Doom: The Dark Ages Struggles on Handheld Gaming PC

Doom: The Dark Ages has finally arrived, and if you're a fan of handheld gaming PCs, you're likely eager to know if the Asus ROG Ally X can handle it. For a smooth gaming experience, I'm setting a baseline of 30 frames per second (fps), though 60fps would be the dream scenario—albeit a lofty one for such a demanding title.

While the previous game, Doom Eternal, ran admirably on the Ally, Doom: The Dark Ages unfortunately doesn't follow suit. The performance might leave you feeling a bit let down.

The world of PC gaming handhelds is brimming with variety, and the Asus ROG Ally X stands out as a leader. It's powered by the same AMD Z1 Extreme chip found in many top-tier handhelds, but it boasts a significant advantage: a hefty 24GB of RAM, with 16GB dedicated to the GPU. Additionally, its memory operates at a blazing 7,500MHz, offering superior memory bandwidth crucial for the Z1 Extreme's integrated graphics.

This makes the ROG Ally X an ideal candidate for testing Doom: The Dark Ages. Its robust specs provide the best chance to meet the game's demanding requirements. As games continue to push the boundaries, the Ally X acts as a benchmark to gauge whether less powerful handhelds can keep up—until the next generation arrives later this year.

The Best Handheld Gaming PC### Asus Asus ROG Ally X

7With its doubled battery life and significantly faster memory, the Asus ROG Ally X has positioned itself as the premier handheld gaming PC on the market. Check it out at Best Buy.Can the Asus ROG Ally Handle Doom: The Dark Ages?

Before diving in, ensure your chipset is up to date for optimal performance in Doom: The Dark Ages. Updating on the ROG Ally X is straightforward: access Armoury Crate from the bottom right menu button, click the cogwheel at the top, and navigate to Update Center. Look for the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver update. If it's not visible, hit Check for Updates. When the RC72LA update shows up, select Update All.

For these tests, I connected the Ally X to power and ran it in Turbo Operating Mode at 30W to maximize performance. I also set the maximum vRAM allocation for Texture Pool Size in the game's graphics settings to 4,096 megabytes, up from the default 2,048. Given the Ally X's 24GB RAM (with 16GB usable), even at the Ultra Nightmare setting, there was ample headroom.

All tests were conducted without resolution scaling. I also ran tests with dynamic resolution, but the results mirrored the 720p outcomes, as the target frame rate remained unattainable across the board, causing dynamic resolution to default to 720p.

Doom: The Dark Ages ROG Ally X PerformanceUltra Nightmare, 1080p15fpsUltra Nightmare, 720p24fpsNightmare, 1080p16fpsNightmare, 720p24fpsUltra, 1080p16fpsUltra, 720p24fpsHigh, 1080p16fpsHigh, 720p26fpsMedium, 1080p17fpsMedium, 720p30fpsLow, 1080p20fpsLow, 720p35fpsI repeatedly played the opening section of the second mission, Hebeth, in Doom: The Dark Ages to push the hardware to its limits. The results were eye-opening.

Running Doom: The Dark Ages at 1080p on the Ally X proved challenging. At Ultra Nightmare, the game averaged a mere 15fps, rendering it unplayable. Lowering the settings to Nightmare, Ultra, and High only slightly improved the frame rate to 16fps, while Medium nudged it up to 17fps. Even at Low, the game managed just 20fps at 1080p, which still felt choppy. Clearly, 1080p is not feasible on the Ally X for this game.

At 720p, performance was somewhat better but still not ideal. Ultra Nightmare, Nightmare, and Ultra settings all hovered around 24fps, while High settings reached 26fps. These frame rates, while not ideal, might be tolerable for those desperate to play on a handheld. It wasn't until I dialed the settings down to Medium at 720p that the game became truly playable, hitting a solid 30fps. Dropping to Low settings improved this further to 35fps.

Asus ROG Ally X Isn’t Ready for Doom: The Dark Ages

As much as I love handheld gaming PCs and my Asus ROG Ally X, it's clear that they aren't yet equipped to handle the demands of Doom: The Dark Ages. The Ally X struggles significantly with this title, only reaching a playable 30fps at 720p with Medium or Low settings.

Steam Deck users can expect even less, given its lower specs compared to the Ally X. If the Ally X can barely run the game, the Steam Deck will likely struggle at its native 800p resolution on Low settings to achieve 30fps—a sentiment shared by all current-generation handhelds.

However, all is not lost. The upcoming next generation of mobile chipsets, like the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, expected later this year, might change the game. Leaks suggest this chip could power the Asus ROG Ally 2, and there's even talk of an Xbox-branded model. Only time will tell how well future handhelds will handle demanding titles like Doom: The Dark Ages.