It’s quite possible that there has never been a better time to buy a handheld gaming PC, as the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme has just had another $100 drop off its price at Best Buy, meaning it now costs just $549.99, but only for a limited time.
Valve also started a Steam Deck sale last week, meaning two of the best handheld gaming PCs are on sale right now. In our Asus ROG Ally review, we stated it “challenges the Steam Deck with better specs and enhanced performance”, meaning if you want the best performance, at a higher resolution, then the ROG Ally is the handheld for you.
With the release of the Asus ROG Ally X, a price drop was always coming for the base Z1 and Z1 Extreme versions of the handheld. This saw the Z1 Extreme drop from a $699 MSRP to $649, allowing the Ally X to debut at $799.
At Best Buy right now, you can save a further $100 on this price drop, meaning the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is just $549.99. Not only is the Ally Z1 Extreme more powerful than the Steam Deck, but it also has a 1080p, 120Hz display.
Granted, the Steam Deck OLED challenges it for quality, but the OLED is currently the same price ($549 for the 512GB model) and doesn’t improve upon the power of the original Deck, meaning the Ally Z1 Extreme still has it beat.
Concerns over the microSD card slot overheating need to be mentioned, but this isn’t a 100% guaranteed fault, and it can be avoided if you choose not to use microSD cards and instead expand the internal SSD storage.
If you’re still not sure which model to go for you can check out our Asus ROG Ally X review and Steam Deck OLED review for a breakdown of performance and value.