As a child, I dreamt of a future with flying cars, ice cream for breakfast, and pocket-sized gaming powerhouses. While flying cars remain elusive, the last dream has become a reality. The evolution of handheld gaming PCs has been nothing short of spectacular, with devices like the Asus ROG Ally X pushing the boundaries of portable gaming. In our in-depth review of the Asus ROG Ally X, we see how it compares to other handheld gaming PCs and how it performs with such a small chassis.
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Building upon the success of its predecessor, the ROG Ally X emerges as the current champion in this burgeoning market. Featuring a refined chassis, a larger battery, and significantly upgraded hardware, the Ally X delivers a superior gaming experience. While the original Ally was a strong contender, the Ally X surpasses it in performance and overall user experience.
While the Steam Deck remains a formidable competitor, particularly within the non-Windows ecosystem, the Ally X offers a compelling combination of power and portability. While more powerful gaming laptops exist, the handheld form factor of the Ally X provides unparalleled convenience and makes it an extremely strong choice for Windows-based handheld gaming.
Design & Build
Asus has expanded its Ally lineup with the introduction of the ROG Ally X, joining the original Ally and the more budget-friendly Ally Z1. While the core internals share some similarities, the Ally X boasts a distinct exterior, transitioning from the original’s sleek white chassis to a more subdued black. While I personally preferred the aesthetic of the original, the black finish may have broader appeal and better blend in with other gaming peripherals.
The Ally X has also undergone a slight size increase, weighing in at 0.68 kg, an 11.5% increase attributed primarily to the larger battery. While the added weight is minimal and does not significantly impact handheld use, I personally found the slightly lighter weight and more compact form factor of the original Ally more comfortable for extended gaming sessions. The Ally X, while still more compact than the Steam Deck, feels slightly heavier in the hand, with the weight distribution tending to shift towards the bottom.
Despite this minor increase in size and weight, the Ally X maintains the original Ally’s 7-inch, 1080p 120Hz display, offering a comfortable viewing experience. While competitors like the MSI Claw and Lenovo Legion Go offer larger and higher-resolution displays, the Ally X provides a well-balanced screen size for handheld gaming.
The Ally X’s refined design, featuring more ergonomic and substantial grips, aims to enhance the user experience. However, the slight increase in size and weight, primarily attributed to the larger battery, may not fully justify the change for some users, especially those who preferred the more compact and lightweight feel of the original Ally.
The Asus ROG Ally X expands the company’s handheld gaming lineup, joining the original Ally and the lower-powered Ally Z1. While sharing some internal components with its predecessors, the Ally X boasts a distinct aesthetic with a sleek black chassis that replaces the original’s white casing. While I personally preferred the striking white of the original, the black finish likely offers broader appeal and better complements competitors like the Lenovo Legion Go and MSI Claw.
The Ally X is slightly larger and heavier than its predecessor, weighing in at 1.49 pounds due to a larger battery. While the increase in weight is minimal, it noticeably shifts the device’s center of gravity, requiring more support from the pinkies during extended gaming sessions. This shift in weight distribution, though subtle, alters the ergonomic feel of the device compared to the original Ally, which I found to be more comfortable for longer play sessions.
The 7-inch, 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate remains unchanged, offering ample screen real estate for a handheld gaming device. While the MSI Claw boasts a larger 8.8-inch display, the Ally X’s screen size provides a good balance of portability and immersion.
The Ally X represents a significant step forward for Asus in the handheld gaming market. While the price increase may seem substantial, the performance enhancements and refined design justify the investment for serious mobile gamers. However, for those who prioritize portability and appreciate the sleek aesthetics of the original Ally, the increased size and weight of the Ally X may be a minor drawback.
Controls and Connectivity
The ROG Ally X refines the original’s design with subtle yet impactful changes. While the shift from a white to a black chassis is primarily aesthetic, the ergonomic adjustments are more significant.
The placement of the face buttons and control sticks has been subtly refined, aiming for a more natural and comfortable thumb placement. While the differences may seem minor at first glance, the left stick feels slightly lower, and the right stick requires less reach, facilitating smoother transitions between controls.
The physical controls themselves have also been refined. The face buttons feel more substantial and responsive, while the directional pad has been redesigned for improved precision and responsiveness. The previous D-pad felt cramped, hindering accurate diagonal inputs, but the new design provides more space for precise movements. The analogue sticks now exhibit slightly more tension, offering enhanced control and a more satisfying feel compared to the looser sticks of the original Ally.
The port arrangement has undergone a significant revision. The proprietary eGPU port of the original has been removed, replaced with a second USB-C port alongside the existing one. This change enhances versatility and eliminates the need for a dedicated eGPU port, as most users will likely utilize the USB-C ports more frequently. The headphone jack and microSD card slot have been repositioned to the right side of the device, streamlining the port layout. A new vent has been added to the centre of the device for improved cooling.
Performance and Graphics
While the ROG Ally X introduces notable external changes, its biggest improvements lie beneath the surface. Though it doesn’t feature a next-gen processor or GPU, Asus has made significant enhancements in other areas that gamers will appreciate.
One of the most requested upgrades was better battery life—a critical factor for any handheld gaming device. Asus has addressed this by doubling the battery capacity to 80WHr, a substantial increase that should noticeably extend playtime (see our testing section below for exact results).
The Z1 Extreme chip remains unchanged, but the Ally X now includes 24GB of faster 7,500MHz RAM, up from 16GB in the original model. More memory means better multitasking and GPU performance, and we’ll explore the real-world impact in the benchmarks below. Storage has also received a long-overdue boost—Asus has swapped the original 512GB SSD for a 1TB M.2 2280 SSD, a welcome change given modern game sizes. AAA titles often range from 50GB to 150GB, so the extra space ensures users won’t have to juggle installations as frequently.
Beyond hardware upgrades, Asus has retuned its power profiles—Silent, Performance, and Turbo—placing greater emphasis on efficiency. The original Ally operated at 9W, 15W, and 30W on battery, while the Ally X adjusts these levels to 13W, 17W, and 25W (or 30W when plugged into sufficient power). This refinement allows for longer gaming sessions, especially in handheld-friendly titles.
Battery tests in PCMark 10’s gaming benchmark suggest:
- Turbo mode: ~2 hours 15 minutes
- Performance mode: Just under 3 hours
- Silent mode: Around 4 hours
However, real-world longevity varies by game—AAA titles, indie games, and side-scrollers all have different power demands.
Despite using the same Z1 Extreme processor as its predecessor, the Ally X benefits from its increased RAM allocation to the GPU and optimized power tuning. These factors make direct benchmark comparisons tricky. Geekbench, 3DMark, and other tests showed some surprising results—Turbo mode occasionally scored lower than the original Ally. However, this likely reflects Asus’s trade-off of slightly lower peak performance for better battery efficiency rather than a step back in power.
Fine-tuning the ROG Ally X offers some flexibility, but most settings aren’t worth the effort. The most impactful adjustment is lowering resolution to 720p, but that raises an obvious question—why buy a 1080p device if you’re going to play at a lower resolution than the cheaper Steam Deck?
What stands out is how Performance mode is far more practical on the Ally X than on its predecessor. It serves as an ideal default setting for most AAA games from the last 1-3 years, which aligns with what mobile PC gaming does best. The Ally X may not push raw performance boundaries, but it balances power, efficiency, and usability better than the original model, making it a smarter choice for portable gaming.
Conclusion
The ROG Ally X represents a significant refinement of the original Ally, offering a compelling upgrade for those seeking enhanced performance and a more refined user experience. While the performance gains may not be groundbreaking for all users, the improvements in battery life, ergonomics, and connectivity are substantial.
The increased battery capacity delivers significantly longer playtime, allowing for extended gaming sessions without the constant worry of running out of power. The refined design, with its improved button placement and more substantial feel, enhances comfort and control during gameplay.
The Ally X’s enhanced performance, combined with its refined design and improved ergonomics, make it the best current contender in the burgeoning handheld gaming market. However, potential buyers should carefully consider their specific needs and priorities.
