ASUS ROG Ally X Handheld Review: Double the Battery, Double the Comfort

A powerful mid-gen refresh offering better battery life, improved ergonomics, faster memory, and enhanced overall gaming performance

Hardware by Katmin on Jul 06, 2025

ASUS ROG Ally X arrived as a compelling mid-generation refresh to the original ROG Ally handheld gaming PC. With a design overhaul, a significantly larger battery, and various quality-of-life enhancements, the Ally X aims to improve the user experience across the board.

From enhanced ergonomics to an upgraded d-pad and faster memory, the new model seeks to address nearly every shortcoming found in the first-gen version.

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The ROG Ally X package comes with a 65W PD fast charger, which helps you quickly top off the battery, mainly since it now features an 80Wh capacity. Tucked into the lid of the packaging are two small stands that let you easily prop up the device on your desk. It's a nice touch and adds immediate versatility out of the box.

Ergonomics and Design

I've been using a prototype of the Ally X for a while now, and the production model only reinforces my thoughts—it's a fantastic improvement. Ergonomically, it feels more comfortable to hold for extended gaming sessions.

Gone are the sharp corners from the original Ally. The palm grips have been completely redesigned, offering a more natural and comfortable fit in your hands. Given the doubled battery size, it is to be expected that the unit is a little thicker than the original.

Careful improvements have also been made to the button layout. In order to reduce inadvertent presses and preserve simple accessibility, the M keys on the rear have been relocated slightly inward and thinned down.

The D-pad has been modified to accommodate eight-way input, improving responsiveness and accuracy, especially in action games. Additionally, the whole control experience is improved with redesigned analog sticks. The changes were a big improvement.

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Connectivity and I/O

One of the most significant hardware changes is the removal of the XG Mobile port. In its place, ASUS has added a USB4 port running at the full 40 Gbps protocol. There's also a second USB 3.2 Type-C port, along with a microSD card slot, fingerprint-enabled power button, and more.

This setup makes it easier to connect an eGPU, and in the US market, USB4-compatible eGPUs are becoming more affordable compared to the proprietary XG Mobile solution.

Power Profiles and TDP Adjustments

Another significant change is in power profiles. Thanks to the larger 80Wh battery, ASUS has raised the TDP limits across Silent and Performance modes. Silent mode now operates at 13W instead of 10W, and Performance mode is set to 17W, up from the original 15W.

Turbo mode remains capped at 25W, but thanks to the increased power budget, you can now run these profiles for longer durations without a drastic hit on battery life. When I conducted benchmarking, I locked both the original Ally and the Ally X to the same TDP to ensure a fair comparison.

Specifications Overview

The ROG Ally X retains the same AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (Z1 Extreme APU) with eight cores and 16 threads, capable of boosting up to 5.1 GHz. It's paired with an RDNA 3 iGPU featuring 12 processing units operating at up to 2700 MHz. One of the most notable upgrades is the memory: 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM clocked at 7500MHz, up from 16GB at 6400MHz.

This faster RAM offers tangible improvements in some games and synthetic benchmarks. The system ships with a 1TB M.2 2280 SSD, upgradeable up to 8 TB. My unit has a 4TB drive installed, which was a breeze to upgrade. The device features Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, while the display remains a 7-inch 120Hz IPS FreeSync panel with a maximum brightness of up to 500 nits.

Armory Crate SE 1.5

The ROG Ally X comes preloaded with Armory Crate SE 1.5, and I'm happy to report that it's been completely redesigned. The new interface feels snappier, more customizable, and generally easier to navigate.

You now have complete control over game library views, including horizontal and vertical layouts, different box art sizes, and more. I particularly enjoy the new center-aligned horizontal view with a blurred background.

Settings are more extensive than ever. You can toggle themes, change launch animations, and even align Armory Crate's appearance with your system theme. Device information, performance statistics, power profiles, and eco-assist settings are all neatly housed under new tabs.

In GPU settings, you can now allocate up to 16GB of memory to the iGPU thanks to the expanded RAM. Advanced AMD graphics settings, such as Radeon Chill, Anti-Lag, Boost, and Fluid Motion Frames, are also available.

Gaming Performance

When comparing performance at an identical 15W TDP, some games show a noticeable improvement thanks to the faster RAM. In 1080p, The original ROG Ally averaged 34 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but the Ally X managed 39 fps. At 1080p low, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at 42.9 fps on the original and 44.7 fps on the Ally X. However, not all titles benefit. At 1080p medium, both versions averaged 47fps in Cyberpunk.

Synthetic benchmarks reveal a more pronounced difference. In 3DMark Time Spy, the Ally X scored 3,518 compared to 3,243 on the original, confirming that the new RAM does offer performance gains, especially in GPU-bound scenarios.

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Fighting Games and D-pad Testing

I tested Street Fighter 6 at 1080p with medium performance settings, and the new D-pad performed noticeably better. While I was used to the old d-pad, this one felt more precise for directional inputs. It's not the best D-pad I've ever used, but it's a solid upgrade. I'd still prefer a traditional four-way d-pad, but this dish-style eight-way setup works fine once you get used to it.

120fps Gaming and Low TDP

Games like Hades 2 run great, even at low power. At 1080p medium and a 12.7W TDP, I maintained a consistent 120fps. Dropping to 60fps, you can even run this at a 6W TDP for extended battery life. It's impressive what you can achieve with this system, especially considering the improved efficiency.

AAA Titles and Frame Generation

In Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p low settings, I observed average framerates of around 76fps in turbo mode. At 900p and performance mode, it was still more than playable. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 averaged 100fps at 1080p, balanced with frame generation enabled.

Fallout 4 had performance issues, but these appear to be related to a recent update from the game developer. Titles like Spider-Man Remastered benefit greatly from frame generation and run exceptionally well.

Battery Life

This is where the Ally X shines. Using Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p high with 50% brightness, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, and RGB disabled, I measured the battery draw in different modes. About 21W of power was used in Silent Mode, which allowed for about 3 hours and 53 minutes of playtime.

With three hours and fifteen minutes of battery life, Performance Mode consumed 25W, while Turbo Mode consumed 34W during two hours and twenty minutes of operation. With a power consumption of only 6.4W for 1080p YouTube video playback, the battery had an amazing 12-hour and 7-minute lifespan.

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Final Remarks

Anyone wishing to improve their portable gaming experience should choose the ROG Ally X. From doubled battery life and better ergonomics to faster memory and improved controls, this is a well-thought-out refresh.

Yes, it utilizes the same Z1 Extreme APU, but the performance improvements—especially in memory bandwidth—are genuine. The updated Armory Crate software is a huge plus, and I appreciate the switch to USB4, which opens up eGPU possibilities at a much lower cost than the previous proprietary setup.

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