Asus is now promoting a brand new exterior GPU for laptops that gives entry to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 for extra graphics firepower.
Asus’ web site lists a 2023 model of the ROG XG Cell. However the add-on product will set you again $1,999—or $400 greater than the beginning worth for the desktop-based RTX 4090 GPU.
After all, the ROG XG Cell stands out for its portability, and its means to simply improve a laptop computer with extra graphics processing. All you need to do is hook the ROG XG Cell to the PC via a cable. The product itself weighs in at 2.86 kilos.
However on the draw back, the peripheral solely works with six laptops in Asus’ Movement collection, together with 2022’s ROG Movement Z13. That’s as a result of the exterior GPU capabilities over a proprietary PCIe connector unique to suitable Movement laptops.
One other detrimental is how the product solely options the laptop-focused RTX 4090, not the extra highly effective desktop model. So patrons are solely getting 16GB of video reminiscence and about half of the GPU processing cores discovered on the desktop-grade RTX 4090.
However on the plus aspect, the peripheral does supply a set of ports, together with an Ethernet port, an SD card reader, and a number of other USB ports, together with HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4. It additionally appears to be like just like the product can double as an influence provide for an Asus laptop computer, because it options an built-in energy adapter to connect with {an electrical} outlet.
The product represents a refresh of the 2021 ROG XG Cell, which tapped a mobile-focused RTX 3080 GPU. Our evaluate praised the sooner mannequin for being compact and straightforward to make use of. However we have been additionally turned off by its excessive worth and disappointing gaming efficiency. Our checks confirmed the peripheral typically lagged behind laptops with built-in RTX 3000 GPUs. So we’ll need to see if Asus was capable of resolve the efficiency hole downside. Keep tuned for our evaluate.
