Retro Gaming on Asus ROG Ally X: Battery BLISS (Low TDP Testing)

👉Stubbs gets hands-on with the new ROG Ally X for his follow-up first impressions, and looks at the new Armory Crate 1.5.7 update, changes to the device, and how it feels for retro gaming emulation. Overall a nice set of improvements. The X retails for $799 USD, and arrives on doorsteps July 22nd. Stay tuned for a deeper dive review when the retail unit gets here!
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Ally X First Impressions:
• Asus ROG Ally X - Hand...
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#asusrog #rogally #emulation #retrohandheld #retrogaming
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📖Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Unboxing, Impressions recap
02:49 - Armory Crate 1.5.7 improvements
03:51 - Comparisons to Steam Deck, AYN Loki, Legion Go, MSI Claw
05:11 - Taking a look at Armory Crate
05:50 - The Micro SD card test & kerfuffles
07:19 - Speaker test & Horizon Chase (Steam)
07:44 - Dpad test on Street Fighter 4 (Steam)
09:06 - Emulation testing
09:22 - Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)
09:50 - Dpad test 2 on Contra (NES)
11:20 - Screen test with Alien Hominid (GameCube)
12:24 - Spyro Enter the Dragonfly (GameCube)
13:33 - Vandal Hearts (Xbox 360)
14:15 - Barbie Explorer (PS1)
14:25 - Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (PSP)
15:16 - Forsaken (Steam)
15:42 - Impaler (Steam)
15:58 - Final thoughts
17:01 - Where to order & alternatives
18:40 - Thanks for watching!

[@retrohandhelds]

Notes: Modern standby is much improved, I forgot to show that and meant to. It can stay in standby with minimal to no drain, and wakes up quickly. More thoughts to come. My Ally X First Impressions: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b56uY4qrbNakqbMsi=D7lOoqVnGahkJStM

[@X862go]

😍

[@Hayden120]

This is excellent news. Please demonstrate this in your next video?

[@retrohandhelds]

@@Hayden120 absolutely!

[@tradoss1]

Im still confused about these content creators that are testing retro games on these kind of devices, if I wanna play these games I can simplly use my phone, Im here to see AAA games ofc.

[@Anchelspain]

@@tradoss1 He runs a channel about retro gaming on handhelds. What else were you expecting? Sure that people can play those games on their phones, even add a controller like the Razer Kishi. But the whole point of a device like the ROG Ally X is that I can play ALL my games in one single device that I carry with me and has a nice comfortable grip and a big, bright screen. Sometimes I may be in the mood to play a AAA game while travelling, sometimes I just want to play a retro game. So I was personally very interested to see how the Ally fares with the types of games this channel is testing.

[@CyberDopamine]

Yes I’m stoked for your upload

[@retrohandhelds]

Aw dang thanks man, stoked on YOURS!

[@CyberDopamine]

Been waiting for this

[@lamontieverett4949]

Im getting one this will be my first handheld im excited 😎

[@ltdaecho]

What emulation software are you using? I really like that interface

[@Greesher]

Thank you infinitely for so elegantly shedding light on how the new battery life is… Others receiving this piece of technology won’t even describe the battery life even if it’s positive.

[@retrohandhelds]

Thank you! I don't know if I'm supposed to, but I just know I can't show battery statistics yet, so, well this seemed like a safe bet 😅

[@wingedwolf111]

What app do you use for emulation? Looks like it's one launcher for all classic platforms?

[@homiedogg6415]

Nice! I think VRR is really important for a handheld. I have it on my LG G3 OLED and can notice the difference. I have an aya neo 2 and it runs really well. It has IPS with excellent colors but I do note stuttering without VRR. And battery life is an issue. Considering upgrading to this.

[@MacGamerOfficial]

Love that battery life ❤

[@kemueltavarez4857]

What emulator you use there?

[@lololololololol444]

Really excited about this one

[@Grimlo9ic]

The Ally X looks great, ASUS really listened to customer feedback (specifically in terms of product development, LOL). Although my Ally is still running beautifully, too. I'll wait for open box units, or maybe the Ally 2 for a real jump.

[@aashutosh.pandey]

What about steam deck oled vs rog ally x? As a new buyer

[@elvinkey9x]

What's your Steam Deck Oled Thumbstick Grip? Thank you!

[@retrohandhelds]

Ah I love these! I need to look up, they came with a silicon case on Amazon.

[@EduardoVasquezMedina]

I mostly play using 10w Silent mode on my Ally 2023 and I'm expecting to upgrade for the bigger battery and it will be a heyday!

[@retrohandhelds]

Absolutely! Can't wait for the 4W Tdp update (to be attempted by asus, but it's not a standard tdp on z1e, so we'll see)

[@TJ-cs6vu]

The Rog ally is getting a 4w tdp update? What's this source? Not sure the z1E can even operate on that

[@retrohandhelds]

@TJ-cs6vu I asked the engineers about this while in Taiwan, and they are going to attempt it, they seemed confident in the idea, but also said its not standard on the Z1E, so it will involve some hacky wizardry it sounds like. I was happy to see 7w already available.

[@TJ-cs6vu]

@@retrohandhelds that's insane if they can do that, might be a feature for z2e ..never know, makes sense to optimise and make the newer chip more efficient. Still , would be a game changer

[@Shise-]

Do you know what the NVME model is being used in the Ally X? Is it a Samsung, Micron etc?

[@retrohandhelds]

I can look at this in the next video and open up the unit for retail, this one *might* not have the final SSD and I don't want to cause confusion. I still might take a peak..

[@sophieedel6324]

I assume it can run GOG games without issues. That's the only thing I want in a gaming handheld, none of my games are on Steam due to the DRM.

[@DigitalJedi898]

So great video, I’m having a hard time justifying the $800 price tag. Maybe if you use a dock and it doubles as your pc, but then again I’m not sure it justifies the price. What do you guys think?

[@retrohandhelds]

Thanks man, hrm this would work as a docked PC, but I might suggest a dedicated Mini PC instead with similar performance for a little less. This is for people who want the best battery life on an x86 handheld, is my thought. For that it is worth the price.

[@E55666]

@@DigitalJedi898 If you're using it as a handheld mostly, definitely not.

[@themightyaj1]

how is the ps3 emulation on this?

[@lilbenate660]

Isn't 900p already on the first ROG Ally? Or am i missing something??

[@retrohandhelds]

Maybe in latest update yeah

[@user-lf3mo7mo4i]

Yep my rog ally has 900p

[@mrchrisknight315]

So the video card can only have have a max of 8 gigs alocated? I wonder why not 12 or 16 gigs?

[@iLikeRNG]

8gb vram is enough for 1080p, leaving 16gb ram for system which is bare minimum

[@shinra358]

we need fps comparisons between xtreme and x

[@chillfenrir6050]

The fps improvement won't be huge, maybe 3-4 more fps as it's still the same chip

[@retrohandhelds]

Can't wait to show that!

[@RyanLBC]

@@chillfenrir6050 yeah I think the biggest difference will be in games that use the most vram ie Allen wake 2, the last of us remake for pc

[@CombatMonkey11B]

It’s about 5 fps on average. This is mostly due to being able to push 8gb to gpu while leaving 16gb to cpu, better cooling, faster ram speed. It won’t be a huge difference, but it’s something.

[@ilham_satria46]

waiting for the claw update video!

[@PC-ONE]

When will embargos end?

[@retrohandhelds]

July 22nd

[@AnubisDaJackal]

What was the retro software being used on that ally x?

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

They used it from Microsoft updates

[@AnubisDaJackal]

Sorry I meant the emulation software being used

[@retrohandhelds]

EmuDeck, it sets everything up for you.

[@retrohandhelds]

ES-DE is the front-end, comes with EmuDeck, choose the ROG Ally setup option

[@AnubisDaJackal]

@@retrohandhelds brill thanks, just pre ordered the ally x. Was looking at launchbox front end but will check ES-DE first now. Appreciate the info

[@SCORP1ONF1RE]

Hadoukens and Supers are nothing on the decks trackpad. just disable 'requires click', and put jump on the right trigger, so there are no accidental jumps. and it is amazing.

[@retrohandhelds]

Woah I didn't know that!

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Btw dod they fix the sd card point on the ally

[@agent47isn1]

Yea they been fixed that since July of last year

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

@agent47isn1 I was meant cooking 🍳 sd card not can't reading it

[@agent47isn1]

@@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753 it never cooked them it was a circuitry issue due to a bad fuse or the controller to the reader on the other side of the board had weak solder. What would happen on certain cards is that they'd get locked into reader only to protect the card.

[@kasjamm]

Is the battery life better than the SD Oled?

[@cirotheb5]

an other reviewer said it was better, but i struggle to believe it

[@retrohandhelds]

The Steam Deck still pulls ahead, partially because you can get the TDP lower (Asus said they'd add 4W soon), but it is close.

[@kasjamm]

@@cirotheb5 I think I know who you're talking about. He acted like the device was sent from heaven lol

[@lmh4162]

Thank you 🙏​@@retrohandhelds

[@lmh4162]

@@retrohandhelds Thank you @retrohandhelds for sharing this feedback with us. It is much appreciated. What do you mean by adding 4W? I'm sorry for my ignorance here. I am trying to figure out how they will do that. It is through the software to make it more efficient. Just brain storming here. Thanks.

[@frankpatterson9682]

More ram and its LPDDR5X this time.

[@williedee1003]

I’ll wait for the Rog ally 2, hopefully that has an oled screen. I’ve been playing a lot of retro games on the steam deck oled, and seeing ps2,Dreamcast and GameCube games upscaled on an oled screen is amazing.

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Even of it's had oled screen still bad in updating and custom service

[@williedee1003]

@@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753 Well if you were buying directly from Asus then you have a valid point, I’d would buy it from best buy as I do with all my electronics with a warranty.

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

@williedee1003 lenovo and this company missed up in gaming phone update for being good with gba style pc

[@sunrisesunset1734]

Nice dpad test, the things that really count! For about ten thousand retro games and all fighting and modern games that use the dpad for precision play, the ROG Ally X is an epic failure. Someone contact ASUS quick, lol!

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

I guess the bettery life not long as steam deck oled because the HD screen and ram takes on the bettery , it's stranger when video shows ally running worse than steam people said because windows not good for gaming and steam had gpu drivers updates just like the snapdragon on mobiles

[@jeffreyali1456]

It shows that games running on Ally run better than Steam because of its power and Ram storage

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

@jeffreyali1456 actually 24gb ram will not change any thing there's steam lcd with 32gb and it's running the same sd 16gb ram because pc Don't need 16+ ram for games

[@jeffreyali1456]

@@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753 not all games mind you, but some games would require a larger RAM especially with future games

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

@jeffreyali1456 you can actually put 32gb ram on steam deck and the oled vr become easy to change the the ram and memory than the orgianl if they made steam deck oled with 32gb it will be overpriced device's, so they made it as a choice, but if ally x was 60-800$ what if it's had oled screen maybe 1100$ same as ayaneo 2 did

[@TheAmanor123]

@@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753 are you perhaps a little slow?

[@Battleroyale_ir]

10:10 What is this app?

[@retrohandhelds]

EmuDeck for Ally (ES-DE is the front-end you're seeing)

[@macky10229]

we need battery test

[@retrohandhelds]

Agreed, looking forward to the embargo lifting for the battery test.

[@chocho2188]

Thanks Stubbs! Great first look. The ally is solid, I loved my first gen one. X86 is to much of a diminishing return. I'm getting a win 4 back and I'm sticking with that for a long time 😎. Stay tuned for my final device list soon

[@retrohandhelds]

Good choice! Thanks man

[@Macs]

Too much pricey compared to the SD oled for not giving anything more for justifing it.

[@ronaldbriston6707]

It’s something about the black that makes the screen look better I might upgrade just for that

[@jasonwright9405]

How long battery life? Gee, wish it had 8” oled screen

[@retrohandhelds]

I got up to 6 hours so far, I might be able to get more if I get extra strategic with settings

[@lmh4162]

@@retrohandhelds This is really helpful. Thank you 🙏

[@lmh4162]

​@retrohandhelds Thank you for sharing this feedback. Is this 6 hours on an indie game? How many hours would you say would be with a AAA game? I'm sure settings make a difference as well.

[@jasonwright9405]

@@retrohandhelds thanks for answering my question 🙋‍♂️

[@retrohandhelds]

@@lmh4162 For sure! Low-end emulation and 2d indie gaming yeah, not played the entire time either, we have an embargo until July 22nd on detailed battery numbers, it has been impressive though, that's the most I can say for now

[@LuisPerez-5]

16:28 Standard? Where?

[@retrohandhelds]

*Steam Deck OLED is setting a standard for screens, is what I meant to say

[@kasjamm]

Mad? The steam deck IS the standard and the SD2 will be the new standard. These other devices will be forgotten like the 6800U devices.

[@LuisPerez-5]

@@retrohandhelds Yeah and giving companies reason to charge more for the product. Imagine if this had an OLED screen. It's $800 now

[@LuisPerez-5]

@@kasjamm The screen isn't. What do you mean "mad"?

[@kasjamm]

@@LuisPerez-5 A lot of Ally and go owners get upset when someone puts the deck above them in anything

[@Yusei255]

i'll just stick to the Steam Deck.

[@DoubleDragon5180]

Cool Story! I’ll be getting the ALLY X

[@donebk]

I still might get steam deck there gonna make a better device than the x

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Actually sd oled makes ally x looks like gba

[@JB-tp6uj]

Exactly! Because so few people have an AYN Loki Max, very few people know they have the best d-pad on a handheld. I wish the rest of these companies would just copy them.

[@retrohandhelds]

Absolutely. The sticks are fantastic too!

[@JB-tp6uj]

@@retrohandhelds Yes, I agree! It's a shame they didn't release a 7840u version of the device.

[@Pridetoons]

Heavily disagree, Ayn's Loki series had some of the hardest D-Pads I've ever felt. I don't understand how they could screw up the D-Pad so bad. The OG Odin D-Pad was fine so I don't understand why the Loki D-Pads were so hard.

[@JB-tp6uj]

@@Pridetoons I’m just going to assume you had a defective one because I can’t name another d-pad that made playing old-school SNK fighters easier. And if anyone knows about the finger gymnastics you have to perform to pull off special moves in those games, you know how crucial it is to have a good d-pad.

[@luckyphil8888]

Yeah, you lost me at "Asus". Looks like a nice device. I just don't believe they will look after me if something goes wrong. They have lost my trust.

[@retrohandhelds]

Yeah that is very fair, I haven't had to work with their RMA process before, only because I haven't had a QC issue with their devices yet that I've bought. All I know is they are working to rebuild trust and adding oversight to their 3rd party RMA folks. The Gamers Nexus really made waves casting a light on the situation.

[@luckyphil8888]

@@retrohandhelds it's not the first time they've had issues, and trust is earned over time. I hope they do right by those who support them.

[@retrohandhelds]

@@luckyphil8888 Me too man

[@donebk]

You can buy through a 3rd party like Best Buy sometimes that’s much better

[@kennymccormick8295]

​@luckyphil8888 It's because you're poor. It's ok little buddy, the rest of us will still buy it.

[@luism8130]

Windows handhelds 👎

[@BVLVI]

ASUS burned so many of us already. Who's to know this isn't going to shit the bed again. IS THE RMA FIXED????!!!! REALLY?? Find out first hand before you say it is RMA fixed. The steam deck OLED is already OLED. Brutal honesty: It looks like a product for 2016. Large bezels and an LCD screen!!!??? Nah I simply OWN a OLED PHONE AND TV. WHY DO I WANT OLD LOOKING TECH?!!!! for 800 bucks and it looks old and dated already?!!! No, no way, hard pass.

[@retrohandhelds]

I don't know if it is fixed, I am just relaying what I saw and heard while at their HQ. I know they are working on improving and listening to people, especially after Gamers Nexus. I'm not here to defend Asus though, they have a hole to dig themselves out of on the RMA & PR front.

[@firstclaims30]

Hater alert 😂😂😂

[@shaolin95]

I won't buy this but the Legion Go destroys your deck toy. And yeah enjoy your OLED blacks and all the burn in images...it's like having a gallery of past sessions engraved on your screen 🤣🤣🤣

[@BVLVI]

@@shaolin95 I am going to buy a couple more handheld pc's. Bought my sons the steam deck OLED but my wife and I were thinking of something more powerful. I have an all Asus PC. But like I said before the RMA issues are insane! My very expensive motherboard had an issue and it took a solid month and countless calls and emails and they even asked for hundreds of dollars "$200" to have on retainer in case of blah blah blah. Dude you do you. good luck. Maybe A sus has learned and will say hey sorry we shipped and sold knowingly defective products without even as much as adding a sticker on the box. No They sell it as a premium product currently with no notice of defective sd card slots on the box and I think its fine!! because of hype lords like yourself that give them that power to screw everyone. because you think it's great. what happens when there are joystick issues on this new unit???!!!!!!! as gamers nexus literally RMA'd their unit because of stick drift. IS THAT FIXED???!!!!????!?!?!?!?!?! NO NO I BET NOT. Where are the hall effect sticks? 3rd party maybe/ maybe not. If this has a major issue no one will buy it then there won't be any parts or 3rd party replacements. look at the speed they are pumping these out. A new one almost every month. you really think if this flops launch your going to not have to spend 10-20 hours rebuilding the sticks yourself? I would say most likely. and what about the issue of the ally's sticks getting cuts on them from the harder transparent ring. DID THEY FIX THAT??!!!! No probably NOT. 24gigs of ram at 7800mhz and using the same 12 core possessor. Does NOT mean you WILL be able to unlock 50watt mode with smokeless like you can on the first ally. So the performance could be a total wash. The unlocked 50w TDP gives it 10-15% anyway. As far as the smoothness is it worth extra 400 bucks? idk. I think fuck it I will hate buy one just to see at this point. Hope it has room for a full size 2280 with mod like the first one does.

[@evilcrashbandicootthetouho2753]

Ally x vs sd lcd = why sd lcd design still more advanced than ally x after ally looks like a giant GBA 2001