Playing video games on the go used to be the domain of Nintendo and Sony, but over the last couple of years, the PC platform has transitioned to the mobile market. One of the best devices in this field, the Asus ROG Ally, is currently on sale for its lowest price yet, as you can get a massive 33% discount on this attractive and powerful handheld gaming device. Available at Best Buy, the Asus ROG Ally Z1 has been marked down from $600 to only $400. We wouldn’t be surprised to see this deal sell out–it’s a pretty wild deal that easily offers the best bang for your buck when it comes to Windows gaming handhelds.
This is for the entry-level model of the ROG Ally, but it still has a lot of power under its hood. You’re getting a device with a sharp 1080p screen, AMD’s Ryzen Z1 processor, 16GB LPDDR5 6400 RAM, and an internal 512GB NVMe SSD. If that’s not enough space, you can always make use of a microSD card for a quick and cheap storage upgrade.
What makes the ROG Ally stand out from the Steam Deck is that it runs on Windows 11, allowing you to play virtually any PC game in your collection from a wide range of storefronts. That includes Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, Prime Gaming, Itch, and more. Best of all, you can run the Xbox app on the ROG Ally, so if you have a Game Pass subscription, you get a massive library of games that you can take on the road with you. There’s a standard array of inputs arranged over the white shell, some handy paddles on the back, and the handheld charges via USB-C.
In terms of power, the standard Z1 is a solid middleweight contender to the heavyweight champ that is the Z1 Extreme. It can easily play the latest indie games and many older AAA titles, but more demanding, newer games will require some graphical concessions to get running on it. In comparison, the Z1 Extreme model–which is on sale for $100 off–offers a much more powerful alternative. It has eight Zen 4 CPU cores (the Z1 has six) and a better GPU that allows for modern games to work brilliantly at 1080p on it.
That’s not to say that the base model Z1 isn’t a great handheld PC gaming console if you temper your expectations, but if graphical fidelity is a priority for you, you’ll want the Z1 extreme model. That said, for the price, you really can’t beat the $400 Z1 if you want a handheld Windows PC.
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