David Bridges
The Asus ROG Ally X is like if you meet your crush’s sizzling brother. Your crush is cute and all, however his brother? He is extra refined, extra mature, and extra enticing.
Equally, the ROG Ally X, a slight improve from the ROG Ally, is not too completely different from its sibling. No, the tweaks will not have you ever screaming, “Cease the presses!”, however they bring about an air of sophistication to the ROG Ally X. They’re intentional and purposeful, signaling that Asus has been listening to person suggestions.
For one, the ROG Ally X now not is available in white. Woo-hoo!
I do know Asus possible wished to face out of the gang with a white chassis for the ROG Ally X. In any case, a lot of the Steam Deck wannabes have black fashions. Nonetheless — and lots of players will agree with me after I say this — a white handheld gaming console will expose my snacking behavior with tell-tale stains. And we do not need that!
Though this ain’t no ROG Ally 2, this handheld gaming PC nonetheless holds its personal in a Steam Deck-dominated market.
Asus ROG Ally X worth and specs
The ROG Ally X prices $799 and comes with the identical CPU and GPU as its predecessor, however there are some minor variations.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Earlier than diving into Asus’ tiny tweaks, enable me to checklist the specs:
As talked about, the processor and graphics have remained the identical on ROG Ally X, however the RAM obtained upgraded from 16GB to 24GB whereas the 512GB storage obtained doubled to 1TB. It will give us a slight uptick in efficiency, as you may discover out in subsequent sections.
Asus ROG Ally X design
Woo-hoo! The ROG Ally X now is available in black. I can now cover my tendencies to pig out whereas gaming. I may have Dorito-stained fingers all I need — and my ROG Ally X will not betray me.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
On the suitable aspect, you may discover A, B, X, Y buttons sitting above the suitable analog stick. Subsequent to the X, you may discover two buttons: a Menu button (depicted with a trio of traces) and the Armoury Crate button (leads you Asus’ management middle).
On the left aspect, you may discover one other duo of buttons: the View and Command Middle buttons. The directional buttons, also called the D-pad, sits to the underside proper of the left analog stick.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
My gripes are the Menu, Armoury Crate, View, and Command Middle buttons: the symbols are too refined and tough to see. A brighter white for the icons can be good. Plus, I want the analog sticks have been extra symmetrical. Nonetheless, the buttons and sticks are sturdy, regular, and clicky (and tighter and extra resistant in comparison with the OG ROG Ally).
As a cherry on high, the sticks have LED mild rings that add a beautiful design contact to the ROG Ally X.
On the highest, as anticipated, you may discover the suitable and left bumpers and triggers.
On the again, you may discover the programmable M1 and M2 buttons with satisfying tactile suggestions. On the OG ROG Ally, these buttons used to take a seat annoyingly on high of the grips, however now they’re away out of your fingers. On the underside, you may additionally discover air vents and a diagonal, lustrous strip so as to add some eye-catching element.
Weight and really feel
The ROG Ally X is barely heavier than the 1.4-pound Steam Deck OLED with a weight of about 1.5 kilos. Nonetheless, it is a lot lighter than the Lenovo Legion Go, which weighs about 1.9 kilos.
For what it is value, the OG ROG Ally’s weight matched the Steam Deck OLED.
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Steam Deck OLED – 1.4 kilos
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Asus ROG Ally – 1.4 kilos
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Asus ROG Ally X – 1.5 kilos
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Lenovo Legion Go – 1.9 kilos
Out of all three, nonetheless, I nonetheless discover the Steam Deck OLED to be probably the most snug. The ROG Ally’s grips, the place your fingers are wrapped round whereas gaming, do not protrude as a lot because the Steam Deck, which is a draw back. The Steam Deck’s bulging grips give me extra to carry on to throughout gameplay, offering a extra snug expertise.
However in comparison with the OG ROG Ally, the ROG Ally X does have fuller grips, which is a plus. And it is much less bumpy, too, for a smoother really feel.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Should you’re coming from a Steam Deck to an ROG Ally X, you may undoubtedly discover the slight dip in consolation. Should you’re coming from the Legion Go, nonetheless, you may discover the ROG Ally X to be extra snug — and lighter, too.
Should you’re new to handheld gaming PCs solely, you possible will not discover any discomfort in any respect.
Asus ROG Ally X show
The ROG Ally X nonetheless sports activities the identical 7-inch, 1080p show with a 120Hz refresh fee, however that is OK as a result of, within the phrases of Bruno Mars, “lady you are wonderful, simply the way in which you might be.”
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Plus, the ROG Ally X is the one handheld gaming PC that helps a variable refresh fee. Which means that, relying on what you are doing, the refresh fee can drop right down to decrease values or skyrocket to 120Hz. This manner, it is not always churning out excessive body charges and losing vitality.
It might be good, although, to see an OLED panel on the ROG Ally X. It nonetheless sports activities an IPS display screen. (The Steam Deck OLED has richer panel, in my view.)
I performed Cyberpunk 2077 on the ROG Ally X, and no, the visuals will not blow you away or something, but it surely has simply the correct quantity of crispness and sharpness — and vividness — that will help you take pleasure in your favourite video games, significantly whilst you’re on-the-go. The ROG Ally X has 500 nits of brightness, which is not as vibrant because the Steam Deck OLED’s 600-nit show, however it might probably nonetheless maintain its personal whereas gaming outdoor.
The Steam Deck OLED additionally has a barely larger show at 7.4 inches. The Lenovo Legion Go’s 500-nit panel is even bigger, with an 8.8-inch show, however I discover it to be a bit too unwieldy. The 7-inch territory is the candy spot.
Asus ROG Ally X ports
The Asus ROG Ally X added an additional USB-C port (a Thunderbolt 4 port at that).
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
This opens you as much as a world of eGPUs and docks. Personally, I discovered myself maintaining one port related to my charging cable and the opposite related to my Viture Professional XR glasses (for a candy digital show expertise).
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Listed here are all of the ports you may discover on the ROG Ally X:
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USB Sort-C (3.2 Gen 2)
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Thunderbolt 4
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3.5mm combo audio jack
That is undoubtedly a step-up over the Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go, which solely have one USB-C port.
Asus ROG Ally X audio
The ROG Ally X has a dual-speaker setup. You’ll find this up-firing speaker set on the entrance, with one sitting under the D-pad and the opposite beneath the suitable analog stick.
Credit score: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
I downloaded the Apple Music app on the Asus ROG Ally X. (I can do this as a result of, as I will clarify later, the ROG Ally X runs on Home windows.) And to my shock, the sound on the ROG Ally X is rather a lot higher than I assumed it will be. I fired up Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” and at max quantity, the spunky tune sounded loud, bombastic, and impactful.
Whereas taking part in Cyberpunk 2077, the audio was in a position to overpower the loud followers that will disturb my ears whereas Efficiency Mode is on.
Plus, the sound really has some depth — and a well-rounded high quality to it, too. The Steam Deck, then again, can sound a bit tinny. The ROG Ally X is certainly louder, too.
For what it is value, in contrast to the OG ROG Ally, the ROG Ally X has a brand new Good AMP function that enhances audio and delivers clearer sound.
Asus ROG Ally X benchmarks and efficiency
The ROG Ally X has the identical internals because the OG ROG Ally, however there is a slight efficiency uptick. This may very well be as a result of further RAM on the Ally X, which suggests you may have a bit extra headroom for triple-A video games that demand a variety of video reminiscence.
I ran Geekbench 6, which exams processor efficiency, on the ROG Ally X, and it obtained a multi-core of 12,233 (a 6% efficiency improve in comparison with the OG Ally X). The Legion Go, then again, has a Geekbench rating of 10,414.
I additionally ran 3DMark’s Time Spy, which exams for graphics prowess, on the ROG Ally X. It notched a rating of 3,477 in comparison with the Legion Go’s 2,982 determine.
Not like the ROG Ally X and the Legion Go, that are handheld PCs operating on Home windows, the Steam Deck OLED has a Linux-based working system, so benchmarking was slightly bit tough. We do not have Geekbench nor Time Spy figures for the Steam Deck.
Nonetheless, we ran the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark on the Steam Deck (non-OLED model), and we obtained 30 frames per second (fps). The ROG Ally X pushed out extra frames with a rating of 47 fps. The Legion Go, then again, additionally has a 30 fps cap on the identical benchmark.
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Steam Deck – Cyberpunk 2077 – 30 fps
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Lenovo Legion Go – Cyberpunk 2077 – 30 fps
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Asus ROG Ally X – Cyberpunk 2077 – 47 fps
It is also value noting that, in comparison with the OG ROG Ally, the ROG Ally X has a full-sized SSD, which may result in higher efficiency, zippier learn/write speeds, and faster load occasions.
Asus ROG Ally X battery life
Asus stated that it doubled the battery on the ROG Ally X from 40Whr to 80Whr, promising three to eight hours of battery life.
We ran the PCMark 10 gaming battery life take a look at on the ROG Ally X and it lasted 2 hours and 48 minutes. On the identical take a look at, the Lenovo Legion Go solely lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes.
If it weren’t for the larger battery, the ROG Ally X would sill be seeing Legion Go-level battery runtimes.
We could not run PCMark 10 on the Steam Deck, however anecdotally, Mashable’s Alex Perry stated he obtained about three-and-a-half hours on it.
Asus ROG Ally X software program and Home windows
The Asus ROG Ally X operating Home windows is a blessing and a curse. On the plus aspect, you possibly can obtain video games from wherever, whether or not it is Steam, the Epic Video games Retailer, Ubisoft Join, Microsoft Retailer, and extra.
The draw back is that setup is a ache. It is like organising any Home windows PC the place you are dodging subscription pushes left and proper, from Microsoft 365 to Xbox Recreation Cross. And that is on high of organising the Wi-Fi, keyboard language, PIN quantity, inputting your Microsoft account, and extra. Subsequent, you need to navigate Home windows, principally along with your fingers by way of the touchscreen, to obtain all of your video games, which may be fairly the duty.
With the Steam Deck then again, setup is much more seamless. Enter your Wi-Fi password earlier than signing in along with your Steam credentials, and voila, you are in. After all, the con right here is that there are some limitations with SteamOS (except you wish to undergo the method of tinkering with the Steam Deck to put in Home windows).
Asus ROG Ally X value it?
The Asus ROG Ally X, in comparison with the OG Ally, has a slight efficiency increase and higher battery life.
Pinning it in opposition to the Steam Deck, the ROG Ally X beats it in 3 ways: higher body charges on triple-A titles like Cyberpunk 2077, a handy further USB-C port (i.e., Thunderbolt 4), and higher audio.
Nonetheless, I might argue that the Steam Deck nonetheless continues to have the very best ergonomic design in addition to the higher working system with SteamOS.
I loved taking part in on the ROG Ally X, and sure, I completely advocate it for anybody in search of a Steam Deck different.
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Daniel Mercer
