The consolidated Asus ROG Ally laptop will arrive with Ryzen Z1, RDNA 3 graphics, 16 GB of RAM and access to Steam and Game Pass

Asus’ rival for the Steam Deck is much closer than it seems. After a somewhat confusing first announcement, which even led one to think that it was an innocent, the Taiwanese manufacturer has offered several media specialized a First glance in depth of the ROG Ally, a kind of consolidated laptop whose basic technical specifications we already knew, but which are now expanded with the arrival of the first in-depth impressions of the device.

Powered by the new Ryzen Z1, a semi-custom APU with six cores, 12 threads and an integrated RDNA 3-based GPU (essentially a sort of stripped-down Ryzen 7 7840U), this machine should offer some pretty high performance in conjunction with its 16GB of storage space. RAM. The first benchmarks This is indicated, showing desirable FPS rates even for the occasional desktop computer, and that without the possibility of adding an external GPU (an option that in any case is expected to be a minority given the added cost).

As can be read in the articles that are already appearing, the console? itself works surprisingly well even if it is not yet a commercial product. Its 120 Hz Full HD screen represents a significant improvement compared to the one integrated by the Valve machine, the fans are really quiet even operating at the limit of their performance and the aluminum chassis contributes to providing a high sense of perceived quality without negatively impacting in a fairly low weight, with 608 grams.

ROG Ally’s controls also look interesting. The triggers use the Hall effect and lack any tactile surface, with the implications this has for handling the operating system. The Verge resembles the sensations provided by an Xbox controller. As for the software, Windows 11 is shown as it is, without customization of any kind (any Microsoft experiment to consolidate it is still just that: an experiment), although there is a kind of launcher specific to the games.

Baptized as Armory Crate SE, this program brings together all the games that we can have installed regardless of the platform. Steam, Epic, Game Pass… at first it seems to be a global solution. When it’s running in the foreground, the controls are automatically set to game mode, making it easy to use, and when game mode is gone, they adapt to interact with Windows 11 more easily. Additionally, Armory Crate SE manages options such as RGB controller lighting, cooling, and button mapping.

Price and release? For now Asus does not want to say anything other than that it will be “very competitive”, costing less than $1,000 in the United States. The rest of the details will be official next May 11when pre-orders will open, which will include a three-month subscription to Game Pass Ultimate as standard as an integral part of ROG Ally.