OneXPlayer is back with another external GPU and this time uses a graphics chip so new, not even its maker has announced it

ONEXGPU 2 Connected to X1-MINI for Game Testing - YouTube ONEXGPU 2 Connected to X1-MINI for Game Testing - YouTube
Watch On

OneXPlayer has built a reputation for making excellent handheld gaming PCs, such as the OneXFly, as well as experimenting with some odd designs that don't quite hit the mark. This time it's having a second bash at making an external GPU, called the OneXGPU 2, to give handhelds, tablets, and basic laptops a much-needed gaming boost.

The first iteration of the OneXGPU isn't brilliant if I can be somewhat blunt. With a Radeon RX 7600M XT graphics processor and an M.2 2280 SSD socket, the $700 device is very pricey and tries a little too hard to be all things for all people. But even with a full-speed USB4 cable, there's barely enough bandwidth for the GPU and SSD.

So when I read that OneXPlayer has launched a new Indiegogo project (via Videocardz) to fund the development of the OneXGPU 2, I was curious to see what was different this time. While the crowdsourced funding page lacks some critical information, the biggest improvement is that the GPU has been seriously beefed up.

Specifically, it's a Radeon RX 7800M, and that's a much nicer prospect than the previous RX 7600M XT. For starters, you're getting a lot more graphics processing ability as it sports 60 compute units (for 3,840 shaders) compared to the 32 in the RX 7600M. There's no word on what the clock speeds are but it will have 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM.

Now, before you zoom off to learn more about the Radeon RX 7800M, it's worth noting that, as far as I can tell, this is the first-ever appearance and even AMD doesn't have anything about it. I strongly suspect that it's based on the same Navi 32 GPU that powers the desktop RX 7800 XT, albeit with one MCD (memory-controller die) missing.

If it is a Navi 32 processor inside the OneXGPU 2 then the performance should be really good, even with the reduced memory bandwidth, as the parent chip is no slouch in 1440p gaming. Even more important is that if OneXPlayer has a supply of these chips coming in, then so too will laptop vendors, which means we could see more gaming laptops with a decent Radeon dGPU inside them this year.

As you'd expect, there's a whole gamut range of connection options: an OCuLink interface, one USB4 port, two DisplayPort 2.0 sockets, a single HDMI 2.1 socket, two USB Type-A ports (probably USB 3 but no idea which generation), a microSD slot, and a gigabit LAN socket. Oh and the M.2 slot is still present.

That's all well and good, but there's still the issue of there just not being enough bandwidth, even with a USB4 cable, to fully support a fast gaming SSD and a powerful GPU. This means that the OneXGPU 2 will probably still only support Gen3 SSDs, which is okay, but not ideal for something likely to be well north of $800.

We've contacted OneXPlayer in the hope of finding so more details about the OneXGPU 2 and if we learn anything new, I'll let you know.

Best gaming PCBest gaming laptop


Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.
Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Nick Evanson
Hardware Writer

Nick, gaming, and computers all first met in 1981, with the love affair starting on a Sinclair ZX81 in kit form and a book on ZX Basic. He ended up becoming a physics and IT teacher, but by the late 1990s decided it was time to cut his teeth writing for a long defunct UK tech site. He went on to do the same at Madonion, helping to write the help files for 3DMark and PCMark. After a short stint working at Beyond3D.com, Nick joined Futuremark (MadOnion rebranded) full-time, as editor-in-chief for its gaming and hardware section, YouGamers. After the site shutdown, he became an engineering and computing lecturer for many years, but missed the writing bug. Cue four years at TechSpot.com and over 100 long articles on anything and everything. He freely admits to being far too obsessed with GPUs and open world grindy RPGs, but who isn't these days? 

Read more
A promotional image for the Aokzoe A1 X handheld gaming PC
Aokzoe teases its next-gen handheld gaming PC and it looks like it's just stuffed a better chip, screen, and battery into its not-bad, not-great A1 Pro
The UHPILCL water cooled gaming laptop
This water-cooled gaming laptop packs a full-size desktop RTX 5090 and even fits in a backpack, but I sure wouldn't want it in mine
The 2025 revised release of the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 tablet floats in a mint green gradient void. It sits in a landscape orientation, propped up by a stand attached to its back. A lightweight tablet-style keyboard is also attached at the front of the device.
The new ROG Flow Z13 is ditching dedicated graphics but making up for it with AMD's next-gen Ryzen AI Max APU
The GDP Duo laptop with two OLED screens, at CES 2025
This $2000 Dual OLED screen laptop with 'outstanding computing power' has been spotted at CES but I'm unconvinced
An image showing two Asus ROG NUC 2025 desktop PCs against a gradient red background
The 2025 Asus ROG NUC looks epic and has some mighty specs but a desktop gaming PC will probably be far better value for money
AMD Strix Point APU chip, held in a hand, with the reflected light showing the various processing blocks in the chip die
AMD's next-gen 'Gorgon Point' APU outted and seemingly sticks with RDNA 3.5 graphics which is disappointing for handheld gaming PCs if accurate
Latest in Graphics Cards
Nvidia App
Hmmm, upgrades: Nvidia App gets an optional AI assistant and custom DLSS resolution scaling
A close-up photo of an Nvidia RTX 4070, with its heatsink removed, showing the AD104 GPU die and the surrounding Micron GDDR6X VRAM chips
With Nvidia Ace taking up 1 GB of VRAM in Inzoi, Team Green will need to up its memory game if AI NPCs take off in PC gaming
A collage of Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, as shown in AMD's promotional video for the launch of RDNA 4 at CES 2025
AMD's CEO claims 9070 XT sales are 10x higher than all previous Radeon generations but that's just for the first week of availability
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC graphics card from various angles
The RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti are rumoured to be mere weeks away, with board partners reportedly required to ensure at least one MSRP model at launch
Nvidia headquarters
Nvidia CEO sets sights on making 'several hundred billion' dollars worth of electronics in the USA over the next four years, increasing the chance of your next GPU being made in America
The Asus ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, a gold-plated graphics card on a sand dune background
A Jensen Huang-signed version of this golden Asus RTX 5090 will be auctioned off to support relief efforts for the California wildfires
Latest in News
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'
Otter AI Meeting Agent
As if your work meetings weren't already fun enough, now Otter has a new all-hearing AI agent that remembers everything anyone has said and can join in the discussion