Asus just held a special event to mark the launch of its ROG Ally consolidated laptop, an interesting machine that competes for focus with devices like the Steam Deck. The meeting with the media and fans has not served to reveal great news, since the technical data sheet of the device was practically in the public domain and in recent weeks the leaks have been copious, but it clarifies some minor issues and helps us (finally) put a price on it
Remembering previous news, ROG Ally is a Windows 11 computer specifically designed for use similar to that of a portable console. It has a Full HD screen with great visibility and 120 Hz refresh rate (which is a significant improvement over Steam Deck, with a panel of 1280 x 800 pixels and less brightness), a Ryzen Z1 processor customized for the occasion with two levels of performance and the ability to expand its graphics features using an external GPU, although this feature will undoubtedly be of very minor use given the associated cost.
Fees aside, one of the few unknowns that had yet to be revealed was RAM and storage space. We now know that in all cases there will be 16 GB of system memory (2×8 LPDDR5) and 256 or 512 GB of storage on a PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD, depending on whether we go with the base version or the ROG Ally with CPU. Ryzen Z1 Extreme.
One of the most interesting points of ROG Ally is its supposed comfort. In addition to having a reduced sound impact thanks to a quieter cooling system, it weighs relatively little (608 grams) and is apparently very ergonomic. In fact, it’s noticeably more compact than Steam Deck.
The controls are made up of two analog triggers, two rear buttons, two lower buttons, four front buttons, a crosshead and two analog mushrooms. There are also front buttons to access different options of the console and its games, which are launched from proprietary software.
One of the peculiarities of ROG Ally is that its controls have been designed to favor the use of Windows from the machine itself if it is not possible to connect it to an external monitor and a mouse. Possibly it will not be especially productive or agile, but it is one more possibility.
Regarding price and availability, Asus points out that ROG Ally is on sale starting today in its Ryzen Z1 Extreme configuration, while the base model, with a more adjusted price, will wait until the third quarter of this year. anus. According to computer baseThese will be the prices for the German market, which should correspond to the Spanish one:
- ROG Ally Ryzen Z1 16+256 GB: 699 euros
- ROG Ally Ryzen Z1 Extreme 16+512 GB: 799 euros
In all these prices, and as part of an agreement with Microsoft, three free months of Game Pass Ultimate are included.
