Gigabyte Unveils Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box: A New Era for External GPUs
Gigabyte just dropped a bombshell on Computex, showing us what may be one of the most powerful external GPUs (eGPUs) we've ever seen. Imagine having the pure brute power of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 water-cooled setup, all connected to your mobile environment. That's what Gigabyte is on the verge of delivering.
Thunderbolt 5: Speed You Need
It appears that 2025 will be the year Thunderbolt 5 at last hits its full potential. Following the laptop and dock announcements, Gigabyte jumps into the fray as well with their Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box. This graphical monster outside your computer is connected to your device via Thunderbolt 5, which boasts an astronomical 80Gbit/s bandwidth. What does that amount to when it comes to performance. Gigabyte is suggesting that the RTX 5090 in this eGPU will only be about 14% slower if it was plugged directly into a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot on a desktop. That is darned close.
Don't worry if your current equipment is on Thunderbolt 3 or 4; the new eGPU is backwards compatible, but you will see a hit in performance relative to full Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.
Compared to its predecessor (which utilized an RTX 4090 and Thunderbolt 3), Gigabyte is marketing a possible threefold gaming performance increase on Thunderbolt 5 devices under ideal scenarios. Advanced technology like DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation likely has a role to play in reaching those staggering numbers.
Cooling and Connectivity: More Than Just a GPU
To keep a graphics card as beastly as this one at its full potential, Gigabyte has packed a water cooling system within the Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box. While it ensures peak performance, it also means that future upgrades to the GPU might not be so simple.
This eGPU is not only about the graphics card, though. Gigabyte has packed loads of connectivity options:
- A second Thunderbolt 5 port: Great for daisy-chaining a high-speed monitor, a docking station, a high-speed Thunderbolt SSD, or other devices.
- Laptop Charging: Your connected laptop can be charged up with USB-C Power Delivery 3.0.
- More Ports: Two USB-A ports, a second USB-C port, and an Ethernet port are also included.
- Monitor Outputs Galore: The eGPU itself has three DisplayPort 2.1b outputs and an HDMI 2.1b port, so you can drive multiple monitors.
What About the Price and When Can We Have It.
As for the major questions – price and availability – Gigabyte is staying mum, at least for the time being. We'll just have to see what additional announcements are made regarding the Aorus RTX 5090 AI Box.
One thing is clear, though: Gigabyte is hell-bent on changing what is possible for external graphics performance, and this new eGPU is a clear statement of intent.
