Asus introduces the new generation of its unique ROG XG Mobile hardware – with a mobile RTX 4090 inside, ready to boost the performance of its Flow series PCs to the level of flagships
We all always want more power for our hardware, but in the world of laptops, usually the initial purchase is what you’ll have to live with until the end of the day, except for possible upgrades for the storage and dynamic memory, which are also options that you see less often as time goes by – but Asus has had a solution for about two years Unique that also allows you to increase the graphic performance of some of its laptops, with an external unit that includes a video card and an exclusive customized interface. Two years ago this concept made its debut with NVIDIA’s RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 models, last year we got an updated version that ran on AMD’s Radeon RX 6850M XT – and now we have the announcement of the first 2023 model to feature a portable GeForce RTX 4090 Inside it, for those who will be willing to invest an amount that is higher than that of most mobiles to which it can be connected.
The new ROG XG Mobile functions similarly to its predecessors as a mobile graphics acceleration system that is also a kind of docking station, with a built-in 330-watt power supply, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet connection, one full-size HDMI 2.1 connection, one DisplayPort 1.4 connection with G-Sync technology support, SD and MicroSD card reader, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 connections in Type-A configuration and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connection – this is in addition to the mobile RTX 4090 inside, of course, with dedicated evaporation chamber cooling and a 150 watt power envelope, so that the unit One with a volume of a little less than 1.2 liters and a weight of about 1.3 kilograms, the mobile’s capabilities can be significantly upgraded in an instant, provided that there is a connection to a 220 volt outlet nearby, of course.
Asus states that the new model will fit all the Flow family computers introduced since last year, with the dedicated connector – a small series of premium models with the compact ROG Flow G13 versions, the ROG Flow X13 in an unusual tablet configuration and the ROG Flow X16 versions the magnified If you have a compatible model, the next hurdle is price – the new ROG XG Mobile has been added to Asus’ official website with a price tag of $2,000 before tax (!), compared to $1,500 before tax at launch for the XG Mobile With an RTX 3080 in it and $1,400 for the Radeon version.
It is worth noting that a large number of modern laptops can benefit from the performance of RTX 4000 cards, including even the desktop RTX 4090 which is tens of percent stronger than the mobile version, thanks to the Thunderbolt 4 interface which is gradually becoming a necessary commodity in the medium and high price levels – this is through a little self-preparation with Purchase of a dedicated station for a video card and a suitable card. However, the Asus solution is more elegant, convenient and compact for those who do not wish to deal with it themselves, when the dedicated PCI-Express 3.0×8 interface used by the manufacturer provides an effective bandwidth of 63Gbps, compared to a maximum bandwidth of 40Gbps “only” in the interface – The modern Thunderbolt – so the ROG XG Mobile has the potential to get more out of the hardware it uses, even if in practice it is likely that the difference will amount to about 10 to 20 percent.
Does such a product really justify an investment of over NIS 8,000, beyond the money already invested in the laptop itself as a base? This is already a question that everyone will have to answer for themselves in a personal way, although it is encouraging to see the very continuation of Asus’ support for the concept. Let’s hope for the launch of cheaper models with RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 later.