I just saw the ASUS handheld in the wild. It was running some FPS game pretty well.
Can anyone help me compare the two - Steam Deck OLED vs comparable ASUS version? Which do you prefer? Pros/cons?
I’m almost decided to buy the Deck OLED, but seeing that in the wild made me pause. It looks nice.
I have both, mainly got the Ally as an experiment. The Deck is absolutely the way to go. Windows is a dreadful experience in general, but especially so on a handheld. No touchpads means awful mouse control, but Windows means an OS designed around mouse control. Asus’ software feels like a big hack (because it is) haphazardly glued on top of a stock Windows desktop. Steam Big Picture works OK but the Steam menus are limited in functionality compared to using them on SteamOS and the Deck. Meanwhile, the Deck is an incredibly polished product and the SteamOS interface is controller-first. You can still go to the desktop and use it as a PC, but you won’t wind up there accidentally like you will on the Ally. The SteamOS gaming mode is built around operating with a controller and everything works well.
As for running Linux on the Ally? It is doable, but the experience is nowhere as good as the Deck. No seamless sleep and resume< issues with button mapping, limited tweaking of power limits, and more. Just get a Deck OLED and be happy.
I presume ally is better for someone who can’t stand much outside of windows and doesn’t mind using it at home most of the time.
I dont think the Ally is better in any regard, raw performance doesn’t really matter when playing on such small screens and isnt worth the tradeoff of other features.
I’d say if you’re going to keep it as a primary windows PC docked at home, but with the added gimmick of it being a handheld, ally isn’t that bad of an option. I just think Deck is way more interesting as a grownup toy and much more bang for its buck.
It’s not really about the OS, it’s about the integration. Sure if you wanna do advanced stuff outside of the integration, then it’s OS, but someone who can’t stand anything but windows is only going to want an integrated experience