Ulasan Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
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The Asus ROG 20th anniversary lineup has been interesting. Black, gold, and indulgent feels like the tagline here, with the Azoth Extreme Edition 20 and ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 containing actual gold, and a fitting price tag to boot.
For any criticisms I may have, I don't think you're paying primarily for the branding on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20, though. You get a new OLED screen which is bigger and brighter than the IPS panel in the standard Xbox Ally X, TMR thumbsticks, refined triggers, a new cooling system, and with that screen comes a snappy 0.2 ms response time.
Refined is a good word for the device as a whole. Coming a year later than the last model, the software is smooth and intuitive, and it's easy to swap between Xbox and Windows mode, though it still doesn't feel like a console in practice. For my money, it's the best ROG Ally on the market right now, but the memory crisis has skewed the price of all gaming gear, and the X20 is certainly not the best value as a result.
Buy if…
✅ You want a beefy OLED handheld: OLED handhelds are still fairly niche, and with recent price bumps, I'd pick this over the Legion Go 2 or OneXPlayer's offerings.
✅ You want power on the go: I'd suggest a significantly cheaper handheld if you are after low-intensity games and don't particularly care for big-budget ones. For your Cyberpunks and your Horizons, you will want a Z2 Extreme chip or better to play them at a decent resolution and settings.
Don't buy if…
❌ You're fine with IPS: $300 more for the X20 over the X is pretty steep, especially if you aren't dying to play on an OLED.
❌ You live in the UK: The pricing on the X20 is not as good value in Britain, with the superior G3-equipped MSI Claw being only £100 more (though no OLED) and the standard Xbox Ally X £400 less.
Features
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 | Asus ROG Xbox Ally X | |
|---|---|---|
Processor | AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme | AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme |
CPU architecture | Zen 5 / Zen 5c | Zen 5 / Zen 5c |
Core / threads | 8 / 16 | 8 / 16 |
CPU boost clock | 5 GHz | 5 GHz |
GPU architecture | RDNA 3.5 | RDNA 3.5 |
Shader count | 1024 | 1024 |
GPU boost clock | 2.9 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
VRAM | 8 GB (shared, adjustable) | 8 GB (shared, adjustable) |
Memory | 24 GB LPDDR5X | 24 GB LPDDR5X |
Screen | 7.4-inch OLED display | 7-inch IPS LCD display |
Resolution / refresh rate | 1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz | 1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz |
Peak brightness | 1400 nits | 500 nits |
Storage | 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD | 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD |
Thumbsticks | TMR | Magnetic |
Connectivity | 1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible 1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 1x UHS-II microSD Express card reader 1x 3.5 mm combo jack | 1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible 1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 1x UHS-II microSD card reader 1x 3.5 mm combo jack |
Dimensions | 30.0 x 12.1 x 5.13 cm | 29 x 12.1 x 5.07 cm |
Battery | 80 Wh | 80 Wh |
Weight | 756 g | 715 g |
Price |
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 (or should I say XBOX) is a relatively granular update on the Xbox Ally X. I noticed it immediately when putting the two devices side by side, but when it comes to performance, you're getting identical experiences. They have the same chip, the same memory, the same storage. That's the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, 24 GB LPDDR5X, and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280, respectively.
Given you don't get a performance bump, you've gotta really care about the details to consider the X20. Arguably its biggest upgrade is the OLED panel, and it is a beauty. The DisplayHDR True Black 1400 certification isn't just for show, as it pops, appearing both bright and ultra-vibrant. It's also got a bigger screen, which does make the device more immersive, but also larger and chunkier.
You can technically upgrade the plain old joysticks in the ROG Xbox Ally X with a TMR module with a bit of know-how, but slapping in your own OLED screen would be very difficult, and I certainly wouldn't trust myself to do such fine electronic surgery. Therefore, I do see value in an upgraded, refined, and pretty older brother of last year's device. It's also got a whole new cooling system for frostier temps.
You also get smaller upgrades here, like the ability to pull up and turn the D-Pad to make the corner buttons more or less pronounced, plus greater grooves on the face buttons to stop jagged edges, and a combination of more clicky bumpers and smoother triggers. These all combine to make the X20 feel more thoughtful in approach, and given the price bump, it sort of has to do that.
The X20 doesn't come with a charger in the box, which makes sense from an e-waste point of view, but it does mean you will get lacking plugged-in performance without an appropriately speedy charger. For instance, I ran the device at 35 W mode and did some of my benchmarks before realising I wasn't getting the full-fat 35 W mode because my charger wasn't quick enough.
Could you say that's my fault for not seeing the low-power pop-up from Asus' software Armoury Crate? Absolutely. Does that mean you may need to pick up a quick charger if you want full-wattage plugged-in performance? Also, absolutely.
The box for the X20 also comes with a cardboard stand, which doesn't feel as luxurious as the device itself but is clean, effective, and environmentally conscious. It's a small but decent addition that I've been using consistently since unboxing the device without any problems.
Performance
There was a brief period when the original Asus ROG Xbox Ally X was the highest-performing gaming handheld money could buy. That was until the launch of the much more expensive MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (catchy name, I know) broke onto the scene.
Despite launching a year after the original Xbox Ally X, the X20 sees no difference in power (as it has identical specs), and therefore my performance figures are more or less the same as what Dave got in his review of the standard Xbox Ally X. I got a little less in Metro and a little more in Horizon and Cyberpunk 2077, with lower 1% lows in F1 25.
1080p gaming performance
In a handful of games, with upscaling on and off (35 W plugged in)
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| Asus ROG Ally X | 20 Avg FPS, 17 1% Low FPS |
| Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 | 26 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS |
| Lenovo Legion Go S | 15 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPS |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode) | 24 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0) | 33 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS |
| OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro | 22 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS |
I left the GPU memory budget at 8 GB, flicked the device onto its 35 W Turbo mode, and had a good time in F1 24, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Metro Exodus without any upscaling. Cyberpunk 2077 is borderline, sitting around the 40 fps mark, but I couldn't recommend Black Myth Wukong without a bit of upscaling or frame generation.
These are really respectable scores, and more than enough for handheld gaming right now. The AMD Z2 Extreme chip is still a great performer, and though it's not the top dog, it's certainly one of them. The actual top dog, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM and its Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, ekes out better performance with anywhere between a 20-40% performance uplift in our game testing, but it's also just under 40% more expensive in the US.
Productivity suite testing
Scores in major productivity suites and benchmarking tools (35 W plugged in)
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| Asus ROG Ally X | 3395 Index score, 3052 GPU index score, 9381 CPU index score |
| Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 | 4086 Index score, 3771 GPU index score, 9568 CPU index score |
| Lenovo Legion Go S | 2244 Index score, 2072 GPU index score, 4246 CPU index score |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode) | 4890 Index score, 4520 GPU index score, 9141 CPU index score |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0) | 6499 Index score, 6091 GPU index score, 10487 CPU index score |
| OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro | 3690 Index score, 3335 GPU index score, 9333 CPU index score |
One thing I am impressed with is the same thing our Dave was impressed with: the ROG Ally X20 works an absolute treat pulled down to between 15 W and 20 W. It's a great way of preserving battery, keeping thermals frosty (though the X20 already rocks in that regard) and bringing down fan noise. When I'm looking to play Balatro, I bring that wattage way down and forget about it until the X20 dies half a day later. I swear I only planned on having one game.
Ergonomics
The X20 is very likely the most comfortable handheld I've ever, well, hand…held. It has a slight cutout between the screen and the grips, which I often found myself sliding my index finger and pinky fingers under, and the new rubberised grips not only feel great but offer good enough traction that I'm never afraid of it slipping out of my hands.
It's so clear from the X20 that Microsoft know how to make controllers, as the buttons are fittingly clacky, the thumbsticks feel great, and the bumpers and triggers are easy to press down, with a comforting click to know I was successful. Well, as successful as I can be when I'm missing headshots.
I do really miss a trackpad, though. Windows 11 mode is fine enough, but feels like a slight downgrade without an intuitive way to control the mouse. My fat fingers struggle to click on the right thing sometimes, especially if it's a fairly small box, though the larger screen helps. You can control the mouse with the left analogue stick via Armoury Crate, but it doesn't beat the smoothness of a trackpad.
Still, trackpads are fairly rare among gaming handhelds, with it being done by the Legion GO, Steam Deck, and some GPD and Ayaneo devices. And if the ROG Ally X20 got a trackpad, it would struggle to fit all its buttons on without some compromises to feel.
At 756 grams, the X20 is certainly not a light device, but it is well balanced, and I've played it for hours at a time without fatigue. That's a feat, in my book.
Sound
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a very quiet device. Not from the speakers, I should add; they can be cranked up quite high. Even at 35 W, the X20 fans never get loud enough to be annoying, but they are wonderfully tuned between 15-20 W. On just 16 volume, Cyberpunk's audio drowns out the fans on 25 W mode.
I wouldn't quite call them silent, but I found a PC across the other side of the room while idle produced a louder hum than the X20 playing Elden Ring. That's impressive, and it meant I never felt self-conscious bringing it out and about with me.
The X20 has two sets of speakers on the front, on the left and right-hand side of the screen, and they are decently tuned and I've never wished they could get louder. The device also has a jack at the top to plug in your headphones, and Bluetooth compatibility if you can stomach the latency most Bluetooth speakers will give you.
Thermals
Asus says the X20 is equipped with an "evolved ROG intelligent cooling system that drives air directly to the processor via a new internal channel and high-flow fans". In practice, that does indeed see it with cool thermals. I pushed the device to its limits at its 35 W Turbo mode, benchmarking all sorts of games for hours, and never saw it go above a CPU temperature of 79 °C. That is 17 entire °C below our tests for the standard Xbox Ally X.
I did also notice that the Max CPU package power was lower at 48 W, compared to the 55 W we saw last year. This suggests some software tweaks have led to more fine-tuned power management too.
Gaming test thermals
Recorded in HW Info whilst performing gaming benchmarks (35 W plugged in)
Thermal performance
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| Asus ROG Ally X | 90 Max CPU temp (°C), 30 Max CPU package power (W) |
| Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 | 79 Max CPU temp (°C), 48 Max CPU package power (W) |
| Lenovo Legion Go S | 99.2 Max CPU temp (°C), 38 Max CPU package power (W) |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode) | 75 Max CPU temp (°C), 20 Max CPU package power (W) |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0) | 97 Max CPU temp (°C), 37 Max CPU package power (W) |
| OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro | 92 Max CPU temp (°C), 30 Max CPU package power (W) |
I could, of course, get the device hotter by setting a custom wattage mode where peaks are higher, but that's not how I would use this device. Long term, I would probably set a custom mode at around 20 W, with peaks up to 30 W (and I'd set the RAM allocation for the GPU up to 10 GB for playing more intensive games).
Even at its hottest, I almost never felt any of that heat in my palms as I was playing, and it's low enough I'd never worry about the device throttling either. That extra temperature headroom does mean setting manual clocks higher would worry me less too, which is pretty sweet. At 25 W playing intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077 (and too much Tales of Seikyu), I could barely get the CPU temp to crack 68 °C. Impressive.
Software
The Xbox mode works very well on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20. When you first boot it up, it moves into a stripped-back bit of software that simply allows you to open any of your games from within the Xbox UI. Not only does this give streamlined access to games and mean not having to deal with Windows 11, with its habit of booting up all your software when you turn it on, but it also means being able to skip the performance hit associated with it.
However, it's not an Xbox. You're still playing PC games on a PC device. If you boot up a Steam game from the Xbox app and haven't also booted up Steam, it will load that app first, then let you into your game. This is fine, but it's not flawless, and it's not like an Xbox. It's perhaps closer to booting into Steam Big Picture Mode. The Xbox library now pools together Steam, Epic etc, so you technically only need to boot up Windows when doing Windows-specific things.
It comes bundled with quite a bit of software, but for the ease of use of a gaming handheld, this makes a lot of sense. Armoury Crate SE allows you to tweak the device on the fly and get software updates; then it has the Xbox app (naturally enough). Being Windows, you do have the usual bloatware like Copilot (which I promptly removed), and you likely won't need to bother with Clipchamp either.
Battery Life
The X20 has the exact same size battery as the X. An 80 Wh battery is very solid in a gaming handheld, offering a decent sweet spot for capacity versus size and weight.
In PC Mark 10's gaming battery life test, I saw almost three hours at 17 W, with Windows in Balanced battery mode and 2 hours and 9 minutes on the beefy 25 W mode. It's important to note that this will effectively be how much gaming you will get done on a highly intensive game, so you can expect more than that if you're not pulling out Black Myth Wukong every time you bust out the Ally X20.
Gaming battery life
Recorded using PCMark 10's gaming battery life test (35 W plugged in)
Battery life | PCMark 10
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| Asus ROG Ally X | 128 |
| Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 | 149 |
| Lenovo Legion Go S | 126 |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode) | 308 |
| MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0) | 153 |
| OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro | 82 |
When I actually used the device day to day, I found a battery life I would be happy with. I remember taking it to a cafe at lunchtime and playing Graveyard Keeper till close (so just under five hours), and I still found the device with 40% charge. In indie games, the Ally X20 can get up to nine hours, which is solid given its performance.
Aesthetics
One of the biggest changes you will spot between the standard Asus Xbox ROG Ally X and Asus Xbox ROG Ally X20 (try and say that two times fast) is its aesthetic. Asus has given the new device a black and yellow look, with the RGB in the thumbsticks defaulting to yellow, the highlight being golden, and it being ever so slightly transparent. Held up in the light, you can make out some of the handheld's internals.
Other than that, and an LED in the Xbox button, it looks pretty much the same as the Ally X with its pretty Xbox-etched front, and surprisingly tasteful branding. Flip it over, and you see a gold commemorative ROG 20th anniversary plate on the back. This is the same plate you can spot in the Azoth Extreme Edition 20 and the Asus ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20.
The new OLED screen goes up to a peak brightness of 1,400 nits, which is bright enough to even bring this bad boy outdoors, and with the Lenovo Legion Go 2's 8.8-inch OLED panel going up to 1,000 nits and the OneXPlayer 3's 8.8-inch AMOLED display going up to 1,100 nits (though these two go up to 144 Hz), I'd pick the Asus model out of the three. It's so bright, in fact, that I cranked the brightness just before playing Cyberpunk 2077 one night in bed and winced when I saw the sun. I wish I was joking.
It's a VRR display going from 30 to 120 Hz, which means the X20 is equipped to handle high and low frame rates with little stuttering. In practice, I found it to be super smooth, and naturally, gorgeous.
Value
So, the X20 version of this device is $300 more than the standard X one, and in return, you get an OLED screen, better thermals, a new look, and TMR thumbsticks. It is a luxurious device in a lot of ways, and has some smart design decisions, making for tame but welcome upgrades. These make the device better overall but worse for the money for the average person.
The chip, paired with 24 GB of LPDDR5X memory, makes it a formidable device capable of handling most games you can throw at it, but the pricing does make it stand out awkwardly in the market. For $300 less, you can get the same basic performance without those extras, and for $400 more, you can get the cream of the current crop. For us Brits, the Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM is a better pick for just £100 more.
As much as it pains me to say it, it's getting harder to find handheld gaming devices below $1,000. Even the 'cheapest' Steam Deck (512 GB with OLED screen) fetches $789 new, and its 2023 Zen 2/RDNA 2 chip wasn't exactly a powerhouse when it launched.
Last year, when I first saw the Xbox Ally X and its $1,000 price tag, I was surprised in a bad way, and yet the memory crisis has worsened to such a state that it now seems fairly reasonable. I don't see the same happening for the X20, but I can say that I've softened on it significantly since getting time with it every single day. Whether or not those extra upgrades are worth $300 will be largely dependent on your wallet and your eyes, but I can say I can see where that extra cost has been sunk straight back into the device. And for that, I'm impressed.
Sumber: PC Gamer