Gaming with an external GPU and ultrabook (recommendations)

dfitt10 on 17/03/2018 - 12:21
Last edited 17/03/2018 - 13:25

Does anyone have experience with using an ultrabook and external GPU? I'm wanting to use this thing for gaming and Uni, so this option gives me portability and power.

Any recommendations/ deals on ultrabooks (ofc needs thubderbolt 3 and 4core cpu would help) thats still reasonably priced.

Again any recommendations for an external GPU would be appreciated- a quick look showed a 1070 for $900 (kinda ouch)

Also I'm completely new to this so please let me know anything i be aware of.

Thanks!

Edit: My budget is around $2k(+/-). I am not too bothered about (4k/ expensive) monitors, and only really want around a Gtx1060 or 1050ti in an ultrabook like profile (ie think razer blade but maybe a bit cheaper/ not necessarily as powerful)

Computing External GPU Ultrabook

Comments

  • dcep on 17/03/2018 - 12:45
    +1

    budget ?

    • dfitt10 on 17/03/2018 - 13:15

      Around (+/-) $2k

  • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2018 - 12:49
    +2

    The whole Ultrabook + External GPU thing was a fad. They were way too expensive costing over $5000 for the ultrabook + dock + GPU and just didnt work that well. manufacturers haven't have new models under that concept for years so the latest ones you can buy are anywhere from 2-4 generations old processor wise.
    Now why did that happen? you might ask

    Its because GPUs are far more efficient now than they were 4 years ago. Since nvidia introduced MAX-Q and their much more power efficient pascal GPUs you can now get laptops that are close to ultrabook form factors with full fat desktop GPUs in them!

    Please take a look at the ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501 for example. It is basically an ultrabook at only 1.7cm thick but houses a full desktop pascal GTX 1080 and a high end mobile core i7 thats not ULV for around $4000. No need to setup a dock or external gpu at home; you can game anywhere anytime.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2018 - 12:51
      +1

      and an alternative to the ASUS is the MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro and also check out any Razer Blade laptop

    • dfitt10 on 17/03/2018 - 13:22

      I knew they are pricey, but $5000?? (unless i am missing something)
      Like right now with a $1k thinkpad (ie the one on front page right now) and a 1070egpu from scorptec for $900 thats a $2k total
      Good suggestions for the laptops, but my only thought is a GTX 1080 in a 1.7cm profile would overheat like crazy
      Do you have any suggestions for a lightweight/small laptop with a Gtx1050ti or Gtx1060 (a 1080 would be nice, but i dont need one, especially for that price)
      Again, thanks for the reply!

      • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2018 - 14:00

        yeah it does sound crazy but remember pascal is so efficient that it uses less than half the wattage of the previous maxwell processors and yet is still faster. Theres is a bit of speed loss with MAX-Q optimisations but they are core for core the same graphics processors as the desktop counterparts.

        Anyway I think I misread your post. I thought you were talking about the old ultrabook + dock sets which cost so much. I completely forgot they made external GPUs over thunderbolt. Your idea sounds good to me in a portability + performance sense

      • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2018 - 18:34
        +1

        maybe this takes your fancy?

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/367157

  • dextr3k on 17/03/2018 - 12:55

    Yeah, you need to put forward your budget, and most valued features

    Razer Stealth (2500） + Razer Core (600?) + 1070 (900) + 4k Monitor (900) is a nice and beautiful way to spend 5k

    Dell XPS 13 (1200) + Akitio Node (400?) + RX 560 (200) will get you gaming at low to medium, but requires fiddling and no guarantees of compatibility

    1060 gaming laptops can be had for 1600 these days, which will get you gaming at the expense of portability, although some of them are very sleek and nice.

    • dcep on 17/03/2018 - 13:00

      dell ebay 20% , 1060 6gb @ $1,359

  • scrimshaw on 17/03/2018 - 13:01
    +1

    External GPU's have overheads — that is, you shouldn't expect to gain the full 100 percent of performance you'd see with the same video card in a well-outfitted desktop PC, even if CPU-limiting is not an issue.

    You should only consider an eGPU if you already have a laptop, but otherwise, I think eGPU tech is both too expensive and has too many caveats to really be worth considering as a bundled purchase with a notebook.

    Might as well buy a customized Clevo laptop.

    • dfitt10 on 17/03/2018 - 13:31

      Yea i agree there, there's a nice Metabox (clevo) laptop i'm eyeing up for $1850, but my only thought is it still might be a bit too big (15.6" is still a bit larger then our stupidly small fold up lecture desks).

    • Hornpub on 01/06/2018 - 23:25

      i have a laptop with TB3, and an spare ATX power supply (650w), what should i consider when buying a EGPU? i know those egpu case came with PSU, but in my case, do i need to buy another PSU?

  • zrmx on 17/03/2018 - 14:42
    +1

    Razer is doing a discount for their Razer Blade 14" until tomorrow ("ends 18 Mar 2018")

    $2499
    https://www2.razerzone.com/au-en/store/razer-blade#Full HD - 512GB

    Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Quad-Core 2.8GHz / 3.8GHz (Base/Turbo)
    NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5 VRAM)
    16GB dual-channel onboard memory (DDR4, 2400MHz)
    Windows® 10 64-bit
    512GB (PCIe M.2)
    14” IPS Full HD Matte, 16:9 Ratio, 1920x1080
    Killer™ Wireless-AC 1535 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth® 4.1)
    Built-in webcam (2.0MP)
    Anti-ghosting keyboard with Chroma backlighting
    Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C™)
    USB 3.0 port x3 (SuperSpeed)
    HDMI audio and video (4K at 60Hz) output
    Built-in stereo speakers
    3.5mm headphone/microphone combo port
    Array microphone
    Dolby® Digital Plus Home Theater Edition
    7.1 Codec support (via HDMI)
    Razer Synapse enabled with programmable keyboard, backlighting and fan control
    Kensington™ Security Slot
    Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0) security chip embedded
    Compact 165W power adapter
    Built-in 70Wh rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery
    Approx. Size: 0.70” / 17.9mm (Height) x 13.6” / 345mm (Width) x 9.3” / 235mm (Depth)
    Approx. Weight (Full HD): 4.10 lbs / 1.86 kg

    A bit outside your $2k budget, but a more whole package system (and if you still insist on eGPU later, it does have a ThunderBolt port)

    oh, and you can sign up to their newsletter and get a $15 off code (not much, but well, better than nothing)

    • dfitt10 on 17/03/2018 - 14:57

      Good find, thanks!
      Whats the warranty like with Razers?

      • zrmx on 17/03/2018 - 15:09

        I haven't purchased from them before, quick search on google/reddit suggests following experience:

        https://www.reddit.com/r/razer/comments/3zeagz/razer_custome…

        which I personally don't have an issue with, but if you do get issues e.g. dead pixel on the screen then contact and arrange a RMA asap.

      • zrmx on 17/03/2018 - 16:24

        Okay the Razer Blade 14 can be purchased for slightly cheaper from Amazon US (see https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/5751385/redir).

        Although I'm not certain with whether warranty is honored in Australia (i.e. if it needs to go through US/Amazon)

        • dfitt10 on 18/03/2018 - 11:34
          +1

          Might avoid razer blades tbh, had a look on amazon and for $2400 I'd want something that has better then 3.4 stars. After my previous laptop broke I'm a bit wary about buying from a company that has apparently terrible customer service/ replacement

          That being said both are good deals, so i appreciate you taking the time, thanks!

  • jlogic on 17/03/2018 - 15:16
    +1

    Happy with my setup of an Alienware X51 R3 and a Graphics Amplifier. Been using it for over two years now and it's great to cart around without needing to lug such a big tower around. The GPU inside the chassis is a GTX960 and the external is a GTX1070.

  • belongsinforums on 17/03/2018 - 17:46
    +1

    gaming laptops absolutely chew through the battery. they're also heavy. not ideal for long days at uni.

    that being said, my xiaomi air notebook is a beast.

    my advice would be to get both a desktop and a laptop.

  • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2018 - 20:47

    A laptop cooler, its gonna get hot.

  • StickMan on 19/03/2018 - 19:49

    Problems with eGPU:

    1. Cost of enclosure
    2. GPU costs now are insane
    3. Expect a 20% performance hit, as compared to a standard PCIe connection.

    Basically, they make no sense for half-asking things. There's no point getting a cheap ultrabook and mid-range GPU to stick in there, since you're still stuck with the cost of dock.

    People usually get high end ultrabooks because they need the decent performance AND the form factor (which costs money); then they get a GTX1070 or better for the dock because they want to play games with the one system.

    tl;dr your $2K budget is better spent on a standard-sized laptop with a GTX1060 or higher.

  • dfitt10 on 27/04/2018 - 18:09

    @anyone who cares

    Have decided to buy a Yoga 720* with the new 8th gen processor, (which has 4 cores, and is 40% faster then the previous gen), as it was a) cheap and b) has a good cooling system, for $1350.

    Will then buy a Auororus gtx1070 gaming box from Umart for $800, a decent 1080 gaming monitor for ~$150 and possibly a laptop cooling pad.

    Based on my research this will result in a ~15% performance hit, making this setup somewhat similar to a GTX1060Ti (if that existed).

    Overall for $2300 i think this is a good option as i have ultra portability, but also the option to bring the eGPU with me if i travel overseas for work or Uni to "technically" outperform a similarly priced gaming laptop (no idea if it will but has the potential to.

    If anyone is interested I can update them on my findings.

    *yes the yoga 720 does have a 2 lane thunderbolt, but according to my research this doesn't actually make a difference (hopefully)

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