AMD is preparing to introduce the Ryzen Z2 series, with the launch reportedly set for early 2025, at the next CES event. This new lineup will bring Zen 5 cores and, most importantly, the RDNA 3.5 iGPUs to gaming handhelds. However, you don't need to wait for the next-gen Z-series APUs to become official to get the current-gen models at a more affordable price point.
For example, the ROG Ally X, which is currently the best gaming handheld on the market, has dropped to $699.99 on Best Buy. That's a $100 discount from what it usually sells for, but note that this deal is part of the platform's Black Friday sale. So, it will only be available for a limited time.
As for the device itself, while the ROG Ally X comes with the same Z1 Extreme as the non-X model, Asus has upgraded the RAM. The newer gaming handheld comes with 24 GB of LPDDR5x-7500 memory, which gives the APU inside a little edge over the non-X variant. In our gaming benchmarks, we found it to offer around 8% better performance.
Another big upgrade is the battery. Asus has packed the ROG Ally X with a larger 80 Wh battery, which is a substantial jump from the 40 Wh capacity of the non-X variant. This leads to longer runtimes, especially in the lower TDP modes. In our tests, we found that the newer handheld can last for around three hours in the Performance mode and about four hours in the Quiet mode.
The newer gaming handheld saw improvements in other departments as well. That includes better ergonomics, a standard 2280 M.2 SSD slot, improved speakers, and a better port selection with two USB4 ports. As for the not-so-good aspects, we found that the fans can get a little noisy in the Turbo mode. It also features the same display as the non-X ROG Ally, which is decent, but its brightness can't really reach the advertised 500 nits. You can learn more from our review video that's attached below.
Disclaimer: Notebookcheck is not responsible for price changes carried out by retailers. The discounted price or deal mentioned in this item was available at the time of writing and may be subject to time restrictions and/or limited unit availability.
Source(s)
Best Buy (linked above)