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

Again when Switch 2 rumors began to swirl a couple of years in the past, a number of reviews hinted that Nintendo’s subsequent handheld may function a better decision display, 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 grow to be a actuality.

At one level, a number of dependable reviews indicated the Swap 2 may function 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 machine as a result of it presents the very best of each worlds and seems like a pure evolution of the unique Swap. Whereas we most likely will not get that type of gaming expertise from Nintendo any time quickly, one other firm is conserving that dream alive.

That is the place Asus’ undeniably value $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 good, nevertheless it seems like the way forward for gaming

Be ready to pay an costly value, although

The ROG Xbox Ally X already options the trendy, highly effective AMD Z2 Excessive chip, coupled with 24GB LPDDR5X. 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 present 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 different graphics settings and resolutions, normally with the assistance of AMD’s AI upscaling function, FSR Tremendous Decision.

Some video games run higher than others and the Xbox Full Display expertise is a glitch-filled mess, however usually, in case you 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 disintegrate. Graphics settings that ran easily on the hand held’s 7-inch 1080p display, simply do not work on larger shows (like my 65-inch 4K TV, for instance), and the body price 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 out there proper now. It connects to the ROG Xbox Ally X via 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 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 Cellular in my workplace, I do not really want to benefit from 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 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 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 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 principally does

Whilst you can, in fact, use the XG Cellular eGPU with the Xbox Ally X in handheld mode, this does not actually make a variety of sense. Regardless of its “cellular” title, the eGPU is a cumbersome factor to hold round in all places, even in your personal residence, and also you clearly additionally have to 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 price 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 thus far. The principle 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 can 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 arms and need 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 noticed that I might want to vary the graphics settings/decision and restart the sport each time I need to use the eGPU, which could be 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 can 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 price, so I turned on Nvidia’s DLSS and set it to efficiency, permitting me to keep up a fairly regular body price at a better 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 the 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 enjoying Battlefield 6 on my very highly effective RTX 5090-powered gaming PC, however the expertise is surprisingly comparable.

Total, my greatest subject is needing to vary the graphics settings, and in some circumstances, generate shaders over again, each time I take advantage of the eGPU. This possible will not be the state of affairs with each sport, however not less than thus far, I have never discovered any title that flips between settings associated to each chips (there are third-party options to this subject, however I haven’t tried them yet). It is also value noting that the XG Cellular (2025) is basically loud when below a heavy load, so you may possible need 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 value, you could possibly get a completely top-tier PC gaming setup and both the ROG Xbox Ally X or one other PC-like handheld, supplying 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 Cellular (2025)? When you’re prepared to pay the hefty value and simply need one smooth machine that’s able to doing all the things, I can see the XG Cellular (2025) and ROG Xbox Ally X combo working fairly effectively for some folks. Including to this, given the XG Cellular (2025) options Thunderbolt 5, you should use 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 strategy, however for this Swap 2 Professional-like setup to attraction to extra folks, the worth tag undoubtedly wants to return down, and I do not see that taking place any time quickly.