Nintendo Switch 2 vs ROG Xbox Ally X – The Ultimate Performance Battle!

Hello and welcome back to a new video.

So as someone who's recently just gotten

the brand new Switch 2, I was quite

surprised at the recent announcement of

the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally X, which is

going to be a collaboration between ASUS

and Microsoft to make an ultimate Xbox

Windows-based handheld gaming device.

And as someone who just bought the Switch

2, I looked into it and I had to decide

for myself if I should hold on to the

Switch 2 or send it back and then wait for

this new Xbox handheld gaming device.

And after digging into it a little bit, I

think I've made up my mind, and I realized

that the Switch 2 is still the superior

handheld gaming device, and in today's

video we're going to be talking about why

that is.

So the main selling point of the Xbox ROG

Ally X is the fact that it boots directly

into an Xbox gaming kind of OS system

instead of relying on Windows with a

Windows desktop in the background running.

And this is supposed to increase the

efficiency by over 40% compared to other

Windows handheld devices like the ROG

Ally, where they do boot into a Windows

desktop kind of environment instead of a

purely gaming environment.

So it's supposedly supposed to make the

efficiency go up by substantial amounts.

And then the other selling point is the

fact that they've kind of put in an

Xbox-style controller where the Joy-Cons

should be.

So the idea is you've got an Xbox-looking

controller with a big screen in the

middle, and that's supposed to make it

more ergonomic and comfortable.

So compared to the Switch 2, which is a

very flat slab-like device— Switch 2 has

prioritized being slim and portable over

having the best, most comfortable

Joy-Cons.

Don't get me wrong, the Joy-Cons for the

Switch 2 are fine and they work and

everything, but they don't really have a

lot of grip grip to grip onto in your

palms compared to things that are chunkier

like Steam Deck or ROG Ally.

They have much chunkier controls, so it

should be more comfortable for extended

amounts of gameplay.

And with this Xbox-style controller, it's

building upon that theme and creating a

more comfortable handheld experience at

the expense of portability.

So the Xbox ROG Ally X is a very chunky

device, very thick.

It doesn't really have portability or

slimness in mind.

It has prioritized raw processing power

and graphical fidelity over portability.

Which is what Switch 2 has basically

prioritized here.

It's also kind of expensive with the base

model coming in at $600 or $700 with a

more pro model coming in nearly $900, so

it's not a cheap device, the Xbox Ally X,

and I don't really see the point of

getting this when you could just get a

Switch 2 because Switch 2 is going to be

half the price, it's going to have some PC

games, not the newest ones obviously, but

it's going to have some of the best Mario

games and Zelda games, Nintendo games on

the device that you can't really play on

any other console.

And nearly $1,000 for a handheld device is

quite a lot.

I feel like at that point you might as

well just get a gaming laptop or a desktop

even.

So you could probably get a decent desktop

for nearly $800 or $900 if you pick the

parts correctly, and you'll get better

performance than this Xbox ROG Ally X.

But then you say, oh, you can't take it

outside with you.

Um, I don't really know if I would want to

take this big chunky device like an Xbox

ROG Ally X outside in public.

It would look kind of ridiculous.

Like, can you imagine going through MOT

test and

waiting at the car dealership and then you

just whip out this massive chunky handheld

gaming device.

You look like a massive loser.

People think, wow, this guy can't even go

an hour or two without gaming, he must be

such a nerd.

I'd be embarrassed, to be honest.

So we have the side-by-side specs

comparisons pulled up here.

We've got the ROG Ally X with the AMD

Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip with 24GB of RAM,

which is admittedly double the RAM the

Switch 2 has, but then the Switch 2 is

better optimized with its own ecosystem

and operating system, so it doesn't really

need that much RAM.

So ROG Ally X also 1TB storage SSD, 7-inch

IPS 1080p 120Hz, no OLED I guess, with 80W

charging.

And with the Switch 2, we've got a custom

Nvidia chip, I think it's a Tegra or

something, with 12GB of RAM.

We've only got 256GB of storage, so okay,

we're beat on storage, but we do have a

better display with 1080p HDR10 VRR up to

120Hz, which I believe is better than the—

oh no, it's the same.

So we also got a 5200

mAh battery

and Wi-Fi 6, so that's pretty good.

Now when it comes to the games library,

obviously it's down to you.

You want Steam library with all the Steam

games, or do you want kind of like

third-party older PC ports with a bunch of

Nintendo games like Mario Kart?

So if you really like Mario Kart, you

don't have much choice.

You're gonna have to get a Switch.

You can't get Mario Kart on PC, and the

equivalence of Mario Kart when you want a

racing game on PC You've got a bunch of

these rally games that are kind of boring.

You've got a bunch of street racing games

like Need for Speed.

None of these games really come close to

the feeling of playing Mario Kart.

And I have to say, Mario Kart World has to

be one of the best Mario Karts out right

now.

So yeah, for me personally, I wouldn't

really want to get the Xbox ROG Ally X.

Sure, it might be more powerful.

Sure, it might have more games, but it's

more expensive.

I already have a powerful gaming laptop if

I want to do PC gaming.

And I have the Switch 2 for casual gaming,

you know, sit back, relax on my beanbag,

play some Mario Kart for a few hours to

kill some time.

I don't really see the Switch 2 as like a

serious gaming device, it's just like a

time-killing thing.

If I want to do some serious gaming and

like really get immersed, I'll just boot

up my laptop, plug it into my big 4K

curved 39-inch monitor, and I'll have a

more immersive proper PC gaming experience

like that.

I don't really want a proper PC gaming

experience on a handheld, so I feel like

these Windows handheld gaming devices are

kind of missing the point of what a

handheld gaming device is supposed to be.

It's not supposed to be for hardcore

serious gaming, it's supposed to be for

casual gaming, and that's what the Switch

2 has really nailed.