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The ASUS ROG Ally, much like many other handheld gaming PCs, can by all means be used without any additional peripherals, accessories, and what have you. You just have to power it on, download the necessary updates (of which there are many) and, subsequently, your favorite games and launchers, and you’re good to go!
If, however, you really want the best possible gaming experience with this oh-so-alluring handheld PC, you’ll want to make a few additional investments — regardless if you game at home or, conversely, whilst on the go.
This list includes external docks, hubs, additional storage, hand grips, power banks, and so on and so forth. These additions and niceties will allow you to both play your games for longer but also to game more comfortably. Some of them are cheap, others pricey, but they’re worth the investment all the same.
Now, they are by no means a necessity, but depending on your needs and the way in which you use your ROG Ally, some of these items might really come in clutch. Those who are partial to playing AAA titles on Turbo mode would surely benefit from a beefy power bank (with 65W PD charging) — just an example. Others might want to harness the Ally’s incredible chipset and use it as a full-fledged desktop PC, in which case buying an external USB-C hub or dock is basically a must. You get the point.
ASUS ROG Ally — Best Hubs and Docks
Connecting your ROG Ally — or any other handheld gaming PC for that matter — to an external hub or dock is a great option for a multitude of different reasons. First of all, you can connect your device to a larger display and enjoy the visuals on a much larger canvas. You can also attach numerous different USB sticks, external SSDs, mice, keyboards, and whatever you so desire. Heck, the inclusion of an Ethernet port is worth the asking price alone, especially if you’re into competitive shooters and want to have the best possible lag-free experience.
You can, in doing so, turn a handheld gaming PC into a full-fledged computer, one that can be used for nearly any task and use-case. These devices are much more powerful and versatile than one would expect. You can use your ROG Ally as a regular computer throughout the day and then, once it’s time to go on a commute, simply disconnect it from your hub and be off and running in no time — with all your games and files and projects safely stored on its internal SSD.
These handheld gaming PCs aren’t as practical as, say, a regular clamshell laptop as you still need to supply a larger display alongside a mouse and keyboard, but for some, they could very well be the only device they need for both work and play.
Better yet, ASUS has recently rolled out a BIOS update that allows third-party docks to be used without incurring any kind of performance penalty. The list of supported docks is quite long and most of those that were designed with the Steam Deck in mind can be used for the Ally as well.
Our choices: UGREEN Steam Deck Dock, JSAUX Docking Station (including the M.2 imbued SKU), JSAUX RGB Docking Station, Baseus 6-in-1 Docking Station, and the Syntech Docking Station. There’s a bunch of compatible docks and hubs out there, but these aforementioned ones all stand out for one reason or another. Just make sure they support (at least) 65W PD charging, otherwise you won’t be able to harness the full potential of your ROG Ally.
The official ASUS ROG 65W Gaming Charger Dock isn’t nearly as versatile — what with it having just a single USB-C, one USB-A (2.0) and HDMI 2.0 — but it’s still a viable choice overall, despite its austere port selection and comparatively high price.
ASUS ROG Ally — Best External Power Banks
The ROG Ally, unlike Valve’s Steam Deck, can draw a surprising amount of power. The fact that it can sustain a 30W TDP while on Turbo mode is a testament to the way ASUS engineered its cooling solution, and while that is mighty impressive (and also the reason why it’s such a better pick for AAA games), it tends to obliterate the Ally’s battery a lot faster than one would expect.
If you push it to its limit and start playing, say, Cyberpunk 2077 (or a similarly demanding title), you won’t get more than an hour of battery life — if even that much, depending on the settings, power profile, and a myriad of other things. That’s… a problem, at least for those who prefer playing during their commutes and travels.
Fortunately, it is a problem one can somewhat easily solve by buying a high-capacity external power bank that supports PD charging. Just make sure to buy one that supports 65W as that way you’ll be able to game in Turbo mode and, by proxy, have the best possible experience.
We would suggest going with either Anker or Baseus. These companies make some of the best, most well-rounded power banks on the market. If you opt for a 20,000mAh power bank, you’ll essentially get an additional 1.5 charge for your ROG Ally. A 30,000mAh one would net you a bit over two full charges — a great option for longer commutes or flights.
The following power banks will do the trick: Baseus Power Bank 65W 20,000mAh, Baseus Blade Power Bank, Anker 747 Power Bank, Anker 737, and others.
Note: Make sure to avoid the Shargeek Storm 2 as it’s not compatible with the ROG Ally (nor will it be as there’s no way for Shargeek to ship a firmware update).
ASUS ROG Ally — Nice-to-Haves
There’s a bunch of supplementary add-ons out there, all of which might elevate your gaming experience and allow you to game in new and exciting ways — depending on your needs and preferences, of course. These items might not be vital, but it’s nonetheless good to know that they exist.
- Allymate Adapter Bundle — This ingenious bundle from Deckmate contains a myriad of different clips and adapters for your ROG Ally, each of which is designed to extend its functionality and offer you more ways to use your shiny new handheld gaming PC. It comes with two universal pucks (for attaching external SSDs, USB hubs, and power banks), a wall mount, a nifty kickstand, a VESA mount (screws included), alongside two additional adapters (one white and one black). All of these items coalesce in the most beautiful of ways and, needless to say, the bundle itself contains everything one might need. It’s worth buying just for the universal puck alone. It’s currently sold out but, odds are, it’ll be back in stock in no time, so make sure to check regularly! You can buy a very similar set for the Steam Deck as well.
- LTT Sticklocks — These ingenious little add-ons are designed to “reduce horizontal force applied to your joysticks when traveling.” They’re incredibly small and can be applied and removed within a matter of seconds. And, better yet, they’re compatible with basically all of today’s most popular and widespread joysticks and controllers which makes them a worthwhile “one-off” investment that may well come in clutch — especially if you tend to commute often.
ASUS ROG Ally — Best Portable Monitors
If you’re super serious about gaming while on the go, buying a portable monitor might be an option worth exploring. These come in various different sizes and diagonals, and they also differ in regards to their panel technologies, refresh rates, response times and, last but certainly not least, MSRPs.
There’s a bunch of options out there, of varying quality and price, but they’ll all do the trick, regardless if they’re not as feature-rich or well-rounded as one would hope. There’s the PEPPER JOBS Portable Monitor (V3), UPERFECT UPlays C2, INNOCN Portable Monitor, ARZOPA 15.6” Portable Monitor, and many others. Do make sure to read as many reviews as you possibly can before making any kind of purchasing decision as the quality of these displays tends to vary quite a bit.
If you’re after a truly spectacular gaming experience, pairing a portable OLED monitor with your Ally would no doubt be the way to go. For one such standout option, make sure to check out the following video from ETA Prime:
ASUS ROG Ally — How to Expand Storage?
The ROG Ally comes imbued with a 512GB NVMe drive that’s of the 2230 variety (in other words: the shortest format available). 512GB is by no means a measly amount, but with today’s AAA titles weighing well over a hundred gigabytes each, it’s easy to understand why some might want to increase their internal storage.
You can also buy a 1TB microSD card and expand your storage that way, but we would suggest against such an investment until ASUS comes out with a fix of some kind — there have been too many instances of SD cards dying from excessive heat. The card slot is located right next to the exhaust vents on top, so it’s easy to understand why populating your Ally with an expensive microSD card isn’t as wise a choice as one would expect.
With that mind, buying a new M.2 NVMe 2230 SSD would be your best option. There are no 4TB 2230 SSDs on the market at the time of this writing, so you’ll have to make due with a 2TB one — a good “middle ground” as far as we’re concerned. It is a bit pricey, but it’s definitely a worthwhile investment if you like to have most of your titles downloaded and ready.
Another viable option is buying an external SSD — something like Samsung’s T7. These are a fair bit more versatile and can actually be used in a myriad of different ways. And, most importantly, they’re sufficiently fast and can be used to run any title you want as long as they’re safely connected to the ROG Ally (through an external hub or dock, or, say, an adapter/puck of some kind with which you can attach it to the back of your Ally).
If you’re interested in learning how to swap out the ROG Ally SSD drive, make sure to watch the following video:
ASUS ROG Ally — Best Screen Protectors
Slapping a screen protector on your ROG Ally is very much advisable, and much of the same holds true for all of your other portable electronic devices. You never know when you might drop it, and having that beautiful screen protected (for a very reasonable sum of money) is basically a no-brainer.
Better yet, there’s an aesthetic benefit as well, as some of these screen protectors reduce both unwanted glare and fingerprint smudges.
There’s a bunch of different options out there, including those from Dbrand and JSAUX. There are many others on Amazon and similar retailers as well, but they’re not as good so you might want to avoid them.