The Asus ROG Ally laid down the gauntlet for Home windows-based gaming handhelds when it arrived in 2023. Whereas it had its flaws, together with an SD card reader that was unpardonably liable to malfunction, the Ally established itself because the gadget to beat within the class regardless of subsequent competitors from Lenovo and MSI. Earlier this yr, Arnold Su, Vice President of the corporate’s shopper and gaming PC enterprise, informed me that the corporate did not imagine in ready. The Taiwanese agency’s technique to be the primary to market throughout gadget classes has paid dividends in India, so why wait once you deliver one thing new?
And Asus has struck the iron when it is scorching, doubling down on its handheld wager. The ROG Ally X was unveiled in June forward of Computex Taipei 2024 and launched in India final month. It is accessible in a single 1TB SSD storage variant that now comes with 24GB of RAM. It nonetheless runs on the identical AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive chipset as its predecessor and sports activities the identical 7-inch show. Nevertheless, there are various adjustments — each inside and with out. The Asus ROG Ally X can be dearer than the unique Ally, coming in at Rs. 89,990 in India.
However are the upgrades packed on this refresh definitely worth the increased worth? At Computex, once I first acquired a hands-on alternative to strive the Ally X, I felt that Asus had made all the fitting decisions for a mid-gen refresh of the ROG Ally. After spending a while testing the gadget, it is clear that the corporate took no half-measures.
The ROG Ally X dwarfs the Nintendo Swap
Asus ROG Ally X Design: Ergonomic enhancements
- Dimensions – 280mm (width) x 111mm (peak) x 24.7 ~ 36.9mm (depth)
- Weight – 678g
- Color – Black
Asus returned to the drafting board to make the brand new Ally extra ergonomic. Whereas the hand-held retains the visible language of its predecessor — barring the Black colourway, there’s little that differentiates the Ally X from the Ally at first look — there are studied design tweaks throughout to make the hand-held extra snug and pure to, effectively, maintain in your palms. Most notably, the grips function a extra pronounced curve than the unique ROG Ally — taller by 4.5mm, so the rear aspect nestles into your palms moderately than digging towards them. The grips are additionally textured to withstand slips, however these are a bit extra outstanding than vital. The ROG-themed textures on the rear ended up making a little bit of friction towards my palm throughout longer taking part in classes, making them sweat greater than standard.
Then again, the textured rubber on the joysticks feels actually good and prevents your thumbs from slipping off throughout intense play. The thumbsticks additionally sport deeper concave grooves on high on your thumbs to settle in comfortably. Asus additionally claims that the joysticks on the ROG Ally X are twice as sturdy as those on its first handheld — rated for five million rotation cycles. The RGB halo impact across the sticks additionally provides a little bit of aptitude to the hand-held.
The ROG Ally X has a extra ergonomic design than its predecessor
The hall-effect triggers are wider and sport a barely extra curved contour. The D-pad has been redesigned to be much less sticky and floaty, leading to satisfyingly crisp suggestions. This is likely one of the finest D-pads I’ve used on the modern controller. The left and proper bumpers and the ABXY buttons are fairly clicky, too. The 2 rear macro buttons are actually smaller to scale back the possibility of unintended presses whereas taking part in.
There is a change within the port choice, too. Asus has dropped the proprietary ROG XG Cellular Interface from the unique Ally for a second USB Sort-C port. That is appreciated, however it might have been higher if one of many USB ports was positioned on the underside aspect of the hand-held moderately than each positioned side-by-side on the highest backbone. The ROG Ally X can be a bit thicker and 70g heavier than its predecessor, nevertheless it feels proper at house within the palms. The development is strong, and the hand-held has a sturdy presence whereas sustaining a slick and clear design aesthetic.
The grips function a slip-resistant texture that could be a bit coarse for my liking
Asus ROG Ally X Show: If it ain’t broke, do not repair it
- Dimension – 7-inch “IPS-level” contact show
- Decision – Full-HD (1920×1080 pixels)
- Refresh charge – 120Hz
The ROG Ally X retains the show from the Ally. The 7-inch multitouch LCD panel goes as much as 500nits of peak brightness. It is crisp with correct and vivid color copy. Asus additionally claims the Corning Gorilla Glass DCX coating on the panel reduces reflections, which improves visibility in shiny and out of doors environments. Nevertheless, the perfect function of the show is the variable refresh charge assist, which reduces display screen tearing and stuttering to offer smoother framerates whereas gaming.
Asus, nevertheless, missed a trick by not upgrading the Ally X with an OLED panel. The hand-held’s LCD show is superb, however an OLED display screen makes an enormous distinction within the viewing expertise, particularly whereas gaming.
The ROG Ally X sports activities two USC Sort-C ports on the highest
Asus ROG Ally X Software program: Shut the Home windows
- OS – Home windows 11 House
- Proprietary app – Armoury Crate SE
The ROG Ally X runs on Home windows 11 House, and there is nothing actually new so as to add to the dialog about Microsoft’s OS on gaming handhelds. Home windows is much from ideally suited on a 7-inch contact show, and the OS expertise on Home windows-based handhelds just like the Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and MSI Claw stays constantly irritating. At this level, Microsoft ought to work with its companions to optimise its OS for the hand-held type issue, however that is unlikely. Valve has lately confirmed that it might permit third-party handhelds to run its Linux-based SteamOS, nevertheless it’s additionally unlikely that producers would ditch Home windows and run Valve’s OS out-of-the-box.
This is the place the improved Armory Crate SE is available in. Asus’ software program brings an intuitive console-like interface that could be a hub for all of your video games and your portal to dive deep into handheld settings. There are many refinements that make Armory Crate smarter and extra environment friendly. The sport library could be customised to your preferences and will get a favourites tabs to shortly bounce into your go-to video games. A deeper stage of customisation involves settings, too. Now, you possibly can modify customized TDP values and assign further reminiscence to GPU — the Ally X allocates 4GB of its reminiscence to the built-in graphics by default, however with the bumped-up RAM, I elevated it to 8GB. You too can manually modify the fan curve for each followers.
General, Armoury Crate SE provides a hassle-free interface to Home windows, and I discovered myself working off the software program more often than not, whether or not to entry video games throughout providers like Steam and Xbox or to tweak efficiency settings and personalise the Ally X. The Command Centre, which could be introduced up by tapping the devoted button that hugs the left aspect of the show, can be a helpful option to shortly choose energy profiles, swap between Gamepad and Desktop management modes, take screenshots, and extra. Opposite to the fast settings overlay on the MSI Claw A1M, the command centre on the Ally is responsive and free from stutters and contact enter points.
The joysticks really feel sturdy, with a textured rubber high stopping slips
Asus ROG Ally X Efficiency: Consistency is essential
- Processor – AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive
- RAM – 24GB LPDDR5
- Storage – 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD + M.2 SSD (2280) slot for extra storage
- Graphics – AMD Radeon Graphics (RDNA 3, as much as 8.6 teraflops)
The ROG Ally X comes with the identical Ryzen Z1 collection processor seen on its predecessor that works throughout a TDP vary of 9-25W (it may well additional go right down to a minimal of 7W TDP in Handbook settings) on DC energy (on battery). Energy restrict values could be adjusted to your liking within the Handbook energy profile, or “Working Mode,” as Asus calls it. Other than Handbook, there are three pre-defined working modes — Silent (13W), Efficiency (17W), and Turbo (25W). On AC energy (whereas charging), Turbo mode goes as much as 30W TDP regardless that it is the identical AMD chipset, the Ally X’s considerable and sooner reminiscence, its environment friendly utilisation of energy and the VRR-supported display screen leads to a number of the smoothest gameplay I’ve seen on a handheld.
Enjoying a demanding title like Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p decision and Medium graphical preset at 17W (Efficiency mode) resulted in very respectable body charges within the vary of 35-45fps, with densely forested areas, closely populated settlements and intense fight sections seeing body charges on the decrease aspect of that vary. The typical body charge registered within the in-game benchmark stood at 39fps.
Enjoying Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the Ally X
At 25W Turbo mode, the sport carried out within the 40-50fps vary, with the typical body charge coming in at a barely improved 42fps. On AC energy with Turbo mode boosted to 30W TDP, the typical body charge on Shadow of the Tomb Raider confirmed a marked enchancment at 44fps. And since it is a small display screen, you possibly can simply decrease the decision to get well extra frames with no noticeable hit to picture high quality. For example, with the identical Medium graphical preset at 720p, the typical body charge within the recreation shot as much as 63fps.
On Forza Horizon 5, at Medium current and 1080p decision, the typical body charge registered at 76fps on 30W Energy mode whereas charging. When unplugged at 25W TDP, the racing title carried out at a median of 72fps. And on the 17W Efficiency profile, the typical got here in at 68FPS. These are actually good efficiency numbers on pretty demanding titles.
Home windows stays a irritating expertise on gaming handhelds
Handhelds, nevertheless, lend themselves to smaller, much less demanding titles, even when they carry out admirably and adequately on triple-A video games. The smaller display screen, too, is extra suited to platformers and 2D side-scrollers, as expansive vistas of open-world 3D titles can really feel diminished on a 7-inch show. On older and indie video games, the Ally X predictably shines. On Hole Knight, as an example, taking part in at 1080p decision with Excessive settings on the 13W Silent working mode yields framerates constantly above 110fps.
On Hades, I acquired related outcomes, with constant framerates nearing 120fps with negligible dips throughout intense fight encounters. And whereas taking part in, Jusant, a barely extra demanding puzzle platformer, I noticed framerates within the vary of 45-55fps. At 1080p with Medium settings, whereas taking part in within the 17W Efficiency mode, I seen some minor dips. On 25W Turbo mode on DC energy, the framerates climbed as much as 55-60fps vary. And with the charger plugged in with 30W TDP, I noticed a slight enchancment, with efficiency topping out at round 65fps.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the ROG Ally X
Asus ROG Ally X Battery: Greatest within the enterprise
- Battery capability – 80Whr
- Charger – 65W AC adapter
The Asus ROG Ally X’s largest improve comes within the battery division, with the hand-held doubling the 40Whr cell of the unique Ally. It is a actually transformative enchancment that makes the Ally X a legit moveable gadget. Most Home windows-based handhelds, together with the first-generation ROG Ally, high out at round an hour or an hour-and-a-half of playtime on demanding video games. The ROG Ally X, with its huge 80Whr battery and environment friendly energy administration, can simply last as long as two hours whereas working fashionable titles. I acquired simply above two-and-a-half hours of gameplay on Shadow of the Tomb Raider earlier than the battery died. Most of my playthrough was unplugged utilizing Turbo mode, however I switched to 13W TDP as soon as the battery reached the 20 p.c mark.
On much less demanding older and indie video games, you possibly can follow the Silent working mode at 13W or set it even decrease manually to scale back battery drain and get glorious efficiency and prolonged play classes of as much as 4 hours. On low wattage, with brightness set to a minimal, you possibly can go above and past on titles like Celeste, Hades and Spiritfarer. The wonderful battery life on the ROG Ally X places it convincingly above its competitors. The hand-held stays cool and silent throughout prolonged play classes, too, with Asus bringing enhancements to its thermal administration.
Verdict
When it launched in 2023, the Asus ROG Ally set a excessive baseline for Home windows-based gaming handhelds. It could not contact the Steam Deck OLED when it comes to battery effectivity, however its spectacular efficiency on fashionable video games, its compact and light-weight design, and its 120Hz show made it the hand-held to beat. With the ROG Ally X, Asus has clearly stored what already labored effectively and improved what was missing. The gadget’s greater battery, sooner (and extra) reminiscence, and higher cooling leads to an environment friendly and constant performer that beats out the competitors on almost each metric.
The price of these essential upgrades, nevertheless, is moderately steep. At Rs. 89,990, the ROG Ally X is sort of double the value of the AMD Z1 Excessive mannequin of the unique Ally, which presently sells at Rs. 49,990 after worth cuts. That huge hole makes it a bit troublesome to advocate Asus’ newest handheld; an OLED display screen would have undoubtedly sweetened the deal. However when you’re in search of the perfect Home windows-based handheld out there proper now, it is much more troublesome to advocate anything however the ROG Ally X. With its best-in-class battery and appreciable efficiency positive aspects, the Ally X is your all-weather good friend.
Execs
- Wonderful battery life
- Constant efficiency
- Ergonomic design adjustments
- Clicky, tactile buttons
- Improved thermal administration
- Clean Armoury Crate SE expertise
Cons
- No OLED show
- Home windows OS
- Steep pricing
Rankings (out of 10)
- Design: 8
- Show: 7
- Software program: 7
- Efficiency: 9
- Battery Life: 9
- Worth for Cash: 6
- General: 8