Asus and Razer are both releasing graphics card enclosures in 2016, bringing desktop GPU power to laptops via a Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 connection. The ROG XG Station 2 from Asus and Razer’s Core enclosures were unveiled at CES last week, PCGamesN reports, and both provide an alternative to bulky gaming laptops – that alternative being an even bulkier unit, comparable in size to a mini PC – hot on the heels of Alienware’s Titan X-powered Graphics Card Amplifier.
The Asus ROG XG Station 2 is “a custom interface that lets notebooks harness the power of desktop graphics cards to significantly boost gaming performance,” according to the company’s press release (via PC World). While the ROG XG Station 2 is “specifically designed for Asus laptops and graphics cards,” it works with other systems and cards and uses PCI-E x4 across two Thunderbolt 3.0/USB Type-C connections.
The Razer Core, meanwhile, has a 500w power supply, which can power most any high-end graphics card, with four USB 3.0 ports to both provide power and pass through data to a laptop, plus an Ethernet port, according to PC Gamer. Its Thunderbolt connector supports up to 40Gb/s bandwidth.
Neither Asus nor Razer have announced the price or release dates for their respective graphics card enclosures.
Would you like the option to be able to turn your laptop into a gaming rig, or are you happy relying on your desktop PC?
This is kind of cool.. I wonder, could this be used with a desktop? It would be nice to invest in an awesome card and use it where needed between the laptop and desktop