CES 2016 is where manufacturers unveil their latest and greatest products yet, and Asus seems to be taking cue from certain companies with the new XG Station 2. According to the Taiwanese company, this “external graphics docking station” – which can be equipped with an Nvidia or AMD desktop graphics card – can turn Asus laptops into a gaming machine just by relying on a USB Type-C port. Sounds familiar?
Well, it should, because the XG Station 2 works in a similar way to Razer’s recently announced Core, which works in tandem with the Razer Blade Stealth to deliver desktop-grade gaming performance on an ultrabook. Unfortunately, Asus did not clarify just which of its laptops will work with the XG Station 2. Although the press release only mentioned that Asus ROG laptops will work with it, the company showcased the XG Station 2 with the Asus UX305 – an ultrabook with an Intel Core m processor – connected to it.
This is hardly the first time a manufacturer decided to pair desktop graphics card with a portable laptop. MSI, for instance, has done the same with the GS30 Shadow, and so did Dell. However, it’s worth noting that these two machines utilises a custom PCIe connection, whereas the Asus XG Station 2 and Razer Core take advantage of the new USB Type-C standard.
At the time of this writing, Asus has not revealed any detail on the availability and pricing of the XG Station 2. It’s interesting how more manufacturers are introducing external graphics solutions for laptops; this could be the beginning of a new segment of PC gaming.
(Source: Asus, Laptop Mag)
