The new and improved Asus ROG Ally X is finally here, and it’s a big improvement. But don’t be too quick to write off its predecessor, the Asus ROG Ally. Especially now that we’re seeing record low prices on one of the best handheld gaming consoles on the market during Best Buy’s weekend sale.
For a limited time, you can get the Asus ROG Ally with an upgraded Z1 Extreme processor for $499 at Best Buy. That’s a whopping $150 savings off the full retail price, and Best Buy is throwing in $60 worth of free bonuses on top, including the official ROG Ally travel case and a one-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
This gives you access to a huge selection of Xbox games old and new, including the best Xbox Series X games and the best Xbox One games, so you’ve got plenty of titles to choose from to christen your new Asus ROG Ally. While it’s not as powerful, you can also save $120 on the cheaper Asus ROG Ally Z1 at Best Buy right now.
The Asus ROG Ally is one of the best handheld gaming consoles we’ve tested, and while I’ll stick with my handheld Steam Deck myself, this little machine certainly packs a punch with some solid specs and a comfortable ergonomic design that makes your favorite PC games look great on the go.
Both models offer the same gorgeous 7-inch 1080p display with 120Hz refresh rate, RDNA 3 graphics chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of onboard storage. But of the two, we’d recommend the model with the Z1 Extreme chip if you want to play the latest and greatest games.
The Ally runs Windows 11, which can be a blessing and a curse, as navigating such a small screen can be a bit frustrating. Thankfully, Asus has created a user-friendly touchscreen version of its Armoury Crate app that doubles as a game launcher, making things a bit easier. More importantly, this means you’re not limited to just one gaming service, like Steam for the Steam Deck. You can play games on the Xbox app, the Epic Games Store, and more.
Otherwise, the 16GB LPDDR5 RAM is great for complex games with high levels of multitasking, and you can store plenty of titles on the 512GB SSD (expandable with the microSD card slot). If you like to play on the fly or want to get into PC gaming but don’t want to give up the console-like experience, this ROG Ally offering is a clear recommendation.
