Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great handheld, i like it better then Steam Deck because it paid all games and is not limited to some games like the deck

I am happy with my rog ally X and the best buy service, everything is perfect, the best purchase

So worth it this thing can play anything and you are able to run at 720 and can’t notice it still looks great

Great customer service, i was in and out! Bought my self an ally ROG for gaming

It was okay but the steamdeck is much better. I think if you’re a big high end game player then it might be worth spending the extra money but it just seemed overly complicated and required a lot of tinkering of controls for each game.

Amazing handheld and was super easy to setup honestly couldn't be happier

Amazing quality. Worth the purchase. I’ve been playing it since I picked it up.

In my honest opinion, it seems to me that Asus once again takes top spot in the world of handheld PC gaming. I am in no way fanboying because the specs and performance speak for itself. The TLDR reason for my rating is if this is your 1st ever handheld it's a 5/5 but as an upgrade like myself did, it is hard to justify the price for the "upgrades" from the previous generation and gets a solid 4/5. In the box is the Ally X itself covered with protection and how to charge and turn it on, 65w power brick with USB C connection and 2 stands (kinda serves no purpose). I love the new black color scheme this time around vs the white of the original. Note that you can use up to a 100w charger to charge the system via 1 of the 2 USB C ports though you will need to buy it separately. Just remember during setup, that the Ally X is a Windows 11 based OS so you will need to install a LOT of updates before gaming (almost 1.5hrs for me including ASUS's own updates) The most notable changes from my Ally to the X are: - Color - Weight - The X is barely a little heavier than the OG - Redesigned IO - 2 USB C on top (40 Gbps and 10Gbps), fingerprint scanner on the recessed power button, micro SD slot moved away from the exhaust causing the notorious failure from the 1st gen Ally. - Sound is 10x better - Battery Life is the big winner - Thumbsticks have a more quality feel - Comfort - as in heat Comfort After a week daily driving the X, I found out my previous complaint on the OG Ally was addressed with the new thermals and design.. The area where you grip stays at a nice and comfortable temp and feels great for long sessions of gaming. Also I have noticed the back buttons were redesigned and feel a lot more natural. The intake in on the back and the exhaust is now "funneled" out the top center away from you and vital components. Performance This is where Asus takes the crown from the competition. Doubling the battery from 40Whr to 80Whr means more time gaming and less time charging. Sound for the speakers have been vastly improved (unless you use headphones and never use them). RAM has been upgraded slightly but that also meant performance boosts to gaming. I only use Steam and Epic, the latter not being already installed for some reason was easily added to the Armory Crate menu. I play a lot of indie games and Metroidvanias while on the go and battery life has gone from 1:30-1:45 to now more than 3 hours. Everything in both my libraries have not struggled with the X. Asus lets you customize your gameplay and performance settings on the fly. You can cap your FPS if you want, change refresh rate and even adjust battery consumption with the press of a button. If you find yourself wanting more space for your games, ASUS listened and instead of using the more expensive 2230 size NVMe, you can install a standard size 2280 NVMe! This is a most welcome feature and would suggest to people with huge libraries to invest in one. Closing thoughts As I mentioned at the beginning, the ROG Ally X is a refresh of the OG Ally. The QoL features you get with the X is undoubtfully amazing when compared to its predecessor. If it's your 1st time jumping into the world of mobile PC then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the X. With my case, the double battery life and the option to install standard size 2280 NVMe sold me instantly.

If you want to have have any where buy this!!!!!!!

Best Buy made the whole experience very easy and huge shoutout out to the worker for helping me decide

UNBOXING: Inside the box, you’ll find the ROG Ally X, a couple of paper stands for the Ally X, and a 65W USB-C wall adapter. And just like the 2023 Ally, there is no case or screen cloth included. Other than that, you’ll have your warranty card, manual, and safety info. BUILD: The Ally X uses a sturdy plastic build. Compared to the 2023 Ally, it’s thicker because of its much larger battery. And while this makes it heavier, ASUS also improved the ergonomics by making the corners more rounded, so they don’t dig into my palms as much as the 2023 Ally did. PORTS, EXPANSION & UPGRADES: When it comes to expandability, the Ally X improves upon the 2023 Ally in a couple significant ways. ASUS decided to forego the ROG XG Mobile external GPU dock in favor of a new Thunderbolt 4 Type C port which can support Thunderbolt eGPU enclosures, Thunderbolt docking stations, and much more. But they also kept the original USB 3.2 gen 2 Type C port, so now you have access to 2 Type C ports that also support both DisplayPort & Power Delivery. This also opens up more opportunity to use USB-C peripherals like headsets while also charging using the included USB-C wall adapter. Given how expensive the XG Mobile graphics were, I think this was a smart move by ASUS. In addition to that, ASUS has seemingly revised a design flaw from the original Ally with Micro SD cards being destroyed from thermal stress. On the Ally X, the SD Card slot has been moved to the right on the top side. Only time will tell if this has truly fixed the issue. Other than that, you have a 3.5mm combo audio jack on top, as well As far as hardware upgrades are concerned, ASUS managed to fit a standard 2280 size m.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. This is an improvement over the original Ally which used a 2230 size m.2 which is significantly more expensive to buy. Overall, I’m very happy with the improvements made over the 2023 Ally. CONTROLS: Compared to the 2023 Ally, the face buttons feel a bit more tactile, but I don’t feel it’s a drastic departure for me—I’d be happy with either. The D-Pad has also been revised with a matte texture instead of glossy. For some reason, my unit sometimes squeaks when pressing the left side of the D-Pad, and I didn’t have that problem on the original Ally X. The shoulder buttons seem to be using more tactile switches, so they are a bit louder, but they also feel less mushy and are easier to click. The triggers are also noticeably louder. Both the shoulder buttons and triggers appear to be a bit larger compared to the original Ally, so they’re more comfortable for bigger hands. The thumbsticks have also been improved from the original Ally, as they now seem to have a bit more of an indentation like the Xbox Series controller, so your thumbs will never slip. Additionally, the rear macro buttons have been slimmed down and relocated to prevent false triggers. Personally, I think this was a good decision because there were times where I unintentionally triggered a hotkey, and most people probably won’t use these macro buttons, so it’s better to keep them out of the way until they’re occasionally needed. The Command Center button on the left of the display gives quick access to various performance settings like power profiles, an FPS limiter, a real-time performance monitor, a 60Hz/120Hz refresh rate toggle, and 720p/900p/1080p resolution toggle. Having this quick button is super helpful so you can dial in your performance needs for different types of games. And on the right of the display you have the Armoury Crate button which will give you access to your game content and settings, letting you skip the need for interfacing with Windows most of the time. And also on the top, you have the volume buttons and power button that also functions as a fingerprint reader. DISPLAY: The Ally X leverages the same display as the 2023 Ally. It uses a 7” 1080p IPS touch screen display that can operate at 60Hz or 120Hz and with FreeSync Premium support. The display is sufficiently sized for handheld PC gaming, and the display gets plenty bright for daytime usage, and reasonably dim for darker environments, as well. I also really appreciate that it supports FreeSync since there are plenty of performance-demanding PC games that can’t run at a locked 60fps or higher, and having FreeSync can reduce screen tearing and stuttering. MICROPHONES: The onboard dual array microphones are positioned just above the view and menu buttons. In my testing, they are very clear and do a great job at isolating speech. I played online games and used Discord for voice chat, and I got compliments about the microphone quality, but I did have to lower the game volume so it wouldn’t bleed into the microphones. In the Realtek Audio Console or in the Armoury Crate Audio settings, I used the Directional Recording Mode, but using the Conference AI Noise Canceling mode will yield even better noise cancellation, but may impact battery life. SPEAKERS & HEADPHONE: Audio continues to be well-implemented on the Ally X. The two front-firing speakers deliver clarity while also being plenty loud. Compared to the original Ally, the X delivers better treble performance along with better bass while also being louder , but the original Ally sounded great, so this is just icing on the cake. Headphone performance is also sufficient for most consumer grade headphones and IEMS. I’m still glad to see ASUS still offering a headphone combo output since it’s conceivable some folks may play the Ally in environments where speakers aren’t appropriate, so having the ability to use some IEMs is a good way to game without disturbing others. PERFORMANCE & BATTERY: Performance on the Ally X will be more akin to the original Ally Z1 Extreme since they both share the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, but the Ally X increases the memory to 24GB and uses faster memory clocked at 7500 MT/s. This means that the Ally defaults to 8GB of memory dedicated to the GPU, whereas the original Ally defaulted to 4GB—which isn’t always enough for many modern games. In my testing, more games were able to run at 60fps with appropriate settings. And if you’re coming from the Z1 non-extreme, the jump in performance can be significant for modern 3D titles. The Z1 Extreme uses 8 cores and 16 threads and 12 RDNA3 compute units. 2D titles will be a breeze on the Ally X, and 3D games will yield a more stable experience compared to the original Ally. I spent a lot of time playing Enshrouded—which is a quite demanding 3D title. And it plays reasonably well on the Ally X. When plugged in on the 30W turbo profile, I am able to achieve 60fps without having to dial everything to low, and when on battery, I can opt to make some graphical concessions and still achieve 30fps so that I can play unplugged for a couple hours. I also played another title Lost Castle 2 which appears 2D, but is actually built in Unity 3D. This game is much less demanding than Enshrouded, but still demands quite a bit of performance to achieve 60fps. A game like this looks great even at lower resolutions. At 720p under the 17W Performance profile, I’m able to achieve around 60fps on highest settings, and even at the 13W Silent profile, I’m able to achieve 40-60fps. And thanks to FreeSync, those framerate drops are not as impactful to the experience. Under the 13W setting over a 74 minute play session with Discord voice chat, I went from 100% battery down to 77%—estimating over 5 hours of gameplay on battery using these settings. Frankly, most of my gaming library is much less visually demanding than either of these two games. But there’s no doubt that I could not play these games unplugged nearly as long if it weren’t for the bigger 80 Whr battery in the Ally X. CONCLUSION: Ignoring price, the ROG Ally X is a great handheld gaming console. In my experience, it improves upon all of the major things that I complained about with the original ROG Ally. While it isn’t impenetrable to the performance demands of many modern 3D titles, it takes a great product and makes it even better. The Ally X brings improved comfort, stability, controls, battery life, performance, sound, and expandability. However, there’s no doubt that the ROG Ally X is expensive, and while it absolutely has competition, I feel that ASUS has one of the best implementations for a premium handheld console at this time. So if you’re willing to pay the premium price tag, I do think you’ll be getting a good product that delivers on its mission.

Product came on time. Will buy again from best buys!

It so far overall I like the device I haven’t really done anything with it since I’ve only had it for like a day so far, but I feel like it’s more user-friendly than the Legion go out of this the Legion go and the steam deck I think I like the Ally x the best so far but only time will tell

I really want to love this thing, but quality control from Asus on both the Ally, and Ally X is not there. I traded in my Day one Ally for the X version. My orignal one had sticky buttons out of the box, over time it worked its self out. The X out of the box seemed pretty solid but i nothiced things over time. I went to calibrate the buttons through the software and the right trigger didnt seem to have full motion unless i pushed pretty hard, and makes a completely different sound from the left trigger. The right joy stick makes a very slight metallic noise when I let return to the center, i only here it when im scrolling when its quiet. Just today I noticed a dead pixel. This really annoys me. Unfortunately im passed my return window, I can deal with all the other things, but dead pixels shouldn't be making it past "quality checks".

returned due to the battery life being less than opt6imal, will wait for next generation

Worst console I’ve ever purchased. Two of them one “refurbished” and one brand new. The problem is both of them had similar issues being defective. One had issues crashing the refurbished one the brand new one I woke up to see it on displaying “S.M.A.R.T. Test warning.” Refusing to boot or do anything telling me drive is at risk of failing mind you I’ve had this thing for like 3 weeks and only played maybe an hour of halo on steam. Yes that’s it.

I’ve been using the ROG Ally X for a while now and it honestly surprised me with how much power they fit into something this small. I’ve tried a couple of handheld PCs in the past and they always felt like I had to compromise either performance or comfort. This is the first one that feels like a legitimate mini gaming laptop in my hands. Performance is the standout. Games that I never expected to run well on a handheld are hitting smooth frame rates, even newer titles. The 120Hz screen makes everything look sharp and responsive, and the brightness is great indoors or outdoors. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip does a lot of heavy lifting and you can really feel it. I’ve even used it for basic productivity stuff and it handled it without a hiccup. The build quality is much better than I expected. The controls feel solid and the new grips make it more comfortable to hold for long sessions. On older handhelds I would get tired after about an hour, but with this one I can keep playing without adjusting my hands constantly. The fans are noticeable when it boosts performance, but they never get overly loud or annoying. The upgraded storage is a huge plus. Having 1TB built in means I don’t have to constantly uninstall games just to make room. Game Pass and Steam both work perfectly and switching between them is quick. The software layout is straightforward and it doesn’t feel complicated to navigate. Battery life is always the tricky part with powerful handhelds. This one does better than most when you tune the performance settings a bit, and I’ve gotten a solid amount of playtime depending on the game. Obviously heavy AAA games will drain it faster, but that’s normal for any handheld running modern titles. Overall, the Ally X is portable, powerful, and actually comfortable to use. If you want a handheld that can run real PC games without sacrificing too much performance, this is the one to get.

I started with the ASUS ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme processor, and it was a fantastic device. Seriously, it did everything I wanted: smooth gaming, great build quality, and portability that made traveling with it a breeze. But then I saw this one—the upgraded ROG Ally X—and it was like it was calling my name. 24GB of RAM? A 1TB SSD? In a handheld? It felt like ASUS looked at my wishlist and said, “We got you.” I hesitated for a hot second because I already had the other model, but let’s be honest—when a gaming handheld like this exists, you don’t just ignore it. The extra RAM makes multitasking seamless, and I swear the 1TB SSD makes me feel like I can install my entire Steam library without breaking a sweat. I loaded up Starfield, Cyberpunk, and Baldur’s Gate 3 all at once, and this thing didn’t even flinch. Performance-wise, it’s everything you love about the original Ally, but with that little extra “oomph” that makes you feel like a king (or queen) of portable gaming. The black design is sleek and screams “premium,” and now every time I look at it, I know I made the right choice. If you’re debating between this and the original ROG Ally, I can tell you firsthand: both are great, but this one takes it to another level. It’s like upgrading from a sports car to a supercar. Totally worth it. TL;DR: If you want the best of the best and can spare the cash, go for the Ally X. It’s a game-changer, literally.

It was a good portable pc until 1 year later it stopped working, it’s no longer charging and it’s stuck on a boot up screen stating that it’s scanning repairs and it never does.

I’m very impressed with the Ally X. I’m more of a retro gamer and do not often play the latest titles, but even including something as “recent” as Halo Infinite, I’m very pleased with the performance, build, controls, and battery life. Setup It’s pretty tedious, but that comes with the territory given that this is a full Windows 11 handheld. Just know that you’ll have the hour(s) long setup and update process, so prepare to wait. You’ll have three things to update right out of the box: Windows, of course, MyAsus (drivers and BIOS), and then Armory Crate. Lastly, of course, you’ll need to sign in and update all of the game libraries you have, and then install any games. It was probably two hours after opening the box until I was able to run even a tiny retro title like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Build quality, hardware The build quality is top tier. The weight feels reasonable despite the battery size doubling from the previous release. I loaded up Geometry Wars first because it’s a game that eats controllers and reveals any ergo issues right away. After five hours of intense use, I’m very happy to say that the ergos are excellent, there’s great grip molded into the back, no hotspots (user experience may vary here), and the thumbsticks are super tough. The posts on many controllers, even some first-party controllers, often will show more signs of wear after that length of time, but both the thumbstick posts and the rings on the Ally X looked nearly pristine (see pic). Performance, battery life I’m very happy with the performance. It’s a retro game BEAST. Of course, this hardware should have no issues with dealing with older titles on performance, but here the battery just doesn’t quit. I was spent way before the battery was. If you’re into side scrollers, shoot 'em ups, Metroidvania-type games, you are going to LOVE this handheld. On more modern titles, I was pleased as well. With Halo Infinite set to the video defaults, performance was flawless. I wasn’t counting framerate or anything, but it felt more than fine. The same for a modern but aged title like Alien Isolation. Obviously, these modern titles will chew through the battery faster, but it passed my three-hour session, and I didn’t even start with a full charge, so I’m fine with it. Issues/Weirdness Like any PC platform, games don’t always work out of the box. This isn’t a mark against the Ally X; it’s just a heads-up notice that these things happen. I wasn’t able to get Shadow of the Tomb Raider on the Epic store to load at all. Not sure if it was a bad install or not, but given that it takes an hour or longer (depending on internet speed) to download and install modern AAA titles, I didn’t have the patience to troubleshoot it before dropping this review. On FPS games, I ran into an issue where I would inadvertently tap the touchscreen with my right thumb when reaching max tilt of the thumbstick. On some games it would register a single trigger pull; on others, like Halo Infinite, it would register a trigger hold and deplete my ammo. It took me a while to figure out what was happening. I thought maybe there was an issue with the right trigger being out of calibration. Then I thought maybe it was a game incompatibility; or maybe it was a bad install. No, I was just tapping the screen without realizing it. I don’t think this is a design flaw in the sense of thumbstick placement. A balance needs to be had between device size, screen size, and controller ergos, so the user just needs to be aware of what’s happening with their thumbs to prevent unwanted screen taps. Conclusion In the end, handhelds are already a compromise of many variables in order to pack so much into such a compact form factor. The Ally X, in my opinion, manages to strike the best balance between size/weight, performance, battery life, build quality, and design. If you have the budget and you want access to multiple libraries, this is the handheld to get.