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[Mythoclast]

All these posts about COD when there's several reports about getting banned by activision for playing that very same game on ally/go.

I wouldn't even chance it anyway.

That happened just at the very beginning, for a small number of people, for specifically activating AntiLag + on the AMD Dashboard. That feature has since been deactivated to avoid any mistakes.

 

[Robb]

For gaming I’d take a streamlined OS over Windows any day of the week. But I’d also take a console over a PC any day of the week.

The less distractions the better, I just want to plug and play.

 

[rocketleague]

if you know windows they have like 60 fucking useless bloatware running in the background for the benefit of Microsoft not the consumer. not does it only eat at the battery but also hinders performance and input lag

 

[justiceiro]

Nothing. I just use steam and the only issue is the games that arbitrarily block Linux from anti-cheat, which is hardly a matter of the os being easy or hard to use.

That's why I said it depends on what you are trying to do with it. Your original point was that Linux requires more tinkering, but now you are talking about trying to run stuff that doesn't support Linux in the first place. Do you warn Mac buyers of all this tinkering they are going to do to use game pass?

No, but I warn people that will migrate for iphone that there is lots of apps they won't find on the appstore because apple limitations.

Also, proton is attempt of making stuff that doesn't supports Linux on the first place work on it, so I don't think I'm contradicting myself.

 

[Crayon]

No, but I warn people that will migrate for iphone that there is lots of apps they won't find on the appstore because apple limitations.

Also, proton is attempt of making stuff that doesn't supports Linux on the first place work on it, so I don't think I'm contradicting myself.

Right, we can talk about what it can do and what it can't, but when you are getting into the grey zone that ranges to things it can do with a little tinkering, and things it can do only if you seriously know your way around, we are talking about things that are not required.

So back to your original thought - can't believe people saying it requires less tinkering using Linux vs windows - it's like I said straight away, that it's probably because these people are just using if for the things it was advertised to do out of the box: Plays steam games, flips to a full functioning desktop. It's all very well streamlined for that, with flatpaks for outside apps, quick updates, and gamescope making some handy system settings available from the home button. For ones who are either trying do do something impossible or something that is possible but tricky, they are definitely going to experience the tinkering you are talking about.

So again to my original point, it depends on what you are trying to do with it. A lot of desktop switchers are expecting a 1:1 replacement for windows and end up in hell following guides that in themselves will only make sense to experienced users. I think people being introduced to linux on steam deck are going in with a whole different set of expectations.

 

[Syphon Filter]

Windows is garbage now and has not been good since 7.

 

[Ozriel]

Helldivers 2 doesn't work on the Deck unless you go to Desktop mode and run with a specific proton release.
This will probably get fixed eventually, but videos are out there with it running at 900p 60fps on the Ally (and presumably the Legion Go).

Bringing this up because while ease of use and slickness of SteamOS is certainly a big draw, compatibility still remains a sticking point that's all too often dismissed in these discussions.

 

[SiahWester]

Windows is spyware. It's just that simple.

 

[Esppiral]

I opted for the deck because of the price point not because It IS the BEST out there, If I could I would buy one of those better options.

 

[shaddam]

Depends on the user. People who love to tinker might prefer a windows system. People who want plug and play are going to hate a windows system. Deck is the way to go for most people.

So funny to read this as a win/linux sysadmin who knows the deck is running arch If steamos keeps improving and ms keeps fucking up windows we might live to see a year of desktop linux

 

[LarsQMorient]

I don't understand people complaining about Windows updates. You can pause those for over a month.

 

[Ozriel]

So funny to read this as a win/linux sysadmin who knows the deck is running arch If steamos keeps improving and ms keeps fucking up windows we might live to see a year of desktop linux

 

[simpatico]

So funny to read this as a win/linux sysadmin who knows the deck is running arch If steamos keeps improving and ms keeps fucking up windows we might live to see a year of desktop linux

Yeah it's a little backwards from the general desktop world. Seems like Valve did a good job of keeping the non power users away from the meat and potatoes on the Deck.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Windows is spyware. It's just that simple.

Do you have something to hide?

 

[Topher]

So funny to read this as a win/linux sysadmin who knows the deck is running arch If steamos keeps improving and ms keeps fucking up windows we might live to see a year of desktop linux

I'd love to see it happen, but Linux has a ways to go.

 

[DenchDeckard]

The setup for my ROG Ally was a disaster. Here's a play by play of how it went.

• I opened the box and turned the unit on
• Windows updater launched first, so I updated that.
• Restart
• I open up Armory Crate - launch video plays
• Alert - You've got critical updates to make.
• I go to select them, but the controls fail...so I used the touchscreen
• Restart system as prompted.
• Windows says: Hey! You need to login with your Microsoft ID to take advantage of Game Pass
• I log in with my Microsoft ID and create a pin for the device, per the recommendations
• I load up Armory Crate - Hey, you've got more updates and some bios updates to do.
• I go to select the updates and notice that the controls still aren't working, so I used the touchscreen.
• Restart Windows as prompted.
• Windows: Hey, your pin cannot be used; you need to reset your Microsoft account.
• I reset my Microsoft account and create another pin and log in.
• I load up Armory Crate. Hey, you've got another bios update and some more general updates.
• I go to update and notice that--hallelujah--the controls now work.
• Restart system as prompted.
• Windows: Hey, your pin cannot be used; you need to reset your Microsoft account.
• I reset my Microsoft account and create another pin and log in.
• I load up Armory Crate. Hey, you've got some more updates.
• I go to update and the controls now don't work, so I used the touchscreen.
• Restart the system as prompted.
• My pin surprisingly still works and I go right into Windows.
• Controls are also functional once again.
• I load up Armory Crate and play my first game, which admittedly does look very nice on the VRR screen.

Sorry, man...people have problems just like this with the unit, and I know that because I went to Reddit just like every other swingin' dick and I saw the same stuff there as I saw on my unit.

That is mental and not close to the experience I had. I wonder what happened to cause all that.

 

[Ronin_7]

Windows is A BAD OS, PERIOD.

Use Unix based OS.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Windows is A BAD OS

Then explain why it has so many more games and fewer compatibility issues.

 

[Topher]

O Ozriel this may interest you as I belive we talked about this briefly.

I tried Windows on Steam Deck and it was a complete disaster for me. Primarily driver issues. I could get optimal resolutions for my monitors and one of the monitors would flicker occassionally. I finally gave up on that and bought another Rog Ally on sale. So now I have both Steam Deck and Rog Ally and I'm pretty happy with the combination. I use Steam Deck for Steam and emulation. Rog Ally as my Windows desktop, non-Steam games and Game Pass.

 

[Topher]

Then explain why it has so many more games and fewer compatibility issues.

Primarily because gaming on Linux only really became a mainstream option with Steam Deck. Windows has been the de facto PC operating system since the 80s. Personal opinions aside as to what OS is "better", clearly PC gamers are largely more comfortable with Windows than anything else and I don't see that changing. But with the growing populatity of Steam Deck, more devs are working to get their games certified for the handheld. That's a good thing.

 

[SiahWester]

Do you have something to hide?

Of course, as does everyone on planet Earth. Do you walk around butt naked? Do you disclose your all your personal conversations to your employer or government? What a completely ridiculous thing to ask. I imagine if your entire life was public it wouldn't go so well for you. Privacy has been an inherent part of life that is being stripped away on a level people cannot even fathom. I can't begin to describe the dangers of that on this forum.

I do use Windows, Google and even Facebook, etc. I'm not a criminal, but if I can avoid these platforms when it isn't massively inconvenient why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't you?

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

And setting up the ROG Ally took as long as setting up a new computer.

Are some of you that inept?

 

[Faust]

That is mental and not close to the experience I had. I wonder what happened to cause all that.

I had a very similar situation.

Meanwhile my Steam Deck I turned on, did a quick update, and was playing Halo within the hour.

 

[Minsc]

I'll buy an Ally when they put one out with an OLED screen. Hopefully the upcoming one, if not, I can wait. Someone will.

 

[Sleepwalker]

O Ozriel this may interest you as I belive we talked about this briefly.

I tried Windows on Steam Deck and it was a complete disaster for me. Primarily driver issues. I could get optimal resolutions for my monitors and one of the monitors would flicker occassionally. I finally gave up on that and bought another Rog Ally on sale. So now I have both Steam Deck and Rog Ally and I'm pretty happy with the combination. I use Steam Deck for Steam and emulation. Rog Ally as my Windows desktop, non-Steam games and Game Pass.

I'm gonna do the same but with the Legion Go I'm pretty sure.

 

[Topher]

I'm gonna do the same but with the Legion Go I'm pretty sure.

I noticed the extra processing power of the Z1 Extreme made a noticeable difference in Windows performance over the Steam Deck as well. These windows handhelds make for damn good desktops.

 

[Shakka43]

Question, how do these Windows devices handle suspend mode, is it a seamless experience like Steam Deck, Switch, Vita, etc... or does it take a little while to sleep and restore?

 

[Ozriel]

O Ozriel this may interest you as I belive we talked about this briefly.

I tried Windows on Steam Deck and it was a complete disaster for me. Primarily driver issues. I could get optimal resolutions for my monitors and one of the monitors would flicker occassionally. I finally gave up on that and bought another Rog Ally on sale. So now I have both Steam Deck and Rog Ally and I'm pretty happy with the combination. I use Steam Deck for Steam and emulation. Rog Ally as my Windows desktop, non-Steam games and Game Pass.

Windows on my LCD deck was such a subpar experience that i never bothered with that for my OLED deck.

I kinda regret selling that open box Ally I bought some months back. Tempted to pick up another

 

[Topher]

Windows on my LCD deck was such a subpar experience that i never bothered with that for my OLED deck.

I kinda regret selling that open box Ally I bought some months back. Tempted to pick up another

Exactly how I felt. I'm glad I have both now.

 

[StereoVsn]

Helldivers 2 doesn't work on the Deck unless you go to Desktop mode and run with a specific proton release.
This will probably get fixed eventually, but videos are out there with it running at 900p 60fps on the Ally (and presumably the Legion Go).

Bringing this up because while ease of use and slickness of SteamOS is certainly a big draw, compatibility still remains a sticking point that's all too often dismissed in these discussions.

It’s the stupid DRM crap that Helldivers uses. It is known with anti-cheat for quite a few MP games.

 

[Ozriel]

I noticed the extra processing power of the Z1 Extreme made a noticeable difference in Windows performance over the Steam Deck as well. These windows handhelds make for damn good desktops.

All Asus had to do was to make the battery bigger and they’d have been on to a home run. Not sure who they were trying to advertise to with ‘lightest handheld PC’. The Z1 extremes can get some pretty great performance at higher wattages, but it chews through battery life.

hopefully they have learnt their lesson for the upcoming revision.

 

[StereoVsn]

Question, how do these Windows devices handle suspend mode, is it a seamless experience like Steam Deck, Switch, Vita, etc... or does it take a little while to sleep and restore?

Yeah… no. Ally will suspend like a champ just with Windows, but if you have a game running, it’s a total crapshoot and most of the times it will crash out on resuming.

 

[StereoVsn]

All Asus had to do was to make the battery bigger and they’d have been on to a home run. Not sure who they were trying to advertise to with ‘lightest handheld PC’. The Z1 extremes can get some pretty great performance at higher wattages, but it chews through battery life.

hopefully they have learnt their lesson for the upcoming revision.

Yeah, Ally with a bigger battery, 32GB RAM option (maybe even a bit faster RAM), and more ergonomic grips would be a winner.

Well, throw Oculink port vs their proprietary one, 2nd USBC and optional OLED and they would really be cooking.

 

[Topher]

All Asus had to do was to make the battery bigger and they’d have been on to a home run. Not sure who they were trying to advertise to with ‘lightest handheld PC’. The Z1 extremes can get some pretty great performance at higher wattages, but it chews through battery life.

hopefully they have learnt their lesson for the upcoming revision.

Agree. Better battery has to be the priority in their next go.

One thing I've noticed about the Ally is when I try to run games at lower wattages to save battery then the speakers start getting staticy and distorted. A bit strange, but I guess that could happen if the sound module power is lowered. I would have thought they would have isolated that power for the processor.

 

[midasmulligan]

Just picked up a legion Go. This thing is amazing, very impressed.

 

[StereoVsn]

Agree. Better battery has to be the priority in their next go.

One thing I've noticed about the Ally is when I try to run games at lower wattages to save battery then the speakers start getting staticy and distorted. A bit strange, but I guess that could happen if the sound module power is lowered. I would have thought they would have isolated that power for the processor.

How low are you running that? I ah ent tried lower than about 9w and they sounded fine. I usually use headphones though so may not have noticed.

 

[Topher]

How low are you running that? I ah ent tried lower than about 9w and they sounded fine. I usually use headphones though so may not have noticed.

I dropped it to 15 watts. Wondering if this is a defect.

 

[StereoVsn]

I dropped it to 15 watts. Wondering if this is a defect.

Yeah, something is off. Try uninstalling audio drivers and installing latest version. At 15w it should be fine for sure.

I normally run things at custom 13w level and bump to 15w more power.

And even my custom 9w or 10w configs don’t have issues with speakers. I can see at 6w possibly but not 15w.

 

[StereoVsn]

Yeah… no. Ally will suspend like a champ just with Windows, but if you have a game running, it’s a total crapshoot and most of the times it will crash out on resuming.

To be fair most games don’t take a long time to load. I usually also bump up power level to like 20w before starting the game and bring it down to say 13 - 15w after it loads up, but before I load a save file.

 

[Topher]

Yeah, something is off. Try uninstalling audio drivers and installing latest version. At 15w it should be fine for sure.

I normally run things at custom 13w level and bump to 15w more power.

And even my custom 9w or 10w configs don’t have issues with speakers. I can see at 6w possibly but not 15w.

Tried it again and it happens when I'm running at 10 watts, not 15. And it doesn't happen with earphones, just the speakers. I may have to just put up with it though since I got this as a cheap open box and the price has gone back up since then. So if I want to run at 10 watts, use earphones. No biggie.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Of course, as does everyone on planet Earth. Do you walk around butt naked? Do you disclose your all your personal conversations to your employer or government? What a completely ridiculous thing to ask. I imagine if your entire life was public it wouldn't go so well for you. Privacy has been an inherent part of life that is being stripped away on a level people cannot even fathom. I can't begin to describe the dangers of that on this forum.

I do use Windows, Google and even Facebook, etc. I'm not a criminal, but if I can avoid these platforms when it isn't massively inconvenient why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't you?

I will walk around naked if I want and I don't care for anything MS could see on my PC, plus we can remove all the "spyware".

Windows has been the de facto PC operating system since the 80s.

Exactly. I like some Linux too, but until Windows is by far the better OS for gaming, there is nothing we can do about this fact.

 

[Alex Anderson]

The OP is pretty disingenuous on the price comparison.

 

[Hero_Select]

Windows is spyware. It's just that simple.

what kinda phone you use? search engine? tv? game on a console?


it's all spyware.

 

[Minsc]

Yeah, Ally with a bigger battery, 32GB RAM option (maybe even a bit faster RAM), and more ergonomic grips would be a winner.

Well, throw Oculink port vs their proprietary one, 2nd USBC and optional OLED and they would really be cooking.

Yeah, I'm also done with running Windows with 16GB of RAM. That shit is painful. 32GB is the bare minimum and anything that ships under that is a mistake.

Just the fucking OS and like a Chrome browser will eat up like 80% of your RAM on 16GB.

 

[Slimboy Fat]

Don't buy an Ally now, in about one year there will be handhelds with Strix Point APU's zen5+16CU RDNA3,5. Then in 2026 we'll likely see Steam Deck 2 with RDNA4

 

[StereoVsn]

Don't buy an Ally now, in about one year there will be handhelds with Strix Point APU's zen5+16CU RDNA3,5. Then in 2026 we'll likely see Steam Deck 2 with RDNA4

There is always something on the Horizon. Waiting a year is a long time for new releases.

Yeah, I'm also done with running Windows with 16GB of RAM. That shit is painful. 32GB is the bare minimum and anything that ships under that is a mistake.

Just the fucking OS and like a Chrome browser will eat up like 80% of your RAM on 16GB.

It’s not just that but the ability to dedicate more RAM to GPU. It would be nice to have 8GB assigned to GPU and having 16GB or more for Windows.

 

[StereoVsn]

Tried it again and it happens when I'm running at 10 watts, not 15. And it doesn't happen with earphones, just the speakers. I may have to just put up with it though since I got this as a cheap open box and the price has gone back up since then. So if I want to run at 10 watts, use earphones. No biggie.

Hmm… that’s pretty interesting. I will test it out again as well at lower TDP.

 

[Spukc]

The deck mostly took the jank out of pc gaming for less tech savvy people.

Everything else is a total shitshow imo

 

[DenchDeckard]

I had a very similar situation.

Meanwhile my Steam Deck I turned on, did a quick update, and was playing Halo within the hour.

I really enjoy both, but welcome the extra grunt and windows os of the rog ally. So I can play everything easily across multiple launchers

I do updates on my rog ally more frequently than I originally did on my deck before I sold it but I'm used to updates so it doesn't bother me. Nothing where I had to redo windows pins or login or multiple restarts. It's just an update to armoury ctate every now and again plus the myasus check.

I'm surprised that there's so much praise for steamdeck, I guess it's totally fixed now then because I had my fair share of os oddities.

Not waking up from sleep correctly and needing a hard reset.

Controls stopping working when waking from reset.

Waking up and being un responsive.

Randomly stuttering with audio and loss of performance requiring a hard reset to fix.

Randomly just becoming unresponsive and needing a hard reboot. Where the os looked like it was working but it just stopped launching etc.

I imagine that's all ironed out now as even the rog ally has come along leagues from launch.

Some teething issues but I genuinely think these devices are amazing and are only going to go from strength to strength

 

[Soodanim]

I imagine that's all ironed out now as even the rog ally has come along leagues from launch.

When are your experiences from? I want to know if anyone can give a more up to date perspective on those problems