I think the Steam Deck has aged so well compared to Windows handhelds. The fact that Valve only seems to be updating it every few years shows that they're willing to stand by their hardware, not to mention their commitment to Linux as a platform. The fact that Valve has the ability to sell the base Steam Deck configuration at a loss because they own Steam and make the money back on game commissions. These other Windows handheld OEMs will probably abandon their hardware a year or two after the next model is released, becuase they make their money on hardware sales.

An excellent presentation, very even-handed. Good work young fella, happy new year to you.

This was a very quality video dude! Much appreciated!

Is it okay if you also compare Lenovo Legion Go as well on your next video? Because I am currently stuck which one to get. My problem is, I have a very limited space now at home. Renting a room, and move places from time to time. So I minimalize myself from having a mITX gaming PC build because as soon as my landlord sees I bring along a display, a desktop PC. I will get charge for more towards electricity usage, I need help with choosing Steam Desk, Asus ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go now. Will get XREAL AR glasses to pair with it.

Great content, you deserve more subscribers. The production quality of these videos is insane.

I own both a Steam Deck and Ally, and tend to use the Ally much more often. Having the extra horsepower and screen pixels helps it feel like much less of a downgraded experience compared to my desktop, whereas the Steam Deck leaves a good bit to be desired when running heavier AAA titles. It's doable, but a bit too much of a compromise for my liking. However, if I need to travel and won't be around a power outlet much, it's nice to play older/lighter games on the Steam Deck with lowered power profiles. My summary of the two devices is this: I much prefer the in-game experience with the Ally, but I prefer the out-of-game experience with the Steam Deck. Having to run updates in 3 different places on the Ally can be a bit of a chore.

You showed a clip of the shargeek charger and was wondering if you got that to charge your ally? For some reason it won't charge and wondering if this is a wide spread issue.

Love your content. Hope your channel grows as the handhelds hopefully will do! Keep up the good work

Wow excellent sharp footage of the two devices being played, showing the difference in screen size and quality, buttons, interface etc - this is exactly what I was looking for THANK YOU, SPECTER!

Very nice video, informative and smooth!

Very informative, subscribed

@Specter am curious do you use your deck on stock 1 gb of vram or do you use 4 gb ?

does asus sell as many components of the rog ally as valve does for the steam deck with ifixit? i might be wrong but i didnt think they did and unless im wrong this is definitely a massive thing tho

i was just randomly fantasizing about getting the rog and searched for a recent review to see if the state of the device is better than it was at release , found you and i must say the production quality of this video is insane , like its actually linus tech level . its like i like everything about this video , the transitions , review format , sound/video quality , scripting , your well kept glistening hands , overall demeaner/disposition . its giving expertise top tier 2 mil subscriber entire production team , thank you for convincing me i need the rog .

Good review, imma pick up my Ally tomorrow, hyped.

Does any of these support "Charge & Terminate" like "Lenovo Go" and Switch? When 100% is charged, they act as PSU instead to no ruin the battery. Lenovo Go is suitable as Desktop PC for this reason.

Great video and editing man! And lighting! Do you do it all yourself? What camera are you using here for the talking head if you don’t mind

Which console is best for playing mouse-based games, like an RTS, or God game? I guess the Steam Deck, but I also noticed you used the Ally's analogue stick as a cursor.

Really really good video, a huge well done Sir 👏

The biggest turn off is where the ally placed the SD card reader. I mean who thought it was a good idea to stick it next to an exhaust port?

I bought a 2nd hand 64BG +512SD Steam Deck for a very cheap price and really couldn't be happier 😊 Especially after updating to Steam OS 3.5.1 Preview channel. It was on Stable release 3.4.11 and it was constantly freezing but after updating (after couple of attempt) it's like a completely different device. The display backlight bleed is gone as well. 🌟 A word of advice, go to your steam deck Settings --> System then scroll all the way down. And Turn off updated fan control. Your fan will run faster and Keep steam deck Cooler.

Is the micro sd card reader still overheating and causing permanent damage?

Nice video, I'd like either one of those consoles, for that 300watt fast charger, how long does it take to charge either one of them from 0%to 100%?

Amazing review! Exactly what I was looking for :) You earned a subscriber my friend

Few additions to the video: 1. Apart from better quality controllers with option to replace sticks to hall-effect sticks, there is also a built-in functionality to use community managed controller mappings or official controller mappings provided by game developers. This makes a huge difference in setting up controller for specific games. 2. Speaking about repairability we also should consider how much of the custom details you can get for your device and this is where SteamDeck is above anything else on the market. You can upgrade controllers, buttons, screen, backplate or even entire case choosing from not one but dozens different brands and suppliers. It also important to add still ongoing issue with microSD port on Ally. 3. For me the biggest difference between Windows and SteamOS - is that you don't need a touchscreen with SteamOS while on Ally you will be using touchscreen much more than you'd think. It also worth mentioning that the new SteamOS 3.5 (currently beta) is improving display colours and adding more screen settings while also boosting performance with the updated linux kernel 6.1

I was about to pull the trigger on an ALLY, but now I preordered a Legion Go, I’m very exited about that system.

What's that powerbank thing you have at the back of the SteamDeck?

I personally prefer my Steam Deck to my ROG Ally, I just gravitate towards picking up the deck for some reason, playing FPS on the trackpads is a FAR better experience than the ROG's thumbsticks, super excited for the Legion GO! *Update - Got the Legion GO & sold the ally and SD, love it!*

Can you play starfield & dock the ally or steam deck via hdmi/usb C to a TV without any setbacks? Saw you had it on your homescreen. Thanks

Your content is always such high quality that I don’t understand how you don’t have millions of subscribers and a whole studio dedicated to your brand. Amazing work as always!

I do like seeing these follow ups because many people and many reviews are from the early period. Both the Ally and Deck had far more issues at launch than they do now. The Ally has the failing SD card slot and the Deck has the infasmous 200mhz/400mhz bug which both of these still plague both devices

Should where I have my games affect my choice? I have games on steam, but also own xbox pass (some on epic games launcher), and would need to have the ability to play from those sources offline (cloud gaming would be useless for me). It's also really important for me to be able to emulate games from the 3ds, for example, so whatever facilitates that is prime, too.

Thanks for the vid man!

64GB Steam Deck + $60 512 GB SSD upgrade is the best value, especially when you can regularly get both on sale. The lack of trackpads make playing RTS, Sim games and mouse oriented games on Ally a lot worse than Deck. If you haven't bought an Ally by now, you might as well just wait for next year's Rog Ally 2 or something better. The Ally's biggest failure was its 40w battery; even if you wanted to push the device, its battery life prevented it.

Link for the steam deck case please and skin. Thanks!

Very good video. Very different devices, both are great

Man, I want the Asus display, but I want the Steam Deck form factor and controls. I would definitely get annoyed by the digging into my hands. I also paradoxically want the Steam centric ease of use but also want to be able to do Windows stuff on it, if I ever wanted to lol. I wonder if a Steam Deck revision with more power and a better screen will ever come along any time soon?

I just discovered your channel, you give off such “what if Peter Parker was a professional tech reviewer vibes” and I’m so down for it!

Can someone tell me what that game at 1:30 is? The top down fighter / shooter

Steam Deck Oled and Legion Go have entered the chat.

I can’t believe you gave repairability to Asus! So just how easy is it to buy OG spares for the Rog Ally?

What game was the one you were fighting people in the bathroom?

what would you recommend for someone like me who wants to play world of warcraft vanilla classic?

What game is being played at 1:31? Just before the Display review.

Bought Ally from Launch and it's getting better all the time. The why I did not buy Steam Deck last year was that Linux-based system. I can imagine you get a better console like gaming with it but nothing beats Ally when you want to dock it and stream Netflix etc to a TV via a hub or use it as a desktop. I just think Ally has many other uses than just a console like a handheld.

Can someone tell me what game was being played at the 1:33 min mark???

What is the game u r playing at minute 1:32????

What is the game on the steam deck at 1:57?

What’s the game at 0:47? Looks fun.

Have both, and I prefer the Ally. At the begging I was skeptical of windows 11 on a handheld but as a pc gamer I prefer windows OS by far. Is way easier to play all my library from different game apps. Steam OS is really a chore for playing non steam games. I love my Steam Deck but I will be using it for indie, retro and emulator games. My Ally is for more newer games.

What kind of charger is that? 3:37 mark

Is this the z1 extreme or non extreme?

I'm on the fence either steamdeck oled or rog ally. Can you guys help me decide pls 😂

Where did you get that bad ass skin for your steam deck?

What game is that from the beginning?

Hot video quality. Hot UKpostsr. Hot electronics. What a place to be. Keep up the good work my dude. Get you a patreon going I will sign up day one!

For me one of the biggest killer features for the SD is the sleep mode.. I can hold games when i go to sleep and the next day, one button press and i`m back in the game.. A feature that i will never miss in the future...

I just recently purchased both of those

I ended up with both. Ally was needed for the games I play the most (destiny/diablo ..workarounds annoyed me on deck) plus i like the lighter footprint. Both are used but ally used more these days.

What is better for Long battery life gaming on 60hz and fHD? I Can get asus or Steam Deck for 400 €

I keep looking for alternatives to the Steam Deck but the support and game library and controls still makes me come back to wanting a Steam Deck. The only issue I have is the screen. I have an original Switch with huge bezels and don't wanna be stuck with that again.

What game are you playing at 1:30

Amazingly made video!

Does anybody know what the game is at 1:29-1:31?

1:32 what game is this I need to know it looks so fun

Sick hoodie man

I think it’s just getting clearer that they went about accommodating completely different consumers here. If you want a hassle free psp like experience with limited performance buy the SD. If you want a portable gaming focused pc and don’t mind messing with windows and a better screen get the Ally

About 15 minutes ago is when I embarked on my journey to researching which handheld device I actually need. 15 minutes later and this video saved me from having to any more research for the rest of the day. Good video, well done.

So i have a Steam Deck but considering selling and "upgrading" to the Ally. I want to be able to play newer AAA games and not he limited to 30fps. I just got Lords of the fallen and i get horrible dips from 40-20 every couple minutes doesnt matter the settings but then i see the Ally running at 70fps+. Can you confirm if games like this run better on Ally?

Link to the ssd Rog ally upgrade

i am a casual gamer - maybe do a little bit of emulation. What would you recommend?

What is the name of that game shown at 1:31 of the video?

This is the non-extreme version of the Ally?

did asus ever fix the SD card slot issue?

I want to emulate. No reason to play ally or deck because i have series x and switch. But am selling my ps5 because its boring to me. Wbat do i get?

what is the game at 1:32

What I’m not clear on is for the Asus..can you only stream Xbox games via the cloud? Or can i actually download games to the Asus.

Really great video.

This is why I chose Steam Deck. The devices are similar, with different strengths, and overall pretty equal, but the Steam Deck is cheaper and it comes with a case. I saw the discounted Deck prices and it was the end of the debate.

game at 1:33?

Good job buddy

It’s a real shame that Valve’s not bothering to offer the Steam Deck in Australia, unlike Asus with the ROG Ally. Not worth the gamble to buy from overseas with this one. Great video on comparing the 2 devices though.

Community wise: Steam Deck Steam Deck oled is also a great upgrade.

Whats the name of that warehouse robot shooter game lol

The prices of new gaming PC's are still a grand for just an ok gaming pc/laptop and have not come down in price even a little even after 30 years+ of PC gaming development. That's why handhelds are going to be in because it's what the majority can afford.

The Ally (Z1 extreme) where I'm from is significantly cheaper than even the cheapest variant of the Deck so unfortunately, the deck is not picking up steam here...pardon the pun😂

I have both and i prefer the SD just for the ease of use. Ill probably resell my rog ally

But can it run crisis 🤔

Why is no UKpostsr talking about the factory problems that are disturbing the gameplay with random freezes on the Deck… It’s absolutely weird that nobody said a thing about this? On the forums and on the Steam community its one of the most adressed subjects. I see lots of players giving up on trying to find fixes for that and having to RMA the device I’ve also seen scenarios where the new “RMAd” Deck also had the problem. No one knows with certainty what is the real problem (hardware or something else), but it just makes the Deck freeze, mainly with AAA games. It just begins after a period of usage and it only gets worse! I love my Deck, but it’s a really really sad situation!

agreed with everything you said except the Repairability part. Third party ASUS part sites is nowhere NEAR a draw vs First party ifixit collab from Steam , Steam also has a far better customer support so if your unit is defective they can RMA it for you fast. where as ASUS is known to be a scumbag company that hates its customers and will void your warranty as much as if you use a beta BIOS on their hardware. (its documented here on UKposts by Gamers Nexus and JaysTwoCentz) so i'd say in that regard Steam Deck takes the W completely. also i wished you talked about the community part as well because Steam Deck's community is insane. a lot of people got some game modding (like 7th Heaven Mod Manager for original Final Fantasy 7) working on Linux/SteamDeck just fine and they continue to tinker

1:55 which game is this? thanks

Such a nice intro

I’m still not convinced I need to upgrade from my Nomad.

Thinking of selling my deck and get ally. I preferred windows overall. Yes i like to thinker, but not software. And spending way too long to make deck able to run non steam games on LINUX is just a chore. And second thing is, yes i agree deck has better spare parts support and repairs, all of those is meaningless if ifixit always out of stock ( i need new screen ) and you live in 3rd world country which ALLY available all over th place and nobody selling deck. (I had to buy UK variant deck and ship which cost even more). What worries me now is the inability to sell it because everyone here wanted to sell their deck and get ally or legion go lol

what game is that at 1:34

couldnt get steam deck but then got rog ally on sale and i will want steam deck 2 but love the ally. and kids happy as i ignore the switch now

At the end of the day....Windows is just not built for handhelds. It's cumbersome and sometimes an outright PITA to use with this form factor. This is why I sold my Ally after two months. Yes the screen is gorgeous. Yes it can push a few games the Steamdeck can't. But at the end of the day the Steamdeck just bridges that gap between console and PC gaming for what I think is the perfect marriage for a handheld.

I don't agree about the software, just because it's windows you can do much more, play more type of games from various other stores that not only steam and for me that's a game changer. It can be console and a PC and play all games just for less than $800,-. And you don't need high and gaming PC to play all your games.

Next comparison with Steamdeck Oled ?!😮

You should have added price as a tiebreaker. Steam Deck would've won any day because the base 64GB model is a huge deal for that price.