OneXPlayer has returned with another external graphics card, and this time it uses a graphics processor so new that not even the manufacturer has announced it.

OneXPlayer is known for its excellent gaming PCs such as the OneXFly. They also experiment with odd designs which don't always work. OneXPlayer is now taking a second crack at creating an external GPU called the OneXGPU 2. This will give handhelds and laptops a gaming boost.

If I may be a little blunt, the first version of the OneXGPU wasn't great. The $700 device, which has a Radeon RX7600M XT graphics chip and an M.2 SSD socket, is expensive and tries to be everything for everyone. Even with a full-speed USB4 connector, the GPU and SSD barely get enough bandwidth.

When I read that OneXPlayer had launched a new Indiegogo Project (via Videocardz), to fund the development and production of the OneXGPU 2 I was curious as to what was different. The crowd-sourced funding page is missing some important information, but the biggest improvement has been the GPU.

It's a Radeon RX 7800M and that's a lot nicer than the RX 7600M XT. You're also getting a lot of graphics processing power, as it has 60 compute units (for a total of 3,840 shaders), compared to 32 in the RX7600M. No word yet on the clock speed, but it will have a 12 GB GDDR6 based VRAM.

Before you go off to read more about the Radeon RX 7800M it's important to note that AMD hasn't said anything about it. This is, as far I can tell, the first time it's ever been seen. I'm inclined to believe that it's the same Navi32 GPU that powers desktop RX7800 XT. However, one MCD (memory controller die) is missing.

If the OneXGPU 2 is powered by a Navi 32 chip, then performance should be excellent, even with reduced memory bandwidth. The parent chip is not a slouch when it comes to 1440p gaming. If OneXPlayer is able to get a supply, so will laptop vendors. This means that we could see more gaming notebooks with a decent Radeon GPU inside them in 2019.

As you might expect, the OCuLink interface is accompanied by a wide range of connectivity options: two DisplayPort 2.0 sockets (one with HDMI 2.1), two USB Type-A port (probably USB 3, but I'm not sure which generation), a MicroSD slot, and a Gigabit LAN socket. Oh, and the M.2 is still there.

It's great, but even with a USB4 connection, there isn't enough bandwidth to support a gaming SSD or a powerful GPU. The OneXGPU 2 is likely to only support Gen3 SSDs. This is fine, but not ideal, for a product that will cost well above $800.

We've contacted OneXPlayer to find out more about the OneXGPU 2. If we learn anything else, I will let you know.