eGPU users / review request for Hardforum staff!

[zamardii12]

Hey everyone, so I am currently in the process of parting out my 4 month old build in my sig and selling everything except my GTX 1080. I recently discovered that there is such a thing as a eGPU such as the Razer Core seen below.

It seems like the perfect solution to me. Have a ultrabook to take around with good performance and great battery life like my recent Dell XPS 13 purchase, but then go home and plug in the laptop via a single Thunderbolt cable which powers the laptop and connects to the external graphics card which then plugs into a external monitor.

Now, I know the processor and other things would be slightly under-powered but I think this is the perfect solution for me and would love the Hardforum staff to do a review on some eGPU solutions. I would love to be able to some some performance benchmarks and some comparisons for eGPU solutions out there. If anyone has a Razer Core with a XPS or other notebook, or if there are any other known solutions i'd love to know about it.

 

[Ocellaris]

These are such a niche item and often limited to only work with specific laptops... Can't see this as a big generator or page views.

 

[cyclone3d]

Requirements - Thunderbolt 3 port.

https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

Limitations - Graphics cards will have a max throughput for PCIe of 4x PCIe 3.0 lanes.

For general benchmarks look up reviews that test the affect of different PCIe speeds on GPU performance.

Then you can also compare the affects of different CPU speeds.

Also remember that RAM throughput is going to have an affect. You would definitely not want to use it with a laptop with only one slot for RAM (single channel).

 

[doug_7506]

This is really catching on. Few other alternatives to think about.

Alienware 13, 15 or 17 R2 & R3 with Alienware Graphics Amplifier.

MSI GS30 Shadow with Gaming Dock

I experienced egpu a few years back with Sony Z2. It was a disaster in terms of drivers. Hopefully, whichever solution you choose will use normal Nvidia/AMD drivers and will not have to wait for the egpu enclosure manufacturer to release the drivers. IF that is the case, then I strongly recommend you steer clear of them.

EDIT:

I was curious. Found my answer.

From PC Gamer

"There are no special graphics drivers required to make the system work—you’ll just be using the normal AMD or Nvidia drivers for the GPU you place in the enclosure. The one catch is the laptop BIOS. According to Razer, the laptop BIOS will need to properly support Intel graphics switching, so the system can recognize and utilize the dedicated GPU when plugged in, and operate on the integrated GPU when unplugged. Right now, the system only works with the Blade Stealth, but once the Core is released, nothing should prevent Dell or Lenovo or Asus or anyone else from supporting the hardware, too."

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/razer-egpu-dock.786488/

 

[DarkStar02]

I'm currently waiting for the Akitio Node 3 to come out so I can ditch my desktop (i5 2500k@ 4.0ghz, 16gb ram) in favor of my Dell XPS 9550 (i6 6700hq, 16gb ram) for use with my GTX 1080.

EDIT: Just went and placed an order at Safe Harbor which had it on sale for $249.99 with free shipping. No word on when it's going to ship but free shipping, no sales tax despite me being in California, and a free 3' HDMI cord make it worth it (found a coupon on RetailMeNot) to lock it in at that rate.

 

[cageymaru]

When the Thunderbolt 3 cages get cheaper, I want to do this for future systems that I donate to my family. Something like a NUC paired with a thunderbolt 3 cage would be perfect.

 

[limitedaccess]

I don't think HardOCP has any mobile oriented review content and these devices are really targeted at that crowd.

 

[Napoleon]

As mobile becomes bigger I can see having one phone/tablet/laptop as the brain with the ability to plug into more muscle on demand as a very attractive function. Tbolt 3 is a little slow but who knows what's next! Perhaps eventually there will be extra CPU muscle as well

 

[LigTasm]

I had the Alienware one for a bit, it worked good but the laptop having Optimus caused a lot of problems. It runs like shit on the desktop because it keeps switching to the intel GPU, stutters galore. It would be way better with a Gsync laptop that doesn't use the integrated chip.

Here is a Firestrike comparison - 1070 laptop/1070 AGA internal display/1070 AGA external display

http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/10996678/fs/10996793/fs/10996860

Performance takes a big hit if you use the laptops internal screen.