ASUS Sent me A Third ROG Ally X and...

[@andrewyork120]

You mentioned that the controls stop working, sometimes, I have notices with my system, that the controls are switching the “desktop” controls. Clicking the quick settings armory crate button, left bottom button of the screen, you can quickly change the control from desktop to game pad, that seems to resolve my issue. YMMV. Great video.

[@baldlyrudy]

Yup! That was for streaming from the Xbox. I did try to toggle things through Armoury Crate as well, but it didn't work. I'm not sure if that's an Xbox issue, Microsoft issue, or ASUS issue. That's why I mentioned it in the video. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

[@ElectroSynthica]

I love that they are getting so much feedback from customers. I feel this might be a good contender once that SD2 comes out

[@stankozniewski9385]

You need bloatynosy to remove all the bloat that comes with windows since its not a full fledged computer you will never use certain featires they actually slow the system down.... You get about 30% boost in performance when you debloat your system. Try your benchmark before and after 😊 you go from 250 processes running on your cpu to 110 check your task manager under cpu

[@baldlyrudy]

Thanks for that! I appreciate it.

[@stankozniewski9385]

I think that's why the first units you tried ran better than when you baught it from store​@@baldlyrudy

[@bobvila4381]

Wish I didn't already have a 4070 laptop or I would grab a ROG X...

[@Rahul016-d6k]

​@@bobvila4381 Because of the small screen it's much better imagery lol I use Rog ally X as mini Pc as well.

[@mnrrobinmoens1998]

I had a 3070 laptop and a MacBook. I sold the 3070 laptop, got a Asus rog ally x. Also bought a 4tb ssd for it, a docking and a case. I dont regret it.

[@MrREAPERsz]

Sell it for 1k and get a ally x

[@PoiseMuncher]

I just pretend that I have a Rog ally x with my 10000mah external powerbank on the og ally 🙂🙂

[@gaganmalik4421]

@@PoiseMuncher same

[@GreenLeefMusic]

Same 😂 I have one that attaches to the back of my Ally. My only complaint is it is significantly heavier with it attached. I normally wouldn't fuss about the added weight (I had a similar setup on my Steam Deck) but it is just the Ally ergonomics are what makes it uncomfortable to hold with the added weight.

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

What about the extra 8gb ram?

[@aquaman5464]

It’s a little crazy that there are differences in production units by that much .. after $1600 dollars in my region 😢

[@LoreOfMrPPToucher]

After duel booting the ally definitely takes place as the best handled people seem to forget it’s a mini pc and handheld shouldn’t need a oled or 12” screen

[@TheGamingDuoPod]

I was waiting so long for this vid! As always excellent vid Rudy!

[@baldlyrudy]

Cheers guys!

[@Sadtiric]

I'm glad this one seems to be working for you! 💚

[@baldlyrudy]

Thanks! The last one was 100% a dud.

[@BrokenWheelYT]

You are lucky to compare your Ally x performance with your other device regular Ally, so I dont have any handhelds now and I already ordered Ally X but how can I sure my ordered brand new device works & performance well as it should be like your second production unit? I really hate that, I am paying 900 Euro for to get best performance handheld device but I can not sure it is really works or not. Do you have any advice to check or compare our rog ally x has “some engineering problem etc.” like yours first production unit?

[@liksoonlo]

ROG Ally X Pro MAX will be revealed soon with OLED.

[@baldlyrudy]

I mean....I'd take it. Lol

[@Naklov351]

Im going to wait for the pro max version oled 😂

[@izcondoralexander]

I use hibernate as a sleep replacement. It works wonders.

[@GreenLeefMusic]

Same here. Only issue I've had with hibernation is gyro stops working after waking up, but it is an easy fix to just fully reboot when gyro is needed.

[@izcondoralexander]

I've never used gyro before, so I might start utilizing it now.

[@williedee1003]

I’ve been a steam deck oled owner going on 3 months, and I’ve been enjoying it a lot. I thought about buying the Rog ally X to pair with my steam deck. I probably pick it up for myself for Christmas lol

[@gamble777888]

If you already have the handheld wouldn't you rather just use that money and build a powerful PC?

[@jackykwan2580]

I say hold on and see what the claw 2 is cooking up. Intel latest lunar lake chip inside it looks promising and its 80whr too with 8 inch. 7 inch screen is a tad bit too small

[@cynicalcomedian4428]

na just wait lunar lake is out and better supposed to be really good handhelds early 2025

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Steam deck better than ally x but the only hate it on deck oled it's had plastic weaker than the orgianl deck plastic I had both I noticed lcd deck had stronger buttons and plastic body unlike oled get scratches easy by dust Maybe use weak plastic for weight loss

[@KondoAeros]

Do it, i upgraded last month and it is so worth it especially newer games are getting more demanding The battery like everyone said is just amazing, i also stuck with windows because frame gen is getting better and better

[@audunskilbrei8279]

Bazzite makes this thing so much better.

[@Jasoet]

@@audunskilbrei8279 Agreed. Make it feels real Console instead of Handheld Windows Dual boot it! I even use the Bazzite OS for programming just connect it to monitor, keyboard and mouse and the performance is much better than my Linux Laptop

[@N54htmare]

@@audunskilbrei8279 windows >

[@cameronphelps6740]

Cuts u off from a lot of tools.

[@LoreOfMrPPToucher]

@@cameronphelps6740 2-4tb and duel boot worth the hassle of having to go into bios every time

[@abdulbasit4660]

Definitely

[@darth_dunedain106]

Can you clarify which part of the game you were at for Baldur's Gate 3 for bench marks? Also love your videos and appreciate all of your efforts.

[@baldlyrudy]

Thank you! Act 3. Specifically in the Lower City.

[@darth_dunedain106]

@@baldlyrudy well that's really good then

[@baldlyrudy]

@@darth_dunedain106 oh yeah. For a handheld, it isn't bad at all.

[@Anchelspain]

I've been having the same controls issue, where after going to sleep, the Armory Crate app will completely fail to receive any input from the controls, so I can only maneuver it via touch-screen. Restarting the device fixes the issue, but then it comes back after a while once more. Like, controls work absolutely fine in games or even in the desktop, embedded controller is not disabled, and I can switch just fine between Gamepad, Desktop or Automatic modes. It's just on the Armory Crate it won't work.

[@IzzyPagan-b9j]

Just picked up my ally x at best buy love it alot great handheld definitely one of the best on the market right now but does have its pros and cons i do have that same issues with the xbox cloud gaming i always have to restart my rog ally x to get the controls working and it does get annoying fast hopefully they fix it because i love this handheld and adding those extra little adjustments to it would only make it that much better .👍

[@aepallenp]

I wish you'd still had the egpu cuz I got a 4090 through them and I can't use it

[@superfly4137]

If you go for the Asus Zephyrus laptop over the Rog Ally x you will lose the portability because you will need to plug in your Zephyrus laptop to run games for extended periods of time and the comfortable small form factor that could easily zip out the Rog Ally x. The other thing is you’re gonna be paying a whole hell of a lot more for the laptop.

[@clintk4691]

15:40 I've never had this. Windows game mode silences all notifications. Just turn that on during your first setup and you'll never have an issue.

[@OblivionPrime]

game mode makes fps worse sadly

[@cynicalcomedian4428]

@@OblivionPrime really?

[@OblivionPrime]

@@cynicalcomedian4428 yeah unfortunately

[@freakylittlefreank]

@@OblivionPrime No, it just makes the game prioritized instead of any other background app. it either wont give more fps or will slightly give more, but you will have consistent frame rates

[@dakotamiller1428]

honestly, 16:9 is my biggest complaint. the bezels feel MASSIVE. if the ally was 16:10 1200p i’d probably get it

[@baldlyrudy]

16:10 feels bigger, because it is. 16:9 at that size isn't as impactful.

[@OC.TINYYY]

Ew. 16:10 is ass. All handheld screens should be 16:9. This is not a productivity product, it is a gaming first device. Half the games out there do not support 16:10, so you end up getting black bars where hex editing cannot fix the majority. The main reason I sold my Steam Deck OLED for the Ally X.

[@JesseA1221]

Really interested in a PC handheld. Ive always been a console gamer and love handhelds like the portal and switch. Will the ROG Ally X play all of my digital xbox games? Or just gamepass games?

[@iybk7671]

I’m a console player myself. I recently got myself the steam deck and i absolutely love it. Streaming games from PS or Xbox works almost flawlessly (depending on the connection) but you can also get them on steam. Games are on sale usually. Though i’m happy with the deck, i’m thinking to upgrade to the ally x. It just has more performance. But if you want the best console-like experience, you should get the deck. Windows handhelds can get a bit awkward, but recently asus has been updating the software to make the overall experience more fluent. If you don’t mind a little tinkering, get the ally x.

[@cutebwoy25]

The ally X is the best right now and is better then Steam deck Xbox , Xbox 360 PS3 emulator runs best on ally X then the steam deck hands down!!

[@Dragorus360]

Check out the 2 best handhelds out there the Legion Go and the OneXPlayer X1 AMD version.

[@fairplayer916]

It's a gaming pc. So anything that plays on pc. There are Xbox emulators, but idk how well even the x would run it. Also: if you wanna dip your toes in, look for an og ally extreme in the used market. If you live near a city, you can find a second hand one for under $400 sometimes.

[@JuanGarcia-hf4nv]

I had 3 original Allys all with issues one, i couldnt move the joy stick left or right, second one sd card burned out, and then my last one fried i left it on over night in the morning it was dead no power.

[@lincoln537]

Are you still talking about Ally X or Ally?

[@JuanGarcia-hf4nv]

@@lincoln537 Just the Ally

[@lincoln537]

@@JuanGarcia-hf4nv thank you for clariification

[@squad4yt103]

Owning og ally its good tech but extra 8gigs or ram and 50% more battery is worth it but not $700 price

[@baldlyrudy]

I'm assuming that those are the most important aspects for you. Because there are other things that they've improved. 1. If the battery size was the same as the Ally, the handheld would be lighter. Reduction in the weight of components while maintaining structural integrity is a feat on its own. 2. Thermals are improved, which allows for better performance. Is it generational levels improvements? No. But better Thermals is always good. 3. Better joysticks and buttons. I think that's self explanatory. 4. Double the storage. Pretty sure that's self explanatory as well. There are a ton of other things, but I'm planning on doing a whole video covering this exact topic and the differences between the two.

[@doolittle_]

Russ really is the only sale for the XG eGPU.

[@baldlyrudy]

I really think so. 🫣

[@pctechgaming1314]

Im struggling to resist the urge to upgrade my Z1E to the ALLY X. I use a 65w PD 30,000MHa external battery with my OG Ally and its great. I should wait for Ally 2.

[@naruhearts1]

Im still just going to wait for the steam deck 2

[@yoitsmegabe]

One weird quirk is the quick menu freezing for a few seconds when in game. That never happened on the ally andhappens all the time on my ally x

[@brandonybarra6595]

was an issue on the rog ally z1/z1x as well. it was luck of the draw on the game. used to just not work. now its that freeze up you see. seems to be a partial fix they thought was a full fix.

[@yoitsmegabe]

@brandonybarra6595 thanks for the heads up. I never experienced it on my original. Must have gotten lucky because my SD card reader was always good too

[@gaganmalik4421]

This started happening even on my ally after the new armory update. Before the update, this never occurred.

[@brandonybarra6595]

@@yoitsmegabe surprisingly my sd card reader still works on my z1x as well. think we both got lucky on that one. i bought mine used fully expecting the card reader to already be fried. lol.

[@Wunnabeanbag]

Guys try windows x lite

[@DJCJ999]

So what’s happening here? The latest units have better chips?

[@baldlyrudy]

Nah. I got a dud chipset on my review unit compared to my sample unit.

[@MrWhoUsesPixel]

i want to get one but your video makes me think i should not. What are the odds of my device being defective?

[@baldlyrudy]

Based on my experience, 2/3 chances you'll be fine.

[@MrWhoUsesPixel]

@@baldlyrudy I guess it's worth the risk then for the sweet gaming reward 😁

[@baldlyrudy]

@@MrWhoUsesPixel for sure! Just get it from a third party seller so you can return it if needed.

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Which one better steam deck 64gb lcd or ally x 4tb + dock + cover)..?

[@ben7301]

How many hours would you get for triple a games at 30W with balance settings compared to the legion go

[@baldlyrudy]

Ally X (1080): ~2.5-2.75 hours Legion Go (1600): ~1-1.2 hours

[@zadesirius]

im a steam deck oled user, one thing i dont like about ally X is the price.... gosh 700 dolars

[@baldlyrudy]

That's fair! The original Ally is almost always on sale. And the performance is comparable.

[@TheDizzzzle]

Just bought the original ally extreme version for $410 has the same chip as the x less battery and a little less ram comparable fps this should hold me up until the 2 comes out hoping it has oled that would be worth $700 not the x

[@horticultural261]

200€ deference, between steam deck and giving 80wh and 24gb ram i think its worth it

[@aepallenp]

I keep saying that too if they sent me three I still don't think it touches the steam deck all it has is an extra little bit of frames in certain games other than that power everything else sucks

[@cameronphelps6740]

I will legit never understand the windows thing lol I just continue living fine with it. The boot up speed? I turn off armory crate so that thing doesn’t open when I boot it on. Never even look at it unless I wanna play with the lights haha but it’s like no different than when I walk over and turn my rig on lol so I just idk.. and navigating windows is just if ya know ya know lol it’s just something you know how to use, all of us have rigs lol idk what’s even happening with the difficulties lol. Buy yourself a mini keyboard mouse all in one banger and you’re good haha if you want a less powerful machine and ease of use play the steam deck or that Nintendo switch baby.. console gamer vibes. Windows is just windows. Debloat, install bazzite, whatever you’re into. That’s the point do what ya like. Lol watch one day they’re gonna make a windows handheld all sick like an Xbox dashboard but everyone’s gonna complain all of a sudden cuz you can’t do half the shit you could with regular windows OS. Nobody is ever happy lol

[@KelixIsaiah]

May i please have one? That would be so nice 😅😊

[@baldlyrudy]

Too late. I only have one now.

[@KelixIsaiah]

@@baldlyrudy that's ok. Thanks for the great video 😁

[@Sanuske4]

This is a good video but I hate nobody mentioning all the options that have existed far before Valve got in on this. So let me extend that list a bit - There are other options such as the Steam Deck LCD/Oled, Original Ally, Legion Go, a host of Ayaneo devices, a host of GPD devices, a host of Ayn devices, a host5 of OnexPlayer Devices, a host of Aokzoe devices ; and I am certain I am missing some.

[@baldlyrudy]

That's a long list of handhelds to mention in every single video.

[@Sanuske4]

@@baldlyrudy Fair enough and I can get why you wouldn't but I do think it leaves a lot of viewers in general ignorant that think the mainstream companies are the -only- options.

[@aepallenp]

Also needs a bad taste in my mouth when I have a Asus egpu 4090 and can't use it with the product that I originally could

[@injustice4566]

i will buy a flat usb c to avoid breaking the usb port

[@Eli-r6p4j]

Can you play red alrert 2 or any commander& conqueror

[@baldlyrudy]

For sure! But I don't think it'll be the best to play any RTS on the ROG Ally X. I'd recommend something with a touchpad at least. Something like the Steam Deck or Legion Go, potentially the Zotac Zone once it's released (assuming the performance backs up the specs and numbers).

[@planterznuggz]

What stand is that at 12:47?

[@baldlyrudy]

It's this one amzn.to/3Xu0H7v (Affiliate Link)

[@shaycray7662]

Idk man, the battery life on my Ally X is horrible. It drains so fast, even when I'm just on the home screen.

[@baldlyrudy]

🤣

[@shaycray7662]

@@baldlyrudy What?

[@baldlyrudy]

@@shaycray7662 what you said is a straight up lie. Either that or your unit is defective. The Ally has horrible battery life. The Ally X does not. I am getting 2.5-3 hours on AAA games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Elden Ring. With lighter games I was getting anywhere from 5-8 hours depending on TDP. Sometimes even more.

[@shaycray7662]

@@baldlyrudy Well I'm not lying, so it might be defective. At this point I mostly have to use it plugged in, because of the battery drain issues.

[@baldlyrudy]

@@shaycray7662 I would see if you can RMA it. Three of these are in my hands and they each have great and consistent battery life.

[@m.g.7013]

at the end of the day

[@baldlyrudy]

At the end of the day

[@rbarca3845]

What game at 3:46 ??

[@kewa_design]

:O thats Dead Cells for sure

[@baldlyrudy]

That's Dead Cells.

[@MonarchTK_]

Can I have one?

[@lilbenate660]

Asus is trash , the rog ally x I got had squeaky triggers, thumb sticks mad noise and one of the triggers broke . Returned it for Legion Go, has zero problems and a good experience so far no complaints

[@lincoln537]

What was the manufacturing date on your yellow box, please?

[@ben7301]

How is ASUS rma now

[@baldlyrudy]

Heck if I know. I talked to a rep during Computex about it and they mentioned they were restructuring their RMA processes, but who knows if they'll follow through with that.

[@gibusman8852]

Can y get one 😂

[@baldlyrudy]

Too late. I only have one now.

[@gibusman8852]

@@baldlyrudy :c

[@ReptilianRichardRamirez]

Legion go > ally x

[@baldlyrudy]

Objectively, no.

[@ReptilianRichardRamirez]

@@baldlyrudy I prefer it. Screen is to small on the ally x. Legion is better as a portable windows pc.

[@baldlyrudy]

@ReptilianRichardRamirez that's fine. That's also subjectivity.

[@brandonybarra6595]

this is strange. youre complaints are almost entirely software side. yet the community behind this device has hardware issues. squeaky triggers almost right out the box(did a poll on this in the rog facebook group and rog reddit. over 50% of owners on reddit and about 40% on rog group have the issue. so its strange you havent come across this issue 3 devices in. i bought two and one lasted 11 days. the other lasted two days before it developed. theres also alot of people with squeaky dpads(didnt experience this personally), and people that are already rma'ing these devices have discovered that taking the back plate off creates a squeak in the shell as well regardless of how tender you are taking the backplate off. if i must be honest it makes these videos come off disegenuis when asus happened to hand pick you. but ill admit its possible you just got lucky on all fronts on the hardware side.

[@baldlyrudy]

All three units are fine. The one unit that I had a squeaky button was on my original ROG Ally. I think it was the left bumper, IIRC. It would always feel stuck until that initial push during a gaming session. Then it would be fine until the next gaming session. As my friend Cary (the Phawx) says, trust is a currency. Edit: Here's the exact moment in the video on the ROG Ally: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5qqnn98lNCqqacsi=p_-1O_07IyjBV1d0&t=582

[@OblivionPrime]

@@brandonybarra6595 my ally x has squeaky triggers as well however the fix is just a little oil it's not a hardware defect really

[@brandonybarra6595]

@@OblivionPrime wouldnt it be a manufacturing goof up? since lubing the triggers shouldnt fall onto the consumer? and is the spring/trigger assembly not hardware? also fixing it yourself leads to the shell of the device squeaking. so you trade one issue for another fixing it yourself(which again the consumer shouldn't have to do regardless of how simple the fix is.....actually makes it more inexcusable)

[@OblivionPrime]

@@brandonybarra6595 I'm just saying it's not a real problem

[@kiraitachi]

Thats strange, I got the Rog Ally X for already 1 month and a half. No issues at all. No DPAD issues either and I mainly play DBZ Fightetz...DPAD is a must

[@curlyexcile]

Amory create left button, change back to game pad mode, some games change this setting to auto and controls don't work

[@baldlyrudy]

I tried that as well. It didn't work. 🫠

[@Sker21]

the ips screen destroys my eyes...

[@DarkFox2232]

TL;DR: is at bottom after = = = = None of performance, screen benefits matter for any of those non-Steam Deck devices. I have such device with 32GB RAM and Ryzen 7 7840U configured up-to 45W. Practically exceeding performance of all of those ASUS/Lenovo ones. Windows on that was atrocious. So I put Nobara Linux with modifications making it practically Steam Deck's OS-like clone. Software functionality is on par with SD. But controls!!! You think mere Gamepad is all you need for generic PC games? No, even games adapted for consoles need those extra SD functions. Yet, I use SD OLED 1G version, and keep SD orig 512GB version. I can excuse incomparably better battery life in sleep mode, SD has. One can always turn those unoptimized ASUS/lenovo devices off instead of sleep. Generic user can even forgive running highly inefficient windows instead of superior linux. But I am not buying another handheld without advanced controls like SD has. And I'd say that 95~99% of SD owners who actually understand how to configure given controls look at it in same way. That 3rd party powerful device even has hal joysticks. They are great. SD instead has average ones, but SD's input customization makes them functionally equal. Full Deck controls programmability enables those 4 under-keys to either be mere 4 extra functions. Or 4 "shift" keys which enable 4 different sets of actions for all other keys. Joysticks can serve as easy to use radial menus. Or as mouse, or mouse confined to specific area of display. Touchpads can serve as button grids. Or as relative positioned mouse in specified region. Or as simple thing as another 4/8 directional D-Pad. I did comfortably play StarCraft 2 singleplayer missions on Deck. That includes not only perfect map control with left touchpad. But right touchpad mirroring lewer right button grid for issuing commands and building. Easy to set up unit groupings. Even binds for quick camera jumps to specific locations (like pro players use). Usual gamepad has 16 buttons. Plus menu buttons. On Deck, you start in simple mode having 28 buttons (if touchpads are used as mere 4-way D-Pads). But can bind keyboard and mouse perfectly. Easily making it 16 buttons, 4 shifts, 18~32 button grids, 4~20 radial menu(s) on stick(s). Key combinations like ++ or macros are available too. On press, and on release events + other event based actions can be done too. One should note that very few gamepads utilize their extra 2/4 bottom buttons as extra functionality. Instead they map other standard buttons. Giving you clone of what you already has. At best it is for people who hate pressing stick buttons, or R1/L1. (And rarely for few people who do not like to move thumb from right stick to ABXY.) = = = = ASUS and lenovo should ask Valve to sell them those touchpads. Or to enable them to make their own which would be 1:1 compatible with steam controls. And they should make those 4 bottom buttons available in same mode as SD has. Because I am not buying another handheld without that level of controls enabled. No matter how powerful it is. My 4th Handheld is going to be SD2, making it my 3rd Valve handheld. And I am willing to pay $200~250 for mere gamepad which has exactly same controls as current SD have. (My current gamepad is nacon Revolution 5 Pro. I say it is highest quality standard gamepad which at best provides 4 profiles with custom joysticks/trigger curves. But is no good for any game which was not made around gamepad controls.)

[@glovedcop69]

6:00 as fast as systems have gotten now a days this hardly matters

[@bassderek]

Onexfly camp, there’s dozens of us!! 😂

[@markquickel6499]

Great review. Makes me excited for what's next. What is the game at 6:10?

[@baldlyrudy]

Thanks! The game is called Gunbrella.

[@aquaman5464]

It’s a little crazy that there are differences in production units by that much .. after $1600 dollars in my region 😢