Asus ROG Ally X Review

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 vulnerable to malfunction, the Ally established itself because the machine to beat within the class regardless of subsequent competitors from Lenovo and MSI. Earlier this 12 months, Arnold Su, Vice President of the corporate’s shopper and gaming PC enterprise, told me that the corporate did not consider in ready. The Taiwanese agency’s technique to be the primary to market throughout machine classes has paid dividends in India, so why wait if you convey one thing new?

And Asus has struck the iron when it is sizzling, doubling down on its handheld guess. The ROG Ally X was unveiled in June forward of Computex Taipei 2024 and launched in India final month. It is out there 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. Nonetheless, there are a lot of modifications — each inside and with out. The Asus ROG Ally X can also 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 larger worth? At Computex, once I first acquired a hands-on alternative to attempt the Ally X, I felt that Asus had made all the precise selections for a mid-gen refresh of the ROG Ally. After spending a while testing the machine, it is clear that the corporate took no half-measures. 

The ROG Ally X dwarfs the Nintendo Change

Asus ROG Ally X Design: Ergonomic enhancements

• Dimensions – 280mm (width) x 111mm (top) 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, properly, maintain in your fingers. Most notably, the grips function a extra pronounced curve than the unique ROG Ally — taller by 4.5mm, so the rear facet nestles into your palms somewhat than digging in opposition to them. The grips are additionally textured to withstand slips, however these are a bit extra outstanding than obligatory. The ROG-themed textures on the rear ended up making a little bit of friction in opposition to my palm throughout longer taking part in periods, making them sweat greater than standard.

Alternatively, 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 among 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 at the moment are smaller to scale back the possibility of unintentional presses whereas taking part in.

There is a change within the port choice, too. Asus has dropped the proprietary ROG XG Cell 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 facet of the hand held somewhat than each positioned side-by-side on the highest backbone. The ROG Ally X can also be a bit thicker and 70g heavier than its predecessor, but it surely feels proper at house within the fingers. The development is strong, and the hand held has a strong 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

• Measurement – 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 replica. Asus additionally claims the Corning Gorilla Glass DCX coating on the panel reduces reflections, which improves visibility in vivid and outside environments. Nonetheless, the most effective function of the show is the variable refresh charge assist, which reduces display tearing and stuttering to supply 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 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 Residence 
• Proprietary app – Armoury Crate SE 

The ROG Ally X runs on Windows 11 Residence, 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 splendid 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 persistently 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 not too long ago confirmed that it might permit third-party handhelds to run its Linux-based SteamOS, but it surely’s additionally unlikely that producers would ditch 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 might be customised to your preferences and will get a favourites tabs to rapidly soar into your go-to video games. A deeper degree of customisation involves settings, too. Now, you may regulate 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 may also manually regulate 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 might be introduced up by tapping the devoted button that hugs the left facet of the show, can also be a helpful solution to rapidly choose energy profiles, change between Gamepad and Desktop management modes, take screenshots, and extra. Opposite to the short 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 sequence processor seen on its predecessor that works throughout a TDP vary of 9-25W (it will probably additional go right down to a minimal of 7W TDP in Guide settings) on DC energy (on battery). Energy restrict values might be adjusted to your liking within the Guide energy profile, or “Working Mode,” as Asus calls it. Except for Guide, 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 quicker reminiscence, its environment friendly utilisation of energy and the VRR-supported display ends in 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 facet 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, you may simply decrease the decision to get well extra frames and not using a 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 mean 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, 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 Hollow Knight, for example, taking part in at 1080p decision with Excessive settings on the 13W Silent working mode yields framerates persistently above 110fps.

On Hades, I acquired comparable 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 official transportable machine. 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 may persist with the Silent working mode at 13W or set it even decrease manually to scale back battery drain and get wonderful efficiency and prolonged play periods 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 superb battery life on the ROG Ally X places it convincingly above its competitors. The hand held stays cool and silent throughout prolonged play periods, 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 saved what already labored properly and improved what was missing. The machine’s larger battery, quicker (and extra) reminiscence, and higher cooling ends in an environment friendly and constant performer that beats out the competitors on practically each metric.

The price of these essential upgrades, nevertheless, is somewhat steep. At Rs. 89,990, the ROG Ally X is sort of double the worth of the AMD Z1 Excessive mannequin of the unique Ally, which at the moment sells at Rs. 49,990 after worth cuts. That huge hole makes it a bit troublesome to advocate Asus’ newest handheld; an OLED display would have positively sweetened the deal. However should you’re on the lookout for the most effective Home windows-based handheld available in the market proper now, it is much more troublesome to advocate the rest however the ROG Ally X. With its best-in-class battery and appreciable efficiency positive factors, the Ally X is your all-weather pal.

Professionals

• Glorious battery life
• Constant efficiency
• Ergonomic design modifications
• 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