Bazzite Linux on Asus ROG Xbox Ally X boosts midrange FPS

Content creators who tested the newly released Asus ROG Xbox Ally X found that replacing the handheld's Windows-based operating system with a Linux distribution optimized for handhelds produced noticeably higher and more consistent game performance, along with faster sleep and resume behavior. The experiments, conducted soon after the device's launch, involved installing Bazzite, a Fedora-based Linux build that runs Steam's Big Picture Mode, on the Xbox-branded ROG handheld and comparing results to the system's stock Windows setup.

In side-by-side testing at identical power limits, the most striking gains appeared at a midrange power target commonly used for handheld gaming. Running Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 at 1080p and a 17 watt target, testers measured about 62 frames per second on Bazzite versus roughly 47 FPS on Windows. Hogwarts Legacy at the same settings produced 62 FPS on Bazzite and about 50 FPS on Windows. At lower and higher power settings the differences narrowed; at 13 watts the delta was negligible, and at 35 watts Bazzite showed only modest advantages. Testers also reported steadier frame pacing on Linux, with fewer abrupt drops and peaks than observed under...