Asus refreshed its Republic of Avid gamers Ally gaming handheld, redesigning it primarily based on person suggestions for the brand new ROG Ally X. It is not a very new machine, although it is shut, and there is sufficient right here that in case you handed on the unique Ally, you would possibly think about a re-examination. Though, in case you do, you will see that the value has elevated from $700 to $800.
Except for the overall look, the one carryovers from the Ally to the Ally X are the AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive processor and 7-inch full-HD contact show. And it is nonetheless operating Home windows 11. So, in case your wishlist had these being changed, possibly subsequent time.
However nearly all the pieces else has modified for the ROG Ally X. For starters, as a substitute of simply the 512GB of storage, the Ally X could have a 1TB possibility. If that seems to not be sufficient, the machine’s M.2 2280 solid-state drive is accessible for upgrading.
ROG Ally X specs
| Show | 7-inch 1,920×1,080 touchscreen, 120Hz refresh charge, 500 nits max brightness |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen Z1 Excessive |
| GPU | AMD Radeon |
| Reminiscence | 24GB LPDDR5 onboard (7,500MHz dual-channel) |
| Storage | As much as 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe SSD |
| Working System | Home windows 11 House |
| I/O Ports | Audio combo jack, microSD card reader (UHS-II, 312MB/s), USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2), USB-C (USB4, Thunderbolt 4 compliant) |
| Audio | 2-speaker system with sensible amplifier know-how, Dolby Atmos, AI noise-canceling know-how, Hello-Res Audio certification, built-in array microphone |
| Battery | 80-watt-hour |
| Energy Provide | USB-C 65-watt energy adapter |
| Dimension | 11×4.4×1.5 inches |
| Weight | 1.5 kilos (678 grams) |
Asus additionally elevated the quantity of system reminiscence. The preferred configurations on its ROG gaming laptops have 16GB of RAM with 8GB of video RAM. For the reason that Ryzen Z1 Excessive combines each CPU and graphics on a single chip, Asus bumped up the shared reminiscence from 16GB to 24GB to enhance efficiency.
Battery life is at all times an impediment with gaming handhelds, however the Ally’s 40-watt-hour battery pack was a bit too small for customers. The Ally X has a brand new battery, doubling the capability to 80 Wh. Surprisingly, the rise barely added to the full weight, which is a hair below 1.5 kilos. I received to play with one for a bit, and whereas a lot of the burden is towards the underside half of the machine, it is evenly distributed, making it extra snug than the unique design.
Watch this: Asus ROG Ally X Gaming Handheld: First Look
To accommodate the bigger battery, Asus additionally needed to redesign the motherboard and cooling system. The method resulted in an improved cooling resolution that included smaller however extra environment friendly followers and a further fan vent. The mixture resulted in a temperature drop of as much as 42 levels Fahrenheit (6 levels Celsius). Asus stated the cooling system additionally decreased the touchscreen temperature, so it is extra snug to make use of.
Lastly, whereas it does not look too completely different from the Ally, the Ally X has barely deeper and extra rounded handgrips, smaller rear macro buttons to cut back unintended presses, a extra exact D-pad, extra sturdy joysticks with stiffer springs and higher general management format. Asus additionally swapped out the Ally’s XG Cell port in favor of two USB-C ports, certainly one of which is Thunderbolt 4.
Once more, all these enhancements do end in a value improve. The unique Ally began at $500, with a step-up configuration priced at $700. The ROG Ally X is on the market to preorder at Greatest Purchase now for $800.