The best Asus ROG Phone 2 accessories to help you master mobile games
Buy the right accessories, and your Asus ROG Phone 2 can become a really powerful gaming machine for the home or on the move. We run through the top options here.
Asus ROG Phone 2 review: The power to change your game
Asus is on a roll in 2019. Its new ROG Phone 2 is a gaming phone with plenty of power to make even casual gamers pause to stare. Hold on to your butt. This thing is fast.
The ZenBook Pro 15 laptop is now $370 off at B&H for back-to-school season
Summer may feel like it’s in full swing, but back-to-school season is almost here. Now at B&H ahead of back to school season, you can score an Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX550 GE laptop for just $1,129 through August 31.
VirtualLink Still Isn’t Mandatory On NVIDIA’s RTX Super, But More Cards Support It
Back when the original NVIDIA RTX graphics cards released, we noticed that the VirtualLink USB Type-C port was not compulsory for the RTX 2060 and RTX 2070.
More of the new NVIDIA RTX Super cards now support VirtualLink, but still far from all of them.
What is VirtualLink
VirtualLink is a new USB-C single cable standard for future VR headsets and the GPUs/laptops they connect to. It’s intended to simplify the setup process of VR and ensure compatibility with USB and power requirements of future headsets. It also allows gaming laptops to guarantee support for VR.
It provides headsets with a minimum of 15 Watts of power and 10 Gbit/sec of USB data. That’s more power than three USB 3.0 ports would provide, and as much data as two would. Furthermore, VirtualLink GPUs must include a standards compliant USB controller for this data.
If you’re not sure why it’s important, here’s Why The VirtualLink USB-C Port Matters.
RTX Didn’t Make It Mandatory
While the RTX Founders Edition cards had VirtualLink, many partner cards did not. On the most affordable RTX GPU, the 2060, just one partner card featured the port.
Check out our list of Every Graphics Card And Laptop With The VirtualLink USB-C Port for a full rundown.
This decision could have consequences in the long term. Consumer PC VR headsets will need to continue to support legacy ports, which may mean shipping with a power adapter and increased costs.
RTX Super Is Better, But Still Lacking
A total of 7 partner RTX 2060 Super cards feature the VirtualLink port:
- EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER XC ULTRA GAMING [08G-P4-3163-KR]
- EVGA RTX 2060 SUPER XC ULTRA GAMING [08G-P4-3163-KR]
- ASUS ROG Strix GeForce® RTX 2060 SUPER [ROG-STRIX-RTX2060S-8G-GAMING]
- ASUS ROG Strix GeForce® RTX 2060 SUPER
Advanced edition [ROG-STRIX-RTX2060S-A8G-GAMING] - ASUS ROG Strix GeForce® RTX 2060 SUPER OC edition [ROG-STRIX-RTX2060S-O8G-GAMING]
- GIGABYTE RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC [GV-N206SGAMING-OC-8GC]
- GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce® RTX 2060 SUPER [GV-N206SAORUS-8GC]
That’s a big change over the one original 2060 card. But that still means the majority of cards do not support VirtualLink. Meanwhile, no AMD GPU on the market supports VirtualLink, not even the recently released RX 5700 XT.
NVIDIA and AMD are both founding members of VirtualLink, so it is possible the companies make it mandatory in their next architectures.
The post VirtualLink Still Isn’t Mandatory On NVIDIA’s RTX Super, But More Cards Support It appeared first on UploadVR.
Asus launches a fleet of ROG gaming laptops with 240Hz screens and 9th-gen CPUs
Asus launched updates to nearly every gaming laptop line they have, ranging from the high-end Zephyrus to the budget-level TUF Gaming. The naming schemes might be hard to parse, but there are some impressive options in Asus' new lineup.
The post Asus launches a fleet of ROG gaming laptops with 240Hz screens and 9th-gen CPUs appeared first on Digital Trends.
Asus ROG Zephyrus S (GX701) review
RTX graphics have finally made it to gaming laptops, and the first we've tested is the new Zephyrus S. Now with a 17-inch display and those new graphics inside, the Zephyrus' unique design boasts some additional power.
The post Asus ROG Zephyrus S (GX701) review appeared first on Digital Trends.
The best gaming laptops of CES 2019
If you're looking for a new gaming laptop in 2019 there are plenty. We've sorted through the long list of new gaming laptops and have picked out the best from the rest. Here are our picks for the best gaming laptops of CES 2019.
The post The best gaming laptops of CES 2019 appeared first on Digital Trends.
CES 2019: Asus’ RTX 2080 Gaming Laptop Is The First Announced To Support VirtualLink
Yesterday Nvidia announced that its RTX series of graphics cards was coming to laptops. Today, we confirmed that those laptops can support the VirtualLink USB-C standard should they so choose. One of the first devices to support the standard was just announced.
Asus’ Republic of Gamers Mothership GZ700 is the meaty machine in question. The laptop features the top-end RTX 2080 GPU but has one USB-C port that supports VirtualLink. Announced last year, VirtualLink is designed to make connecting VR headsets to PCs much easier, only requiring a single USB-C connection. It’s intended for use with next-generation headsets and is supported by Oculus, Valve, Microsoft, HTC, NVIDIA, and AMD.
You can spy one of the USB-C ports in the image below. The laptop actually comes with two but one isn’t VirtualLink-supported. There’s one either side of the screen and we’re not sure which is which.
This isn’t the Mothership’s only claim to fame, though. The laptop also comes with a stand that cools the device. That’s apparently a big feature. Oh and the keyboard is detachable, which might actually come in handy if you’re the backpack VR PC type.
Elsewhere there’s an Intel Core i9 processor. Full specs are below. The Mothership is coming in Q1 2019 but pricing hasn’t been announced yet.
Asus ROG Mothership GZ700 specs
- Processor: Intel Core i9-8950HK (6C/12T at up to 4.3GHz or 4.8GH Turbo)
- Operating system: Windows 10 Home
- Windows 10 Pro (ASUS recommends Windows 10 Pro)
- Display: 17.3-inch FHD (1920×1080) AHVA panel, 144Hz, 3ms, 100% sRGB, Optimus, G-Sync
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Memory: DDR4 2666MHz SDRAM up to 64GB
- Storage: 3 x M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 512GB SSD
- Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, 2×2 802.11ax Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 5.0 (Version may vary as the OS upgrades)
- Connectivity: 1 x USB3.1 Gen2 (Type-C) / Thunderbolt 3, 1 x USB3.1 Gen2 (TypeC) / VirtualLink, 3 x USB3.1 Gen2 (Type-A), 1 x USB3.1 Gen1 (Type A) / USB charger +, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack, 1 x 3.5mm microphone jack, 1 x RJ-45 jack, 1 x SD card reader, 1 x Kensington lock
- Keyboard: Detachable with wired or wireless modes, Per-key Aura Sync RGB backlighting (Aura Sync wired only), 2.5mm travel distance, N-key rollover
- Audio: 4 x 4W speakers with Smart Amp technology, Array microphone
- AC adapter: 2 x 280W power adapter
- Dimensions: 410 (W) x 320 (D) x 29.9 (H) mm
- Weight: 4.7kg (estimated)
Tagged with: asus, RTX 2080, VirtualLink, VR PC
The post CES 2019: Asus’ RTX 2080 Gaming Laptop Is The First Announced To Support VirtualLink appeared first on UploadVR.
Asus taps into Intel’s new ‘Whiskey Lake’ CPUs to power its latest ZenBooks
Asus introduced new ZenBooks during the IFA 2018 conference in Berlin. All three are based on eighth-generation Intel Core processors released this week along with discrete Nvidia graphics. They also sport super-thin profiles.
The post Asus taps into Intel’s new ‘Whiskey Lake’ CPUs to power its latest ZenBooks appeared first on Digital Trends.
Touchpad on the new Asus ZenBook Flip turns into an LED-illuminated NumberPad
If the traditional laptop isn’t your cup of tea, Asus introduced two new ZenBook Flip 2-in-1s during the IFA 2018 convention in Berlin. Both are based on Intel’s new 8th-gen Whiskey Lake CPUs launched this week.
The post Touchpad on the new Asus ZenBook Flip turns into an LED-illuminated NumberPad appeared first on Digital Trends.