ASUS ROG Ally, The Steam Deck Rival, Launches on 11th May At Less Than $1000 US & Powered By AMD Ryzen Z1 Chips

ASUS has confirmed that its ROG Ally handheld gaming console launches on 11th May and will be the first to utilize AMD's Ryzen Z1 series processors.

In its official announcement, ASUS has confirmed that the ROG Ally handheld gaming console will be the first to feature the newly announced AMD Ryzen Z1 series processors. The processors are launching in two flavors and we can also expect the console to feature two variants as revealed in leaked benchmarks a few days ago.

The wait is almost over! ????We are thrilled to announce that we will be unveiling our the ROG Ally's specifications, availability and pricing on May 11 at 10AM ET.

Save the date & tune in live on ROG's YouTube & Twitch!???? https://t.co/ieUwK598k7#ROG #ROGALLY pic.twitter.com/541ZL05D8H

— ROG Global (@ASUS_ROG) April 25, 2023

The overall design choices of the ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming console mirror similar designs we currently see in the handheld industry, from chunky handles to ergonomic grips, & looks very similar to Valve's Steam Deck, One-Netbook's OneXPlayer, and others. It also appears that the company researched detachable gamepads, which only a few have dabbled into using for their designs.

Engadget China also included images showing the breakdown of the handheld and the PCB board that will be used and housing the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip based on the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor. This new processor is based on Zen 4 and RDNA 3 architectures, showing the system's true power. The ASUS ROG Ally can also support the ASUS XG Mobile external graphics card (eGPU), which offers NVIDIA graphics as high as the RTX 4090 family. While this eGPU can bring a lot more power to the handheld's capabilities, it also costs $2000 US which is a steep price to pay unless you really are a gamer on the go and want the best possible solution next to you all the time in compact designs.

In the included photos from Engadget, the system is rotated to see all inputs from a DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0 USB-Type C, TFT port, audio jack, and buttons on the back of the system for added macros. There are no additional photos of the AMD Phoenix APU being used due to ASUS using liquid metal to adhere the processor to the board, causing reviewers to be hesitant to break the seal.

The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme offers compute TFLOPs on par with the PS4 Pro which is a huge deal for a handheld gaming console while the Ryzen Z1 offers more compute TFLOPs than the original PS4 (a 50%+ increase). The Ryzen Z1 targets 1080p low-quality gaming at 60 FPS using RSR (upscale from 720P) while the Ryzen Z1 Extreme targets over 60 FPS with higher visual fidelity using RSR. I should also point out that since these are different architectures, the TFLOPs comparison is just for reference and not meant to point out the actual performance difference between the consoles.

Recent updates have shown that the new ASUS ROG Ally's screen is a 7-inch 120Hz panel (5ms response time) with a max resolution of 1080P FHD and offers up to 500 Nits brightness. The new console is expected to weigh 669g. The new Ally from ASUS ROG will feature two thumbsticks, a D-Pad, and the ABXY button layout typical with all current handhelds, sans Nintendo, who opted to reverse those buttons. There are other buttons along with trigger sticks on the top and back.

The front of the ASUS ROG Ally is where the stereo audio output is located, along with the large exhaust vents on the rear. The new system offers a dual-fan exhaust featuring an integrated heat pipe. The ASUS ROG logo is placed on the back, and the system provides an active accent LED strip when powered on the device.

The closest we got was an Asus representative assuring us that, while the retail price was being held back for a reveal at the May 11 launch event (and will undoubtedly be leaked well ahead of that), "I can tell you for sure that the price will be below $1,000. 200% it will be below $1,000."

ASUS Employee via PC Gamer

ASUS ROG ALLY

Z1 Extreme

CPU: 1.7GHzGPU: 2.1GHz70 FPS / 56 degree / ~26W Power

DOOM Eternal pic.twitter.com/0oOnhF7yNM

— 포시포시 (@harukaze5719) April 25, 2023

As for pricing, the ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming console is said to feature a price below $1000 US. Now $999 US is also technically below $1000 US so we can't really say for sure how much low ASUS would go so all we can do is wait for now.

News Sources: VideoCardz, Engadget China,