Are Asus ROG Ally X the ideal Steam Deck challenger? A little bit, here’s the reasons

Doubling up on the areas that matter without sacrificing the feel

Asus ROG Ally X

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Asus ROG Ally X

In the case of the final ROG Ally model, we had a few complaints about the design. One of them was it was that grips seemed way too narrow to take a good grasp of the device as well as the control layout was a crowded combination of soft buttons and insecure joysticks.

If Asus did nothing to tackle these issues concerns, the extra weight of a an even bigger battery could’ve proved devastating. The larger chassis, however, gives the controls more room to expand into, as well as larger grips, too.

This creates a more comfortable and ergonomic structure for you to use and, while the battery adds 70 grams and is also placed at the bottom of the frame to ensure a much better weight distribution.

For the controls the joysticks with rubberized grips felt more comfortable The face buttons weren’t too cramped, and the DPad is extremely responsive and precise. Simply put, Asus has solved my main complaints.

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Early Verdict

Double the storage capacity, double the battery’s lifespan, and even more RAM, all while improving ergonomics and keeping the weight light and light. The ROG Ally X is a tasty mid-cycle upgrade for those not sure about the initial version.

Pros

• +Huge 80Wh battery
• Plus Joysticks and buttons have been significantly enhanced
• More storage capacity, double storage, and more RAM

Cons

• It is also more expensive at $800.
• Screen and Processor remain the same

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In addition to AI being mentioned over 300 times during Computex 2024 (I am not sure how many times) Another major talk of the event has been gaming handheldswhich is a charge that was that was led to The Asus ROG Ally X.

It is available for pre-ordering now at $799. It’s not an upgraded handheld. It has the identical AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and a 7-inch FHD display with a 120Hz refresh speed as the ROG Ally. ROG Ally.

However, Asus has seized this chance to do an update to the mid-gen and gone with it. The battery’s capacity has increased to 80Wh, RAM has risen to 24GB and the base storage is 1TB instead of the previous year’s 512GB.

All the all while weighing less than 700g, and improving ergonomics of the device with more grips, and greatly improved joysticks as well as removing the softness that comes with the D-pad. The price is $800. not for everyone who owns an Ally or X, but for those who are a first Windows gaming handheld purchaser The X might be the one to give it to you.

ASUS ROG ALLY X: SPECS

Dimensions: 11 inches x 4.4 1. 1.5 inches

Weight 1.49 pounds

CPU AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme

GPU AMD Radeon Graphics

RAM 24GB LPDDR5x

Storage 1TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD

Display 7-inch FHD, 16:9, 120Hz refresh rate IPS panel

Ports: 1x USB 4 Type-C 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x 3.5mm audio connector, 1x microSD card reader slot

Wireless connectivity Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2

Price $800 USD

ASUS ROG ALLY X: WHAT WE LIKE

There’s plenty to love about Ally X, including beefing up the essential parts that led to our most resentments with the Ally. Ally.

It’s possible that this is an update in mid-cycle, but Oh my, did Asus invest a great deal of effort into the Ally X. We weren’t able test this Ally X properly (look forward to our full review of this) however, the numbers provide us with a reasons to believe in the product:

Battery: Doubled from 40Wh to

RAM: Increased from 16GB LPDDR5 with 6400Mhz speed up to 24GB more powerful 7500Mhz LPDDR5

Storage: Doubled from 512GB up to 1TB and speedier loading speeds

Given this, it’s reasonable to believe that this device can last longer, and also load more games more quickly.

Ergonomically sound

ASUS ROG ALLY X: WHAT WE DON’T LIKE

While certain elements have changed, the rest remain identical, and could be showing signs of aging earlier rather than laterand that’s especially frustrating considering the cost.

We’re sticking with Z1 Extreme

Let me clarify that I’m not saying this Ryzen Z1 Extreme is a bad chip. Actually in terms of the best gaming handhelds this is the perfect one to go with (looking to you MSI Claw). While everything else on the device does feel “next gen,” this holds it back as an unintentional refresh.

I’m talking about Ryzen AI300 chips in front of you, and the ability to set a Thermal Design Power (TDP) range of 15-45W, compared with the Extreme’s range of 9-30W. this could’ve been a great and delicious, no-brainer upgrade — especially considering that the battery’s capacity has increased by two times.

That display being stuck rigidly to IPS is a pain. It’s not that it’s poor screen technology however, this is the ROG Ally X — a second chance to Asus”diamonds” that is a bit rough. OLED could have helped prolong battery’s lifespan while greatly improving the image quality.

You’re asking me to pay what amount! ?

The cost of Windows gaming devices has been quite nicely in the $6-700 range. A bit steep however, given the capabilities you can accomplish with it. If you increase the price to $800, this is something else There are a lot of low-cost gaming laptops that have dedicated GPUs at this price.

You’ll have to be in love with the idea of a portable device to spend the amount, and it is a given that If you already own an Ally, the additional storage, battery, and RAM isn’t enough to justify purchasing the same device once more.

Windows handheld gaming PCs were in use before the deck and there’s been a variety of them in the fifteen months following. Some are more robust. A lot of them boast top-quality build quality. Most have screens with higher resolutions. But none has offered the same combination of durability, battery capacity and cost as Valve’s portable. I’m not burying the lede that the new ROG Ally is scheduled to ship on the 13th of June for $699.99 isn’t changing the price as of today.

I’m not saying that it’s a bad deal that at $700 it’s a bargain. Asus ROG Ally is a huge leap in the direction of Windows handhelds in many ways. It’s more than just a little stronger over Steam Deck. Steam Deck; the AMD Z1 Extreme handheld is considerably more powerful, but it’s not as thick or costing as much as the Windows competitors. I’d like to see I had a Steam Deck would run anywhere close to as silent and also had the Ally’s variable-refresh rate display to make my games as effortless.