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ROG Xbox Ally runs better on Linux than the Windows it ships with — new test shows up to 32% higher FPS, with more stable framerates and quicker sleep resume times | Tom’s Hardware Skip to main content Don’t miss these Handheld Gaming Lenovo Legion Go 2 review: AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme makes gains at 800p Handheld Gaming Best PC Gaming Handhelds 2025: Windows and Steam Decks Gaming Laptops Best Gaming Laptops 2025: Tested, benchmarked and reviewed Handheld Gaming Here’s where to buy the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X — Microsoft and Asus’ new gaming handhelds hit store shelves PC Components Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gets huge $400 discount at BestBuy, now $1999 Handheld Gaming Microsoft’s new handheld gaming mode, exclusive to ROG Xbox Ally, has just leaked for every handheld running Windows 11 Handheld Gaming AMD’s Z2 Extreme flies past Intel’s Lunar Lake in new gaming benchmarks Handheld Gaming GPD Win 5 handheld soars above the competition with Strix Halo inside Handheld Gaming AMD Strix Halo-powered gaming handheld reveals desktop-like GPU performance Handheld Gaming Microsoft let Asus set the prices for Xbox Rog Ally, confirms Xbox President Linux I took a look at AnduinOS, a Linux distro that feels like home for Windows users Handheld Gaming Scalpers sell ROG Xbox Ally X preorders for as much as $2,500 even though they are still in stock Linux Linux gaming OS Kazeta promises ‘console gaming experience of the 1990s’ for PC users Handheld Gaming OneXFly Apex teased with Ryzen AI Max+ 395 at 120W, up to 128 GB RAM, and removable 85Wh battery Linux I’ve tried many Linux distros designed to look and feel like Windows, and this is the best one yet (Image credit: Cyber Dopamine on YouTube) Even though the value proposition was put in the backseat, Microsoft and Asus took a step in the right direction for PC handhelds with the new ROG Xbox Ally, especially with the work done to optimize Windows and create the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE). By turning off unnecessary background tasks and disabling much of the telemetry, the team was able to squeeze out more FPS without upping the power limits — all while sporting a polished, console-like UI. Turns out, the hardware is actually capable of even more than that, courtesy of Linux, of course. Fixing the Xbox Ally with SteamOS – YouTube Watch On In a not-so-scientific benchmark conducted by YouTuber Cyber Dopamine, the Rog Xbox Ally managed to perform better without Windows, the operating system it ships with out of the box. Cyber installed Bazzite, a popular Linux distro for handhelds built specifically to offer that console-esque, seamless experience. Visually, Bazzite looks identical to SteamOS because it uses Steam’s Big Picture Mode as its main launcher. It also behaves similarly, but has its own custom menus and settings for customizing things like power profiles (which override Asus’ built-in ones).When testing Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Cyber noticed a shockingly significant jump in FPS, with Linux generating ~32% more FPS compared to Windows. This trend follows at lower wattages, albeit with less noticeable differences, and the delta actually plateaus in Hogwarts Legacy to the point that both Bazzite and the Xbox FSE offer the same FPS at 13W. That being said, those frame rates are much more consistent on Linux, according to Cyber, who shows that the FPS graph on Windows fluctuates regularly, while staying mostly flat on Bazzite. You may like Microsoft’s new handheld gaming mode, exclusive to ROG Xbox Ally, has just leaked for every handheld running Windows 11 AMD’s Z2 Extreme flies past Intel’s Lunar Lake in new gaming benchmarks GPD Win 5 handheld soars above the competition with Strix Halo inside Swipe to scroll horizontallyRog Xbox Ally X performance comparedGamePower ModeWindows (Xbox FSE) FPSLinux (Bazzite) FPSDifferenceKingdom Come: Deliverance 217W4762+15 FPS (+31.91%)Kingdom Come: Deliverance 213W3537+2 FPS (+5.71%)Hogwarts Legacy17W5062+12 FPS (+24.00%)Hogwarts Legacy35W6065+5 FPS (+8.33%)Hogwarts Legacy13W3837−1 FPS (−2.63%)Average FPS gain (Linux vs Windows)+6.6 FPS (+13.47%)So, not only do you get higher frame rates, but those frames stay stable. On top of all this, Cyber highlights that waking up the Xbox Ally from its sleep state is instantaneous on Bazzite, similar to how it’s on the Steam Deck. On Windows, however, it takes up to 40 seconds for the handheld to actually go into its sleep state with the fans turned off, and then a good ~15 seconds to come back on. Cyber compares a handheld to a book, arguing that you should be able to get into it without having to wait or think about any issues, like the controller sometimes becoming unresponsive on Windows.Fascinatingly, Xbox Ally’s release of Bazzite was being patched as Cyber was testing it. Our host would play a game, hop around the OS, fiddle with some settings, and report back any bug to “Antheus” (part of the dev team), who would then write new code for it live and quickly push the update in real time. Bazzite devs took bug-fixing to an entirely new level and made the end-user experience better for all Rog Xbox Ally owners. Even if you don’t want to always stay inside Bazzite — for instance, when playing Battlefield 6 that requires anticheat — you can just dual-boot back into Windows and enjoy the best of both worlds. Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom’s Hardware NewsletterGet Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors TOPICS See all comments (8) Hassam NasirContributing WriterHassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun. Read more Microsoft’s new handheld gaming mode, exclusive to ROG Xbox Ally, has just leaked for every handheld running Windows 11    AMD’s Z2 Extreme flies past Intel’s Lunar Lake in new gaming benchmarks    GPD Win 5 handheld soars above the competition with Strix Halo inside    AMD Strix Halo-powered gaming handheld reveals desktop-like GPU performance    Best PC Gaming Handhelds 2025: Windows and Steam Decks    Microsoft let Asus set the prices for Xbox Rog Ally, confirms Xbox President    Latest in Handheld Gaming Microsoft let Asus set the prices for Xbox Rog Ally, confirms Xbox President    Here’s where to buy the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X — Microsoft and Asus’ new gaming handhelds hit store shelves    The best Switch 2 accessories this Amazon Prime Day 2025 — controllers, cameras, cases, screen protectors, and more    Lenovo Legion Go 2 review: AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme makes gains at 800p    First AirPods-controlled game uses undocumented Apple sensor for motion control    Scalpers sell ROG Xbox Ally X preorders for as much as $2,500 even though they are still in stock    Latest in News Secretlab Magnus Evo Hands-on — a trimmed-down version of its popular, premium sit-stand desk    Cooler Master tells customer to dismantle 12v2x6 connector to fit Asus RTX 5070 Ti    ROG Xbox Ally runs better on Linux than the Windows it ships with    Intel’s Arrow Lake Refresh emerges with Core Ultra 7 270K Plus    China wants US semiconductor companies to submit sensitive data as part of probe    Catastrophic Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack to cost UK economy $2.5 billion    8 Comments Comment from the forums Yup… Definitely Bazzite is a powerhouse for gaming, and it’s extremely easy to configure and use, and it’s not riddled with OS-level spyware, nor crapware that nobody asked for. You can also easily create a local user, no need to hack your OS, like on current W11. It can be used in desktop mode too, so you can install it in your laptop or desktop PC and use it as your normal main OS. Reply i mean not shocking. even “optimizing” windows would be worse than Linux. Windows has a lot mroe stuff running and using resources even at the basic fucntion level….Linux on other hand is much more optimized and streamlined so more resources for application/game as well as less hoops to go throguh which both impact performance. Reply Don’t worry guys. The AI engineers will fix this as soon as they know what to put in the prompt. Just you wait… Seated… And I hope the seat is comfortable. Heh. Regards. Reply Hopefully Microsoft figures their portable OS soon, otherwise it’s so over for them. Having said that, the Xbox game launcher looks easier to use with other stores. Linking Epic and Microsoft store to the SteamOS launcher isn’t as seamless and requires following a guide. Reply I suspect battery life on the Linux ROG is also superior. Reply heffeque said:and it’s not riddled with OS-level spyware, nor crapware that nobody asked for.When you get off of the Tom’s forum and have conversations with people about the factory spyware built into Windows, you are often met with the “well everybody is doing it” fallacy. That is, everybody as in Google, Microsoft, the websites, etc etc etc. It’s a form of cognitive dissonance because of the performance. Performance, performance, performance. Not only are you being monetized into the product, but also all that spyware is eating up your CPU cycles and memory gigabytes. The real world result is when you uninstall Windows and install Linux. You get more frame rates because you’re not using your computer to power spyware. See, these things relate. They aren’t separate disparate islands located in two different oceans. They’re the same thing. Spyware = less performance. Reply ezst036 said:When you get off of the Tom’s forum and have conversations with people about the factory spyware built into Windows, you are often met with the “well everybody is doing it” fallacy. That is, everybody as in Google, Microsoft, the websites, etc etc etc. It’s a form of cognitive dissonance because of the performance. Performance, performance, performance. Not only are you being monetized into the product, but also all that spyware is eating up your CPU cycles and memory gigabytes. The real world result is when you uninstall Windows and install Linux. You get more frame rates because you’re not using your computer to power spyware. See, these things relate. They aren’t separate disparate islands located in two different oceans. They’re the same thing. Spyware = less performance.Dude, go check you medication……. And then go look at the video. Under linux the CPU runs 1Ghz faster and the GPU runs at twice the speed, it’s either because he screwed something up or because he wanted clickbait. Reply TerryLaze said:Dude, go check you medication……. And then go look at the video. Under linux the CPU runs 1Ghz faster and the GPU runs at twice the speed, it’s either because he screwed something up or because he wanted clickbait. In Windows: (he claims) At 5:03-5:05 minutes of the video I see on the HUD between 2400 and 2300 mhz. In Linux: (he claims) At 5:07 minutes I see on the HUD 2279 mhz and 2283 mhz. Reply View All 8 Comments Show more comments