ROG Ally X Review and Guide: Is the Upgrade Worth It?

If you own the original ROG Ally and are wondering whether the X is worth the extra money — yes, it is, and it’s not close. ASUS didn’t just slap a new badge on the same hardware. The Ally X doubles the battery, upgrades to 24 GB of faster RAM, adds a second USB-C port, and switches to a standard M.2 2280 SSD slot. If you’re a new buyer choosing between the Windows handheld options, the Ally X is the strongest all-rounder at $799. This guide covers every meaningful upgrade, the Armoury Crate SE settings that actually matter, real battery life numbers, and an honest comparison against the Legion Go and Steam Deck OLED.

What Changed: ROG Ally X vs Original ROG Ally

The four upgrades that matter — and why they matter mechanically, not just on paper [1][2]:

Battery: 40 Wh → 80 Wh. Doubling the cell capacity produces almost exactly double the gaming time at equivalent load — XDA Developers measured 1 hour 56 minutes at Turbo (25W) vs roughly 57 minutes on the original at the same power draw. This isn’t a marketing claim; it’s physics. Same wattage, twice the energy stored [5].

RAM: 16 GB LPDDR5-6400 → 24 GB LPDDR5x-7500. This matters more for handhelds than for desktop gaming. The Ally X has no discrete GPU — the Ryzen Z1 Extreme’s integrated RDNA 3 graphics share system RAM as VRAM. When you’re running a demanding title that needs 8 GB of VRAM and 12 GB of system memory simultaneously, 16 GB total becomes a bottleneck. 24 GB removes that ceiling while also running at higher bandwidth (LPDDR5x-7500 vs the original’s LPDDR5-6400), which translates directly to better GPU throughput [1][2].

USB-C: 1 port → 2 ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2 + USB4/Thunderbolt 4). The original Ally had one USB-C port that doubled as the XG Mobile eGPU connector. The Ally X replaces that proprietary port with a dedicated USB4/Thunderbolt 4 port — faster data transfer, 4K display output, and external GPU compatibility via standard Thunderbolt docks. The second USB 3.2 Gen 2 port handles charging or accessories. You can now charge and use a display simultaneously without a dock [2].

SSD Slot: M.2 2230 → M.2 2280. The original’s M.2 2230 slot required rare short-format drives at a price premium. The Ally X’s M.2 2280 slot accepts standard NVMe drives — a 2 TB Samsung 990 Pro costs roughly $120 versus the same capacity in 2230 format at $200+. This is the difference between a practical storage upgrade and an expensive niche one [2].

ROG Ally X — Key Specs

First-Time Setup — What to Do in the First Hour

The Ally X ships with Windows 11 configured for general PC use, not for a handheld device. These steps matter before you launch any game [4].

Run Windows Update first — let it complete all cycles. Some launch-window units shipped with controller firmware bugs that caused joystick drift. The fixes are distributed through Windows Update. Allow two full restart cycles before proceeding. This is not optional.

Update Armoury Crate SE before changing any settings. Armoury Crate SE is ASUS’s performance dashboard — TDP controls, fan profiles, RGB, per-game modes. An outdated version can lock TDP controls entirely. Open it, click the update icon in the top-right corner, and install everything before touching any settings.

Set your game launcher install locations. The Ally X runs full Windows 11 — install Steam, Xbox (Game Pass), and Epic Games normally. If you’re adding a microSD card, insert it now, format it as NTFS in File Explorer, and set it as a secondary Steam library. Install your most-played or most demanding titles on the internal 1 TB SSD; use microSD for overflow.

Set display refresh rate to 120 Hz manually. Windows sometimes defaults to 60 Hz on first boot. Go to Settings → System → Display → Advanced Display and confirm it’s set to 120 Hz. At 60 Hz you’re leaving half the display’s capability unused with no battery benefit.

For a deeper walkthrough of the original ROG Ally, our ROG Ally beginner’s guide covers the full first-boot process — most steps apply to the Ally X as well.

Armoury Crate SE — TDP Settings and Performance Modes

TDP (Thermal Design Power) is the single most important setting on the Ally X. It controls how much power the CPU and GPU can draw — and directly sets the ceiling for both frame rates and battery life [3].

Access TDP via the Command Center (ROG button on top of the device) or Armoury Crate SE → Performance. The three presets:

The practical starting point for most AAA gaming is Turbo at 25W — the Ally X’s 80 Wh battery makes this sustainable in a way the original Ally’s 40 Wh pack never was. For story-driven or turn-based games, drop to Performance (15W) and you’ll gain 45–60 minutes per session with minimal visible frame rate difference if you’re capping at 30–40 FPS anyway [3][5].

One useful Armoury Crate SE feature: per-game profiles. Set Cyberpunk 2077 to Turbo, set Stardew Valley to Silent, and the device switches automatically on launch. You don’t need to manually change modes between sessions.

Known Armoury Crate SE issue: Some users report the software incorrectly running the device at full TDP on the desktop, or locking it to 9W after a software update. If the device feels slower than expected or battery drains faster than it should, reinstalling Armoury Crate SE from the ASUS support page fixes both issues [4].

For general PC gaming optimization beyond handheld-specific settings, the game settings optimization guide covers Windows power plans, GPU driver settings, and overlay tools that also apply to the Ally X.

Resolution and Upscaling — Running Games at 1080p

The Ally X’s 1920×1080 display is a genuine advantage over the Steam Deck’s 1280×800 screen — but running demanding 3D games at native 1080p at 25W pushes the RDNA 3 GPU hard. The correct approach depends on the title [3]:

• 2D games and emulation: Native 1080p, any TDP mode. No compromise needed.
• Lighter 3D (Hades, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight): Native 1080p in Performance mode. Achievable without upscaling.
• Demanding AAA (Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Baldur’s Gate 3): Drop internal resolution to 900p or 720p and enable FSR Quality or Balanced in-game. Typical result: 40–60 FPS at 25W versus 25–35 FPS at native 1080p. The FSR-upscaled image looks close to native at a 7-inch viewing distance.

For games without native FSR support, AMD’s RSR (Radeon Super Resolution) provides driver-level upscaling. Enable it in AMD Software Adrenalin (search in Start menu), set the game to render at 720p or 900p, and RSR upscales to the panel’s native resolution. Quality is marginally softer than in-game FSR but works with any DirectX 11/12 title.

Battery Life — Real Numbers and How to Improve Them

The 80 Wh battery is the Ally X’s defining advantage. XDA Developers tested real gaming sessions at Turbo (25W) and confirmed nearly 2 hours of demanding AAA play — GTA V Online clocked at 1 hour 56 minutes. At the same load, the original Ally managed roughly 57 minutes [5].

Three settings produce the biggest real-world gains:

1. Cap your frame rate. Uncapped rendering in Turbo mode burns the battery as fast as worst-case. Cap story games at 30 FPS in Performance mode; cap action games at 60 FPS in Turbo. Set limits in Armoury Crate SE → Performance → FPS Limit or via AMD Software’s Radeon Chill.
2. Drop TDP when the game doesn’t need it. If a title runs at a locked 30 FPS target at 15W, there’s no reason to run Turbo. Drop to Performance mode and recover 45–60 minutes per session.
3. Screen brightness at 50–60% indoors. The 500-nit panel is bright enough at 60% for all indoor use. Running at 100% brightness adds noticeable drain for no practical benefit.

For long-term battery health: Armoury Crate SE has a Battery Care Mode that caps charging at 80%. If you frequently game plugged in, enabling this preserves cell capacity over years of ownership.

Storage Upgrade — The M.2 2280 Advantage

The M.2 2280 slot is a practical quality-of-life upgrade that’s easy to overlook in spec comparisons [2]. Standard 2280-format drives are widely available at normal market prices — a 2 TB Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X costs $100–130. The original Ally’s 2230 slot required short-form drives that cost significantly more for the same capacity and had limited model selection.

The upgrade process: power off, remove the back panel (six Phillips screws), slide out the existing 1 TB drive, install the new drive, reinstall Windows 11 from a USB boot drive (or restore from a backup). ASUS publishes an official disassembly guide. The 1 TB included drive is fast PCIe Gen 4 — only upgrade if you need more space, not for speed.

ROG Ally X vs Legion Go vs Steam Deck OLED

Choose the Ally X if: you want the longest battery life of any Windows handheld, need all Windows titles including anti-cheat-protected games (Fortnite, Destiny 2, Valorant), and want the most straightforward Windows handheld experience at 7 inches.

Choose the Legion Go if: you want the largest, sharpest display (8.8-inch 1600p) and can tolerate the shorter battery and higher weight. The FPS detachable mouse mode is genuinely useful for competitive shooters on a flat surface.

Choose the Steam Deck OLED if: you play primarily Steam-compatible titles, want the best display quality (OLED with true HDR), or prefer SteamOS’s frictionless first-boot experience over Windows configuration. The $250 price difference over the Ally X is also significant.

For a full ranking with current pricing across all major gaming handhelds, the best handheld gaming PC guide covers every current option.

What the ROG Ally X Gets Wrong

An honest review has to cover the criticisms, and there are real ones [3][4]:

No touchpads. Both the Steam Deck and some competitors include trackpads that make Windows desktop navigation and non-gamepad games genuinely usable in handheld mode. The Ally X’s lack of touchpads makes right-clicking, cursor precision, and strategy games noticeably more awkward. You’re more dependent on touch input on the 7-inch screen, which isn’t ideal for small UI elements.

No OLED display. The IPS panel is capable — 120 Hz, 500 nits, 1080p — but it has visible backlight bleed, no HDR, and contrast ratios that can’t compete with OLED. For dark games or media consumption, the Steam Deck OLED’s panel is visibly better.

Windows 11 friction. This applies to all Windows handhelds, but it’s worth stating plainly: the Ally X requires roughly an hour of setup before it’s properly configured, has no reliable game suspend/resume (games don’t pause in sleep mode reliably), and will occasionally wake from sleep with fans running at full speed. SteamOS handles all of this correctly; Windows doesn’t. If you primarily play Steam-compatible titles, the Deck’s software experience is meaningfully better.

XG Mobile compatibility dropped. If you own the original Ally’s XG Mobile external GPU dock, it doesn’t work with the Ally X. The proprietary port was removed. This is a meaningful cost if you’ve invested in XG Mobile accessories.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the ROG Ally X worth it over the original ROG Ally?

Yes, if you’re buying new. The doubled battery alone is worth the price difference — going from under an hour of AAA gaming to nearly two hours transforms what’s usable without a charger. If you already own the original Ally and it meets your needs, the upgrade is optional rather than necessary.

What’s the difference between the ROG Ally X and the ROG Xbox Ally X?

The ROG Xbox Ally X (2025) is a different, next-generation device. It uses the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, runs a custom Xbox-integrated interface alongside Windows, and launches at $999. The 2024 ROG Ally X covered in this guide uses the Ryzen Z1 Extreme and costs $799. Both are strong devices, but they’re separate generations.

Can the ROG Ally X connect to a TV?

Yes. Use the USB4/Thunderbolt 4 port with a USB-C to HDMI cable or a Thunderbolt dock. Output supports up to 4K at 60 Hz. In TV mode the Ally X functions as a standard Windows gaming PC — all your installed games work, and the controllers operate normally.

Does the ROG Ally X run Fortnite?

Yes. Fortnite uses Easy Anti-Cheat, which requires Windows — the Ally X runs it natively. The Steam Deck cannot run Fortnite due to Linux anti-cheat incompatibility. This is one of the clearest practical advantages of Windows handhelds over SteamOS.

How long does the ROG Ally X take to charge?

The included 65W USB-C adapter charges from 0–50% in approximately 30 minutes. A full charge from empty takes roughly 100–110 minutes. The Ally X supports up to 100W charging via third-party adapters — no faster charging in practice, but gives more headroom with a GaN charger running other devices simultaneously [1].

Sources

1. ASUS ROG. ROG Ally X 2024 — Official Specifications. ASUS.
2. ASUS ROG. ROG Ally vs ROG Ally X — All the Improvements. ASUS.
3. Tom’s Hardware. ASUS ROG Ally X Review. Tom’s Hardware.
4. Windows Central. ASUS ROG Ally X Review. Windows Central.
5. XDA Developers. ROG Ally X Battery Life Comparison. XDA Developers.

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.