For the past two years, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series has largely been confined to notebooks. The chips delivered impressive battery life and surprisingly competitive performance, but they never got the chance to challenge compact desktop machines like Apple’s Mac mini or even the more powerful Mac Studio. The Ascent QN10 changes that.

Packing the 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite processor alongside Qualcomm’s integrated Adreno GPU, the tiny desktop also becomes the world’s first mini PC to offer 80 TOPS of AI performance through its dedicated Hexagon NPU. So, ASUS is introducing a new form factor for Qualcomm’s most powerful PC silicon.

The desktop debut Snapdragon needed

The most interesting thing about the Ascent QN10 is the fact that Qualcomm’s flagship PC chip has finally made its way into a desktop. Until now, comparing Snapdragon-powered systems to Apple’s Mac mini has always felt slightly unfair. One sat inside a laptop chassis with battery constraints, while the other was a dedicated desktop built for sustained performance. The QN10 brings Qualcomm into that conversation.

ASUS says the system combines the X2 Elite’s 18-core CPU with up to 32GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 9600MHz, promising a balance of performance and efficiency while maintaining cool, quiet operation. That’s the same pitch Apple has successfully used for years with the Mac mini: serious performance without the noise and heat of traditional desktop PCs. Whether the QN10 can truly compete with Apple’s compact desktops remains to be seen, but for the first time, Qualcomm finally has the hardware platform to make that comparison meaningful.

The chip leaves the nest

Of course, ASUS and Qualcomm are leaning heavily into AI. At Microsoft Build, the companies demonstrated the QN10 running developer tools such as Visual Studio Code and GitHub Copilot while processing AI-assisted workflows locally. Another demonstration showed the machine running private large language models using LLMWare and AnythingLLM without relying on cloud servers.

That’s where the 80 TOPS NPU comes into play. Instead of sending data to external servers, developers can run AI workloads directly on the machine, which offers advantages in privacy, security, and responsiveness. The QN10 also supports Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC experiences, making it one of the first desktop-focused systems built around Microsoft’s growing AI ecosystem.

Still, the biggest takeaway from ASUS’ announcement is that the Snapdragon X2 Elite has finally escaped the laptop category. And if Qualcomm wants Windows on Arm to be taken seriously as a long-term alternative to Apple’s silicon strategy, a compact desktop like the Ascent QN10 is exactly the kind of product it needed to build.

Gigabyte has announced a new AORUS ELITE gaming monitor lineup at Computex 2026, targeting different kinds of gamers with displays that can switch between sharper visuals and faster refresh rates.

The new series includes multiple OLED models, but the AORUS ELITE FM275K16P is the star of the show. This 27-inch monitor features a 5K Mini LED panel with a glossy finish and 218 PPI pixel density, which is unusually sharp for a gaming-focused display. Gigabyte also says the monitor uses 2,304-zone local dimming, which should help with contrast and HDR control.

Gigabyte wants one monitor to do multiple jobs

The FM275K16P’s main trick is Multi Mode support. Users can switch between 5K at 165Hz, 4K at 220Hz, and QHD at 330Hz, depending on whether they want maximum sharpness or faster gameplay. That makes it more flexible than a typical high-resolution gaming monitor, especially for users who want one screen for work, streaming, movies, and competitive gaming.

The monitor also gets AI Super Resolution, which Gigabyte says is designed to sharpen upscaled images. That feature is exclusive to the FM275K16P in this lineup.

The OLED models focus on speed

The rest of the AORUS ELITE lineup uses fourth-generation Tandem OLED panels with a RealBlack Glossy surface and up to 1,500 nits of HDR peak brightness.

The AORUS ELITE FO32U24GP is the top 32-inch OLED model in the lineup. It supports 4K at 240Hz and 1080p at 480Hz. It also gets DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20, offering up to 80Gbps of bandwidth. For users who want a smaller OLED option, the FO27Q28G brings a 27-inch QHD panel with a 280Hz refresh rate.

The FO27Q54G is where Gigabyte appears to be going after the serious esports crowd. It is a 27-inch QHD Tandem OLED monitor that can hit 540Hz at QHD and 720Hz at 720p. That puts it up against ASUS’ ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W and AOC’s Q27G4KDP, both of which are also built around the same QHD 540Hz and 720p 720Hz dual-mode idea.

This combination makes the monitor appeal to players who want esports-level speed without moving to a lower-quality panel. Pricing and exact release dates have not been confirmed yet.