ASUS ROG Ally Deep-Dive Review: Thermals, Gaming, Power, SD Card, & More vs. Steam Deck

Grab a GN15 Modmat to support us & get a PC building surface! https://store.gamersnexus.net/products/large-modmat-gn15-anniversary Our review of the ASUS ROG Ally (with Z1 Extreme) handheld gaming PC tests it primarily against the Steam Deck, including gaming performance, frametimes, thermals, acoustics, battery life and charging, noise samples, and impressions of hardware and software. This is a showcase review for us -- it's detailed, but a fun excuse for our team to throw everything at a device for an in-depth review that teaches us (and hopefully the audience) about some of the testing processes at the same time. We also tried to look at the MicroSD card 'melting' issues with the ROG Ally, only to find that our MicroSD card reader on our Ally was dead within 2 hours of gaming and prior to ever being used for a card. The best way to support our work is through our store: https://store.gamersnexus.net/ Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: http://www.patreon.com/gamersnexus LEARN ABOUT THE ACOUSTIC CHAMBER: Chamber Build Video & Explainer: /watch/0A2BneTYqUeYB HW News with use cases explained: /watch/UWd8XLNVShgV8 Fractal Terra review: /watch/gLTBt7kFiKpFB RELATED PRODUCTS [Affiliate Links] ASUS ROG Ally on Amazon: https://geni.us/Z8fx5M Valve Steam Deck on Amazon: https://geni.us/MpiCea Nintendo Switch on Amazon: https://geni.us/nDe8mZz TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - ASUS ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck 02:26 - ASUS ROG Ally Specs & Differences 03:26 - Hardware & Layout Impressions 06:29 - Automatic BIOS Updates, Software Hotfixes 09:47 - Acoustics & Test Chamber 11:07 - Noise Samples 12:37 - Frequency Analysis: ASUS Ally vs. Nintendo Switch & Steam Deck 17:11 - Noise Levels (Steam Deck, Switch, ASUS Ally) 18:23 - Tear-Down & Disassembly is Excellent 20:36 - GAMING Benchmarks & Methodology 22:43 - Misleading TDP Numbers Shouldn’t Be Relied On 24:17 - Cyberpunk 2077 Benchmarks (ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck, Aya Neo) 25:19 - Bad Ally Cyberpunk Frametimes 26:18 - Dying Light 2 Stay Human Benchmarks 27:19 - Dying Light 2 Frametimes 28:02 - Resident Evil 4 (2023) & Frametimes 29:07 - Red Dead Redemption 2 Handheld Gaming Benchmarks 29:42 - Battery Life Benchmarks (ASUS ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck, Aya Neo) 32:58 - Charging Time & Misconceptions of Chargers 33:54 - ASUS ROG Ally Thermals & Fan Behavior 36:24 - Fan Ramp Needs a Rework 37:16 - Broken MicroSD Card Reader 40:57 - Closing Thoughts ** Please like, comment, and subscribe for more! ** Links to Amazon and Newegg are typically monetized on our channel (affiliate links) and may return a commission of sales to us from the retailer. This is unrelated to the product manufacturer. Any advertisements or sponsorships are disclosed within the video ("this video is brought to you by") and above the fold in the description. We do not ever produce paid content or "sponsored content" (meaning that the content is our idea and is not funded externally aside from whatever ad placement is in the beginning) and we do not ever charge manufacturers for coverage. Follow us in these locations for more gaming and hardware updates: t: http://www.twitter.com/gamersnexus f: http://www.facebook.com/gamersnexus w: http://www.gamersnexus.net/ Host, Writing, Test Lead: Steve Burke Testing, Writing, Tear-Down: Patrick Lathan Camera, Video Editing: Vitalii Makhnovets Video Editing: Mike Gaglione Video Editing: Tim Phetdara

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