SteamOS on Xbox handheld: Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 can game for up to 8 hours

We recently reviewed the brand-new Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 handheld gaming console. The console brings a refined design, an outstanding OLED display, and superb controls. We gave the portable gamer an excellent rating of 88%, calling it a “significant upgrade compared to last year's model”.

While the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 officially comes with Windows 11 out of the box, SteamOS is considered by many to be superior to Windows for gaming. ETA Prime has put that to the test, as the YouTuber installed SteamOS on the machine and tested some AAA games. ETA Prime also measured the battery life, which might impress some people.

Starting with Forza Horizon 6, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 played the game comfortably above 50 FPS at 1080p with medium graphics, no FSR, and a 28 W TDP. So, you should be able to easily push the game above 60 FPS with some upscaling. You could also use FSR to potentially retain the same performance at a lower TDP, resulting in better battery life.

ETA Prime saw similar performance in Red Dead Redemption 2. The handheld console pushed the game above 50 FPS at 1080p, medium graphics, and FSR “Balanced”. The TDP was once again set at 28 W.

The Witcher 3 Remastered is the latest AAA game to come out of CD Projekt Red. It features updated visuals, enhanced combat, and more. Naturally, the game is now harder to run than the vanilla version of The Witcher 3. ETA Prime had to push the TDP to 30 W to play the game at more than 60 FPS at 1080p with the “Steam Deck” graphics preset. ETA Prime claimed that you could lower the TDP to 17 W and retain the same performance by dropping the resolution down to 720p.

Please check out ETA Prime's full YouTube video linked at the end to see more game benchmarks. What we are more interested in seeing, however, is how SteamOS affects the battery life of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 and how it compares to our measurements of the console with Windows 11.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 battery life with SteamOS

ETA Prime found out that, even with SteamOS installed, the battery life of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 is practically the same as with Windows 11. The console lasts for up to 8 hours while playing simple 2D/indie games at 6 to 8 W. The battery life drops to around 3 hours when running AAA games at 17 W, which is the handheld console’s “Performance” mode setting.

Finally, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 lasted only 2 hours and 20 minutes when playing AAA games at 25 W, or the console’s “Turbo” mode.

So, if you were hoping for better battery life with SteamOS on the Xbox Ally X20, you might be disappointed. However, as a whole, the battery life of the Xbox Ally X20 is still quite good.

Fawad Murtaza - Senior Tech Writer - 1761 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021

I am Fawad, a fellow tech nerd. As a tech junkie, my relationship with technology goes back to my childhood years. Getting my first Intel Pentium 4 PC was the start of journey that would eventually bring me to Notebookcheck. Finally, I have been writing for tech media since 2018. From small no-name projects to industry leaders, I have worked with a number of tech publications.