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| The AG03 costs around $213 in China. Pictured here are the eGPU dock with an Nvidia card installed. |
In a move set to excite PC enthusiasts and mobile workstation users, Aoostar has unveiled the AG03, the upgraded successor to its popular external GPU dock. The headline upgrade? The integration of cutting-edge USB4 v2 / Thunderbolt 5 ports, promising to eliminate bottlenecks and supercharge graphics performance for laptops, mini-PCs, and even gaming handhelds.
The core appeal of any eGPU enclosure is its connection to the host device, and here the AG03 makes a generational leap. It replaces the standard USB4 port found on the earlier AG02 model with two full-fat USB4 v2 or Thunderbolt 5 ports. This isn't just a minor speed bump. When paired with a compatible laptop or mini-PC that also features these new ports, the AG03 can unlock a staggering 80 Gbps of bi-directional bandwidth. That's double the bandwidth of the previous standard, paving the way for smoother gameplay, faster video rendering, and near-internal GPU levels of performance from an external setup.
For a deeper technical dive into what Thunderbolt 5 means for the future of connectivity, industry experts at Cable Matters offer a great comparison: Thunderbolt 5 vs USB4.
Power Delivery and Practical Design for Modern Setups
Beyond raw speed, the new Thunderbolt 5 ports bring significant power advantages. One of the ports supports up to 140W of Power Delivery (PD), making it an ideal single-cable solution for powering a high-performance laptop while feeding it data and graphics horsepower. This feature is particularly enticing for owners of powerful gaming handhelds, who can now dock their device for a desktop-grade gaming experience with just one connection.
The other Thunderbolt port offers a still-respectable 27W of power for peripherals. Completing the connectivity suite is an OCuLink port, providing an alternative high-speed pathway for systems equipped with that interface. The PCIe slot itself remains an x16 physical slot operating at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds, which is sufficient to feed even high-end graphics cards without major constraint.
You can check the official product listing for the Aoostar AG03 on JD.com here: Aoostar AG03 eGPU Dock.
A Trade-off in Power, But a Balanced Package
One notable specification change is the maximum power available to the graphics card. The AG03 houses an 800W built-in power supply but dedicates 500W to the GPU, a step down from the AG02's 650W GPU power limit. This slight reduction is likely a necessary compromise to accommodate the advanced power circuitry for the new Thunderbolt 5 ports. For most users, 500W is still ample for powerful cards like the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti or AMD Radeon 7800 XT.
Aesthetically, the AG03 retains the familiar, compact chassis of its predecessor. It continues to forgo an integrated M.2 SSD slot—a feature some competing docks offer—but the high-speed Thunderbolt 5 ports more than compensate. Users can easily connect blazing-fast external NVMe drives to one of the ports without impacting the bandwidth to the GPU.
For those ready to build their ultimate eGPU setup, a certified high-bandwidth cable is essential. A suitable option like the Silkland Thunderbolt 5 Cable is available on Amazon: Silkland TB5 Cable on Amazon.
Availability and Pricing
The Aoostar AG03 has launched in the Chinese market with a price tag of CNY 1,499 (approximately $213), positioning it as a competitively priced gateway to Thunderbolt 5 technology. Aoostar has not yet announced specific availability dates for North America or Europe, but global tech retailers are likely to stock it following the initial domestic release.
For gamers and creators seeking to future-proof their portable setup, the Aoostar AG03 represents a compelling step forward, marrying the groundbreaking speed of Thunderbolt 5 with a practical, all-in-one docking solution.
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| Port configuration of the Aoostar AG03 |
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| Main highlights of the AG03 eGPU |