My Quick Asus ROG Ally X Review

Posted by Spheromancer@reddit | hardware | View on Reddit | 37 comments

I have a really bad habit of obtaining every piece of tech that catches my eye, so here I am with the new ROG Ally X. I like to babble so figured I’d throw my honest opinions out there as a gamer who plays every console (PS5, XSX, and Switch), but doesn’t own a real gaming PC. Im going to rank my top 5 features of this bad boy after using it for a good while now

Even though it's marketed as a handheld, using it as a PC is my bread and butter. I'm sorry but I CANNOT understate how much I still love this as a feature for handheld PCs. I’ve done docked with both the Steamdeck and the Legion Go, but the Ally X takes the cake for me right now simply because of the power it can output. Surprisingly it can actually output some games to 1440p, albeit with FSR and lower frames, but it being possible at all is pretty neat.

I don’t have a gaming PC for god knows what reason. I bought and built one with my girlfriend last year but still haven’t gotten around to building myself one, so being able to use this as a solid stopgap is awesome. Although it doesn't fit in the dock my Steamdeck fits in, it thankfully still works the same just by plugging it into the dock and laying it down.

The display is crispy. The original Ally had a great screen and I believe this is the same one. Going from the 800p of the deck and barely 720p IIRC of the Switch/OLED to 1080p is really night and day. I think 1080p will be the standard for these handheld PCs as we go forward

Performance is nice. Most games I’ve tried play near flawlessly and I haven’t had any real issues yet but I’m sure that will change. Games like Valorant I can easily get 1440/60 which is a blast, FiveM for GTAV is one of my favorite pastimes and after struggling to get it running on other decks it’s actually pretty playable on this one. Also playing Elden Ring handheld is a blast. I sucked at playing it on lower FPS but with the FPS bump I can get from the Ally X, I feel like I can play the game better. But I am complete ass to be fair. I’ve also loaded up years long files on Sims 4, Parkitecht and Cities Skylines to see how it handles it and it’s all surprisingly smooth.

Streaming is still one of my favorite features of these handhelds, as a big Xbox gamer I used to stream games to my phone with the Xbox app when I was on the go but now everything is so much better on the Ally X. I’m sure its because of the wifi chip but the performance is so much more bearable compared to my iphone/ipad/laptop when it comes to streaming Xbox games. I’ve been playing through my College Football 25 Dynasty remotely and its a blast, latency not really an issue at all vs the CPU.

Battery life isn't an issue for me. I know the original Ally had tons of people complaining but at least with the Ally X I can get a solid 6-7 hours so far with some decent mid tier gaming.

Emulation is where it's at. As a Nintendo fanboy I have to mention this aspect. This is an emulation dream. Obviously this thing can play a ton of games emulating, but having my literal entire Nintendo library at my fingertips on one device is insane to me. Everything from NES to Switch running (mostly) perfect. As sad of a sentence it is, nothing in my life is as satisfying as playing BOTW 1080 with 60+fps. I know that's not very impressive hardware wise as tons of devices can make that claim but I had to throw it out there.

Overall it's a great device. The price point will limit some people from getting in on it and it is a bit pricey, but for me the gaming experience combined with the desktop PC experience is worth it.

My biggest complaints would be

1 The triggers are a bit to clicky for my liking

2 It does feel a bit clunky in the hands compared to the Switch but thats a bit expected and on par for handheld PCs as far as I know

3 The lack of viable software on board when you buy it is a bit annoying. The fact that its just windows 11 and armory crate leaves a lot to be desired, but thankfully there are tons of softwares out there like EmuDeck and Playnite out there that make the user experience much much better

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AideOutrageous2556@reddit

Kinda late to the party but solid review!

Questions for OP: 1) Have you played Starfield, Forza Horizon 4/5 and RDR2 on it? If so, how well do they perform? I love my Steamdeck but the aforementioned games are some of my top favorites and run kinda bad/meh on it.

2) I see you mentioned the difference between 800p and 1080p. In any games you’ve played have you seen some detail’s edges in the distance that have a jagged/strobing appearance until you get close while gaming in 1080p? I see this in Forza at slower/stopped speeds and in RDR occasionally and am curious if 1080p would fix this and if 800p is just too low of a resolution

3) Is the Ally X’s 15W TPM mode similar in performance to the Steamdeck or is there any noticeable improvements due to it running Windows?

4) How are the ergonomics compared to the Steamdeck and Xbox controllers? I prefer PS5 DualSense so I like the Steamdeck’s layout, but can tolerate the Xbox controllers which I grew up on.

*Not bothered by price; but improvements in graphical performance, ergonomics, and possibly battery over the Steamdeck are a must for me

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Rebresker@reddit

I play black ops 6 on my ally x…

On the unplugged turbo mode (25 watts or whatever) using the recommended performance settings I was getting around 75-100 fps and doing okay. It’s definitely playable. Some textures didn’t load well and trees in the background were going crazy lol. I think maybe my shaders didn’t preload but eh the actual gameplay was fine

Starfield and Rdr2 are fine

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AideOutrageous2556@reddit

Thanks for the info! Picked up an Ally X and tried your BO6 settings, it works great!

Turbo really makes a difference on the Ally X compared to my Steamdeck. Running all my AAA games at higher quality graphics, higher resolution, and higher FPS while on Bazzite which is VERY similar to SteamOS. (Windows is a stuttery mess except for BO6)

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Vexar123@reddit

Bought the rog ally X recently. D pad 'up' button broke within 48 hours and other buttons felt stiff/sticky.

Getting a whole new replacement, otherwise I enjoy the ally hand held.

Automatic-Fennel-743@reddit

Seems like I fit the same exact mold as you. I currently have the Z1 Extreme version and may be getting the Ally X soon and will sell the previous version to compensate. Thanks for your quick assessment!

ZheeZheee@reddit

I'm looking into treating myself to this, can anyone tell me how RDR2 would perform on this, like if it was to perform at least 60FPS, what would I have my graphics settings on roughly?

Depends

Plugged in on turbo mode you can get 60 fps in rdr2 at 1080p with most things high

It’s when you aren’t plugged in and maybe also want more than 2 hours of battery life that you have to really start turning things down to like 900p and medium settings

OGYemali@reddit

Great review! It’s clear you’ve really put the ROG Ally X through its paces. I agree, the power it offers for a handheld is impressive, especially the 1440p output—even if it's at lower frames. The display upgrade to 1080p from 720p makes a huge difference too, especially for handheld gaming.

I also love how you mentioned its versatility as both a handheld PC and a solid stopgap for those without a gaming PC. The performance on games like Valorant and Elden Ring really speaks to its power.

Emulation is a standout feature, especially for Nintendo fans—getting the full library at 60+ fps is a game-changer. The streaming improvements over your iPhone/iPad are huge too. I think this is the best handheld for streaming Xbox games on the go, for sure.

Battery life and the 6-7 hours of playtime are great, but I understand the concerns about triggers being too clicky and the slight clunkiness in the hands. Hopefully, software updates will improve those aspects.

I also share your pain with the lack of onboard software, but like you said, tools like EmuDeck and Playnite are lifesavers and make a world of difference. Overall, it’s a really solid device for those who want a hybrid handheld-PC experience.

KinKraze@reddit

I bought one yesterday and this device is amazing. With a docking station it is more than capable of replacing your laptop altogether. Its a very powerful device

loriffic@reddit

Great review. I’ve had my Ally X for just two days and I’m loving it! Doing a fresh playthrough of Jedi Survivor. So surreal playing a PS5 game on a handheld.

NierFantasy@reddit

I'm new to this so apologies for the basic q... but how are you playing a PS5 game on it?

Jedi Survivor is on PC, Xbox, and PS5 btw!

It’s the PC version of the game. So I meant to say it’s surreal to be playing a next gen console game on a handheld.

AlphaVinNova@reddit

I have the 2023 Ally, is it a huge difference and worth upgrading?

I don’t know. I don’t have the original Ally. I went from the Steam Deck to the Ally X.

docsimple@reddit

Thanks! Im super on the fence about this right now. Looks very tasty. I already have a 4090 gaming rig I built myself but I want to be able to game with my girlfriend. And this also covers me while traveling.

Soooooooo tempting. Gonna try and holdout for a small black friday sale.

Terrible_Client_5943@reddit

https://xkaliber.net/

Early stage project but is in stable daily use condition. Supports all pocket PCs experience is focused on touch and keyboard less use cases and simplicity

Comes with 4 preintalled desktops with plasma moving being our focus for experience

NebrasketballN@reddit

I use the Hori Split pad compact on my switch OLED so the rog ally x feels really similar to me and fits in the case I use (for the switch + hori split pad) yes the ally is still a bit thicker obviously but size wise and everything it's been nice especially since it's all one unit. where on the Switch with the split pad sometimes the connection between controller pad and screen would feel wobbly if i'm really getting into a game or something. I'm loving the ally x so far!!

McGooley@reddit

Thanks for the info. Now get yourself an actual gaming pc bro!

Spheromancer@reddit (OP)

I think I just get overwhelmed with how many options there are. Every time I look theres more options and upgrades and I just keep putting it off over and over lol

Jacks-san@reddit

I was just looking for some reviews, so thank you for yours ! Just a few questions :

When using the dock, does the screen go off ? Or does it stay on ?
Do you gain some FPS using a dock ? That was a bit the case for the Switch
Can you use and install Discord to play with your friends ?
You can use it as a "PC", I mean with mouse and keyboard, easily ?

Its windows so you can change the setting for the screen to how you like it, personally I make it so its always on until I turn it off like a real PC
Yeah you can go to turbo mode when youre plugged into power, which gives you an extra boost for performance. Its not more than you can get handheld, but youd have to be plugged in during handheld mode as well. Turbo is def necessary for docked mode IMO
Yes! Its a full PC so you can do anything you can do on a laptop/computer on the ally. I have discord on it right now.
You need to buy a dock probably for this because youll need more ports for the mouse/keyboard as well as HDMI but the docks are fairly priced, you just need to find one that allows the right amount of wattage through it in order to power everything at once, in this case I have one that supports 100W charging, but besides all that I literally just plug it in and its a PC already setup with the keyboard/mouse, and unplug it when im done. The passthrough charging is great for this too tbh

Really cool, thanks a lot for your answer, I will definitely look at it since I'm considering buying this instead of a new computer. Thank you !

NoAirBanding@reddit

What are your Elden Ring settings? I have the Steam Deck OLED, the original Ally, and a GPD Win Mini 2040.

At native resolution all three run it at about 30~45 fps. Low settings or High settings doesn’t seem to make a significant difference.

I can get a solid 45-55fps in the majority of the game at 900p with medium settings last time I checked

Pontalonez@reddit

Your points very much align with my experience as well. It's powerful, comfortable, quiet, and looks nice, but I do feel like it lacks a little due to the OS being windows, and while I still really like some aspects of having windows, that being you can play and download almost any game/software. It is a bit sad that it feels a little clunky due to windows not being made with hand-held in mind.

19200317@reddit

Agreed with most of these points, has me pumped for mine coming in soon (hopefully)

Zantreus@reddit

Good to hear the battery is fixed. I cannot for the life of me understand why these companies dont spend time developing native UI's for the handheld systems. Windows was not meant to run on these little things

uzzi38@reddit

I think Windows is usable (even if still not ideal) if you have one of the handhelds that have a physical trackpad and keyboard attached. Still not ideal, but definitely usable. Having physical inputs makes both navigation and input way, way easier, and Windows doesn't really feel all too cumbersome with a trackpad for dealing with the really small stuff you don't want to use touch to hit. And I speak from experience with a GPD Win Mini here: I think Windows is serviceable. I'm sure a dedicated OS would feel way better, but more as a nice to have than a must have.

But for something like the ROG Ally... yeah no I couldn't ever see myself using that on Windows. For devices like that I'd genuinely start considering running something like Bazzite by default on those.