Best Buy Is Selling Refurbished Asus ROG Xbox Ally Handhelds for Under $500

Best Buy is currently selling Geek Squad-certified "excellent condition" Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld gaming PCs for $497.99 with free shipping — that's $100 off the original retail price. The higher-end Xbox Ally X is also available in preowned condition starting at $838.99, down from its $1,000 MSRP.

The standard Xbox Ally, released in October 2025, runs an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Despite the Xbox branding, it's not a console — it's a Windows 11 handheld that boots directly into the Xbox App instead of Windows Explorer, which frees up system resources and delivers a cleaner, more game-focused experience similar to what Steam OS offers on the Steam Deck. The Ryzen Z2 A is comparable in performance to the Steam Deck's APU, so it handles most games well but will struggle with demanding titles like Crimson Desert or Monster Hunter. The Xbox Ally X steps things up considerably with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD — IGN's Jacqueline Thomas called it the "new handheld gaming PC to beat" in her review.

The handheld PC market has gotten pricier across the board, but Asus has held the line on pricing for both Ally models since launch. IGN's Jackie Thomas also recently wrote that she no longer recommends the Steam Deck as a first choice, citing the Xbox Ally's comparable experience at a lower current market price as the main reason. The Xbox Ally lineup sits in an interesting spot — it carries Xbox branding and deep Xbox ecosystem integration, but it's a full Windows PC that can run anything from Game Pass to Steam to GOG.

Both deals are on preowned units verified by Geek Squad and come with a 15-day return policy, so there's a reasonable safety net if something's off. If you've been sitting on the fence about picking up a handheld gaming PC, sub-$500 for the standard Ally is about as low as these units get.