Lets Make A Laptop Out Of Something That is Not A Laptop

How We Got Here

I found myself reading this TechRadar article describing James Idle's attempt to replace his work laptop with Samsung DeX. As many of my friends know, I'm a self professed Apple Fanboy. I like to think I'm not delusional about the companies products but I do like to lean into it from time to time just for the reactions. I'm not a huge fan of Samsung. Before I moved over to Apple, I was an Android Fanboy. I started out with the G1 and worked my way through various devices including Samsung and Motorola (these gimmicky devices being my favorites) before joining the Empire not long after the birth of my oldest daughter. I don't have a lot of respect for Samsung. I feel like they do nothing to contribute to the Android ecosystem and that they typically mock Apple for decisions then do the exact thing they were mocking Apple for 6 month later. The one thing I have always admired from Samsung is DeX. I've never gotten to use this feature, but I always love reading about it when it pops up.

Lets get back to the article. The first thought that come to mind after reading this was Windows 8. Odd thing to jump to right? Hear me out. Back in the days of Windows 8 when I was bored with tinkering with my current Android phone and decided that I wanted to play with something different, I came across Windows Phone 8. I really liked this phone OS. It felt like the perfect blend of Android and iOS but with none of the support that either of the other operating systems saw. I also felt like there was enough overlap between the ARM version of Windows 8 (think all the way back to the original Surface tablet) and Windows Phone 8 that you should have been able to hook up a display and a keyboard and mouse and go back and forth between "desktop" mode and "mobile" mode. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn't see things the way I did and they wrote off Windows Mobile and completely abandoned the market. I decided that I want to replicate this experiment but I do not own a Samsung phone and Apple doesn't seem interested in doing something like DeX (I'm hoping yet, instead of ever) so I decided I would do the next best thing. You guys remember my Asus ROG Ally right?

The Experiment

This isn't as difficult as James' experiment because the Ally runs a full version of Windows. The only challenge I feel like I'm going to find with this experiment is the proper hardware to make it work as a laptop. The Ally has a 7 inch screen. This is fine for mobile gaming, but not so great for working. When working from home I use two 27 inch monitors with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I keep peripherals such as a usb microphone connected to a docking station due to the limited ports on my devices. When on the road I use a 13 inch MacBook Pro. I'm not so old that I have issues using the smaller screen, but some days I'm more aware of how close to 40 I am than others. Again, the 7 inch screen is not going to work.

One of the reasons I settled on the Ally was the portability. I've had Gaming laptops before and the 5+ pounds of weight really left a distaste for the device. I had previously purchased a 15 inch portable monitor for when I needed dual screen work on the go. Its been great to have for my PlayStation 5 and as I discovered tonight, it works with my Ally. Between this display and a folding bluetooth keyboard and mouse, I feel like I have all the equipment needed to make my own portable setup.

The Hardware

The Monitor

ASUS ZenScreen  15.6” 1080P Portable USB Monitor (MB16AC)

This thing has been a workhorse for me. I originally purchased it back in 2020 as a second monitor to use when traveling with my 13 inch MacBook Pro. When I settled into an office again later in life after COVID, the monitor got set aside for a while until I got my PS5 and needed to be able to play while the wife and kids were locking down the TV. Now its my screen for my laptop.

The Keyboard and Mouse

Foldable Keyboard and Mouse | EDJO Wireless Keyboard Mouse Combo with Portable Case

I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but I write this blog with no financial benefit to myself. I don't use affiliate links, and I don't have review units, so this all comes out of my wallet, so when I saw this combo for nearly $30 cheaper than the single foldable keyboard that I was looking at, I completely overlooked the potential flaws of this keyboard and went ahead with the purchase. The mouse works fine and is very comfortable for a basic mouse. The case is great. It gives me space to carry the mouse, keyboard, dock and USB-C cable for the monitor in one organized place. This damn keyboard.... to get the size they wanted with the hinges required a slight sacrifice. If you notice, the "T" and "V" keys on this keyboard are slightly smaller than the rest of the keys. In addition the backspace key is also the size of a typical function key on a typical keyboard. This folding keyboard taught me 3 things. The first being that there are a lot of "T"s use in the English language. The second thing is that I make a lot of mistakes while I'm typing (especially when my "T' is off in position) and finally that I typically hit the spacebar with my left hand exactly where the folding hinge is on the space bar. This piece of hardware has made me want to use the portable option the least. I dread dealing with this keyboard.

The Dock

Anker 6-in-1 USB C Hub | with 65W Power Delivery | 4K HDMI | 1Gbps Ethernet | USB Ports

If there's a company I trust to make a good product, its Anker. I rank them right up there with Apple when it comes to quality of hardware. This piece is the core to thw whole setup. With a Power Delivery port I can connect the Ally's 65 Watt charger and still have a USB-C port available for connecting accessories such as The afore mentioned USB-C monitor. If I need a solid and fast connection, this gives me access to a gigabit ethernet port and an HDMI port should I need to connect to a second monitor or TV. It does what you expect every time.

The Road So Far

I am around two weeks into this setup. For the most part I am happy with it. The one issue I'm having is still the keyboard. I find myself not using the entire setup because I dread using that keyboard. I have other non-portable bluetooth keyboards that I find myself using instead of the foldable one. Its not convenient but it still feels better than the alternative of dealing with that monstrosity. The size of the keys reminds me of the experiment mentioned on The Big Bang Theory that if one stair is slightly off compared to the rest of the staircase, a person will drip on it. It feels exactly like that with the "T" key. I know its smaller yet I still have issues hitting it. I'm stopping to think about my typing and its throwing EVERYTHING off.

When I am using the Ally as a PC, it feels very natural. The fact that this is running a full version of Windows 11 makes it so easy to go back and forth between hand held gaming device and portable workstation. Very quickly I discovered that the included 512 GB m.2 device was not adequate for work and play (really not even just for play). After Installing 4 games I found that I was already low on space without installing anything for the work side of this experiment. This lead to me deciding to replace the 512 GB m.2 device with a larger one. Research brought me two things that I was not ready for. The ROG Ally is really easy to open up and replace the drive than most modern PCs and 2230 drives are more expensive and limited than 2280 drives. Of the 2230 that were in stock, the most storage I could get was 2 TB. While this is enough storage, It cost me about the price of 4 TB could I have used a 2280. I am aware there are adaptors to put in a 2280 module, but the fact that it right angle's the m.2 right over the copper pipe for system cooling , I decided that I did not want to take the risk of overheating any of the hardware.

Gaming on the docked Ally has been very familiar. Playing games that require full keyboard support like New World and Guild Wars 2 feels completely natural. This comes as no surprise since the Ally is just a PC in handheld clothing. I noticed a slight performance dip when playing New World but Guild Wars 2 operated without any issue. I was concerned coming away from a device that had an i9 processor and 64 gigabytes of RAM with an Nvidia RTX 2070 Super to a Ryzen z1 Extreme with 16 gigabytes of RAM, but in the weeks since I picked up the Ally I've come to realize the graphics have never really been a big deal to me. I'm more into gaming for an epic adventure, not stunning visuals. This handheld delivers hard on the former and well enough on the later. I have found that the god forsaken keyboard has got to go. There's no way I can use that thing for gaming (or really typing for that matter). I've ordered a replacement but in typical fashion for Amazon, it will not be here for a week.

They're Here

The keyboard finally got me. I couldn't deal with it anymore. I put this entire review on hold to wait for a new keyboard to come in. I may have got side-tracked and ordered a mini PC while I had Amazon open, but that is really another article for another day.

The New Keyboard

ProtoArc Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard, XK01 Folding Wireless Portable Keyboard with Numeric Keypad

As I've mentioned before. I went for the cheaper keyboard and it bit me in the ass so I turned around and bought the keyboard I was originally looking at that was like $20 more than the bundle I was looking at (at the time. It looks like the price changed since I ordered it). I got the full sized folding keyboard. The previous kit came with a nice case, but the keyboard was a mini keyboard. This is a full sized keyboard so its "fitting" capability is a little more questionable. I seem to be able to get it into the case but its taking up the slot I was using for my hub and USB-C cable for my monitor. Its to be determined how well everything is going to pack up but the keyboard is so much better than its predecessor.

Prior to resuming this article I did some leveling in Guild Wars 2. Anyone who has ever played an MMO knows that more often than not, its going to be a full keyboard rather than a controller is needed for this game. I ran the multi-hour play-through using the new foldable keyboard. Things went without an issue at all. I didn't think it would make a difference between a "mini" and full size keyboard but wow was I wrong. Being wrong has never been so nice.

Lets wrap it up

Guild Wars 2 put a pretty bow on this entire experiment. I was concerned about playing "real" PC games using the handheld. I felt like piecing together this together would be burdensome and ineffective, but yet again, I was wrong. Its not a pretty setup, but it works well for what I need. I would not recommend going out and purchasing this setup as a daily driver, but if you have a handheld that you mostly use for handheld gaming and want a little adaptation then this could work.
I look forward to using this setup more and more in the future. Its down to two cases and a monitor. Not a bad pack to carry.