In 2024, I bought an ASUS ROG Ally Z1, a handheld gaming PC. Since then, I've done a lot of customisations to it, both on the software and hardware sides, and I thought it'd be a good idea to document them here; maybe I'll help someone overcome some of the problems I faced, with time saved on looking for solutions, and also provide some ideas for what you can do with this thing. As of 2026, I still use the device often, and it's plugging along nicely.

This post has become quite long, so here's a Table of Contents for quick navigation:

• Software
  • Nuking W11 from orbit—the only way to be sure
  • Installation and drivers
  • Performance
  • Basic tweaks and software to make LTSC behave normally
  • Install G-Helper
  • Fixes for software issues under W10 LTSC
    • Screenshots not working
    • Volume of internal speakers greatly reduced compared to W11
  • Other nice software to have on the Ally
    • KDE Connect
    • Universal Pause Button
    • Playnite
    • Chiaki-ng
    • Moonlight and Sunshine
    • Game projects
• Hardware
  • Storage
  • Battery
  • PlayStation buttons
  • Accessories
  • 3D printed accessories
• Conclusion

Software

Nuking W11 from orbit—the only way to be sure

When buying the Ally, I intended to use the device with the software that it came with, but that didn't last long. The Ally ships with Windows 11 Home (🤮), and all of the bloatware and missing features that that entails: Ads, preinstalled crap, 4+ GB idle RAM usage, privacy nightmares, Copilot up the wazoo, no Local Group Policy Editor to disable automatic updates… Normally I would just Install Loonix™—Bazzite and SteamOS are popular options for this device, also check out r/LinuxOnAlly if you wanna go that route—but for a handheld like this, I wanted to spend as little time as possible troubleshooting and dealing with the idiosyncrasies of gaming on Linux (even though it's become really good the last 5-10 years thanks to Proton), and as much time as possible actually playing games, so I went with Windows 10 LTSC, a lean version of W10 that's still supported with security updates until 2032.

Installation and drivers

Since the device ships with W11, it's not really meant to run W10, but it runs just fine, better than W11, even. After hooking up a USB Type-C dock adapter for a keyboard, mouse and USB install drive with LTSC on it, it installed with no issues. You can skip logging in with a Microsoft account by just not connecting it to the Internet during setup.

Once installed and running, I installed the drivers I needed from from the ASUS driver page for the device. You don't need to install everything here, there's some bloatware, but audio, ethernet, and the fingerprint reader driver (only the EGIS one worked for me), are some essential ones. Install the ones that will install (most of them), and if some complain about you not running W11, you can choose to extract them and then point Device Manager to that folder to install it manually instead. Download the graphics driver from AMD's website so you get the Adrenalin software to tweak settings and game profiles.

Once I finished, there was only one more "Unknown Device" entry left in Device Manager, a sign of a job well done. The last device was an nVidia framework thingamajigger. I Googled the device Hardware ID and found out the driver for this is contained in the regular nVidia driver package. Download any nVidia game-ready driver package and use 7-Zip to extract the exe to a new folder, then point Device Manager at this folder again to install the driver.

With the Device Manager appeased with a ritual sacrifice, it is time to move on to user-facing applications. But first…

Performance

Performance under W10 LTSC is noticeably better than in W11. I simply get better frame rates in games, confirmed by measuring a couple different games and emulators before and after installing. This is presumably due to the constant telemetry (a.k.a. spyware) and system bloat that W11 brought. W10 also had a good amount of this, but the LTSC version is as lean as can be. Which brings me to my next point…

Basic tweaks and software to make LTSC behave normally

First of all, W10 LTSC does not ship with the Microsoft Store. If you wish to use it, or any app or service that relies on it, you'll need to install it manually. You can do that by using the LTSC-Add-MicrosoftStore project on GitHub. Just download the repo, run Add-Store.cmd as admin, let it install, and BAM!, you got a working Microsoft Store. This also lets you use the Xbox app if you're into that sort of thing (it will bitch and moan about your Windows version being unsupported though, so your mileage may vary).

Since W10 LTSC only ships with the bare essentials of apps, you'll want to install a good browser, a good PDF reader, a good archiving program, and a good image viewer, amongst others.

One other thing I did, was to disable sleep mode and replace it with hibernation. In the Windows Power Options, I set it to hibernate upon pressing the power button, which works a lot better than sleep, it lets me hibernate in the middle of games, and it turns the device off. This stops the fans from running and the battery from discharging while it's in its case/backpack/whatever—just press the power button and stow it, then when you turn it back on, you're right where you left off.

If you want to use ASUS's software that's meant to run on this device, you should also download Armoury Crate and MyASUS. If you are happy with the status quo, then your software setup is now more or less complete. Install Steam, Epic Games Launcher, GOG Galaxy, or whichever other gaming clients you use, download your games, and play them!

If you're like me though, you probably hate unnecessary bloatware and would like to...

Install G-Helper

I used to like Armoury Crate... then it updated itself and started fucking up software/driver updates, and also changed the Command Centre UI to something atrocious, unforgivable and uncustomisable. That's when I searched the web and found G-Helper, a very big dick energy Armoury Crate and MyASUS replacement. G-Helper completely replaces these official ASUS programs, and implements a much leaner and more customisable way to control your device. It binds to the Command Centre button (the one below the Back button by the left side of the screen), and lets you change your power mode, screen refresh rate, battery charge limit, rebind your controller shortcuts, check for driver updates, configure stick LEDs, and a bazillion other things. I highly recommend replacing Armoury Crate and MyASUS with G-Helper if you wanna squeeze out every bit of performance out of your device.

Fixes for software issues under W10 LTSC

Although W10 LTSC generally works great, I've encountered some bugs. I am not sure if this is due to me fucking something up, driver incompatibilities with W10, general Windows jankiness, or if this will happen to anyone installing it (I only did it once), but here are the fixes I used to work around them.

Screenshots not working

The default binding for taking screenshots is M2+X. You can also bind this action in G-Helper. In my case, the snipping UI comes up, and appears to work normally, but the screenshot doesn't seem to save anywhere at all. Pictures and Pictures\Screenshots folders remain empty. I searched for this and tried some common solutions, but nothing worked.

I bypassed this using a few tools:

• AutoHotkey
• NirCmd (download button is waaaaay at the bottom)
• G-Helper

AutoHotkey lets you bind keys to actions, scripts, other keys, and a ton more, and is very useful to have. NirCmd likewise has a ton of functions, but in this case we're using it to take a screenshot via the command-line.

First, extract and put NirCmd somewhere (like C:\Tools). Then it's time to write an AHK script! I've saved mine in Documents\AutoHotkey as Ally shortcuts.ahk:

F1::Send "{Volume_Mute}"

F3::{
    timestamp := FormatTime(, "yyyyMMddHHmmss") A_MSec
    filename := "C:\Users\USERNAME\Pictures\Screenshots\Screenshot-" timestamp ".png"
    Run 'C:\Tools\nircmd-x64\nircmd.exe savescreenshot "' filename '"'
    SoundBeep 400, 50
    Sleep 25
    SoundBeep 600, 75
}

Replace USERNAME with your username. Make sure the folder C:\Users\USERNAME\Pictures\Screenshots exists, or change it for a location you want your screenshots in.

As the astute will notice, this script also binds the F1 key to Mute, so that I can bind it in G-Helper; if you don't want this, simply delete the first line. If you don't want the confirmation bleep after taking a screenshot, remove the three SoundBeep, Sleep and SoundBeep lines from the function.

Finally, bind the F3 key to a controller combo in G-Helper. In the controller UI in G-Helper, click the button you want to bind it to and set the secondary action to F3. Repeat with another button and F1 if you want the Mute function. The secondary action is what triggers if you're holding down the M2 button (left hand side back paddle when facing the screen). I personally bound F3 (Screenshot) to M2+X, and F1 (Mute) to M2+B.

Once you're done, you can run the script (double-click it) to try out your bindings. If you're happy, you can set it to run on startup. Find your script (in Documents\AutoHotkey), right-click it (long-press) and select "Copy". Then, open the "Run" dialog by right-clicking the Start button and selecting "Run". Enter shell:startup and hit OK. A folder will open up. Right click on an empty area and select "Paste shortcut". The script will now run when you start the Ally, and your bindings will always work (as long as you have G-Helper also set to run on startup).

Volume of internal speakers greatly reduced compared to W11

This one was immediately noticeable after installing. I've simply lived with it for nearly two years, since I don't need it super loud, but lately it has become more of a problem. A fix was super easy, though.

Using the lightweight Equalizer APO fixed this really quick without affecting performance or latency. Download and install it. When it asks which device to install to, select the Speakers:

The audio service will restart. If sound was playing, you'll notice it's become even more quiet, because by default, EAPO lowers the volume a little bit (-6 dB). Once installation is complete, go to the start menu and open up "Equalizer APO Configuration Editor".

In the "Preamplification" section, simply turn the Gain up to 10 dB. You can go lower or higher, but be careful, as setting it too high may damage your speakers (or your hearing). I found 10 dB to be a nice point to set it at and it sounds loud and clear without clipping the speakers. If you're an advanced user, you can also configure equalisation and other things in EAPO. When you're done, click "File" then "Save" to persist your changes. EAPO will run on startup and works without intervention.

Other nice software to have on the Ally

These are just recommendations that go well with the type of device that the Ally is, and are by no means required.

KDE Connect

If you're unfamiliar with it, KDE Connect is an application that lets you connect devices on the same network. You can hook up your phone, other computers, tablet, etc, to provide a wide range of functionality such as clipboard sync, file share, pausing video playback when getting a call, and much more. If you run a Linux distro with KDE Plasma, you already have it installed. If not, you can download it on Windows, Linux, Android, and a bunch more.

Universal Pause Button

Universal Pause Button is what it says on the tin: You can bind a button to pause basically any game at any point, even if it doesn't support pausing (*cough* Souls-series *cough*), or if you're in the middle of unpausable cutscenes, etc. Follow the directions on the GitHub to set it up; I configured mine to activate on Scroll Lock, then bound M2+M1 in G-Helper to Scroll Lock.

Playnite

If you uninstalled Armoury Crate, but would still like to have game aggregation and launching functionality, Playnite is a great solution. It can automatically integrate games from Steam, Epic, GOG and more. You can also set it to run on startup if you'd like.

Chiaki-ng

Chiaki-ng is a fantastic Remote Play application for PlayStation consoles. Use this to play your PS5 or PS4 consoles remotely.

Moonlight and Sunshine

Moonlight and Sunshine are a pair of client and server applications used to stream games from one computer to another. Set up Moonlight on your Ally, and Sunshine on your ultra-beefy gaming computer, and wow your friends that your Ally can "play" the newest AAA game at über-ultra graphics settings with raytracing and 128x SSAA.

Game projects

Some cool game projects I've been using on the Ally:

• Dusklight - PC port of Zelda: Twilight Princess (also: HD texture pack)
• Unleashed Recompiled - PC port of Sonic Unleashed
• Eden - Nintendo Switch emulator
• RPCS3 - PS3 emulator

Hardware

I've done some hardware mods to the device, none of them have been particularly difficult, and just require you to be able to follow instructions. The RAM is soldered onto the motherboard and can't be upgraded, however the storage and battery can. You can also do some cosmetic and ergonomic upgrades.

Storage

Do NOT use the microSD card reader on the Ally. Due to a glaring design flaw, the ventilation system on the device routes heat over the microSD card reader, which will cook your microSD card (speaking from experience, press F to pay respects to my 512 GB microSD card 😔)

As most people interested in technology know by this point, the capitalists have ruined it for everyone, again. Due to massive buy-outs of RAM and SSDs by the giga-corporations, the current prices for them are off the charts. The Ally comes with 512 GB of SSD storage by default, in an M.2 2230 package. 2230 modules are more expensive than the more ubiquitous 2280 modules, so ideally, you'd use a 2280. However, it doesn't fit, due to the battery being in the way. But, do not fret, my friend, because the Chinese have done it again!

If you buy this small adapter board, you can fit a full-sized 2280 module inside the Ally. Simply remove the original SSD, put the adapter board in, and slot your 2280 module inside the adapter board. Et voilà, you have upgraded your storage!

I upgraded mine before the price hikes, to a 2 TB Kingston SSD. I then put the 512 GB leftover SSD into the M.2 slot on my PS5, for "free" extra storage!

Battery

This is the most recent mod I did: Double the battery capacity. Depending on use, the default battery life is okay to bad, but with an 80 Wh battery in it, this thing is a powerhouse. I get 5-6 hours playing Dusklight on this thing now, running on Balanced (15W) mode.

I bought the 80 Wh battery from [this AliExpress listing](https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3HyyECj]). Not only was it cheap (~$45 USD), but it was also easy to install (installation guide here).

The stock battery of the Z1 model is 40 Wh, so this is literally a doubling of the battery life, a very worthwhile mod.

PlayStation buttons

As you can see in the picture of my Ally at the top of the article, I've replaced the stock Xbox-style buttons with PlayStation style ones. Changing them out required a complete disassembly of the Ally, but it was well worth it, as I like the PS aesthetic a lot more.

I bought these buttons from SakuraRetroModding on Etsy, but unfortunately they don't seem to be in stock any more. I've had a few conversations with the guy in the past, maybe if you ask nicely, he'll restock them (they are 3D printed with a resin 3D printer).

Accessories

A design flaw of the Ally is that the LED rings around the joysticks will sometimes dig into the stem of the joystick, damaging them. You can fix this by using silicone protector rings.

I also added Skull & Co stick grips to mine, it makes the sticks bigger and more comfortable to use for longer gaming sessions.

A tempered glass screen protector is in my opinion an essential upgrade to protect the glass of the screen without sacrificing touch sensitivity. I bought a 3-pack so if mine breaks, I can just replace it right away. A hard shell carrying case is also essential.

3D printed accessories

Since I own a 3D printer, I had to make some accessories for my Ally! I printed two things: A dust cover for the eGPU slot, and a pair of grips that double as a stand! The grips are great, and makes the Ally feel much better in the hands (you can see them on either side of the device in the photo at the top).

Conclusion

Since the ROG Ally is basically a gaming laptop without a keyboard, it's very customisable, both inside and outside. Mine is seeing much more use lately, especially after upgrading the battery. Money well spent.

Some of the product links in this article are affiliate links. If you buy something using them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.