ASUS ROG XG Mobile: external Thunderbolt 5 GPU enclosure with RTX 5090 Laptop GPU costs $2199

ASUS has just refreshed its ROG XG Mobile: unveiling its new Thunderbolt 5-powered external GPU dock that can be configurred with up to NVIDIA's new flagship GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with 24GB of GDDR7 memory.

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The new ASUS ROG XG Mobile is the world's first Thunderbolt 5 external graphics card, and one of the first Thunderbolt 5-ready docks with the new 80Gbps bidirectional link that allows far more things to be driven over a single cable. We're talking about the new RTX 5090 Laptop GPU as well as up to 140W of power, two monitors, and a USB + SD card reading hub, joined by enthusiast-grade 5GbE ethernet connectivity. Oh yeah.

ASUS has managed to cram in an incredible amount of power and technologies into the ROG XG Mobile, with a 350W PSU built into the system (and it still weighs in at under 2.2 pounds) that even features a wicked kickstand. ASUS claims the new ROG XG Mobile is 25% lighter and 18% smaller than its predecessor, with HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and dual 10Gbps USB-A ports to boot.

ASUS spokesperson Anthony Spence told The Verge that the flagship ROG XG Mobile packed with NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU would cost $2199, but a lower-end version will be made with the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU for $1199. Still, that's an insane amount of power inside of a tiny 2.2-pound Thunderbolt 5-ready external GPU.

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ASUS explains: "The 2025 XG Mobile is the first to feature a Thunderbolt 5 connection. With double the bandwidth of the previous Thunderbolt 4 standard, the XG Mobile has 120Gbps of throughput, offering support for 8K video for creators, the ability to support up to three 4K displays at 144Hz simultaneously, and access to high-bandwidth data transmission as a USB hub".

"Gamers and creators alike can leverage the incredible performance of up to an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU. With up to 24GB of GDDR7 VRAM and a max TGP of 150W, The XG Mobile is the ultimate companion for gamers who demand the absolute best performance in AAA titles, or for creators who need to take the power of a high-end editing rig with them on the go".