Doom: The Dark Ages has arrived, and if you're passionate about handheld gaming PCs like me, you're likely curious whether the Asus ROG Ally X can run it smoothly. While 30fps is my baseline for playability, achieving 60fps would be ideal—though admittedly ambitious for such a graphically intense title.
While Doom Eternal performed exceptionally well on the Ally, temper your expectations for The Dark Ages. This installment pushes hardware boundaries, and the Ally X faces significant challenges.
About the Hardware
The Asus ROG Ally X leads today's crowded handheld PC market thanks to its impressive 24GB system RAM—with 16GB dedicated to the GPU by default. Its blazing 7,500MHz memory speed provides crucial bandwidth for the AMD Z1 Extreme's integrated graphics, giving it a competitive edge.
This makes the Ally X the perfect testbed for Doom: The Dark Ages, setting the benchmark for current-gen handhelds. Until next-gen devices arrive, it'll determine whether less powerful models can even attempt this demanding title.
The Ultimate Handheld Gaming PC
Asus ROG Ally X
Featuring double the battery capacity and superior memory speeds, the Asus ROG Ally X dominates the handheld PC market. Available at Best Buy
Can the Asus ROG Ally Run Doom: The Dark Ages?
Pro Tip: Update your AMD Radeon drivers before playing. On the Ally X, access Armoury Crate's Update Center via the lower-right menu button. If the RC72LA update doesn't appear automatically, manually check for updates.
For optimal testing conditions, I used Turbo Mode (30W) while plugged in and maxed out the Texture Pool Size to 4,096MB—twice the default allocation. The Ally X's generous 24GB RAM (16GB usable) handles this effortlessly, even at Ultra Nightmare settings.
All tests disabled resolution scaling. Dynamic resolution yielded identical results to native 720p since the target framerates proved unattainable—the system consistently defaulted to 720p rendering regardless.
Testing Methodology: I repeatedly played the intensive opening sequence of Hebeth (Mission 2), which stresses hardware with relentless action and particle effects. The results were sobering.
At 1080p, performance was disastrous across all presets—Ultra Nightmare averaged just 15fps. Even Low settings only managed 20fps, making 1080p gameplay impractical regardless of quality settings.
720p showed modest improvement: Ultra Nightmare through Ultra averaged 24fps, High reached 26fps. While not ideal, Medium settings finally delivered playable 30fps, with Low climbing to 35fps.
The Asus ROG Ally X Falls Short
As a handheld enthusiast, I hate admitting the Ally X can't properly handle Doom: The Dark Ages. If 30fps is your minimum, you're limited to Medium/Low settings at 720p—a significant compromise.
Steam Deck owners face worse prospects given its weaker specs. Current-gen handhelds will likely require 800p resolution on Low settings to approach 30fps.
Looking ahead, next-gen chipsets like the rumored AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme (potentially powering the ROG Ally 2) could change the game. Leaked images even suggest an Xbox-branded variant. Until then, demanding titles like The Dark Ages remain challenging for portable devices.
