ROG Ally X Preview: Things are Looking Good!

2023 saw the release of the ROG Ally, a handheld PC aiming to push past all that the Steamdeck had established before it. At the time, our own Brendan Frye was impressed with many of the features the Ally had to offer but was concerned with the amount of tinkering needed for a game to perform as advertised. Fast forward to almost a year later and ROG is ready to release the next generation in their handheld PC series, the ROG Ally X.

While the official release is later this month, ROG gave us a sneak peek at what we can expect from the ROG Ally X, and while the final unit might vary slightly from ours, the overall experience should be similar to what consumers will have in their hands. With upgraded RAM,  better battery life and some updated IO, one has to wonder if it’s enough to justify the 100-dollar price increase of the original Ally at the time of its release.

Sporting the same essential form factor as its predecessor, the ROG Ally X measures in at 11” x 4.4”x 0.97”. While the width and length are essentially the same as the original Ally, the thickness of Ally X is almost double. As for weight, we do see a slight increase in overall weight, with the X weighing in at 1.49 lbs, about 0.19 lbs heavier than the original Ally. While this might seem drastic on paper while using the Ally X the difference isn’t noticeable.

Having used the ROG Ally X as a daily gaming platform for the past three weeks, it feels quite comfortable with the palm rests fitting perfectly in the hand. The button and stick layout are virtually the same with only a slight design change to the M1 and M2 buttons located on the back of the unit. Sporting the same 7-inch 120Hz FHD touch screen, the ROG Ally X looks practically identical to its predecessor.

“Having used the ROG Ally X as a daily gaming platform for the past three weeks, it feels quite comfortable with the palm rests fitting perfectly in the hand.”

However, a few key differences help raise it above the first-generation model. For starters, the Ally X comes stock with 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM (7500Mhz), giving it an impressive leg up on the Ally’s 16GB  LPDDR5(6400Mhz) RAM. This translated to smoother navigation within Armoury Crate SE, better multi-app management with Windows 11 and overall solid performance from the many titles I’ve been playing these past three weeks.

To help further push performance, ROG has opted to make the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor the only option for the Ally X. When coupled with the new and faster M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe SSD,  the result is a handheld PC that performs quite well across a multitude of titles. Every title tested easily managed 40-60FPS consistently, and thanks to Armoury Crates Command Center, which allows for hot-swapping operating modes, it’s easy to swap to turbo mode (30 watts up from 25 watts in the Ally) while gaming and back to silent when performing daily operations.

More impressive still is that ROG seems to have worked out much of the tinkering needed to have games perform on their platform. Except for one small adjustment the first time booting up Fallout 76 , every title tested worked on the first attempt after download. As minor as this might seem, it’s a huge leap forward compared to some other handheld PCs tested recently. There were no game crashes or failures to launch titles. The ROG Ally X simply worked.

“…the Ally X comes stock with 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM (7500Mhz), giving it an impressive leg up on the Ally’s 16GB  LPDDR5(6400Mhz) RAM.”

Another area of improvement is the inclusion of two USB Type-C ports. This allows for a lot more options and flexibility, as a USB Type-C dock can be connected while powering the unit. The Ally X also includes new joysticks that are designed to be more rugged and rated for a longer life cycle. As for using the joysticks, they felt and responded much the same way as the Xbox Series X controller . They were responsive and allowed for precise aiming while gaming.

The ROG Ally X also runs fairly cool for a handheld. Even in turbo mode, the system doesn’t generate a lot of sound, and while you can feel the heat dissipating from the exhaust ports, the overall temperature of the unit is relatively cool. Even running it for over four hours, the Ally X stayed quite cool.

On the note of run time, possibly the most needed upgrade has been added to the Ally X, namely a better battery. ROG has doubled the battery size from 40Whr to 80Whr, which explains the thicker casing. In testing, the Ally X could manage 4-6 hours of gameplay between charges, depending on titles. This is a huge upgrade over the Ally, which struggled to achieve 2 hours of gameplay.

“There were no game crashes or failures to launch titles. The ROG Ally X simply worked.”

The ROG Ally X runs on Windows 11 as did its predecessor and, as such, suffers from the same clumsy Windows 11 UI that is not designed for touch screens in any way. As such navigating Windows is a chore but is also the cost of game compatibility. While some handhelds like the SteamDeck or the Lenovo Legion Go offer touchpads to help with navigation efforts, the Ally X doesn’t offer any such feature.

To help alleviate some of this frustration, however, the Ally X comes equipped with Armoury Crate SE, an all-in-one software suite that helps manage your many games across all of your storefront platforms. From here, it’s easy to launch and manage all of your games regardless of storefront platform.

Thanks to a clean and easy-to-use UI, navigating the Ally X’s many performance settings is also quite easy and designed to work with the joysticks and touchscreen. After using it for the past few weeks, I can say that it helps give the Ally X a console-like experience with a Windows 11 backbone for PC support. While Windows 11 is still very much Windows 11, Armoury Crate SE helps take some of the sting out of that experience.

The real question is whether or not it’s worth purchasing the ROG Ally X, especially for those who have invested in the first-generation Ally. It’s a tough call. For those who are breaking into the Handheld PC scene and looking for their first, the Ally X is a good choice. While the $799.99 price point feels a bit high, the fact that it has compatibility with all Windows titles (with controller support), solid battery life and quite serviceable hardware makes it one of the better units on the market.

For those debating on upgrading from the Ally, it’s not quite so clear-cut. While the performance boost is nice, the Ally still handles most titles well. Not quite as well as the X but it is a solid unit that you could probably stay with. However, if you desperately want more time unplugged and gaming, then that battery upgrade is a serious leap forward for the handheld and might be worth considering. While we are still a bit out from the official launch, the Ally X is shaping up to be a fairly solid upgrade for the Ally handheld series. Look for our full review when the ROG Ally X goes live later in July .