Asus ROG needs to step up its Thunderbolt 3 game

[Redaktion]

Asus is about to launch a handful of high-end gaming laptops retailing for $1500 up to even $2500. Unfortunately, the majority of these new releases will not integrate Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. Meanwhile, MSI and Razer have been including Thunderbolt 3 as a staple on the super-thin GS series and Blade series for years.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ROG-needs-to-step-up-its-Thunderbolt-3-game.419248.0.html

[K]

To a large degree the thunderbolt sea change that's happening goes a long way towards invalidating their product offerings. They're stuck in the position of selling laptops with monster mobile graphics, while others are shifting towards the external GPU route and having significant success. Stagnation in the face of obvious industry direction shifts is a sign of management in need of replacement.

[sticky]

I don't work in tech, but I've never met anyone who actually uses Thunderbolt, including the legacy versions on old MBPs.

eGPU setup, Ethernet(non-Gigabit) and USB-C docking is how I use TB3 on my ultrabook. However a gaming laptop already has a powerful dGPU with all the ports you need so it's redundant, well at least from a value standpoint.

[Seagle]

I don't work in tech, but I've never met anyone who actually uses Thunderbolt, including the legacy versions on old MBPs.

eGPU setup, Ethernet(non-Gigabit) and USB-C docking is how I use TB3 on my ultrabook. However a gaming laptop already has a powerful dGPU with all the ports you need so it's redundant, well at least from a value standpoint.

I work in tech and I use TB3 every single day.
How ? By connecting my Asus ROG 701vi to a Razer Core X.

That may sound weird or overkill, since my rog has a GTX1080 and I've installed a 1070 in the Razer Core X, but mind this : I can play all games in Full HD, almost max quality without my ROG getting hot (only the CPU is solicited in my setup) ; so even after hours of gaming, the cpu remains between 45 and 50° celcius and the internal GTX1080 stays under 40°.
And only for that, it's worth having that kind of setup. Besides, the ROG remains silent since the fans never have to run fast.

I will never buy another laptop without TB3, I think this article is relevant and says exactly what I think of the latest Asus ROG especially considering the price they are sold for...

[arthur_z]

Something​s that​ i​ think asus​ rog fear marketing next​ years​ Model​ Laptop​ lower than last​ 2-3years after delete thunderbolt3​ and​ remodel rog​ for​ great​ designs, that if old last2-3yrs Model​ can​ connect​ egpu​ maybe rog'2017-2021 will reduce before usb-4.0​ coming in​ laptop​ 2020-2022

[Paul F.]

As a creative professional, I need TB3 so I can easily dock my laptop at work, with my triple monitor setup and other peripherals. Then I take the laptop home and either dock it there if I'm working all day from home, or just going mobile and doing some gaming.

TB3 is a necessity for me for any laptop purchase I would consider. This is a big omission by ASUS. Looks like Razor, MSI and Gigabyte are better options now. Sad really, as I really like the GX502 otherwise. Would absolutely be my next machine.

[MNet]

I've had TB3 on multiple laptops and never used it.  For something like the gx701 I don't think not using an egpu matters that much due to the lost efficiency I keep hearing about (maybe in a couple years, but right now the loss would defeat the purpose).

Though I do get it for people that do docking. 

It seems like an odd feature not to support considering how many far more challenging things they have engineered great solutions for (like thermal performance).

[Gunndykol]

If you are someone who needs the mobility of a laptop while using it as a docked "workstation" while in the office/home connected to external monitors than Thunderbolt is definitely useful, potentially a "must have". 

The ~30% performance loss when using only an eGPU and the laptop screen itself pretty much eliminates any performance benefit you are going to gain from a eGPU with even a 2080 TI.  There may still be thermal and acoustic benefits gained, but at the cost of MUCH larger footprint and desk space required.

For many people, like me, who have a dedicated desktop workstation that I use regularly, but are looking for a good gaming laptop to use when I feel like sitting outside on the patio, travelling, or just sitting in the family room so I can watch tv and game at the same time, Thunderbolt looses most of its benefit and I don't miss the exclusion of the port.

[BrunoM]

Why does Asus exclude TB3? Market fragmentation? Cost? Thermals? Footprint?