About That ROG Ally X Article

Have you ever done something that you ended up regretting mere days later? Well I did that back in June of this year when I published an article (here) that I was sure was gonna be on point for my experience with the Ally X. I was sure I was done with my journey of trying to find a more powerful Steam Deck to play games on my couch with a show in the background and enjoying my AC window unit.

Then the Saturday after my post I noticed something that changed my opinion entirely. What once had been a great device suddenly became just downright shit for what I needed it for.

Now, here I am, having waited almost 6 months just in case, with a short update article for this week so I can help others not make the same mistake I made.

Hands hands hands

In my original article I talked about how the Asus ROG Ally hurt my hands a ton because of how flat it was. It sucked and that's what made me go with the Ally X.

The problem? The Ally X didn't fix these issues. It just changed things. Sure it was better for my fingers but it wasn't better for the rest of my hand. They just hurt. They were aching after long periods and, at the time. I had been playing The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy (review here) which meant I was fucking glued to my device because I adored the game. It sucked where I wanted to keep playing this amazing game but my hands kept meaning I couldn't. I got a DBrand Killswitch case that I was desperately hoping would help and it unfortunately did not and introduced a whole other type of discomfort with that sand paper feel it has.

Eventually I decided to return it which meant I had to revert the OS back to Windows, since I had changed it to Steam OS. This, unfortunately, lead to me wiping my save of The Hundred Line. It hadn't uploaded to the Steam Cloud so the last 20, or however many, hours I had played were forgotten and I had to redo all of it. Which sucked but hey I got it done and reviewed the game so that's positive. Never before had I questioned my principle on finishing a game in order to review it more than I did right at that moment.

Anyway, I returned it but was left with a Dilemma, do I just accept that I can't get a Portable PC that doesn't hurt my hands because of how it was designed to be just as uncomfortable as the Nintendo Switch? Or should I go looking for another PC. This whole journey had begun because I wanted to be able to play Expedition 33 at a reasonable frame rate on my couch where the AC was, so I resolved that I wanted to find something that was better, even if I had to pay a little more to get it.

Did I find another portable PC?

I did. And, embarrassingly, I had sworn off even trying this one because I thought it was too big. The Legion Go S z1e Steam Edition just looked so large from the pictures but I just wanted something that was more powerful than a Steam Deck, so I took the plunge and returned the Ally X in order to spend another 20 bucks to get the LeGo S. It took a bit to get here because Best Buy didn't have it in stock and the entire time I was incredibly nervous that it would be too big or too heavy or something.

Once it got here, I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually pretty damn perfect size wise. Now don't get me wrong, it's definitely bigger than the Ally X, but not significantly. And the hand issue was fixed where I didn't get pain after holding it for a little while. Although the ergonomics aren't as good as the steam deck, I'd say they are a close second. The screen being 8 inches also significantly improved my reading ability for some of the games I play on my portable device. Just overall it was much better than I was expecting.

Now of course I could have technically waited and spent another 230 dollars to get the ROG Xbox Ally X but...no? I know it's rather comfortable ergonomics wise but I 1. needed it soon to be able to play and review Expedition 33 (review here) in the comfort of my couch and 2. wanted a Steam OS console not windows and didn't want to have to deal with switching over OS's again. Plus, I had no idea, at the time, what the cost of it was going to be and I had assumed it would be more expensive than what I had spent (which I was right about) and I did have a budget to try to desperately adhere to. Thus, the Legion Go S has been my portable PC that I've been playing all of the games I have reviewed in the last 6 months on. It's been great and I've had next to no issues! Well. Except lack of a high quality case that doesn't feel like sandpaper when holding it (the DBrand Killswitch), but that's not an issue with the device itself.

How to not make the same mistake

Basically, try to use the devices first. For me that means going to Best Buy and fiddling with the devices they have up for public use. Obviously this isn't perfect because it won't give you the best example of what it's like to hold the device for super long, but it can give you a general idea. If you happen to know someone with one of these devices I would recommend asking them to try it out first as well because that would help even more. The sad fact is that there is absolutely nothing that you can do besides just using them. I personally wish I hadn't had to go back multiple times to Best Buy to return things and each time been more and more embarrassed just so I could find a better fitting console for my needs.

At the same time, there is also another option which is just, have good internet that isn't being used all the time and allows you to stream from your, ideally, more powerful PC to a Steam Deck. That's how a lot of people do it so they can feel like their system is more powerful than it is and don't have to spend a ton of money on a more powerful handheld. Personally that doesn't work because my partner works from home a lot of the time and uses the internet for that work so whenever I'm downloading something it fucks with their work so I can only assume that streaming something would be just as bad.

You could also just read about others who have used the devices you are thinking of getting. Take my experience that I had and think "Is a console that doesn't have the best ergonomics for a person with small-medium sized hands something I'm willing to roll the dice on?" Or just go for something you know for a fact will be comfortable because of how it's designed. Or, finally, get whatever you want and buy a case or grips that make the thing more comfortable to hold so you don't have to spend an immense amount of money on a more comfortable device that isn't that much more powerful.

I swear this is the only update

As I stated at the top, I waited almost 6 months to do this update article. A part of me wasn't sure it was necessary but I thought that if my experience could help just one person not make the same mistake, or could entertain one person with my mistake, then it's worth doing. There won't be another update because this journey is done. I don't regret making this mistake, besides regretting the embarrassment of going to the Best Buy 2 times for returns within a week of each other. Having a more powerful Steam Deck is pretty damn awesome and the bigger screen is also, surprisingly, very nice.

Overall, it might have been an embarrassing journey, but it was a worthwhile one. Not only did I find out a lot about how ergonomics make my hands feel pain, I also discovered that an 8 inch screen isn't too large, that I am willing to pay much more money than I had anticipated just for the experience of playing something on my couch instead of in front of my desk, and that I maybe should wait to talk about some of my tech decisions on here because I might end up changing them less than a week after hitting that publish button.

Anyway, thanks for reading about a mistake that I've been avoiding tangentially mentioning in several of my articles over the last several months! I wanted to provide a bookend on this journey (that most didn't even realize was happening) before the end of the year and I am 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Next week we will get back to what I usually write about instead of this more personal mistake like topics. I'm desperately trying to finish The Outer Worlds 2 before the end of the year and that one is...well...it's gonna be a review I was hoping would be better. But that's for then and this is now. And with that...

Meow,

Cat