One of the first ASUS ROG Ally vs Steam Deck video comparisons has been released, comparing framerates, resolution, loading times, and more.
ASUS’ handheld was officially unveiled last week, and going by the specs, the specs of the ROG showed serious competition for Valve’s Steam Deck. ASUS’ machine sports an AMD Ryzen Z1 series processor, RDNA 3 GPU architecture, 12 CPU cores, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, and more. It’s an impressive contender for the Steam Deck with its specs surpassing those of Valve’s handheld.
Of course, these are specifications on paper, but what about actual real-life performance? YouTube tech channel ‘ElAnalistaDebits’ (who else?!) is one of the first to the performance and visuals of both handhelds to each other and going by this comparison, ASUS’ device greatly outperforms the Steam Deck on most parts. Looking at display and resolution, the Steam Deck offers an 800p/60Hz LCD screen whereas the ROG sports a 1080p/120Hz IPS display with Freesync.
While Steam Deck runs on SteamOS (based on Linux), ASUS’ handheld uses Windows 11. As such, the ROG is able to run practically all game clients, including Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox Game Pass. This would also imply that emulating Switch games using Yuzu or Ryujinx on the ROG is somewhat easier than on Steam Deck. On the other hand, the Steam Deck’s own custom OS and gaming mode does appear to offer better optimizations and ease of use for gaming. In addition, as ‘ElAnalistaDebits’ also mentions, Valve is already collaborating with various des to optimize their games on Steam Deck, resulting in performance close to that of the ROG in said games.
Generally, we’re seeing higher framerates on the ASUS ROG Ally of up to 20 to 30FPS at its native resolution. Also, the ROG benefits from faster loading times on all occasions, including starting up the device, starting games, and loading within games. You can check out the ASUS ROG Ally vs Steam Deck comparison video below and see the differences between both handhelds:
The ASUS ROG Ally can now be pre-ordered for $699 US. This version packs the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU and will be available next month on June 13. Later this year, ASUS will also be releasing its Z1 standard model for $599 US. This variant will be available during Q3 of 2023.
The Steam Deck is available globally now. Valve released its handheld device last year. Here’s what we wrote about the device in our review:
Across the board, Steam Deck hits all the marks for a product line in its infancy that only has the potential to grow upwards. As Proton support grows and more titles become Verified over time, I honestly believe that the Steam Deck has the potential of carving out the portable PC market in a way that its predecessors have attempted. This is Valve’s chance to break through to the mainstream audience and establish a brand new hardware line for the company, and it’s made a lasting first impression on me. As the compatibility catalog grows in size, I won’t have any reservations about throwing a Steam Deck in my carry-on luggage instead of a Nintendo Switch. I’ll just have to remember to pack a spare battery or two for those longer flights.
