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I’m always keeping an eye out for Asus ROG Ally deals, and the Z1 Extreme handheld just dropped to a ridiculously low price. I honestly figured I’d have to wait for Black Friday to see the portable PC drift under $500, but Best Buy has made me feel very silly with this random discount.
Right now, you can grab the Asus ROG Ally for just $499.99 at Best Buy, as a whopping $150 discount has knocked it to a new record low. At full price, you’re looking at $649.99, and while it usually ends up discounted to around $550, this current deal makes it $50 cheaper than the 512GB Steam Deck OLED. As someone who adores Valve’s portable powerhouse, I’d find it extremely hard to ignore its biggest rival right now, especially since it can boost fps further and has a faster 120Hz 1080p screen.
Should you buy the Asus ROG Ally?
Discounts aside, the Asus ROG Ally fully deserves its seat at the best gaming handheld table, and it’s one of the most impressive handhelds I’ve tested. My fellow hardware editor Tabitha Baker agrees, dubbing the portable PC “a stealthy powerhouse” in her review.
It is worth noting that the Ally had to work hard after launch to achieve true greatness, and there are still caveats tied to the device. For starters, using Windows for portable gaming isn’t always ideal, as Microsoft’s OS lacks the same level of optimization as SteamOS. Efforts are underway to tighten the platform’s experience, as a new compact Xbox Game Bar just landed that provides quicker access to games and settings. Still, the operating system is a handheld Achilles Heel, so it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re used to console-like environments.
On the flip side, the ROG Ally stands as one of the most powerful handheld gaming PCs on the market thanks to its speedy AMD Ryzen Z1 chip. I’ve cross-benchmarked both, and Asus’ device can boost fps to around 60fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 800p, whereas the Deck caps out at around 45fps. That’s to be expected given Valve’s using a lower-spec custom AMD chip, but it’s a strong reason to pick up its competitor for under $500.
Outside of rivalry, the ROG Ally faces challenges from its own handheld linage, as there’s a beefier Asus ROG Ally X handheld now roaming the battlefield. The new portable on the block boasts a much larger 80Whrs battery versus the original’s 40Whrs, and you’ll also benefit from 24GB of faster LPDDR5 RAM and a full-sized 1.5TB M.2 SSD. Simply put, spending more on the higher-spec version will grant you longer playtime, a slight performance boost, and storage that’s easier to upgrade.
Naturally, there are a ton of reasons to go for other handhelds over the ROG Ally, with the Steam Deck OLED boasting nicer visuals and premium options like the Ayaneo Flip DS offering a unique secondary screen (which makes for a neat way to emulate 3DS games. However, I think most players looking for a punchy on-the-go PC experience will want to pick up Asus’ contender while it’s sitting at $500, especially since it’ll save you waiting till Black Friday for a similar deal.
Put it this way, if you grab the Ally now, you’ll get to see out the summer tackling your Steam backlog in the sunshine.
Rocking Valve’s portable PC? Check out the best Steam Deck accessories and best Steam Deck dock for great handheld add-ons. Alternatively, take a peek at the best gaming laptops for mobile machines with more oomph.
