A new BIOS update for the ASUS ROG Ally has arrived, in addition to a patch for the device’s Armoury Crate SE software. Each introduces welcome bug fixes and changes to the Steam Deck rival, but owners may notice their handheld is slightly louder now under load.
BIOS update 322 contains two changes, the least interesting but nonetheless important being a resolution to an issue that caused the ROG Ally to be stuck at the boot up loading screen. More importantly, the device’s fan curve has been raised by 5dBA when it’s operating in Turbo Mode.
While ASUS hasn’t confirmed this, we believe these modifications have been made in a bid to curb the likelihood of the ASUS ROG Ally frying your microSD card, by reducing the temperature of the device. Many users believe this problem to be directly related to heating issues, given the proximity of the SD card reader to the heat sink arrays and exhaust ports. Regardless, less heat is better for performance, providing you can stomach the extra noise.
As noted in the update changelog, the modification to the Ally’s fan curve has changed from 30dBA to 35dBA in Turbo mode and when plugged in, and to 25dBA to 30dBA when using the battery. There’s also been a change to the minimum fan speed when the device hits a certain temperature.
The update also brought improvements to Armoury Crate, the software portal which gives ROG Ally users the ability to keep track of their real-time performance and settings data. This included adding modified fps limited options, BIOS and Armoury Crate configuration information in the system settings, and more. A full list of all the bug fixes and features as part of the BIOS 322 update can be found on the ROG Ally forums.
Check out our ASUS ROG Ally review to see if this PC gaming handheld is for you. If you already own the console, check out our guide to the best Asus ROGAlly accessories.