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So, you've seen the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 in all its black and gold glory and wondered if it's worth paying $300 more for it. Well, the answer is 'it really depends on what kind of device you are looking for' and 'how much is a fresh OLED screen worth to you?'

Unlike the other ROG 20th anniversary edition bits of Asus gear, the X20 is not about superfluous add-ons (unless you pick up the bundle with XR glasses). You aren't getting a commemorative faceplate here, or extra stickers. You get an OLED screen, TMR thumbsticks, improved thermals, and MicroSD Express compatibility.

You also get Impulse triggers, which means they can rumble independently, and the D-Pad can be flicked around to make the corners more or less pronounced.

The screen is perhaps the biggest sell here, with its 1400 HDR-certified display going up to a peak brightness of 1,400 nits. As I found in my review, it's so sizzlingly bright at points that I looked at the sun in Cyberpunk 2077 while lying in bed one night and actually winced. Check out the full differences below.

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

$1,300 / £1300

$1,000 / £900 (MSRP)

In a handful of games and productivity apps (35 W plugged in)

With both devices featuring the same chip and memory, you can expect more or less the same performance. In my testing, I got lower Metro performance and worse 1% lows in F1 25, but better performance in Horizon Zero Dawn, Cyberpunk 2077 and 3DMark, so the framerate differences overall just about balance out. I also noticed the X20 never went above 49 watts, which means I would feel more comfortable cranking up the wattage. It helps that its thermals are much improved.

Recorded in HW Info whilst performing gaming benchmarks (35 W plugged in)

The X20 comes with a refined new thermal cooling system, and it's more than just a marketing term. I recorded temps up to 17 °C cooler compared to the previous model, and even in long gaming sessions, I couldn't manage to push the system's temp above 80°C with its included wattage modes (between 17 W and 35 W). Importantly, I never felt that heat on my fingers as I played, making it a relatively frosty gaming device.

Recorded using PCMark 10's gaming battery life test (25 W)

In stress testing gaming benchmarks, the X20 managed 2 hours and 9 minutes in the 25 W gaming mode, and almost 3 hours in the 17 W mode. Importantly, it can get up to 9 hours of indie gaming on the go, in my experience. The standard X model has the exact same size battery, so you can expect a similar battery life, though our testing saw it perform a little under the X20.

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