This gadget turns the ROG Xbox Ally X into the Swap 2 Professional I’ve at all times wished

Again when Switch 2 rumors began to swirl a couple of years in the past, a number of stories hinted that Nintendo’s subsequent handheld may characteristic the next decision display screen, a extra highly effective chip, a revamped design, and different commonplace upgrades you’d count on from a next-gen handheld. Whereas most of those rumors turned out to be true, there is a key leak that did not turn out to be a actuality.

At one level, a number of dependable stories indicated the Swap 2 may characteristic a dock designed to supercharge the Swap with a extra highly effective chip. That is what I’ve at all times wished from a handheld-home console gaming gadget as a result of it presents one of the best of each worlds and seems like a pure evolution of the unique Swap. Whereas we most likely will not get that form of gaming expertise from Nintendo any time quickly, one other firm is holding that dream alive.

That is the place Asus’ undeniably worth $2,500 USD ($3,500 CAD) ROG XG Cellular (2025) eGPU and the spectacular, however flawed ROG Xbox Ally X are available.

The ROG XG Cellular is not excellent, however it seems like the way forward for gaming

Be ready to pay an costly worth, although

The ROG Xbox Ally X already options the fashionable, highly effective AMD Z2 Excessive chip, coupled with a 24GBLPDDR5X. It isn’t a desktop or gaming laptop-level graphics card, however so far as handhelds go, it is essentially the most highly effective presently obtainable and lets you play fashionable titles like Battlefield 6, the Outerworlds 2, Avowed,Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle, and extra, at various graphics settings and resolutions — normally with the assistance of AMD’s AI upscaling characteristic, FSR Tremendous Decision.

Some video games run higher than others and the Xbox Full Display expertise is a glitch-filled mess, however usually, if you happen to put the work in to tweak the settings, the ROG Xbox Ally X is able to enjoying most fashionable video games in handheld mode. Whenever you plug the hand-held right into a TV for a docked expertise, although, issues begin to crumble. Graphics settings that ran easily on the hand-held’s 7-inch 1080p display screen, simply do not work on greater shows (like my 65-inch 4K TV, for instance), and the body fee slows significantly, forcing me to drop the visible settings to potato ranges in an effort to get some video games to play in any respect.

That is the place the XG Cellular (2025) turns into helpful. The model of the exterior graphics card I am testing options Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 laptop computer GPU, alongside 24GB of GDDR7 VRAM, making it a really highly effective piece of {hardware} and arguably the top-tier laptop computer graphics card that is obtainable proper now. It connects to the ROG Xbox Ally X by the hand-held’s Thunderbolt 4 port. Whereas the XG Cellular (2025) helps Thunderbolt 5, the ROG Xbox Ally X does not, so that you’re caught utilizing the last-gen port’s pace.

The XG Cellular (2025) additionally works as a dock and options all kinds of extra ports, together with a Thunderbolt 5 port, a USB-C energy port with energy supply as much as 140W, a 1Gb/s LAN port, a microSD card reader (UHS-11), an HDMI 2.1 port, and a Show Port 2.1 plug. Since I am utilizing the XG Cellular in my workplace, I do not actually need to reap the benefits of its docking capabilities.

As a substitute, I take advantage of the colorful (and somewhat shady) third-party Switch 2 dock I picked up a couple of months in the past to attach the ROG Xbox Ally X to my 4K Ultragear 27GP950-B monitor (it is simply simpler since I have already got that wire obtainable, and I needn’t transfer something round). I then use the included Thunderbolt 5 cable to plug the XG Cellular (2025) into the Xbox Ally X’s Thunderbolt 4 slot, and plug the Swap dock into its USB 3.2 Gen 2 energy supply slot. I additionally prop up the XG Cellular (2025) with its Swap 2-like Kickstand since this helps save area on my crowded desk.

Setup is usually quite simple and requires you to obtain a couple of updates from the Armoury Crate app. You may additionally want to put in Nvidia’s driver replace app, too. After that, the XG Cellular (2025) is plug and play, and the eGPU is immediately acknowledged so long as it is hooked up to the Xbox Ally X.

Does the XG Cellular (2025) actually flip the ROG Xbox Ally right into a console?

So long as you are prepared to place the work in, it largely does

When you can, after all, use the XG Cellular eGPU with the Xbox Ally X in handheld mode, this does not actually make a number of sense. Regardless of its “cell” identify, the eGPU is a cumbersome factor to hold round all over the place, even in your individual residence, and also you clearly additionally must plug it in. As a substitute, I have been primarily utilizing the XG Cellular (2025) with the Xbox Ally X at my desk, permitting me to show up the graphics and body fee when enjoying video games on my monitor with a gamepad.

Here is how the XG Cellular suits into my life and the problems I’ve encountered with this setup to date. The primary two video games I am enjoying proper now are Battlefield 6 and The Outer Worlds 2, so these are the titles I’ve primarily examined the eGPU with, although I’ve performed Indiana Jones and The Nice Circle, Avowed, and some different titles. The Outer Worlds 2, on the Xbox Ally X by itself, I will get between 40-60 fps out of the sport with a mixture of high and low graphics settings and FSR Tremendous Decision set to efficiency.

I’ve a four-month-old son, so my gaming is completed in sporadic bursts recently, together with generally a fast session within the morning whereas he is napping. Later within the day and generally within the night (primarily on the weekend), I am going to generally have a bit extra time on my arms and wish to sport in my workplace, so I head downstairs and plug the Xbox Ally X into the XG Cellular (2025). That is the place I spotted that I would want to vary the graphics settings/decision and restart the sport each time I wish to use the eGPU, which generally is a finicky course of, particularly since dialing in particular settings is integral for some newer, extra resource-intensive video games to run on the ROG Xbox Ally X. Utilizing an eGPU with the hand-held sadly is not as seamless as dropping the Swap 2 on its dock.

With the XG Cellular (2025) linked, I will crank all of the graphics settings to excessive at 1080p and nonetheless handle to hit a strong 60fps (or generally above). Turning the decision as much as 4K ends in a decrease, much less secure body fee, so I turned on Nvidia’s DLSS and set it to efficiency, permitting me to take care of a fairly regular body fee at the next decision.

My expertise with Battlefield 6 has been related. By itself, the ROG Xbox Ally X will get between 40-60 fps with graphics set to medium/excessive and FSR Tremendous Decision on efficiency. With the assistance of Nvidia’s RTX 5090, I can flip all of the visible settings as much as excessive alongside growing the decision to 4K, all whereas sustaining a 50-60fps. It isn’t the identical as enjoying Battlefield 6 on my very highly effective RTX 5090-powered gaming PC, however the expertise is surprisingly comparable.

Total, my largest situation is needing to vary the graphics settings, and in some instances, generate shaders over again, each time I take advantage of the eGPU. This seemingly will not be the scenario with each sport, however not less than to date, I have not discovered any title that flips between settings associated to each chips (there are third-party options to this situation, however I haven’t tried them yet). It is also price noting that the XG Cellular (2025) is admittedly loud when beneath a heavy load, so you will seemingly wish to use headphones whereas enjoying and place it not less than a couple of toes away from you.

Who’s the XG Cellular (2025) for?

eGPUs are undeniably cool, however have a restricted viewers

Whereas I’ve actually loved my time with the RX Cellular (2025), this setup will not be for everybody. First off, it prices an undeniably costly $2,500 USD ($3,500 CAD) for the RTX 5090 model of eGPU after which $1,000 USD ($1,300 CAD) for the ROG Xbox Ally X, bringing the whole to $3,500 USD ($4,800 CAD).

For that worth, you would get a fully top-tier PC gaming setup and both the ROG Xbox Ally X or one other PC-like handheld, providing you with an identical setup that lets you play wherever, however nonetheless sport at a desk on a monitor or TV, too.

So the place does that go away the XG Cellular (2025)? In the event you’re prepared to pay the hefty worth and simply need one glossy gadget that’s able to doing every thing, I can see the XG Cellular (2025) and ROG Xbox Ally X combo working fairly properly for some individuals. Including to this, given the XG Cellular (2025) options Thunderbolt 5, you should utilize it with extra than simply Asus’ handheld, which could assist justify its price.

Nonetheless, it is undeniably forward-thinking and funky to undertake a one-device-to-rule-them-all method, however for this Swap 2 Professional-like setup to enchantment to extra individuals, the value tag positively wants to return down, and I do not see that taking place any time quickly.