ASUS is working on its ROG Ally handheld console, the first true rival to the Steam Deck, if the price holds up. It’ll feature a next-gen AMD Ryzen processor based on the 5nm Zen 4 core architecture, an RDNA 3 iGPU, and 16GB of LPDDR5 memory. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme is a repurposed U-series Phoenix chip with a maximum boost clock of over 5GHz and 1MB of L2 cache per core.
On the GPU side, we’ve got an integrated RDNA 3 iGPU with 6 CUs, which translates to 12 traditional units or 768 steam processors (cores). The graphics processor is clocked at 800MHz with 8.2GB of shared memory. The ROG Ally should come with 15W and 28W TDP modes, offering enhanced power efficiency than the Steam Deck.
Going by the OpenCL graphics score, we’re looking at GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q levels of performance. Remember that this doesn’t necessarily translate to real-world gaming performance, so take it with a grain of salt.
You can expect a 30-40% increment in gaming. We’re essentially looking at a downclocked Radeon 780M iGPU at a lower TDP. A recent review of the same showed the graphics processor offers over 100 FPS at 1080p in popular AAA titles:
AMD Radeon 780M:
- CSGO (1080p High): 130 FPS
- GTA (1080p Very High): 81 FPS
- Forza Horizon 5 (1080p High): 86 FPS
- Fortnite (1080p Medium): 78 FPS
- Doom Eternal (1080p Medium): 83 FPS
- Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Favor Performance): 69 FPS
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare (1080p Recommended/FSR Perf.): 106 FPS
- Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium/Low Mix): ~70 FPS
The ROG Ally comes with a 1080p 120Hz display with a brightness of 500 nits and a response time of 7ms. It has a 512GB M.2-2230 Gen 4 SSD and a microSD expansion slot. By default, it comes installed with Windows 11, fully compatible with Steam and the Xbox Game Pass.
Regardless of the specifications, the pricing will decide the fate of the ROG Ally. Ryzen APUs power plenty of handhelds on the market, but their high pricing has kept them from going mainstream.
Source: Benchleaks.