Finest Purchase has a implausible deal on the Asus ROG Ally this week. The ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is on sale for $200 off, dropping the value from $650 to solely $450. As an added bonus, you will get the official ROG Ally Travel Case, which usually prices $40, at no cost together with your buy. And should you’ve by no means been a Sport Cross and/or Crunchyroll subscriber, you will additionally obtain one month of Sport Cross Final and 60 days of Crunchyroll’s Mega Fan subscription tier.
$450 (was $650)
The ROG Ally Z1 Extreme comes with a pointy 1080p display screen, AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 16GB LPDDR5 6400 RAM, and an inside 512GB NVMe SSD. In comparison with the $500 base mannequin ROG Ally, the Z1 Extreme has two extra CPU cores and a greater GPU, which may make a significant distinction with newer, extra graphically demanding video games.
The ROG Ally provides spectacular efficiency for the value. It is not going to play graphically demanding video games on the highest settings, however you continue to can play many AAA titles in 1080p decision with at the least 30fps. Even at its full $650 worth, the ROG Ally’s efficiency is admirable; at $450, the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme provides unimaginable worth.
Admittedly, you may fill a 512GB SSD pretty shortly as of late, however the ROG Ally has a microSD card slot that lets you develop your storage for affordable. As an example, you may seize a SanDisk Ultra 1TB microSD card for only $80 at Amazon. Alternatively, you can upgrade the internal SSD with an M.2 2230 NVMe SSD. One option here is Corsair’s 1TB MP600 Mini SSD for $95 (was $110).
It is value noting that Home windows could be cumbersome on gaming handhelds, except you pair it with a conventional mouse and keyboard setup. Asus does have a proprietary app known as Armoury Crate that provides you a extra conventional console-like interface for gaming, however you will nonetheless must spend a while navigating Home windows 11.
For a smoother general expertise and to show your handheld right into a hybrid desktop PC, we would advocate pairing your ROG Ally with a docking station. There are many budget-friendly docks, together with this popular JSAUX dock for $40. It is on the pricier aspect, however Razer just lately launched a Chroma RGB-enabled docking station. You possibly can order the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma for $80 at Amazon.
Asus additionally makes a 65W Charger Dock, which has ports for USB-C, USB 2.0, and HDMI 2.0.
The Steam Deck stays the most well-liked handheld gaming PC by a large margin, however the Asus ROG Ally has been the most well-liked various for Home windows customers since its June 2023 launch. Following the success of the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme and Z1 fashions, Asus launched the ROG Ally X final 12 months. Whereas it retained the Z1 Extreme chip, the ROG Ally X is fitted with 24GB RAM and different welcome enhancements akin to higher battery life, upgraded analog sticks, and elevated storage capability. The ROG Ally X is considerably costlier, particularly proper now, at $800 for a 1TB mannequin and $900 for a 2TB mannequin.
This is the total ROG Ally lineup, however the Z1 Extreme is the one mannequin that is on sale.
2025 appears to be like to be one other thrilling 12 months for handheld PCs. On February 14, Lenovo launched the Legion Go S. The Home windows mannequin of Lenovo’s upgraded handheld incorporates a new Ryzen Z2 Go Chip, 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Legion Go S is accessible to preorder now for $730 at Finest Purchase forward of its February 14 launch.
In Could, Lenovo will launch a $500 mannequin of the Legion Go S with SteamOS, the identical working system utilized by Valve’s Steam Deck. This mannequin options the Z2 Go Chip, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It is going to be the primary third-party handheld to run on SteamOS.