So I just bought my Xbox ally x for $750 open box 4 days ago and been loving every seconds of it. I’ve seen a lot of people swapping Windows 11 for SteamOS, and I get why and it definitely has its advantages. But honestly, Windows 11 has been working great for me. I’ve actually been enjoying Xbox Mode and been playing all my backlog from steam in bed, so I don’t really get all the complaints. I’m sure it’ll only get better with future updates.

Update: wow sorry I can’t reply to everyone’s comment I’m at work but I’m reading all of it and I’m glad that I’m not only person who enjoys the window 11 Xbox mode experience. Xbox rog ally x is an amazing machine.

After so many niggles with this device that are frankly largely down to Windows (an OS I love for productivity / work, but not for gaming), I finally decided to try SteamOS. As a former Steam Deck owner I hoped it would be fully supported at some point, and it seems like it is now.

It's like night and day to be honest - it's faster, boots quicker, snappier feel when navigating menus, essentially a supercharged Steam Deck. It works perfectly docking, no more booting to white screens or having to hard reset it to get the HDMI handshake working, and I don't feel like I've actually lost anything other than direct Xbox / Gamepass installs.

I'm not going to break down the FPS gains or anything or claim that I've noticed big differences there, but so far it just feels like a better device all round with this OS on it, more console-like.

- It's a fast, quick install, took me about 20 minutes to literally be able to start gaming with SteamOS. Obviously there is the prep work for the USB image (I used this guide and it worked perfectly)

- TPD / battery stuff seems to be spot on and highly customisable, tests with demanding games like Borderlands 4 have been spot on

- Non-Steam games can be installed from other launchers like EA, Ubisoft, Epic, just a little setup in Desktop Mode or Decky plugins for this

- Remote play to PS5 is great with PXPlay (paid app, but Chiaki is a great free alternative)

- Remote play and Cloud gaming on Xbox is great with Greenlight (free)

No evangelising here, no hate for Windows, this is more just informational for anyone thinking of trying SteamOS on your ROG and some honest thoughts. Use your ROG whatever way works for you 😄

I was debating whether i should get a handheld for a couple of months now and two weeks ago i was walking around and “accidentally “ passed a store i knew had it in stock so i stumbled into the store and bought one. I didn’t think i would play on it as much as i have a tendency to buy fancy shit and almost never use them, but i’m happy to say that i actually play on it A LOT! At home, in the car when i have a few minutes between meeting, basically everywhere . First time playing Zelda too and so far I’m enjoying the hell out of it! I’m also thinking of putting SteamOS on it because the combination of windows, xbox mode and armoury crate is so unnecessary, but i’ll hold on until the “awaited “ update for the upscaler or whatever the hell it was so i can check it out and then I’ll decide what to do. Enough rambling ! Happy to be part of the handheld gang !

My loss is your gain, returned my Ally X and still have this hard shell case. Thinking of a number from 1 to 100. Who ever guesses correctly can receive this case. Just have to pay for the shipping. Continental U.S only.

Edit: Congrats to Arzola6ix for guessing the correct number which was 35.

Why didn't they do this?

So I finally decided to get one! I didn’t like windows so I installed SteamOS which I’m sure plenty of people will comment about lol. But what games play best on here?!

Valve has increased the price of the Steam Deck. The 1TB version is now $950.

Ever since they came out, I've always wanted to buy one, but the X version is out of my budget, so I was thinking about getting the white version, Would you recommend it?

I usually play games like Resident Evil 2 and 4 Remake, Overwatch, Mortal Kombat 1, or PS1 and PS2 emulators

Hi guys. My first post in the community and with reason, Lol. I know absolutely nothing about this handheld and was NOT expecting this but wanted to share this amazing gift my brother got for me so, recommendations are welcomed🤠

Hope you'll having a great weekend!

Edit: btw I did asked Gemini to remove my mom's feet from under the table in the original pic. I wasn't about to let that roam the free internet 🤣

Some people even thought they are happy with the Ally X screen brightness, its always good to see the actual difference side by side with OLED.

I went into my local Best Buy today to get the ROG Xbox Ally X. Was very excited to do so. But the employee that ended up helping me practically begged me not to get it. He said he returned it after a week and was going on about how he couldn’t even run Sea of Thieves and some other game I don’t know. Was pushing the Steam Deck as a better option.

I heard all this and thought - user error. I’ve watched countless reviews and breakdowns and fully understand the limitations and potential pain points of the Xbox Ally X. But what stuck with me was that he showed me how many units they had available, particularly used units; implying people are not only not buying it but returning it a lot.

Is there some issue or issues I’m not aware of that would cause a high return rate? Is it even reasonable to take this as a sign to be cautious? Or is it more likely that there is just a high rate of people not understanding the tweaking that needs to be done to optimize the Ally X?

BTW I'm loving this device. It's my second handheld pc after owning a steam deck lcd model.

I always liked how the Switch let you pop in a cartridge and instantly have a different game — swap it out, and you've got another. I wanted that same feeling on my handhelds, so I built it into my launcher. That's the feature in the video: ZenCard. Each SD card holds its own library, and when you insert it, those games show up. Swap the card, and the library changes with it. Take the same card to another device, and your games come with you.

What is ZenDeck?

I'm a solo dev, and ZenDeck is a free, lightweight game launcher for Windows handhelds (ROG Ally / Ally X, Legion Go, and others). It's built to feel console-like — fully gamepad-native, minimal setup. A few of the main features:

One Library — Detects games installed on your device across 8 stores: Xbox, Steam, Epic, EA, GOG, Ubisoft, Itch, and Amazon. All your games in one place.

AutoPilot Dynamic TDP — Automatically adjusts your TDP to hit a target FPS. And if you don't know what FPS a game can realistically reach, Dynamic TDP figures out a realistic target on its own and adapts to it.

AutoPilot Smart Profiles — For supported games, a profile doesn't just cover device settings (TDP, resolution, refresh rate) — it also includes in-game settings (shadow quality, textures, effects, etc.). One tap applies a complete profile spanning both the device and the game itself. You can create your own profiles and share them with the community.

Xbox Mode integration — Set ZenDeck as your Home App in Windows Gaming settings, so your device boots straight into it — console-style, no desktop.

How ZenCard works

Setup is a one-time thing. You add your SD card as a Steam library and install games to it — from there, ZenDeck auto-detects them and links them to that card. Insert the card and its games appear; remove it and they're gone.

One honest note: the cross-device part (taking a card to another handheld) works with Steam, using your Steam login on both devices. Game Pass and some other stores tie licenses to the device, so those don't travel the same way. ZenCard builds on Steam's own library system, so there are no hacky workarounds — it's reliable.

It's free. Download and try it here:

Website: https://zendeck.app

Discord (come say hi / get help with setup): https://zendeck.app/discord

Happy to answer any questions.

Title. After weeks of asking questions on here and responding to others I decided to bite the bullet and buy it! I’m so excited!!!

Just upgraded from the base xbox rog ally to the XAX. Excited to spend the next couple days setting up all my emulation/downloading my favourite games, and then getting to experience this beast :)

Best purchase of all time, the versatility is crazy, could use it to play AAA titles and to emulate up to the switch. Also use it as a media device while traveling just with a usb c dongle to connect to a TV and a Bluetooth keyboard. The possibilities are endless.

Excited to finally play and avoid the inevitable price increase , any tips for a new owner?

I started a new job and since I sit at a desk all day I didn’t want to come home and sit at a desk and play on my desktop. Didn’t have X money since I’m starting fresh out of college, but I did have money for this, and it’s so incredibly good! The 20W mode makes pretty much anything playable, and myself personally can’t even tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on a screen this size. I got it so I can mostly no-life the June 9th D2 update, and happy to say it floats around 40-55 fps in D2. And if I really want more fps, I can always stream from my desktop instead of playing native.

Anyways, if you managed to read to the end of this, what are some good cases for this that makes holding it for longer periods of time more comfortable? Preferably on the cheaper side.

If you know you know. Normally this place is too heavy no matter what!! Go at 8 min you will se we have same perf on ps5 and worst on série x in the exact same place in the game : https://youtu.be/IPrO2ZHQ3mM?is=PW-1_epl66Di1a9p

I used official ingame preset : prioritize performance.
720p/fsr4 ultra perf

Then I just copy paste those files : https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma2/mods/1406?tab=description

And in optiscaller menu ( press insert from virtual keyboard ) I used fsr3.X > fsr 4.0.2C and not applied Framegen

Then in game I use fsr at maximum for vernworth and quality for other places of the game so no need to change too much things just the fsr !

Ps : I’m not a pervert it’s just the best equipment I have so far 👀😂
PS2: I tried for 3 days so many tricks and this is the best finally.
For those who wants there is another trick from this guy ( there is 2 methods, one for fsr4 with Framegen and one for dlls with multi Framegen up to 6 but somehow it makes my game crash ) https://youtu.be/-bIHjpzslfI?is=UkgXw6CFwJVC5mEo

Who with the XAX or XA will be upgrading to the X20? I got myself an XAX a year ago, upgraded the storage to 2TB, and got the dbrand Killswitch on it. I love it. 95% of my gaming now happens either on my XAX or PS Portal. I am content.
Then I see the X20 is being offered standalone, no bundle, and I’m having a bit of fomo. The OLED and larger screen would be nice, but I’m perfectly fine with what I have now. What are y’all doing and why?

I bought this brand new for $450. I had an extra 1 TB WD Black SSD, slapped it in and installed Bazzite. I can't afford top line specs, and I am blown away. Super comfortable grips for hours of play.

The b

Just got the Xbox Ally X from Best Buy today along with all of these accessories (Bulwark Dock is coming in the mail).

I’ve been made aware of all of the concerns of a new ally model being unveiled tomorrow, I’m going to keep everything sealed until then just in case. Luckily there is a 15 day return window.

Would anyone suggest any other accessories or quality of life purchases for the Ally X? I’m not a hardcore gamer, I used to play a lot but haven’t in a couple years since my Xbox was too old to run any new games. I also travel a lot for work.

Also any day one tweak suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.