Like Valve with its Steam Deck, ASUS understands that the success of a machine depends largely on software support.
The resounding success of Valve's Steam Deck since its release at the beginning of 2022 has given ideas to a number of manufacturers, more or less well-known. One of the most famous has also been one of the quickest to follow suit: ASUS, with its ROG Ally, has been offering a more expensive but still reasonable alternative since June 13. This alternative is distinguished by its on-board processor, a Z1 with Zen 3 CPU cores and RDNA 3 GPU cores, a far cry from the Aerith found in the Steam Deck. Even more singular, the ROG Ally is a Windows machine, delivered with version 11 of Microsoft's OS... whereas the Steam Deck operates under SteamOS.
Other differences, such as the slightly modified format or the screen with its 1,920 x 1,080-dot definition and refresh rate capable of reaching 120 Hz, have enabled the ROG Ally to make a name for itself, but to last it needs to go further. ASUS understands this, and has taken its cue from Valve, which has deployed numerous updates to ensure the machine's continued success. Many updates have also been deployed by ASUS, which has never been as productive as in recent days.
SteamDeckHQ
In fact, one update after another has updated just about every key element of the machine. First of all, the Armoury Crate SE software received an MCU update (to version 315) to correct a rare but annoying bug that could cause the machine's controls to switch between gamepad and desktop modes. In the meantime, the Aura plugin - again via Armoury Crate SE - has been upgraded to version 1.3.15.1 to go hand in hand with the MCU 315 update and better manage RGB lighting.
SteamDeckHQ
Secondly, ASUS has simply updated the machine's BIOS: version 331 of this firmware is primarily designed to improve the ROG Ally's overall stability. Finally, taking advantage of AMD's latest graphics driver updates, ASUS has deployed a new iGPU driver for the RDNA 3 solution embedded in its console. The new drivers (version 31.0.22017.3004) are undoubtedly the most visible in this salvo of updates: they include support for HYPR-RX, a tool devised by AMD to make configuration of the multiple display enhancement options (Super Resolution, Anti-Lag, Boost) easier to manage, as well as support for an intermediate image definition (1600 x 900), the correction of bugs preventing the launch of EA Sports FC24 and Resident Evil Village games, and support for external monitors in 8K 60 Hz.
Phew! We can't say that ASUS has been kidding itself with all these updates. ROG Ally owners will be delighted to be able to count on the machine manufacturer's support, although there's one small downside: multiple updates of this kind can be a bit tedious to set up, especially as in this case, you have to bring in different software to upgrade the whole machine.
