Intel officially announced the arrival of the Thunderbolt 5 connectivity standard on September 12, 2023. Over a year later, we're finally starting to see this connection standard being fully adopted, with Asus, in particular, revealing several new models of ROG Strix and Strix Scar gaming laptops that each feature Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.
Still, the number of accessories that are prepared to make full use of this tech is rather slim. However, don't take that as a suggestion that our pick for the best Thunderbolt 5 accessory of CES 2025 was a "best of a bad bunch" pick.
They might be few in number, but that makes spotting the best use of Thunderbolt 5 all that easier, and at CES 2025, few Thunderbolt 5 devices stood out as much as the Asus ROG XG Mobile eGPU.
Best Thunderbolt 5 accessory of CES 2025: Asus ROG XG Mobile eGPU
CES 2025 finally kicked off a round of Thunderbolt 5 accessory launches, and while there are some enticing new Thunderbolt 5 docking stations, hubs, displays, and external SSDs, it’s the world’s first Thunderbolt 5 eGPU that won me over.
The 2025 Asus ROG XG Mobile boasts up to a top-of-the-line Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 mobile GPU and a considerable array of ports in an attractive semi-translucent 2.2-pound shell.
It’s the partner to the 2025 Asus ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet, but as this model is Thunderbolt 5, rather than the proprietary Asus cable that the previous XG Mobiles used, it will offer far more flexibility.
Beyond the gaming performance boost from the RTX 5090, it also features a pair of Thunderbolt 5 ports, a pair of USB Type-A ports, a DP 2.1 port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 5G Ethernet Port. So you’re getting a pretty robust docking station along with that GPU.
Now, you need a laptop or gaming handheld with a Thunderbolt 5 port to use the Asus ROG XG Mobile, but we expect to see considerably more launches over the course of the year.
Asus tells Laptop Mag the Asus ROG XG Mobile will ship by March 31, 2025, starting at $1,199 for a version with an RTX 5070 Ti GPU, or go all-in on the RTX 5090 version for $2,199.
