The highly anticipated Doom: The Dark Ages has finally arrived, sparking excitement among handheld gaming PC enthusiasts, particularly those with the Asus ROG Ally X. If you're aiming for a smooth gameplay experience, setting a benchmark of 30 frames per second (fps) as the minimum for playability is essential, with 60fps being the dream scenario, albeit challenging for such a demanding title.
While the previous installment, Doom Eternal, showcased impressive performance on the Asus ROG Ally, expectations for Doom: The Dark Ages need to be adjusted. The game's increased system requirements pose a significant challenge even for the top-tier Asus ROG Ally X.
A Note on the Hardware
The landscape of PC gaming handhelds is vibrant, and the Asus ROG Ally X stands at the forefront. It leverages the same AMD Z1 Extreme processor as other leading handhelds but distinguishes itself with a substantial 24GB of system memory, of which 16GB is dedicated to the GPU. What sets it apart even further is its memory speed, reaching 7,500MHz, which significantly enhances memory bandwidth crucial for the Z1 Extreme's integrated graphics.
This makes the ROG Ally X the ideal candidate for testing Doom: The Dark Ages, offering the best possible performance for a current-generation handheld. As games become more demanding, the Ally X serves as a benchmark for other devices, hinting at the limitations of less powerful handhelds until the next wave of hardware arrives later this year.
The Best Handheld Gaming PC: Asus ROG Ally X
With a doubled battery life and significantly faster memory, the Asus ROG Ally X has solidified its position 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 into the game, ensure your chipset is up to date. Updating on the ROG Ally X is straightforward: access Armoury Crate via the bottom right menu button, click the cogwheel, and navigate to the Update Center. Look for the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver update. If it's not visible, click "Check for Updates" and install the RC72LA update when it appears.
For optimal performance during testing, the Ally X was plugged in and set to Turbo Operating Mode (30W). I also maximized the vRAM allocation to Texture Pool Size at 4,096 megabytes within the in-game graphics settings, utilizing the full potential of the 24GB RAM, even at the highest "Ultra Nightmare" settings.
Testing was conducted with resolution scaling disabled. Although dynamic resolution was tested, the results mirrored those at 720p, as the target frame rate remained unattainable, causing the resolution to default to 720p.
The performance metrics for Doom: The Dark Ages on the Asus ROG Ally X were as follows:
| Graphics Preset | Resolution | Average FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra Nightmare | 1080p | 15fps |
| Ultra Nightmare | 720p | 24fps |
| Nightmare | 1080p | 16fps |
| Nightmare | 720p | 24fps |
| Ultra | 1080p | 16fps |
| Ultra | 720p | 24fps |
| High | 1080p | 16fps |
| High | 720p | 26fps |
| Medium | 1080p | 17fps |
| Medium | 720p | 30fps |
| Low | 1080p | 20fps |
| Low | 720p | 35fps |
For testing, I repeatedly played the opening section of the second mission, Hebeth, in Doom: The Dark Ages. This segment, rich with effects and particles, pushed the hardware to its limits, revealing disappointing results.
At 1080p, Doom: The Dark Ages on the Ally X was unplayable, averaging just 15fps on Ultra Nightmare. Lowering the settings to Nightmare, Ultra, and High barely improved the frame rate, with Medium and Low settings achieving only 17fps and 20fps, respectively. Clearly, 1080p is not feasible regardless of the graphics preset.
Switching to 720p offered marginal improvement, with Ultra Nightmare, Nightmare, and Ultra settings averaging 24fps, and High settings reaching 26fps. These rates are barely playable, suitable only for those desperate to experience the game on a handheld. It wasn't until dropping to Medium settings at 720p that the game became truly playable, averaging 30fps, while Low settings achieved 35fps.
Asus ROG Ally X Isn’t Ready for Doom: The Dark Ages
As much as I cherish handheld gaming PCs and my Asus ROG Ally X, it's evident that the current hardware falls short for running Doom: The Dark Ages smoothly. Achieving the minimum 30fps is only possible with Medium and Low settings at 720p.
Steam Deck users face similar challenges, with its lesser specs compared to the Ally X. Even at its native 800p resolution and Low graphics, reaching 30fps will be a struggle, a testament to the limitations of current-generation handhelds.
However, there's hope on the horizon. The upcoming AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chipset, expected in new handhelds later this year, including potentially the Asus ROG Ally 2 and an Xbox-branded model, may offer the performance boost needed for games like Doom: The Dark Ages. Until then, we'll have to keep an eye on future developments to see how these demanding titles perform on the next generation of handheld gaming PCs.
