External GPUs have long been a fascination for PC enthusiasts who dream of pairing ultrathin laptops with the brute force of a full-size desktop GPU. And while the concept has remained niche, it’s no less compelling. Asus, a longtime leader in this specialized market, is once again pushing the envelope with the ROG XG Station 3—an entirely reimagined eGPU dock that trades sleek casing for raw, open-air power and maximum hardware compatibility.
Unlike its predecessors, which fully enclosed the GPU within a sealed chassis, the XG Station 3 ditches the box entirely in favor of a minimalist, exposed-frame design. At the heart of the unit is a full PCIe slot mounted on a rugged platform, allowing users to simply plug in a desktop graphics card—no proprietary mounts or spatial restrictions required. This open-air approach has become popular among boutique frame-style docks, but Asus’s premium take brings a level of polish, engineering, and future-proofing that makes it stand out. Yes, it might result in more fan noise, but it means you can drop in practically any card you want, including the latest behemoths from Nvidia or AMD.
Powering this setup is a built-in 330W PSU, though Asus smartly supports upgrades via any SFX-compatible unit. That’s a key design choice for users who might want to push beyond the stock wattage and into the territory of cards like the (hypothetical) RTX 5090. Another notable design element is the power rail—or the lack of a visible one. Asus is showcasing the Station 3 with one of its new BTF (Back-To-the-Future) GPUs, which use a custom connector that plugs directly into a compatible dock or motherboard. But if you’re using a conventional card, you’ll still find support for standard 12V 2×6 connectors.
The dock connects to your laptop via Thunderbolt 5, the newest ultra-high-speed interface delivering up to 80Gbps of bandwidth. That’s more than enough to make high-end GPU usage viable over a single cable. The catch? Thunderbolt 5 ports are still rare, especially on current-generation gaming and productivity laptops. So while the Station 3 is clearly built with forward-thinking specs, you may need to wait for Thunderbolt 5 laptops to become more widespread—likely later in 2025 or early 2026.
Around the back, Asus has also packed in several USB-C ports—at least three in the rear and two on the front, according to leaked promo shots shared on Twitter/X via VideoCardz. This gives you enough I/O to run external displays, USB accessories, and potentially even recharge your laptop over the same connection, assuming your PSU has enough capacity to support everything simultaneously.
Unfortunately, Asus hasn’t yet announced pricing or availability for the XG Station 3, and it didn’t make an appearance in the US Computex press materials. The last model in the series was introduced back in 2016, so it’s hard to predict how this one will be positioned. But based on its industrial design and high-end specs, this is clearly a premium eGPU dock built for enthusiasts who want full desktop power with laptop convenience.
