My Real Experience Replacing My PC with the ROG Ally X
- Review
- 11 Jul, 2024
A few months ago, my bulky gaming desktop finally started showing its age. Instead of dropping another couple of grand on a new GPU and motherboard, I decided to do something a little crazy. I packed my PC away and bought the ASUS ROG Ally X. The goal? See if this little handheld could actually serve as my only gaming and daily computing device.
After living with it every single day, I’m ready to share what it’s actually like. Spoiler alert: it's not perfect, but it fundamentally changed how I play games.
The Good: Why the Ally X Actually Works
The original ROG Ally was a neat concept hampered by a terrible battery and some hardware quirks (I'm looking at you, SD card reader). The Ally X feels like the device ASUS should have released in the first place.
Unbelievable Battery Life
The most significant upgrade is the battery. ASUS literally doubled the capacity to 80Wh. What does this mean in real life?
- Indie Games (Stardew Valley, Hades): I can comfortably get 5-6 hours of playtime.
- AAA Games (Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring): I'm squeezing out a solid 2.5 to 3 hours at 15W mode.
With the older handhelds, I was constantly chained to an outlet. Now, I actually take it on flights and long train rides without battery anxiety.
Performance and Ergonomics
The performance jump isn't night and day from the original Z1 Extreme chip, but the extra RAM (24GB vs 16GB) makes a huge difference. Games stutter way less, and you have more memory to allocate to the GPU.
But honestly, the best part is how it feels. It’s slightly heavier, but the grips are thicker and more ergonomic. My hands used to cramp after an hour on the original Ally; on the Ally X, I can play for hours without discomfort. The joysticks also feel tighter and much more premium.
The Bad: The Reality of Windows 11 on a 7-inch Screen
If you are coming from a Nintendo Switch or a Steam Deck, you need to set your expectations right. This is a full-blown Windows 11 PC, for better or worse.
The Software Experience is Still Clunky
Armoury Crate SE (ASUS’s software overlay) has gotten better, but Windows 11 is just not built for touch or controller input.
- Navigating the Desktop: Trying to close tiny windows or use the on-screen keyboard is frustrating.
- Sleep/Wake Issues: Unlike the Steam Deck where you just press the power button to suspend a game perfectly, Windows sometimes completely crashes the game when you try to wake it up.
Using it as a Desktop Replacement
To really test it, I bought a USB-C dock, plugged it into my 27-inch monitor, and hooked up a mouse and keyboard. Can it do basic web browsing, YouTube, and writing? Absolutely. It handles all of that flawlessly. Can it play modern AAA games at 1440p on an external monitor? No. You really have to drop the resolution to 1080p (or lower) and rely heavily on upscaling tech like FSR to get playable framerates on a big screen.
Final Verdict: Should You Buy It?
The ASUS ROG Ally X is undoubtedly the best Windows handheld on the market right now. It fixed almost every hardware complaint people had about the original.
Who is this for? If you travel a lot, want to play games that aren't supported on SteamOS (like Destiny 2 or anything with strict anti-cheat), or just love the idea of lounging on the couch playing PC games, it’s an incredible device.
Who should skip it? If you want a seamless, console-like experience where things "just work," get a Steam Deck. And if you are expecting this to perform like a $2000 desktop rig when plugged into a monitor, you will be disappointed.
For me? I haven't unpacked my desktop PC yet. The freedom of picking up my entire gaming library and carrying it to the couch or a coffee shop is just too good to give up.
