I purchased this as a boost to my integrated 1050 (2GB, mobile).
The TB3 link on my lenovo 720P Laptop (with UHD Screen) is "only" x2, so just the 20GBPS limits me slightly. There are other reviews that prove it but essentially a full x4 link will give you slightly better frames but the CPU itself is more dependent.
In other words, if you're torn between a laptop with a much better cpu and a x2 TB3 link vs a much slower one and a x4 TB3 link, get the faster CPU, the link doesn't matter quite as much except for one critical thing with VR (and I don't think x4 would help it a great deal.)
This box has extra USBs including a charging port (a keyboard/mouse doesn't effect frames) and this is critical because you'll likely need them.
VR:
The GPU will work great with VR but you'll want to connect a monitor via DVI, the Occulus via HDMI, and disable the laptop screen. Otherwise the eGPU will think you want to re-direct video back to the laptop and cripple your performance. In theory an x4 TB3 link would work much better but it will hamper your performance anyway so don't bother.
In short: If you needed an eGPU for VR, you're going to want a 2nd monitor to the EGPU and disable your onboard screen.
The box is quiet, installs in a snap and doesn't need special software. The "Aorus Engine" app is meh, I don't use it and if the LEDs can be controlled I have no idea how. Those could theoretically be distracting but they're hidden in my setup behind my monitor anyway. You'll never hear it with headphones on, and even without, your laptop is probably louder.
As far as performance goes, with the i7-7700HQ and TB3 link I was getting 4k@60+ ("Mein Leiben" settings) in Wolfenstein TNC. Not the newest game but it should give you a clue as to what to expect.
Based on all the research and reviews I did, I came to these conclusions:
1) CPU matters more than Link, ideally get something with a nice boost clock and 35-45Watt range, ideally NOT a 15 "U" processor (although this would work game well with it, miles better than integrated, you're tossing decent performance) at least not for VR.
2) Trying to use an eGPU on your internal monitor is probably not worth it, definitely not if you're only a x2 link on your TB3 port.
3) With a faster i7/i5 45W mobile CPU, you can expect about 20% performance drop from a DESKTOP version of the same graphics setup (native pcie x16 link) with TB3 x4 link (40GBp/s) and about a 25% performance drop with a TB3 x2 link (20GBp/s). Measurably slower, but hard to notice and works great, with my brandy new Occulus.
If money is no object, get the 1080, it will do a little better and is probably worth it, I went with this version as I got it from a Warehouse Deal under $500.
| Memory Speed | 8008 MHz |
|---|---|
| Graphics Coprocessor | gddr5 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | GeForce GTX 1070 |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 8192 MB |
