Open Box ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Handheld: 7" FHD 120Hz, Ryzen Z2 A, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Ryfael

Jan 12, 2026 6:52 PM

65 Comments

Joined Mar 2009

RyfaelJan 12, 2026 6:52 PM

65 Comments

The Discount over New isn't that great. These make for super powered emulation machines up to PS3.

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Beefalo1

Jan 12, 2026 6:54 PM

389 Comments

Joined Jun 2021

Beefalo1Jan 12, 2026 6:54 PM

389 Comments

Quote from ghostfreckle

:

These perform similar, if not a bit better than a SD and are excellent for emulation and PC gaming.

Plus, Windows 11 25H2 has Full Screen Experience, that is similar to SD's Big Picture mode and increases performance by decreasing windows' burden on RAM.

It also shows all of your games, across platforms, all in one location.
Plus, if you want to play online games with anti-cheats, you can. Not like SD.
Plus, plus, you can install SteamOS, Bazzite, etc... if you want to.

Windows 11 sucks on PC, can't imagine it being better on a handheld

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Tarkov

Pro

Jan 12, 2026 7:22 PM

1.8K Comments

Joined Nov 2022

Tarkov

Pro

Jan 12, 2026 7:22 PM

1.8K Comments

Quote from nitestal

:

You realize they devs don't make the decisions, right? Executive leadership does. The devs just do what they're told.

You really think executive leadership at Nexon is what decided to work on linux anticheat in arc raiders? The studio was pro linux before they were acquired.

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masterz13

Jan 12, 2026 8:36 PM

5.2K Comments

Joined Dec 2009

masterz13Jan 12, 2026 8:36 PM

5.2K Comments

Quote from ghostfreckle

:

These perform similar, if not a bit better than a SD and are excellent for emulation and PC gaming.

Plus, Windows 11 25H2 has Full Screen Experience, that is similar to SD's Big Picture mode and increases performance by decreasing windows' burden on RAM.

It also shows all of your games, across platforms, all in one location.
Plus, if you want to play online games with anti-cheats, you can. Not like SD.
Plus, plus, you can install SteamOS, Bazzite, etc... if you want to.

Problem is if you want to do anything outside the FSE, it'll force the typical Windows bloat services to run again. They need to give users the option to add whatever programs/apps they want in FSE.

slippydealer

Jan 12, 2026 8:38 PM

434 Comments

Joined Aug 2008

slippydealerJan 12, 2026 8:38 PM

434 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank slippydealer

Quote from plus1zero

:

The SD is long in the tooth now. The Ally run circles around it as does the rest of the current Windows handhelds. And I like the SD a lot, got one on release. If you want to be locked into Steam only and don't mind a pretty noticeable gap in performance, go ahead, otherwise the Windows machines are infinitely more capable.

My research doesn't show this to be accurate for this Xbox Ally. I'm seeing reports that the OLED SD is actually faster. E.g., Notebook Check did a comparison and said "In our tests, the new ROG Xbox Ally showed disappointing performance, typically falling slightly behind the Steam Deck OLED."
(From https://www.notebookcheck.net/Slo...681.0.html)

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GetThatBread

Jan 12, 2026 8:55 PM

129 Comments

Joined Dec 2021

GetThatBreadJan 12, 2026 8:55 PM

129 Comments

Quote from iggysmalls93

:

Seems like a lot of people returned their ally after snagging steam deck oled refurbished last week for much less lol STEAM DECK FOR THE WIN

We have both Steam Deck and Ally and I very much prefer SteamOS's interface. Things just seems to make sense and I think Valve did a fantastic job at laying stuff out the way they did. I just didn't want the wife running into "sorry, but Proton doesn't support this game yet". I've only been disappointed in one game that I couldn't play, but I just stopped spending money on them entirely since they wouldn't support my Steam Deck.
There's a lot to like about the base model Ally and it does seem to play really well so far, but we've only had it a couple of weeks. I might feel different about the interface after spending more time using it.

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corvair64

Jan 12, 2026 9:08 PM

112 Comments

Joined Nov 2015

corvair64Jan 12, 2026 9:08 PM

112 Comments

These are now $499 New on Amazon and BestBuy.

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glenroebuck

Jan 12, 2026 9:19 PM

80 Comments

Joined Aug 2011

glenroebuckJan 12, 2026 9:19 PM

80 Comments

Parts wise this is not any better than the OG Legion Go right? No Oled, 16gb ram which means the apu will eat almost half for graphic intensive games?

DilroopG

Jan 12, 2026 9:34 PM

70 Comments

Joined Nov 2018

DilroopGJan 12, 2026 9:34 PM

70 Comments

Quote from slippydealer

:

These only have sticks, though, and lack the pads of the SD. The pads are useful for playing certain types of games, and having the option to use them or the sticks is better than just having sticks IMO.

Most games where you'd use pads for ends up feeling too small for the screen size, it's more suitable to play thumb stick input based games on handhelds.

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m0rality

Jan 12, 2026 9:35 PM

1K Comments

Joined Feb 2017

m0ralityJan 12, 2026 9:35 PM

1K Comments

Quote from glenroebuck

:

Parts wise this is not any better than the OG Legion Go right? No Oled, 16gb ram which means the apu will eat almost half for graphic intensive games?

The only "pros" for this device vs an OG Legion Go are: its smaller/lighter, has VRR at 48hz (which might not kick in often enough on demanding games), XFSE is preinstalled, easier repairs/upgrades, better ergonomics, Armory Crate is better than Legion Space, Asus is better about updating drivers

The "cons" vs OG Legion Go are: its much slower (and may have problems with AAA games), smaller screen, no detachable controllers, no kickstand, smaller SSD (depending upon the LG model)

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FeistyMarmot1232

Jan 12, 2026 10:07 PM

432 Comments

Joined Feb 2025

FeistyMarmot1232Jan 12, 2026 10:07 PM

432 Comments

Quote from schlack

:

Apple Music, Netflix, Max, Prime, Gym Memberships, AirBnBs, rental cars, etc. Sometimes services still have value even when you don't own the items. I don't mind paying $15/month for GamePass Ultimate (codes via 3rd party sellers) for access to 500+ games that my family of four can play whenever and wherever they like via console, PC, or cloud gaming. Besides, GamePass Ultimate gives me almost $100/yr back in Reward Points and 10-20% off games purchases, taking my net cost pretty close to $5/month.

How does it give you $100 per year? $180/yr and then they give you $100 back?

mr0x

Jan 12, 2026 10:10 PM

1.6K Comments

Joined Jun 2005

mr0xJan 12, 2026 10:10 PM

1.6K Comments

OLED is so much better for gaming and I wouldn't get this.

Get Steam Deck OLED. The refurb ones that were on sale were about this price. They are sold out now but might come back soon.

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deee5

Jan 12, 2026 10:18 PM

897 Comments

Joined Nov 2011

deee5Jan 12, 2026 10:18 PM

897 Comments

Quote from mr0x

:

OLED is so much better for gaming and I wouldn't get this.

Get Steam Deck OLED. The refurb ones that were on sale were about this price. They are sold out now but might come back soon.

Steam Deck is too low res for me to consider

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mr0x

Jan 12, 2026 10:19 PM

1.6K Comments

Joined Jun 2005

mr0xJan 12, 2026 10:19 PM

1.6K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank mr0x

Quote from glenroebuck

:

Parts wise this is not any better than the OG Legion Go right? No Oled, 16gb ram which means the apu will eat almost half for graphic intensive games?

OG Legion Go has Z1 extreme which is twice as fast as Z2 here.

Screen resolution is also different. 2560x1600 on the legion vs 1080p here. Although OG-LG used tablet screen and tearing happens vertically if you get tearing. You can run games at 1280x800 on that screen.

Also, OG-LG has bad cooling and overheats and shut down unless you full blast fans.

All the OG handhelds had their own unique issues.

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mr0x

Jan 12, 2026 10:24 PM

1.6K Comments

Joined Jun 2005

mr0xJan 12, 2026 10:24 PM

1.6K Comments

Quote from deee5

:

Steam Deck is too low res for me to consider

You must have good eyes. 1280x800 and that screen size I can't tell.

Legion Go 2 might be an option at 1920x1200 resolution but it is crazy expensive, in the range of a gaming laptop with OLED screen.

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Open Box ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Handheld: 7" FHD 120Hz, Ryzen Z2 A, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

$463

$600

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