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

Again when Switch 2 rumors began to swirl just a few years in the past, a number of experiences hinted that Nintendo’s subsequent handheld may characteristic 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 turn out to be a actuality.

At one level, a number of dependable experiences indicated the Change 2 might characteristic a dock designed to supercharge the Change 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 affords the most effective of each worlds and appears like a pure evolution of the unique Change. Whereas we most likely will not get that sort of gaming expertise from Nintendo any time quickly, one other firm is retaining 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 excellent, however it appears 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 is not a desktop or gaming laptop-level graphics card, however so far as handhelds go, it is essentially the most highly effective presently accessible and permits you to 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, for those who 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. If 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, 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 in an effort 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 accessible proper now. It connects to the ROG Xbox Ally X by way of the hand held’s Thunderbolt 4 port. Whereas the XG Cell (2025) helps Thunderbolt 5, the ROG Xbox Ally X would not, so that you’re caught utilizing the last-gen port’s velocity.

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 exploit the colorful (and somewhat shady) third-party Switch 2 dock I picked up just a few 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 accessible, 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 Change dock into its USB 3.2 Gen 2 energy supply slot. I additionally prop up the XG Cell (2025) with its Change 2-like Kickstand since this helps save area on my crowded desk.

Setup is usually quite simple and requires you to obtain just a few 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 connected 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 prepared to place the work in, it largely does

When you can, after all, use the XG Cell eGPU with the Xbox Ally X in handheld mode, this does not actually make numerous sense. Regardless of its “cell” title, the eGPU is a cumbersome factor to hold round in every single place, even in your personal house, 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 suits 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 completed in sporadic bursts currently, 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 will generally have a bit extra time on my palms and wish to recreation in my workplace, so I head downstairs and plug the Xbox Ally X into the XG Cell (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 Change 2 on its dock.

With the XG Cell (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 charge, so I turned on Nvidia’s DLSS and set it to efficiency, permitting me to take care of a reasonably regular body charge 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 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 is not 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 largest concern is needing to vary the graphics settings, and in some instances, generate shaders yet again, each time I exploit the eGPU. This doubtless will not be the scenario with each recreation, 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 concern, however I haven’t tried them yet). It is also price noting that the XG Cell (2025) is absolutely loud when below a heavy load, so you may doubtless wish to use headphones whereas taking part in and place it not less than just a few 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 whole to $3,500 USD ($4,800 CAD).

For that worth, you possibly can get a fully 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 recreation at a desk on a monitor or TV, too.

So the place does that go away the XG Cell (2025)? If you happen to’re prepared to pay the hefty worth and simply need one glossy machine that’s able to doing every little thing, I can see the XG Cell (2025) and ROG Xbox Ally X combo working fairly nicely 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 price.

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