In brief: Do you have a Thunderbolt 3-enabled laptop that's underpowered in the gaming department? If so, Gigabyte could have the perfect solution: a liquid-cooled external graphics enclosure packing an RTX 3080 or RTX 3090.
Gigabyte says the Aorus RTX 3090/3080 Gaming Box is the world's first water-cooled external graphics solution, the same claim it made about the enclosure it launched last year that features an RTX 2080 Ti---though the company is likely referring to the box itself, rather than specific models.
The Aorus Gaming Box features a cooling system that integrates a large copper plate, a 240mm aluminum radiator, and two 120mm fans. "With an optimized pump and water block, it provides the most efficient water flow and cooling performance at a lower noise level," writes Gigabyte. It also boasts RGB lighting, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a single USB 2.0 port, a GbE LAN port, three DisplayPort connectors, and an HDMI port.
The caveat here is that the box is big---very big; it actually resembles some Mini-ITX PCs. You're not going to want to take this on trips away from home, but if you have a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 and want awesome gaming performance without buying a desktop, it could be a good option.
The other issue will doubtlessly be the price. The Aorus Gaming Box with the RTX 2080 Ti currently sells for an eye-watering $2,272, so this latest model will doubtlessly be a wallet crusher when it arrives.
No word yet on when the Aorus RTX 3090/3080 Gaming Box will be available. Considering that the cards are impossible to find without venturing onto eBay right now, expect it to land sometime next year.