i tried the FIRST HANDHELD PC...

Summary

A gaming YouTuber received the new Asus Rog Ally handheld gaming PC to review. Despite its portability and Windows 11 OS, they struggled to set it up and faced constant crashes trying to run games. When they finally got Fortnite working, there was severe input delay making competitive play impossible. They tried other games but performance was lacking, only managing 60fps on low settings. While the technology shows promise, this particular device proved largely disappointing for the reviewer, scoring only 2 out of 10.

Takeaways

• 😀 Asus sent the author their Rog Ally gaming PC to review
• 👾 The device is very compact and portable, similar in size to the Nintendo Switch
• 💻 It runs a full version of Windows 11, not a custom OS
• 🔌 Initial setup was smooth, but connecting accessories caused crashes
• 🎮 Fortnite and other games had compatibility issues and crashes
• ⛔ There was significant input lag making competitive gaming difficult
• 📉 Performance and frame rates were inconsistent and often low
• ☹️ The author was very disappointed with the overall gaming experience
• 🤔 There is potential for future handheld PCs, but more work is needed
• 🔚 The author plans to try the device again to see if it improves

Q & A

What handheld gaming PC did Asus send the narrator?

Asus sent the narrator their Rog Ally handheld gaming PC.

What operating system did the Rog Ally come with?

The Rog Ally came with Windows 11 pre-installed.

What issues did the narrator encounter when trying to use the Rog Ally docked to their TV?

The narrator had issues with the touchscreen and keyboard being disabled when docked, awkward pointer control with the right stick, multiple crashes and issues running games like Fortnite and Forza at high settings.

Why was using a wireless connection a problem for the narrator?

The lack of a wired LAN connection resulted in input delay, which would put the narrator at a disadvantage in competitive multiplayer gaming.

What was the maximum refresh rate supported by the Rog Ally?

The Rog Ally supported up to 120Hz refresh rate on an external monitor.

What frame rate could the Rog Ally achieve in Fortnite when undocked?

When undocked, the narrator was able to get a constant 120 FPS in Fortnite without noticeable frame drops.

What input lag issues did the narrator experience?

The lack of a wired connection resulted in input delay even in undocked use.

What was the narrator's overall assessment of the Rog Ally?

The narrator gave the Rog Ally a score of 2 out of 10 based on their disappointing gaming experience, but noted it has potential as an early model of handheld PC gaming.

What constructive feedback did the narrator offer?

The narrator suggested improvements like wired LAN connectivity, better docked usability and smoother gaming performance.

What accessories did the narrator buy to improve the experience?

The narrator bought a charging dock for TV output and a longer power cable to use it more comfortably.

Outlines

00:00

😕 Setting up the ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PC was frustrating and disappointing

The author received the ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PC to review. He was initially excited about its portability and power but struggled to set it up properly. He bought accessories to connect it to his TV but still had issues navigating due to hardware crashes. He eventually got games like Fortnite running but faced lag, input delay, and low frame rates. He concludes that while the technology is groundbreaking, there are many improvements needed to truly push handheld PC gaming forward.

05:01

😟The gaming performance of the ASUS ROG Ally did not meet expectations due to limitations

When testing games on the ASUS ROG Ally, the author experienced disappointing performance. There was noticeable input delay even on good Wi-Fi, inconsistent frame rates below 60fps, and the PC could only run games at low-medium settings. He tried different controllers and games like Fortnite, Forza, and Lego with similar results. While acknowledging the potential of the technology, the author gives it a score of 2 out of 10 based on his experience, hoping future handheld PCs can better meet expectations.

Keywords

💡handheld gaming PC

A handheld gaming PC refers to a portable personal computer designed for gaming. In the video, the narrator receives an Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC to review. He is surprised by how small and light it is, like a Nintendo Switch, despite having the power of a full Windows 11 PC. However, he encounters multiple issues trying to set it up and play games smoothly.

💡Windows 11

Windows 11 is the latest Microsoft operating system for PCs. The narrator is impressed that the handheld ROG Ally runs a full version of Windows 11 in such a compact device. However, he suggests Windows 11 seems to have problems with gaming that contribute to crashes and glitches.

💡gaming performance

Gaming performance refers to how well a device runs graphics-intensive video games. The narrator tries to assess the ROG Ally's gaming performance by testing games like Fortnite and Forza. Despite strong hardware, it struggles with stability, frame rates, and input lag.

💡input delay

Input delay is when there is a noticeable lag between pressing a button and seeing the action on screen. The narrator experiences input delay while trying to play Fortnite on the ROG Ally due to its WiFi-only connectivity.

💡connectivity

Connectivity refers to how a device connects to networks or peripherals. The ROG Ally lacks Ethernet and has only one USB-C port, causing major constraints for the narrator when trying to connect it to a keyboard, mouse, and external display.

💡portability

Portability refers to how easy a device is to transport. The narrator is initially impressed by the ROG Ally's portability due to its compact, handheld design like the Nintendo Switch. However, connectivity and performance issues hamper real-world portable use.

💡stability

Stability refers to how reliably a system runs without crashes or errors. The narrator experiences many stability issues with crashes and glitches that require restarts when trying to set up and use the ROG Ally.

💡framerate

Framerate, or FPS (frames per second), measures how smoothly a game animates. The narrator finds the ROG Ally cannot maintain steady FPS in games like Fortnite or get above 60 FPS in Forza due to performance limitations.

💡controls

Controls refers to the hardware for game input, like keyboard, mouse, and gamepads. The narrator has trouble finding comfortable control options for the ROG Ally when docked due to lack of ports and has to juggle multiple input devices.

💡setup

Setup refers to the process of configuring a new device and getting it ready to use. The narrator has major difficulties getting the ROG Ally set up properly and downloading games due to crashes, compatibility issues, and lack of ports.

Highlights

Asus sent their best Rog Ally model with an extreme processor

The Rog Ally is surprisingly small and lightweight like the Nintendo Switch

The Rog Ally runs a full version of Windows 11, not a custom OS

Ordered a docking station to connect the Rog Ally to a monitor and peripherals

Had multiple hardware crashes and issues running games like Fortnite

Updates and driver installs took a very long time and sometimes failed

Running at 120FPS on an external monitor worked, but 240FPS led to crashing

Massive input delay made competitive online games unplayable

Forza could only run at 60FPS at low settings

Public Battle Royale lobbies struggled to maintain 60FPS

This technology has great potential but still needs lots of improvements

Frustrated by disappointing gameplay but understands it's pioneering tech

Hopes future handheld gaming PCs can meet expectations and surprise him

Gives the Rog Ally a low 2/10 rating based on his experience

Tries it one more time but still disappointed in the end

Transcripts

would you believe me if I said that this

is a PC well if you do that's your first

mistake because you should never trust

anyone especially on the internet but if

you don't me too Asus sent me their Rog

Ally which is said to be one of the

first handheld gaming PCs and I'm going

to give you my honest First Impressions

on it if it's as good as I think it is I

might finally be winning a solo cash the

easy way while I got open the box I want

to thank better hope for sponsoring this

video and I also still couldn't believe

how small the box is anyway on a more

serious note it's a brand new year and

there's not a more perfect time to work

on yourself other than now I have the

packaging this is what the actual box

looked like I honestly had no idea which

model Asus sent me but after looking at

the back they sent me their best one

which has an extreme processor which I

was excited to play with but back to

better help I think it's the easiest way

to use therapy to work on yourself

whether you want to create personal

goals or if you just need someone

trustworthy you can talk to for

professional help on how to deal with

whatever you're going through when I

finally opened the box it looked

beautiful the PC itself wasn't too heavy

and it actually had back paddles Which

was perfect because I didn't see any USB

ports to plug in a Pro Controller so the

built-in paddles will make playing my

favorite games perfect I know how

intimidating therapy sounds sometimes

but with better help it's done

completely at home in whatever way is

the most comfortable for you I actually

had been using better help all last year

my personal experience and growth has

been amazing I started with texting my

therapy IST didn't transition into phone

calls now we video call every session if

you want to try therapy I highly

encourage you to give better help a

chance to help you by clicking the link

in the description or by going to

betterhelp.com slsl for 10% off of your

first month of therapy so other than the

stand the charger and the instructions

that I couldn't read I plugged it up to

the wall and waited until it was fully

charged later so I could try it out for

the first time when I set it up later I

was surprised to see that it was

actually a computer it was really hard

to believe that I was setting up Windows

11 on something so small but no it

wasn't some kind of custom OS like I

thought it was literally Windows which

technically makes it capable of doing

everything an actual PC can do at almost

the exact same size as the Nintendo

switch which isn't even half as powerful

I don't really know how I set it up

exactly but I signed into my Microsoft

account and it went through a process of

downloading all my folders apps settings

and credentials from my main PC I was

scared was going to max out the 512 GB

of storage before I even got to download

a game because my main PC has been

comfortably using well over that but I

think it was more of a cloud download

thing going on because I didn't run into

any problems while it was updating

itself I knew I wasn't going to be happy

with trying to kind of snipe the screen

to navigate so I did some research and I

found a charger dock attachment that not

only lets you use an HDMI cable to

Output the screen onto a bigger monitor

or TV but also gives you a USB port for

for your mouse keyboard or controller

which would turn the Ally into a

powerful but portable gaming piece I

needed it so I ordered the charging dock

that night and I picked it up the next

morning at Best Buy to plug into my

gaming TV and it looked pretty simple

but it wasn't let me explain it plugged

into an outlet but if it went behind my

TV and I wanted to use a controller

comfortably I would have to get a cord

long enough to reach from behind my TV

to the couch which would be really long

also there weren't any extra Outlets to

use behind my TV so that's suggestion

wasn't even an option to play

comfortably I would need an outlet right

in front of me so I left again went to

Target this time and bought power it

sucked but at least I got things working

if that's what you want to call it this

is where things went South navigating

didn't get any easier the touchscreen

and its keyboard were disabled while

docked so now the only option I had

without plugging in a mouse or a

keyboard was to use the right stick as

the pointer you just move the right

stick to where you want the pointer to

go and you click it in to emulate a

Mouse click I didn't like it it just

felt really robotic and slow and I know

for a fact that adjusting the pointer

speed would probably make things crazy

since I was using a joystick so I tried

not to change it another option I had

was to plug in a mouse but with the

whole screen being disabled I had no

keyboard and there was only one USB slot

why I plugged in my keyboard as the last

option before undocking it but things

definitely got worse when I ran into

multiple Hardware crashes the stick

pointer would stop working there were

visual glitches and there was a crash

that required a full restart every

single time that I tried to run the epic

games launcher now I've heard that

Windows 11 sucks for gaming so I

couldn't tell if it was just the

operating system or the Rog alley itself

that sucks but I was having the worst

time it was getting late again and I got

sick of sitting on my floor juggling a

keyboard and a ride stick so I finally

undocked the PC and managed to get

fortnite installed I ran it and it

crashed so I restarted it and it crashed

again so I tried it one last time before

I gave up thankfully it wasn't me this

time and after Googling the problem and

finding that other people were actually

having lots of issues running fortnite 2

I found out that I had to install more

updates and it took even longer and it

literally crashed while in the process

of downloading a motherboard update that

ended up actually never getting

installed but I did get the graphics

driver updated which was apparently all

I needed because after running fortnite

for the last time it it finally opened

I've sadly never been so glad to see

fortnite in my life but it was past my

bedtime so I decided to just go to bed

to reset and have a fresh mindset about

finally giving it a play test I was

feeling better about how long it took me

to set everything up so I decided to

plug up the Ally to my main gaming PC

and despite 120 HZ being its Max refresh

rate I even saw the option for 240 HZ

which was nice to know that something

this small could support 240 FPS on an

external monitor but I kept it at its

default refresh rate to see how it can

handle everything before I even triy to

push it to the limits I started fortnite

and as soon as I plugged in my Astro C40

the whole PC crashed again I've never

had a gaining experience this bad in my

I switched to my SC Instinct and after

that I had no more problems the first

few minutes of practicing and testing

how everything feels in fortnite went

smoothly and I was running a constant

120 FPS without any noticeable frame

drops but there was input Del and not

because of the PC because there was no

land C which instantly disqualifies this

PC from anything competitive because you

will be putting yourself at a complete

disadvantage to be playing against

anyone on Wi-Fi even if you're on zero

ping like me so I didn't even bother

playing rank I actually loaded into a

regular Battle Royale Lobby and not only

did I have to deal with the input Delay

from Wi-Fi I wasn't even getting a

constant 60 frames per second so if you

thought that you could at least have a

solid PC experience in public lobbies

you're wrong so I at least tried some

solo games to see if I could give this

thing the benefit of the doubt I tried

Lego fortnite then I tried Forza and

before I could even play a game there

was a benchmark that optimized the

graphics and the PC could only run the

game in 60

FPS on the lower settings I give up two

out of 10 I could go lower and say one

but this is a groundbreaking new piece

of technology that actually has loads of

potential it has great reviews from a

majority of people people as well but

after my personal experience I can't do

anything at this point but just give my

constructive criticism I was thinking

that this would completely replace and

push the limits of handheld gaming

instantly but it's clear that there's a

lot of work to be done and I'm glad to

be as truthful as possible so that the

next models of handheld PCS can actually

surprise me I do feel bad that the game

play was pretty disappointing so I

decided to actually turn it on one last

time

oh