This gadget turns the ROG Xbox Ally...

Again when Switch 2 rumors began to swirl a couple of years in the past, a number of studies 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 anticipate from a next-gen handheld. Whereas most of those rumors turned out to be true, there is a key leak that did not develop into a actuality.

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

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

The ROG XG Cell is not good, nevertheless it seems like the way forward for gaming

Be ready to pay an costly worth, although

The ROG Xbox Ally X already options the trendy, 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 at the moment out there and permits you to play fashionable titles like Battlefield 6, the Outerworlds 2, Avowed,Indiana Jones and the Nice Circle, and extra, at assorted graphics settings and resolutions — often 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 taking part in most fashionable video games in handheld mode. Once 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 larger shows (like my 65-inch 4K TV, for instance), and the body charge slows significantly, forcing me to drop the visible settings to potato ranges with a purpose to get some video games to play in any respect.

That is the place the XG Cell (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 out there proper now. It connects to the ROG Xbox Ally X by the hand-held’s Thunderbolt 4 port. Whereas the XG Cell (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 Cell (2025) additionally works as a dock and options all kinds of further 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 Cell in my workplace, I do not really want to make the most 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 twine out there, and I need not transfer something round). I then use the included Thunderbolt 5 cable to plug the XG Cell (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 Cell (2025) with its Swap 2-like Kickstand since this helps save house on my crowded desk.

Setup is generally quite simple and requires you to obtain a couple of updates from the Armoury Crate app. You will additionally want to put in Nvidia’s driver replace app, too. After that, the XG Cell (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 Cell (2025) actually flip the ROG Xbox Ally right into a console?

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

Whilst you can, after all, use the XG Cell eGPU with the Xbox Ally X in handheld mode, this does not actually make a whole lot of sense. Regardless of its “cellular” title, the eGPU is a cumbersome factor to hold round all over the place, even in your personal dwelling, and also you clearly additionally must plug it in. As a substitute, I have been primarily utilizing the XG Cell (2025) with the Xbox Ally X at my desk, permitting me to show up the graphics and body charge when taking part in video games on my monitor with a gamepad.

Here is how the XG Cell matches into my life and the problems I’ve encountered with this setup to date. The primary two video games I am taking part in 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 finished in sporadic bursts currently, together with typically a fast session within the morning whereas he is napping. Later within the day and typically within the night (primarily on the weekend), I am going to typically have a bit extra time on my palms and wish to sport in my workplace, so I head downstairs and plug the Xbox Ally X into the XG Cell (2025). That is the place I noticed that I might want to vary the graphics settings/decision and restart the sport each time I wish to use the eGPU, which is usually 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 Cell (2025) related, I will crank all of the graphics settings to excessive at 1080p and nonetheless handle to hit a stable 60fps (or typically above). Turning the decision as much as 4K ends in a decrease, much less secure body charge, so I turned on Nvidia’s DLSS and set it to efficiency, permitting me to take care of a fairly regular body charge at the next decision.

My expertise with Battlefield 6 has been comparable. 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 rising the decision to 4K, all whereas sustaining a 50-60fps. It isn’t the identical as taking part in Battlefield 6 on my very highly effective RTX 5090-powered gaming PC, however the expertise is surprisingly comparable.

Total, my greatest concern is needing to vary the graphics settings, and in some circumstances, generate shaders once more, each time I take advantage of the eGPU. This seemingly will not be the state of affairs with each sport, however at the very least to date, I have not discovered any title that flips between settings associated to each chips (there are third-party options to this concern, however I haven’t tried them yet). It is also price noting that the XG Cell (2025) is admittedly loud when underneath a heavy load, so you may seemingly wish to use headphones whereas taking part in and place it at the very least a couple of ft away from you.

Who’s the XG Cell (2025) for?

eGPUs are undeniably cool, however have a restricted viewers

Whereas I’ve actually loved my time with the RX Cell (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 overall to $3,500 USD ($4,800 CAD).

For that worth, you can get a completely 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 permits you to play wherever, however nonetheless sport at a desk on a monitor or TV, too.

So the place does that depart the XG Cell (2025)? If you happen to’re keen to pay the hefty worth and simply need one modern gadget that’s able to doing all the things, I can see the XG Cell (2025) and ROG Xbox Ally X combo working fairly effectively for some folks. Including to this, given the XG Cell (2025) options Thunderbolt 5, you should use it with extra than simply Asus’ handheld, which could assist justify its value.

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