ASUS Unveils the XG Station Pro External GPU Enclosure

[Chino]

ASUS today announced XG Station Pro, an external graphics card enclosure with a stylish aluminum chassis and advanced cooling that provides PC and Mac laptop users with high-end graphics performance, suitable for demanding professional applications, such as video rendering, 3D design and scientific modeling. With support for the latest NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards and featuring fast and convenient Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, XG Station Pro enables a workstation-class experience when connected to a laptop and an external monitor without sacrificing mobility.

Premium, all-aluminum design
Designed in collaboration with In Win - the well-known maker of premium computer chassis - XG Station Pro has a highly functional and stylish design with an elegant, grey aluminum chassis that perfectly complements premium laptops. XG Station Pro fits a full-length, 2.5-slot graphics card, yet has a compact size that takes up minimal space on a desk or workspace. An external, 330W power supply drives even the most demanding graphics cards, reduces heat within the chassis, and enables XG Station Pro to have a smaller overall size.

Editor's Note: Photographs taken by the TPU team at the event.
XG Station Pro features easily removable top and side panels to make graphics card installation quick and effortless. Additional design details include kink-resistant braided cabling, integrated cable management, removable dust filters, a dark PCB color and onboard RGB LEDs that are compatible with ASUS Aura Sync.

Superior cooling performance
XG Station Pro is designed with multiple cooling technologies to ensure optimum and reliable performance. A best-in-class ventilation system featuring dual 120mm In Win fans, ample space within the chassis for air to move, and large exhaust vents on both sides of XG Station Pro delivers efficient cooling performance. Removable dust filters cover the vents to keep the inside of XG Station Pro clean and ensure reliable graphics card operation. The exhaust fans both feature 0dB technology, so they only turn on when internal temperatures rise above a designated threshold, ensuring completely silent operation during less-demanding workloads. The aluminum design of the chassis also serves to quickly dissipate heat.

Compatibility
XG Station Pro is equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 port that provides massive bandwidth of 40Gbps - 8X faster than USB 3.0 - to ensure smooth performance and easy connectivity with current PC and Mac notebooks. A 1.5m active Thunderbolt 3 cable is included, so users can connect and use XG Station Pro right away.

XG Station Pro is compatible with the latest graphics cards, including NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 Series and AMD Radeon RX Vega, enabling users to enjoy cutting-edge desktop graphics performance.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING
ASUS XG Station Pro will be available for $329 (US MSRP) in North America starting in Q1 2018. ASUS product availability varies by country and territory. Please contact your local ASUS representative or visit us at Edge Up ASUS or ASUS North America for additional information.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Deleted member 67555]

$329 + the price of the gfx??? And a big box??
Why not just buy a desktop and the graphics card and Stream it over you network and forget about the wires??
With very few exceptions this is in the class of utterly useless ways to spend money.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Pointless.

 

[hyp36rmax]

$329 + the price of the gfx??? And a big box??
Why not just buy a desktop and the graphics card and Stream it over you network and forget about the wires??
With very few exceptions this is in the class of utterly useless ways to spend money.

You're looking at this as a gamer. Try looking at this as a professional requiring a portable system and using the EGPU as dock experience to render real time data on demand. Streaming won't achieve this. You're paying for portability.

 

[Vayra86]

Niche is very much a niche here. I don't see the point either.

 

[TheTechGuy1337]

This is for the business gamer as mentioned by "Hyp36rmax". When you spend most of your time flying around from hotel to hotel for work. You want the thinnest laptop available to carry. The external gpu would be left in your hotel for when you return in the evening. You still get the lightweight business class laptop desired, but have the hardware needed to still game. It's great for those individuals. You could also buy a gaming laptop. This is true, but you would be sacrificing small form factor, weight, and heat for that kind of laptop design. External GPU's are a niche market. One that fits the business sector just right.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

You're looking at this as a gamer. Try looking at this as a professional requiring a portable system and using the EGPU as dock experience to render real time data on demand. Streaming won't achieve this. You're paying for portability.

I did say with few exceptions for a reason.

 

[hyp36rmax]

I did say with few exceptions for a reason.

That exception is the main reason to invest in one of these. Your narrative is biased.

 

[cryohellinc]

Pointless.

Not at all.

 

[shoman24v]

This is a great idea, but again, what is the point? Business gamer? So lug this box and GPU around the country just to leave it in a hotel? Today's gaming laptops are pretty stout compared to 10 years ago, and also much smaller. If you needed a strong laptop for whatever reason, I don't see the need to buy this and an ultralight. Even though I like the idea, I don't recall this ever catching on in the past and I don't think it will catch on now. Anyone could make a case as to why one would need it, but in the end, it's a niche product.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Not at all.

How do you figure? by the time you purchase this thing and a video card to go into it, you might as well buy a gaming laptop.

Not to mention you dont make any points to counter my argument so as it stands, your argument is invalid.

So like i said, pointless.