Handheld PCs: PC Gamer $1,000 ROG Xbox Ally X analysis

A $1,000 handheld PC used to be the moment where the comment section put on a clown nose and started reviewing your life choices. Now the PC Gamer framing around a $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X lands differently, not because a grand is suddenly pocket change, but because the floor under portable PC hardware is moving. This is not a free pass for expensive gadgets. It is a reminder that value is relative, and right now the relatives are fighting over RAM at Thanksgiving. The old handheld bargain was simple: wait, let early adopters beta test the drivers, then buy when discounts hit. That plan still works sometimes, but it is no longer an automatic 10 out of 10 loading screens strategy. When memory and storage stop getting cheaper on schedule, patience can turn from smart shopping into watching the good configuration vanish.

The price floor just moved According to Windows Forum,

the handheld gaming PC debate has reached the point where value can be discussed around $1,000, with memory prices, ROG Ally X, Steam Deck, and handheld PCs all part of the same argument. That sounds cursed, but Game Developer’s James McWhirter, citing Omdia’s Memory and Storage research teams, gives the boring but important receipt: AI infrastructure expansion has created a demand boom for DRAM memory and NAND storage. Omdia estimates mainstream PC DRAM prices rose nearly 100% on average, while SSD prices rose 40%. Those numbers matter because a handheld gaming PC is not magic. It is a tiny Windows or Linux PC with a screen, controls, battery, cooling, storage, and enough compromises to fill a roguelike patch note. If two of the core parts suddenly cost a lot more, the sticker price does not politely stay in its lane. That is why the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X example is useful, even if your wallet just alt tabbed into despair. A high price can still be painful, but if cheaper rivals cut memory, shrink storage, lose discounts, or never ship at the expected price, the expensive device can become the least awkward choice. This inventory screen is the DMV of hardware economics, everyone waits, nobody enjoys it, and somehow the fee changed while you were in line.

Waiting is no longer

a free buff Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese reports that RAM prices have more than doubled in two months, and that some shops stopped printing price labels so they could change prices daily. That is the part buyers should tattoo on their comparison spreadsheet. Not panic, not FOMO, just the understanding that yesterday’s normal price may not be a useful anchor tomorrow. IGN’s Jacqueline Thomas also reports that multiple manufacturers said prebuilt PC prices are expected to rise, even as graphics cards were more affordable than last year, at least for now. That creates a weird hardware meta where the GPU may not be the villain in the party for once. Memory and storage are taking aggro, and handheld PCs are especially exposed because they have less room to hide cost increases behind giant tower cases and build to order upsells.

Stagnation is not just laziness XDA’s Abhinav Raj frames handheld PCs

as devices held back by economics rather than only by technology. That distinction is important because gamers love accusing hardware makers of sandbagging, and sometimes they absolutely are. But when the bill of materials gets punched by memory costs, even a well designed device can end up feeling like a sidegrade with a new shell. TechInsights adds the bigger stakes: handheld gaming PCs are competing for a piece of a $250 billion gaming industry. That means this is not a niche curiosity anymore, even if the form factor still screams backpack goblin. The category is large enough to attract serious product planning, but volatile enough that one component crunch can change what companies dare to build. Kotaku’s Ethan Gach shows the extreme version with Ayaneo’s Next 2. Kotaku reported that the premium Windows handheld was initially going to cost $2,000, but component costs became so severe that the device would have needed to cost $4,000, leading to cancellation instead. That is not premium pricing, that is a boss health bar with a checkout button.

The buying verdict

The practical read is simple: compare the full configuration, not just the logo and launch price. Game Developer’s Omdia cited figures show why RAM and SSD capacity now deserve more weight in your decision, because replacing missing value later may not be cheap. If a $1,000 handheld includes the memory and storage you actually need, while lower priced options rely on upgrades or disappearing discounts, the expensive machine may be more rational than it looks. Eurogamer’s reporting also makes timing more important than usual. If you already own a handheld that runs your library well, waiting is reasonable. If you are buying your first portable PC, track actual street prices, storage tiers, and memory configs instead of assuming the holiday sale fairy will descend with a coupon code and mercy. So yes, the $1,000 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X value case feels ridiculous at first glance. But in a market where RAM and SSD costs are rewriting the rules, ridiculous can become competitive. Watch memory pricing, watch which models keep their better configurations, and do not let the word premium do the thinking for you.