System specs
Asus ROG Flow X13 (GV301QH-DS96)
1920x1200 13.4" 43-120Hz Freesync Touchscreen IPS Display (Sharp SHP151E)
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS 45W TDP
iGPU: AMD Radeon Vega (Cezanne)
dGPU: Nvidia GTX 1650 with Max Q (TU117)
16GB LPDDR4X memory
1TB NVMe drive M.2 2230 (WDC PC SN530 SDBPTPZ-1T00-1002)
Intel Wifi 6 AX200
Windows 10 Enterprise 20H2
- Bitlocker
- HyperV
- WSL2
- Ubuntu 20.10, GWSL X11, wsl-ssh-agent
- Office 2019, Adobe CC, VScode
- Oculus Link for Quest 2 wired VR
- Call of Duty, Battlefield, MS Flight Sim, AAA VR titles
eGPU hardware
Asus XG Mobile with Mobile RTX 3080 150W (GC31S)
Integrated 240W power supply
Proprietary 15" cable combining USB-C with 100W PD, OCuLink(?) 8-lane PCIe gen3, and indicator LED
Asus eGPU live switching utility is required (even after power off)
Hardware pictures
[coming]
Installation steps
1. Order from Asus Store, etc
2. Open Box
3. Plug and play*
Asus utility detects the XG Mobile eGPU and reminds you to slide the lock. USB and power delivery are immediately available. Once you slide the lock, a pop-up progress bar appears for a few seconds before confirming the eGPU is now active (LED turns red). A taskbar icon appears which must be clicked to deactivate the eGPU. It confirms when ready and the LED turns white again.
While disconnected from the eGPU, a separate control enables iGPU Only Mode to be enabled or automatic (Nvidia Advanced Optimus). This manages when the built-in GTX 1650 dGPU is powered up and needs cooling. On eGPU or iGPU, all cooling is dedicated to the CPU and its iGPU.
* While my steps are easy, let me take this moment to acknowledge the painstaking and costly builds others here have contributed over the years in pursuit of the perfect road warrior powerhouse. Thank you all!
Benchmarks
Internal Display loopback (1920x1200 native)
External Display DisplayPort (1920x1200 forced)
Superposition - Internal Display loopback (1080p, forced)
Superposition - External Display DisplayPort (1080p, forced)
Superposition - Internal Display loopback (various resolutions, forced)
Superposition - External Display DisplayPort (various resolutions, forced)
Superposition VR - Internal Display loopback (custom 1832x1920, Quest 2)
Superposition VR - External Display DisplayPort (custom 1832x1920, Quest 2)
3DMark - Internal Display loopback, in laptop mode (with limited cooling beneath base)
3DMark - Internal Display loopback, in tent mode (maximum cooling through raised base)
3DMark - External Display DisplayPort, in tent mode (maximum cooling through raised base)
VRMark - Internal Display loopback, in tent mode (maximum cooling through raised base)
VRMark - External Display DisplayPort, in tent mode (maximum cooling through raised base)
3DMark Feature Tests
AIDA64 Cache, Memory, and Disk Speeds (1TB internal NVMe + 4TB NVMe external enclosure via USB 3.2)
Battery: Over 5 hours continuously running PCmark (heavy productivity) on battery. Streamed 3 full-length movies (6 hours) over wi-fi on battery. 10+ hours at idle on battery seems realistic.
Comments
The great battery life, light weight, and 2-in-1 flexibility leaves me wanting to carry the Flow X13 everywhere I go. For someone who's always required a potent CPU in hand, I've never known this level of mobility before.
Its responsive stylus with pressure and angle sensitivity will works well for creativity apps (even on the GTX 1650).
With 100W USB Power Delivery, I expect this will handle a day's productivity work on solar power and/or 12V car adapter. #VanLife
When on hydroelectric (work site) or at home, the 240W XG Mobile provides gorgeous gaming on AAA titles (1920x1200, ultra, ray tracing).
Asus claim that running the device in tent mode offers the best performance seems legit. I saw it running almost 10 deg F cooler when the vents were well away from the desk.
I'm using a 4TB NVMe USB-C Enclosure to off-load games, VMs, and backups. I was worried about the 1TB storage limitation but it's looking like this will work fine. The only workload I'd hesitate to task the Flow X13 to would be editing large videos. Gaming videos would probably be okay.
I'm particularly eager to learn more about the XG Mobile cable and detection. Rumor suggests that its a repurposed OCuLink 8-lane PCI Express (PCI standard) connector, possibly wired in some proprietary way. I believe these are also called SFF-8612 8i connectors and/or SFF-8611 cables. The plug's indicator LED and detection could be handled with the USB Hub or could use the reserved pins on those connectors.
[3/31/21 - Added benchmarks on External Display, with internal display disabled. Added Superposition VR and VRMark.]#VanLife with solar productivity + microhydroelectric gaming
2021 13" ASUS ROG Flow X13 (GTX1650) [R5K,8C,H] + RTX 3080 @ 64Gbps-XG (XG Mobile) + Win10 20H2 // Quest 2 [build link]
@aquaeatrae, Thank you for sharing this build. Can you post a HWiNFO64 screen capture with the trees for eGPU and expansion ports expanded?
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• external graphics card builds
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2018 Mac Mini [8th,4C,B] + RX Vega 56 Nano @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Gigabyte Gaming Box) + macOS 12.0 & Win11 [build link]
@itsage, good call. Here's HWINFO64 screencaps with the eGPU enabled. Let me know what else might help.
#VanLife with solar productivity + microhydroelectric gaming
2021 13" ASUS ROG Flow X13 (GTX1650) [R5K,8C,H] + RTX 3080 @ 64Gbps-XG (XG Mobile) + Win10 20H2 // Quest 2 [build link]
@aquaeatrae, How do you find the cable length in terms of arranging the laptop and eGPU when docked to a workstation?
Also to clarify, those benchmark results are in loopback internal mode? If so, can you run with an external monitor?
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• external graphics card builds
• best laptops for external GPU
• eGPU enclosure buyer's guide
2018 Mac Mini [8th,4C,B] + RX Vega 56 Nano @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Gigabyte Gaming Box) + macOS 12.0 & Win11 [build link]
@aquaeatrae, nice to see X13 builds coming up.
Still waiting for my order in France 
I think you ran benchmarks on internal display as suggested @itsage.
Still, result in bandwith, battery and CPU performance are promising !
@aquaeatrae, Thanks, do you have the quest 2 connected to the eGPU or the flow x13. I'm waiting for my delivery and main reason was for the quest 2 improved performance.
To do: Create my signature with system and expected eGPU configuration information to give context to my posts. I have no builds.
.@aquaeatrae, How do you find the cable length in terms of arranging the laptop and eGPU when docked to a workstation?
Also to clarify, those benchmark results are in loopback internal mode? If so, can you run with an external monitor?
Since this is my first actual eGPU build, I can't compare the experience with longer cables. The XG Mobile has a 16" (0.4m) cable. I can position the eGPU behind the Flow X13 or to its side. I suppose a longer cable could be nice where I might prefer to hide the eGPU under my desk, but the XG Mobile is so tiny I'm not overly concerned. Perhaps that'll be more notable later assuming we manage to reverse engineer the cable for desktop GPUs.
[OP updated above] I ran all benchmarks again using external monitors (1440p Asus ROG PG278Q with G-Sync, 4K Samsung UN55NU8000FXZA 60Hz). I wanted to get those done before updating the Nvidia driver (still on 461.92). The reported bandwidth (AIDA, CUDA-Z) appears unchanged. There was some definite gains on many tests, however a few (like the VRMark Cyan Room) surprised me with lower performance for some reason. I'm not sure why that would be. Those results seemed reproducible. I'll retest more when I can and definitely after the driver update (which now introduced Resizable BAR for some games).@aquaeatrae, Thanks, do you have the quest 2 connected to the eGPU or the flow x13. I'm waiting for my delivery and main reason was for the quest 2 improved performance.
The Quest Link connection must necessarily be send via a high quality USB-C cable (Orzero 6m USB 3.2 Gen 1 in my case). Since the RTX 3080 eGPU doesn't have a VirtualLink port nor direct access to its built-in USB-A hub, Quest Link is best connected to the Flow X13 laptop's USB-C port. The only way to directly stream VR video would be with a different headset that uses DisplayPort or HDMI cables. Quest Link will always require the loopback through the CPU and its USB processing. I included Superposition VR benchmarking for both scenarios above, although I set the resolution based on the Quest 2. Tests with the Vive Pro's resolution (2016x2240) were also nearly Capable for "Future VR" and even the Pimax 8KX resolutions (3840x2160) were Capable up to its "VR Maximum" levels (below). I do own a Vive and Vive Pro but they are such a hassle to setup compared to the Quest 2, I doubt I'll test them.
My brief real-world testing of the Quest 2 on this eGPU performed great although Facebook does present an annoying warning pop-up since they've not yet verified this hardware. The pop-up goes away in games, but does persist over virtual desktop viewing (as you can partially see through my phone's rolling shutter below). Hopefully, this will go away once they catch up with these new RTX 30 series laptops.
"Your computer doesn't meet the updated minimum specifications, which can lead to poor experience in VR." ("Learn more", albeit very old info)
VRMark - External Display DisplayPort, in tent mode (Vive Pro & Pimax 8KX resolutions)
#VanLife with solar productivity + microhydroelectric gaming
2021 13" ASUS ROG Flow X13 (GTX1650) [R5K,8C,H] + RTX 3080 @ 64Gbps-XG (XG Mobile) + Win10 20H2 // Quest 2 [build link]
I really appreciate what you have done for me. If you don't mind I'll use what you told me and share with others online that have had the same question, and never received a response.
Again thanks for taking time out of your day, for your response.
Lester Nightfly
To do: Create my signature with system and expected eGPU configuration information to give context to my posts. I have no builds.
.@aquaeatrae, Thank you for sharing more results through external monitor mode. What I'm most amazed with is the fact this is your first eGPU setup! We'd love to learn more about "#VanLife with solar productivity + microhydroelectric gaming".
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• external graphics card builds
• best laptops for external GPU
• eGPU enclosure buyer's guide
2018 Mac Mini [8th,4C,B] + RX Vega 56 Nano @ 32Gbps-TB3 (Gigabyte Gaming Box) + macOS 12.0 & Win11 [build link]
In case you're opening it up, do you see any space for a larger m.2 drive inside, ignoring that there is no way to screw it in place? A m.2 2242 might fit into the space? 2280 through an extender somewhere?
Could you measure the size of eGPU ports? That might shed some light if those are really Oculink ports.
To do: Create my signature with system and expected eGPU configuration information to give context to my posts. I have no builds.
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