Asus launched its portable gaming console, ROG Ally, in April with two versions: the $700 model with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme and the slightly cheaper $600 version with the regular AMD Ryzen Z1. The first one has been on sale for a while now and we gave it a mostly positive review. But now the cheaper version is available.
Asus ROG Ally
Is it worth saving $100? The only notable difference is the APU, the $600 version comes with the same 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB storage as the $700 model, the same 7-inch 1080p 120Hz display ( 16:9) and the same 40 Wh battery.
But the Z1 is proving to be too big a step down from the Z1 Extreme. Digital Trends reports that it’s slower than the Steam Deck APU, and the Valve console is cheaper: $400 for the 64GB eMMC version, $530 for the 256GB NVMe version, and $650 higher if you want to match the space of the Ally’s 512GB storage.
Here’s a look at the respective APUs:
| Z1 extreme | Z1 | Van Gogh (Steam Bridge) | |
| Node | 4nm | 4nm | 7nm |
| processor | Zen4 | Zen4 | Zen2 |
| CPU cores (c/t) | 8/16 | 6/12 | 4/8 |
| Frequency | 3.3-5.1GHz | 3.2-4.9GHz | 2.4-3.5GHz |
| Cache (L2/L3) | 8/16 MB | 6/16MB | 1/4 MB |
| GPU | RDNA3 | RDNA3 | RDNA2 |
| CU GPU | 12 | 4 | 8 |
| TDP | 9-30W | 9-30W | 4-15W |
Of course, the Ally has the better screen – a 7” 1,280 x 800px (16:9) panel at 60 Hz – so there are still reasons to prefer the ROG Ally over the Steam Deck. Check out our review for more details on the display, controls, and other features.
If you’re still interested, you can find the Z1 version of the Asus ROG Ally at Best Buy in the US. In Germany, this version is available on Otto at a price of 710 euros.
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