Doom: Dark Ages Struggles on Handheld PCs

Doom: The Dark Ages has arrived, and for handheld gaming PC enthusiasts like myself, the critical question is whether the Asus ROG Ally X can deliver a playable experience. While 30fps serves as the minimum acceptable threshold, achieving 60fps would be ideal—though admittedly optimistic for such a graphically intense title.

Although Doom Eternal famously ran exceptionally well on the Ally, temper your expectations for The Dark Ages, as it demands significantly more hardware resources.

Hardware Considerations

The Asus ROG Ally X currently leads the handheld gaming PC market thanks to its combination of an AMD Z1 Extreme processor and an unprecedented 24GB RAM configuration—with 16GB specifically allocated to the GPU. The device's 7,500MHz memory bandwidth provides crucial performance advantages for integrated graphics, making it the ideal testbed for this demanding title.

This configuration positions the Ally X as the current benchmark for handheld gaming performance, setting the standard for what's possible before next-gen devices arrive later this year.

Asus ROG Ally X

With its extended battery life and superior memory architecture, the Asus ROG Ally X stands as today's premier handheld gaming PC available at retailers like Best Buy.

Performance Analysis on ROG Ally X

Before testing, ensure your device runs the latest AMD graphics drivers via the Armory Crate Update Center. For optimal results, we conducted tests while plugged into power using Turbo Mode (30W) and maximized the Texture Pool Size setting to 4,096MB.

Our testing methodology involved replaying the intensive opening sequence of the game's second mission, Hebeth, which features demanding visual effects and particle systems. All tests maintained native resolution without scaling.

1080p performance proved disastrous across all settings, with even Low presets struggling to reach 20fps. The 720p results showed modest improvements: Medium settings achieved our 30fps baseline, while Low settings offered slightly better performance at 35fps.

The Current Limitations of Handheld Gaming

These results demonstrate the current generation's limitations with cutting-edge titles. Steam Deck owners will fare even worse—expect to compromise at 800p with Low settings to approach 30fps.

However, the upcoming AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processors—potentially featured in devices like the rumored ROG Ally 2, including a speculated Xbox-branded variant—may finally deliver the power needed for demanding games like Doom: The Dark Ages on handheld platforms.