Topic: Xbox RoG Ally X is incredible.

Hello everyone.

I think this is my new favorite machine.

But it's still a PC environment. I wouldn't recommend this kind of machine to console-only gamers. I'm a PC user myself.

Is it an Xbox? No. But since it's a PC, it's an Xbox (I play Jet Set Radio Future on it), but also a PS2 or a machine that I won't name to avoid getting sued.

In any case, I really like it. I already had a Z1E, and honestly, it doesn't make much sense to get it if you already had a previous RoG, but I treated myself, so no big deal.

Anyway, with this kind of machine, I don't really expect to play AAA games. There's too much loss of graphic quality, and I'm the kind of player who prefers 60fps on all games. Besides, when I'm at home, I prefer to use Moonlight (streaming) for obvious reasons

I stayed with Windows (which I still debloated with Win11debloat).
Since I use Gamepass and the Xbox PC app when a game interests me and it's compatible with Play Anywhere (I still have an Xbox that I mainly use as a 4K Blu-ray player these days, but I plan to switch it to developer mode one of these days. From what I've seen, there's a lot of fun to be had with the Series X dev mode).

Any other Handheld PC owners here?

Glad to hear you're having a good time with it! From all the coverage I read and watched the hardware did indeed seem solid, especially if you're an enjoyer of options.
My handheld PC myself is only a PC in spirit. I use a GCloud with Moonlight and Steam Big Picture every day. It's amazing to just have an extension of my upstairs machine anywhere in the house. I sort of remember the device puzzling a lot of people when it released, but it is perfect for my needs. It's light, fanless, and has a ton of standby battery power which makes it a great bedside table fixture. I can leave it in standby for days and days and it will ready to go when I have a gaming whim.

I'm a big believer in the future of this configuration of PC, I think it's basically unstoppable at this point. Similar to the early smartphone days it's going to be so much to see how it all unfolds.

The grips of the Ally X look like they're quite comfortable. I would like to see them proliferate in these machiens, the sort of rounded off pillow grip a lot of the devices use is uncomfortable.

Oh yeah, I think run Moonlight at 45mbps @ 1080p for the Gcloud.

Yup, MSI Claw 8 AI+. I like it a lot. Like you said, these aren't consoles. They're simply miniature PC's in a handheld form. I got rid of MSI's launcher and simply auto boot Steam Big Picture mode.

I got the (non-Xbox) RoG Ally X earlier in the year after trading in a 64GB Steam Deck.

For my needs, the Ally suits me better. I have my library scattered across a wide variety of PC storefronts: Steam, GOG, Epic, Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar, Battlenet. That was by far my biggest bugbear with the Deck as getting things from outside the Steam ecosystem to run was a bit tempremental for me. Sometimes it'd work, but then EA Desktop would have an update and break something. Heroic Games Launcher does a great job of handling GOG and Epic but even then I would run into issues with install scripts or trying to get games to boot while the device was in game mode. I found I spent more time installing games than playing them.

With the Ally, Windows certainly has jank, but it's jank I know how to work around. I've also been very surprised at the level of software support Asus provides. While the universal game launcher can be a little hit and miss, the control center I've found to be super reliable and contains pretty much all the features I need.

In terms of controls, the only wrinkle I'd say is the d-pad, it's not great. But the sticks, triggers and buttons are otherwise excellent.

I've mostly been playing Assassin's Creed Shadows, The Division 2 or Tokyo Extreme Racer on it, does a very nice job of it too.

Another MSI Claw 8AI + owner here. Tried the Xbox Rog Ally but the 7 inch screen was too small for me . Also tried the legion go 2, beautiful OLED screen but the size of it made it too unwieldy to use outside the house . I commute so I need a device that's easy to pop in my bag & pull out at a minutes notice..The claw fit the bill with the 8 inch screen and 80Watt hour battery plus the intel processor on this bad boy goes toe 2 toe with the Z2 Extreme any day of the week. I personally like the Xbox Full Screen Experience, I know it's still a work in progress but its much better to use as a handheld than vanilla windows, for me anyway.

It seems like a great device and some friends who own it really like it. I held it recently and found it's more comfortable than the other handhelds on the market. At least for my hands.

I prefer a monitor/TV over gaming on a handheld, but it's nice to have something so portable that you can chill on a couch with too.

The rog xbox ally x has got better since launch - it's way more responsive and reliable in the menus now!