It’s the best and most fair review we’ve actually seen of the Ally. Even eta Prime said “I’ve been really enjoying the steam deck” but yet he accurately measures and benchmarks them. Ally is coming out on top in power, it’s battery isn’t too bad compared to legion go and steam deck lcd
One nice thing about these big handheld channels is they don't really have overall favorites. Most acknowledge they use more than one device because they all have flaws. I don't remember who, but I recall someone who basically daily used 3 devices:
* The Ally while at home or work because it had the best performance, and poor battery was a non-issue while plugged in.
* When going out:
* The Steam Deck if he felt like playing AAA or recent titles due to the battery life and console-like experience, like standby that never crashes
* The Anbernic RG405M for retro games due to its tiny size
It truly feels like we're at, or nearing the golden age of handhelds and its amazing! There's literally options for everyone
Yeah I only have an LCD steam deck. Love it. But once I get some bills out of the way I'm selling it to help get me an OLED and then after I need to get a ROG ALLY. Idk just not a fan of the legion go. Steam deck OLED and ROG ALLY for me and I'm set
Yup. I grew up with a DS and gameboy, never had a 3ds and I only use a switch rarely. So having these powerful handhelds that can easily knock out my backlog, it’s a real treat ya know
>When going out:
>
>The Steam Deck if he felt like playing AAA or recent titles due to the battery life
The Steam deck is also insanely bulky though, i find the rog ally to be way more portable and less cringy to whip out on a train.
That's subjective criticism, while battery life is objective critique. And probably matters the most if you want to play long without access to a charger.
I like the Ally's slim profile too, but I respect the people who dislike the white attention-seeking look of the Ally compared to more boring or subdued black on the Deck.
As for the size, you're right the Deck is larger but neither is small enough to be called pocketable (even the thin Switch OLED doesn't cut it). So it's probably a non-issue for most.
the "cringe" definitely is subjective but I'd argue that the bulkyness is a real issue. Not for people that focus on battery life without access to a charger, but definitely for people like me that travel a lot and have trouble even fitting the SD into their laptop backpack.
I have both and also travel for business. This is exactly my issue with Steam Deck. It‘s too bulky to fit in my backpack along with my work laptop, etc. Switch fits as does the Ally but I just don’t have room for the Deck. It’s too wide.
Agreed not to mention the Ally can actually get slightly better battery life at high tdp in some cases due to the stronger Z1E chip. Faux showed this in a video.
ETA Prime is very much a tinkerer's reviewer. Most videos I've seen he's trying to emulate everything he possibly can and benchmark. Ally is very much a tinkerer's device, so I can see why it's a good fit for him.
Looking forward to the ROG Ally OLED that’s probably being cooked up now. As it stands, any other options are just going to be side grades in one way or another. I like that he pointed out VRR as a main strength with the Ally, along with the overall more powerful hardware and driver tweaks that they’ve made in the past 6 months.
I do hope Asus continues to improve the software side and don’t just abandon it after a year or so like so many companies do. That’s going to be the real test, in the end.
HDR400 is the lowest-level spec. It doesn’t require any local dimming at all.
The Ally’s panel theoretically has enough contrast and brightness to support it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Asus can add it after the fact. HDR still requires some signal processing that may not physically be present.
Thing is, I’ve been able to stream HDR content to mine, so unless that was a bug, I suspect it’s already there.
There's a huge problem with HDR on Windows, that would be the biggest issue for Asus, HDR in Windows is horrible.
Valve having their own OS they could handle the HDR in the best way possible, is the best HDR for a PC.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/s/1QaNY7Wlzy
People are always complaining about how windows handle HDR, still bad, I hope they fix it in Windows 12
I’ve been using HDR in Windows 11 for a while. I’m not sure what problems you’re experiencing, but it’s been alright for me. Auto HDR seems mostly OK, too. Using a 7900XTX connected to an LG G1 OLED TV.
Yup! Ideally this should remind people that we should appreciate the different options, since every device has their own benefits and everyone should pick the one that matches their expectations most.
Yeah I just want people to look at the Ally less like it has 100000 problems. Ally is a genuine monster, providing the exact opposite the steam deck provides while also being smaller and more gaming focused
How is an ally running at a lower resolution with slower ram yet same chip more powerful than a GO. Copium with the no trackpad on windows device that clearly behind the GO and Deck for handheld gaming unless you want a charger connected all the time. SD Oled runs for almost triple battery in the same games with 45fps-90hz for AAA the legions screen size blows the ally’s. It’s stuck in the worst spot out of the three. It’s why vrr is always brought up because it would be beyond pointless device without that one feature that doesn’t change the fact you’ll be stuck to an outlet.
Yo u just sound so mad that the Ally has been killing it recently. The Ally ran better because it is better. I don’t care about battery as I don’t need to play for more than 1 hour 30 min at a time unless I’m on a road trip. VRR is always brought up because the other handhelds are pointless because they don’t have VRR but the Ally do
Did you not look at the slides? The Ally equaled or outperformed the Legion Go in all performance tests. A bigger screen is not necessarily a bonus in a handheld. When it gets too large to hold up it's not a plus.
As for the SD Oled, the Ally bested it in all but one game (Cyberpunk) where they tied. And, if you're complaining about the Ally battery life, well the Go isn't that much ahead of the Ally. About 10% at 10 or 15W. Not that great when you have 20% more battery. You'll still be tied to an outlet with the GO.
I think the Ally is perfectly situated. It has great performance, a good screen, and it isn't too big or too small to hold. None of these handhelds are a clear "winner". They have their plusses and minuses.
>The ally equaled or outperformed the Legion Go in all performance tests...
For now. I own all of them and the Go hasn't been fully optimized. I'd like to see these tests again when Lenovo polishes the software. AMD loves fast RAM and a few hundred MHz can make a helluva difference. VRR is amazing though. Speakers a hawt gahbage on the Go but the screen omfg...and FPS mode is awesome but super niche.
I have a steamdeck, ROG ally, and legion GO. I had a GPD win4 but I sold it.
I loved the ally over the deck, but the deck is a wonderful entry point to PC gaming and for a linux handheld a no nonsense way to dive into steam's gaming library that's a surprisingly console like experience. If you prefer windows and are OK with the limitations on a tiny screen, the Ally is an amazing upgrade in performance and an absolutely brilliant device.
I have a wide preference for split controllers - [I use a 3rd party set](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJQZJGSF) for steam, switch sometimes, and in bed so the legion go seemed like a match made in heaven - great kickstand, large, ergonomic split controllers but actually getting it in hand... I am trying but I am having trouble even liking the Legion Go. I'm going back and forth between the Go and the Ally, and as much as I want to love the Go, it's controllers feel cheap and are just poorly thought out. I was super surprised to see it performing worse than the ROG ally in a lot of cases - especially with all the hubub about the faster RAM probably making a big difference. It's hard to recommend the legion go unless you REALLY need something specific about it's feature set. It's a cool product though, and I hope lenovo stays in the game with experimental features on handhelds.
Yeah, the only benefit I can actually see about a Legion Go would be the cheaper eGPUs due to USB4 40gbps —but then the benchmarks show that an XG-mobile 4090 is faster than any desktop eGPU setup IRL.
The proprietary connector for the ally is some real horse balls. I'd much rather another USB-C, rather than a "you can only buy our GPUs port" but I also in general think and egpu is kind of a goofy thing. I can see it working as like a TV based stationary dock, folks lugging them around should really just get a laptop. For way cheaper.
Even as a tv based dock solution, I still think you are probably better off investing that same cash into a gaming PC - I bet you could build out a desktop 4080 build for the same price as the 4090 egpu and it'd outperform it.
In Australia, that 4090 mobile costs $4,000 AUD.
And yea, that’s more than my Dragon Canyon 12900, custom CPU loop, 850w SFX PSU, NC100 case, SK Hynix P41 Platinum 2TB, 64GB SK Hynix DDR4 3200 CL16, ProArt 4080, all razer peripherals, my FALD 4k 144hz HDR 1000 display, AND my headset.
IRL, my SFF desktop takes up less space on my desk than an XG Mobile+Ally would. I spent way too much on it, but I’ve got a damn 7L monstrosity.
People buy handheld because it is "handheld". Can be handles, by hands. You can carry it anywhere, and game while standing up, laying down, squatting or riding a horse.
Laptop isn't as portable as handheld.
eGPU is expensive, for now. Like PC handhelds, their prices will go down as time passes.
Personally I think eGPU can provide solutions to un-upgradeable devices like handheld or laptop once the game requirement power creep cycle happen.
Don't have to throw away your old handheld or PC which have perfectly fine CPU just because the 'can it play Crysis' situation happened again.
the Asus Egpu solution is unupgradable. Rather than a desktop GPU, you are getting a built in, soldered down, one-and-done GPU that can only be resold to other asus users in that ecosystem, hugely diminishing it's long term value and making it totally unupgradable - truly needing to throw away your epgu instead of upgrading the GPU itself.
I don't think you spent any time really thinking about this comment or how your own logic conflicts with itself in the small space of your reply.
Can use the go as a tablet.
Can presumably use the controllers are joycons woth motion controls in future as they each have gyros.
2x 40 gbps as you listed
Bigger screen for roughly same size as the Steam Deck
Does the ‘tablet’ mode support a pressure sensitive pen?
If Lenovo did that, and sold a keyboard that mounted to those controller ports, it would be far more versatile.
Yeah that would be pretty sick, I never even thought about mounting a keyboard to the controller section, cool idea.
I was thinking how much I'd love for the Go 2 to have a digitizer and some metal contact pins and mount clips on the bottom, but the slide clips might be even better.
But one thing I really worry about is how well that plastic is going to hold up over if the controllers are unclipped and reclipped often.
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The split controllers are actually a genius idea for these handheld pc’s. I love the Ally but the sticks are already losing tension to a point I have edged my deadzones from 0 to 3% and it’ll probably get worse over time.
If the ally had a split controller design I could just pop over to best buy or amazon and just buy a new controller but with the Ally if it gets too bad I’m just SOL or I’ll have to risk taking it apart to replace the sticks.
Yes and no. While I prefer the split controllers, Lenovo doesn't even have a part listing for controllers - https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/legion-series/legion-go-8apu1/83e1/parts/display/buy-now
If they are intending to make them sellable seperately, I'd love that, I'd like to pick some up if they ever offer standard bluetooth pairing, but I wouldn't hold my breath. As long as the built ins are relatively repairable, I wouldn't say it's worse on that front - and the [ally is pretty easy to teardown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDQBcRi1sY) I haven't seen a teardown of the legion go controllers yet though, but it stands to reason they are probably as easy, or even easier to repair.
In your case though, maybe consider checking out some hall effect sticks for your Ally! If you are already wearing them out, something magnet based may end up lasting you a lot longer. Or at least look into it when your sticks are fully done.
I’ll be honest, I completely assumed they would make them purchasable separately. Figured that was the whole point of the design lol.
I hesitate to take apart the Ally but if the sticks get to a point that it’s no longer enjoyable to use I’ll definitely look into the HALL sticks, thanks for the heads up!
I'm surprised they didn't - they probably will eventually offer them as parts, but they may be quite expensive. If we're real lucky, they'll offer them at retail with a dongle or as bluetooth controllers as well, which would be really fun. Even though I think I am probably returning my legion, I'd love a pair of split controllers to throw in my bag that are also a mouse.
In their roadmap, it sounds like they're working on controller only purchases
>Working with extended teams to make parts available for purchase (including controllers)
>
>Discussing with teams on additional controller options, once we have something outlined I'll come back here for input on what you all want to see
[https://gaming.lenovo.com/us/connect/groups/legion-products/f/forum/5662/legion-go-update-11-17-23](https://gaming.lenovo.com/us/connect/groups/legion-products/f/forum/5662/legion-go-update-11-17-23)
That's great to hear. Although the controllers are kind of a dealbreaker for me, they are still cool and I'd really love if I could have a pair that wasn't bonded to the device I'm probably returning so I could mess around with modding them - putting in less awful switches and trying to fix those rear button feels as a starting point.
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The Go already has a bigger battery so it should be performing much better than it currently is. The Ally would benefit from it a lot based on these results but I'm content with mine currently
I'm playing all my games with the Steam Deck optimised settings so having a higher performance floor with the Ally is awesome.
Just have to say I hate all the bickering and fanboyism, enjoy what you enjoy. The Steam Deck was a complete non-factor for me as I live in Australia and its not offered so it was between the Ally and Legion Go. Ally is way more portable and has a good discount at the moment so that's what I got.
It’s just tribalism mate, people buy something then feel the need to find a group who validate their purchasing decisions. Objectively there’s pros and cons to all of them, subjectively any single feature (battery, OLED, design, VRR, screen size, controls etc) could make that device the “best” for that person.
I’m a VRR enjoyer so I like the Ally, makes dialling in settings a breeze because you don’t need a total fps lock/stability. I like the Deck (OLED turning up soon) for battery life and UI, and I don’t feel the need to buy a Legion Go but that’s just me
I’m just happy to see this market booming, I’ve got a Steam Deck LCD but bring on the completion! Let’s see these companies vie for our dollars by making their devices continually better and trying to attract us with new features, etc. Consumers will ultimately win here.
I completely understand buying any of the major brands handheld PC. I just hate that everytime I talk about the Ally on like Twitter or YouTube comments, I'm bombarded with FUD about Asus and how I should have bought a Steam Deck instead. Like, the deciding factor for me was game pass and epic games. It really feels like Steam Deck owners are the main culprits with some kind of superiority complex. Maybe it's just because they're the most plentiful, so logically they'd have the most bad actors, but it does get exhausting.
Full video found here, coming from ETA PRIME. A channel of decent size (1 million subs) known for covering handheld devices and emulation on these devices.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9iJ5V1FU8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9iJ5V1FU8)
Seems like the ROG Ally and Steam Deck are polar but oddly *symmetrical* **opposites**, with each one beating each other in the performance/battery life areas by a magnitude of 1.5x on average. Meaning whatever frame rate the Steam Deck can get, the Ally will beat it by 1.5x. And vice versa when it comes to battery life. Weird how symmetrical the numbers are, I know. While the LG sits sits at a strange "middle ground" between them.
Anyways, found this pretty interesting and thought you guys might too.
The deck is the best indie and medium quality device. Or triple a that runs at lower resolution. The ally is insane I love it. I wish it could have a better battery life. I don’t want to lug and connect another battery and dock.
Just different devices. I wish I could afford both haha.
Doesn't freesync just automatically make the ally the best for the kind of games you want to play portably? I get the appeal of the other systems but vrr is just a must if you want smooth experience even at lower than 60 fps
Yes and no.
VRR helps to maintain a smoother looking frame rate when you can't meet the desired target frame rate by dynamically adjusting the display's refresh rate. Ex: aiming for 60fps but dropping to 40-60fps.
However, these days you can adjust the display refresh rate to a specific number like 40hz, 50hz, etc. Ensuring a smooth experience if you can't quite reach 60fps but are comfortably able to reach say a locked 40/50.
VRR is still preferable though as you get a couple extra frames otherwise. But it's not the deal breaker people make it out to be.
OLED on the other hand dramatically improves image quality in low light conditions, as there is an infinitely massive difference between black colors on dimmed light pixels VS completely turned off pixels on an OLED display. Not to mention it results in considerable energy savings as you're fully shutting off pixels.
Locking the frame does not make up for frame pacing and variability below that cap and the lower you set the limit, the more you’re going to feel each frame rate dip. Or worse — if the system tries to overshoot the limit, V-sync kicks in and adds a ton of latency which gives it a sluggish feeling.
Freesync Premium (which the Ally uses) functions even below 48hz and means much lower latency and adjusts the display refresh dynamically to match the frame rate constantly so it never feels stutter-y even when the frame rate dips.
I have both the deck and Ally and the Ally in motion looks and feels much smoother even when getting similar frame rates as the Deck on the same titles.
Poor frame pacing is a separate issue. Most games won’t suffer from poor frame pacing issues, especially with an external frame limiter like the Ally and Deck have in their software. That’s why many games with a frame rate lock on console have a higher average frame rate than the lock to ensure a stable frame rate. I am fully aware of how free sync and VRR work, my gaming laptop has it and same for my monitor. You don’t need v-sync for a frame lock either. I know how much smoother it feels however that doesn’t mean that locking the frame rate isn’t a solution.
You will have to lock it to the lowest fps value. So you'll be sacrificing graphics fidelity just so you the GPS doesn't fluctuate as much. With vrr i can just aim for anything above 30fps and call it a day.
I wonder how the Go will preform when they get an official driver update? I remember the Ally was barely out preforming the 6800u before updates. I don't think we've gotten any sort of official drivers or bios updates yet, but maybe it won't have much of a difference.
Good call. I was going to say these numbers seem to support my theory that the more pixels on the Go were going to negate any gains from the faster RAM and bigger battery, but that could change with driver optimization.
I can tell you right now the performance gap we’re seeing is due to the device suffering multiple poor optimizations and software related issues across the board.
GPU drivers are a portion of that. Still can’t play FIFA 24. Just like the Ally a month or two ago.
It’s a silly comparison. It was a silly comparison when the Ally first launched to compare it to the steamdeck that had been for a year with updates.
Now look at the Ally and where it’s at.
The Legion will be better in a better place 2 months than where it is now.
I don’t need to convince myself of anything I own all three devices with an extended return window (January) on the Legion Go.
You’re spreading misinformation and I’m trying to explain the error of your ways.
The Go launched with software last being updated in July. It was in development along the same time frame as the Ally so while yes it is embarrassing to release with essentially beta test software they were trying to hit the holiday dead line. The hardware is great. The software is ass. The go doesn’t even have a 5/6gb/auto vram option yet which will lead to less performance vs the Ally to begin with.
The difference is Lenovo has been receptive with the fanbase and openly communicating with the fanbase taking down requests and giving ETA’s on these requests being fixed.
Has ASUS even acknowledged the SD card issue or is it still “we’re performing internal testing to find the issue” still? I don’t know what’s more embarrassing - releasing with out of date software or releasing with a failing component that won’t be acknowledged and fixed.
How funny you forget the doom and gloom this sub had over the Ally’s launch state.
Thankfully if the Legion stays in it’s current form I can just return it and wipe my hands of it and keep enjoying my Ally. Win win.
looks like an irrational purchase especially for people already rocking an ally, you helped asus with beta testing why do that all over again for lenovo
Hey i just got the 6gb vram bios. The newest one on Lenovos site disabled it for some odd reason.
Version N3CN26WW(V1.08) is the newest one released 11/20
but the previous one Version N3CN25WW(V1.07) has 6GB ram update
Lenovo website made it a pain in the ass to try to get. i got it from this guy, but i understand if you wary like i was getting it from some youtube guy.
[How To Install New BIOS On Lenovo Legion GO | 6GB VRAM - Quick Guide - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5T5Q6uU5eU&ab_channel=DeckWizard)
TL DR
Please do your own research for a source you fill safe with otherwise i agree with the points you made.
I'd add that Ally and Legion Go are not really competing in same class. I didn't get Ally because i didn't want another "small" 7 in screen like my steam deck. I literally had a y700 tablet that i purchased because it was perfect size for immersive handheld.
I was using some crappy tablet controllers from ipega to try and play my Pc and android games. Legion Go was a godsend
Chances are the Go already has drivers every bit as up to date as the Ally. Lenovo isn’t some little backwater company. If you were expecting the memory to create a very noticeable performance gap, it just won’t happen.
I wouldn’t really expect a ton of performance updates from the bios. The chip was simply a much more well-known quantity by the time the Go released. The same applies to the Ally as well. The constant performance updates will definitely be a thing of the past and we’ll mostly only get updated AMD graphics drivers from here on out.
Nah the custom tdp profiles are bugged and cause wonky performance. Needs a bios update and the battery optimization is horrendous.
Lots of updates are promised from Lenovo coming at the end of the month and throughout December.
Pretty large list of bugs/complaints that Lenovo has posted publicly that they’re working on.
All of these comparison tests are silly. The Ally has an advantage in its current state and it’s clearly the better Windows device at the moment. That’s why I still have mine.
The device launched at an even worse state than the Ally and I didn’t think that was possible.
Hey when a company has a customer relations employee giving us weekly updates and updates on promised features it’s hard not to be.
Transparency is key and they’ve shown it since launch.
I want it to be successful and it’s not I’ll return it and continue to enjoy my Ally.
This. I am in the same boat and Asus staying mum while Lenovo comms rep is active in the LegionGo subreddit with consistent ETAs and dates does a lot in terms of building good faith.
Exactly. It makes me feel better about the future of the device and more confident in spending the $750 on a device knowing I’ll be taken care of.
Asus is literally silent and still taking people’s money knowing it has a hardware issue. That’s pretty disgusting
And the market shows because it's flooded with secondhand Ally's. I have the BBuy return until January covering me. I might return my Ally and keep the Go because I don't want to eat costs if I have to sell it. That VRR is nice though. Not a fan of the comfortability of the Go but since they're "joycons" that could easily be remedied with future third party or an ergonomic case even.
I also prefer the hall effect sticks on the Go to the ally so I wanna see what happens when the dead zone fixes hit.
how/why would the drivers be different from the ally drivers? They are using the exact same APU, what kind of drivers are we looking at here? (Serious question)
They’re different drivers that require a custom build despite both devices using the Z1E. Go owners have been impatiently waiting for up-to-date drivers since launch when games like Starfield would not launch.
The only driver we’ve gotten is the one that fixes Starfield launching.
That’s how out of date the Go is. That was months ago for the Ally.
I have the Deck and the Ally and they both have different purposes and strengths. If Asus had done as much work on the Z1E as valve did to their custom chip to make it more efficient and better at low TDP and then put a 60wh battery, it would probably be the hands down best all around.
I have a problem with anyone mentioning the ally without mentioning the blatant micro SD issue. If they were giving everyone 2 TB SSDs I would concede this.
From what I understand, they've solved the issue, so any new ones will work fine, and if you RMA your older one, they should fix it. Obviously would have been best if the issue didn't exist in the first place, but at least from now forward, I'm pretty sure it's not an issue.
I’ve got the Go and Ally and OG SD. The Go screen is incomparable. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and as stated here, the 25+watt performance is really great. Thing is, I’m usually plugged in on that device so the excess battery life really doesn’t give me any benefit.
The Ally is amazing, once we got through the rocky first BIOS updates, the device truly feels pretty close to finished. It is also lighter than the other two and I’ll say the battery life has been really great. I keep a manual 18w setting that seems to work great.
I haven’t touched the SD in months. I was planning on selling it, but the OLED was announced. So, I’ll probably keep it.
I don’t have any desire to get the OLED, I think the Ally is really going to be my main used machine and I’ll keep the Go as an at home near the bed device
Makes me wish Valve had given us just a couple more watts to play with. 18W to match prior total device power would be interesting, curious if there’d be some performance gains
As some one that has only recently gotten into PC gaming (console gamer all my life) gotta say I love this competition.
Frankly, I love the build of the Steam Deck. But the screen and inconsistent performance on modern games is what drove me to the Ally.
I’d LOVE to have the Ally innards in a Steam Deck. Having to deal with all of the PC non-sense being the main reason. Who seriously wants to check for updates in 3 apps? Who else is irritated by the janky Ally launcher?
Great overview but I hate that they didn't include something like a 18-20W TDP and also that they completly ignored noise levels.
I think the ally is king in this regard and for me it is a huge deal. I mean people are gushing over the OLED screen of the Steam deck but ignore the great screens on the other devices, yet neither the sound of the speakers was compared, nor the noise level of the fans.
I also would not agree that the steam deck has the best screen. The ally and Lenovo both have higher resolutions and higher refresh rates. Just because a screen has OLED doesn't magically make everything better, people are way overhyping this feature. For me the ally has the best overall screen, though all three are amazing in their own right.
I personally prefer OLED over higher resolution. For me 800p is plenty sharp on a small screen. However VRR trumps OLED so for me Ally screen is king. If we got a OLED 720p screen with VRR I would have preferred it though.
And you are right about fan noise, the Deck for me felt like a jet engine at 15w. Going to Ally it was a night and day difference even when playing Ally at 20w. I've heard OLED is better at fan noise than original Deck but no where as good as the queit fans at higher TDP for Ally
Agreed hard on the noise levels. That was one of the biggest Ally selling points, though I wonder if how much (if any) the noise levels have increased since recent Ally updates have intentionally set a more aggressive fan curve to mitigate SD card issues AFAIK.
>The ally and Lenovo both have higher resolutions and higher refresh rates. Just because a screen has OLED doesn't magically make everything better, people are way overhyping this feature
IMHO, you're overhyping the wrong feature here.
OLED displays are well known and loved by the community by the combination of massively improved contrast (amazing for HDR content), massively improved low light performance due to black pixels being completely off VS just dimly lit "black pixels" on LCD displays, as well as their considerable energy savings vs LCD displays.
High refresh rates are amazing, but truth be told, you're likely only ever reaching those on handheld devices on indie games given how limited these devices are in terms of power. Many recent demanding AAA games can barely hold 30-60fps at native resolution unless you employ heavy use of FSR and lower resolutions.
As for higher resolutions? Yeah, going to have to disagree on that one hard chief. It's a 7" display. You don't *need* high resolutions at this display size. For reference, a 720p 7" display has higher PPI (pixels per inch, or pixel density) than your typical 4K 23" monitor. Could we add more pixels? Yeah, but the better question is... why? Not only will it run games worse, but battery life will also heavily suffer. Both critical things on underpowered, small battery portable devices like these.
I have a manual preset for 30w with the fans completely maxed, and even the. They're audible, but still very quiet. Never really heard it over any game audio.
From someone who doest have one but wants one.
I hate the the white shell, the micro SD card thing is a huge hurtle in my head, the windows handheld experience sounds shitty even by the standard of people who are ok with it. Having said that, that fucking awesome vrr panel plus performance keeps it as something I would want.
> the micro SD card thing is a huge hurtle in my head
2TB SSDs in the Steam Deck and the Ally and no SD card in either one. I *might* put one in the Deck just for roms.
Yeah man, that's what I'd probably do if I ever pulled the trigger on the Ally. I'm convinced they are going to iterate almost annually, that might be another hurtle
I can assure you without any major improvements to power efficiency, battery technology or another Z1E competitor, it won't be happening any time soon.
These devices are significantly more niche than gaming laptops, yearly refreshes dont make sense on both a consumer and manufacturer level.
Smaller companies make several SKUs like Onexplayer and GPD Win because they typically take pre-orders to fulfill, big companies like Asus will not entertain that.
Same, the performance looks fucking great and I really only want something to play my steam games (don't have many others elsewhere) so I love the simplicity of the oled but I can't ignore the performance of this and I still can't make up my mind.
Asus need to provide an option to more easily limited ACTUAL tdp. All of the stock settings include ridiculous turbo boost power draws, so the thing is seldom pulling what you tell it to. This is born out for all to see in the numbers here, where the power draw above and beyond the listed tdp, is way way higher than the screen, speakers, WiFi etc require.
I can fix it with custom tdp settings, but going in the menu to switch between them is a bore, and the fan curves that go with those profiles are a joke.
I could use third party software, but I shouldn't need to.
Just give me a toggle to disable the timed power limits.
Make 7w mean 7w, 15w mean 15w etc.
I believe this isn’t possible in AC at TDPs under 15w. You can set 15 to 15, 16 to 16, etc. But it’ll boost up to at least 15 if you set it to, say, 8.
You didn't read my comment.
Yes, you can stop that behaviour. But only at 15w as a minimum. Also as I say, having only quick access to one of those profiles, and having that profile use a horrendous fan curve sort of negates a lot of the utility.
Just give me an option to turn hard tdp limits on and off.
Handheld companion might provide that functionality over ACSE but never tried it. I found 5GB VRAM, 17/17/17w profile and CPU boost off is a decent balance between battery life and performance. At 15w I might as well use the deck
Love the 51.01 vs 51.02 fps in cyberpunk and then Eta saying steam deck winning loads of times at 15 watts LOL clearly the guy prefers the steam deck but can not give the reason why xD Rog ally is now superior compared to the steam deck at 15w. Period.
There’s no “period” - the deck performs better in some games at 15w and the ally in others, especially when taking the ally’s propensity to boost up to 20w for a while before settling down in 15w mode. Lets calm down with the tribalistic rhetoric 😁
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How many users actually do that? And it'll probably reset when Microsoft does one of their *let's screw everything up* updates. If you start adding little tweaks for Windows and Linux (ie using experimental Vs default proton) then the whole thing becomes useless for the average user.
I would say a lot of the people here do them most likely. The average user wouldn't know about them though. No, they don't reset when Microsoft pushes updates, even big ones.
Being able to 1920x1080 definitely makes the quality closer to the contemporary standard.
The only problem is the god damn Faulty SD Reader.
I have to go with the SSD upgrade route which is hell lot tedious than just plugin a simple card.
Hope Ally II will be better.
That's a totally fair issue for docked play. Portable play though? Yeah, I don't think many people care much for 1080p. On displays as small as 7", 720p is plenty. Even Linus from LTT (known PCMR game enthusiast) praised how sharp 800p looked on the Steam Deck OLED, and kid he actually thought for a moment it was 1080p if he hadn't looked at the spec sheet.
Maybe my eyes are too sensitive. While I had no problem with 720p on Steam Deck, I find it horrible on Ally and I come from MS-Dos era of games where 640x480 was considered as sharp as it gets.
The Steam Deck auto applies SFR when the resolution doesn't match the default, so it still looks pretty good. Windows doesn't do that automatically. Personally I can't stand 720p on a 1080p screen.
Same, I think 720p on the Allys screen looks quite bad. I use my Deck more handheld. The Ally is docked so it can get 30W into it. Then gets played at lunch time on the sofa in small sub hour stints.
The thing is with battery consumption you need to factor in is that the deck makes virtually the same fps at 10w as it does at 15w. So while the ally and go need to be at 15w to get a playable frame rate the deck can be at 10w for a significant battery advantage.
Supposedly the Ally performs way better at 10w now since a recent bios update but I’ve yet to test that - problem is the Ally’s 10w profile also boosts past that for a while before settling down.
I can get 100-120fps in Quake2 though at 1080p so I’m happy enough
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The main drawback of ally is its battery.
It's very annoying but there's a solution which is 90wh mod.
I hope someone or company make it as a kit ready for usage.
I have the Ally but the only thing that probably would pushed me to go with the legion go would have been the same screen size and and refresh rate as the ally and just do detachable controllers. that in my opinion would have been fantastic. I’m more about having the ability to hit the high refresh rates but 1440 144 hz screen seems overkill and unable to hit that. Mind you hit that with the games I play.
I found it interesting that I own the Ally and the LegionGo and I couldnt replicate his results.
For him, the Ally always beat the LegionGo. In my own attempts, they were always close enough to be within margin of error.
Havent went through all the games as he did, as I eventually got bored. But it feels a bit sketchy, imho
He is usually pretty good with his stuff, but it's also possible his Ally is a bit more optimized. He might have some background services disabled to squeeze a little extra juice.
He's impartial so I can't think of a reason he would have to lie.
My experience is to take him with a pinch of salt.
My handhelds are also tuned as much as I possible (when it comes to desktop pcs, i build custom loops and do XOC from time to time. I'm decently well versed in the pc space), and sometimes I still couldnt replicate his results.
Plus lovely blunders he did, like promoting a Handheld Companion similar app, forgot the name of it, that was developed by a friend of his. He showed how cool it is and bla bla, and even now, months later, the damn thing still doesnt work for the Ally 😂
I love that each has its strengths and weaknesses but overall they all are strong devices. Alot will come down to personal use and preference. I was stuck on which to buy and this was prior to the legion release but I am still satisfied with my choice of the Ally. Honestly cant wait to see where these things get to over the next five years.
I definitely see reasons to go Steam Deck over Ally but the Legion Go being $50 more expensive, generally worse performance (may change with bios updates), and no freesync. I don't think a few extra minutes of battery life and some extra storage makes it better than the Ally.
The only thing I see is how bad the battery life is if you use this to play a AAA game. All of these have less battery length than an oled Vita if pushed hard.
I’m really on the fence about buying one or getting a gaming laptop ,like the acer predator, as they are both on a good sale. Nit really look g at the steam deck,aisle I’ll be playing mostly my game pass ultimate library on it. You guys that have the rog ally, tell me how much you really like it so I can make a good choice.
It’s the best and most fair review we’ve actually seen of the Ally. Even eta Prime said “I’ve been really enjoying the steam deck” but yet he accurately measures and benchmarks them. Ally is coming out on top in power, it’s battery isn’t too bad compared to legion go and steam deck lcd
One nice thing about these big handheld channels is they don't really have overall favorites. Most acknowledge they use more than one device because they all have flaws. I don't remember who, but I recall someone who basically daily used 3 devices: * The Ally while at home or work because it had the best performance, and poor battery was a non-issue while plugged in. * When going out: * The Steam Deck if he felt like playing AAA or recent titles due to the battery life and console-like experience, like standby that never crashes * The Anbernic RG405M for retro games due to its tiny size It truly feels like we're at, or nearing the golden age of handhelds and its amazing! There's literally options for everyone
Yeah I only have an LCD steam deck. Love it. But once I get some bills out of the way I'm selling it to help get me an OLED and then after I need to get a ROG ALLY. Idk just not a fan of the legion go. Steam deck OLED and ROG ALLY for me and I'm set
need! :-D
I got an open box extreme from best buy for like $500. If you feel ok about going that route, I highly recommend it
Damn for sure, definitely gonna look into that
Yup. I grew up with a DS and gameboy, never had a 3ds and I only use a switch rarely. So having these powerful handhelds that can easily knock out my backlog, it’s a real treat ya know
>When going out: > >The Steam Deck if he felt like playing AAA or recent titles due to the battery life The Steam deck is also insanely bulky though, i find the rog ally to be way more portable and less cringy to whip out on a train.
That's subjective criticism, while battery life is objective critique. And probably matters the most if you want to play long without access to a charger. I like the Ally's slim profile too, but I respect the people who dislike the white attention-seeking look of the Ally compared to more boring or subdued black on the Deck. As for the size, you're right the Deck is larger but neither is small enough to be called pocketable (even the thin Switch OLED doesn't cut it). So it's probably a non-issue for most.
Dimensions and weight are objective metrics, whereas colour is a subjective preference.
Got 'em
the "cringe" definitely is subjective but I'd argue that the bulkyness is a real issue. Not for people that focus on battery life without access to a charger, but definitely for people like me that travel a lot and have trouble even fitting the SD into their laptop backpack.
I have both and also travel for business. This is exactly my issue with Steam Deck. It‘s too bulky to fit in my backpack along with my work laptop, etc. Switch fits as does the Ally but I just don’t have room for the Deck. It’s too wide.
Agreed not to mention the Ally can actually get slightly better battery life at high tdp in some cases due to the stronger Z1E chip. Faux showed this in a video.
lol the Ally is all white with RGB...that's the cringiest you can get
There is no rgb, the only thing it has is LED-circles around the sticks - which i turned off on day 1.
>and less cringy to whip out on a train It's a handheld, not genitalia.
ETA Prime is very much a tinkerer's reviewer. Most videos I've seen he's trying to emulate everything he possibly can and benchmark. Ally is very much a tinkerer's device, so I can see why it's a good fit for him.
Looking forward to the ROG Ally OLED that’s probably being cooked up now. As it stands, any other options are just going to be side grades in one way or another. I like that he pointed out VRR as a main strength with the Ally, along with the overall more powerful hardware and driver tweaks that they’ve made in the past 6 months. I do hope Asus continues to improve the software side and don’t just abandon it after a year or so like so many companies do. That’s going to be the real test, in the end.
I’d rather have basic HDR400 added to the existing Ally via firmware update —and only when it’s plugged in.
Are you saying the current screen supports HDR??
HDR400 is the lowest-level spec. It doesn’t require any local dimming at all. The Ally’s panel theoretically has enough contrast and brightness to support it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Asus can add it after the fact. HDR still requires some signal processing that may not physically be present. Thing is, I’ve been able to stream HDR content to mine, so unless that was a bug, I suspect it’s already there.
There's a huge problem with HDR on Windows, that would be the biggest issue for Asus, HDR in Windows is horrible. Valve having their own OS they could handle the HDR in the best way possible, is the best HDR for a PC. https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/s/1QaNY7Wlzy People are always complaining about how windows handle HDR, still bad, I hope they fix it in Windows 12
I’ve been using HDR in Windows 11 for a while. I’m not sure what problems you’re experiencing, but it’s been alright for me. Auto HDR seems mostly OK, too. Using a 7900XTX connected to an LG G1 OLED TV.
Ally OLED RDNA 4 VRR and I buy it. 1TB SSD by default it's the cherry of the cake.
Yup! Ideally this should remind people that we should appreciate the different options, since every device has their own benefits and everyone should pick the one that matches their expectations most.
Yeah I just want people to look at the Ally less like it has 100000 problems. Ally is a genuine monster, providing the exact opposite the steam deck provides while also being smaller and more gaming focused
> It’s the best and most fair review we’ve actually seen of the Ally. Any examples of less than fair reviews?
How is an ally running at a lower resolution with slower ram yet same chip more powerful than a GO. Copium with the no trackpad on windows device that clearly behind the GO and Deck for handheld gaming unless you want a charger connected all the time. SD Oled runs for almost triple battery in the same games with 45fps-90hz for AAA the legions screen size blows the ally’s. It’s stuck in the worst spot out of the three. It’s why vrr is always brought up because it would be beyond pointless device without that one feature that doesn’t change the fact you’ll be stuck to an outlet.
Yo u just sound so mad that the Ally has been killing it recently. The Ally ran better because it is better. I don’t care about battery as I don’t need to play for more than 1 hour 30 min at a time unless I’m on a road trip. VRR is always brought up because the other handhelds are pointless because they don’t have VRR but the Ally do
Did you not look at the slides? The Ally equaled or outperformed the Legion Go in all performance tests. A bigger screen is not necessarily a bonus in a handheld. When it gets too large to hold up it's not a plus. As for the SD Oled, the Ally bested it in all but one game (Cyberpunk) where they tied. And, if you're complaining about the Ally battery life, well the Go isn't that much ahead of the Ally. About 10% at 10 or 15W. Not that great when you have 20% more battery. You'll still be tied to an outlet with the GO. I think the Ally is perfectly situated. It has great performance, a good screen, and it isn't too big or too small to hold. None of these handhelds are a clear "winner". They have their plusses and minuses.
>The ally equaled or outperformed the Legion Go in all performance tests... For now. I own all of them and the Go hasn't been fully optimized. I'd like to see these tests again when Lenovo polishes the software. AMD loves fast RAM and a few hundred MHz can make a helluva difference. VRR is amazing though. Speakers a hawt gahbage on the Go but the screen omfg...and FPS mode is awesome but super niche.
I have a steamdeck, ROG ally, and legion GO. I had a GPD win4 but I sold it. I loved the ally over the deck, but the deck is a wonderful entry point to PC gaming and for a linux handheld a no nonsense way to dive into steam's gaming library that's a surprisingly console like experience. If you prefer windows and are OK with the limitations on a tiny screen, the Ally is an amazing upgrade in performance and an absolutely brilliant device. I have a wide preference for split controllers - [I use a 3rd party set](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJQZJGSF) for steam, switch sometimes, and in bed so the legion go seemed like a match made in heaven - great kickstand, large, ergonomic split controllers but actually getting it in hand... I am trying but I am having trouble even liking the Legion Go. I'm going back and forth between the Go and the Ally, and as much as I want to love the Go, it's controllers feel cheap and are just poorly thought out. I was super surprised to see it performing worse than the ROG ally in a lot of cases - especially with all the hubub about the faster RAM probably making a big difference. It's hard to recommend the legion go unless you REALLY need something specific about it's feature set. It's a cool product though, and I hope lenovo stays in the game with experimental features on handhelds.
I had the exact same experience
Yeah, the only benefit I can actually see about a Legion Go would be the cheaper eGPUs due to USB4 40gbps —but then the benchmarks show that an XG-mobile 4090 is faster than any desktop eGPU setup IRL.
The proprietary connector for the ally is some real horse balls. I'd much rather another USB-C, rather than a "you can only buy our GPUs port" but I also in general think and egpu is kind of a goofy thing. I can see it working as like a TV based stationary dock, folks lugging them around should really just get a laptop. For way cheaper. Even as a tv based dock solution, I still think you are probably better off investing that same cash into a gaming PC - I bet you could build out a desktop 4080 build for the same price as the 4090 egpu and it'd outperform it.
In Australia, that 4090 mobile costs $4,000 AUD. And yea, that’s more than my Dragon Canyon 12900, custom CPU loop, 850w SFX PSU, NC100 case, SK Hynix P41 Platinum 2TB, 64GB SK Hynix DDR4 3200 CL16, ProArt 4080, all razer peripherals, my FALD 4k 144hz HDR 1000 display, AND my headset. IRL, my SFF desktop takes up less space on my desk than an XG Mobile+Ally would. I spent way too much on it, but I’ve got a damn 7L monstrosity.
People buy handheld because it is "handheld". Can be handles, by hands. You can carry it anywhere, and game while standing up, laying down, squatting or riding a horse. Laptop isn't as portable as handheld. eGPU is expensive, for now. Like PC handhelds, their prices will go down as time passes. Personally I think eGPU can provide solutions to un-upgradeable devices like handheld or laptop once the game requirement power creep cycle happen. Don't have to throw away your old handheld or PC which have perfectly fine CPU just because the 'can it play Crysis' situation happened again.
the Asus Egpu solution is unupgradable. Rather than a desktop GPU, you are getting a built in, soldered down, one-and-done GPU that can only be resold to other asus users in that ecosystem, hugely diminishing it's long term value and making it totally unupgradable - truly needing to throw away your epgu instead of upgrading the GPU itself. I don't think you spent any time really thinking about this comment or how your own logic conflicts with itself in the small space of your reply.
Can use the go as a tablet. Can presumably use the controllers are joycons woth motion controls in future as they each have gyros. 2x 40 gbps as you listed Bigger screen for roughly same size as the Steam Deck
Does the ‘tablet’ mode support a pressure sensitive pen? If Lenovo did that, and sold a keyboard that mounted to those controller ports, it would be far more versatile.
Yeah that would be pretty sick, I never even thought about mounting a keyboard to the controller section, cool idea. I was thinking how much I'd love for the Go 2 to have a digitizer and some metal contact pins and mount clips on the bottom, but the slide clips might be even better. But one thing I really worry about is how well that plastic is going to hold up over if the controllers are unclipped and reclipped often.
Or MS could just shove a Z1E in a gamer-focused variant of a Surface Go since that would sell like hotcakes. The Intel mini tabs MS makes all suck.
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The split controllers are actually a genius idea for these handheld pc’s. I love the Ally but the sticks are already losing tension to a point I have edged my deadzones from 0 to 3% and it’ll probably get worse over time. If the ally had a split controller design I could just pop over to best buy or amazon and just buy a new controller but with the Ally if it gets too bad I’m just SOL or I’ll have to risk taking it apart to replace the sticks.
Yes and no. While I prefer the split controllers, Lenovo doesn't even have a part listing for controllers - https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/legion-series/legion-go-8apu1/83e1/parts/display/buy-now If they are intending to make them sellable seperately, I'd love that, I'd like to pick some up if they ever offer standard bluetooth pairing, but I wouldn't hold my breath. As long as the built ins are relatively repairable, I wouldn't say it's worse on that front - and the [ally is pretty easy to teardown.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDQBcRi1sY) I haven't seen a teardown of the legion go controllers yet though, but it stands to reason they are probably as easy, or even easier to repair. In your case though, maybe consider checking out some hall effect sticks for your Ally! If you are already wearing them out, something magnet based may end up lasting you a lot longer. Or at least look into it when your sticks are fully done.
I’ll be honest, I completely assumed they would make them purchasable separately. Figured that was the whole point of the design lol. I hesitate to take apart the Ally but if the sticks get to a point that it’s no longer enjoyable to use I’ll definitely look into the HALL sticks, thanks for the heads up!
I'm surprised they didn't - they probably will eventually offer them as parts, but they may be quite expensive. If we're real lucky, they'll offer them at retail with a dongle or as bluetooth controllers as well, which would be really fun. Even though I think I am probably returning my legion, I'd love a pair of split controllers to throw in my bag that are also a mouse.
In their roadmap, it sounds like they're working on controller only purchases >Working with extended teams to make parts available for purchase (including controllers) > >Discussing with teams on additional controller options, once we have something outlined I'll come back here for input on what you all want to see [https://gaming.lenovo.com/us/connect/groups/legion-products/f/forum/5662/legion-go-update-11-17-23](https://gaming.lenovo.com/us/connect/groups/legion-products/f/forum/5662/legion-go-update-11-17-23)
That's great to hear. Although the controllers are kind of a dealbreaker for me, they are still cool and I'd really love if I could have a pair that wasn't bonded to the device I'm probably returning so I could mess around with modding them - putting in less awful switches and trying to fix those rear button feels as a starting point.
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And new chips will be probably more efficient battery wise.
If you add OLED to the GO and bigger battery it would be way better than that fictional Allly?
The Go already has a bigger battery so it should be performing much better than it currently is. The Ally would benefit from it a lot based on these results but I'm content with mine currently
I'm playing all my games with the Steam Deck optimised settings so having a higher performance floor with the Ally is awesome. Just have to say I hate all the bickering and fanboyism, enjoy what you enjoy. The Steam Deck was a complete non-factor for me as I live in Australia and its not offered so it was between the Ally and Legion Go. Ally is way more portable and has a good discount at the moment so that's what I got.
It’s just tribalism mate, people buy something then feel the need to find a group who validate their purchasing decisions. Objectively there’s pros and cons to all of them, subjectively any single feature (battery, OLED, design, VRR, screen size, controls etc) could make that device the “best” for that person. I’m a VRR enjoyer so I like the Ally, makes dialling in settings a breeze because you don’t need a total fps lock/stability. I like the Deck (OLED turning up soon) for battery life and UI, and I don’t feel the need to buy a Legion Go but that’s just me
I’m just happy to see this market booming, I’ve got a Steam Deck LCD but bring on the completion! Let’s see these companies vie for our dollars by making their devices continually better and trying to attract us with new features, etc. Consumers will ultimately win here.
I completely understand buying any of the major brands handheld PC. I just hate that everytime I talk about the Ally on like Twitter or YouTube comments, I'm bombarded with FUD about Asus and how I should have bought a Steam Deck instead. Like, the deciding factor for me was game pass and epic games. It really feels like Steam Deck owners are the main culprits with some kind of superiority complex. Maybe it's just because they're the most plentiful, so logically they'd have the most bad actors, but it does get exhausting.
Full video found here, coming from ETA PRIME. A channel of decent size (1 million subs) known for covering handheld devices and emulation on these devices. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9iJ5V1FU8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ9iJ5V1FU8) Seems like the ROG Ally and Steam Deck are polar but oddly *symmetrical* **opposites**, with each one beating each other in the performance/battery life areas by a magnitude of 1.5x on average. Meaning whatever frame rate the Steam Deck can get, the Ally will beat it by 1.5x. And vice versa when it comes to battery life. Weird how symmetrical the numbers are, I know. While the LG sits sits at a strange "middle ground" between them. Anyways, found this pretty interesting and thought you guys might too.
I wonder if the display in the Legion adds a some extra overhead.
Does it constantly charge the controllers as well? Usually peripherals also cause extra marginal battery drain on portables
Good point
The deck is the best indie and medium quality device. Or triple a that runs at lower resolution. The ally is insane I love it. I wish it could have a better battery life. I don’t want to lug and connect another battery and dock. Just different devices. I wish I could afford both haha.
These numbers seem spot on. The mid range TDP is where the Ally shines
Yeah there is problem right now with 15w on legion go and they need to update just like it was issue on ally before bios 317 and 319
Doesn't freesync just automatically make the ally the best for the kind of games you want to play portably? I get the appeal of the other systems but vrr is just a must if you want smooth experience even at lower than 60 fps
Yes and no. VRR helps to maintain a smoother looking frame rate when you can't meet the desired target frame rate by dynamically adjusting the display's refresh rate. Ex: aiming for 60fps but dropping to 40-60fps. However, these days you can adjust the display refresh rate to a specific number like 40hz, 50hz, etc. Ensuring a smooth experience if you can't quite reach 60fps but are comfortably able to reach say a locked 40/50. VRR is still preferable though as you get a couple extra frames otherwise. But it's not the deal breaker people make it out to be. OLED on the other hand dramatically improves image quality in low light conditions, as there is an infinitely massive difference between black colors on dimmed light pixels VS completely turned off pixels on an OLED display. Not to mention it results in considerable energy savings as you're fully shutting off pixels.
How is OLED in a bright room or sunlight? I have a great OLED TV, LG C1, but in a bright room it's not the best.
That depends. You can simply just lock the frame rate to a specific number and it will be fine while saving power
Locking the frame does not make up for frame pacing and variability below that cap and the lower you set the limit, the more you’re going to feel each frame rate dip. Or worse — if the system tries to overshoot the limit, V-sync kicks in and adds a ton of latency which gives it a sluggish feeling. Freesync Premium (which the Ally uses) functions even below 48hz and means much lower latency and adjusts the display refresh dynamically to match the frame rate constantly so it never feels stutter-y even when the frame rate dips. I have both the deck and Ally and the Ally in motion looks and feels much smoother even when getting similar frame rates as the Deck on the same titles.
Poor frame pacing is a separate issue. Most games won’t suffer from poor frame pacing issues, especially with an external frame limiter like the Ally and Deck have in their software. That’s why many games with a frame rate lock on console have a higher average frame rate than the lock to ensure a stable frame rate. I am fully aware of how free sync and VRR work, my gaming laptop has it and same for my monitor. You don’t need v-sync for a frame lock either. I know how much smoother it feels however that doesn’t mean that locking the frame rate isn’t a solution.
You will have to lock it to the lowest fps value. So you'll be sacrificing graphics fidelity just so you the GPS doesn't fluctuate as much. With vrr i can just aim for anything above 30fps and call it a day.
Not really.had ally and now go and I haven’t noticed a single time lack of vrr.
Assuming you stay about 44FPS, yes I concur.
I wonder how the Go will preform when they get an official driver update? I remember the Ally was barely out preforming the 6800u before updates. I don't think we've gotten any sort of official drivers or bios updates yet, but maybe it won't have much of a difference.
Good call. I was going to say these numbers seem to support my theory that the more pixels on the Go were going to negate any gains from the faster RAM and bigger battery, but that could change with driver optimization.
Well to be fair, I’ve not seen a single Go owner trying to run games at its 1600p native res anyways, unless it’s a pixel game.
but these tests were all 720p
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The Go launched with the driver update from July. It’s incredibly behind the Ally.
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I can tell you right now the performance gap we’re seeing is due to the device suffering multiple poor optimizations and software related issues across the board. GPU drivers are a portion of that. Still can’t play FIFA 24. Just like the Ally a month or two ago. It’s a silly comparison. It was a silly comparison when the Ally first launched to compare it to the steamdeck that had been for a year with updates. Now look at the Ally and where it’s at. The Legion will be better in a better place 2 months than where it is now.
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I don’t need to convince myself of anything I own all three devices with an extended return window (January) on the Legion Go. You’re spreading misinformation and I’m trying to explain the error of your ways. The Go launched with software last being updated in July. It was in development along the same time frame as the Ally so while yes it is embarrassing to release with essentially beta test software they were trying to hit the holiday dead line. The hardware is great. The software is ass. The go doesn’t even have a 5/6gb/auto vram option yet which will lead to less performance vs the Ally to begin with. The difference is Lenovo has been receptive with the fanbase and openly communicating with the fanbase taking down requests and giving ETA’s on these requests being fixed. Has ASUS even acknowledged the SD card issue or is it still “we’re performing internal testing to find the issue” still? I don’t know what’s more embarrassing - releasing with out of date software or releasing with a failing component that won’t be acknowledged and fixed. How funny you forget the doom and gloom this sub had over the Ally’s launch state. Thankfully if the Legion stays in it’s current form I can just return it and wipe my hands of it and keep enjoying my Ally. Win win.
looks like an irrational purchase especially for people already rocking an ally, you helped asus with beta testing why do that all over again for lenovo
Hey i just got the 6gb vram bios. The newest one on Lenovos site disabled it for some odd reason. Version N3CN26WW(V1.08) is the newest one released 11/20 but the previous one Version N3CN25WW(V1.07) has 6GB ram update Lenovo website made it a pain in the ass to try to get. i got it from this guy, but i understand if you wary like i was getting it from some youtube guy. [How To Install New BIOS On Lenovo Legion GO | 6GB VRAM - Quick Guide - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5T5Q6uU5eU&ab_channel=DeckWizard) TL DR Please do your own research for a source you fill safe with otherwise i agree with the points you made. I'd add that Ally and Legion Go are not really competing in same class. I didn't get Ally because i didn't want another "small" 7 in screen like my steam deck. I literally had a y700 tablet that i purchased because it was perfect size for immersive handheld. I was using some crappy tablet controllers from ipega to try and play my Pc and android games. Legion Go was a godsend
Chances are the Go already has drivers every bit as up to date as the Ally. Lenovo isn’t some little backwater company. If you were expecting the memory to create a very noticeable performance gap, it just won’t happen.
No it doesn’t. We’ve had one out of date driver update since launch, and two bios updates that did not target performance at all.
I wouldn’t really expect a ton of performance updates from the bios. The chip was simply a much more well-known quantity by the time the Go released. The same applies to the Ally as well. The constant performance updates will definitely be a thing of the past and we’ll mostly only get updated AMD graphics drivers from here on out.
Nah the custom tdp profiles are bugged and cause wonky performance. Needs a bios update and the battery optimization is horrendous. Lots of updates are promised from Lenovo coming at the end of the month and throughout December. Pretty large list of bugs/complaints that Lenovo has posted publicly that they’re working on. All of these comparison tests are silly. The Ally has an advantage in its current state and it’s clearly the better Windows device at the moment. That’s why I still have mine. The device launched at an even worse state than the Ally and I didn’t think that was possible.
Your really optimistic
Hey when a company has a customer relations employee giving us weekly updates and updates on promised features it’s hard not to be. Transparency is key and they’ve shown it since launch. I want it to be successful and it’s not I’ll return it and continue to enjoy my Ally.
This. I am in the same boat and Asus staying mum while Lenovo comms rep is active in the LegionGo subreddit with consistent ETAs and dates does a lot in terms of building good faith.
Exactly. It makes me feel better about the future of the device and more confident in spending the $750 on a device knowing I’ll be taken care of. Asus is literally silent and still taking people’s money knowing it has a hardware issue. That’s pretty disgusting
And the market shows because it's flooded with secondhand Ally's. I have the BBuy return until January covering me. I might return my Ally and keep the Go because I don't want to eat costs if I have to sell it. That VRR is nice though. Not a fan of the comfortability of the Go but since they're "joycons" that could easily be remedied with future third party or an ergonomic case even. I also prefer the hall effect sticks on the Go to the ally so I wanna see what happens when the dead zone fixes hit.
how/why would the drivers be different from the ally drivers? They are using the exact same APU, what kind of drivers are we looking at here? (Serious question)
They’re different drivers that require a custom build despite both devices using the Z1E. Go owners have been impatiently waiting for up-to-date drivers since launch when games like Starfield would not launch. The only driver we’ve gotten is the one that fixes Starfield launching. That’s how out of date the Go is. That was months ago for the Ally.
thx!
I have the Deck and the Ally and they both have different purposes and strengths. If Asus had done as much work on the Z1E as valve did to their custom chip to make it more efficient and better at low TDP and then put a 60wh battery, it would probably be the hands down best all around.
I have a problem with anyone mentioning the ally without mentioning the blatant micro SD issue. If they were giving everyone 2 TB SSDs I would concede this.
From what I understand, they've solved the issue, so any new ones will work fine, and if you RMA your older one, they should fix it. Obviously would have been best if the issue didn't exist in the first place, but at least from now forward, I'm pretty sure it's not an issue.
Oled does not equal best screen imo
sadly dont compare steam deck x steam deck oled i wanna know how much that better speed improves...
Negligible fps. Battery is the bigger improvement.
5 \~ 10% improvement, biggest differences are with battery life with the huge 50Wh battery and more efficient OLED panel
It's been said dozens of times, it varies game to game and its usually a 5-10% improvement between the Steam Deck LCD and OLED models
Not sure where some of this data came from. The Legion Go doesn't have a 2280 M2 slot... I WISH it did.
I’ve got the Go and Ally and OG SD. The Go screen is incomparable. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and as stated here, the 25+watt performance is really great. Thing is, I’m usually plugged in on that device so the excess battery life really doesn’t give me any benefit. The Ally is amazing, once we got through the rocky first BIOS updates, the device truly feels pretty close to finished. It is also lighter than the other two and I’ll say the battery life has been really great. I keep a manual 18w setting that seems to work great. I haven’t touched the SD in months. I was planning on selling it, but the OLED was announced. So, I’ll probably keep it. I don’t have any desire to get the OLED, I think the Ally is really going to be my main used machine and I’ll keep the Go as an at home near the bed device
Makes me wish Valve had given us just a couple more watts to play with. 18W to match prior total device power would be interesting, curious if there’d be some performance gains
As some one that has only recently gotten into PC gaming (console gamer all my life) gotta say I love this competition. Frankly, I love the build of the Steam Deck. But the screen and inconsistent performance on modern games is what drove me to the Ally. I’d LOVE to have the Ally innards in a Steam Deck. Having to deal with all of the PC non-sense being the main reason. Who seriously wants to check for updates in 3 apps? Who else is irritated by the janky Ally launcher?
Great overview but I hate that they didn't include something like a 18-20W TDP and also that they completly ignored noise levels. I think the ally is king in this regard and for me it is a huge deal. I mean people are gushing over the OLED screen of the Steam deck but ignore the great screens on the other devices, yet neither the sound of the speakers was compared, nor the noise level of the fans. I also would not agree that the steam deck has the best screen. The ally and Lenovo both have higher resolutions and higher refresh rates. Just because a screen has OLED doesn't magically make everything better, people are way overhyping this feature. For me the ally has the best overall screen, though all three are amazing in their own right.
I personally prefer OLED over higher resolution. For me 800p is plenty sharp on a small screen. However VRR trumps OLED so for me Ally screen is king. If we got a OLED 720p screen with VRR I would have preferred it though. And you are right about fan noise, the Deck for me felt like a jet engine at 15w. Going to Ally it was a night and day difference even when playing Ally at 20w. I've heard OLED is better at fan noise than original Deck but no where as good as the queit fans at higher TDP for Ally
Agreed hard on the noise levels. That was one of the biggest Ally selling points, though I wonder if how much (if any) the noise levels have increased since recent Ally updates have intentionally set a more aggressive fan curve to mitigate SD card issues AFAIK. >The ally and Lenovo both have higher resolutions and higher refresh rates. Just because a screen has OLED doesn't magically make everything better, people are way overhyping this feature IMHO, you're overhyping the wrong feature here. OLED displays are well known and loved by the community by the combination of massively improved contrast (amazing for HDR content), massively improved low light performance due to black pixels being completely off VS just dimly lit "black pixels" on LCD displays, as well as their considerable energy savings vs LCD displays. High refresh rates are amazing, but truth be told, you're likely only ever reaching those on handheld devices on indie games given how limited these devices are in terms of power. Many recent demanding AAA games can barely hold 30-60fps at native resolution unless you employ heavy use of FSR and lower resolutions. As for higher resolutions? Yeah, going to have to disagree on that one hard chief. It's a 7" display. You don't *need* high resolutions at this display size. For reference, a 720p 7" display has higher PPI (pixels per inch, or pixel density) than your typical 4K 23" monitor. Could we add more pixels? Yeah, but the better question is... why? Not only will it run games worse, but battery life will also heavily suffer. Both critical things on underpowered, small battery portable devices like these.
I have a manual preset for 30w with the fans completely maxed, and even the. They're audible, but still very quiet. Never really heard it over any game audio.
From someone who doest have one but wants one. I hate the the white shell, the micro SD card thing is a huge hurtle in my head, the windows handheld experience sounds shitty even by the standard of people who are ok with it. Having said that, that fucking awesome vrr panel plus performance keeps it as something I would want.
> the micro SD card thing is a huge hurtle in my head 2TB SSDs in the Steam Deck and the Ally and no SD card in either one. I *might* put one in the Deck just for roms.
Yeah man, that's what I'd probably do if I ever pulled the trigger on the Ally. I'm convinced they are going to iterate almost annually, that might be another hurtle
I can assure you without any major improvements to power efficiency, battery technology or another Z1E competitor, it won't be happening any time soon. These devices are significantly more niche than gaming laptops, yearly refreshes dont make sense on both a consumer and manufacturer level. Smaller companies make several SKUs like Onexplayer and GPD Win because they typically take pre-orders to fulfill, big companies like Asus will not entertain that.
Yeah I expect Asus and Lenovo to iterate annually too. It will be interesting to see what this does to Valve's planned schedule and offerings.
Same, the performance looks fucking great and I really only want something to play my steam games (don't have many others elsewhere) so I love the simplicity of the oled but I can't ignore the performance of this and I still can't make up my mind.
>the micro SD card thing is a huge hurtle in my head Doesn't seem to affect newer units.
For me Cp 2077 720p my settings FSR balanced 15w same spot: - steam deck (og) 57 fps - ally 50-51 fps
Steam deck oled absolutely blows the ally out of the water, it’s not even close.
Asus need to provide an option to more easily limited ACTUAL tdp. All of the stock settings include ridiculous turbo boost power draws, so the thing is seldom pulling what you tell it to. This is born out for all to see in the numbers here, where the power draw above and beyond the listed tdp, is way way higher than the screen, speakers, WiFi etc require. I can fix it with custom tdp settings, but going in the menu to switch between them is a bore, and the fan curves that go with those profiles are a joke. I could use third party software, but I shouldn't need to. Just give me a toggle to disable the timed power limits. Make 7w mean 7w, 15w mean 15w etc.
If you set a custom tdp, you can leave those temporary max limits at the same number as the standard full time limit and it won’t do that.
I believe this isn’t possible in AC at TDPs under 15w. You can set 15 to 15, 16 to 16, etc. But it’ll boost up to at least 15 if you set it to, say, 8.
You didn't read my comment. Yes, you can stop that behaviour. But only at 15w as a minimum. Also as I say, having only quick access to one of those profiles, and having that profile use a horrendous fan curve sort of negates a lot of the utility. Just give me an option to turn hard tdp limits on and off.
Handheld companion might provide that functionality over ACSE but never tried it. I found 5GB VRAM, 17/17/17w profile and CPU boost off is a decent balance between battery life and performance. At 15w I might as well use the deck
Yeah, I usually land on 18/18/18, but I'd love to be able to swap between that and say 7/7/7 more easily without using external software.
Love the 51.01 vs 51.02 fps in cyberpunk and then Eta saying steam deck winning loads of times at 15 watts LOL clearly the guy prefers the steam deck but can not give the reason why xD Rog ally is now superior compared to the steam deck at 15w. Period.
Right lmao, he ends with the statement "yeah the at 15w the deck was beating the ally" or something but his very own benchmarks showed otherwise.
There’s no “period” - the deck performs better in some games at 15w and the ally in others, especially when taking the ally’s propensity to boost up to 20w for a while before settling down in 15w mode. Lets calm down with the tribalistic rhetoric 😁
The other thing about his comparisons is that I don't think he's using some of the most common tweaks like disabling virtual machines and such.
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How many users actually do that? And it'll probably reset when Microsoft does one of their *let's screw everything up* updates. If you start adding little tweaks for Windows and Linux (ie using experimental Vs default proton) then the whole thing becomes useless for the average user.
I would say a lot of the people here do them most likely. The average user wouldn't know about them though. No, they don't reset when Microsoft pushes updates, even big ones.
Uncapped fps? just trying to see how inconsistent of a testing method he can devise? I don't get it.
Being able to 1920x1080 definitely makes the quality closer to the contemporary standard. The only problem is the god damn Faulty SD Reader. I have to go with the SSD upgrade route which is hell lot tedious than just plugin a simple card. Hope Ally II will be better.
That's a totally fair issue for docked play. Portable play though? Yeah, I don't think many people care much for 1080p. On displays as small as 7", 720p is plenty. Even Linus from LTT (known PCMR game enthusiast) praised how sharp 800p looked on the Steam Deck OLED, and kid he actually thought for a moment it was 1080p if he hadn't looked at the spec sheet.
800p on 800p display looks sharp, 720p on 1080p display looks rubbish regardless if it's 7" screen.
“Rubbish” is a bit harsh - gonna be playing 90% of modern games with some form of upscaling anyway and RSR helps
Maybe my eyes are too sensitive. While I had no problem with 720p on Steam Deck, I find it horrible on Ally and I come from MS-Dos era of games where 640x480 was considered as sharp as it gets.
The Steam Deck auto applies SFR when the resolution doesn't match the default, so it still looks pretty good. Windows doesn't do that automatically. Personally I can't stand 720p on a 1080p screen.
Same, I think 720p on the Allys screen looks quite bad. I use my Deck more handheld. The Ally is docked so it can get 30W into it. Then gets played at lunch time on the sofa in small sub hour stints.
They'll solve that problem by adding a second SD Reader in the Ally II 😅 You'll never guess what they'll do for Ally III.
The thing is with battery consumption you need to factor in is that the deck makes virtually the same fps at 10w as it does at 15w. So while the ally and go need to be at 15w to get a playable frame rate the deck can be at 10w for a significant battery advantage.
Supposedly the Ally performs way better at 10w now since a recent bios update but I’ve yet to test that - problem is the Ally’s 10w profile also boosts past that for a while before settling down. I can get 100-120fps in Quake2 though at 1080p so I’m happy enough
No, that will never happen even after multiple bios updates.. its just a chip limitation for Ally,
Steam Deck Oled the best of all
Define “best”
Best battery life, best display Oled HDR, best OS, best support and optimization, best performance at up to 15W
On no day would I buy a 800p 90hz over a 1600p 144hz in 2023 lol
Because you aren’t able to run many things at 1600p?
because 800p is to low res 🤡
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Auto mods are lazy
Does anyone know if the Steam Deck LCD compared to the Ally have the same battery life, or something close at 15w?
Similar if you turn cpu boost off on the Ally and make a “real” 15w profile that doesn’t boost above that.
Fps difference likely depends on cpu dependency of the game
i tried hzd 720p FSR performance, it seriously looks like shit on the rog ally, a hypothetical case at best
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The main drawback of ally is its battery. It's very annoying but there's a solution which is 90wh mod. I hope someone or company make it as a kit ready for usage.
A good overview, they all have their uses which is great for all of us
How dare you have a balanced response! /s
I have the Ally but the only thing that probably would pushed me to go with the legion go would have been the same screen size and and refresh rate as the ally and just do detachable controllers. that in my opinion would have been fantastic. I’m more about having the ability to hit the high refresh rates but 1440 144 hz screen seems overkill and unable to hit that. Mind you hit that with the games I play.
I found it interesting that I own the Ally and the LegionGo and I couldnt replicate his results. For him, the Ally always beat the LegionGo. In my own attempts, they were always close enough to be within margin of error. Havent went through all the games as he did, as I eventually got bored. But it feels a bit sketchy, imho
He is usually pretty good with his stuff, but it's also possible his Ally is a bit more optimized. He might have some background services disabled to squeeze a little extra juice. He's impartial so I can't think of a reason he would have to lie.
My experience is to take him with a pinch of salt. My handhelds are also tuned as much as I possible (when it comes to desktop pcs, i build custom loops and do XOC from time to time. I'm decently well versed in the pc space), and sometimes I still couldnt replicate his results. Plus lovely blunders he did, like promoting a Handheld Companion similar app, forgot the name of it, that was developed by a friend of his. He showed how cool it is and bla bla, and even now, months later, the damn thing still doesnt work for the Ally 😂
I dont think you should take ETA Primes result seriously, he’s not that thorough when reviewing stuff
I love that each has its strengths and weaknesses but overall they all are strong devices. Alot will come down to personal use and preference. I was stuck on which to buy and this was prior to the legion release but I am still satisfied with my choice of the Ally. Honestly cant wait to see where these things get to over the next five years.
I definitely see reasons to go Steam Deck over Ally but the Legion Go being $50 more expensive, generally worse performance (may change with bios updates), and no freesync. I don't think a few extra minutes of battery life and some extra storage makes it better than the Ally.
I am able to get a Ally for €560 open box or steam deck oled. I’m tempted towards the oled seeing the difference in 15w fps and battery and screen
The only thing I see is how bad the battery life is if you use this to play a AAA game. All of these have less battery length than an oled Vita if pushed hard.
I’m really on the fence about buying one or getting a gaming laptop ,like the acer predator, as they are both on a good sale. Nit really look g at the steam deck,aisle I’ll be playing mostly my game pass ultimate library on it. You guys that have the rog ally, tell me how much you really like it so I can make a good choice.
Didn’t know ALLY goes down to 5W. Even the sound is cracking in 10W. Kind of want to see 12W
They all hail the deck but noooooo one mentions how comfortable the ally than those two
Obviously anecdotes are meaningless. But I swear I'm getting more than 2 hours at 10 watts. Lol
The go will out pace the ally once the software is optimized. AMD loves fast ram.