A year after launching the ROG Ally, Asus is releasing a refined version of its portable device, the ROG Ally X. This Windows-based machine ships on July 22 for $800. I’ve been playing with the portable console for a few days now, and there’s already a lot to like — especially on the hardware front.
Released in 2022, Valve’s Steam Tech helped mainstream handheld PC gaming. It wasn’t the first company to explore the form factor, but Valve hit on the right combination of specs, portability, and price.
When it became an instant hit, PC manufacturers took notice. Published by Lenovo Legion Co And Asus has taken portable PC gaming to its own with the ROG Ally. There are other major manufacturers like Ayaneyoas well as
The device has a bright seven-inch display with 1080p resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Like the Nintendo Switch, the display is lined with your standard array of gaming buttons and joysticks.
Unlike the Switch, the controls aren’t disappointingly small. ROG Ally X feels like a full-fledged controller in your hands. The joysticks look similar to the joysticks on a modern Microsoft Xbox controller. The A/B/X/Y buttons are large and clicky. Analog triggers have plenty of travel.
However, I’m not completely sold on the T-pad. It feels a bit mushy, like the D-Pad you’d find on a third-party budget controller. Similarly, the view and menu buttons are difficult to reach. They are so close to the display that I have to extend my thumb to pause the game.
There are two additional macro keys on the back of the device. I configured them as view and menu buttons and that helped. On each side of the screen, you’ll find a command center button to tweak programs on the fly. Armory crate button To show Asus’ game launcher.
The ROG Ally X’s main software interface, Armory Crate SE, is excellent. It acts as a game launcher, centralizing everything you have installed from Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect, etc. It can also change your device’s settings, from joystick LEDs to gamepad profiles.
If you spend as little time as possible on it, it will work. But there are bugs (a game I installed using GOG Galaxy mysteriously disappeared from my list), opening menus can be frustratingly slow and I had a couple of crashes.
The same is the case with the command center. It’s an indispensable tool for adjusting settings on the fly, like switching from silent to performance or turbo mode, but sometimes it’s slow to react to your interactions.
The device is comfortable to hold – for short sessions, at least. The main problem with these types of PC gaming handhelds is that they are heavy. They get hot especially when you play.
Before testing the ROG Ally X, I spent several hours playing with the Logitech G Cloud, an Android handheld designed specifically for cloud gaming and remote play. It’s a very satisfying experience as the G Cloud is quiet (it’s a fanless device), you don’t have to worry about battery life and it’s easy to hold in your hands.
We’re still at the beginning of this massive shift in PC gaming from full-sized PC towers to fast-but-efficient handhelds. Over time, gaming laptops have become smaller, lighter, and quieter. They are similar to Android based handsets. However, for now, experiences like G Cloud are few and far between.
The ROG Ally X, on the other hand, feels like the pinnacle of gaming handhelds. When Nintendo released the Game Boy 35 years ago, it felt like you could play NES games on the go.
Similarly, the ROG Ally X feels like a good gaming companion for long travel days or daily commutes on the metro. Despite its weight, I had no problem immersing myself in games for hours at a time.
An indie game engine
When it comes to performance, Asus has kept the same APU for the AMD Z1 Extreme ROG Ally X. However, the RAM has been increased from 16GB to 24GB. This makes a difference in gaming performance because memory is shared between VRAM and system RAM.
The handset comes with a user-replaceable 1TB NVMe storage card (2280 format). The battery is twice as big as its predecessor (80Wh), and the proprietary eGPU port has been replaced with USB 4 support and the more standard USB Type-C.
The device works well with games that don’t require a high-end PC, such as Jucent, Cocoon or Prince of Persia: The Last Crown. The ROG Ally X can easily deliver 60 to 120 frames per second for those games at 1080p without using the 30W boost mode.
For AAA games, you have to make some compromises. RSR can achieve 45 frames per second with high graphics preset in Marvels: Spider-Man by enabling AMD’s resolution enhancement feature. As for games that really struggled on previous handhelds, there’s no magic here. For example, to achieve 30FPS, you’ll need to use low settings and aggressive resolution scaling in The Last of Us: Part I.
If you’re really into strategy games or simulation games, the ROG Ally X might not be the best form factor for those games. At least you can plug it into a monitor and use a mouse and keyboard if that’s the only computer you have.
As for battery life, it depends on the type of games you play and the power mode you choose. Baba yourself can play in “silent mode” for a long time. But using “Boost Mode” for The Last of Us will significantly affect your battery life. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time with the device to do thorough tests, but I’m sure more reviewers will be posting benchmarks this week.
As a gaming console, the most surprising thing about the ROG Ally X is that it’s a PC running Windows – at least on paper. Of course, you can install whatever you want and use it in a desktop environment. But Windows without a mouse and keyboard is a frustrating experience. It’s fine if you just want a game launcher and install some games. But the right laptop (or even a smartphone) is more convenient than anything else.
Similarly, you can install it as a computer All Games available on Windows. But some will perform better than others, so you need to adjust your expectations. You can change the settings to get more battery life or better games.
The ROG Ally X has a console-like form factor. But don’t expect a polished, console-like experience — this isn’t a Nintendo Switch competitor. In many ways, the ROG Ally X, or at least this portable form factor, could be considered a preview of the future of PC gaming. A future designed like a console that works like a PC.
