The ROG Ally X is the latest iteration of the ASUS handheld PC. Featuring a refined user experience, improved hardware and a host of quality of life improvements, the Ally X has a clear advantage over its predecessor, the ROG Ally. As our own Brendan Frye pointed out, while the Ally can run games beautifully, its poor battery life and constant need for tinkering hold it back. ASUS aims to address these issues in this latest iteration. Whether the new and improved version of the Ally offers enough to set it apart is what these tests are for.
At first glance, the Ally X looks exceptionally similar to the original Ally in design. On the surface, the Ally X carries the same basic shape and feel as its predecessor. While it is slightly thicker, measuring 0.97” compared to the original’s 0.83” thickness, the length and width measure the same at 11.02” and 4.37” respectively. Additionally, although there is a slight difference in weight, with the original Ally weighing 1.34 lbs vs the X’s 1.49 lbs in hand, the two devices feel very similar.
However, there is some notable difference in the grips, with the Ally X resting more comfortably in hand even after a couple of hours of gameplay. Upon visual inspection, this seems to be attributed to a slight difference in the curvature of the grip. Though the Ally X is slightly thicker, it’s comparable to holding a traditional control, which feels much more natural.
The triggers, likewise, have received a similar refinement in design. They offer a bit more surface area to work with and are better positioned to naturally intersect with where your trigger fingers are at rest. While not a huge departure from the original design, these small refinements make the Ally X a more comfortable device to hold, especially over longer game sessions.
“On the note of performance, the Ally X runs smoothly both in-game and out-of-game.”
Another notable design refinement comes in the form of a slight difference in button positioning relative to the joysticks. At first, I couldn’t quite figure out why Ally X felt better about playing than Ally, but after a couple of hours of comparative gaming, the difference was noticeable. The positioning of the face buttons specifically makes it much easier to reach when moving off the right thumb stick, reducing travel distance and thus reaction time.
It seems like a small thing, but after testing both units for the past few days, there is a noticeable difference in the overall gaming experience. This, of course, is not to say that if you own an Ally, you should rush out to purchase the Ally X. The original Ally is still quite comfortable to game on. It’s simply that the Ally X has refined and improved on an already solid design.
Shifting from physical redesign to hardware is where the differences between the two devices begin to show. As noted in Brendan’s review of the Ally, while it did present a beautiful game experience, it required a lot of tinkering to get things just right. The Ally X strives to resolve this issue the best way it can, with more power.
This is first evident in the upgrade of some of the key components. While ASUS has opted to continue with the excellent AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which was the processor used in the upgraded version of the original Ally, almost every other piece of hardware has seen an upgrade. For starters, RAM has jumped up from the original 16GB of LPDDR5-6400 RAM to 24GB of LPDDR5X-7500 RAM. This translates to a noticeable performance improvement on most titles. On the Ally X, DOOM Eternal ran at an average of 75FPS with turbo mode engaged, whereas the original Ally could only produce an average of 45FPS.
On the note of performance, the Ally X runs smoothly both in-game and out-of-game. Compared to the Ally, there is a notable difference even when navigating the OS or Armoury Crate. This was immediately apparent when powering up both systems and navigating their respective interfaces. While they offer a similar user experience overall, the Ally X simply does it faster, more smoothly, and without the need to tinker too much with game or hardware settings.
Other hardware improvements include a slight increase in the NVMe drive read/write speed to 2280 from 2230. In theory, this should improve game load times, but in testing, the difference was negligible. However, the increase from 512GB to 1TB of storage is a welcome upgrade. While both systems do support microSD expansion, there is something to be said for more onboard NVMe storage.
The one area I was surprised not to see any updating is the display. While the 7-inch 1080p 120Hz display with a 500 nit count offers a solid viewing experience it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. While the internal hardware updates improve the overall experience, nothing screams ‘upgrade’ like a prettier screen. Regardless, the Ally X display still does a great job of providing a beautiful visual experience.
The Ally X also sees an improvement in cooling with increased blade count on its dual fan Zero Gravity Cooling system. Replacing the original 47-blade design are two new 77-blade fans that offer better heat reduction thanks to improved airflow. In testing, despite offering a cooler experience, there wasn’t any notable noise difference between the Ally and Ally X, which is a credit to the latter’s new cooling system.
The final hardware upgrade to accompany the arrival of the Ally X is the new 80Wh battery. This is a fairly impressive improvement over its predecessor, which houses a 40Wh battery. One of the biggest complaints of Ally was battery life, and this was ASUS’s response. In our original tests of the Ally, users could expect an average of about 2 hours on battery. The Ally X sees double that on average. Of course, these numbers will vary based on title and settings, but overall, the Ally X consistently hit 4 plus hours during testing.
“If you are looking for a PC gaming experience in the palm of your hand, the ROG Ally X will deliver.”
The battery capacity isn’t the only element of the power system that can see an improvement. The new Ally X also has an increased max charging speed of 100W (though only a 65W charger is included). However, thanks to having every wattage charger lying around the office, we can confirm that the Ally X charges exceptionally quickly when connected to a 100W charger.
The Ally X, like its predecessor, comes pre-installed with Armoury Crate. This is ROGs all-in-one UI for managing everything from games to system and hardware settings. Not to be confused with the traditional desktop version of Armoury Crate, which suffers from unnecessarily complex menus and a poorly laid out UI, the Armoury Crate on the Ally X is quite helpful. It’s simple to navigate and does an excellent job of consolidating installed titles across various platforms. The in-game overlay offers a host of useful settings and features to help maximize a game’s performance with ease.
The real question, after all of the testing and comparison, is whether or not the Ally X is worth the 100-dollar increase in price over its predecessor. At $799.99 the Ally X is one of the more expensive Handheld PCs on the market. If you own an original Ally, I would encourage you to stick with what you have. While the increased NVMe and RAM are nice, I don’t know that it’s enough of an improvement over the original to justify buying a whole new unit.
If this is your first handheld PC purchase, while the Ally X is on the higher end regarding price, its refined build, solid hardware and smooth user experience make it a competitive handheld console. Its adaptability and power to handle many modern AAA titles give it an advantage over some other handhelds on the market as well. If you are looking for a PC gaming experience in the palm of your hand, the ROG Ally X will deliver.
