Asus introduces a secondary touchscreen gaming monitor to rival Elgato and Corsair

At a glance:

• Asus has announced the ROG Strix XG129C, a 12.3-inch touchscreen IPS sidekick display designed to sit alongside a larger main monitor — putting it in direct competition with Corsair's 14.5-inch Xeneon Edge and echoing the secondary-screen playbook of Elgato's Stream Deck.
• The XG129C covers 125 percent of sRGB and 90 percent of DCI-P3 color gamut, ships with a one-year AIDA64 Extreme subscription (normally $65), and targets streaming, editing, and hardware monitoring use cases.
• Asus also unveiled the ROG Strix OLED XG34WCDMS, a 34-inch RGB Tandem QD-OLED monitor with a 280Hz refresh rate and 3440 x 1440p resolution, though neither display has an officially announced price yet.

A smaller sidekick for gamers and streamers

Asus is doubling down on the idea that a secondary screen can be just as valuable as a primary one — at least for power users who want real-time telemetry, stream overlays, or extra desktop real estate without cluttering their main panel. The newly announced ROG Strix XG129C is a 12.3-inch touchscreen IPS display that the company is positioning as a dedicated companion for a larger gaming monitor, much like the 14.1-inch secondary panel that shipped with the 2020 Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15.

At 720p resolution the XG129C is deliberately modest in pixel count, which keeps the panel affordable and ensures low-latency touch input. That trade-off makes sense for a sidekick whose job is to display widgets, hardware stats, or stream controls rather than render demanding game footage. The panel covers 125 percent of the sRGB color gamut and 90 percent of DCI-P3, giving it enough color range for accurate monitoring of GPU and CPU temperatures, FPS counters, and chat feeds.

How it stacks up against existing sidekick displays

Corsair's Xeneon Edge is the most direct rival on the market right now: it measures 14.5 inches but shares the same 720p resolution as Asus's new panel. That means Asus is betting that a slightly smaller, touch-enabled screen is a more appealing form factor for desk setups where space is at a premium. Elgato's Stream Deck has popularized the concept of a dedicated control surface for streaming and content creation, and Asus is clearly trying to capture some of that same workflow without locking users into a proprietary button grid.

The bundled one-year subscription to AIDA64 Extreme is a notable sweetener. The tool normally costs $65 on its own and is widely used for hardware monitoring, stress testing, and sensor logging. Including it suggests Asus wants the XG129C to double as a performance dashboard straight out of the box, rather than requiring users to hunt for third-party software.

The big sibling: 34-inch QD-OLED flagship

Alongside the diminutive sidekick, Asus also unveiled the ROG Strix OLED XG34WCDMS, a much larger proposition. This is a 34-inch RGB Tandem QD-OLED panel with a 280Hz refresh rate and a 3440 x 1440p ultrawide resolution. According to Asus, it covers 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, positioning it as a high-fidelity display for competitive and immersive gaming alike.

Neither monitor has an officially announced price at the time of writing, so it remains to be seen whether the XG129C will undercut Corsair's sidekick offering or sit at a premium for its touchscreen input and AIDA64 bundle. The OLED flagship's pricing will likely set the tone for Asus's 2025 gaming-display strategy as a whole.

What to watch next

Gaming monitor vendors have been pushing secondary-screen and auxiliary-display concepts for several years, but adoption has been slow outside of niche streaming and productivity workflows. The success of Asus's XG129C will depend on whether the touch interface and included software bundle are compelling enough to justify an extra purchase, and whether reviewers can demonstrate a clear workflow advantage over simply extending a desktop across two cheaper monitors.

As more vendors explore companion panels, expect competitive pricing pressure on Corsair's Xeneon Edge and potential updates to Elgato's own display ecosystem. For now, Asus is the first major player to bundle a hardware-monitoring subscription with a secondary gaming display, which could become a differentiator if the AIDA64 Extreme integration is well-executed.

Tags

• Asus ROG
• gaming monitor
• secondary display
• QD-OLED
• XG129C
• Xeneon Edge