ASUS VivoPC X Console Now Available: Core i5, GeForce GTX 1060 for $799
by Anton Shilov on April 24, 2017 9:30 AM EST
Word comes that ASUS has begun selling its VivoPC X console-like small form-factor PC in the U.S. As announced back in January, the system features a quad-core processor and a GeForce GTX 1060 GPU is available for $799. Meanwhile, ASUS has teamed up with Amazon and Newegg to offer a bundle consisting of a VivoPC X and an Oculus Rift with Touch starting from $1299; $100 cheaper than their combined retail price when purchased separately.
As previously reported, the ASUS VivoPC X is the company’s entry-level miniature PC designed for gamers who would like to have a gaming machine in their living rooms, but who are not ready to invest in the ROG GR8 II. The machine uses notebook components to give the PC a small form factor, cut down its power consumption, and thus make it relatively quiet. A drawback of such approach is that end-users are unable to upgrade key parts of the system, such as the GPU.
Spec-wise, the ASUS VivoPC X looks to be rather capable for a 5-liter machine (in fact, it carries the Oculus VR Ready label): it is based on the Intel Core i5-7300HQ (4C/4T, 2.5 GHz/3.5 GHz, 6 MB cache, HD Graphics 630, 45 W) CPU, the Intel HM175 PCH, as well as NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1060 GPU with 3 GB of GDDR5 memory. As for connectivity, the ASUS VivoPC X has four USB 3.0 Type-A ports, two USB 2.0 headers, Gigabit Ethernet, an IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi with BT 4.1 module, three display outputs (two HDMI and one DisplayPort), 5.1-channel audio with Sonic Suite software enhancements, and so on.
The base model that retails for $799 is called the A80CJ-DS51 and comes equipped with 8 GB of DDR4-2400 memory (single-channel) and a 1 TB 2.5” HDD with 5400 RPM spindle speed. Previously, ASUS intended to offer a 512 GB M.2 SATA SSD and a 2 TB 7200 RPM HDD with its VivoPC X; however the company had to cut back a bit on their final specs to hit their $799 price target. At this point the DS51 is the only model available, so we'll have to see if ASUS comes out with any additional versions that are closer to their original specifications. A VivoPC X with an SSD and a faster and more capacious HDD would be a considerably more attractive PC, but it would bring the entry-level SFF gaming system closer to the more expensive ROG GR8 II, muddling the ASUS product lineup.
| ASUS VivoPC X Specifications | |
| A80CJ-DS51 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-7300HQ Quad Core 2.5 GHz/3.5 GHz 6 MB cache HD Graphics 630 |
| PCH | Intel HM175 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 3 GB GDDR5 memory |
| Memory | 8 GB of DDR4-2400 (single-channel, single slot) |
| Storage | 1 TB 2.5" HDD (5400 RPM) |
| Wi-Fi | IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi + BT 4.1 |
| Ethernet | GbE |
| Display Outputs | 2 × HDMI 2.0b 1 × DisplayPort |
| Audio | 5.1-channel audio |
| USB | 4 × USB 3.0 Type-A (5 Gbps) 2 × USB 2.0 Type-A |
| Other I/O | - |
| Dimensions | 75.94 mm × 259.8 mm × 279.9 mm 2.99 × 10.23 × 11.02 inches |
| PSU | 230 W |
| OS | Windows 10 |
The ASUS VivoPC X is available from ASUS Store, Amazon, B&H, Fry’s, Microcenter, and Newegg for $799. In addition, from April 25 to June 13, Amazon and Newegg will offer an ASUS VivoPC X and an Oculus Rift with Touch bundles starting at $1299, shaving off $100 off of the price of a complete VR setup.
Related Reading:
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- GIGABYTE's New Console: The 'Gaming GT' PC Launched with Core i7-K, GTX1080, TB3
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Source: ASUS
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Samus - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
When using an iGPU...Intel's memory controller is so good there is negligible performance impact across most applications between single and dual channel. That's why they ditched triple channel early on, and left quad channel to the HPC market. There just isn't much of a difference when the memory bandwidth of high speed DDR3/DDR4 is already so high.
KingBacon - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
I just built two i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 1060 OC 6GB computers for my twin 15 year old boys for $850 each, including the Windows 10 licenses, RGB mechanical keyboards and mouses. They are also the quietest computers I've ever built. The upgrade path on those are phenomenal, and this thing has almost none.Too expensive, and has no future. This is not a good deal. Heck, it's not even a very good gaming computer.
pencil_sharpner_man - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
Hey could you share your build details ?I'm considering building a low profile sub 800$ build.
TallestJon96 - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
An i5 and gtx 1060 system could be good for $799, but that I5 and that GTX 1060 (3gb) isn't great. And it isn't upgradable!The trident seems better.
Anonymous Blowhard - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
> The [MSI] Trident seems betterLooked this thing up, I'd definitely agree with you. A quick search pointed me to a $899 model that came with an MSI keyboard/mouse (RGB lighting, but probably not mechanical) and it's using a desktop 7th-gen i5, regular PCIe GPU, and at least it's got a 7200rpm HDD.
Spinning rust should still be secondary storage only though.
marees - Tuesday, April 25, 2017 - link
The cyberpower gaming xtreme on amazon is cheaper $700+ only.Anonymous Blowhard - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
I don't know about the rest of you, but when I think of "premium gaming experience" the first thing that comes to my mind is definitely "5400rpm notebook drive" - the achingly long load times give me a chance to read the helpful on-screen tips like "Press X to Not Die" and "Oh god Windows is updating again, please kill me"zodiacfml - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
Only slightly bigger but I'm going with the ROG GR8 IIzaza - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
they should have used the T-series desktop CPU and the GPU upgradeable even if mini size. It would have made the device more "future proof"Shadowmaster625 - Monday, April 24, 2017 - link
This is exactly the market that AMD could take by storm with a Raven Ridge APU with 16GB of HBM2.