Why buy the expensive ROG Ally X when you could get the original gaming handheld for literally half the price?

The new ASUS ROG Ally X is great, but the original is almost as good and a whole lot more affordable.

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The ASUS ROG Ally is the undisputed champion of Windows-powered gaming handhelds, offering a powerful and versatile alternative to the approachable Steam Deck and closed off Nintendo Switch. The brand-new ROG Ally X takes everything great about the original and makes it even better, but it does so at abigpremium. Why should you spend so much on the latest version when the original ASUS ROG Ally gives you 90% of the same experience for just$399.99 at Best Buy?

That’s literally half the price of the new ASUS ROG Ally X, which will charge you an astonishing$799.99 at Best Buyfor a handful of upgrades. If you’re in the market for a new, capable gaming handheld that doesn’t break the bank, I know which one I’d choose.

ASUS ROG Ally (AMD Z1, 512GB SSD) |was $499.99now $399.99 at Best Buy

The original ASUS ROG Ally is still an excellent gaming handheld with a great feature set, enough power to play your favorite PC games, and evolving software that continues to get even better over time. For half the price of the newer ROG Ally X, it’s also an awesome value.

✅Perfect for:Those who want a capable, versatile Windows-powered gaming handheld but don’t want to spend a huge amount of money.

❌Avoid if:You need the most powerful gaming handheld to play the most demanding PC games.

💰Price check:$399.99 at Amazon

🔎Our review:Asus ROG Ally review — So close to being the perfect gaming handheld | Windows Central

❓Why Best Buy?Best Buy is one of the most trusted retailers for electronic products, with excellent customer support, a standard 15-day return window, and a price match guarantee.My Best Buy members(with a free tier available) get added perks including free 2-day shipping, extended 60-day return windows, exclusive discounts and promotions, superior customer support and discounted repairs, and more.

90% of the gaming handheld, 50% of the price

90% of the gaming handheld, 50% of the price

TheASUS ROG Allyhelped usher in a new generation of capable, Windows-powered gaming handhelds riding on the mainstream wave created by the popularSteam Deck. FullWindows 11support means these gaming handhelds are even more capable and can play significantly more games than the Steam Deck (at the cost of some convenience), and ASUS' debut ROG Ally absolutely sits at the top of the hill.

With a gorgeous, 120Hz IPS LCD display (with variable refresh rate), the powerful AMD Z1 mobile gaming processor, and ASUS' surprisingly competent (and constantly improving) ArmouryCrate software suite, the ASUS ROG Ally is well equipped to play all thebest PC gameswherever you happen to be. Sure, no gaming handheld is going to play all the latest and greatest titles with every setting turned up to 11, but the ROG Ally boasts more than enough power to offer a smooth gaming experience in the vast majority of games.

Because it’s also a Windows PC in all the ways that matters, you can even hook up a keyboard and mouse, or external monitor, or portable storage, or any other number of thebest ASUS ROG Ally accessories. It’s honestly a really flexible gaming handheld with surprisingly great ergonomics and controls, luxuries like customizable RGB lighting and extra remappable buttons, and promise of years of support thanks to the combined might of Windows, AMD, and ASUS.

I personallylovemy ASUS ROG Ally, and keep it next to my bed for late night gaming sessions. It’s also a wonderful companion when traveling, letting me work through my extensive backlog on the plane or in my hotel. What really makes the ASUS ROG Ally a slam dunk, though, especially over the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch, is the support forXbox Game Pass.

You can immediately play hundreds of awesome games on the ROG Ally with Game Pass (that’s certainly how I play most of the games on my handheld). In fact, ASUS actually includesthree monthsof Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with every ROG Ally to help you get started, making this a complete gaming setup with a huge games library right out of the box. And, to be honest, there’s little reason for most people to consider the newer ASUS ROG Ally X over the original model.

Yes, the ROG Ally Xisthe better gaming handheld across the board, but it’s also really tough to recommend to the average person when it’s$799.99 at Best Buyand the excellent, tried-and-true ASUS ROG Ally is currently discounted to just$399.99 at Best Buy. For 50% of the cost, you’re getting 90% of the gaming handheld. That’s a deal I couldn’t pass up. You can read ourASUS ROG Ally reviewfor more information.

The ASUS ROG Ally X is the best for a premium

The ASUS ROG Ally X is the best for a premium

In ourASUS ROG Ally X review, my colleague Rebecca states that the latest handheld from ASUS truly is better than the original in almost every way, but asks if that’s really enough to justify the asking price. If you’re on the fence about whether this handheld is truly worthtwicethe price of the discounted ASUS ROG Ally, I’ll go ahead and outline exactly how the new version is upgraded over the original.

•Best Xbox/PC headsets•Best Windows laptops•Best laptops w/ num pads•Best Xbox storage•Best sim racing PCs•Best ROG Ally accessories•Best gaming laptops

The ASUS ROG Ally X is bigger and heavier than its predecessor, but with good reason. It boasts improved ergonomics with a more comfortable chassis design and larger controller grips, for one. However, the single biggest advantage with the new handheld is actually the battery, which is nowtwicethe size of the original (and it does make a difference). Finally, you’re also getting superior thermal performance and an extra USB Type-C port for added accessory support.

That’s all great to have, and it goes hand-in-hand with the upgraded and increased RAM and SSD storage (24GB vs 16GB and 1TB vs 512GB, respectively) and the more powerful AMD Z1 Extreme processor being default (the discounted ROG Ally boasts the still-capable but not as beefy AMD Z1). That’s… Basically it. The display is the same, the overall design is the same, the software experience is the same, the gaming performance is largely the same, the game support is the same… You get my point.

The ASUS ROG Allyisbetter than the original ROG Ally, but it’s not twice as good; it’s not so much better that paying$799.99 at Best Buyis immediately the recommended option for most people. For over 90% of people, getting over 90% of the handheld experience for 50% of the price is the way to go, and you can do that right now by picking up the first ASUS ROG Ally for just$399.99 at Best Buy.

Why should I buy from Best Buy?

Best Buy is one of our favorite retailers to recommend for any product because of the company’s iron-clad reputation for trustworthy pricing, reliable customer support, and valuable perks for customers like standard 15-day return windows. Ourin-depth My Best Buy membership FAQalso goes into why it’s worth joining Best Buy’s customer program, with tiers startingfor free at Best Buy.

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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.