I made the switch to Steam OS on my ROG Ally X and haven’t looked back

Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved the idea of portability in gaming. While I gripped my Game Boy Advance tight in the backseat of my parents’ van, I dreamed about the days when I would be able to take full, console-quality games on the go. While my love for Nintendo still grows to this day, especially since the days of the Switch and the Switch 2, there’s something even more prevalent that has taken my fascination by storm.

After growing disillusioned with Windows 11 on my ROG Ally, I longed for something simpler. Something that met a middle ground between the simplistic menus of the Nintendo Switch, while still offering plenty of customization for when I’m feeling creative. That’s when I decided it was time to dive in and make a change; installing SteamOS could be the cure to my portable PC blues, and it may be the same for you.

Steam Big Picture Mode is perfect for handhelds

Ease of use is king in this situation

Funnily enough, Windows 11 was seemingly one of the reasons why my ROG Ally X didn’t get the love and attention it deserved. Despite it costing more than any of my consoles, I eventually realized that I could chalk it up to a flawed and fairly cumbersome user experience.

Windows 11 is a fantastic piece of software, especially when it’s utilized on the proper hardware. Handheld gaming PCs like the ROG Ally X, however, aren’t the best platform for showcasing Windows’ full potential. Navigating through the standard desktop on a 7-inch touchscreen with just your fingers is clunky and cumbersome, and joystick mouse controls typically stop working as soon as Steam is opened.

Before buying the ROG Ally X, I was an avid Steam Deck fanatic, and I immediately realized what I was missing. After waiting for Valve to release the official SteamOS for other hardware, I made the jump and haven’t looked back once. The ease of use, the immediate access to Steam Big Picture mode, and the look and feel of that 120Hz LCD panel have made the ROG Ally X a daily driver in my gaming journey.

At this point, any time I’m hitting the road, my Ally X is coming along for the journey, especially if I have a couple of controllers and my dock. Now, I’ve got a portable gaming station that performs just as well on a bigger screen, without any of the Windows 11 jankiness. This also helped me realize exactly why Valve is going all-in on Steam-branded hardware in the near future.

Improved performance in SteamOS mode

Plus, the already great battery life is unaffected

When the original ROG Ally was released, one of the biggest complaints (outside of melting SD cards) was the battery. A powerhouse of portability, a 40Wh battery could be drained quickly, especially if players were jumping into more graphically intensive games on the go. When the improved Ally X hit the market, it touted an 80Wh battery, alongside a myriad of other improvements to make it one of the best available gaming devices for on-the-go players.

Something that SteamOS does bring to the forefront, outside of an improved user interface, is improved performance in games. If a game has been Steam Deck verified, that’s essentially a golden ticket for solid performance on the ROG Ally X, or any other device that happens to be running SteamOS. While a boost in battery wouldn’t be something to balk at, the optimizations done by the Valve team make SteamOS the winner in the performance department. Even if it was just a few FPS, those frames could be the difference between life and death, and I’ll happily take that gamble.

Simplicity matters, especially on the go

But Desktop Mode still makes my ROG feel like a proper PC

It may be slightly ironic to talk about a Desktop mode, especially after I said earlier that I got rid of Windows 11 due to the simplicity of SteamOS. However, my ROG Ally X is designed primarily as a gaming machine, with productivity really not being of importance. I have my desktop to take care of those types of things, but in the small chance of something going terribly wrong with my desktop, I can still use my ROG Ally for daily tasks.

Since the ROG Ally X is meant to play games, the ease of use and user interface make it an easy choice for my daily needs. But if I’ve got a keyboard and mouse nearby for whatever reason, I can also turn it into a fully-fledged desktop running Linux. Rather than focusing on the Desktop first, SteamOS puts gaming first and foremost, bringing up Big Picture Mode as soon as the device is turned on. But for power users, or those who want to experiment with Linux before making the switch themselves, this could be the perfect baby step into the somewhat intimidating world of Ubuntu.

SteamOS is only for Steam, so kiss other launchers goodbye

There are workarounds, but it can be a little clumsy

If there was at least one thing that I found slightly annoying during my switch from Windows 11 to SteamOS, it would be the loss of additional storefronts. If I were still running Windows, I would have access to my Epic Games library, my GOG Galaxy library, and any other launchers I used regularly. On SteamOS, however, you can really only use Steam games unless you’re ready to dig your heels in and mess with workarounds.

Seeing as SteamOS also doesn’t support certain types of Anti-Cheat measures, you’ll also want to verify that your favorite multiplayer games are still going to work on the new operating system. Games like Grand Theft Auto Online or Battlefield 6 aren’t going to work here, since their Anti-Cheat doesn’t work properly on SteamOS. To be fair, you can still stream the game from your desktop or laptop and play it remotely, but if you’re on the go or not near your home computer, this could be more of an annoyance than you’re willing to deal with.

My ROG finally feels like a proper Steam Deck replacement

If you’ve found yourself in a similar boat, I suggest trying the same

There have been a lot of updates made for Windows on portable PCs to make them stack up to their Steam OS counterparts. The freshly launched Xbox Storefront is a great way to keep Windows 11 from feeling so cumbersome, and it only requires a download. But, if you’re fresh off the boat from the Steam Deck or just want to experiment and try something different, this is the route that I would suggest.

The ease of use and performance boosts make this transition much easier to digest. I can still play my Game Pass games via Cloud Streaming, even if it isn’t natively on the device itself. Watching my ROG Ally X go from a dust collector to a dust buster in just a matter of hours is more than enough to prove to myself that I made the right decision, and if you find yourself in the same boat? It could be the pick-me-up your handheld PC needs, too.

Credit: ASUS

Weight

1.49 pounds

RAM

12GB LPDDR5

Storage

1TB

Display

7-inches