ROG Ally X A Year Later Review Handheld Gaming Performance Battery Life and Software Woes

The ROG Ally X After One Whole Year A Gem With Flaws

One whole year has gone by since the ROG Ally X first showed up, aiming for the top spot in PC handhelds. It was the first to bring in big batteries, giving a good play time away from home, where before one hour was a big deal. But in the fast world of tech, a year is a long time. Now, with new foes like the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus and new handhelds soon to come, we ask Is the old king still worth buying?

For many, like me, handhelds like the Ally X have changed how we play. In our busy lives, being able to pick up a device, play a big game for 30 minutes, and then move on with our day is a big change. It turns gaming into an easy break, not a big time eat. This look back at a year of lots of use, trips, and small fixes tries to see if the Ally X is still good.

Deep Look at The Ally X Where It Wins

ASUS took the first Ally and made it much better. The gear now is what the first should have been.

Battery Life The Big 80Whr

The best upgrade is the battery. From an old 40Whr to a huge 80Whr, this was a big step. Stress tests with big games like Elden Ring in Turbo Mode (25W) give you two hours of play, way better than the first's 40 minutes. In a lower gear (17W), you get about three hours, and with smaller games, even six to eight hours. It matches the Steam Deck OLED often, and it wins a lot, making it a good friend on trips without fear of losing charge.

Performance The Z1 Extreme's Power

It has the same Z1 Extreme chip as before, but now with more and faster RAM (24GB LPDDR5X). This boosts how well it works. Tests show the Ally X is stronger than the Steam Deck OLED:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (720p, Low): Ally X gets about 68 FPS, Deck gets 49 FPS (~40% faster). But, the Deck feels smoother at times due to better low-end fine-tuning, which cuts down on jerks.
• Cyberpunk 2077 (720p, Low): Gets 67 FPS on the Ally X, versus 47 FPS on the Deck.
• Elden Ring (720p, Low): Both are close, with scores in the high 40s to low 50s.

The key point is, the Ally X offers more power, but it uses more energy (25W TDP vs the Deck's 15W TDP).

The Screen, How It Feels, and Build

The Ally X has a 7-inch, 1080p, 120Hz LCD screen with variable refresh rate. While not OLED, it's great for fast games, looking sharp and smooth. The feel of it is much better, with firm bumpers and nice triggers. The old sticky buttons seem fixed. Yet, it feels a bit plain, like a Nintendo Switch, and the back buttons can be hard to reach for some. A big win for those who like to mess with their gear, it's easy to fix and has a normal M.2 2280 SSD slot.

The Software Two Sides of a Story

Here is where things get mixed. The Ally X runs Windows, which is both its biggest strength and weakness.

The Hard Parts of Windows on a Handheld

Windows isn't made for a controller-first, on-the-go use. This brings many annoyances that hurt the great gear:

• Update Mess: To keep the device fully current, you have to check four different spots: Windows Update, Armoury Crate, MyASUS, and AMD's Adrenaline software. This is tricky even for those who know tech well.
• Sleep Mode is Broken: This big problem happens often. The device fails to sleep right. People say it wakes up by itself, drains its battery overnight, or worse, turns on in a case and gets too hot, causing lasting harm. Trying to go back to a game often leads to crashes or puts it in a windowed view. This unreliability makes users "shut down after every use," which ruins the quick-use idea.
• General Roughness: Games hardly ever run right at the start. You often have to tweak settings just to start a game in full screen, a hassle that just isn't there on more console-type systems.

The Simple Fix Bazzite and SteamOS

Good news is here you can set up a SteamOS, or Bazzite (its steam os look like) By having one of these two systems, you get the best of two sides. SteamOS and Bazzite has a smooth, game-like look, and most key, a sleep-wake thing that works just right. For lots, putting SteamOS or Bazzite in is a key step to make the Ally X show its full power, turning it from a hard little PC to a real gaming tool.

The Big Issue Price and Trust in ASUS

The Ally X came out at $800, and its price went up to about $950 for the big storage model. It is a big money ask, close to the price of rare gaming tools, and more than the new shiny Steam Deck. This price made it a hard choice, but it's even harder with ASUS's past.

The first Ally had a big problem with its SD card part; it would get too hot and stop working. ASUS first said no to the problem, but fixed it only when lots of users pushed them. Even though the Ally X does not have this issue, the past event left a deep mark of no trust. It’s hard to say yes to a costly thing from a maker when you are not sure if they will fix big problems that come up.

Pros, Cons & Rating

(The score shows great parts, but is lower due to bad software and high cost.)

Final Thoughts

The ROG Ally X stands out. The hardware is top-notch strong, lasting, and well-made. In most ways, it’s the hand PC to beat. But, it has big issues: a bad Windows setup and bad trust thanks to the maker.

If you know tech and can set up Bazzite, you might skip the worst software issues and have an awesome gaming tool. But for a simple, ready-to-go setup, Windows might ruin the fun. With new handhelds coming soon, Ally X is a tough call at full price. If you get a big price cut and don't mind some work, it remains a very strong handheld. Yet, for most, the high cost and possible software trouble are big things to think about.