Asus releases BIOS update for ROG Ally handheld

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Recently, ASUS has rolled out the BIOS update version v323 for the ROG Ally handheld console. However, ASUS conspicuously abstained from addressing last week’s heated subject matter—the instance of MicroSD card reader malfunctions or damages due to overheating.

In this BIOS update for the ROG Ally handheld, ASUS underscored only four key enhancements:

  • UX improvement: Added 30W support when plugging in 65W or higher wattage PD adapters or Type-C hub.
  • UX improvement: Modified minimum panel backlight value from 25nits to 10nits to improve usability in dark environments.
  • UX improvement: On future BIOS updates, the “Memory Assigned to GPU” setting won’t be reset to default; it will now keep its previous value.
  • UX improvement: Optimized performance in Performance mode when plugged in.

ASUS also shared some explanatory details about third-party USB Type-C interfaces, power consumption, and issues with Turbo mode. This discourse on power supply may offer a glimmer of hope for resolving the MicroSD card reader issues. Despite ASUS admitting that certain thermal stress conditions could cause the SD card reader to malfunction amid a flurry of complaints from gamers, prospects of a swift resolution appear rather bleak.

The ROG Ally handheld console was launched last month with overall dimensions of 280 x 133 x 39 mm and a weight of 608g. It is equipped with the custom-designed Ryzen Z1 Extreme, a combination of Zen 4+RDNA 3 architecture, for handheld devices. The CPU boasts 8 cores and 16 threads, and the GPU’s graphical processing performance reaches 8.6 TFLOPS, supporting AMD FSR and RSR super-resolution technologies. The device incorporates a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1080P, a refresh rate of 120Hz, a response time of 7ms, and a brightness of 500 nits. It comes with 16GB of LPDDR5-6400 memory; storage is an M.2 2230 specification PCIe 4.0 SSD with a capacity of 512GB. The handheld also includes a UHS-II MicroSD card slot and supports Wi-Fi 6E wireless networks. It is equipped with the ROG XG Mobile graphics expansion interface, allowing for the use of ASUS’s XG Mobile graphics dock to further enhance performance, currently supporting up to the GeForce RTX 4090 mobile graphics card.

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