The ROG Xbox Ally X’s headline performance story this week isn’t just raw silicon — it’s that a community-built Linux image called Bazzite can, in early hands‑on testing, deliver noticeably smoother gameplay and higher sustained frame rates than the factory Windows 11 image on the same hardware, in some titles by as much as ~30 percent.
The ROG Xbox Ally family launched as a Windows‑first handheld designed by ASUS in partnership with Microsoft, combining a controller‑centric Xbox full‑screen experience with PC openness. The lineup ships in two SKUs: the base ROG Xbox Ally with 16 GB LPDDR5X and a 512 GB M.2 SSD, and the premium ROG Xbox Ally X that bumps memory to 24 GB LPDDR5X and storage to 1 TB, along with a larger battery and a higher‑end AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU. Both devices arrived on retail shelves on October 16, 2025, at MSRP levels of roughly $599.99 (base) and $999.99 (Ally X) in the U.S. market.
ASUS and Microsoft positioned the Ally series as Windows handhelds with “console‑like” behavior via an Xbox full‑screen shell and OEM utilities such as Armoury Crate for per‑game power and fan tuning. That Windows posture aims to preserve Game Pass, broad driver support, and anti‑cheat compatibility — advantages that figure strongly in consumer tradeoffs discussed below.
At the same time, the community has long shown that handheld performance is as much about OS behavior and driver policy as it is about thermals and transistor counts. Early teardown reporting also found the Ally X to be unusually repairable for a premium handheld — iFixit’s teardown suggested user‑accessible M.2 storage and replaceable fans and speakers, though some parts remain glued or soldered. That nuance matters because owners who choose alternate OSes often need recovery tools and accessible storage.
At the same time, the tradeoffs are real. Anti‑cheat, Game Pass integration, OEM tooling, and vendor support remain Windows strengths that many buyers rely on. For tinkerers and single‑player purists, a cautious dual‑boot approach with strong backups is the sensible route. For mainstream buyers who prize frictionless access to cloud services, multiplayer titles, and vendor support, waiting for Microsoft and OEMs to narrow OS‑level differences — or for vendors to offer an official lightweight handheld mode — is the more pragmatic path.
The Ally X launch cycle offers an instant case study for the industry: handheld hardware can be abundant, but the winning experience will be the one that turns silicon into uninterrupted, predictable gameplay. Vendors who embrace that lesson — through lighter default stacks, better shader tooling, and clearer recovery/support options — will give buyers the best of both worlds: performance and compatibility without forcing a choice between them.
Source: TechSpot ROG Xbox Ally X runs faster on Linux than Windows, early testing reveals
The ROG Xbox Ally family launched as a Windows‑first handheld designed by ASUS in partnership with Microsoft, combining a controller‑centric Xbox full‑screen experience with PC openness. The lineup ships in two SKUs: the base ROG Xbox Ally with 16 GB LPDDR5X and a 512 GB M.2 SSD, and the premium ROG Xbox Ally X that bumps memory to 24 GB LPDDR5X and storage to 1 TB, along with a larger battery and a higher‑end AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU. Both devices arrived on retail shelves on October 16, 2025, at MSRP levels of roughly $599.99 (base) and $999.99 (Ally X) in the U.S. market. ASUS and Microsoft positioned the Ally series as Windows handhelds with “console‑like” behavior via an Xbox full‑screen shell and OEM utilities such as Armoury Crate for per‑game power and fan tuning. That Windows posture aims to preserve Game Pass, broad driver support, and anti‑cheat compatibility — advantages that figure strongly in consumer tradeoffs discussed below.
At the same time, the community has long shown that handheld performance is as much about OS behavior and driver policy as it is about thermals and transistor counts. Early teardown reporting also found the Ally X to be unusually repairable for a premium handheld — iFixit’s teardown suggested user‑accessible M.2 storage and replaceable fans and speakers, though some parts remain glued or soldered. That nuance matters because owners who choose alternate OSes often need recovery tools and accessible storage.
What the tests actually measured
The headline numbers
Enthusiast testers installed Bazzite — a SteamOS‑style, handheld‑focused Linux distribution — on the ROG Xbox Ally X and compared identical power‑mode runs against the stock Windows image. The most publicized numbers come from side‑by‑side scenes in shader‑heavy single‑player AAA titles:- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (17W “Performance” mode): Windows ≈ 47 FPS → Bazzite ≈ 62 FPS (+~32%).
- Hogwarts Legacy (17W): Windows ≈ 50 FPS → Bazzite ≈ 62 FPS (+~24%).
- Hogwarts Legacy (35W plugged‑in): Windows ≈ 60 FPS → Bazzite ≈ 65 FPS (smaller gain).
- Low‑power / Silent modes (13W): differences shrink and can even favor Windows by a frame in some scenes.
Beyond averages: stability and resume behavior
Testers emphasized not just average FPS but frame‑time consistency. On the Windows image, frame rates occasionally jumped—drops and spikes that produced a choppy experience even when average FPS looked acceptable. Under Bazzite, testers reported smoother frame‑time graphs with fewer hitch spikes and a more predictable 1%‑low profile. They also noted near‑instant resume from suspend on Linux compared with much longer wake times under Windows in some circumstances. Those usability differences can feel larger in practice than modest FPS deltas.Methodology caveats
These are community hands‑on tests, not manufacturer lab runs. They depend on the exact driver, firmware, kernel, and Mesa/Proton builds in use. Scene selection and toolchains matter. Reproducibility is strong enough that multiple creators saw similar trends, but absolute numbers will vary with updates from Microsoft, ASUS, AMD, Valve, and the Bazzite maintainers. Treat the figures as directional proof‑points, not definitive benchmarks for all configurations.Why Linux can look faster on the same hardware
Three repeatable system‑level vectors explain the observed uplifts on lean Linux handheld images.1. Shader compilation and caching behavior
Modern AAA engines produce many shader permutations. When drivers or runtimes compile shaders at runtime, that work can block rendering and cause visible hitching. Linux stacks using Proton + Mesa and tuned shader‑cache strategies sometimes avoid the worst of those blocking stalls by precompiling, handling cache policies differently, or distributing work in less blocking ways. That reduction in runtime shader hitching is a common explanation for improved 1% lows and perceived smoothness on handheld Linux images.2. Reduced background overhead and a lean compositor
Windows 11 is a general‑purpose desktop OS with many background services, telemetry agents, and OEM helper processes. A Windows full‑screen launcher narrows the visible surface, but Windows still runs a heavier service fabric. A SteamOS‑style image boots straight into a single, light compositor and a single launcher process, trimming scheduling noise and I/O interrupts that can translate into frame‑time variance on thermally constrained devices. Those saved cycles are meaningful when every watt counts.3. More direct control over power governors and thermal tuning
Handheld Linux images commonly expose explicit TDP sliders, governor choices, and fan curves that are easy to tweak. Community distributions and kernels can ship with handheld‑focused patches and tuned Mesa builds that stabilize sustained clocks. Windows can be tuned to similar ends, but it often requires OEM utilities and manual tweaks; out of the box, Linux images used by testers gave more predictable sustained clocks in mid‑range TDP modes — exactly where the biggest deltas showed.The practical tradeoffs and risks
The performance conversation is only half the story. Swapping a handheld’s OS is a practical decision that carries concrete tradeoffs.- Anti‑cheat and multiplayer compatibility: Many modern multiplayer titles rely on kernel‑level anti‑cheat drivers that are Windows‑only. Installing Linux can block access to those games entirely or force workarounds that are fragile or unsupported.
- Game Pass and Xbox app integration: The Xbox client, Game Pass Day‑One UX, and some cloud features are native to Windows. While cloud streaming via browser or third‑party clients is possible on Linux, it isn’t the same integrated experience.
- OEM features and support paths: Armoury Crate, per‑game power toggles, RGB controls, and certain sensors are Windows‑first. Vendor recovery tools and firmware update flows may assume a Windows image and can be complicated by alternate OS installs. Warranty support conversations also become thorny if the device is modified.
- Driver maturity and firmware updates: New APUs and platform features are typically validated and optimized on Windows before Linux. Community kernels and Mesa can close gaps quickly, but early adopters will encounter missing functionality or regressions until vendors ship Linux‑ready drivers.
Repairability, upgrades, and practicalities
The Ally X’s hardware design leans toward end‑user serviceability in some areas. Early teardowns found a user‑accessible M.2 2280 SSD, replaceable fans and speakers, and modular button boards — factors that make dual‑boot experiments and recoveries less painful for hobbyists. That said, displays remain glued in and memory is soldered, so not everything is user‑serviceable. Also, ASUS’ recovery tooling initially assumed a Windows image which complicates restoration if things go wrong. Those constraints make a conservative approach — back up first, use separate partitions or drives — wise.Practical guidance for Ally X owners (recommended workflow)
For owners curious about experimenting, the safest path is staged, reversible, and pragmatic.- Optimize Windows first.
- Update Armoury Crate, the Xbox Full‑Screen Experience, and AMD drivers.
- Trim startup apps, disable unnecessary background services, and use per‑game TDP/fan profiles in Armoury Crate. Many owners recover a large portion of perceived gaps with careful Windows tuning.
- Make full backups and recovery media.
- Create a vendor recovery USB using ASUS guidance and export BitLocker keys and Windows images. This step preserves warranty and makes restoration straightforward if experiments go wrong.
- Try dual‑boot on spare storage or a separate partition.
- Shrink the Windows partition, install Bazzite to a separate partition or secondary drive, and keep Windows intact for multiplayer and Game Pass titles. Dual‑boot gives the best of both worlds without committing to either ecosystem.
- Use live media for initial validation.
- Boot the Linux image from USB to validate input, display, suspend/resume, and fan behavior before touching internal storage.
- Be prepared to reconfigure.
- Expect to tweak Proton/Proton‑GE, Mesa versions, kernel flags, and TDP settings. Keep recovery and vendor tools handy and document steps so you can rewind any changes.
What vendors and platform owners should learn
These community experiments send three clear signals to ASUS, Microsoft, and the broader PC handheld ecosystem.- Reduce software ballast on handheld releases. Handhelds benefit when the OS stack is lean and deterministic. Microsoft and OEMs should continue refining “console” modes that minimize background services, precompile or preload shaders where possible, and make lightweight launcher experiences first‑class without sacrificing Game Pass or anti‑cheat.
- Provide official Linux or SteamOS options. If hardware lends itself to alternate OSes, vendor‑supported images or official SteamOS‑style options reduce risk for customers and can broaden appeal. Valve’s Steam Deck proved the value of tightly integrated hardware+software; Windows handhelds can borrow that model while preserving PC openness.
- Make recovery and parts accessible. Documented recovery workflows, unsigned driver images for Linux testing, and easily available spare parts will lower the barrier for experimentation while keeping owners within supported channels. iFixit’s teardown suggests the Ally X is already better than many devices here, but formal support would go further.
Balanced assessment: strengths and risks
Notable strengths revealed by the tests
- Real, reproducible gains in sustained frame‑time stability and 1% lows in shader‑heavy scenes under a tuned Linux stack. Those gains translate into a more “console‑like” feel for single‑player play.
- Faster resume and snappier UI flows when booted into a lean launcher — important for handheld ergonomics.
- Hardware is friendlier to modding and upgrades than many modern handhelds, with user‑accessible storage and modular components reported in teardowns.
Key risks and limitations
- Compatibility gaps are non‑trivial. Anti‑cheat and Game Pass integration remain Windows‑centric; losing those functions blunts the Ally X’s appeal for many buyers.
- Support and warranty friction. Installing third‑party OSes often complicates official support channels and firmware recovery which typically assume a Windows image.
- Results are situational. Gains are largest in mid‑TDP scenes; in very low power or high‑TDP plugged‑in modes the advantage often shrinks or disappears. These nuances matter for buyers whose primary use cases differ.
What to watch next
- Driver and firmware updates from ASUS/AMD/Microsoft. Vendors can close or widen the observed gaps with driver updates and handheld‑focused OS tweaks. Watch official updates to Windows drivers, Armoury Crate releases, and AMD APU microcode/firmware.
- Bazzite and community distro evolution. Community distributions iterate rapidly; improvements to Proton, Mesa, and kernel scheduling could make the Linux experience more robust, and maintainers are already publishing tuned builds and handheld utilities.
- Official Valve/Microsoft collaboration signals. Any move toward an officially supported hybrid “console mode” or a vendor‑supported SteamOS image for Ally devices would materially change the risk calculus for mainstream buyers.
Conclusion
The early hands‑on experiments with Bazzite on the ROG Xbox Ally X illuminate a crucial truth about modern handheld PCs: software posture matters as much as silicon. A lean, handheld‑focused Linux stack can reduce shader hitching, trim OS noise, and yield a measurably smoother play experience in the mid‑TDP scenarios that define portable gaming sessions. Those gains can make the difference between a handheld that merely performs and one that feels like a console in everyday use.At the same time, the tradeoffs are real. Anti‑cheat, Game Pass integration, OEM tooling, and vendor support remain Windows strengths that many buyers rely on. For tinkerers and single‑player purists, a cautious dual‑boot approach with strong backups is the sensible route. For mainstream buyers who prize frictionless access to cloud services, multiplayer titles, and vendor support, waiting for Microsoft and OEMs to narrow OS‑level differences — or for vendors to offer an official lightweight handheld mode — is the more pragmatic path.
The Ally X launch cycle offers an instant case study for the industry: handheld hardware can be abundant, but the winning experience will be the one that turns silicon into uninterrupted, predictable gameplay. Vendors who embrace that lesson — through lighter default stacks, better shader tooling, and clearer recovery/support options — will give buyers the best of both worlds: performance and compatibility without forcing a choice between them.
Source: TechSpot ROG Xbox Ally X runs faster on Linux than Windows, early testing reveals