The ROG Xbox Ally X isn't perfect. In fact, it's very flawed, and at times I'm surprised Microsoft allowed it to drop in this state with its name attached to it. The Xbox Full Screen Experience is constantly at odds with Windows 11's various layers, and then when you add Asus' Armoury Crate software to the mix (which you need to use to control almost everything on the handheld), it all feels like a bit of a mess.
I don't find myself needing to install weird third-party patches, or spending hours tweaking games to get them to run okay like I did with the Steam Deck OLED and the ROG Ally X.
I can also buy and install games from whatever digital storefront I want, whether it's the Xbox Store and Game Pass, Steam, or even EA's app. The versatility the handheld offers thanks to it being powered by Windows 11 is by far one of its best features, despite it also being the source of many of its issues. On a side note, it's also really comfortable thanks to its Xbox controller-like design, unlike the other ROG Ally and its successor, the ROG Ally X. The Xbox Ally X is not quite as easy to use for long periods as the Switch 2 and dbrand's Killswitch case, but it comes pretty close.
ROG Xbox Ally X
- Dimensions
- 11.45 x 4.78 x 1.99-inches (290.8 x 121.5 x 50.7mm)
- Brand
- Asus
- Weight
- 25oz (715g)
- Chipset
- AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor
- RAM
- 24GB LPDDR5X-8000
- Storage
- 1TB M.2 2280 SSD for easier upgrade
The power upgrade makes a bigger difference than I expected
I haven't found a game the Xbox Ally X can't handle
I talk about this at length in my Xbox Ally X review, but the fact that the handheld can play pretty much everything I throw at it, sometimes without even using the powerful "Turbo" mode, is great. I don't find myself needing to install weird third-party patches, or spending hours tweaking games to get them to run, like I did with the Steam Deck OLED and the ROG Ally X.
Sure, I still need to play with things a bit, but generally, this only takes a few minutes of messing around with graphics settings (ROG Ally Life is a great source for specific graphics settings). When it works, the Xbox Full Screen Experience is great, too. It mostly removes the cruft of Windows 11 and allows me to get right into gaming. I still run into certain situations where I need to navigate Windows 11 prompts and error messages, but this rarely happens, and thanks to recent updates, they've become even less frequent.
If you follow my work, you may have seen that I've been testing Nvidia's RTX 5090-powered XG Mobile eGPU with the Xbox Ally X. While I like the whole one-device-to-rule-them-all angle, I also already have a powerful gaming PC. So, rather than rely on just the Xbox Ally X for gaming, I've found it much easier to use it in handheld mode around my house, and then in the rare moment where I have time to sit down and game in my office, I boot up that same title on my beefy RTX 5090 gaming PC (before getting my hands on a gaming PC, I used a similar gaming setup with my Xbox Series X).
Getting the eGPU to work exactly how I wanted and constantly changing graphics settings for docked and handheld mode quickly became annoying. I have a five-month-old son, so when I have time, I want to actually play a game rather than spend my time messing around with settings. On the handheld side of things, the Xbox Ally X has removed this pain point for me almost entirely.
I appreciate the versatility of high-end handheld gaming
As my life gets busier, the Xbox Ally X fits in it perfectly
Sticking with the time-saving theme, the fact that putting the Xbox Ally X in sleep mode seems to mostly work now has been awesome (unless you have it plugged in), unlike my experience with the feature on the Ally X. For example, I watch my son in the morning for a few hours before putting him down for a nap and getting ready for work. If I'm lucky, this leaves me with 30-45 minutes to play something while he's snoozing. Instead of trekking down to my basement, which is often a bit too far away when I quickly need to pop an all-important soother in his mouth, I can chill out in his room while he naps and quietly play a bit of Battlefield 6.
When he wakes up, I just tap the sleep button on the top of the handheld and set it aside. Then in the evening, if I have a bit more time to game, I can pick the Xbox Ally X back up again, or continue from where I left off on my gaming PC. As my life gets increasingly busier, I've grown to really appreciate how versatile this admittedly very pricey gaming setup is.
I'm the first to admit that the Xbox Ally X isn't perfect. Windows 11 still feels like it really isn't designed for a handheld, even with the positive changes Microsoft has made with the Xbox Full Screen Experience. This also has me worried about whatever the next generation PC-like Xbox ends up being. Still, I'm excited to see where Asus and Microsoft take the ROG Xbox Ally X over the next few years -- it holds a lot of potential.