Hands-On with the Asus ROG Ally X

It feels like handheld gaming PCs are a dime a dozen these days and in just the past couple of years what was once quite a niche (and expensive) market has gone mainstream, with various devices available to purchase at major retailers like Best Buy in the US and Curry's in the UK. Today's gamers have options aplenty and the recently released ROG Ally X, a Windows-based handheld gaming computer by Asus, joins an ever-expanding list of similar machines. However, as brands try to balance costs with functionality and performance, many of these fall short in one way or another. But Asus, with its latest device, seems to have found the perfect balance and managed to check all of the right boxes to earn top points where others have not. We've been testing the ROG Ally X for the past few weeks and, in short, it's probably the best Windows-based handheld gaming PC you can currently get.

The Asus ROG Ally X is an all black Windows 11-powered portable PC with a crisp, 120Hz, 7-inch Full HD glossy display. It is, in essence, an upgraded version of the brand's original ROG Ally from 2023 – a popular device that sold well, but one with its fair share of problems ranging from failing memory card slots to a less than ideal battery life. Asus has made several tweaks and quality of life upgrades to its new device to address the issues that marred the original, turning what was a good option into a great one. The biggest – and perhaps the most welcomed – of these changes is in the Ally X's battery: at 80 Wh, the new battery is double the capacity of the original's, which, in theory, means gamers will get twice the amount of play time on the new device. In our use we've found that to be largely true, but this is ultimately dependent on how you use the console – your individual game settings, screen brightness, the kinds of games you play, and such. Surprisingly, in some scenarios we found that the battery on the Ally X performed even better than twice as good, with low-level gaming such as retro console emulation being an example. We also found that the Ally X's battery performed consistently from full to empty without any noticeable drops in performance when the battery was nearing the end of its capacity – in other words, we experienced the same strong in-game performance at battery levels as low as 10% (at which point we generally plugged in) as we did when the battery was closer to full capacity.

Ghost of Tsushima / Photo: Felix Young

This power efficiency is likely helped by the increased RAM found on the new device. The Ally X features 24GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM as standard, an 8GB upgrade over the original's 16GB of slightly slower LPDDR5-6400 RAM, and the difference is noticeable. Things just run smoother overall and moving between games and apps (even keeping some games running in the background while starting another) feels really seamless on the Ally X. As to be expected, we found the additional RAM to be especially helpful and noticeable in more graphically demanding games, with graphics rendering faster and frame rates remaining consistent throughout gameplay (whereas the original Ally might have stuttered in some situations).

The original Ally came in two versions with the primary difference between them being the choice of CPU – the lower-tier AMD Ryzen Z1 or the more powerful AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme. Asus has chosen to stick with the latter for the Ally X and, in truth, it's a case of "if it ain't broke." We had high expectations of the Z1 Extreme having used the original Ally, but to our surprise the CPU shines even brighter in the Ally X. Amongst the titles we tested and found ran flawlessly (with some tweaked settings) were Red Dead Redemption 2, Forza Horizon, Cyberpunk 2077, Starfield, and the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta, all of which ran smoothly up at full resolution with consistent frame rates up in the 50-60fps range.

However, the ROG Ally X doesn't just excel at playing "triple A" PC titles. If you're into emulation you're in luck, as it can run just about any emulator with ease. We were able to run most of the popular emulators for consoles as new as the Nintendo Switch, playing flagship titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and others on the Ally X at even higher frame rates than they play natively on the Switch. We were also able to play PlayStation 3 games, amongst the most demanding titles to emulate, by getting the RPCS3 emulator to work with a few tweaks to the settings. It has to be said, it feels quite special to your PS3 library with you wherever you go.

Forza Horizon 5 / Photo: Felix Young

Another improvement Asus has made with the Ally X over the original is with general comfort. The Ally X has improved ergonomics thanks to a subtle but effective change to the shape of the back of the unit. The new shape gives you more space to rest your hands and there was never a point that felt uncomfortable using it – even with sessions that stretched over hours. It's also worth noting that the Ally X is slightly heavier than the Ally – 678 g (1.49 lbs) versus 608 g (1.34 lbs) – but, owing to its redesign, we can't say we noticed. (Speaking of which, we expected it would be a lot more than 70 grams heavier than the original when we heard the battery was twice the size.) The new fans found on the Ally X are generally quiet if noticeable at higher game settings, but we found they worked well as the device rarely felt too hot.

Amongst the various quality of life improvements made by Asus on the Ally X, the ones we found most useful include the second USB-C port (which replaced the ROG XG mobile port), the improved D-Pad that now allows inputs in eight directions, and the redesigned M1 and M2 buttons that were made smaller and now feel less prone to being accidentally pressed. The onboard storage has also been doubled from 500 GB to a full 1 TB, and – given the size of games these days – having this extra storage capacity built-in was nice. Nicer still, though, is the fact the Ally X uses 2280 M.2 NVMe SSDs, unlike the 2230 M.2 NVMe drives found in the original Ally; 2280 SSDs are generally more widely produced as well as being cheaper to find in larger capacities, so if you were planning to upgrade the stock 1TB drive to something larger, it should set you back less than it would do on the original Ally.

Asus ROG Ally X / Photo: Felix Young

While the new ROG Ally X is as close to perfect as it comes in the current state of handheld gaming PCs, it comes at a price. The device retails for £799 GBP ($799 USD), higher than the retail price of the original Ally; while this is to be expected (owing to the upgrades Asus has made), the original Ally models (both the Z1 Extreme version, which shares most of its specs with the Ally X, as well as the cheaper Z1 version) have dropped in price quite significantly since the Ally X launched. So, depending on what you really need from a handheld, you may find the original Ally will suffice. Fair warning, though: the updated 80 Wh battery on the Ally X is a game changer – once you've tried it, you probably won't want to go back.

Gaming has changed a lot in recent years, and it continues to do so. What once separated console gamers from those who preferred to play on PC was the plug and play nature of the former, but as interest grows in portable gaming PCs like the Asus ROG Ally X, prices have come down and performance capabilities of these devices has improved. Manufacturers are not just focusing on hardware, but are including custom-built operating systems or applications (like Asus' Armoury Crate) that make launching a game as simple as one click, meaning the advantage consoles had over PCs isn't really there anymore.

There was a point just a few years ago when handheld gaming might have been relegated to the annals of video game history, but today it's one of the most popular ways to game. Furthermore, the computing power we can now carry in our pockets is nothing short of amazing. Think about it: even the most basic smartphone today can do things you'd have needed a powerful computer to do a few years ago. Though Asus' latest gaming handheld the ROG Ally X doesn't quite fall into the "pocketable" category, the fact that it even exists is says a lot about the where the video game industry is going: it's basically a high-end PC with a built-in 1080p high-resolution display squeezed into a form factor not much larger than a Nintendo Switch – small enough to go anywhere you wanted, yet powerful enough to play most of your AAA games library.

The Asus ROG Ally X delivers on both performance and quality of life upgrades to the company's flagship handheld, and is probably the best handheld gaming PC for the money currently on the market. It is available to buy now via Asus priced at £799 GBP ($799 USD).

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