Nevertheless, as a result of the X-ROGs are basically common PCs, they’re much more versatile than Nintendo or Valve’s efforts. Not solely are you able to play media, net browse, or do anything you would possibly do on a PC (even Workplace duties, in case you hate pleasure), however you may set up another PC gaming shopper—Steam, Epic, GOG, and extra are all accessible. Higher nonetheless, the Xbox app aggregates all video games put in on the system into one library view, no matter the place they originate. You’ll be able to even flip your Xbox ROG into an ersatz Steam Deck by operating Steam in Large Image mode (though a few of its controller keybindings could not work).
The massive win—pardon the pun—is that you may set up mods with ease. Whereas I’ve gotten a number of mods operating on my Steam Deck over time, its Linux underbelly makes issues trickier. On the X-ROGs, I’ve been in a position to make use of mods as simply as on my essential gaming desktop, with no second guessing in the event that they’ll really work. It’s a fantastic characteristic that’s facilitated by having customary Home windows as the bottom.
Mushy The place?
However wait, there’s a 3rd UI participant within the combine: Asus’ personal Armoury Crate SE software program. Broadly, that is extra of a tool supervisor, with a devoted button on each consoles to deliver up a Command Middle fast menu. This lets you immediately swap energy profiles, create customized management inputs, or set body fee limits. It additionally affords a real-time monitor displaying helpful system data like temperature, CPU and GPU efficiency, battery stage and energy drain, and the present body fee.
Nevertheless, totally open Armoury Crate and also you’ll discover an array of far deeper controls, from granular system settings to tweaking shade profiles of the LED rings that sit below every thumbstick. It additionally has its personal Replace Middle—yet one more to test—and its personal unified library, distinct from the Xbox app’s. After per week with the X-ROGs, I’m lastly accustomed to the place capabilities reside, however the studying curve is steep, and having basically three central interfaces—Xbox, Home windows, Armoury Crate—for a single system is ridiculous.
