Hi all! I’ve seen a few posts going either way on this, but I wanted to ask myself because of the new OLED plus a recent sale on the Ally that has come up! In Canada, the SD 512 GB is $690, while the Ally is currently on sale for $700.
I generally play AAA games, and battery life is a factor but not determinative (as I’m usually playing just around the house). Conversely, while most ofy library is on Steam, I do play some games that are on other platforms and/or use their own launchers, and my understanding is it is a bit awkward to get games with their own launchers running on the SD. Open to any suggestions and thoughts! Thanks!
I think both devices are great but you have to choose your priorities. Everyone has different things they like
If you want to use Gamepass and play more multiplayer games then the Ally is your best bet. Plus modding games is easier since it’s just standard windows. Downside is that it’s windows and out of the box it’s not super controller friendly. You have armory crate and that’s built in automatically although it’s just one option. You also have other controller friendly front ends like Steam Big Picture, Emulation Station, Launch Box, and PlayNite. Also easier to play games if you have other stores you use like GOG, Epic, EA, and Ubisoft. Anti cheat also won’t be an issue. Recommend to use hibernate over sleep because windows sleep mode is garbage.
The Steam Deck however is the king of low power gaming as well as having better battery life. Expect much longer run times than the Ally at low watts as the deck can lower its TDP lower than the Ally. If you mostly play single player games from Steam then this will be your better choice. It’s also a bit more console like meaning some people find it much easier to use. Plus it’s sleep mode works much better than windows modern standby.
Screen wise I think both could be argued to be better than the other however in my eyes I see both as equal and are fantastic