The ASUS ROG Ally is a powerful handheld gaming PC, but all that power comes at the expense of battery life. Fortunately, there are a number of easy tweaks that will enable you to squeeze more juice out of it. As an added bonus, some of these tips will result in a performance boost as well.
Note: Some of the processes detailed below are only available if your ROG Ally is updated. Ensure that you apply all updates from within Armoury Crate, the MyASUS app, and Windows.
Debloat Windows
It’s no secret that Windows is preinstalled on the ASUS ROG Ally with a lot of junk. This is problematic for two reasons. First, all that bloat chews up storage space that would be better served for storing games. Second, it can hamper the performance of your machine with many unnecessary background processes.
There are a number of programs that automate the process of debloating Windows. Using one is your prerogative, but these tools and utilities can be problematic themselves. By editing the registry, they can break the functionality of your PC, and in more extreme cases, deliver malicious software to your machine.
We recommend manually uninstalling applications that you don’t use, as many of the preinstalled apps can be easily removed from your system with Add/Remove Programs. Furthermore, disable any unwanted startup apps from within Task Manager. For example, if you don’t use Microsoft Edge, there’s no reason it needs to launch when you turn your machine on.
Change Resolution In-Game
Gaming at higher resolutions demands more power, which means less battery life. The ROG Ally may be a performance beast, but it is not known for battery optimization. Therefore, gamers who will be away from an outlet may want to reduce the resolution of their games, from 1080p to 720p, to conserve power. Most Ally owners are familiar with the handy resolution button in the Command Center. Tapping it quickly changes the resolution from 1080 to 720 and back again, but only applies to the Windows OS and associated apps.
When you launch a game, you need to manually set the resolution from within the game’s menu. The game should save your settings and boot in your chosen resolution on subsequent startups. We recommend doing this for less graphically intense games, as the difference in sharpness between 1080p and 720p can be negligible. Obviously, this is in the eye of the beholder, so use whatever resolution you prefer. If you want to try to eke out a bit more battery life, manually change your resolution in-game.
Enable RSR
Speaking of resolution, enable RSR (Radeon Super Resolution). This technology uses AI to upscale a lower resolution to a higher one. This gives two distinct benefits. First, RSR fills in missing details, making your game look significantly better. As a result, the Ally benefits from a significant performance boost, as it doesn’t need to render the game in a higher resolution. As an added bonus, since the Ally doesn’t have to work as hard to render the game, battery life should benefit, as it isn’t taxed as much.
To enable RSR on the Ally, launch a game, and change the in-game resolution to 720p. Exit the game, and restart it. Open the Ally’s Command Center, and tap on the AMD RSR button to toggle it On.
Note: if you do not see the AMD RSR button in Command Center, you can add it by opening Armoury Crate and selecting Settings. On the right side of the screen, use Edit Command Center to add different functions to Command Center. Add AMD RSR for it to appear as an option every time you launch Command Center.
Disable CPU Boost
CPU Boost is a feature that lets the Ally allocate more power to the APU, which results in better performance. CPU boost results in faster battery drain and generates more heat. For most games, the difference is negligible, which is why we recommend disabling CPU boost in most scenarios.
Open Command Center, and find the CPU Boost button. It is on by default – just tap it to shut it off. Be aware that the ability to disable CPU Boost was only recently added in the latest batch of updates. If you do not have access to it, check for any missing updates, and apply them. If you do not see the CPU Boost button in your Ally’s Command Center, follow the instructions in the previous step to add quick command buttons to your Command Center.
Limit Your FPS
For all the PC gaming newbies out there, FPS stands for frames per second. A higher FPS always results in a better gaming experience. Without getting too far into the weeds, more frames per second means that your gaming session will be smoother and more immersive. Additionally, a higher FPS reduces the dreaded input lag: the delay between your key press and the corresponding action on screen.
While a higher FPS is desirable, it does come at a cost. Rendering more frames per second puts more strain on the Ally’s APU, which means it needs to draw more power from the battery. To conserve battery, you may want to switch to a lower FPS, especially if you’re playing a game where the difference between a lower and higher FPS is negligible. Fortunately, ASUS has made limiting a game’s FPS super easy. Open the Command Center, and find the FPS Limiter button. Tapping on it will toggle between various frame rates, from 30 to 120 frames per second.
Know Your Operating Mode
The ROG Ally has three operating modes: Silent, Performance and Turbo. Each operating mode allocates a certain amount of power to the Z1 APU. The 10 Watt Silent mode uses less power and generates less fan noise at the expense of performance. 15 Watt Performance mode offers a good balance between power and battery life. Finally, 25 Watt Turbo mode boasts the best performance and frame rate, although it will chew through the battery at a faster rate.
Silent mode is best used for less demanding games, while graphically intense AAA titles are best served by Turbo mode. Ultimately, what works best for you is largely subjective, but using the correct operating mode can help to extend battery life.
Know When to Plug In
Plugging your ROG Ally into an outlet has two advantages. First, you see a performance boost. Plugging in with a 65W (or above) wall adapter will automatically pump 30 Watts of power to the Z1 APU. More power means a better frame rate and better performance. The ROG Ally also features bypass charging to protect the lifespan of the battery. When the Ally is plugged in while in use, it will stop charging once the battery reaches 100%. This helps to slow battery degradation. In addition, if you have an external power bank that cranks out at least 65W, battery bypass will also apply.
Turn On Battery Care
If you want to make sure that the internal battery of your Ally remains in pristine condition for the long haul, turn on Battery Care Mode. Turning this on prevents the ROG Ally’s battery from being charged beyond 80%. This will prevent wear on the battery, extending its overall lifespan. You can turn Battery Care Mode on in the MyASUS app, under the Device Settings tab in the menu on the left.
If you need to take your Ally on the road and want to juice the battery back up to 100%, turn off Battery Care Mode or turn Instant Full-Charge on to allow the battery to be charged up to 100% for 24 hours before reverting to Battery Care Mode. We suggest leaving Battery Care Mode on all the time and picking up an external power bank that supports 65W PD when hitting the road.
Lower the Screen Brightness
This may seem obvious, but the screen on any mobile device is going to be responsible for eating up a good portion of battery life. The ROG Ally is no different. With a screen that can reach up to 500 nits of brightness, the Ally is fantastic for retaining visual clarity while outside. If you’re gaming inside, you can probably turn the brightness down significantly to save battery. Hit the Command Center button to reveal a brightness slider that you can change on the fly.
Delete the eSupport Folder
The ROG Ally ships with a 512 GB SSD. Unfortunately, that isn’t a ton of space, when you consider the size of modern games. Since most gamers will most likely want to install multiple titles to their Ally for gaming sessions on the go, storage space management is paramount.
While you can always add more space by installing a larger SSD or popping in a microSD card, these things take time, effort, and, most importantly, money. You can claw back a small amount of storage by deleting the eSupport folder found on the C Drive. Doing so will net approximately 7 GB of space. While admittedly, it’s not a lot, every gigabyte counts. The folder is home to a bunch of files that have no impact on the Ally or how it functions. You can always back it up if you feel compelled to do so, but the ASUS cloud recovery utility will also restore the folder.
Store Less Demanding Games on MicroSD
As we mentioned above, it is quite easy to swap the Ally’s internal 512GB SSD for something larger – ASUS even encourages it. But larger capacity drives can be costly. A more cost-effective way to increase the Ally’s storage capacity is with a microSD card. Granted, there have been reports of the Ally frying microSD cards, permanently corrupting them. Mitigate this by changing the fan curves and removing the card from the Ally when it is not needed.
If you want to go the microSD card route, we recommend moving less demanding games from the Ally’s internal SSD to the microSD card. These would be 2D games, indie titles, and even ROMs, if you’re running emulators on the Ally. While it would obviously free up space on the SSD, it would also help to prevent microSD corruption, due to the option to run games that require less horsepower on 10W silent mode, producing less heat. Since the microSD corruption problem is generally attributed to poor heat dissipation, running the Ally in low power mode can help with overheating the microSD card reader. Make sure you opt for the fastest microSD cards available – look for U3 A2 on the card.
Add an External GPU
The ROG Ally is already a pretty powerful gaming PC, but you can really push it to the limit with an external GPU. The Ally uses ASUS’s XG Mobile line of external GPUs. There are a few different models available, but the top-of-the-line model boasts an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. Using one with the Ally can significantly boost graphical capabilities, play at 4K resolution and benefit with ultra-high refresh rates. The XG Mobile GPUs also have I/O ports built-in. This enables users to not only connect a monitor and peripherals, but also USB storage and SD cards and a wired Internet connection, thanks to an Ethernet port.
To make things as user-friendly as possible, ASUS has provided detailed guides on how to get an external GPU up and running on your Ally. The only downside is that the XG Mobile GPUs cost a pretty penny: the top-of-the-range model is an eye-watering $2000. Furthermore, the XG Mobile GPUs can only be used with the ROG Ally and ROG Flow laptop.
The ASUS ROG Ally is an impressive handheld gaming PC that keeps getting better with every update. Unfortunately, battery life is not one of the things earning the ROG Ally praise. Thankfully, there are a number of tweaks that can be applied, that not only increase battery life, but also give a performance boost.
While your Ally is charging, learn how to navigate your ROG Ally for maximum performance.
Images and screenshots by Ryan Lynch.
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