Handhelds and mini PCs specialist Ayaneo has started taking pre-orders for its first eGPU product. The availability of the retro-futuristic Ayaneo AG01 Starship Graphics Dock was announced on the firm’s Discord channel earlier today. Clicking ‘buy’ on the product page directs the browser to an order page where a Nebula Red unit can be secured for $599 on pre-sale. The device is expected to ship from the “end of November.”
It seems to have taken Ayaneo a long time to prepare its first-ever eGPU. We reported on the product teaser, which shared a pretty decent amount of detail, back in May this year. Key things to know about this eGPU is that it packs an AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT GPU with 8GB of GDDR6 – for portable graphics performance - and users can connect to it via either Thunderbolt 3/4, USB4, or OCuLink. Ayaneo’s eccentrically styled device is also a pretty helpful dock, packing extra ports like USB-A, Ethernet, an SD card slot, and an M.2 2280 SSD slot – as well as a quartet of graphics outputs (2x HDMI, 2x DP).
The OCuLink interface only provides eGPU graphics functionality. For all the extra docking ports and features, a USB4 connection will be needed. USB4 is also more user-friendly, as it isn’t as fussy about when it is connected or disconnected.
Those curious about the performance of the Ayaneo AG01 should seek out Radeon RX 7600M XT product reviews. This GPU should comfortably beat RTX 3060 desktop performance, but the restrictive USB4 or OCuLink bandwidth means you might see this eGPU implementation lag behind the popular GPU from the green team. Digging around in 3DMark results, we see an Asus ROG Ally with another brand of 7600M XT eGPU connected by USB4 achieved 7,609 in Time Spy, for example.
Looking at the AG01's physical specs, it looks like Ayaneo’s first eGPU will be plenty portable for those wishing to inject a fast GPU into their portables. However, the charger might add some considerable weight—but the firm doesn’t mention it.
Cooling is also something to be wary of in compact portable form factors. The AG01 is claimed to use a large ‘silent’ fan, a significant cooling plate, and an extensive finned area. Vents on several sides should also help easily handle the 100W or 120W user-selected power levels.
In summary, Ayaneo’s eGPU looks nice, especially if you appreciate the aesthetic. However, it is a bit late to the game with an RX 7600M XT dock when others are already launching RX 7800 M-powered devices. Also, its price of $599 for early birds isn’t going to take many converts. Ayaneo expects to ship the first (red) units at the end of November.
