Man, the world of gaming handhelds is like… bustling right now. Anyway — so, picture this: the Nintendo Switch 2 just dropped, and suddenly handheld gaming is the cool kid at school. Then there’s Asus, throwing their ROG Ally into the ring, and it’s hanging out at Best Buy for $499. But wait, not just any Ally — we’re talking the Z1 Extreme processor version. Not the middle child, not the overachiever, just right there in the sweet spot.
So, who are the other players here? You’ve got Valve’s Steam Deck — which, sidebar, I thought was a kitchen appliance the first time I heard it — plus MSI Claw and the Lenovo Legion Go. Asus is all "here’s the ROG Ally," and heck, rumor has it they’re even cooking up an Xbox edition. Prices could drop like a bad habit once new toys hit the shelves, but hey, right now this is the best you’ll snag for a Windows 11 handheld.
Oh, the Z1 processor — pretty snazzy. It’s like that friend who’s always calm and never runs out of juice. Just optimize your screen settings and boom, your gaming sesh lasts longer than my attention span. Although, plug it in… and oh boy, it’s like turbocharging a scooter and watching it zoom past the Steam Deck with that sweet high framerate.
We got our hands on the Asus ROG Ally — the beefed-up version. I gotta say, it’s like picking up a feather compared to the Steam Deck, with colors that pop like they’re in 3D or something. And since it’s running Windows 11, you can basically play anything. It’s like a mini powerhouse.
And look, if your wallet is feeling slim and you want to keep the splurge at bay, maybe take a gander at our Best PC Hardware deals — even hit up those SSDs, Storage Deals, or oh! Gaming Monitors, Graphics Cards… you get it, it’s a candy store for deals.
