Gadgetren – ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck are indeed alternatives that can be considered when we need a PC device to play portable games.

Both come with design, specifications and support that allows us to play games anywhere and anytime. Unlike laptops that are meant more as compact PCs, ROG Ally and Steam Deck provide dedicated joysticks, triggers and control buttons like consoles.

That said, the ROG Ally and the Steam Deck are definitely not the same device. The two gaming laptops have their own pros and cons that should be considered if you want to ask for a hand.

Difference ASUS ROG Ally vs Steam Deck

Before discussing the differences between the two gaming rigs further, keep in mind that the ROG Ally and the Steam Deck fundamentally operate in quite different ecosystems. One runs on a Microsoft Windows 11 environment while the other is specific to Steam.

By using the operating system Windows 11ROG Ally offers more flexible support because we can use it to access multiple game distribution platforms, from Epic, GOG, Xbox Game Pass, and even Steam.

While Steam Deck works with SteamOS 3.0 (Linux based) can only be used to access the Steam service. If you want to use other services, users need to install their own Windows system on the device.

But keep in mind, that doesn’t mean SteamOS 3.0 is a Steam Deck inadequacy. This OS actually has a more console-like interface, so it’s friendlier and easier to operate.

Regardless of the ecosystem it uses, the data processing capabilities of the two mobile devices will also be very different. ROG Ally is based on family AMD Ryzen Z1 neither Extreme nor Standard while using the Steam Deck AMD Ryzen Zen 2.

For those of you who don’t know, AMD Ryzen Z1 is a processor developed based on AMD Ryzen Zen 4 architecture with AMD RDNA 3 GPU and 4nm manufacturing. So on paper it will be more up-to-date than the AMD Ryzen Zen 2 on Steam Deck, which also still uses AMD RDNA 2.

The display portion of the two devices is also the next differentiator. Although ROG Ally and Steam Deck agreed to carry a 7-inch panel, the resolution and technology used can be said to be very different.

ROG Ally is again superior in this aspect. The problem is that the device has a panel with a resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz and brightness level up to 500 nits while the Steam Deck is still 1280 x 800 pixels which support only 60 Hz and 400 nits.

In this section, the ROG Ally also looks more enticing because it has a combination of protective layers Corning Gorilla Glass protection as Corning Gorilla Glass DXC to increase the screen’s resistance to scratches and reduce light reflection.

On the design side, the ROG Ally uses a joystick display asymmetrical where the left side is slightly up and the right side is slightly down like the Xbox controller. This is different from the Steam Deck which chose to place the two controllers together symmetrical or aligned.

The ROG Ally feature can also be said to be a bit more comprehensive. In this device we can find both sensors fingerprint scanner, High resolution audioneither Dolby Atmos. It just doesn’t miss the Steam Deck because it presents track pad right and left too Macro button 2 times more as a substitute.