Asus ROG Flow X13 and XG Mobile hands-on: a one-two punch from AMD and Nvidia

Some people like their laptops small and light, others like them powerful and others are flexible. Asus takes a handy approach in its $ 3,000 effort to be everything to all people with its ROG Flow X13, a 13.3-inch, 2.9-pound two-in-one laptop mated to the new XG Mobile, a compact external GPU-plus-dock combo device.

The surprisingly fast new AMD processor on the laptop and the surprisingly fast new Nvidia GPU in the external module make a machine that seamlessly transforms from a mobile workhorse to a gaming powerhouse. And unlike Lenovo’s Thin and Lightweight Laptop with External Graphics Processor, you can still get a decent game without the eGPU, because it does not drop the internal GTX 1650.

I managed to test during the few days I had the duo so far. I liked using it – until I ran into issues that felt like the technical equivalent of backing up traffic jams. I’m waiting to hear back from Asus, but I suspect the problem is that here is just too much new and possibly a wrong or too early evaluation unit here.

The laptop contains one of the new generation of AMD mobile game processors, in this case the Ryzen 9 5900HS, eight-core, 35 watts, in a latest two-in-one design and with a new proprietary architecture to connect the XG Mobile combination external GPU and dock. The model I tested is the $ 3000 lower-end option (yes, $ 3K is the lowest point; it links to around £ 2,185 or AU $ 3,875). Asus also offers a Ryzen 9 5980HS and UHD screen option.

The XG Mobile uses the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 phone chip, and its own 280 watt power source that can power the laptop. These are many cutting-edge pieces to match. Because the Nvidia mobile component is used, the XG Mobile is relatively small: 55 to 208 by 29 millimeters and 1 kg.

During my preliminary testing of both systems, the GPU did at least as well the same RTX 3080 in the Origin PC Evo17-S. Sometimes it went better. This is partly to be expected, as the GPU does not have to worry about the same cooling issues as in the thin (but still significantly larger) Evo17-S. And that’s ahead of Asus’ expected BIOS update, which enables Resizable BAR support and should boost some games.

The Ryzen 9 5900HS processor showed AMD’s usual star multicore performance, as well as excellent single-core performance, even compared to the Intel Core i7-10870H in the Evo17-S. The Ryzen 9 5980HS model should blow completely over. (I have no results for the Core i9-10885H, which is a more direct competitor.)

How do the two parts of this package connect? The cable between the laptop and the eGPU has two connections: there is a dedicated PCIe path between the RTX 3080 and the laptop, plus a USB-C port with power delivery and DisplayPort support. If it’s not connected to the XG, the USB-C half of the connector acts as … a USB-C port.

There are a few reasons why Thunderbolt would not have worked for an eGPU. For one, it breaks the connection between the GPU and the main system, and divides the bandwidth among the other connections. This means that it can not drive the pivot point without getting a hit. In addition, when the eGPU is connected, the system disables the integrated GPU so that it can allocate the power saving to the eGPU. And there’s an even more striking reason: AMD does not support Thunderbolt.

The laptop and eGPU also have nice physical designs. You do not get as much relief as with a dedicated laptop, just a red glow from the fan in the eGPU. The keyboard is much more focused on work than playing.

I went miles before I could put an overview of this one to sleep, starting to iron out issues with my test unit. But stay tuned. If it works, it’s an excellent, though expensive solution for people who want to balance work with playing heavyweight games on an external monitor. You can sign up for a notification when it’s available on the Asus website.