How DOOM: The Dark Ages Runs on ROG Ally, ROG Ally X, and AYANEO 3

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DOOM: The Dark Ages is a great entry in the DOOM franchise, and I absolutely adored it. In my review, I discussed how the move back to a horizontal focus and the shield mechanic made for some really awesome and chaotic fights that I always wanted more of. Sadly, in my pre-release copy, there was an error that stopped me from trying the game out on the Steam Deck, so I couldn't test how it could perform on the go. However, I wanted to see if it was even playable on a handheld at all, so I decided to test it out on the other handhelds!

For this test, I wanted to focus on the ROG Ally, ROG Ally X, and the AYANEO 3. I chose these three since I believe they represent the handhelds that are either currently released or coming out soon. The ROG Ally represents the basic Windows handheld with the Z1 Extreme (Z1E) or 7840U/8840U APU with 16GB RAM, the ROG Ally X is the upgraded version with the same APU and 24GB RAM, and the AYANEO 3 represents the next generation with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU, which will be similar in performance to the upcoming Z2 Extreme (Z2E) chips we will see in the ROG Ally 2 and Legion Go 2.

Now, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is slightly more powerful than the upcoming Z2E chips in the CPU sector, having a total of 12 CPU cores while the Z2E will have 8, but the GPU module is going to be the same in both (Radeon 890M). Still, it gives a good idea on how performance could be, and allows us to see what we can generally expect from the next generation.

Testing Baseline

Before I began with my testing, I decided to set a baseline that I would use to gauge just how well the game is performing. In this case, I used the Low-quality preset with XeSS upscaling in quality mode and the resolution set to 1280x720. I also made sure to test the first and The Siege Part 1 chapters of the game with each device, though I did test other areas afterwards.

I also want to say that this isn't an extensive test, as I didn't have the time to play through the game on each device. These are educated impressions based on my experience playing the game in similar conditions, and what I think the performance will be.

ROG Ally (Z1E / 7840U / 8840U APU Handhelds) (16GB RAM)

First up, I wanted to start with the ROG Ally. This device represents any handhelds that have a Z1 Extreme, 7840U, or 8840U APU and 16GB RAM. While there may be some specific performance differences depending on the device, especially if you can push more power to the handhelds, performance should be relatively the same.

Playing through the first chapter of the game gave me a little bit of hope initially, sticking above 30 FPS throughout the chapter, but it teetered on the edge of dipping under. It was definitely playable, though this is a more linear chapter. The real test came from The Siege Part 1, which takes place in a much larger semi-open area with more enemies, and this is where things start to tank performance-wise. Once I got into the fighting, the framerate dropped to 23 - 25 FPS and it made combat quite difficult.

After the initial test, I decided to try The Siege Part 1 at XeSS on Ultra Performance mode to see if I could keep 30 FPS, but unfortunately, it didn't last. It hit higher frame rates, but there are still some areas in the chapter that would push the frame rate down to 26 FPS. This also makes the game look extremely blurry, and while it's still playable, it isn't the nicest to look at.

If you have a device with a bigger battery that can push more power to the APU, you may get a better result, but it will still have those fundamental issues that stop it from performing at 30 FPS at the very least.

From my testing, I would say it isn't something I would play on the ROG Ally.

ROG Ally X (Z1E / 7840U / 8840U APU Handhelds) (24GB RAM or Higher)

After the ROG Ally, I proceeded to try the ROG Ally X, which I feel represents handhelds with the same chips as the Ally, but with more RAM than 16 GB. And while I had some worries, the performance was noticeably much better.

In the first chapter, I was able to play through comfortably in the mid-30s to the low 40s. It started off strong, and heading into The Siege Part 1, I was optimistic. However, it did start to show some cracks. It would stick to the mid-30s for some of the fights, but there were others that would drop the framerate to 28 - 29 FPS. While it did still drop, this is still using the baseline, which makes me more confident that the game will be playable on the Ally X.

With this in mind, I would say playing on XeSS upscaling set to Balanced or Performance should make the game fully playable at 30 FPS. It still requires some compromise to visuals, but it should be playable on this and other handhelds like it. It performed admirably in a couple of other scenarios, like flying the dragon and using a turret to demolish large groups of enemies, and still would stick above 30 FPS and hit the 40s more often than not.

Part of the reason this may be performing better could be the extra RAM, which I could see being the case, though I can't say having more than 24 would add to the performance gains. Still, I would consider DOOM: The Dark Ages on the ROG Ally X and similar handhelds to be playable at 30 FPS with some extra sacrifices.

AYANEO 3 (Z2E / AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU Handhelds) (32GB RAM or Higher)

Lastly, I wanted to test DOOM: The Dark Ages on the most powerful handheld that I have, and that would be the AYANEO 3. It sports the powerful Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU, which has 12 CPU cores and the Radeon 890M GPU module, which uses RDNA 3.5 cores. It's a step up from its predecessors on both the CPU and GPU fronts, so I expected performance to be better overall, and it definitely shows.

At the baseline performance, I was able to keep above 40 FPS and plow through all enemies in front of me with ease. There were even moments that hit up to 50 or 60 FPS, though those didn't last long. Then, in The Siege Part 1, I was able to stick above 30 FPS the entire time, though there were definitely some drops here and there when the action got heavy. Still, it was above 30, and I would say it is stable if you were to cap it there.

I can see playing through at XeSS on Performance for 40 FPS gameplay, while keeping it at XeSS Quality with some settings at Medium could stick to 30 FPS and make the game look nicer. I did try playing at 1920x1080 resolution to see if it would be possible, but even on XeSS Ultra Performance and low settings, I would still get minor drops. I would say this is borderline playable framerate wise, but I preferred 720p resolution with higher quality over 1080p with lowest quality.

This is easily going to be the best way to play DOOM: The Dark Ages on a handheld, and it shows just how much of a performance leap the next generation could be. The Z2E chips we will see in the ROG Ally 2 and Legion Go 2 are slightly less powerful in the CPU department compared to the Ryzen AI 9, but I would arguably say it will still perform similarly.

But What About the Steam Deck

As we mentioned in our review, DOOM: The Dark Ages currently can't boot on the Steam Deck. We encountered a bug that stopped us from loading into the main menu, so we can't really test it. However, based on the ROG Ally's performance, we can infer how it would be on the Steam Deck, and it isn't a good outlook.

The base ROG Ally is more powerful than the Deck, and it can barely cling to 30 FPS on the lowest possible settings at XeSS Ultra Performance. This is going to be even worse on the Steam Deck, meaning we would most likely get a sub-30 framerate at the same settings.

It is possible that lowering the resolution further could help get it to 30 FPS, and id Software could optimize some aspects specifically for a Steam Deck build, but I have my doubts. We won't know until we can actually test it, so I will keep an open mind, but I am not feeling as optimistic about it.

After testing DOOM: The Dark Ages on these handhelds, I can say that playing on the go is possible, but not the optimal way to play. I wouldn't recommend playing on the base ROG Ally, with framerate drops even on the lowest possible settings, but if you can handle mid-20 FPS on some chapters and blurriness, it's playable. The ROG Ally X is a step up, and can handle 30 FPS with almost the lowest settings, while the AYANEO 3 crushes it in performance with a higher quality 30 FPS or a lower quality 40 FPS.

It bodes well for playability on the next generation of handhelds, but it may just be a bit too much to handle for this current generation.

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