SteamOS Adds Display Configuration and VRR Support for Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X

A recent development has emerged that will certainly excite fans of portable gaming. A nifty script has been merged into the main branch for Valve’s SteamOS Gamescope compositor over on GitHub. The big news? This update brings full support for the 48-120 Hz Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for the Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X handheld gaming devices. It’s an exciting step forward, hinting not just at a broader rollout of SteamOS for more PCs, but also emphasizing how important this feature is for the Asus ROG Ally series.

Now, if VRR isn’t something you’re intimately familiar with, you might have come across terms like G-Sync from Nvidia or AMD’s FreeSync. They’re all about the same idea: getting your display’s refresh rate to mesh perfectly with your game’s frame rate. This real-time synchronization helps to eliminate those pesky visual tears, giving you a smoother gaming experience. While many displays cut off VRR around the 40 Hz mark, hitting that smooth 120 Hz mark on a portable device is quite the feat, making the flexibility of Asus’s handhelds even more impressive.

But that’s not all for Steam and ROG Ally updates. Back in August, a tweak to the SteamOS input layer started supporting the buttons on ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. That was eight months after Valve hinted at bigger SteamOS plans for handhelds. Valve is notorious for taking its time, and while it’s unclear when they’ll fully release a SteamOS update, there’s no need to rush. The community has already stepped up with alternatives like Bazzite and HoloISO, showing there’s plenty of enthusiasm out there waiting to be harnessed.

The update also brings to light that Valve’s own Steam Deck handhelds don’t yet support VRR, not even the impressive Steam Deck OLED with its high dynamic range capabilities. However, with Gamescope enabling VRR for both external and competitive internal displays, there’s a glimmer of hope. Perhaps VRR will make its way into the anticipated Steam Deck 2. Whenever that time may come, it’s an exciting prospect for gaming enthusiasts everywhere.