How does Asus‘ new ROG Ally X gaming handheld stack up against its predecessors? Find everything you need to know in our comparison guide.
Asus is making the ROG Ally better. Although the original ROG Ally is one of the best handheld gaming PCs you can buy, the new ROG Ally X improves on the original design in almost every way. It sports better specs, better ergonomics, a larger battery, and a new black colorway — but Asus is also asking for more money. The ROG Ally X comes in at $800, while you can often find the original for less than $600.
We’ve tested both handhelds extensively, as you can read in our Asus ROG Ally review and Asus ROG Ally X review. The updated ROG Ally X is certainly a better handheld overall, but it struggles to justify its premium over the original design.Specs
Although the spec sheet for the ROG Ally X delivers some changes, the heart of the console remains the same — as can be expected from something that Asus itself dubs “not a redesign.” The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, with its eight cores, 16 threads, 24MB of cache, and 12 RDNA 3 cores, has proven time and time again that it’s a force to be reckoned with. Of course, if we compare it to the Asus ROG Ally Z1 (not Extreme), it’s a whole different story; but now, with the ROG Ally X in the picture, that model makes even less sense to buy. Asus is also said to have changed the motherboard in the new model.
The major spec changes include a boost to the memory. The ROG Ally X now serves up 24GB of RAM instead of 16GB, and as the APU utilizes that for both system memory and VRAM, the extra capacity provides some performance advantages. The maximum RAM frequency has also gone up, from 6400MT/s to 7500MT/s. In the performance section below, we’ll look at a few games that can leverage the extra memory capacity and speed.
The new ROG Ally X also doubles battery capacity and expands the SSD, not just up to 1TB but also up to an M.2 2280 variant, meaning that storage upgrades should get significantly easier — and the handheld itself can support up to 8TB of storage. Lastly, Asus heard the outcry of its customers and replaced the ROG XG mobile port with a USB 4 instead. This change lets you use an external GPU if you should wish to, and that’s pulling the ROG Ally X into a whole different category.Pricing and availability
When the Asus ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme) hit the shelves on June 13, 2023, it was initially priced at $700. The not-so-extreme version followed on September 18, 2023, with a $600 price tag. Since then, both models have gone on sale many times over. While the initial pricing held strong, those sales are the best windows of opportunity for those who want to buy an ROG Ally handheld.
In the wake of the ROG Ally X, Asus has officially dropped the price of the original model. The ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme now sells for $650, while the model with the base Z1 sells for $500. In both cases, you can often score these handhelds on sale for $100 less, so we recommend waiting to buy until there’s a big sale.
The ROG Ally X is more expensive than both of the original models, and by a significant margin. It sells for $800, not only outpacing the base ROG Ally, but also its main competitor in the form of the Steam Deck OLED. As we’ll dig into below, the ROG Ally X bring some significant improvements over the original ROG Ally. However, you’ll spend upwards of $250 more on the ROG Ally X depending on sales, placing it in a completely different price tier without a significant upgrade to performance.Design and battery
The design shows us that Asus did, indeed, do more than just a slight refresh along the lines of the Steam Deck OLED. The difference is visible at first glance, as the redesigned chassis now comes in black; the other adjustments are more subtle. In the new Asus ROG Ally X, you’ll find slightly deeper handles, a more rounded overall shape, and a slight change to the arrangement of the buttons and the sticks, adding a slant to the triggers to make them easier to use. The macro buttons on the back have gotten smaller, which, as Asus claims, should help you avoid accidental presses.
