OneXplayer crowdfunding project offers an external GPU and SSD combo but also questions over performance

Promotional image of the OneXGPU project
(Image credit: One-Netbook)

The manufacturer of the OneXFly has announced a new crowdfunding project to produce a new add-on for its handheld gaming PC. It's going to be an external GPU but one with an extra feature: one M.2 slot for a SSD.

External graphics cards (eGPUs) for handhelds aren't a completely new thing, as the Asus ROG Ally supports the company's latest ROG XG Mobile. That houses a 150W GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop chip and also acts as an I/O expansion unit, with four USB Gen 3.2 ports, an SD card slot, and an ethernet socket.

One-Netbook, the maker of the original OneXPlayer, is aiming to do the same for its OneXFly handheld. At the moment, the group is crowdfunding the project but if it's successful, then the OneXGPU will serve a similar function as the XG Mobile, though with a few significant differences.

Firstly, the GPU inside will be a Radeon RX 7600M XT, which is exactly the same as the desktop Radeon RX 7600 graphics card but with a lower power limit (120W vs 165W), so it shouldn't be too dissimilar, in terms of performance. That's assuming the OneXGPU doesn't reduce the power cap further, of course.

The project isn't replete with technical details, unfortunately, so it's not entirely clear how the unit will connect to other devices. The project's page states that the OneXGPU will be equipped with two HDMI and two DisplayPort outputs, two USB Type-A and one USB Type-C ports, plus a LAN and OCuLink connection.

Given that the OneXFly has two USB4 Type-C ports and this device is used in the promotional images for the eGPU unit, I strongly suspect that the one on the OneXGPU will be the same version. OCuLink is a type of PCI Express connection system, though it doesn't supply any power, unlike the PCIe slots in your desktop PC. That doesn't matter for this device as it's powered by an external DC source.

The reason as to why the connection system is so important here is that the main feature being promoted by One-Netbook is the integrated M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs, up to a 2280 size format. Now you might wonder how a single USB4 connection can handle GPU and SSD traffic together. Well, that seems to be explained by the promotional video on the project site.

For a couple of seconds, the animation shows an SSD being inserted into the slot, with a PCIe 2.0 label on the drive. That could be a typo but if the unit's USB Type-C port is USB4 Gen 4 then it could possibly support up to 80Gbps when used in the so-called Tunneled PCIe mode.

Most SSDs use four PCIe lanes to transmit data and the Radeon RX 7600M XT uses eight of them. If that's the case here and the SSD runs at PCIe 2.0 and the GPU at PCIe 3.0, despite supporting 4.0, then there still wouldn't be enough bandwidth from a USB4 Gen 4 port. Only just, mind.

An image of the SSD in the OneXGPU project

(Image credit: One-Netbook)

But an SSD running on a four lane PCIe 2.0 interface would be somewhat bottlenecked by the connection, as you'd get less than 2,000MB/s of bandwidth. Even slow PCIe 3.0 SSDs will exceed that figure, so if the detail in the video is correct, then it's not particularly encouraging.

A possible way around that problem would be to use the OCuLink just for the GPU or SSD, but the host device (laptop or handheld PC) needs to have such a port, and it's not a very common sight.

Black Friday deals

Black Friday deals

Best Black Friday PC gaming deals: All the best discounts in one place
How to avoid overpaying on a Black Friday gaming laptop deal: How much to pay, and where to buy from
How to spot the best Black Friday prebuilt deal: Don't pay over the odds for a PC this year

One-Netbook's solution might be that the GPU and SSD can't use the PCIe connection at the same time but that would mean you'd never want to play any games directly installed on the drive.

Overall, the OneXGPU does look very neat and could work with devices other than One-Netbook's own. The images suggest it will be quite compact and the use of a low power GPU means that it shouldn't require a bulky power supply to run it.

The Radeon RX 7600M XT offers a lot more performance than the integrated GPUs found in all of the AMD-powered handheld devices, though it won't turn them into 4K gaming beasts.

The integrated M.2 slot could prove to be a cool feature but the lack of information about the OneXGPU's connection system leaves a lot of questions unanswered. If you're trying to raise funds via crowdsourcing, letting potential customers know exactly what they're paying for is a must.

Over to you, One-Netbook.

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
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
OneXPlayer G1 handheld gaming PC concept art with detachable keyboard coming off to show controller underneath
OneXPlayer has teased a handheld PC with a removable keyboard that's getting me all sorts of excited for laptop/handheld hybrids
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
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro handheld gaming PC
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro review
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
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
Latest in SSDs
An image of a WD_Black SN850X SSD against a teal background with a white border
The best 1 TB gaming SSD you can buy is now just $79, the cheapest it's been for a good while
WD Black SN850X SSD on a gaming PC case.
Looks like we won't be seeing Western Digital SSDs in our gaming PCs as the company hands the reins back over to SanDisk
A SanDisk Desk Drive external SSD on a blue background
I adore this chunky, reliable external SSD, so for a third off the 4 TB version I will absolutely recommend it in a heartbeat
The WD Black SN850X 8 TB out of the packaging.
If you thought PCIe Gen 5 SSDs were a little pointless, don't worry, here comes 32 GB's worth of Gen 6 technology
Adata SE880 external SSD
Adata SE880 1 TB external SSD review
Western Digital NvMe SSDs.
Quit worrying about game install sizes with these future-proof SSDs
Latest in News
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close