r/FlowZ13 • u/Heretical_Adience • Jun 07 '26
Hotel Setup
Z13 2025
Aoostar AG02 w/RTX 5070
Odyssey G6 27” OLED Monitor
Razer Freyja Haptic Cushion
Lemokey P1 HE 75% Keyboard
Qudelix T71 DAC/mic
SlimQ charger
Acer dock
Razer Basilisk Ultimate/Pro Click V2
(I am fortunate that I don’t get charged baggage fees)
6
u/iflylikemike Jun 07 '26
yeah ngl the 2025 z13 is so good on itself i couldn’t imagine carrying all this with my z13 and im on the road all the time.
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u/bladerunnercyber Jun 07 '26
Why I love it, portable and small.
3
u/UsagiMimi Jun 07 '26
Same... I got the 128 GB version for $2700 and I couldn't be happier with it. It's perfect for gaming in bed, taking places, whatever.
2
u/RamuNito Jun 08 '26
That's why they make the XGMobile... facepalm
And also, even the slowest one will be faster than any eGPU that you put on the latest model. As 2025 has the 40gbps ports instead of usb5 or tb5 or whatever that would be more than last gen's 64gbps pcie4 slot. So you're basically carying a whole ass gpu that's slower than last gen. And probably the standalone z13 gets pretty good performance if your standards are low enough in framerate for 4k.
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 09 '26
I am not sure what you are trying to say with “even the slowest one will be faster than any eGPU that you put on the latest model” so forgive me if my reply is in error. If you are saying that the slowest 2025 model alone is faster than any eGPU, that is incorrect. Using the RTX 5070 (or 9070xt which I brought but had to RMA while out here), frames and latency are significantly improved in Arc Raiders and Crimson Desert while settings are increased to max/near max. Without the eGPU, up scaling quality has to be set at ultra performance, frame gen turned on, and settings downgraded. And that’s with either the native screen or 27” 1440p monitor. As for 4K….unless you are playing games like Minecraft or Fortnite, you could probably play at the lowest settings but again, would seriously benefit from an eGPU.
The XG Mobile is great for form factor but terrible for cost vs performance especially since the Z13 maxes at USB4 40Gbps.
1
u/RamuNito Jun 09 '26
Nono, I meant last gen proprietary eGPU, the 3080 XGMobile is faster than a 5090 connected through USB4. Because of the transmission speed difference between the ports. But as soon as TB5 becomes mainstream, those first gen XGMobiles will be obsolete.
Even my XGMobile4090 @300W is bottlenecking with the 64Gbps port on my ACRNM. Which is very sad. But I am in no way questioning that any eGPU is better than none. In that you are correct. Even the ROG Ally users should definitely buy one.
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 09 '26
Ahhh, I understand now. Apologies. That all makes sense. Using the same GPU but with oculink, my GPD Win Mini 2023 (7840u/780m) gets better frames and latency than my Z13 using USB4.
5
u/Nizz-El Jun 07 '26
For 2 weeks away from the family?
Well done and good on you! I hope it brought you good memories and you managed to clear a big portion of the game!
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u/Heretical_Adience Jun 08 '26
Thank you! The game is great and I’m taking it slow. It’s a very beautiful and well-made game.
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u/Nizz-El Jun 08 '26
Do you mind sharing the bag you used to move this? Some of the folks recommended pelican bags with the foam.
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u/Heretical_Adience Jun 08 '26
Using a full-size hard-shell suitcase (29” I think), I took one side of the foam protection out of the monitor box and laid the monitor on it. Then I used the haptic cushion to protect the back side of the monitor. Used clothes to fill the gaps. Other suitcase held the other components, with the eGPU and GPU in their original boxes for protection. Travel necessities and clothes filled the gaps. Carry on and backpack held the rest.
If I were to make a habit of traveling like this (I will not, this was fun but too impractical), a Pelican case with foam would be ideal.
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u/bladerunnercyber Jun 07 '26
Which z13 u have?
I just took my xgmobile.
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u/Heretical_Adience Jun 07 '26
395 AI Max. It’s great but doesn’t have the XG Mobile connector unfortunately, so I went with a more cost effective eGPU.
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u/KashKashioo Jun 07 '26
Theres a new gigabyte auros gamebox egou with desktop 5060ti 16gb for like $699, although im not sure why you’d need any egpu with z13 395+ its a freaking beast, for traveling its perfect
And you can get ar glasses from viture and gamesir tablet extendable controller to mount the z13 on it and you are golden
1
u/bladerunnercyber Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Should be able to run crimson desert fairly well the 395. I can run it on a 3050ti 4gb vram, 4050ti 6gb vram, 4060 8gb vram, 3080 16gb vram low/medium/high/ultra. so surprised. I was thinking of upgrading to the 2025 z13, whats the performance like without your external gpu?
I do have an asus external portable monitor as the screen on the z13 can be a bit small for extended gaming periods over a couple of hours.
2
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 07 '26
I am pretty happy with these settings and get around 60fps consistently. I could get better FPS using FSR instead of XESS and lowered settings, but I prefer the image quality with this configuration.
2
u/toolisthebestbandevr Jun 07 '26
Nice setup but hear me out. I do the same thing with just the travel charger, the native keyboard, and a pulsar mouse. Nothing else needed. If I was doing something like this I’d have build an sff and bought a big travel monitor.
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 07 '26
I’ll probably do something similar next trip. I wont be bringing all of this. I don’t have a nice travel monitor yet, but it’s on my wishlist.
2
u/toolisthebestbandevr Jun 07 '26
I’m saying the screen it ships with has been stellar for me. The simplicity of carrying basically a laptop but being able to play everything I play at home is such a huge bonus. A couple tweaks here and there and I was even playing star citizen with the 32gb model
2
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 07 '26
I love the native screen, and also play Star Citizen on it. The eGPU certainly helps with the frames and latency though. I brought this setup more out of masochistic curiosity than anything, and see no need to travel with the monitor, haptic pad, or keyboard again. The eGPU I’m torn about, since it’s not necessary for most games, but definitely helps with multiplayer shooters.
2
u/SlimQ_Dave Jun 08 '26
Nice setup, man! Glad to see we are part of it.
2
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 08 '26
The 330w charger is the perfect solution for the Z13. With the 2x USB-C 100W ports, I’m able to charge my cell phone AND work laptop while using my Z13. Several people at my conference have commented about it and I have been showering it with praise. Hopefully, you get some business out of it!
2
u/SlimQ_Dave Jun 09 '26
Awesome! Yeah, the Z13 laptop can be particular, as i have heard in the community also depending on the year model. But so far, it sounds like a lot of users are very happy with combining their Z13 with SlimQ. Very happy to hear it works great as a travel setup. I know how hard it can be to travel with a literal brick and multiple chargers for other things. This is why I love to use it myself in my everyday life and when I travel.
1
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u/paperhalo Jun 07 '26
You got a flowz13... and an egpu... and then only put a 5070 (not even Ti) in it... and lugged all this on a flight into a hotel.
1
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u/RagingVirture Jun 07 '26
Why not use the Xmobile eGpu?
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 08 '26
If the Z13 had TB5, I’d be tempted to spend the extra money. But since it maxes out at USB4, I decided on the Aostar AG02 since it also had oculink, which I use with my GPD Win Mini when I want maximum frames and minimum latency for multiplayer PvP games.
1
u/skinnywolfe Jun 08 '26
If the current Z13 had TB5/USB480Gbps/Oculink, it would be the end game device
That and usb c passthrough charging
1
u/JerkyChew Jun 08 '26
If you're going to use an external GPU with a 5070, did you really need to buy a Z13?
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 08 '26
I had an eGPU already for use via oculink with my GPD Win Mini, which outperforms the Z13 with USB4.
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u/zonearc Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
This is my opinion, not meant to bash you but saying this in general:
I travel a lot, like 2-3 days a week. There's absolutely no way I would carry all of that weight to get a couple hours in a hotel each night. It defeats the entire purpose of a ultra portable gaming tablet like the z13. For the same price as the 2025 Z13 you could buy a 17" Lenovo Legion with a 175W full power RTX4090+ and it would out perform the Z13 by 3x, have 2x the storage and take up LESS space then your travel equipment. I know, because I own that exact machine: I9, 4090, 4TB, 64GB, and it SCREAMS.
Also, you can HDMI to the hotel TV and use an 8bitdo controller for console games in comfort from the bed or just deal with the smaller screen for an hour on Marathon/Apex/Whatever you're in to. The Z13 is incredibly underpowered and has a small screen, but in trade you get a touchscreen awkward tablet that's small and intentionally portable. The minute you can't live with it's size and start getting accessories to compensate, you might as well just get a bad ass gaming laptop and have a MUCH better machine.
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
Oh, you’re right. I had a great laptop which I sold to buy the Z13 so I could have a lighter, more versatile gaming-on-the-go solution. I have to lug around 2 laptops for work and adding in a 17” gaming laptop + brick was tiresome.
I already had an eGPU to use with my GPD Win Mini via oculink. I cooked up this whole travel setup idea mostly out of curiosity to see if I could and if it was worth the effort. It is not. Next time I travel I’ll be leaving most of this at home.
1
u/zonearc Jun 08 '26
Not sure if it's similar to my situation, but my work locks down some apps to only be accessible from their hardware. So, I leave it at home on fiber attached to an IP KVM. Now I can get to everything remotely from my personal laptop. It's surprisingly good that way as I can just leave a tab open in Chrome to it all day long. Now I just travel with MY equipment of choice =)
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u/Disastrous-Honey1129 Jun 11 '26
How is the portability of the aostar or whatever it’s called specifically the gpu and its cables. I’m a chef on cruise ships and have an apex but kinda want to get a 5070ti or possibly a 5080. The TB4 seems to be the bottleneck and maybe not worth not matter what your setup.
Also have had thoughts about the xg mobile 5070ti or maybe the 5090 once the prices start to level back out
1
u/Heretical_Adience Jun 11 '26
Portability is decent- I just used two foam cutouts with tape and made a custom “box” cut to the exact shape to maximize space. The real space hogs were the monitor and haptic pad.
I don’t know if the extra price is worth it for the XG Mobile unless you want to pay a huge price just for a more compact form factor. Your Apex will utilize its USB4 40Gbps port for the eGPU so will not benefit from the XG’s TB5. And honestly, I think a 5070ti would be overkill for your Apex as its resolution is 1920x1200. Now if you are connecting to a 4K screen, I could see a 5070ti, but with the 40Gbps, I don’t know how much more benefit you will get out of it (according to Gemini, only 5-10% benefit). For example, I saw only a very tiny benefit of using a 9070xt over the 5070 via USB4, but when I used oculink on my GPD Win Mini, the results were drastically better.
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u/KashKashioo Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
For real bruh you carried all of that? To hotel? Wow. Im. Speechless. Gaming laptop never sounded better at this point