Word of advice. Boot it up test everything out first, check for dead pixels, make sure all the controls work. Anything that would warrant an immediate return. Then clone the drive or plan to use cloud recovery. Nothing worse that opening it up and doing an upgrade only to have to redo it all because of an RMA needed. Best of luck everyone!!
I’m new to Ally, do you have a recommendation for a video to test everything? I received mine today and I got my new SSD as well but wanted to make sure all is working properly before swapping SSD.
Very good advice. I had a broken trigger on my device. Luckily it was an easy fix. The magnet in the trigger was not in there and stuck onto the cooling fans. I got it out and superglued it back in place.
This has been an absolute help!! Thank you! Also for those wondering, if BIOS doesn’t boot right away, hold down the volume (Down -) button and press the power button once. Keep holding volume down until the BIOS screen shows up
@@128KB I've just upgraded to a 4TB SSD using your video. Many thanks for producing it. Getting into the BIOS afterwards was an absolute nightmare, however. It took me a good hour or more of holding down the Vol- button to no avail, and googling to see whether others had run into the same issue. Upon turning the power on, the device would quickly heat up and then shut itself off soon afterwards. I knew it couldn't be my fitting of the replacement SSD, however, because the device should be perfectly able to boot into the BIOS even if no SSD were detected. I was about to give up and go to bed, but gave it one last go before turning in. The device sat at the ROG logo for several minutes, but then I heard a noise emanate from the device and turned my head to see it entering the BIOS. I'm really surprised how long it took to get from power-on to this point. It was literally a few minutes after pressing the power button. Anyway, cloud recovery is now well underway, but users should be aware that more than a little perseverance can be required to make it as far as the BIOS. I really think the heat was the issue, as the device would shut down within a minute of being turned on, and was very hot to the touch at that point. If it had only run for longer, I think it would have entered the BIOS on a previous run. I'm not sure why the device eventually did remain on long enough to enter the BIOS, but logically it must have cooled off enough beforehand to guarantee a longer run on that occasion.
Hey guys, I bought a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink and swapped it out for the stock 1TB NVMe drive. It fit PERFECTLY. Tons of room in there! Just wanted to note, the screws near the top of the controllers were also seated and did not come out. The recovery process was pretty quick for me. Great video! I dropped you a sub!
Awesome! I was curious if a factory heatsink would fit cause I picked one up on sale for Prime day! There was still room for the battery cable without sandwiching it? That’s my main concern for when my Ally comes in this weekend?
only guide that clearly showed and described how to remove the battery cable. Definitely the most unnerving part of the process. succesfully cloned my drive to a 4tb one and now I have a lot of space!
Pro Tip. The Samsung 990 Pro, with the pre-installed heatsink, fits perfectly into the Ally X. Due to its weird pyramid shape, its lowest points on the sides fit under the batterycable. And its heatsink is vastly superior to these thin aftermarket aluminium ones. But be aware that almost all (or basically ALL) other pre-installed heatsinks from other manufactures wont fit. Since most of them are 10+ mm tall and the Ally X barely has 7 mm clearance until you hit the battery cable on the side.
I can confirm the 980 Pro heatsync did not fit, so I removed it and installed without (just used the black heat shield that the OEM drive came with). What temps are you seeing on idle with yours? Mine is sitting at 37-38 degrees right now.
You're 100% correct because I tried to put one that I ordered online and it didn't even fit and I ended up breaking the stupid metal bracket that holds the battery in 😢
I’m literally in the car coming from Best Buy watching this video and I happened to grab the 990 with heat sink as my drive. lol. Glad to know it fits. I definitely didn’t check.
I know it’s been a while you uploaded, but I saw this video in my feed and wanted to share a recommendation. I suggest putting the black shield on top of the drive/heatsink. The black shield helps with heat dissipation and shields the battery cable. Without it, the copper heatsink will radiate heat and increase the risk of the battery cable melting. You might also consider adding thermal/Kapton tape on the exposed battery cable close to the battery. The risk in small but its better safe than sorry.
I'm not convinced a heat sync is even needed. I used a 980 Pro with no heat sync, I just re-used the heat shield that the OEM drive came with, and it idles on 37-38c, and maybe gets to 45c under load. I never feel any heat around that area on the back of the device. It's doing fine.
Funny story. I tried putting a 980 Pro with Heatsync into mine, and it does not fit. The Heatsync is like 1mm wider than 990 Pro, so I had to remove it. While doing so, I stripped one of the screws on the heatsync, and had to drill it out. Savaged the heck out of it, and finally got the drive out. Wasn't even sure if it survived. It did, and works fine, but yeah, my process wasn't quite that simple :D
@BETEP-gw7qp that's terrible, sorry to hear that! I installed a 990 PRO with heatsink, but (maybe the European version is smaller?) I got it in Switzerland, the ROG Ally X too. You did install it in your Ally X or Ally?
This is so far the best informative RUclips video, thought the thing is that after the battery cable is removed, then the power button must be pressed a few times to discharge the device capacitors and then the nvme drive or other internal components like the thumb sticks can be replaced.
128kb! Great video my fri3nd. Ome of the most detailed tutorial on RUclips. This will definitely help me out when I'm ready to upgrade. Going all thru all this though, I rather go with a 4tb so I don't ever have to go inside again
@128KB quick question. Does your screen go black or semi shutdown during gameplay on a really hot day playing outside? My ally x would shut off on me at work when it's really really hot playing outside.
Great thorough vid Andy - I did however notice a hair on the silver part of the battery pack in the middle prior to you sealing it back up 😅😂my OCD's can't handle it 😂👍🏼
Haha well spotted! Don't worry, I removed that hair before I clipped it back up, watch again and there's a cut in the camera before I clip it back together, I cut out the bit of me removing it lol!!
5:15 In all the SSD swap tutorials I've seen... Everyone goes through the trouble of disconnecting the ribbon cable. Why not just leave it intact and carefully place the back aside? Why go through the trouble if all you're doing is a quick SSD swap?
Well it’s a tutorial video. Technically if someone did what you’re suggesting, possibly even with the verbal warning (“be careful, if you rip it x, y, and z will happen”) and someone follows it along just visually they can possibly be sued. Trust me, I get all the warnings and the common sense arguments, but reality is reality and there’s always someone out there who will try to make the quick buck with the lawsuit. This way the channels are covered to a certain extent.
@@redcrimson1028 What a dumb attitude to have.. I have opened my device 3 times and it was incredibly easy to just not... rip the cable without unplugging it. Do you usually struggle with your hands?
Thank you for video, I've now been in mine twice now as I tried a bigger heatsink and I wasn't liking how tight it was against power cable so I ordered the ultra thin copper heatsink off Amazon which I've installed today and happy with it. I've seen other vids on RUclips where they arnt disconnecting the battery when installing new ssd. This is not a good idea and can kill your system. This is the video to follow.
@@dirkwood4544my guess is that they are playing it super conservative with the units being sent to stores at launch this creates a feeling if premium availability while not having so much in stores that you have a pile sitting in the shelves like it happened with the first rog ally im sure we will see more in a few weeks
I have a spare 2TB Samsung 990 pro in my gaming PC rn I'm waiting to fit it into my rog ally x i'm just waiting for the unit to be arrive! thanks for the vid (=
@@hjshoon5244 yes, I removed the bottom layer first, I stalled the SSD into the heatsink and later in the video before I install the drive into the ALLY X I remove the last piece of film
Hey 128kb, Its a very easy process and looks great cant wait till I get one soon.. My quick question that many dont seem to ask and I just want to know bc Im study the ally x extensively is if I were to have an already powered up open boxed loaded ally x would I be able to follow the exact steps you made in this amazing review or would I need to go about it differently? If its easier on a mint sealed ally x unit I'll opt that way just curious bc I can use the savings for the ram mod and heatsink.. Thanks for your review either way its very easy as sealed--👊👊
It is here! Let’s hope my impatience doesn’t show me I did it differently 😂😂 and I didn’t 🙌🏼 I am worried I don’t have a heatsink for it tho 😬 is this essential in your experience?
@@jadebrady5826 It's not a necessity but when there's space I'd usually add one. I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine without a heatsink so don't worry! The OEM one that comes stock doesn't afterall!
Thanks for the helpful video, appreciated. I’ll be using this guide when I get my Ally X shortly. Would you be able to tell us what temps you’re seeing with the heatsink you applied? Has everything been ok with the drive heat so far? I’m not sure if I’m going to go for the same thin copper heatsink you used on your SSD, or a slightly bigger one. Has your copper one been ok temps wise so far?
@@128KB I've subbed to you, straight to the point, no nonsense biased reviews. Genuinely buddy, keep popping the videos out. I've done all your tips on my ally x and it's great!!
I saw some comments on reddit around this SSD throttling performance compared to the original SSD that came with the device, have you experienced any at all? I am looking to upgrade mine to 4tb SN850x but wanted to be sure it doesn't affect performance or impact battery life massively. Cheers! Great video btw!
12kb sorry for my first posting so my question is cloud recovery vs clone the hard drive on the ally x on a already powered on and booted hard drive that I want to upgrade the ram? Cloud recovery looks like cake if its ok to is cloud recovery only for a new first time powered on ally x? Sorry for the long question?
with all of your ally x contents before the embargo, i'd assume you would get a review video right out of the gate but it seems that isn't the case?? weird decision
Understandable view, however; unfortunately that's not down to us. We weren't allowed to use the pre-production unit for our review or benchmarks. We were meant to get a retail sample 2 weeks before release, that didn't happen. The retail unit got delivered on Monday, which I redirected to AJ since my pre-order (featured in this video) was being delivered on Tuesday. So, unlike all the larger/US channels, we didn't have any time to get a review ready. Rather than rush a review after mere hours with a retail unit we decided to go the "guides" route. Our review will happen eventually but I'm in no rush to push it out ASAP.
@@128KBand for the better as well that your performance review will not be on day one. I feel that the rushed out performance reviews are not going to be as indicative of those performance benchmarks that are done after release, due to likely day 1 software updates intended for Ally X.
Andy, quick question for you. After you upgraded the SSD and did the cloud recovery and got your Ally X up and running, how was it afterwards? Has it been running ok since you did that? I seen in the video that you mentioned about the “explorer.exe - application error” messages popping up during the cloud recovery process and was wondering if they affected your X or noticed anything unusual after doing the cloud recovery process? Everything been smooth on your X so far? I’ve owned the OG Ally for the last year since it was first released and did the cloud recovery process so many times on it and never had any issues or got any of those error messages. I was just trying to see if those new error messages you saw were just related to the Ally X now and something to be concerned about.
@@stoksyXL hey! Good question! I'm pleased to say; everything has been running perfectly, without any issues whatsoever! Those error messages are nothing to be concerned about, it's part of the cloud recovery process, at least on the X. I've actually been overly impressed by how smoothly the X has been running, I expected there to be more hiccups but nothing at all whatsoever! Hope that helps:)
@@128KB Awesome, glad to hear! Like I said, of all the times I’ve done a cloud recovery on the OG Ally over the last year, I never once had that error. So I got a bit worried when I saw it on the X. I just did another cloud recovery on another OG Ally around the same time as you did in your video and didn’t get the error that time either. So I guess it’s just related to the X. I just wanted to ask if yours has been running fine and also with the upgraded SSD you installed in it. But glad to hear everything went smoothly and the error message didn’t cause any funny stuff on your X. Thanks for letting me know!
@@128KB thank you for responding. Will be performing surgery on my Ally X in an about a month. You have a great tutorial here, I appreciate the value you provide.
for my second handheld, I already have the switch oled, I'm trying to decide between getting the SD old and ROG Ally X, im totally okay with fiddling with settings and stuff. Any advice?
Why do you even bother removing that ribbon cable? Others simply place the back cover on top0 of the battery area and swap our SSDs without ever messing with it.
@@128KB Good point. I just ordered my Ally X today, watched every single one of your videos on it first:) It's a big reason I decided to go for it. Thank you!
I had that issue even with a magnetic screwdriver, it's worth a try with a magnetic one if you have one, I forgot to mention it! Providing they're fully unscrewed they're just sat in there, when I removed the backplate they fell out so don't lose them!
Hi I have a couple of questions. I just bought the rog ally X still in the box haven’t opened it yet. Since I haven’t played with it. I want to install a 4 tb. Do I still need to clone the 4 tb hard drive or can I just install it like that since I haven’t played with it yet? And I want to put a 1 tb S D card what do you recommend?
@@kevinadaway8257 4TB is overkill, is what I told myself. The real reason was 4TB drives, at the speed I wanted, were over 2x the price and couldn't stretch to that!
Just curious, I have a 4tb SSD in my ROG Ally. I was wondering if I am able to transfer my SSD from my ROG Ally into the ROG Ally X with everything on the SSD like all my games, etc, without having to re-download my games?
I have a 4tb 2280 in my Rog Ally as well (i assume its a 2280 as well as I dont think you can get a 2230 4tb) the answer is yes if its like mine and you'll not need the adaptor anymore :) I will be putting it in my Rog ally X when i get it
Thanks so much for the reply! Yes sorry I forgot to mention I do have a 2280 and thanks for letting me know. I'll definitely be transferring my 2280 4tb SSD once receive my Ally X. 😁
So all you did was upgrade the memory? I don’t know anything about PC and having an ROG ally x is my first venture into PC so this is all so confusing to me.
I could not unplug the power. Felt like I was about to rip out a cable. Also when putting it back together I didn’t realize one of my shoulder buttons jammed. Had to reopen and hold down triggers while putting on the back plate.
My ally x arriving today. May I know if I can connect a usb c hub with ethernet to do the cloud recovery? Which I hope will be faster since I have a 1Gbps fibre connection or can it only works over wifi? Thanks
I swapped the ssd and I can connect to ethernet, but can't see any wifi. If I put the original ssd back I can see and connect to wifi. Any ideas what's causing it?
So i bought a WD SN 850X Black 4TB and i have noticed that the speed is much slower than the regular one. For example before i was getting about 56 - 60 FPS on high settings 900p consistently but I am lucky to even get 50 FPS on same settings now with new drive. Is something wrong? Plz help.
I am pretty sure its not slower than original one, if you get lower fps with new ssd (faster one) it is cuz of the power usage of faster 4tb ssd. It is totally a new subject, and yes if you go faster ssd like 7000mb read speed it will be use more power than 5000 or 3000mb read speed. One last thing some manufacturers product needed different power usage. Example; Samsung 990pro use more power than Cruel’s ssd. It does not mean if you get more faster ssd it will give more fps cuz it is drain more power and that handled device uses a battery 🔋 and there is a cap of usage of power on that system like max 50W. Some one should do a video about it to compare ssd performance like 3000vs7000 or 5000vs7000 etc.
I really hate allyx and ally fans but the only thing i like on ally it's easy to changed their bettery life i which if steam deck did the same not making more electric things
Replace? not sure right word - i'd say put back - replace implies you are changing it with something! other than that - interesting video cheers for showing.
I was going to buy this but I realized im a steam deck fanboy lol JK. I bought the Lenovo legion go instead. idk tbh im not digging the ROG ally to be honest. and im still getting the hang of this windows 11 instead of linux on the handheld pc's
If you help, ill paypal you 20 pound! Ever sinceI got my ally X. Something has been annoying me. When I had tk set the tinezone. I accidently selected korea. Im not sure this is causing this issue. But, I just wanted to mention that. So, my ISSSUE is i cannot update windows. There are 3 main updates. 1 is defender, 1 is accumlative, and the other is a security update. Im new to windoes 12. And this stuff Seems important. But when i press update. It just wont work! Sometimes, it will say 'I nstalling' or doenload pending. But then nothing. It stays blue. If any1 can help me with this and get the updates sorted. I promise ill pay ypu for your time. Peace
Word of advice. Boot it up test everything out first, check for dead pixels, make sure all the controls work. Anything that would warrant an immediate return. Then clone the drive or plan to use cloud recovery. Nothing worse that opening it up and doing an upgrade only to have to redo it all because of an RMA needed. Best of luck everyone!!
Agreed!
I’m new to Ally, do you have a recommendation for a video to test everything? I received mine today and I got my new SSD as well but wanted to make sure all is working properly before swapping SSD.
@imross7985 don't let him scare you. You'll be fine
@@redcrimson1028better ti test it 1st Asus custormer service has been horrible lately
Very good advice. I had a broken trigger on my device. Luckily it was an easy fix. The magnet in the trigger was not in there and stuck onto the cooling fans. I got it out and superglued it back in place.
This has been an absolute help!! Thank you! Also for those wondering, if BIOS doesn’t boot right away, hold down the volume (Down -) button and press the power button once. Keep holding volume down until the BIOS screen shows up
You're welcome and thank you for the tip too, I forgot to mention that in the video since mine auto-booted to bios after a few mins!
@@128KB I've just upgraded to a 4TB SSD using your video. Many thanks for producing it.
Getting into the BIOS afterwards was an absolute nightmare, however. It took me a good hour or more of holding down the Vol- button to no avail, and googling to see whether others had run into the same issue. Upon turning the power on, the device would quickly heat up and then shut itself off soon afterwards. I knew it couldn't be my fitting of the replacement SSD, however, because the device should be perfectly able to boot into the BIOS even if no SSD were detected.
I was about to give up and go to bed, but gave it one last go before turning in. The device sat at the ROG logo for several minutes, but then I heard a noise emanate from the device and turned my head to see it entering the BIOS. I'm really surprised how long it took to get from power-on to this point. It was literally a few minutes after pressing the power button.
Anyway, cloud recovery is now well underway, but users should be aware that more than a little perseverance can be required to make it as far as the BIOS. I really think the heat was the issue, as the device would shut down within a minute of being turned on, and was very hot to the touch at that point. If it had only run for longer, I think it would have entered the BIOS on a previous run.
I'm not sure why the device eventually did remain on long enough to enter the BIOS, but logically it must have cooled off enough beforehand to guarantee a longer run on that occasion.
Hey guys, I bought a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro with Heatsink and swapped it out for the stock 1TB NVMe drive. It fit PERFECTLY. Tons of room in there! Just wanted to note, the screws near the top of the controllers were also seated and did not come out. The recovery process was pretty quick for me. Great video! I dropped you a sub!
Awesome! I was curious if a factory heatsink would fit cause I picked one up on sale for Prime day! There was still room for the battery cable without sandwiching it? That’s my main concern for when my Ally comes in this weekend?
I love all the Ally X and Ally coverage
only guide that clearly showed and described how to remove the battery cable. Definitely the most unnerving part of the process.
succesfully cloned my drive to a 4tb one and now I have a lot of space!
Pro Tip. The Samsung 990 Pro, with the pre-installed heatsink, fits perfectly into the Ally X. Due to its weird pyramid shape, its lowest points on the sides fit under the batterycable. And its heatsink is vastly superior to these thin aftermarket aluminium ones. But be aware that almost all (or basically ALL) other pre-installed heatsinks from other manufactures wont fit. Since most of them are 10+ mm tall and the Ally X barely has 7 mm clearance until you hit the battery cable on the side.
I can confirm the 980 Pro heatsync did not fit, so I removed it and installed without (just used the black heat shield that the OEM drive came with). What temps are you seeing on idle with yours? Mine is sitting at 37-38 degrees right now.
You're 100% correct because I tried to put one that I ordered online and it didn't even fit and I ended up breaking the stupid metal bracket that holds the battery in 😢
MHQJRH 2280 heatsink fits great it's double side also . Plus it's only like 10$ on Amazon. It works great
Greetings, so it is better to buy with a heatsink already included as you say in the 990? Thanks
I’m literally in the car coming from Best Buy watching this video and I happened to grab the 990 with heat sink as my drive. lol. Glad to know it fits. I definitely didn’t check.
I know it’s been a while you uploaded, but I saw this video in my feed and wanted to share a recommendation. I suggest putting the black shield on top of the drive/heatsink. The black shield helps with heat dissipation and shields the battery cable. Without it, the copper heatsink will radiate heat and increase the risk of the battery cable melting. You might also consider adding thermal/Kapton tape on the exposed battery cable close to the battery. The risk in small but its better safe than sorry.
I'm not convinced a heat sync is even needed. I used a 980 Pro with no heat sync, I just re-used the heat shield that the OEM drive came with, and it idles on 37-38c, and maybe gets to 45c under load. I never feel any heat around that area on the back of the device. It's doing fine.
Great tutorial, thanks! Just put in a 4 TB Samsung drive with an included Samsung heatsink, it fits perfectly!
Funny story. I tried putting a 980 Pro with Heatsync into mine, and it does not fit. The Heatsync is like 1mm wider than 990 Pro, so I had to remove it. While doing so, I stripped one of the screws on the heatsync, and had to drill it out. Savaged the heck out of it, and finally got the drive out. Wasn't even sure if it survived. It did, and works fine, but yeah, my process wasn't quite that simple :D
@BETEP-gw7qp that's terrible, sorry to hear that! I installed a 990 PRO with heatsink, but (maybe the European version is smaller?) I got it in Switzerland, the ROG Ally X too. You did install it in your Ally X or Ally?
This is so far the best informative RUclips video, thought the thing is that after the battery cable is removed, then the power button must be pressed a few times to discharge the device capacitors and then the nvme drive or other internal components like the thumb sticks can be replaced.
Thanks for the detailed steps. I will be following this once I receive my unit
128kb! Great video my fri3nd. Ome of the most detailed tutorial on RUclips. This will definitely help me out when I'm ready to upgrade. Going all thru all this though, I rather go with a 4tb so I don't ever have to go inside again
Glad it was helpful! and yeah it's a good shout going 4TB
@128KB quick question. Does your screen go black or semi shutdown during gameplay on a really hot day playing outside? My ally x would shut off on me at work when it's really really hot playing outside.
Always boot yours up and check the unit. I got 3 dead pixels so sending it back for another
@@hotdognobun for sure, that can save some hassle. Sorry to hear about the dead pixels!
Great thorough vid Andy - I did however notice a hair on the silver part of the battery pack in the middle prior to you sealing it back up 😅😂my OCD's can't handle it 😂👍🏼
Haha well spotted! Don't worry, I removed that hair before I clipped it back up, watch again and there's a cut in the camera before I clip it back together, I cut out the bit of me removing it lol!!
Good lad 👍🏼😂😅
5:15 In all the SSD swap tutorials I've seen... Everyone goes through the trouble of disconnecting the ribbon cable. Why not just leave it intact and carefully place the back aside? Why go through the trouble if all you're doing is a quick SSD swap?
thats what im going to do
I was super careful and didn’t remove mine either.
Well it’s a tutorial video. Technically if someone did what you’re suggesting, possibly even with the verbal warning (“be careful, if you rip it x, y, and z will happen”) and someone follows it along just visually they can possibly be sued. Trust me, I get all the warnings and the common sense arguments, but reality is reality and there’s always someone out there who will try to make the quick buck with the lawsuit. This way the channels are covered to a certain extent.
What a dumb question. lol you can accidentally rip the cable off, rendering your 800 dollars toy useless smh😂
@@redcrimson1028 What a dumb attitude to have.. I have opened my device 3 times and it was incredibly easy to just not... rip the cable without unplugging it. Do you usually struggle with your hands?
Thank you for video, I've now been in mine twice now as I tried a bigger heatsink and I wasn't liking how tight it was against power cable so I ordered the ultra thin copper heatsink off Amazon which I've installed today and happy with it. I've seen other vids on RUclips where they arnt disconnecting the battery when installing new ssd.
This is not a good idea and can kill your system.
This is the video to follow.
Posting this comment for support and engagement. I don’t have an Ally X yet because Best Buy says “no stock everywhere!”
Thank you!! Bah that sucks :/ I wasn't expecting everywhere to be out of stock, even UK ASUS preorders haven't been fulfilled yet.
I'm so blew that they're outta stock everywhere. I was suppose to have my unit sent to me today but even that's been delayed!!😒😒😩
How is this system out of stock? I guess hating on every channel did the opposite of what they wanted lmao
@@dirkwood4544my guess is that they are playing it super conservative with the units being sent to stores at launch
this creates a feeling if premium availability while not having so much in stores that you have a pile sitting in the shelves like it happened with the first rog ally
im sure we will see more in a few weeks
I was too nervous to remove the connector or the ribbon. Pryed it open with my fingers carefully. I did this b4 your video came out
If you're careful it's not necessary. But they are fragile.
Killer video, thanks. Will the NM790 work and are there any videos on that?
Does ssd swap avoid warranty?
I have a spare 2TB Samsung 990 pro in my gaming PC rn I'm waiting to fit it into my rog ally x i'm just waiting for the unit to be arrive! thanks for the vid (=
Shouldn’t you tear off the blue protective film on both sides of the heatsink before applying to your ssd?
@@hjshoon5244 yes, I removed the bottom layer first, I stalled the SSD into the heatsink and later in the video before I install the drive into the ALLY X I remove the last piece of film
Hey 128kb,
Its a very easy process and looks great cant wait till I get one soon.. My quick question that many dont seem to ask and I just want to know bc Im study the ally x extensively is if I were to have an already powered up open boxed loaded ally x would I be able to follow the exact steps you made in this amazing review or would I need to go about it differently? If its easier on a mint sealed ally x unit I'll opt that way just curious bc I can use the savings for the ram mod and heatsink.. Thanks for your review either way its very easy as sealed--👊👊
What about the temperature of the SSD when you play a heavy game for about 1 hour?
It is here! Let’s hope my impatience doesn’t show me I did it differently 😂😂 and I didn’t 🙌🏼
I am worried I don’t have a heatsink for it tho 😬 is this essential in your experience?
Haha I'm sure you did well if you've got it up and running! :D
@@128KBoh yeah it’s fine and I just edited my comment re heatsink …
I’d rather not have to do it all again but if hugely necessary I would and get one
@@jadebrady5826 It's not a necessity but when there's space I'd usually add one. I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine without a heatsink so don't worry! The OEM one that comes stock doesn't afterall!
@@128KB you’re a ledge thanks for answering all my questions lately. Such great content and this video was 👌🏼
So a stock WDBlack SN850P will work? That's the one with a heat sink. I recently upgraded my PS5 to a 4TB SN850P. So I have a spare 2TB SN850P.
Hey man, I'm thinking of using this exact SSD. Since you've made this video (to now), how has it been treating you?
@@Rizzlyricist perfectly! Not a single issue with it, recommended!
@@128KB Aweseom sauce man. I'm going all-in (8TB). 🤞🏻
@@Rizzlyricist 😱 lucky! I do kinda wish I went 4TB 🤣
@@128KB 🤣 I'm closing my eyes and rolling the dice 🎲. That's technically the price of a 2nd Ally X 🤦♂️😆. You're the man.
Dude, I did the exact same thing. SN850X 2TB and Copper heatsink. Just shows I need to be recording my stuff. Grr
Thankyou so much...
This really helpful,
I come from hong kong
Does the SSD you use, affect battery life? Don’t know everything about PCs and how the components work with each other
Can you do a video how to get the MOST fps and smooth game play on it? I don’t know how to get the most out of it lol
Possible to use the WD Black with the pre-installed WD factory Heatsink? Will it fit?
Thanks for the helpful video, appreciated. I’ll be using this guide when I get my Ally X shortly. Would you be able to tell us what temps you’re seeing with the heatsink you applied? Has everything been ok with the drive heat so far?
I’m not sure if I’m going to go for the same thin copper heatsink you used on your SSD, or a slightly bigger one. Has your copper one been ok temps wise so far?
Decent reviewer, pretty sure youll hit that 1m subscriber soon.
thanks dude, hope you're right!
@@128KB I've subbed to you, straight to the point, no nonsense biased reviews. Genuinely buddy, keep popping the videos out. I've done all your tips on my ally x and it's great!!
Very interesting. I’ll get my preordered X end of next week. All youtubers got their item accidentally on day one. Very interesting.
I got mine one too in day one 😊 If you ordered from the Currys you get it on day one If you ordered direct from Asus they have a delay somehow
That's a lie I order mine from best buy and I haven't gotten it
Does anyone have a blinking red light inside on the back? About where the battery and SSD sit? I put in a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro.
My ally x has a high pitch noise. Just a little but noticeable. Does you guys have it too?
I saw some comments on reddit around this SSD throttling performance compared to the original SSD that came with the device, have you experienced any at all? I am looking to upgrade mine to 4tb SN850x but wanted to be sure it doesn't affect performance or impact battery life massively. Cheers! Great video btw!
I just want to know what happens if I do it without disconnecting the battery
What do you do before you install it. No one talks about that. Don’t have to go into ASUS cloud and back it up first
@@cborel83 it's a brand new unit, nothing to back up. If you're upgrading your SSD after owning the device for a while look at cloning instead
Pulling out that battery cable was a little harder than it looks
been trying to reconnect the battery cable for the past hour lol
@jlex77 jesus... I just went around it... I was to afraid to pull the clip any further down and yank the cord out
Yeah, the silver clip is extremely finicky and I think I bent the microscopic prongs on mine a bit.
Of course no one mentions this
12kb sorry for my first posting so my question is cloud recovery vs clone the hard drive on the ally x on a already powered on and booted hard drive that I want to upgrade the ram? Cloud recovery looks like cake if its ok to is cloud recovery only for a new first time powered on ally x? Sorry for the long question?
Are you planning to make a video on how to optimize windows for Ally X.
@@sujitchachad yes, on Friday there'll be a beginners setup guide with some stuff there but I'll do an optimisation guide maybe next week
@@128KB thank you, looking forward to it.
Am i able to use an external SSD with the Ally X?
Did you find out what the memory error was?
Can I use WD_BLACK 4TB with heatsink installed on it already or will it be to thick ?
Can you do it directly out of the box without setup windows or anything ?
Thank you for doing this video it’s very helpful for when I get mine
Thank you 🙂👍🏻
You're very welcome! We've got a setup guide coming soon too!
@@128KB That will be very helpful as well
Thank you 🙂👍🏻
I did to my ally z1 extreme to 2 tb and the cloud recovery dear god toook forevah
Out of curiosity does the faster ssd give any "noticeable" performance increase?
If i cuse WD black with heatsink will it fit?
What is the best handheld gaming device to use if you are an Xbox gamer as well as a Xbox PC gamer?
you're looking at it! until microsoft makes one
Hi quick question, would you say Most 2tb/4tb NVME are doomed then due to the heatsink and we only have to buy the Samsung 990 Pro sure we are good?
So i dont even need to clone my drive before replacing it? Asus Cloud will do everything?
with all of your ally x contents before the embargo, i'd assume you would get a review video right out of the gate but it seems that isn't the case?? weird decision
Understandable view, however; unfortunately that's not down to us. We weren't allowed to use the pre-production unit for our review or benchmarks. We were meant to get a retail sample 2 weeks before release, that didn't happen. The retail unit got delivered on Monday, which I redirected to AJ since my pre-order (featured in this video) was being delivered on Tuesday. So, unlike all the larger/US channels, we didn't have any time to get a review ready. Rather than rush a review after mere hours with a retail unit we decided to go the "guides" route. Our review will happen eventually but I'm in no rush to push it out ASAP.
@@128KBand for the better as well that your performance review will not be on day one. I feel that the rushed out performance reviews are not going to be as indicative of those performance benchmarks that are done after release, due to likely day 1 software updates intended for Ally X.
Thanks I also got my ally x delivered today and followed your video on upgrading mine with a 2tb Samsung 990 pro and it’s working 😊
Congrats!
Andy, quick question for you. After you upgraded the SSD and did the cloud recovery and got your Ally X up and running, how was it afterwards? Has it been running ok since you did that?
I seen in the video that you mentioned about the “explorer.exe - application error” messages popping up during the cloud recovery process and was wondering if they affected your X or noticed anything unusual after doing the cloud recovery process? Everything been smooth on your X so far?
I’ve owned the OG Ally for the last year since it was first released and did the cloud recovery process so many times on it and never had any issues or got any of those error messages. I was just trying to see if those new error messages you saw were just related to the Ally X now and something to be concerned about.
@@stoksyXL hey! Good question! I'm pleased to say; everything has been running perfectly, without any issues whatsoever! Those error messages are nothing to be concerned about, it's part of the cloud recovery process, at least on the X. I've actually been overly impressed by how smoothly the X has been running, I expected there to be more hiccups but nothing at all whatsoever! Hope that helps:)
@@128KB Awesome, glad to hear! Like I said, of all the times I’ve done a cloud recovery on the OG Ally over the last year, I never once had that error. So I got a bit worried when I saw it on the X. I just did another cloud recovery on another OG Ally around the same time as you did in your video and didn’t get the error that time either. So I guess it’s just related to the X.
I just wanted to ask if yours has been running fine and also with the upgraded SSD you installed in it. But glad to hear everything went smoothly and the error message didn’t cause any funny stuff on your X. Thanks for letting me know!
what is the type of screw driver i need will go to hardware store to get today to open case and for the ssd screw ?
Thanks for the help!
I intend to exchange it for a 4TB SSD, so the Rog Ally X uses a 2280 SSD, right?
Do you have to format your ssd before doing the asus cloud recovery ?
Is removing the battery cable necessary for replacing the M.2? Will it mess something up or are you removing it for easy visibility sake?
Ideally you should disconnect the battery first, in basic terms to reduce the risk of frying the system!
@@128KB thank you for responding. Will be performing surgery on my Ally X in an about a month.
You have a great tutorial here, I appreciate the value you provide.
for my second handheld, I already have the switch oled, I'm trying to decide between getting the SD old and ROG Ally X, im totally okay with fiddling with settings and stuff. Any advice?
Can I upgrade hard drive on a brand new out of the box ally x with asus cloud recover mode?
Why do you even bother removing that ribbon cable? Others simply place the back cover on top0 of the battery area and swap our SSDs without ever messing with it.
I show it, because it’s VERY delicate and easier to tear. Safer to remove it whilst changing the drive.
@@128KB Good point. I just ordered my Ally X today, watched every single one of your videos on it first:) It's a big reason I decided to go for it. Thank you!
Top of the morning
The two screws on the top corners wont come out... Any advice? Maybe i need a magnetic screwdriver?
I had that issue even with a magnetic screwdriver, it's worth a try with a magnetic one if you have one, I forgot to mention it! Providing they're fully unscrewed they're just sat in there, when I removed the backplate they fell out so don't lose them!
@@128KB ty for everything mate. keep up the good work🙌
Will this still work if I’ve already been using my Ally X?
Hi bruv, I will be sending you mine when I get it for upgrades....
haha! :D You'll be fine, just don't rush!
Hi I have a couple of questions. I just bought the rog ally X still in the box haven’t opened it yet. Since I haven’t played with it. I want to install a 4 tb. Do I still need to clone the 4 tb hard drive or can I just install it like that since I haven’t played with it yet? And I want to put a 1 tb S D card what do you recommend?
How come you only went for 2tb and not 4tb? Is it just the cost or lack of room? Or is 4tb just complete overkill??
@@kevinadaway8257 4TB is overkill, is what I told myself. The real reason was 4TB drives, at the speed I wanted, were over 2x the price and couldn't stretch to that!
Do you HAVE to remove the ribbon cable?
Did you swap/upgrade the SSD before setting up the unit?
yeah, it was the first thing I did.
@@128KB thanks! Follow your video and I was able to swap ssd successfully 🙌🏼 thank you
Just curious, I have a 4tb SSD in my ROG Ally. I was wondering if I am able to transfer my SSD from my ROG Ally into the ROG Ally X with everything on the SSD like all my games, etc, without having to re-download my games?
@@arnie7975 you can clone the old drive but you'll need an enclosure. Sadly the ALLY X doesn't have a screw hole for 2230 sized drives, only 2280
I have a 4tb 2280 in my Rog Ally as well (i assume its a 2280 as well as I dont think you can get a 2230 4tb) the answer is yes if its like mine and you'll not need the adaptor anymore :) I will be putting it in my Rog ally X when i get it
Thanks so much for the reply! Yes sorry I forgot to mention I do have a 2280 and thanks for letting me know. I'll definitely be transferring my 2280 4tb SSD once receive my Ally X. 😁
why not just clone it instead cloud recovery?
Does it support 8TB?
So all you did was upgrade the memory? I don’t know anything about PC and having an ROG ally x is my first venture into PC so this is all so confusing to me.
yeah I just upgraded the storage. You don't need to worry about this as it's a really optional upgrade.
From where i can get the piece , (ram 16 )!
Can ROG ally X use SSD 2280 or 2242?
I could not unplug the power. Felt like I was about to rip out a cable. Also when putting it back together I didn’t realize one of my shoulder buttons jammed. Had to reopen and hold down triggers while putting on the back plate.
My ally x arriving today. May I know if I can connect a usb c hub with ethernet to do the cloud recovery? Which I hope will be faster since I have a 1Gbps fibre connection or can it only works over wifi? Thanks
I swapped the ssd and I can connect to ethernet, but can't see any wifi. If I put the original ssd back I can see and connect to wifi. Any ideas what's causing it?
Just wish you would have showed how to remove the battery and put it in and not showing it 😢
@@wayne69wayne69 I show in the video how to disconnect the battery prior to installation, there's no need to physically remove the battery.
@128KB no u did not show it u skip it u did not show you pulling it out
Do you really need a heat sink for it or can I just go without?
I asked the same as I don’t, should be fine. If you can you probably should but the original SSD first come with one soooo
How are the temps with that heatsink?
anyone in the uk offering a service for the 1st edition ally ?
So my battery latch does not want to latch back on 😭
Leave the ribbon cable alone 😂save urself 20 seconds of reinstalling
I got mine coming it tomorrow, this was my thought too lol
Bad inside design with the ribbon cable😕
my delivered ssd with is Micron Crucial
So i bought a WD SN 850X Black 4TB and i have noticed that the speed is much slower than the regular one. For example before i was getting about 56 - 60 FPS on high settings 900p consistently but I am lucky to even get 50 FPS on same settings now with new drive. Is something wrong? Plz help.
I am pretty sure its not slower than original one, if you get lower fps with new ssd (faster one) it is cuz of the power usage of faster 4tb ssd. It is totally a new subject, and yes if you go faster ssd like 7000mb read speed it will be use more power than 5000 or 3000mb read speed. One last thing some manufacturers product needed different power usage. Example; Samsung 990pro use more power than Cruel’s ssd. It does not mean if you get more faster ssd it will give more fps cuz it is drain more power and that handled device uses a battery 🔋 and there is a cap of usage of power on that system like max 50W. Some one should do a video about it to compare ssd performance like 3000vs7000 or 5000vs7000 etc.
I really hate allyx and ally fans but the only thing i like on ally it's easy to changed their bettery life i which if steam deck did the same not making more electric things
Replace? not sure right word - i'd say put back - replace implies you are changing it with something! other than that - interesting video cheers for showing.
I replace a 1tb drive for a 2tb drive, that is a change. I also re-place items, same word, different meaning.
I agree with the NVMe thats a replace ! could be that i'm English I just don't think we'd ever say it that way.
To upgrade or to not…. It’s just so easy to do an sd card
SD cards are not fast
Can only play one game at a time lol I would never put a 4tb drive in this, I wouldn’t know what I want to play 😂
🤣 that’s very true
I was going to buy this but I realized im a steam deck fanboy lol JK. I bought the Lenovo legion go instead. idk tbh im not digging the ROG ally to be honest. and im still getting the hang of this windows 11 instead of linux on the handheld pc's
If you help, ill paypal you 20 pound! Ever sinceI got my ally X. Something has been annoying me. When I had tk set the tinezone. I accidently selected korea. Im not sure this is causing this issue. But, I just wanted to mention that. So, my ISSSUE is i cannot update windows. There are 3 main updates. 1 is defender, 1 is accumlative, and the other is a security update. Im new to windoes 12. And this stuff Seems important. But when i press update. It just wont work! Sometimes, it will say 'I nstalling' or doenload pending. But then nothing. It stays blue. If any1 can help me with this and get the updates sorted. I promise ill pay ypu for your time. Peace
Yeahhhhh I won’t be doing that
To upgrade asus rog ally x you need to buy Steam Deck.
Why would I downgrade to a steam deck from this?
Already got the Steam Deck OLED. Great device for old/indie/retro titles but for everything else the ALLY X wins.
Have fun playing indie 🗑️ games on Steam Deck because that’s all it can run 😂.
Since when upgrade=downgrade?