Editor’s note: Information from this teardown is supplied courtesy of TechInsights. Learn more about the Asus Rog Ally teardown here.
Handheld game consoles have not gone despite their popularity wanning throughout the decades.
Long gone are the times when the Nintendo Gameboy or the Sony PSP or even the Nintendo 3DS dominated the hands of busy gamers and were as popular as the retro full gaming systems of old.
But that does not mean these handheld devices are no longer being produced. There are numerous devices still in circulation and are more advanced than ever. The Valve Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch lead the way but there are others out on the market offering an alternative, like the Asus Rog Ally.
The handheld gaming device features a powerful 3.3 GHz octa-core applications processor from AMD and four banks of 4 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM to give the device the ability to play complex, high graphics games but portably.
The following is a partial deep dive into the Asus Rog Ally conducted by TechInsights.
Summary
- 7.04-inch TFR with touchscreen
- 16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
Price: $699.99
Availability: Worldwide
Target market: Consumer electronics
Released: June 2023
The main board houses the main DDR memory and AMD applications processors. Source: TechInsights
Main board
The main board of the Asus Rog Ally contains the heart of the handheld gaming system with the AMD Extreme applications processor in the center. This 3.3 GHz octa-core processor allows the device to run high graphics-based games. Also on the main board are four 4 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM modules from Samsung. Other electronic components found on the board include:
- Realtek’s audio CODEC
- Silergy’s synchronous step-down regulator
- Kinetic Technologies’ overvoltage protection & load switch
- Texas Instruments’ two-channel 2:1 switch, temperature sensor and dual synchronous step-down controller
- Renesas’ battery charger
- Cirrus Logic’s Class-d audio amplifier
- Monolithic Power Systems’ MOSFET driver
- ST Microelectronics’ 64 KB serial EEPROM memory
- Bosch Sensortec’s six-axis MEMS accelerometer and gyroscope
(Learn more about applications processors on Globalspec.com)
The SSD contains 512 3D TLC NAND Flash memory for the Asus Rog Ally. Source: TechInsights
SSD
The SSD contains the main memory functions for the Asus Rog Ally. The electronic components found on the SSD include Micron’s 512 GB 3D TLC NAND flash multichip memory, Silicon Motion’s PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD controller and Qorvo’s power management IC.
(Learn more flash memory on Globalspec.com)
Controller board
There are two controller boards inside the Asus Rog Ally that operate the left and right game controller of the handheld device. The electronic components found inside this board include:
- AWINIC’s haptic driver
- ITE Tech’s embedded controller with memory
- SGMicro’s 16-channel 12-bit ADC
(Learn more about mixed-signal ICs on Globalspec.com)
Major components
- $291.73 — 3.3 GHz octa-core applications processor — AMD (Qty: 1)
- $40.17 — SSD subsystem — Micron (Qty: 1)
- $29.41 — 4 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM — Samsung (Qty: 4)
- $23.29 — 120 Hz display/touchscreen subsystem — Tianma Microelectronics (Qty: 1)
- $13.52 — Heat pipe
- $11.27 — Battery subsystem — Simplo Technology (Qty: 1)
- $7.74 — WiFi/BT subsystem — MediaTek (Qty: 1)
- $6.28 — 12-layer conventinal FR4/HF (Qty: 1)
- $4.89 — Fingerprint sensor subsystem (Qty: 1)
- $4.29 — Top enclosure (Qty: 1)
