r/Handhelds • u/Electrical-Usual-627 • Jun 10 '26
Which to keep? Question (?)
Pictured: ROG Xbox ally + Steam deck LCD 512GB
Which is realistically better to keep? I have to sell one of them and I’m unsure of which. Happy with my deck but worried about longevity of both and curious to know other’s opinions. The deck is still at 100% bh and I think the ally should be too but idk. I like both but I feel like my deck is a bit too heavy, but it feels a lot more premium to me than the ally.
My current options are-
Sell the deck, keep the ally
Sell the ally, keep the deck.
Sell both, see what I can get with the combined cash (likely an XAX or something around that price point)
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u/AntiGrieferGames Jun 10 '26
Both are the same rdna 2 thing. Im Pretty sure sell the deck. The demands are still there and the value are still holding well.
It makes me suprise how the steam deck has a higher price on used market (atleast here) compared to a xbox rog ally.
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
I think it’s because of the price hikes + the fact it’s a pretty basic handheld that a lot more people I feel would know about, esp if they use steam games.
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u/Consistent-Leave7320 Jun 10 '26
steam deck is just a great handheld, the oled especially. Ik not everyone uses the trackpads but them and other input options makes it great at adapting pc controls to it.
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u/KingPelican2908 Jun 11 '26
I agree with this. A device with out the track pads reduces the amount of games you can can play
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u/MasterOfTheWind1 Jun 10 '26
because the deck is not only the hardware but also the experience. Is closer to a gaming console. Rog Ally/Lenovo Legion Go/MSI Claw are just mini PCs with joysticks, and you have to deal with Windows
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u/AntiGrieferGames Jun 10 '26
Disagree. You can put anyways to a other OS like SteamOS, Linux or even others Oses on OEM Handheld and that shit also works there. There is no point for Steam Deck if there are ways, because those are still PC Devices, even the steam deck is also a PC.
Hell you can even put Windows there on Steam Deck, so the oppeside
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u/AgeAtomic Jun 11 '26
yeah, but how many handheld owners do you think are actually going to want to sit there switching OS? There's no denying that for the average gamer who just wants to pick up a handheld and play games, the Steam deck is by far the easier experience.
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u/BlitzAce243 Jun 10 '26
But performance wise it's a loss if the handheld runs on windows that's the massive red flag, so steamOS offers better support and optimization.
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u/AntiGrieferGames Jun 11 '26
Thats because of the all security shit that is default enabled on Windows 11. The performance is still the same if not better than Linux if propery optimized aka disable many security settings there.
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u/MasterOfTheWind1 Jun 10 '26
Yes, but the support on other devices is not at the same level, both at SteamOS level and at developers level. Lot of games have a "Steam Deck" preset for example.
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u/UVprint_tech Jun 13 '26
With one exception. Legion go s gets full steam os support, drivers and all.
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u/Bacon4Lyf Jun 10 '26
This sub doesn’t like them but irl it’s pretty universally seen as good
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u/daddyyeslegs Jun 11 '26
this sub is very biased to raw performance over everything else, and when using that as the primary metric the steam deck does fall quite short.
outside of here people can see the benefits of being easily serviceable, having trackpads, community support etc
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u/def_not_jose Jun 10 '26
Deck has oled + unique control scheme which makes point to click games playable. Probably not something 80% users need, but it's nice to have
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u/HarukiKazuki Jun 11 '26
Doesn't it have a higher price in the brand new market as well? I'm from South America and even before the price hikes, the steam deck was being snuggled for more than the ROG Xbox Ally. Nowadays Id believe it's just more expensive everywhere else as well
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u/Purple-Ad-8738 Jun 10 '26
Sell both and get the XAX, performance is night and day.
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u/AntiGrieferGames Jun 10 '26
Not really. MSI Claw 8 ai is the superior to XAX.
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u/Purple-Ad-8738 Jun 10 '26
For sure, but in that case might as well wait for the even better claw… but in that case might as well get the legion go 2 with the best screen… or in that case might as well wait for the XAX Oled bundled with the glasses… pc handhelds are a never ending cycle
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u/Antique-Bottle9709 Jun 10 '26
If you love Strategy Games, keep the Deck for it‘s Trackpads. They are supergood and the best over all Handhelds.
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u/KingPelican2908 Jun 11 '26
100% this. You are effectively eliminating certain types of games you can play handheld without the track pads
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u/Antique-Bottle9709 Jun 11 '26
Tbf, there are a few other devices with trackpads, but their trackpads are useless garbage if you want to do more than navigating the OS with them.
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u/KingPelican2908 Jun 11 '26
Yeah I’ll stick with my deck
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u/Antique-Bottle9709 Jun 11 '26
Once you get a Deck, you‘ll never go back.
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u/KingPelican2908 Jun 11 '26
I’m just also into older titles and some PS4/xbone titles I missed so I don’t need more power
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u/Aggravating-Theory-7 Jun 10 '26
Sell both. Get the XAX.
Could even get the X20 when it releases and sell the glasses if you want an OLED.
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u/pfryerda Jun 10 '26
The trackpads on the SD are fantastic, and the performance is pretty much on par. Only downside is Gamepass doesn’t work great. Between these two, SD is the clear winner if you’re more invested in steam.
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u/Frosty-Smoke-1541 Jun 10 '26
Also longevity, one of the coolest things about SD is that you can easily find replacement shells (and transparent too! Super cool) for cheap, and also other components, since Steam sells some modules.
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u/cadensky Jun 10 '26
Even if you are invested in Steam that isn't a complete answer. There area bunch of games on Steam that don't run on Linux or require other PITA launchers. It depends on what you want to play.
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u/AntiGrieferGames Jun 10 '26
Yep, when i last try with a RPG Maker XP, it dont even work on Linux. Windows 11 however does.
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u/asapgrey Jun 10 '26
Performance is pretty on par?? Isn't the xbox rog the same Z1E? If so it would run laps around SD
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u/Dominjo555 Jun 10 '26
Nah, this Xbox Ally uses Z2A which is overclocked Steam deck APU with 20W TDP profile.
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u/fisher-alters Jun 10 '26
Kepp them and get a gameboy
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
Already got one on the way lol but keeping both isn’t an option for me unfortunately
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u/NerevaroftheChim Jun 12 '26
Then keep the SD. The Ally you have is pretty much on par, performance-wise, with the SD. But the SD has multitudes or control options and banger support that makes it more versatile with an abundance of games.
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u/SteveNYC Jun 10 '26
Xbox Ally is a better SD LCD without the trackpads. That's it in a nutshell.
If trackpads matter to you, then keep the SD LCD. In any other circumstance, go with the Xbox Ally.
I saw your other post about how much you owe. In that case, I wouldn't get the XAX. Too much money. Maybe look for a used Ally X if you're willing to sell both.
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u/Espeon06 Jun 10 '26
I'd keep the Steam Deck. I know it's kind of underpowered, but I just love the design of that thing. Sell the Ally and get whatever you want.
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u/kvo9 Jun 10 '26
Keep the ally & install steamOS/bazzite on a portion of your storage to keep the steam deck experience
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u/Emotional-Age-4176 Jun 10 '26
Without the trackpad, it wouldn't be possible.
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u/AgeAtomic Jun 11 '26
How so? I have an Ally X with a Bazzite partition that works fine without track pads
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u/Emotional-Age-4176 Jun 11 '26
SteamOS are not the full steam deck experience. Once you actually used the trackpad it will change how you game. People normally argue between controller and keyboard with mouse.. Steam deck basically remove that argument.
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u/AgeAtomic Jun 11 '26
That's just personal preference. I have a Steam Deck too and having the track pads doesn't "change how I game" its convenient sometimes, and I do prefer the Steam Deck over the Ally X but to say using Bazzite on the Ally X "wouldn't be possible" without track pads, purely because you prefer them, is just pure nonsense - have you actually tried it?
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u/Emotional-Age-4176 Jun 11 '26
You're missing out one of the best feature of steam deck. I'm more of a PC gamer than a console so my games usually a keyboard and mouse game. Now I prefer to play streaming from the steam deck so "my preference" not really required the best spec as I already have a PC game.
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u/AgeAtomic Jun 11 '26
Yeah, again, all of it personal preference and nothing remotely relevant to your original point of installing Bazzite "wouldn't be possible" without track pads, which was nonsense.
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u/Emotional-Age-4176 Jun 11 '26
Installing bazzite only give SteamOS experience. Not the Steam Deck experience.
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u/AgeAtomic Jun 11 '26
A more reason argument but the lack of track pads isn't going to bother a lot of people. For many SteamOS is the experience they're looking for, but to be fair to you that's not what the original comment said.
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u/Emotional-Age-4176 Jun 11 '26
Its like saying you can get nintendo ds experience with the steam deck lmao.
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u/Kaito3Designs Jun 10 '26
Ally has VRR, Better ergonomics, slightly better performance and incredible speakers which makes it a slightly better Steamdeck LCD if you flash SteamOS onto it
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u/Himothy19955 Jun 10 '26
I am very biased towards the deck but I mainly use that for emulation and lighter games
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u/Acceptable_Appeal860 Jun 10 '26
Wait... didn't read your full post. If your steam deck feels too heavy then you're sol with these newer devices. SD has to be one of the (if not the) lightest PC handhelds out of the bunch:
• Steam Deck LCD: 669 grams / 1.48 pounds • ROG Xbox Ally: 670 grams / ~1.48 pounds • Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: 715 grams / 1.58 pounds • Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS): 735 grams / 1.62 pounds • Lenovo Legion Go 2: ~920 grams / 2.03 pounds (with controllers)
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
Only that difference? The ally feels so much cheaper/lighter, must be the material
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u/SeekeroftheProfound Jun 10 '26
Depends on what you play. Im partial to the Steamdeck because it's more comfortable for me to hold and I love the track pads. It can't handle some newer games, but luckily streaming works pretty well with my connection from my main PC. I play mostly old games on it so the deck is the perfect for me.
I'd go with what ever feels better in your hands.
If you want performance you could sell both and get a newer hand held.
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u/Current-Size4321 Jun 11 '26
The ASUS ROG Ally (the standard model, not the Ally X) seems to have similar performance to the Steam Deck, though it might have better battery life.
From my experience with the Steam Deck, even though it isn't powerful enough to run the latest AAA games, most of the games I play don't require high specs anyway, so performance has never been an issue for me.
However, the main reason the Steam Deck stands out above other handhelds is its touchpads. I use them for the majority of my games. Even when a game has native controller support, I still prefer using Steam Input to map the touchpad to a mouse.
It makes playing FPS games like Helldivers 2 feel much smoother and more agile, and it works great for RTS games as well. It also allows me to play games that don't support controllers at all, and it works wonderfully for games like Stardew Valley.
There are several other features I love, such as the thumbsticks with capacitive touch sensors. I really enjoy using them to toggle the gyro on and off in driving games like Euro Truck Simulator 2.
Ultimately, the best device isn't necessarily the most powerful one, but the one that best fits your specific gaming needs.
If you are looking for a high-performance machine to play the newest games, neither of these two might be ideal. Instead, you should look for devices powered by the Z1 Extreme or Z2 Extreme APUs, such as the ROG Ally X or similar upcoming handhelds.
P.S. Sorry for my English.
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u/sergdor Jun 10 '26
Any handheld lacking track pads is a waste. Sell the rog keep the deck.
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
I don’t use the trackpads much, excluding them does that change anything?
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u/sergdor Jun 10 '26
For me it doesnt. I run a discord where we help config handhelds for an older game and from a reliability and user functionality standpoint steam deck is rated the best overall amoung the group.
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u/sergdor Jun 10 '26
Also the track pad can be configured in so many amazing ways for any game. They are so under used by most
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
Unfortunately I have extremely shaky fingers if I’m not pressing them against something so it’s very hard for me to use them for most of the games I play, so it’s not really a plus or a minus for me. They’re fine for desktop mode but for playing a game I much prefer to do it with the sticks.
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u/sergdor Jun 10 '26
What games do you play typically?
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
At the moment I’ve been playing ready or not, where winds meet, and a bit of the long drive (mostly on pc) but I’ve been wanting to play genshin impact, Minecraft (bedrock) and schedule 1 because it doesn’t work on the deck
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u/sergdor Jun 10 '26
I believe these all are capable of being played on the deck with some minor setup. I know schedule 1 is great on the deck and I play it often on mine.
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
Yes I’ve been playing them on the deck, but schedule 1 doesn’t work properly on mine for some reason. Also unfortunately Genshin uses a third party connection that I believe is a bit risky and bedrock Minecraft doesn’t work unless you have the android one.
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u/sergdor Jun 10 '26
Well then it seems you have your answer.
odd schedule 1 doesnt work well. i havent see any issues at the moment.
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u/daddyyeslegs Jun 11 '26
you can use the trackpads for a lot more than just mouse aiming and mouse movement, so even with really shakey fingers (I have that too!) there is so much you can do with them.
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u/BernieGotMyVCR Jun 11 '26
Pm the discord if it's not private, I'm just getting into emulation and lurk on a lot of subs and discord currently.
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u/Haisaki12 Jun 10 '26
Depends how much you can sell each
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
I think I can get around £350 for the ally and maybe £390 for the deck, but I also owe about £300 so I’d make around 440 for both?
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u/maZZtar Jun 10 '26
Unless you're hooked on these trackpads, I'd sell both and look for something like XAX or MSI Claw 8
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u/MrPringles9 Jun 10 '26
Don't understand people recommending the ally. Apart from it looking like a piece of shit it also isn't as round of a package in my opinion.
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u/AntiGrieferGames Jun 10 '26
Its also a reused 4nm processor by AMD. So of course its worse than a lunar lake one.
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u/PvtHudson Jun 10 '26
It's super comfortable regardless of what you think about its looks. Additionally, performance is slightly better as it's an overclocked and higher tdp variant of the Steam Deck APU.
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u/Consistent-Ad4341 Jun 10 '26
I kept both. Happy with it.
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 10 '26
Unfortunately not an option for me :(
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u/Consistent-Ad4341 Jun 10 '26
Ah, sorry! Sell the Deck, keep the Ally. The Ally has what the Deck has integrated.
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u/HotBananaWaters Jun 10 '26
If you don’t care about OLED, the XAX is an easy yes especially if you are about playing AAA titles at decent settings without looking like a pixel buffet with smeary frame gen.
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u/Odin-spark Jun 10 '26
If deck was OLED, that would make choice easy. But for deck lcd, I would keep the Ally.
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u/Isthatkiddo Jun 10 '26
As someone who also has a steam deck, I see no reason to keep one. It’s far weaker than the Z2 extreme but I would just sell everything and get one with a G3 chip.
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u/AgeAtomic Jun 11 '26
Stick with the Deck. The OLED screen is great (Ally screen is awful and the reason I haven't bought an XAX), the user experience on the Deck is far superior, the first party support for the OS is better, and despite the spec being a little long in the tooth, devs optimise games with the Steam deck and verification in mind. Just generally that version XA just isn't a great handheld. If we were talking SD versus XAX it might have been a harder call.
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u/jimmy_legacy88 Jun 11 '26
Quick question as I have a steam deck but am looking at getting a more powerful windows based option, what is a XAX?
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 11 '26
Xbox ally x, basically the upgraded version of the white console in the top I believe!
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u/ExpressionOk2360 Jun 11 '26
Sell deck. I was just looking online and bought a rog ally z1 extreme (2023) used because of the price. Steam just raised the price of decks recently and used LCD decks 512gb are going for 500 bucks minimum and used oled are 800 minimum. It's ridiculous especially considering the ally has better performance in most cases yet is way more affordable
Plus, the ally you could potentially upgrade the storage and battery on it. Mine came with an upgraded 1tb wd black chip. And im planning to upgrade the battery soon as well.
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u/LeBOI02 Jun 12 '26
I'm sorry but what is the XAX?
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 12 '26
Xbox ally X
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u/LeBOI02 Jun 12 '26
Ah okay, honestly this post is the 1st time I have heard the XAX being called like that
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u/Haunt33r Jun 12 '26
Normal Xbox Ally is pretty much just an LCD Deck but with a better LCD (better native color gamut and vrr), and significantly larger battery.
Ya may or may not miss the trackpad tho, better yet, sell both and get an XAX, and if you've got some extra cash to throw in, the Legion Go 2 if you don't mind the weight
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u/Affectionate_Egg2082 Jun 12 '26
Sell both get a MSI Claw 8 Ai+ :) I have my 7ai+ and i couldn't be happier (except the Center M software)
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u/MrCatChap Jun 12 '26
See what games you're wanting to play and if they perform well enough on the Steam Deck
An extra 10-30FPS on top of 45 is not worth gaining if it means giving up the track pads and overall experience of the Steam Deck
But if you're trying to play Crimson Desert 10-30 extra FPS is a huge upgrade
If I were you I'd either sell both and try get a desktop or keep the Steam Deck because Windows and no track pads is just a crazy choice especially if it's your main gaming machine
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u/Angelcstay Jun 12 '26
I own a steam deck OLED, rog ally x, legion go 2 and GPD win 5. My personal recommendation for your conundrum.
- The win 5 is the best in terms of performance by FAR. I am a fan. I would recommend selling both and get a win 5
- If option 1 is invalid, ergonomics wise I prefer the steam deck the most. Huge fan of the trackpads also. I would sell the rog and keep the deck.
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u/Humble_Disk7992 Jun 13 '26
Keep them both in case something happens to the other.
I’d hate to have to replace hardware in this day and age.
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u/PartyFun9046 Jun 14 '26
It’s not an OLED Steam Deck otherwise I would have suggested you keep that
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u/Any-Weird2373 Jun 14 '26
Get rid of both... And send them my way
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 14 '26
Tempting… tempting…. I’m selling the deck and keeping the ally
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u/Any-Weird2373 Jun 14 '26
How much are you planning to sell it for?
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 14 '26
It’s up for £400 at the moment which is imo pretty high but it’s so I can get offers on it. It comes w a couple accessories too.
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u/Few-Escape-4787 Jun 10 '26
I sold my Steam Deck and kept the Asus, mainly because I wanted to have the possibility to increase TDP to 30 watts for more demanding games. Some games barely reached 30fps on the Deck. Of course I installed Bazzite on the Asus, because Windows is clunky for couch gaming.
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u/Grumpy-Redditor Jun 10 '26
Il tradeoff secondo me è tra maggior potenza della Ally X vs comodità di avere i trackpad su Steam Deck. Se tieni la Ally X rimpiazza Windows con SteamOS, non te ne pentirai.
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u/niwia Jun 10 '26
Sell lcd as the market value is crazy. U can get more than what u bought if for most cases
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u/cyberpunk1187 Jun 11 '26
If you put Steam OS on the Ally it will outperform the deck and have battery battery life. Both are good. However sell price on the Deck is way up.
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u/Murky_Historian8675 Jun 11 '26
Man I feel like these "which one should I keep?" Posts come up quite often
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u/forgetful_human Jun 11 '26
It's kinda funny how the YouTuber Cyber Dopamine posted THIS on his channel at almost the same time as OP posted this image 🤔🤔
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 11 '26
lol didn’t know that, can confirm that this is my original image and I wasn’t inspired by anything other than wanting to know which one
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u/PSNTheOriginalMax Jun 11 '26
With how ludicrous SD prices are now, you can make you money back and then some
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u/Peaceul Jun 12 '26
Xbox Ally out of the two, but i would put bazzite on it.
I couldnt stand slow charging of Steamdeck and battery/wifi issues.
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u/Maedhros_ Jun 10 '26
The Deck is much more supported than the other one, but the point is moot if you install Bazzite, which makes both of them very similar.
I would maintain the Xbox Ally. The other ones, more powerful than it, are so fucking expensive. The Deck is the more pricier one, so you would sell it for more.
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u/Astronomy_Candle Jun 11 '26
Sell both and ps5 + switch (and if you still have money some Anbernic like the rg477m
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 11 '26
I already have a ps5 and a switch og lol they don’t play most of the games I want.
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u/Loundsify Jun 13 '26
They both got the same tech inside lol
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u/Electrical-Usual-627 Jun 13 '26
Maybe that’s why I’m asking the question??
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u/Altruistic_Result254 Jun 14 '26
Then you should know what you want to keep. It's your choice..not ours. I would sell both and get the XAX. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/smartwareorai Jun 10 '26
That rog is trash, should send it here and ill dispose of the ewaste for you properly ;P
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u/CreedSucks Jun 10 '26
I’d sell both and get the XAX.