ASUS Booth Tour at CES 2016: 10G Switches, External GPU Dock, USB-C Monitor and more
by Ian Cutress on January 19, 2016 9:00 AM ESTAside from the 10GBase-T switches written about earlier (they were actually hidden more in the B2B part of ASUS’ booth complex), the march on wireless is still one of ASUS’ marketing angles. Anyone who has looked into new routers or WiFi connection points can’t help but have noticed the swathe of ASUS routers now available, from single stream 802.11n USB sticks all the way up to 4x4 dual band 802.11ac MU-MIMO capable hardware.
Networking
ASUS had on display the AC2600 cable modem router, which offers 4x4 MIMO support, which can provide better coverage than the current generation of 3x3 models. I find it mildly interesting that it lists up to 2.53 Gbps support, although this will be shared between connected units and the gigabit Ethernet network ports on the rear might be a bottleneck to peak speed. That being said, the only time peak speed would be needed is for file transfer or multiple streaming.
To go with this, because there are no 4x4 on-motherboard solutions currently out, ASUS also had a PCIe wireless networking card which supports 4x4 802.11ac for up to 3.1 Gbps theoretical speed.
ASUS put a big heatsink on this card to help it keep cool under load, and the unit is massive. That being said, similar to other ASUS units, it is magnetic and thus will allow most users to affix it to the top or side of the PC chassis. Ultimately this is aimed at being the peak solution for when wires can’t make it.
Also on display was what ASUS was calling the first USB 3.0 based dual-band AC1900 WiFi point, capable of 3x4 MIMO and a flexible cable. In the USB format, this can be moved from machine to machine as well as not taking up a PCIe 3.0 x1 port on the motherboard. No word on pricing or release date at this time.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
50 Comments
View All Comments
SirKnobsworth - Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - link
I was under the impression that not all devices support all 4 lanes, but I might have been mistaken.extide - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
It IS coming from the GPU. As mentioned above, there is a multiplexer that basically unplugs the high speed lanes in the USB type C connector FROM the USB bus and then connects them TO the displayport signals directly. USB alternate mode doesnt use the superspeed usb bus. So it is basically displayport with a different cable/connector, but otherwise the same.JimmaDaRustla - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
Looking forward to the Z170 S - hopefully it is priced well. I kind of find it odd that it has like a dozen fan plugs, but only one M.2 slot though.damianrobertjones - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
The monitor shape looks like a Microsoft Surfa.... Nope, never, ever seen that design before.DanNeely - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
USB2 powered laptop screens with that sort of case have been around for longer than there was a surface. They might pre-date the ipad as well; I'm not sure exactly how long ago I first saw one.ddriver - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
I'd get one, at a good price and with touch input. This one doesn't seem to have touch, which is quite silly IMO. They target it as a second monitor for laptops and tablets, but I reckon it will be more useful as a touch display for a desktop system with a big non touch screen.zeeBomb - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
Wow these are dope!xthetenth - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
I definitely like the looks of the keyboard having a numpad but being able to move it. I'd prefer it to the left a lot of the time just because the keyboard and mouse are awfully wide otherwise.lucam - Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - link
Still no IPad Pro review in the horizon?Shadow7037932 - Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - link
Just like the Moto X review...