A fully armed and operational handheld battle station

Regardless of being one of many first from a serious PC maker, ASUS acquired so much proper with the unique . It presents higher efficiency in a smaller chassis than Valve’s Steam Deck, however with out an enormous enhance in value. And since it’s primarily based on Home windows as a substitute of Linux, it delivers nearly common recreation compatibility. That stated, points like weak battery life and defective SD card slots left loads of room for enchancment. So on the brand new Ally X, ASUS tweaked nearly every little thing except for its chip and show. However this time, what we’re getting is the that I wished all alongside.

Design and show

From afar, it could appear as if all ASUS did was change the colour of the Ally X’s chassis from white to black. However the second I picked it up, I seen numerous little adjustments together with extra pronounced grips, barely taller face buttons and smaller paddles round again designed in order that they’re tougher to hit accidentally. There’s additionally a model new D-Pad which is an enormous enchancment from the one on the vanilla Ally, although I’d nonetheless choose a conventional cross or one among Sony’s pentagon-shaped preparations.

On the within, ASUS added stiffer springs to Ally X’s joysticks, making them tighter and extra responsive. Nonetheless, ASUS stopped wanting switching to Corridor Impact sensors like those on rivals just like the There’s additionally a 3rd vent and a brand new fan system that enhance cooling and airflow, although at full load, the again of this factor nonetheless will get fairly toasty.

However the very best half is that even with all these adjustments and a handful of latest elements on the within (extra on these later), the Ally X isn’t a lot bulkier than its predecessor. The unique ROG Ally weighs 1.34 kilos and measures 1.28 inches at its thickest whereas the Ally X is available in at 1.49 kilos and 1.45 inches. I’ve even been informed by an ASUS consultant that the Ally X suits within the authentic Ally’s official case, although I haven’t confirmed that myself, as a result of, in contrast to the Steam Deck, you don’t get one bundled with the system.

Lastly, there’s the Ally X’s 1080p show, one among two elements that’s the identical as on its predecessor. It has nice brightness with a peak of round 500 nits (our evaluation unit was truly a contact higher at round 515 nits) and a variable 120Hz refresh fee. It’s just about precisely what you need on a system this measurement and in brighter environments, its black ranges are so good that I’ve mistaken it for an OLED panel.

Efficiency

The opposite main element that hasn’t modified is the Ally X’s AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive chip. However that doesn’t imply there aren’t any efficiency enhancements. That’s as a result of ASUS massively upgraded the remainder of its elements with 24GB of sooner LPDDR5X-7500 RAM (up from 16GB) and a bigger 1TB M.2 SSD (up from 512GB). This time, ASUS even opted for a full-size 2280 module, so if you wish to improve your storage down the road, you’ll have far more choices than the smaller 2230 stick used within the earlier mannequin. Plus, and I can’t stress this sufficient, ASUS has additionally had additional time to shine the Ally X’s drivers. As we noticed on the unique, improved software program help could make an enormous distinction in efficiency, particularly in a class that also advantages a ton from higher optimization. And relying on the title, we’ve seen efficiency enhance by as a lot as 5-10 %, which is fairly vital contemplating its chip hasn’t modified.

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 720p on excessive graphics, the Ally X hit 54 fps in efficiency mode and 64 fps in Turbo mode in comparison with 54 fps and 60 fps for the unique. In the meantime when taking part in Cyberpunk 2077, I noticed even larger good points with the Ally X getting as much as 78 fps in Turbo mode versus simply 69 fps for the vanilla Ally. This enchancment appears to be due largely to the Ally X’s elevated RAM, which the hand held shares with its GPU. And in contrast to on a laptop computer or desktop with discrete graphics, the Z1 Excessive’s Radeon 780M doesn’t have its personal devoted reminiscence.

However no matter the way it’s getting there, all these adjustments make the Ally X probably the most highly effective handheld PCs in the marketplace. That’s as a result of whereas the Legion Go makes use of the identical processor, it has 8GB much less RAM, so in video games, it typically lagged behind by three to 5 fps.

Software program

Home windows-based gaming handhelds proceed to be a bit clunky when it is advisable to change between numerous recreation launchers and menus, however ASUS has streamlined its Armoury Crate app to be extra responsive and simpler to make use of. It’s typically much less buggy and higher geared up to be a one-stop store for aggregating all completely different video games (and launchers) or shortly tweaking settings. Even with all that, although, it’s nonetheless much less cohesive than Valve’s Steam OS. And regardless of current enhancements, I nonetheless bumped into issues like Armoury Crate interrupting what I used to be making an attempt to do in Home windows when it robotically boots up after a restart (which fortunately you’ll be able to disable).

Battery life and ports

One of many largest points with the unique Ally was its quick battery life, which regularly lasted simply an hour or an hour and a half at finest. And when you might have a system that must be plugged right into a wall that ceaselessly, it calls into query how good of a gaming handheld it truly is.

However on the Ally X, ASUS doubled battery capability to 80Wh. Now it may simply recreation for at the least two hours to 2 and a half hours (or extra, in case you don’t thoughts fiddling round with settings). And once you keep in mind that the Ally X isn’t that a lot heftier than its predecessor, you might have an excellent larger appreciation for the way a lot additional juice ASUS managed to cram inside.

I additionally admire that ASUS changed the proprietary XG Cellular connector on the unique mannequin with a second USB-C port that helps Thunderbolt 4. This implies you’ll be able to nonetheless plug in an exterior graphics dock if you would like, whereas additionally supplying you with the pliability to hook up all kinds of peripherals. This enables the Ally X to raised function a conveyable desktop as a result of you’ll be able to plug in equipment like a mouse and keyboard with out the necessity for exterior docks or dongles.

Wrap-up

Whereas the Ally X isn’t a real 2.0 model of its predecessor, ASUS has addressed just about each grievance I had concerning the authentic after which some. Its joysticks really feel tighter, its efficiency is healthier and battery life has primarily doubled. Even ASUS’ Armoury Crate app is simpler to make use of, although it nonetheless hasn’t totally solved the problem of Home windows feeling clunky on PC handhelds. And whereas it’s a contact thicker and heavier than earlier than, these adjustments don’t impression its portability. ASUS additionally claims it has to raised help individuals who want servicing or repairs after quite a few buyer complaints. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless too early to say if this has made a distinction.

Actually, the largest hurdle for the Ally X is its value. At $800, it prices $150 greater than the unique Ally or the closest equal Steam Deck. For many who purchased its predecessor, that would nonetheless make it a tricky promote after just one 12 months. I’d additionally argue that because of Steam OS, Valve’s handheld stays the extra streamlined and easier-to-use choice. However make no mistake, in case you’re speaking about the very best PC gaming handhelds in the marketplace, the Ally X sits on the prime of the hill proper subsequent to the Steam Deck.