exactly how I feel about it, its like a dream gadget. honestly I feel like I don't even need any other console , Hate to say it but have not touched my PS5 since I bought this.
I'm waiting a few years to pick up something like this or an Ayaneo Slide at a deep discount. These handheld PCs seem to pretty much do anything I would want out of a fun-time video game machine.
My PS5 has also been collecting dust. But that isn't the PS5's fault. It is because having these powerful mini PCs makes it so much easier to get into the game at any time and anywhere. I just wish they weren't so darn expensive. I just bought the GPD Win 4 2024 version 8840u 32GB 2TB. I went with it due to the small form factor. It makes all the other handheld devices look like giants. I sold my Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck because they feel just a bit too big for my liking. But, they're both wonderful devices.
Feels good doesn't it? I'm still looking for my ultimate handheld as I've had almost 15 of them. But you found yours and I know it's a darn good feeling. Congratulations, man!
I think I found mine. I bought the GPD Win 4 2024 Version 32GB 2TB. I went with it due to its small form factor. I sold both my Asus Rog Ally and Steam Deck because they're just a bit too big for me. 😉👌😁👍
My biggest wish list for Ally 2 if not Ally 2 X is a bezeless display. Same size but it consumes the black bezels that it has right now. That's an 8" display right there
Personally I’m so glad they didn’t use an oled panel. I tried the SD oled and got horrible headaches and eye strain from the PWM flicker, and it likely would lose its VRR capability, which is what makes the ally so good
Although I wouldn’t do it on my first play through since I have a good PC, the fact that I can play Black Myth: Wukong on the thing with decent settings is absurd. LOVE my Ally X.
I feel you man, Iove my Ally X as well. I sold both my original Steam Deck and Original Ally. The X is by far my favorite handheld. I thought the Steam Deck OLED was as good as it could get. But with all the quality of life upgrades on the X, it feels like much more than just a revision. We'll at least to me it does.
I hate to say this as a steam deck owner, but this is currently the PC handheld king right now. -dual boot steam OS via Bazzite -longer battery life -improved buttons -plays almost all PC games -valve will release an official steamOS soon! it’s just too good, had to buy one! allyX 4tb 🔥
we need an mobile arm/risc-v apu for more efficient and better battery life producing less heat while doing same performance in rog ally 2 and steam deck 2. Oh and a stand alone valve deckard vr that runs on a mobile apu and games optimised for it would be next level immersion.
@@prestige_killa had to update, yeah the quality on the dpad and triggers started to have creaking noise. seems to be a common issue. easy fix but for an $800+ device, yeah we expect quality.
1:44 While spendy, if you want to give your Ally X a 1080p OLED screen @ 120hz, you can always get a pair of XR glasses like the Viture or Xreal Air. I have both an LCD Steam Deck and an OLED. If it wasn't for all the other improvements Valve made to the OLED, I'd've just stuck with my LCD Deck. My Viture pros are connected 99% of the time, making the screen of the OLED the least utilized improvement for me so far. Cool thing about using them with the Ally is you're not having to switch aspect ratios between the built in screen and the glasses. Another advantage the Ally X has over the Deck is multiple USB C ports. Meaning you wouldn't have to purchase a third party accessory in order to play and charge simultaneously. Highly recommend.
I really want an X now. Especially since you can get Bazzite Linux on there now as well, complete with Steam OS. That makes it even more of an AOI machine than you mentioned here. Maybe black Friday!🤞🏻
Another change other than an OLED screen would be hall effect joysticks. I know you can replace it with aftermarket ones but having hall effect joysticks would be great out of the box.
This rog ally X seems great my only gripe is that small of a screen with those bezels. I have a legion go love that screen , but that battery life just doesn’t cut it
If this came out last year when the OLED steam deck released I would have bought this instead. Ill have to wait for the next generation of handhelds :(
I preordered mine and still didn't open it. I have no time,but I definitely wanna play it now... Maybe this is the moment to take it out of the box after a month of waiting :)
Thanks for your review! I currently have a steam deck lcd and want to upgrade to something more powerful and better battery life. I believe the ROG ally x will be perfect for me. One thing I am having trouble figuring out. On the steam deck, I use the left trackpad regularly as a custom menu with icons. It’s super helpful for emulation to have a pop up menu for ffwd, save state, load state, menu, etc. Can the ROG ally do something similar? Or is there a windows app that can do that?
8 TB SSD, e-4090 (go big or go home!) + Ally X. 4K… USD. Oh, a better charger and a carrying case could come in handy, too. What a great way to spend money on a handheld device.
I have a question that i cant seem to figure out - i got the ally x a few weeks back and its running perfect but keepd disconnecting from wifi and then reconnecting. Does anyone know how to fix this?
Can you test the ROG ALLY X while connected to a monitor with games like NBA, Counter Strike 2, and any RPG to see how smooth the graphics and performance are?
I'm really wanting one of these, but for the life of me I will never understand who calls the shots at these companies. Why would they leave out dual track pads & an HDR screen?! Good grief, charge more for those features if you have to. But at least build some with everything & give us the option. Better yet, allow us to customize our own with the features we want. I would happily pay extra for dual track pads & an HDR screen. Doesn't even have to be OLED. So long as it's 1080p, 120hz, VRR & HDR, that's good enough. With my luck I will pull the trigger & buy this, and within 3 months some company will release a handheld with all these features I want at the same price.
Question is can these handhelds play MMO’s? latest Shooters/pew pew are easy for gaming, but MMO’s is what really pushes Main PC hardware and need folks to test MMO’s on the handhelds to really REALLY see what they can do. If Legion Go came out with a 24gb/32/gb ram then I am sold on it..24GB ram for Ally X is nice BUT have ass it and just put in 32gb ram.
I ran into one issue with my Ally X, I upgraded the M.2 to a 4tb and installed Bazzite to check out what the hype was over the distro. In order to install the distro, I had to turn off secure boot in the BIOS. After playing around with the distro I attempted to use the system restore to have Windows re-installed, I wiped the distro off the M.2 but now secure boot will not allow me to turn it on so windows can be installed. I plan to replace the 4tb with the original M.2 but it might not boot if secure boot isn't enabled. Just want let people know about my experience if they intend to try out a Linux distro on the Ally X.
@ I stuck with Windows, it wasn’t the same as Steam OS on the Steam Deck. I do have to admit I was impressed with the performance and I would like to maybe in the future go with CachyOS instead.
Great video - playnite looks great. Is it possible to map the back buttons on a per-game basis within playnite similar to what you can do in armory crate?
So this video comes at the perfect time, I’m trying to get windows to behave like a console more and installed playnite. But is there a way to go back to the menu without touching the screen. Like I’m looking for Xbox button but the only options are the armory crate button and the command center button? Is it possible to remap armory crate to Xbox or go back to playnite?
It should go right back after you exit a game, at least mine does. Alternatively, you can use the ROG Ally built in shortcuts. M1 or M2 plus the dpad left or right I believe. I forget, don't have it with me right now, but there's hotkeys.
Hi, I need your help. I installed Emudeck. Rog Ally X controllers are not working when I launch any Retro Game through Steam or any emulator. How can I fix that ?
Does the lack of oled display bother you? That’s what holding me back and choosing the steam deck oled? I have the steam deck lcd now, Any display enhanced advice?
@@serpserpserp i really want this so bad but I just can’t go back to LCD display and true dark colors goes a long way for me buuuut the steam deck has the great display but not power man idk 😂
@@JoeysRetroHandheldsdo you have an estimated time frame using the 100w vs 65w . Very curious if it’s worth investing in the 140w Rog charger if the charge time is a huge difference
Sorry, I'll expand. It's the same as the ROG Ally only needs 65W, anything higher would be if you're connecting accessories, dock etc. That's why I generally go with 100w, anything above would be overkill. I just happen to have 140w's around.
Dude, I have mine plugged into a Samsung 45W charger sometimes, and it's still filling up the battery while playing AAA games. I play on Performance mode, though.
exactly how I feel about it, its like a dream gadget. honestly I feel like I don't even need any other console , Hate to say it but have not touched my PS5 since I bought this.
I'm waiting a few years to pick up something like this or an Ayaneo Slide at a deep discount. These handheld PCs seem to pretty much do anything I would want out of a fun-time video game machine.
I haven't touched my $2800 RTX4080 based PC in 3 weeks. I just prefer to play all my games on this device.
The ally x has shattered life long console gaming for me😂
Ps5 just for ps5 exclusive games the rest all Ally X 😂
My PS5 has also been collecting dust. But that isn't the PS5's fault. It is because having these powerful mini PCs makes it so much easier to get into the game at any time and anywhere. I just wish they weren't so darn expensive. I just bought the GPD Win 4 2024 version 8840u 32GB 2TB. I went with it due to the small form factor. It makes all the other handheld devices look like giants. I sold my Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck because they feel just a bit too big for my liking. But, they're both wonderful devices.
Feels good doesn't it? I'm still looking for my ultimate handheld as I've had almost 15 of them. But you found yours and I know it's a darn good feeling. Congratulations, man!
I think I found mine. I bought the GPD Win 4 2024 Version 32GB 2TB. I went with it due to its small form factor. I sold both my Asus Rog Ally and Steam Deck because they're just a bit too big for me. 😉👌😁👍
My biggest wish list for Ally 2 if not Ally 2 X is a bezeless display. Same size but it consumes the black bezels that it has right now. That's an 8" display right there
The DMX closing! NAILED IT!
8TB is insane! GOAT move
Wow 8T how lol is it easy to do
As a legion go owner, I appreciate how the X is. Playnite is the best for windows and gives a great experience! Great vid
Personally I’m so glad they didn’t use an oled panel. I tried the SD oled and got horrible headaches and eye strain from the PWM flicker, and it likely would lose its VRR capability, which is what makes the ally so good
Love your comment hahahaha like for real OLED is cool and all but it’s not that serious and yes VRR is very useful !
X gon give it to you! 🫡
Man of culture
If you guys have a PC too, streaming games through Steam to the Ally X is brutal because of the WiFi 6E! It looks amazing.
Although I wouldn’t do it on my first play through since I have a good PC, the fact that I can play Black Myth: Wukong on the thing with decent settings is absurd. LOVE my Ally X.
I JUST GOT MY ALLY X AND I LOVE IT ALSO!!! 4 DAYS IN AND IM IN LOVE WITH IT ❤
I feel you man, Iove my Ally X as well. I sold both my original Steam Deck and Original Ally. The X is by far my favorite handheld. I thought the Steam Deck OLED was as good as it could get. But with all the quality of life upgrades on the X, it feels like much more than just a revision. We'll at least to me it does.
I returned my legion go for this and I have zero regrets!!!!
Returned mine too for ally x!
I did the same too!
I hate to say this as a steam deck owner, but this is currently the PC handheld king right now.
-dual boot steam OS via Bazzite
-longer battery life
-improved buttons
-plays almost all PC games
-valve will release an official steamOS soon!
it’s just too good, had to buy one!
allyX 4tb 🔥
As a SD owner myself, I totally agree.
but after all that. its just sucks they have really bad customer service. and whoe knows if it will last long .. without any repairs 👍🏻👍🏻
Lol sucker.
we need an mobile arm/risc-v apu for more efficient and better battery life producing less heat while doing same performance in rog ally 2 and steam deck 2. Oh and a stand alone valve deckard vr that runs on a mobile apu and games optimised for it would be next level immersion.
@@prestige_killa had to update, yeah the quality on the dpad and triggers started to have creaking noise. seems to be a common issue.
easy fix but for an $800+ device, yeah we expect quality.
Thanks for this video Joey, as usual excellent analysis
Joey I bet your Gameboy Advance games really shine on the ROG Ally X
1:44 While spendy, if you want to give your Ally X a 1080p OLED screen @ 120hz, you can always get a pair of XR glasses like the Viture or Xreal Air. I have both an LCD Steam Deck and an OLED. If it wasn't for all the other improvements Valve made to the OLED, I'd've just stuck with my LCD Deck. My Viture pros are connected 99% of the time, making the screen of the OLED the least utilized improvement for me so far.
Cool thing about using them with the Ally is you're not having to switch aspect ratios between the built in screen and the glasses. Another advantage the Ally X has over the Deck is multiple USB C ports. Meaning you wouldn't have to purchase a third party accessory in order to play and charge simultaneously.
Highly recommend.
I really want an X now. Especially since you can get Bazzite Linux on there now as well, complete with Steam OS. That makes it even more of an AOI machine than you mentioned here. Maybe black Friday!🤞🏻
Ah… the DMX reference at the end. 😎
Another change other than an OLED screen would be hall effect joysticks. I know you can replace it with aftermarket ones but having hall effect joysticks would be great out of the box.
Just ordered the ally x yesterday thanks for the video
Black myth wukong is so sick on the ally X
Fantastic review!
I think I'm sold
100% agree it has been a game changer
This rog ally X seems great my only gripe is that small of a screen with those bezels. I have a legion go love that screen , but that battery life just doesn’t cut it
If this came out last year when the OLED steam deck released I would have bought this instead. Ill have to wait for the next generation of handhelds :(
Pause feature is the most important for handhelds.
I get choice paralysis from my 2tb game filled Steam Deck. Can't imagine getting far with any single game if I had a whole 8tb worth of games.
Love the vid. Gotta call cap on the battery life description. Turbo mode diablo 4 gets like 3 hours.
Definitely seems like the goat x86 device
I’ve been playing Monster Hunter World on it and I’m loving it
Literally watching this video on my Ally X 😅
I've really wanted to get one. I'll have to skip a couple cheap handheld releases and save up for this one 😂
DO IT!
@JoeysRetroHandhelds I'm literally looking at my budget and which handheld I should sell right now. Thanks Joey!
for the case , if you just cut out that screen protector inside the TomTok one , the X fits perfectly , best compromise so far that I was able to find
I grabbed the Skull and Co Slim case for the original Ally and it fits like a glove!
I preordered mine and still didn't open it. I have no time,but I definitely wanna play it now... Maybe this is the moment to take it out of the box after a month of waiting :)
You probably should open it up and make sure there isn’t anything wrong with it.
@@dylangirard4670 I know.... I'm thinking about it now... Fingers crossed🤞
@@Mikeboss85 I’m rooting for you.
You going to need about 2 hours to update it all
@@NJdroneHunters_908 oh boy.... Thank you Windows.....
Mine is on the wayyyyy
Great video! Going to get an Ally X, now (rn).
That thing you were fighting in "The Calisto protocol" was reaaaly trying its best to "unalive" you, ha ha!
It snuck up on me!
Glad someone is using playnite as well love the customization
I just bought a steam deck oled would it be overkill to get this 🤔
Thanks for your review! I currently have a steam deck lcd and want to upgrade to something more powerful and better battery life. I believe the ROG ally x will be perfect for me. One thing I am having trouble figuring out. On the steam deck, I use the left trackpad regularly as a custom menu with icons. It’s super helpful for emulation to have a pop up menu for ffwd, save state, load state, menu, etc. Can the ROG ally do something similar? Or is there a windows app that can do that?
Too expensive for me, but seems perfect
I wish we could still purchase the Loki Mini Pro. 😥
I'm waiting for a Black Friday sale.
@@mhinkle82😂 thats what am waiting on to buy a handheld too
You're too broke for yourself. Upgrade yourself bro. Embrace the masculine drive and let your nuts hang while yoy get the bag.
Got one yesterday, returning it today. It sucks. Windows was not made to run on a controller.
I have this and the OLED, I’m struggling with implementing Bazzite. Is it necessary to download it if I can go to Steam os from Armory crate?
doesnt it give you a semi that theyre only gonna get better
8 TB SSD, e-4090 (go big or go home!) + Ally X. 4K… USD. Oh, a better charger and a carrying case could come in handy, too. What a great way to spend money on a handheld device.
I have a question that i cant seem to figure out - i got the ally x a few weeks back and its running perfect but keepd disconnecting from wifi and then reconnecting. Does anyone know how to fix this?
Can you make a video how to install Bazsite dual boot
Can you do a setup guide on this thing
Getting mine today :-)
Which theme is that on playnite? Every time I install some theme based on thumbnails, then mine doesn't look as cool.
When you put your Ally to sleep/hibernate, do you keep Playnite running or do you exit first?
it is powerful enough to do content creation as well, have you tried? It can easily run resource intensive applications.
I LOVE LOVE MY RAX!!!!!😁
Any way to sync the playtimes of non steam games from your desktop to Ally X? Thinking of selling the Deck for an Ally
Can you test the ROG ALLY X while connected to a monitor with games like NBA, Counter Strike 2, and any RPG to see how smooth the graphics and performance are?
Great video👍👍 do you think the screen is too small?? Thank you
Will game pass games launch through playnite
I'm really wanting one of these, but for the life of me I will never understand who calls the shots at these companies. Why would they leave out dual track pads & an HDR screen?! Good grief, charge more for those features if you have to. But at least build some with everything & give us the option. Better yet, allow us to customize our own with the features we want. I would happily pay extra for dual track pads & an HDR screen. Doesn't even have to be OLED. So long as it's 1080p, 120hz, VRR & HDR, that's good enough.
With my luck I will pull the trigger & buy this, and within 3 months some company will release a handheld with all these features I want at the same price.
Did you use the thermal pads and copper heat sink on both sides of that SSD? .5 pads on both sides, or .5 on bottom and 1.0 on top?
Has weight been an issue?
(Also holy moly 8TB! I was wondering who bought those at those prices)
Which playnite theme is that?
Remix
It’s my favorite
Question is can these handhelds play MMO’s? latest Shooters/pew pew are easy for gaming, but MMO’s is what really pushes Main PC hardware and need folks to test MMO’s on the handhelds to really REALLY see what they can do. If Legion Go came out with a 24gb/32/gb ram then I am sold on it..24GB ram for Ally X is nice BUT have ass it and just put in 32gb ram.
I'm playing both WoW and FFXIV on it.
Do you have a resource with the links to download the add-ons from this video? I really like your setup.
This might help - joeysretrohandhelds.com/guides/asus-rog-ally-x-setup-guide/
Which theme do you use
I ran into one issue with my Ally X, I upgraded the M.2 to a 4tb and installed Bazzite to check out what the hype was over the distro. In order to install the distro, I had to turn off secure boot in the BIOS. After playing around with the distro I attempted to use the system restore to have Windows re-installed, I wiped the distro off the M.2 but now secure boot will not allow me to turn it on so windows can be installed. I plan to replace the 4tb with the original M.2 but it might not boot if secure boot isn't enabled. Just want let people know about my experience if they intend to try out a Linux distro on the Ally X.
How's it working out now?
@ I stuck with Windows, it wasn’t the same as Steam OS on the Steam Deck. I do have to admit I was impressed with the performance and I would like to maybe in the future go with CachyOS instead.
You can always just use some Xreal Air 2 Pro OLED 120hz Glasses. 😎👍
Does the game got smoother when plug in charger?
Looking at the 8tb too myself. Did you need to add in thermal pads on it?
Got it today
Will Asus void the warranty because you replaced the ssd?
no
What is your playnite theme? Great video!
Remix!
I think it's a given that the Ally 2 will come with the OLED. It has to.
That will be the one for me.
Retrobat is the best for emulation I've tried
It’s nearly perfect in my opinion but that’s price point is just insane
Have you seen the price of eggs lately? Everything is going up up up
Great review. But LMAO but the cost of the 8g SSD is ridiculous.
Hi Joey! What do you think what is the benefits using bazzite on Asus Rog Ally X? Is it worth it or I go with windows+playnite?
Hey! Unfortunately haven't used Bazzite, I'm a Windows guy so for me, AC/Playnite etc is perfect.
how did you get 8TB?!?!?
Can you do a video for how to setup Playnite?
I've done like three! Check description :)
@@JoeysRetroHandheldsThank You!
How's battery life on it? How many hours would you say you get from it on a full charge?
Check my review, I did in-depth battery testing there.
Great video - playnite looks great. Is it possible to map the back buttons on a per-game basis within playnite similar to what you can do in armory crate?
You would still use AC to set the templates and any custom stuff like that.
So this video comes at the perfect time, I’m trying to get windows to behave like a console more and installed playnite. But is there a way to go back to the menu without touching the screen. Like I’m looking for Xbox button but the only options are the armory crate button and the command center button? Is it possible to remap armory crate to Xbox or go back to playnite?
It should go right back after you exit a game, at least mine does. Alternatively, you can use the ROG Ally built in shortcuts. M1 or M2 plus the dpad left or right I believe. I forget, don't have it with me right now, but there's hotkeys.
I saw a lot of comments that the Oled is a deal breaker. But am like my tv and computer monitor is not even oled haha. It will be acquired haha.
Hi, I need your help.
I installed Emudeck.
Rog Ally X controllers are not working when I launch any Retro Game through Steam or any emulator.
How can I fix that ?
Did you setup steam input correctly?
Why play on 900p medium instead of max?
Depends on the game.
What about the sleep mode , does that work perfectly??
Yes on bazzite
Does the lack of oled display bother you? That’s what holding me back and choosing the steam deck oled? I have the steam deck lcd now, Any display enhanced advice?
That and the fact that it is $600-700 difference in price from the SD OLED in my country.
@@serpserpserp i really want this so bad but I just can’t go back to LCD display and true dark colors goes a long way for me buuuut the steam deck has the great display but not power man idk 😂
But can it run Minecraft max settings?
Get the Dbrand Killswitch
Have you tried Bazzite yet? Does playnite help the suspend mode on the Ally X?
No interest in Bazzite, but Playnite is just a frontend, it doesn't change functionality.
is there a site for hd textures?
do you prefer playnite over bazzite?
Playnite is a frontend, available on Windows, Bazzite is completely different.
sorry I new to rog ally I’m coming from steam deck and looking to get the best user experience
does a 12T playnite hard drive work on it?
get the new asus rog premium hard case that came out recently fits it perfectly best case out rn for the ally x rn
Ordered the Skull n Co one instead! I like slim cases and they just released it yesterday or the day before.
Asus make the next one with a bigger screen
Did you test Remote Play for the PS5?
What is your vibration like? To me it feels loud, tinny and jarring like there’s something wrong with it. Had to completely disable it
I don't really use it often, but I haven't paid attention to it when I have. I'll keep an eye on it.
You could decrease the intensity to 20% or 10%. Mine is set to 15% and it’s the perfect setting for fps and rpg games. Otherwise it rumbles too much.
How long does it take to charge with the 65w stock charger vs 100w charger ? Charging while Playing AAA Games and/or while it’s off
Should be the same, but it's quick either way.
@@JoeysRetroHandheldsdo you have an estimated time frame using the 100w vs 65w . Very curious if it’s worth investing in the 140w Rog charger if the charge time is a huge difference
Sorry, I'll expand. It's the same as the ROG Ally only needs 65W, anything higher would be if you're connecting accessories, dock etc.
That's why I generally go with 100w, anything above would be overkill. I just happen to have 140w's around.
Dude, I have mine plugged into a Samsung 45W charger sometimes, and it's still filling up the battery while playing AAA games. I play on Performance mode, though.
@@BETEP-gw7qp the question is estimated time of how long it takes to fully charge ally x from (0-100%) between 65w vs 100w.
Hey Joey, do you rely solely on Playnite and don’t see any use for something like Bazzite? Do you often leave the x on stand by?
Yep exactly, I love Windows and love Playnite. I tend to leave the device on stand by yeah, but I rarely ever have a game open when it is.