ASUS ROG ALLY X

The super-powerful standard Ally X also brings the flexibility of Windows

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With a beefy Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU and 24GB of RAM, the ROG Ally X is comfortably the most powerful handheld games machine on test here - but it's also the most expensive. Brute force will only get you so far, though, so could the fact that it also offers the full Windows desktop experience give it a key advantage?

Having Windows on board means the Ally X has the widest selection of games to play, but a handheld isn't the OS's natural habitat. Asus's Armoury Crate SE software launches automatically and brings all your installed games together in one place... but it can't totally shield you from installers that hide behind other windows, intrusive security pop-ups, and UI elements that are just too small.

New day Ryzen

So what does the extra oomph get you? Well, as long as you're realistic with detail settings, and don't mind dipping the resolution to play newer releases, it's a very capable machine. Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't hit 30fps at 1080p, but managed a much smoother 51fps at 720p. It doesn't carve out a significant lead over the Steam Deck, then – an indicator of how much difference having an optimised OS makes.

The LCD screen is capable of Full HD, though, and it looks way sharper and smoother than the Steam Deck's OLED, even if it can't compete on contrast. If your games library is mainly graphically intensive titles, this alone could swing it. The Atmos-certified stereo speakers are also fantastic for a gaming handheld, with plenty of volume and decent stereo separation. Not that you'll need to drown out the noise of the fans, which never get annoying.

The Steam Deck OLED still has the edge... but if you don't want to jump through Linux hoops to play certain games, the Asus is the obvious choice.