ASUS’ Xbox‑branded ROG Ally family just landed in the middle of one of PC gaming’s oldest debates: is Windows the only sensible OS for portable PC gaming, or can a Linux‑based stack like Bazzite deliver a better, cleaner handheld experience? A recent test that ran the ROG Xbox Ally hardware with Bazzite instead of Windows makes the question urgent and practical — and the results are both promising and messy in ways that will matter to anyone considering a dual‑boot setup or a full switch away from Windows.
The ROG Xbox Ally lineup is ASUS’ co‑branded handheld family built around Microsoft’s new Xbox Full Screen Experience layered on Windows 11, and in hardware terms it splits into two siblings: the baseline ROG Xbox Ally and the premium ROG Xbox Ally X. The Ally X pairs a high‑end AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU with up to 24 GB LPDDR5X‑8000, a user‑replaceable 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD, and an 80 Wh battery; the standard Ally uses AMD’s Ryzen Z2 A, 16 GB LPDDR5X‑6400, a 512 GB SSD, and a 60 Wh battery. Both models use a 7‑inch, 1080p, 120 Hz IPS display and ship with Windows 11 Home and the Xbox full‑screen launcher enabled by default. These headline specs and ergonomics are confirmed by ASUS and Microsoft product materials and by early hands‑on reviews.
Why this matters: Microsoft’s new “Xbox Mode” is a full‑screen, controller‑first shell that sits on top of the existing Windows kernel and aims to make Windows behave more like a handheld console by deferring desktop ornamentation, suspending many startup/background processes, and exposing a controller‑native flow. Enthusiast testing and community ports have already shown this shell can be enabled on other Windows handhelds, but the mode is still effectively Windows underneath — which means all of Windows’ drivers, anti‑cheat constraints, and update surfaces remain in play.
At the same time, a rising Fedora‑based gaming distro called Bazzite (a community OS inspired by SteamOS and tuned for handhelds) has been widely tested on devices like the original Ally and the new Ally X. Enthusiasts and some outlets report that Bazzite — through Proton, shader‑cache handling, and different driver behavior — can reduce stutters, improve 1% lows, and in certain titles deliver smoother frame pacing than Windows. Those gains are often context‑dependent and sometimes anecdotal, but they are real enough that the “better without Windows” thesis has traction among handheld owners.
That result tracks with broader community reporting: Digital Foundry and independent benchers have repeatedly observed that shader compilation and driver‑level shader caching on Windows can produce big stutters in some games; Proton/Steam’s shader‑cache handling under Linux sometimes avoids those worst spikes and yields steadier frame pacing in certain scenarios. These observed improvements are not universal, but they are frequent enough that they deserve attention from anyone investing in a handheld PC.
Crucial caveat: many Windows‑only features and services are not available or are emulated differently under Linux. Anti‑cheat systems, certain launchers (particularly those that require kernel‑mode drivers), and Microsoft‑specific integrations like Game Pass’ native client and Xbox Cloud features either don’t run on Bazzite or require workarounds that reduce convenience or compatibility. Gamers who rely on Day‑One Game Pass access, cloud streaming tied to the Xbox app, or specific Windows‑only multiplayer titles will find the tradeoff painful. Community threads and early hands‑on notes emphasize this friction.
Digital Foundry and other technical analysts have shown examples where shader hitching is far worse on Windows than on Proton/SteamOS derivatives; community Bazzite testing replicates similar patterns on Allied hardware. That’s why many users report improved 1% lows and smoother long sessions on Bazzite even when average FPS is close to parity. Those gains are hardware‑ and title‑dependent; they are strongest in titles with heavy dynamic shader workloads and where driver shader‑cache implementations differ greatly between platforms.
However, note that finely tuned Windows power profiles and Armoury Crate or third‑party tools can replicate many of those settings if the user is willing to manage them. The convenience gap — how much setup you must do — is a central part of the comparative story.
But the wider reality is messier. The ROG Xbox Ally family is sold and supported as a Windows device; Microsoft’s Xbox Full Screen Experience addresses many of the practical UX and resource problems that pushed users toward Linux in the first place. For players who need Game Pass, anti‑cheat compatibility, or vendor support, Windows remains the responsible choice. For tinkerers willing to accept the tradeoffs — and to manage Secure Boot, anti‑cheat gaps, and the occasional driver hiccup — Bazzite is an attractive alternative that can revive the promise of truly smooth handheld PC gaming.
Community and testing threads emphasize this intermediate posture: experiment if you are comfortable, but don’t assume that switching OSes will be painless or that Bazzite’s perceived superiority will persist across every title. Practical gains are often easiest to reproduce by simply trimming Windows startup behavior or using the Xbox full‑screen posture that ships with the Ally — a point repeated in hands‑on testing and in ASUS/Microsoft materials.
Source: TechPowerUp Better Without Windows: ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Tested With Bazzite
The ROG Xbox Ally lineup is ASUS’ co‑branded handheld family built around Microsoft’s new Xbox Full Screen Experience layered on Windows 11, and in hardware terms it splits into two siblings: the baseline ROG Xbox Ally and the premium ROG Xbox Ally X. The Ally X pairs a high‑end AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU with up to 24 GB LPDDR5X‑8000, a user‑replaceable 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD, and an 80 Wh battery; the standard Ally uses AMD’s Ryzen Z2 A, 16 GB LPDDR5X‑6400, a 512 GB SSD, and a 60 Wh battery. Both models use a 7‑inch, 1080p, 120 Hz IPS display and ship with Windows 11 Home and the Xbox full‑screen launcher enabled by default. These headline specs and ergonomics are confirmed by ASUS and Microsoft product materials and by early hands‑on reviews. Why this matters: Microsoft’s new “Xbox Mode” is a full‑screen, controller‑first shell that sits on top of the existing Windows kernel and aims to make Windows behave more like a handheld console by deferring desktop ornamentation, suspending many startup/background processes, and exposing a controller‑native flow. Enthusiast testing and community ports have already shown this shell can be enabled on other Windows handhelds, but the mode is still effectively Windows underneath — which means all of Windows’ drivers, anti‑cheat constraints, and update surfaces remain in play.
At the same time, a rising Fedora‑based gaming distro called Bazzite (a community OS inspired by SteamOS and tuned for handhelds) has been widely tested on devices like the original Ally and the new Ally X. Enthusiasts and some outlets report that Bazzite — through Proton, shader‑cache handling, and different driver behavior — can reduce stutters, improve 1% lows, and in certain titles deliver smoother frame pacing than Windows. Those gains are often context‑dependent and sometimes anecdotal, but they are real enough that the “better without Windows” thesis has traction among handheld owners.
What the Bazzite test on the ROG Xbox Ally actually did
The setup and the headline finding
The test swapped the Ally’s default Windows image for Bazzite and ran a curated set of modern games to compare stutter, frame pacing, and long‑session stability. The headline claim in community summaries and hands‑on reports: in multiple Unreal Engine and shader‑heavy titles, Bazzite delivered noticeably smoother 1% lows and fewer shader‑compilation hitch spikes than Windows, producing a subjectively cleaner handheld gaming experience in many play sessions.That result tracks with broader community reporting: Digital Foundry and independent benchers have repeatedly observed that shader compilation and driver‑level shader caching on Windows can produce big stutters in some games; Proton/Steam’s shader‑cache handling under Linux sometimes avoids those worst spikes and yields steadier frame pacing in certain scenarios. These observed improvements are not universal, but they are frequent enough that they deserve attention from anyone investing in a handheld PC.
What was measured — and what wasn’t
Measured improvements were mostly about stutter and frame pacing rather than raw maximum FPS. In many tests, average framerates were similar across OSes; the differentiator was the frequency and severity of microstutters and shader hitching. Battery consumption profiles were more nuanced: depending on driver power‑management and how the distro handled CPU/GPU governors, Bazzite sometimes used less power under identical workloads, but results varied by title, compositor, and background services.Crucial caveat: many Windows‑only features and services are not available or are emulated differently under Linux. Anti‑cheat systems, certain launchers (particularly those that require kernel‑mode drivers), and Microsoft‑specific integrations like Game Pass’ native client and Xbox Cloud features either don’t run on Bazzite or require workarounds that reduce convenience or compatibility. Gamers who rely on Day‑One Game Pass access, cloud streaming tied to the Xbox app, or specific Windows‑only multiplayer titles will find the tradeoff painful. Community threads and early hands‑on notes emphasize this friction.
Technical verification: what ASUS, Xbox, and independent outlets confirm
Before you base a buy or an OS switch on community tests, verify the hardware and software context. Multiple independent vendor documents and reviews confirm the Ally family’s core characteristics:- Display and chassis: Both Ally models use a 7" FHD (1080p) IPS panel at 120 Hz with VRR and Gorilla Glass Victus.
- Memory and storage: The Ally X ships with 24 GB LPDDR5X‑8000 and a 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD in the premium configuration; the standard Ally uses 16 GB LPDDR5X and a 512 GB SSD.
- Battery and thermals: The premium Ally X is specified with an 80 Wh battery, while the base Ally uses 60 Wh. Independent reviews and retailer listings corroborate those capacities.
- NPU and AI features: ASUS and Xbox marketing indicate the Ally X integrates an NPU rated in vendor materials (commonly cited as 50 TOPS) to enable upcoming AI features such as Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) and AI‑driven highlight reels. These features are branded as coming soon and tied to software updates in early 2026. Treat the implementation timetable as a vendor plan rather than an immediate capability.
- Xbox Full Screen Experience: Microsoft’s controller‑first shell is built as a layer on Windows 11 (not a fork), and it aggressively trims startup services and Explorer ornamentation when active — a primary source of the mode’s practical performance/battery gains. Tests on earlier Ally hardware show much of the improvement comes from suppressed startup apps.
Deep dive: why Bazzite sometimes feels better than Windows on handhelds
Shader compilation and driver behavior
One of the most persistent causes of microstutter on Windows handhelds is on‑the‑fly shader compilation and poor shader cache handling by graphics drivers. When a game compiles shaders during play, the CPU/GPU workload spikes and the frame delivery timeline stutters. Under Linux (and via Proton), the shader pipeline and caching heuristics can differ in a way that spreads or precompiles work differently, avoiding some of the worst runtime spikes.Digital Foundry and other technical analysts have shown examples where shader hitching is far worse on Windows than on Proton/SteamOS derivatives; community Bazzite testing replicates similar patterns on Allied hardware. That’s why many users report improved 1% lows and smoother long sessions on Bazzite even when average FPS is close to parity. Those gains are hardware‑ and title‑dependent; they are strongest in titles with heavy dynamic shader workloads and where driver shader‑cache implementations differ greatly between platforms.
Background services and boot posture
Windows’ default desktop posture loads numerous background services (cloud sync clients, chat overlays, anti‑cheat daemons, telemetry agents) that, even when idle, consume memory and can trigger intermittent I/O. Microsoft’s Xbox Full Screen Experience gains much of its practical advantage by suppressing those services by default when in handheld mode, reclaiming gigabytes of RAM and lowering idle power draw. If you manually trim startup items on Windows, the practical resource gap between Windows and a streamlined Linux image shrinks dramatically. Community tests found the single largest gain from Xbox Mode was the suppression of startup apps, not deep driver magic.Power governors, frequency scaling, and compositor overhead
Linux distros tuned for gaming often ship with simpler compositors and explicit GPU/CPU governor settings that favor steady clocks and reduced CPU‑side latency. Bazzite and other handheld‑focused distributions sometimes expose finer control over TDP and fan curves, and they avoid the desktop compositors that can introduce frame timing variance. These micro‑architectural differences add up in practice: steadier clocks, fewer background interrupts, and light compositor stacks combine to improve perceived smoothness.However, note that finely tuned Windows power profiles and Armoury Crate or third‑party tools can replicate many of those settings if the user is willing to manage them. The convenience gap — how much setup you must do — is a central part of the comparative story.
Real‑world tradeoffs: compatibility, anti‑cheat, and ecosystem friction
Switching to Bazzite on an Ally (or dual‑booting) gives you a cleaner, often smoother gaming surface, but the tradeoffs are significant and concrete.- Anti‑cheat and online play: Many modern multiplayer titles rely on kernel‑mode anti‑cheat drivers that are Windows‑only. Those games won’t run under Linux without developer support or workarounds. This alone will block a swath of competitive and multiplayer titles for many users.
- Game Pass and native Xbox features: The Xbox app, Day‑One Game Pass downloads, and certain cloud integrations are native to Windows. While cloud streaming is sometimes accessible via a browser or third‑party client on Linux, the integrated Game Pass + Xbox client experience is not identical and can require compromises.
- Driver stability and uptime: Bazzite’s driver stack — often relying on Mesa and AMD’s open driver ecosystem — is generally mature for the common APUs used in handhelds, but vendor firmware, discrete dock support, and peripheral behavior (USB‑C docks, display scaling) can be more finicky than on the vendor‑tuned Windows image. Community posts document both flawless and catastrophic installs; your mileage will vary.
- Updates and support: ASUS sells, ships, and supports Ally devices with a Windows image and an expectation of Windows software life‑cycle updates, BIOS/firmware interops, and Armoury Crate features. Running Bazzite removes official software support in many markets, which matters if you expect formal warranty support for software issues or firmware recovery assistance. Community‑driven fixes are available but must be accepted as unsupported.
Practical guidance: when to stay with Windows, when to experiment with Bazzite
If you fall into one of these categories, Windows is still the practical default:- You rely on Game Pass desktop integration, cloud features, or first‑party Xbox storefront conveniences.
- You play many online titles that require mainstream anti‑cheat solutions.
- You prefer a supported, out‑of‑the‑box vendor experience with Armoury Crate tuning and ASUS updates.
- Trim startup apps and disable background sync services.
- Use vendor power profiles and set conservative game‑by‑game power targets.
- Use the Xbox Full Screen Experience on the Ally to get a console‑like launcher while retaining Windows compatibility.
- Your primary goal is the smoothest single‑player experience and you can tolerate or avoid anti‑cheat titles.
- You value sleep/resume behavior and compositor simplicity (some users prefer Linux for shorter, more reliable standby behavior).
- You want to test Proton/SteamOS‑style optimizations and you’re willing to accept manual tweaks to get TDP and fan curves right.
- Back up your Windows image and create recovery media before modifying partitions.
- Keep BIOS/UEFI updated to the vendor‑published version for boot reliability.
- If Secure Boot is enabled, follow distro guidance for secure‑boot keys or MOK enrollment to avoid boot failures.
- Test one game at a time and keep a log of settings and driver versions — that makes regression easier to diagnose.
Strengths, limitations, and risks — the full assessment
Strengths
- Bazzite can deliver objectively smoother frame pacing and fewer shader hitches in shader‑heavy titles, producing a more consistent handheld feel in many cases.
- The Ally X hardware platform is powerful enough (larger battery, higher memory and thermal headroom) to make any OS‑level optimization meaningfully improve playtime and steadiness. ASUS’ specifications and independent reviews back this up.
- Windows’ Xbox Full Screen Experience is a sensible middle ground for users who want console simplicity without abandoning Windows’ compatibility — it reclaims memory by default and makes the handheld UX significantly cleaner when enabled.
Limitations and Risks
- Anti‑cheat and launcher compatibility is the single largest friction point for Linux adoption on a mainstream handheld: it blocks a large swath of multiplayer titles.
- Vendor support: running a third‑party OS will usually void or complicate official support and can hamper warranty software recovery.
- Fragility of community workflows: many successful Bazzite installs rely on community patches, careful MOK handling for Secure Boot and driver tweaks; casual users can hit brick walls.
- Marketing timelines vs. reality: some AI features advertised for the Ally X (Auto SR, highlight reels) are contingent on forthcoming software updates and server integration; treat them as “coming soon” rather than immediate capabilities.
The verdict for WindowsForum readers
The “better without Windows” claim has legs but it is conditional. Bazzite and similar Linux setups can and do produce smoother, more consistent play in many single‑player scenarios — largely because of differences in shader handling, compositor overhead, and the lack of Windows background services. Those wins are real, repeatable in many tests, and meaningful for anyone who prioritizes micro‑smoothness and low stutter over cross‑platform convenience.But the wider reality is messier. The ROG Xbox Ally family is sold and supported as a Windows device; Microsoft’s Xbox Full Screen Experience addresses many of the practical UX and resource problems that pushed users toward Linux in the first place. For players who need Game Pass, anti‑cheat compatibility, or vendor support, Windows remains the responsible choice. For tinkerers willing to accept the tradeoffs — and to manage Secure Boot, anti‑cheat gaps, and the occasional driver hiccup — Bazzite is an attractive alternative that can revive the promise of truly smooth handheld PC gaming.
Community and testing threads emphasize this intermediate posture: experiment if you are comfortable, but don’t assume that switching OSes will be painless or that Bazzite’s perceived superiority will persist across every title. Practical gains are often easiest to reproduce by simply trimming Windows startup behavior or using the Xbox full‑screen posture that ships with the Ally — a point repeated in hands‑on testing and in ASUS/Microsoft materials.
Final recommendations (concise)
- If you rely on multiplayer, Game Pass desktop integration, or want vendor‑backed updates: keep Windows, enable Xbox Full Screen Experience, and aggressively trim startup apps.
- If you are a power user who primarily plays single‑player AAA titles and tolerates tinkering: set up a dual‑boot with Bazzite, keep Windows recovery USB at hand, and test one game at a time.
- If you buy an Ally X primarily for its NPU and promised Auto SR features: treat those AI enhancements as upcoming additions that will require vendor software updates and developer support to be meaningful.
Source: TechPowerUp Better Without Windows: ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Tested With Bazzite