Handheld gaming PCs are loved by many of us in the PC Gamer hardware office and I especially like the Asus ROG Ally. The only thing I wished it had was a bigger screen, as the 7-inch 1080p panel limits how much you can do in Windows. One creative modder has solved that problem by making a clamshell attachment for an extra touchscreen, doubling the Ally's amount of screen space.
Using a combination of off-the-shelf parts and 3D printed items designed by herself, modder Kira Patel (via Hot Hardware) has developed an ingenious solution to the ROG Ally's relative lack of display size. The extra screen is just a cheap portable 7-inch 1024x600 IPS panel that's normally designed to be used with the likes of a Raspberry Pi.
The first hurdle to overcome is the fact that the Ally can only support external monitors via its USB Type-C port, whereas the little external screen uses an HDMI port. This was solved by the use of a USB-to-HDMI adaptor, that was stripped right down so that it could be installed inside the little display's casing.
To then get it mounted onto the Ally, Patel designed a mount that could act like a clamshell system—folding back when not required (and doubling as a stand for the handheld PC) or flipping up to rest on top, when the extra screen is needed. It's a pretty neat design, comprising just five parts that anyone with a reasonable 3D printer can replicate, as the design files are available on Thingiverse.
Instructions on how to build the whole thing are on Github, but don't worry—while that repository is normally used for hosting coding projects, this mod requires no programming of any kind. To be honest, it doesn't really require much in the way of any serious re-wiring, just a spot of cutting here and there, a fair bit of glue, and a lack of concern for the overall aesthetics.
I'm not being critical here, as the modder herself writes that the project is "more for fun than anything." It does look like you can't keep the screen permanently plugged into the Ally's USB port as there's no sign that the design allows access to the charging port in the USB-HDMI adapter.
But that's hardly a major issue and if you enjoy a spot of modding yourself, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to come up with a fix. In the meantime, it'll be interesting to see if anyone comes up with a better way to expand the ROG Ally's display capabilities. Another 1080p panel would be best, but finding one that's super slim and lightweight is the real challenge there.
At least with this mod, you can play a spot of Stardew Valley while watching your favourite film at the same time. And you never know, it might inspire Asus to build an add-on for its Ally that does the same thing. Ah modders, is there nothing they can't do?
