Asus to Integrate Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra into Desktop Workstations

Asus has announced its plans to incorporate Nvidia's Blackwell Ultra, the company's most advanced and expensive board, into a desktop workstation. Traditionally designed for AI server applications, the Blackwell Ultra will make its debut in the ExpertCenter Pro ET900N G3, marking a significant innovation in desktop computing.

The ExpertCenter Pro ET900N G3 will feature Nvidia's Grace board, specifically the GB300 model, which is powered by the ARM-based Grace processor boasting 72 Neoverse V2 CPU cores. Coupled with this is the Blackwell Ultra accelerator, equipped with 288 GB of High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM3e) and a remarkable data transfer rate of 8 TB/s. In addition to these components, the system will utilize 496 GB of LPDDR5X memory, resulting in a total RAM capacity of 784 GB.

Another notable component on the GB300 board is the ConnectX-8 networking processor, part of Nvidia's SuperNIC series. This processor supports a bandwidth of up to 800 GB/s, potentially enabling seamless connectivity between multiple ExpertCenter Pro ET900N G3 units, enhancing collaborative computing capabilities.

The primary application for this workstation will be the training of artificial intelligence models. With sufficient data storage, the GB300 is poised to be one of the fastest systems for AI training tasks within a desktop environment. However, it's important to note that this system requires substantial power, with Nvidia recommending a maximum power consumption of 1400 watts.

Asus will pre-install Nvidia's Ubuntu-based DGX OS on a solid-state drive, enabling efficient operation. Although the GB300 is capable of running games, it is primarily designed for professional applications, as Nvidia has limited the 3D functionalities of its server GPUs.

While the GB300 is expected to launch in the latter half of 2025, Asus has yet to specify a release date or pricing. Given the high-end specifications, costs exceeding 100,000 euros are anticipated.

An Asus representative confirmed that the design of the workstation might undergo further changes, noting that the current grey chassis is already a revised version of an earlier black model that included an optical drive, which is now outdated.