StereoVsn
Member
Micron 2TB is around $150 and it’s a very good price for about same performance as other drives.
For 1TB there are ton of choices but I would keep to familiar brands with decent warranties just in case.
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ASUS ROG ALLY | OT + Review Thread | Steam Deck but ROGher
For 1TB there are ton of choices but I would keep to familiar brands with decent warranties just in case.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
How does the Rokid Max run with it? you have me tempted! do you have the Rokid hub and does this work with the Ally?
Topher
Gold Member
Have to say, gaming aside, this thing is pretty kick ass as a desktop computer. Got it hooked up to both my monitors. Very quick, no issues so far. Can't find a mini PC for sale on Amazon for $550 with these specs so pretty happy with this open box deal.
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StereoVsn
Member
Yeah, for that price it’s almost a no brainer. And it comes with a screen and battery.Have to say, gaming aside, this thing is pretty kick ass as a desktop computer. Got it hooked up to both my monitors. Very quick, no issues so far. Can't find a mini PC for sale on Amazon for $550 with these specs so pretty happy with this open box deal.
Now, if you really just wanted a mini PC I would still recommend one on sale from Amazon for better upgrade process and ability to run at like 50-60w, but overall Ally is pretty good.
Topher
Gold Member
Yeah, makes sense. I have a gaming PC hooked up to my TV so no real need for a second PC with high wattage. I have been using a Mac mini I've used until now, but finding I need more than the 8GB RAM it came with. Should have known better. This will work perfectly I think. Portable gaming is an added bonus.
glimmerman
Member
Rokid max works well for me. Solves the tiny text problem very well. A little blurry on the edges, but it's adjustable. I bought a 3rd party usb hub, not the rokid hub, as apparently the rokid hub won't charge the ally at full wattage. The j5create hub allows me to use my external battery to charge the ally at full speed, while setting turbo mode, and using the rokid. Make sure you get a hub that does video out on a usb port tho, many do not!
USB4® Dual 4K Multi-Port Hub
Featuring Intel® USB4® Controller Enhances Dynamic Bandwidth Sharing For Better Video And Optimized Data Transmission 5-in-1 Functions Multiple connectivity options for greater efficiency Dual 4K Monitor Setup, Increasing Productivity And Saving Time Includes a 4K capable...
en.j5create.com
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graywolf323
Member
Best Buy has open box - excellent condition of the beefier model for <$500 ($483.99 to be exact) now and boy is it tempting 
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Topher
Gold Member
Best Buy has open box - excellent condition of the beefier model for <$500 ($483.99 to be exact) now and boy is it tempting
Ah wow. That is a hell of a deal. Open box price dropped with their black friday sales event. Dang....I should have waited.
graywolf323
Member
it’s even in-stock at a store near me… I could have it today after work
I should resist… I’d basically have no money to spend on Black Friday sales if I get this
Best Buy has open box - excellent condition of the beefier model for <$500 ($483.99 to be exact) now and boy is it tempting
Ordered one.
I'll blame you if i regret this. But i'm sure I won't
I should resist… I’d basically have no money to spend on Black Friday sales if I get this
Leaked black Friday pricing is $619 so this open box price is a heck of a deal. Came down to $526 for me after tax and shipping.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
at this rate, you'll probably be able to get one for the price of a 64GB Deck by Black Friday.Best Buy has open box - excellent condition of the beefier model for <$500 ($483.99 to be exact) now and boy is it tempting
graywolf323
Member
this probably is going to be the same as the day of Black Friday price, as O Ozriel notes it’s $619 tagged as a Black Friday deal new and it’s $599 for if you pay for the My Best Buy Plus or Total memberships
edit: nice thing is the extended holiday return period is in effect so you have until January 13th to return it too
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StereoVsn
Member
It’s a great deal even at $520, IMO. However at $450 or whatever it was a tremendous one.
Topher
Gold Member
Yeah, still a great deal. I paid $550 plus tax a few weeks ago.
O Ozriel said he ordered one.
graywolf323
did you decide against it?
StereoVsn
Member
Yeah, at the price it’s a much better deal vs Lenovo, IMO. Unless Lenovo does crazy coupons on BF.Yeah, still a great deal. I paid $550 plus tax a few weeks ago.
O Ozriel said he ordered one.
graywolf323
Member
I had to sleep on it, ended up missing the Best Buy deal but instead I got one with a bunch of accessories (and already upgraded to a 2TB Sabrent) for $560 (plus tax but with free shipping) off eBayYeah, still a great deal. I paid $550 plus tax a few weeks ago.
O Ozriel said he ordered one.
edit: the only knock on it was the SD card reader is already burned out but given that seems to be a design flaw along the lines of the 360’s RROD, I was always going to upgrade the SSD & try to not use a SD card in the first place
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Topher
Gold Member
I had to sleep on it, ended up missing the Best Buy deal but instead I got one with a bunch of accessories (and already upgraded to a 2TB Sabrent) for $560 (plus tax but with free shipping) off eBay
edit: the only knock on it was the SD card reader is already burned out but given that seems to be a design flaw along the lines of the 360’s RROD, I was always going to upgrade the SSD & try to not use a SD card in the first place
That's a damn good deal. Yeah.....I don't even think about putting an SD card in this thing due to the issues. I upgraded mine to 1 TB and that is really plenty of space for my needs. I don't keep a lot of games installed at one time. With everything I have on it now, I have 500 gigs free.
graywolf323
Member
yeah honestly I think I got a ridiculously good deal, the seller was selling it to help pay for a Legion Go, this is what all comes in the bundle
the original asking price was $620 which honestly I think they could have gotten but they wanted to get it out the door so they sent a seller offer and I really only countered to get it below $600 with sales tax but they accepted at which point it’s like oh well I guess I now have a ROG Ally - One (1) ASUS ROG Ally 7 Ryzen Z1 Extreme Handheld PC. Everything works perfect with the exception of the SD reader which didn't make it unfortunately. This device has been reset as shown in the photos.
- The device has been installed with a 2TB NVMe 2230 drive. The picture of the screen shows evidence of the storage provided prior to wiping. Drive is a SABRENT Rocket Q4 2230 NVMe 4.0 2TB High Performance PCIe 4.0 M.2 2230 SSD.
- The original box, paperwork, and charger is included. Note the small tear in the box in the photos.
- The device has a glass screen protector installed which is immaculate. Two more glass screen protectors are provided.
- Includes a Dobewingdelou Protective Case for Rog Ally with Kickstand, TPU Protector Case Cover Skin with Foldable Stand Accessories for Rog Ally Game Handheld
- Includes tomtoc Carrying Case for Steam Deck Console & Accessories, Protective Shoulder Bag Pouch with Pockets
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Topher
Gold Member
yeah honestly I think I got a ridiculously good deal, the seller was selling it to help pay for a Legion Go, this is what all comes in the bundle
- One (1) ASUS ROG Ally 7 Ryzen Z1 Extreme Handheld PC. Everything works perfect with the exception of the SD reader which didn't make it unfortunately. This device has been reset as shown in the photos.
- The device has been installed with a 2TB NVMe 2230 drive. The picture of the screen shows evidence of the storage provided prior to wiping. Drive is a SABRENT Rocket Q4 2230 NVMe 4.0 2TB High Performance PCIe 4.0 M.2 2230 SSD.
- The original box, paperwork, and charger is included. Note the small tear in the box in the photos.
- The device has a glass screen protector installed which is immaculate. Two more glass screen protectors are provided.
- Includes a Dobewingdelou Protective Case for Rog Ally with Kickstand, TPU Protector Case Cover Skin with Foldable Stand Accessories for Rog Ally Game Handheld
- Includes tomtoc Carrying Case for Steam Deck Console & Accessories, Protective Shoulder Bag Pouch with Pockets
Holy shit. That's a huge bargain considering everything you got. Let me know how you like that case.
graywolf323
Member
will do, the only downside to this is I have to wait for it to ship from Jersey but I should have it early next week since I’m only a few states away (hoping for Monday)
it only ended up being ~$80 more than Best Buy would have been at yesterday’s price picking it up at my local store
as much as I wish I could fiddle with it this weekend I think the trade-off is worth it
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Topher
Gold Member
Rog Ally Z1 Extreme is down to $599.99 at Best Buy. Open box (excellent) is $503.99
StereoVsn
Member
That is an excellent deal if you want Windows, 3rd party stores and better performance vs Steam Deck.
Basically as long as you don’t care too much about battery life, and mainly play controller supported games $500 is an amazing price.
graywolf323
Member
the tomtoc shoulder bag is really nice, the Dobewingdelou protective case however I found to be a bit meh so I ended up ordering the JSAUX Mod Case for the Ally from a Black Friday sale since I like their case for the Steam Deck a lot (it hasn’t arrived yet though)
Gamezone
Gold Member
The biggest problem with this device is Windows. The combination between Windows and no track pads, and the fact that it take hours to set up when you take it out the box for the first time isn't a very pleasant experience for most people. The Steam Deck feels much more like a console, and is almost ready out of the box.
Is SteamOS open source? If not, what's Valve plan with it? I want to see this OS on third party handhelds as well.
Is SteamOS open source? If not, what's Valve plan with it? I want to see this OS on third party handhelds as well.
StereoVsn
Member
It’s generally Open Source but Valve really doesn’t have resources to do 3rd party support. There was/is image based off Steam Deck for some of the Windows handhelds a while back. Don’t remember the name.
jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
It's just running Arch Linux with some custom closed-source binaries (the good Steam stuff). Unfortunately it's currently only being built with custom software and drivers specifically for the Steam Deck. They don't plan on distributing their closed source stuff, last I heard.
There is a pretty good approximation of SteamOS that you can download - HoloISO
GitHub - holoiso-eol/holoiso: SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration
SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration. Contribute to holoiso-eol/holoiso development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Here's someone running it on the Ally
BobbyColtrane
Member
I don't know what you're talking about, I bought this specifically for Windows. I had a Deck and installed Windows to play the games I wanted on it.
I do miss the trackpads of the Deck.
It takes time to set up because its a pc, no different than setting up a desktop. If you want a console, the Steam Deck is right there...
Gamezone
Gold Member
I think most people are expecting a more "console like" experience. That's probably why so many devices are getting returned.
BobbyColtrane
Member
Yeah, for sure. I have no idea why people buy the stuff they do. I guess theyre just conditioned to a handheld being a console, going back from the original Game Boy through the PSP, Vita, Switch etc.
I wanted a PC and I got a handheld PC. If you return a desktop computer because you wanted it to work like an XBox, that's on you, not Dell or some other manufacturer.
Mr Hyde
Member
Read that Asus is probably putting out a second gen version of ROG Ally. Exciting to see what they have come up with. I think the Ally is a great handheld. It has a very good screen. VRR support. Nice form factor and comfortable to hold. Excellent for emulation. Excellent for running games up to PS4 era. It's compatible with pretty much everything I've thrown st it. But one thing Asus needs to adress is the battery. It's the biggest flaw. I can live with if it gets a little heavier. At least get it up to 2-3 hours at least when running in performance mode. Silent mode is good and efficient but it would be nice if performance could match it. I hope Asus has something good cooking up.
StereoVsn
Member
Yeah, they need to bump up battery life by 30% or more. Plus I would like to see even brighter screen (OLED is great but don’t want to lose VRR), and 32GB RAM which would allow greater RAM allocation to GPU.
Plus they could add even faster RAM speeds potentially. And throw in a bit deeper grips (and more rounded) for better ergonomics. Some trackpads would be nice but don’t think that would happen.
Cyberpunkd
Member
Seriously debating between this and SD OLED, but in the end I will probably get the SD. I know this will get way better results with AAA games, especially on docked Turbo mode 30W, but I suspect it’s going to get super hot and super loud when doing so, you can’t beat physics: power = heat generation = cooling.
haven’t heard anything about it getting super hot or super loud even in Turbo modes.
FingerBang
Member
I can confirm that the Ally is much quieter than the Steam Deck. I don't have the OLED version, though, so I can't compare it with that. In general, I think the Ally is amazing and I would buy an upgraded version easily if it were to come out this year
StereoVsn
Member
I would take an upgraded Ally OLED with 32GB RAM and better grips in a heartbeat.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
Gold Member
The Z1 Rog Ally currently on deep sale at BestBuy.
M1chl
Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Holy shit, deals like this never made it here, cheapest one is ~725USD (Z1 Extreme)
Klosshufvud
Member
This is insane. This is so much value for the money I can't even begin to put it to words. In Sweden, the ROG Ally is still like 800 Euro at the cheapest. Americans have it so good. At that pricing, I would've bought simply to keep a backup handheld.
CrustyBritches
Gold Member
Extreme would be tempting at that price. This is just the weak model, so…meh.
BobbyColtrane
Member
with these price cuts, is there a refresh incoming??
Thick Thighs Save Lives
Gold Member
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Topher
Gold Member
Cyberpunkd
Member
It’s not Z1 Extreme which is the one people should buy, nobody should spend money on the weaker model. ASUS is bullshitting trying to create confusion.
Klosshufvud
Member
For $299, it's absolutely worth getting the cheaper option if you're not a diehard handheld fan (I assume most diehard fans have a SDOLED, Ally, Legion GO or a Chinese 7840U device by now). It is not a huge gap in performance. I believe the cheaper version still has more than adequate performance in most games.
I believe the CEO said something about a revision coming this year. They will probably want to revise the MicroSD placement and the small battery size.
VeganElduderino
Member
I got the Z1 Extreme a couple of weeks ago , I love that little beast , I have all the emulators installed , its pure awesome !
soo awesome, that my gf got one too
soo awesome, that my gf got one too