The Asus ROG Ally X is finally here. That means on-the-go gamers have an excellent new option to consider when looking to buy a handheld PC gaming device. You can buy the Asus ROG Ally X right now at Best Buy, for $799.99. It’s a souped-up version of the original Ally, with the same speedy AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, but with new ergonomics, a 1TB SSD, and twice the battery life. It’s a worthy improvement over the previous model, and serious competition for the Steam Deck. Should you buy one? Let’s take a closer look.
Where to Buy the Asus ROG Ally X
The main reason you’d get this over the Steam Deck OLED is because it’s a Windows machine. It runs Windows 11, which means, for starters, that you can easily access your non-Steam PC games. You can play several years’ worth of the Epic Games Store’s weekly freebies you may have picked up (shout out to IGN Deals on Twitter), plus your libraries of GOG, Ubisoft Store, Itchio, and more games, all with ease. On top of that, you can play Xbox Game Pass PC games on it, and other games that don’t work on Steam Deck for various reasons, like Destiny 2 and Fortnite.
The other huge reason to pick up an Ally X is the battery life. I love my Steam Deck more than any other gaming console I own, but the battery life while playing power-hungry games leaves a lot to be desired. I might get 90 minute of play time in Ghost of Tsushima, for instance. The Ally X has a huge battery, which make it heavier than a Steam Deck or standard Ally, but the battery life is phenomenal. But don’t take my word for it.
What We Said in Our Review
In the IGN review, tech critic Jacqueline Thomas wrote:
“The Asus ROG Ally X is the best handheld gaming PC on the market right now. With 24GB of LPDDR5 memory and twice the battery of the original ROG Ally, this system runs any game you can throw at it for multiple hours. However, because it’s running on Windows, there’s still some frustration to be had when it comes to poking around the desktop OS. Asus also completely revamped the design, making the Asus ROG Ally X more comfortable, with a new cooler that makes the overheated touchscreen of the original Ally a thing of the past. Really, the only things that have stayed the same are the display and the central AMD Z1 Extreme SoC, which is still the best chip on the market for PC handhelds. It’s not worth upgrading if you already have a Z1-based system, but if you’ve been waiting for the right handheld gaming PC, this is the time.”
For more, check out our Asus ROG Ally vs. Steam Deck comparison.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads.
