The link doesn’t load for me but in my experience eGPUs are buggy whether it’s a Mac, PC, Lenovo, Dell… in fact Thunderbolt in general is a buggy experience everywhere. It had so much promise.
> …in fact Thunderbolt in general is a buggy experience everywhere.
On Macs at least, Thunderbolt is extremely dependable. I don’t have as much experience with it on other platforms, but I’ve never personally experienced a problem using external SSDs on my Intel NUC with TB3 support.
I think the problem is ultimately that there never was going to be benefit even if it was assumed to work perfectly.
You spend $150+GPU+PSU cost, tether your laptop to a wall outlet, and add size and weight to your “portable” kit.
That doesn’t compete all that well with just buying a higher end laptop or waiting a few years to buy the next generation of laptop. If you’re willing to go through all that expense and compromise of portability you’re probably willing to have a separate desktop system and reap the benefits of having a second more fully modular system.
It reminds me of that Voyager III concept car where you could detach a small car from the rear minivan section. Cool idea for an auto show, but why not just own a second vehicle?
I moved to egpus a few years back and it has been great. I have a desktop when I need one for gaming and a laptop when I am on the go.
anyone who uses a 2nd monitor is also “tethering” themselves to a desk, not sure that is a strong argument.
Futher, cpu speed increases have kind of plateaued, while GPUs have not.
Finally, most laptops max out around ~150-200watts of available power. While that $3000 Alienware laptop may have a 4080, its not a real desktop gpu, which in an egpu enclosure can pull 450 watts.
Finally, a goid egpu box is also a dock, one cable into the laptop, plug and go.
What percentage of extra weight/space is this compared to carrying a laptop, eGPU, and second monitor? Could you not just carry two larger sized portable displays and the ITX desktop system and have the same outcome (but with better modularity and price/performance value)?
In my opinion, most people who want portable gaming are fine with buying a typical gaming laptop which they'll probably get many years of above-console quality gaming out of. That laptop-wattage 4080 you mentioned is more than good enough for playing literally any game. The people who feel like "as long as it fits in a duffel bag it's portable" and want the most performance possible should probably skip the eGPU and just travel with an ITX build desktop PC.
In other words, an eGPU fits in a weird middle zone between those two solutions that doesn't make a lot of sense. It's saving you a very slight amount of kit over just carrying a desktop around with you, and it's the most costly solution.
You don't carry a second monitor and eGPU around. Those sit at your desk and your mobile laptop becomes a gaming desktop / dev workstation whenever you want it to.
Then when you need your laptop back, you unplug 1 cord, put it into your backpack and go about your day.
On Macs at least, Thunderbolt is extremely dependable. I don’t have as much experience with it on other platforms, but I’ve never personally experienced a problem using external SSDs on my Intel NUC with TB3 support.