Handheld PCs always look incredible on spec sheets and frustrating in your backpack. The ASUS ROG Ally X-closely aligned with Xbox through Windows and Game Pass-lands October 16 aiming to be the “play your PC library anywhere” machine. Digital Foundry’s hands-on, though, reads like a reality check: promising performance spikes from AI upscaling in some titles, but an unfinished interface and bugs that could make launch week messy.
Digital Foundry’s testing paints a familiar Windows-handheld picture: hardware that clearly has headroom, tripped up by software that isn’t quite there yet. They call out an unfinished user interface and several bugs—crashes in some games and a particularly worrying moment where the analog sticks stopped registering in the menu layer. That’s the kind of friction that turns “pick up and play” into “reboot and pray,” and it’s the exact pain point that separated Valve’s Steam Deck (with its cohesive SteamOS shell) from the Windows pack.
To be fair, this is a pre-release snapshot. I remember the original Ally improving noticeably with firmware and Armoury Crate updates, but those fixes took months, not days. If ASUS wants the Ally X to feel console-like rather than laptop-lite, the shell, input handling, and per-game profiles must be bulletproof at launch.
On the performance side, DF’s early numbers show why this device is tempting. In DOOM: The Dark Ages, the Ally X apparently leans on AI-style upscaling (think AMD’s FSR/RSR ecosystem) to push from a low internal resolution—around 540p—to a clean-looking 1080p on the 7-inch 120Hz VRR display, maintaining roughly 50fps. That’s the dream scenario for a Windows handheld: embrace reconstruction, keep frame times stable, and let the screen’s VRR smooth out the rest.
But the same trick didn’t carry as well to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which struggled to rise above 30fps. That highlights a key truth: upscaling isn’t magic. Some engines scale beautifully; others choke on CPU bottlenecks, memory bandwidth, or shader complexity that a handheld APU can’t brute-force. The Ally X should still be a step up from the original Ally thanks to its expanded memory and improved thermals (the X revision beefs up RAM and cooling and is widely expected to ship with a larger battery), but it’s not going to turn every new release into a 60fps portable dream.
This is the elephant in the room. Windows 11 remains a desktop OS first. ASUS’s Armoury Crate SE is supposed to bridge that gap—game library view, controller-first navigation, per-title TDP and resolution presets—but DF’s report suggests the layer still misfires. If inputs drop or overlays conflict with games, you lose the “console feel” immediately. We’ve seen this movie with other Windows handhelds: it takes relentless iteration and boring, unglamorous fixes to make the magic happen.
Valve solved it by owning the stack—SteamOS, Proton, controller layouts, Quick Resume-style suspend—so even mid-tier hardware feels cohesive. ASUS has to route everything through Windows and its own app, and that’s inherently more fragile. If the Ally X launches with strong default profiles, reliable sleep/wake, and sane fan curves, it could be the first Windows handheld that actually feels predictable. If not, expect a month of patches and Reddit workarounds.
The rumored ~€900 tag would put the Ally X up against not just the Steam Deck OLED (still cheaper) but also Lenovo’s Legion Go and a growing crowd of Ryzen Z1 handhelds. The Ally X’s known advantages are meaningful: a bigger battery than the original Ally, more memory bandwidth, and that 1080p/120Hz VRR panel. But handheld reality often means locking games to 30-45fps, dropping internal resolution, and prioritizing battery over raw frames.
If ASUS can deliver genuine 3-5 hours in modern titles with sensible profiles, the X earns its spot. If it’s 90-minute battery life when you actually push new releases, the Steam Deck’s efficiency and cohesion remain the better bet for most players—even if Deck owners occasionally sacrifice image clarity.
If you’re tempted, wait for day-one firmware notes and third-party testing focused on your library. DF’s mixed results are exactly why: DOOM looks great with reconstruction, while Expedition 33 doesn’t. Make a short list—your comfort games and the next two big releases—and see how they fare on the Ally X specifically. Also check return policies; Windows handhelds can feel fantastic one week and fiddly the next depending on patches.
For Game Pass diehards who want native PC builds and the freedom to tinker, the Ally X could be the sweet spot—if ASUS nails the software. For everyone else, the Steam Deck still offers the most “console-like” handheld experience. The Ally X doesn’t need to be perfect; it just needs to be dependable. Digital Foundry’s early look says we’re not there yet, but there’s still time for a strong finish.
Digital Foundry’s preview shows the ROG Ally X can look and run great when AI upscaling plays nice—but the UI and bugs worry me more than frame counts. If ASUS cleans up the software by launch, this could be the best Windows handheld yet. If not, expect a bumpy honeymoon and stick with the Deck for now.
Get access to exclusive strategies, hidden tips, and pro-level insights that we don't share publicly.
Ultimate Gaming Strategy Guide + Weekly Pro Tips