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With the retirement of the cheapest Steam Deck and a $100 discount on the ROG Xbox Ally, the $500 Windows handheld is technically the better deal right now.
Image: Asus
At the launch of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, which can be seen as Microsoft’s semi-official answer to Valve’s smash-hit Steam Deck, these two devices are set up as sort of de facto rivals. And if we’re talking value, the Steam Deck absolutely wins. But with the retirement of its cheapest version and a $100 discount on the Ally, down to $499.99 today, the Windows handheld is now technically cheaper.
Specifically, this is the white version of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, which uses AMD’s Ryzen Z2 chip. The black version (with the added X for 100 percent more Xbox) has a faster chip, more RAM and storage, and a couple of other goodies…but it’s still a cool one grand, no discount offered.
At $500, the cheaper white version is now $50 below the middle model of the Steam Deck OLED, despite running a much newer APU at its core, having a faster, higher resolution screen, bigger battery, and faster charging. Other specs, like 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a MicroSD card slot, are pretty similar.
The Steam Deck is getting pretty old in terms of hardware, but the $550 model still offers an OLED screen that’s slightly larger, dual touchpads for finer control, and, of course, it’s loaded with SteamOS (a Linux derivative that plays Windows games shockingly well through a compatibility layer) instead of Windows 11. Even with the work Microsoft has put into the streamlined handheld interface specifically designed for these devices, the consensus seems to be that SteamOS is the superior platform for gaming, compatibility issues notwithstanding.
But if you want to be able to play more Windows-based games (especially multiplayer games that rely on kernel-level anti-cheat), the Xbox is the better PC. Huh, that’s a weird sentence.
Best Buy is offering the $100 discount on the ROG Xbox Ally, and there’s no indication of how long it’ll stick around. If you’re trying to make a decision, I suggest you do so quickly.
Get an Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld for just $500
View Deal
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
Recent stories by Michael Crider:
Image: Asus
At the launch of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, which can be seen as Microsoft’s semi-official answer to Valve’s smash-hit Steam Deck, these two devices are set up as sort of de facto rivals. And if we’re talking value, the Steam Deck absolutely wins. But with the retirement of its cheapest version and a $100 discount on the Ally, down to $499.99 today, the Windows handheld is now technically cheaper.
Specifically, this is the white version of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, which uses AMD’s Ryzen Z2 chip. The black version (with the added X for 100 percent more Xbox) has a faster chip, more RAM and storage, and a couple of other goodies…but it’s still a cool one grand, no discount offered.
At $500, the cheaper white version is now $50 below the middle model of the Steam Deck OLED, despite running a much newer APU at its core, having a faster, higher resolution screen, bigger battery, and faster charging. Other specs, like 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a MicroSD card slot, are pretty similar.
The Steam Deck is getting pretty old in terms of hardware, but the $550 model still offers an OLED screen that’s slightly larger, dual touchpads for finer control, and, of course, it’s loaded with SteamOS (a Linux derivative that plays Windows games shockingly well through a compatibility layer) instead of Windows 11. Even with the work Microsoft has put into the streamlined handheld interface specifically designed for these devices, the consensus seems to be that SteamOS is the superior platform for gaming, compatibility issues notwithstanding.
But if you want to be able to play more Windows-based games (especially multiplayer games that rely on kernel-level anti-cheat), the Xbox is the better PC. Huh, that’s a weird sentence.
Best Buy is offering the $100 discount on the ROG Xbox Ally, and there’s no indication of how long it’ll stick around. If you’re trying to make a decision, I suggest you do so quickly.
Get an Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld for just $500
View Deal
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.
Recent stories by Michael Crider:
