ASUS reveals the ROG XG Station 2, an $888 external graphics dock

It’s no secret that virtual reality is demanding on hardware, which is why the ASUS ROG XG Station 2 is here to help. The plug-and-play graphics dock is designed to pair with laptops or 2-in-1 PCs via Thunderbolt 3 and is compatible with both NVIDIA and AMD cards. The product is priced at $888 and is now available.

The original XG Station launched back in 2007, allowing owners to add a NVIDIA 8600GT to their laptops. It also came with an on-screen display that could make quick adjustments to GPU clock and fan speeds, as well as volume.

The updated ROG XG Station 2 supports a wider range of modern graphics cards, be it NVIDIA’s GTX 9/10 series or AMD’s R9/RX line – as long as it’s a 2.5-slot wide PCI-Express x16 card. It’s powered by a 600W 80 Plus Gold power supply and comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port, four USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.0 Type B port, and a cool plasma tube that’s linked to Aura Sync, ASUS’ RGB lighting system.

500W of that power is assigned to the GPU, with the extra 100W used to charge a compatible laptop and USB-connected devices such as peripherals, external storage, and VR headset.

The ROG XG Station 2 measures 45.6 × 15.8 × 27.8 centimeters large, weighs 5.1 kilograms and comes with a one-year warranty.

It’s still a fairly bulky product but a welcome option for anyone not wanting to buy or regularly use a top-end gaming laptop. The fact that it pairs with 2-in-1 PCS such as the ASUS Transformer Book Pro means users can reap all the benefits of a slim and light device, with desktop-grade graphical power only one cable away.