Companion at a disadvantage compared with the Steam Deck.
The ROG Alley is still the best choice for those without a portable gaming PC. As you’ll see in our Steam Deck , Valve’s handheld gaming device is still an important player in the ever-changing world of handheld gaming, even with its outdated hardware.
It’s all a matter of price
The ROG Alley was a price-sensitive product, particularly in comparison to Steam’s aggressively priced decks. It’s obvious that Asus is ready to match Valve with aggressive pricing.
The ROG Alley Z1 Extreme with Z1 Alley is $700. Best Buy is the only place where it’s available. I worried that it would be sold out quickly, but it still has it in stock at list price. There is now a cheaper Ryzen Z1 model available for $600.
You can get the Steam Deck for as little as $400 with 64GB slow storage. You’ll need to pay $650 for 512GB of storage, like the Z1 Extreme from ROG Alley. Steam Deck has one advantage over Steam Deck, however. Valve now offers refurbished Steam Decks for as little as $320.
Valve has decided to phase out the Steam Deck 64GB and Steam Deck 512GB with the introduction of Steam Deck OLED. You’ll now only be able to buy the 256GB version, which costs $400. Steam Deck OLED is priced the same, with 1TB of storage at $650 and 512GB for $530. ROG Alley has a faster processor than Steam Deck but is now significantly more expensive.
Some curious features
It’s true that the ROG Alley is a beautiful device, but its underlying hardware makes it so exciting. ROG Ele’s processors are AMD Z1 series, custom APUs with Zen 4 CPU and RDNA3 GPU cores. AMD does have two Z1 processors, but they are quite different.
Ryzen Z1 has six Zen 4 and four RDNA cores, resulting in a theoretical performance of 2.8 TFLOPS. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme, on the other hand, has eight Zen 4 Cores and 12 RDNA3 cores. AMD claims that this allows for very high performance, up to 8,6 TFLOPs.
There are competitors to the ROG Ele Z1 Extreme. Lenovo’s Legion Go, which is due out soon, will feature a Z1 Extreme. The AyaneO 2, meanwhile, uses the Ryzen 7 7840U – a Z1 Extreme rebranded.
The Steam Deck, in comparison, is equipped with much less powerful hardware. No matter which model you select, the four Zen 2 and eight RDNA 2 Cores will offer up to 1.6 TFLOPS of theoretical performance. Steam Deck APU’s also max out at 15W while ROG Alley Turbo can reach 30W.
The APUs are vastly different, but there are some similarities between them. The devices both have 16GB LPDDR5 and a microSD slot to expand storage. They both support USB-C charging, and have a 3.5mm jack for headphones.
The micro SD card is a controversial topic. Asus confirmed that certain temperatures can cause the ROG Ele to damage the microSD cards. The problem persists even though we have been using it without issue for several months.
a clear performance winner
It’s a fact that the ROG Alley and the Z1 Extreme are faster than Steam Deck. When comparing apples to apples, with the same APU power and resolution as the Steam Deck, ROG Alley can be up 50% faster. ROG Ally is capable of scaling even higher. By plugging the ROG charger into the Steam Deck, you can increase its power to up 30W.
The ROG Ele was always going to be faster. It also has a screen with higher resolution. The ROG Companion begins to falter at 1080p. It’s still an excellent performer. Especially since it runs the most demanding titles available at today’s medium settings, while maintaining 30 frames per seconds (FPS).
Since its release, Asus released numerous updates to the ROG Ele. However, they did not improve performance. Performance has actually gone down. You can tell from our July retest that the Steam Deck is a little slower.
Although the ROG Companion is still very fast, it’s disappointing that its performance dropped after a BIOS upgrade. This BIOS update, it seems, was also intended to improve performance. Previous versions were even slower.
There are a few ways to enhance your performance, including different performance settings and scaling. Both ROG Alley & Steam Deck can be upgraded to higher levels. ROG Alley is capable of even more. Steam Deck can only operate between 5W to 15W. You are able to run the APU from 7W up until 30W.
It’s not recommended to run the ROG Elie 30W at full power, but having the option is nice if you are close to the charger and need a boost in performance. The Turbo mode, however, isn’t practical when you are on the move. It will quickly drain the battery.
Battery life is pretty similar between the ROG Ellie and Steam Deck. In the ROG Ally or Steam Deck’s default performance mode, at maximum speed you get two hours from a AAA title. The ROG Ellie’s Turbo Mode is extremely poor. In my tests, it froze up in under an hour.
Overall, however, it seems that the ROG Companion is more of a qualityUpgrade for Steam Deck than a performance upgrade. The ROG companion is faster, more efficient and offers a better gaming experience.
You will also have to describe how you plan on using the gaming handheld. Steam Deck, even though it’s less powerful, may prove more valuable if this isn’t your sole gaming platform. After several months of using the ROG Ellie, I switched to my Steam Deck.
How about Ryzen Z1 instead? You can see in our Asus ROG Ally Z1 that it is not a good option. You can see in the image above that the Ryzen Z1 model can’t match the performance of the Steam Deck at 720p using the default display setting.
The device didn’t seem to benefit from a higher wattage in our tests. You should either choose the Z1 Extreme or the Steam Deck if you are considering the Asus RoG Ally and Ryzen Z1.
Windows 11 is not a done deal
Steam Deck and ROG Alley differ in their operating systems. Steam Deck runs Valve’s SteamOS while ROG Alley will run Windows 11
There are always pros and cons. SteamOS is a streamlined, easy-to use interface that’s perfect for portable gaming. Steam Deck is connected to PC gaming’s largest distribution network, making it easy to purchase new games.
There are a number of problems. SteamOS, for one thing, is still very small. When I am away from my charger, I must turn off Wi-Fi on my Steam Deck because it can get confused and believe that the battery is low, even though the device has been fully charged. SteamOS is full of these quirks.
SteamOS was built using Linux, which is the most significant difference for many people. You won’t be allowed to play many games. This includes games that use anti-cheat programs and those on other markets (like Xbox). Windows 11 resolves this issue with ROG Alley. You can now play other games and those that have anti-cheat programs like Destiny 2.
Windows 11 has its own shortcomings. First, this is not an operating system for handheld games. It is designed to run on desktop computers. Asus Armory Crate is a desktop operating system that runs over Windows. You can launch games, configure the settings, connect to EA, Xbox, Ubisoft Connect and GOG Galaxy apps and more. It’s not an all-in-one solution.
Installing your games will require you to return to the desktop. Any launcher that is used (such as Cyberpunk 2077), will take you there. The Armory Crate allows you to quickly switch between the desktop and gaming modes. You can bind keyboard commands and mouse actions to buttons. Shortcuts and actions such as opening Task Manager are also possible.
Steam Deck is not user-friendly, and the main reason for this are weird bugs. These problems are a given for the ROG Ele, which feels like a portable laptop rather than a console. Steam Deck wins this round, but still suffers from usability problems.
Fit and finish
The Steam Deck has a better feel than the ROG Alley. Valve has made good use of the space by adding quality buttons and thumbsticks, and a trackpad for games that demand precision.
It’s true that the ROG Ellie does not have a trackpad. However, its buttons aren’t very good. The D-pad is terrible, the thumbsticks feel cheap. The ROG Alley controller isn’t as bad as Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, but it feels cheap.
The ROG Ally, however, is much more comfortable. The ROG Ally is very light, but also small. The ROG Ally is easier to control from an aircraft above the Steam Deck.
ROG Alley is the winner (with Z1 Extreme)
This ROG Companion has its own issues. It doesn’t solve the problems with Steam Deck immediately. For $50 more, Asus offers a better battery life and performance. It also has more games available through Xbox Game Pass. And Asus’ screen is much nicer.
This is for the flagship version only. This is because the base ROG Ally model with Ryzen Z1 has a lower quality of life than the Steam Deck and does not have the same features as Valve’s portable.
You shouldn’t, however, give up Steam Deck. Even after the ROG Alley’s recent updates, Steam Deck continues to be impressive with its level of stability. If you haven’t yet purchased a portable gaming computer, the ROG Alley would be a good choice. However, if your Steam Deck is already up to date it wouldn’t justify an upgrade.
It is more so now, as Steam Deck OLED is on its way. The handheld hasn’t been reviewed yet but will certainly balance out the display. Valve offers the Steam Deck with OLED for a lower price than its original version, which makes the Ele appear more expensive.
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