The Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is on sale for the best price we’ve seen at Best Buy. Normally $650, the 7-inch handheld gaming PC is up for grabs for only $450. On top of the $200 discount, Best Buy is throwing in the official ROG Ally Travel Case, which retails for $40 on its own. If you’re in the market for a portable gaming PC and want a Windows model, you’re getting impressive power and performance for the price here. If Best Buy sells out, you can snag one for $457 at Walmart. This deal is sold by a third-party seller but is fulfilled by Walmart.
$450 (was $650)
The ROG Ally Z1 Extreme comes with a sharp 1080p screen, AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 16GB LPDDR5 6400 RAM, and an internal 512GB NVMe SSD. Compared to the $500 base model ROG Ally, the Z1 Extreme has two additional CPU cores and a better GPU, which can make a meaningful difference with newer, more graphically demanding games.
The ROG Ally offers impressive performance for the price. It’s not going to play graphically demanding games at the highest settings, but you still can play many AAA titles in 1080p resolution with at least 30fps. Even at its full $650 price, the ROG Ally’s performance is admirable; at $450, the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme offers incredible value.
Admittedly, you can fill a 512GB SSD fairly quickly these days, but the ROG Ally has a microSD card slot that allows you to expand your storage for cheap. For instance, you can grab a SanDisk Ultra 1TB microSD card for only $70 at Amazon right now. Alternatively, you can upgrade the internal SSD with an M.2 2230 NVMe SSD. One option here is Corsair’s 1TB MP600 Mini SSD for $80 (was $110).
It’s worth noting that Windows can be cumbersome on gaming handhelds, unless you pair it with a traditional mouse and keyboard setup. Asus does have a proprietary app called Armoury Crate that gives you a more traditional console-like interface for gaming, but you’ll still need to spend some time navigating Windows 11.
For a smoother overall experience and to turn your handheld into a hybrid desktop PC, we’d recommend pairing your ROG Ally with a docking station. There are plenty of budget-friendly docks, including this popular JSAUX dock for $40. It’s on the pricier side, but Razer is releasing a Chroma RGB-enabled docking station this week. You can order the Razer Handheld Dock Chroma for $80 at Amazon.
Asus also makes a 65W Charger Dock, which has ports for USB-C, USB 2.0, and HDMI 2.0.
The Steam Deck remains the most popular handheld gaming PC by a wide margin, but the Asus ROG Ally has been the most popular alternative for Windows users since its June 2023 launch. Following the success of the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme and Z1 models, Asus released the ROG Ally X last year. While it retained the Z1 Extreme chip, the ROG Ally X is fitted with 24GB RAM and other welcome improvements such as better battery life, upgraded analog sticks, and increased storage capacity. The ROG Ally X is substantially more expensive, especially right now, at $800 for a 1TB model and $900 for a 2TB model.
Here’s the full ROG Ally lineup, but the Z1 Extreme is the only model that’s on sale.
2025 will be another exciting year for handheld PCs, starting with the release of the Lenovo Legion Go S. The Windows model of Lenovo’s upgraded handheld features a new Ryzen Z2 Go Chip, 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Legion Go S is available to preorder now for $730 at Best Buy ahead of its February 14 release.
In May, Lenovo will release a $500 model of the Legion Go S with SteamOS, the same operating system used by Valve’s Steam Deck. This model features the Z2 Go Chip, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It will be the first third-party handheld to run on SteamOS.
