Aorus Gaming Box eGPU makes a pretty strong case for Thunderbolt over the proprietary Asus ROG XG Mobile alternative

[Redaktion]

The Asus eGPU uses a special proprietary connector with more bandwidth than even Thunderbolt 4, but it can only be used for one specific laptop model. Meanwhile, the Aorus eGPU uses a generic Thunderbolt connector with more limited bandwidth, but it is compatible with essentially any Thunderbolt laptop or mini PC as a result. Which is the better option?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Aorus-Gaming-Box-eGPU-makes-a-pretty-strong-case-for-Thunderbolt-over-the-proprietary-Asus-ROG-XG-Mobile-alternative.523285.0.html

[SrAlu]

I just get freaking mad everytime i remember this Asus eGPU uses a horrible, low performance Mobile RTX3080 which has only very limited video outputs too, and is extremely loud (1 small fan for both the GPU and the power supply, LOL) instead of a true desktop one.
Really, my brain refuses to see any logic behind this.
The Flow x 13 could be the laptop SO MANY PEOPLE dreamed about, so why Asus, why?
FFS, just release an eGPU housing for this port that can hold a desktop card and make everyone happy instead of being a jerk like this.

[Mothertrucker19]

Yeah, a simple enclosure with a full length PCIe slot would've been nicer, and probably cheaper for them too.

[Valantar]

...if only there was a single thunderbolt eGPU that could do what the XG Mobile does - portable, built-in PSU, sufficient I/O. Instead, we have boxes larger than most ITX SFF cases (which fit a full PC...) at >$300 for just a box, controller PCB and PSU.

@SrAlu: while I agree that they should also release a desktop GPU dock for the same connection, I have to disagree that the XG mobile is "horrible". It's the only actually portable powerful eGPU out there. And reportedly its single fan isn't even loud.

As for the single fan cooling "both the GPU and the power supply, LOL" - most gaming laptops have passively cooled power bricks, so I don't quite see the problem. At least this one has some active cooling - a good thing IMO. And while the mobile 3080 is a let-down compared to the desktop one, it's still a really powerful GPU. It's just not good value for money. But then again, laptop GPUs have never been that.

[SrAlu]

...if only there was a single thunderbolt eGPU that could do what the XG Mobile does - portable, built-in PSU, sufficient I/O. Instead, we have boxes larger than most ITX SFF cases (which fit a full PC...) at >$300 for just a box, controller PCB and PSU.

@SrAlu: while I agree that they should also release a desktop GPU dock for the same connection, I have to disagree that the XG mobile is "horrible". It's the only actually portable powerful eGPU out there. And reportedly its single fan isn't even loud.

As for the single fan cooling "both the GPU and the power supply, LOL" - most gaming laptops have passively cooled power bricks, so I don't quite see the problem. At least this one has some active cooling - a good thing IMO. And while the mobile 3080 is a let-down compared to the desktop one, it's still a really powerful GPU. It's just not good value for money. But then again, laptop GPUs have never been that.

I get your point, but i have to disagree. someone who spends a premium 3-3.5k on a laptop with a good egpu will also have a premium monitor, like a 4k or something ultrawide (like my 3840x1600 ultrawide, which is almost 4k in pixel count).
Because driving a very demanding external monitor is the only real usecase for an eGPU, besides some gpu computing tasks perhaps. and for these, a 3080mobile is bad too.
A 3080 mobile can not drive such a monitor properly, thats just a fact and for using your internal laptop screen, an internal egpu is always the way to go

[hfm]

They very key component to this in this new generation of thunderbolt eGPUs is a few bullet point items for consideration

- Thunderbolt 4 embedded controllers in the entire line of 11th Gen U and H CPUs. Embedded controllers are MUCH more efficient and have direct CPU access obviously. It's so important that an eGPU scenario with a laptop sporting a 10th or 11th gen 28W U series CPU can run circles around a 10th Gen H series laptop with the same eGPU. Having high power H series 11th Gen CPUs with native TB4 is going to be huge for eGPU.

  - TB4 introduces a mode where the enitre 32Gb/s bandwidth can be utilized for data instead of 22Gb/s with 10Gb/s always reserved for video. Theoretically when eGPU with TB4 client controllers arrive they may perform even better than the current TB3 eGPUs even though the total on paper bandwidth is still 40Gb/s for both. Remains to be seen though

I'm excited to just get a laptop with an 11th Gen H CPU that has embedded TB controller that can somewhat compete with higher spec CPUs. Good eGPU implementations have been hamstrung so far by either external host TB controllers that introduce a bottleneck, or removing that bottleneck was relegated to lower power CPUs (28W max with only 4c/8t). We finally have the H35 i7-1137x CPUs but that's only a marginal 7W lift over the best U series implementations. Being able to get an i5-11400H 6c/12t 45W or even an i7-11700H or higher with embedded TB is going to be a GREAT time to use an eGPU. At that point we will truly see how much is a CPU bottleneck vs TB bottleneck.

EDIT, seems like the bullet list edit tool doesn't work properly, fixed.

[Valantar]

...if only there was a single thunderbolt eGPU that could do what the XG Mobile does - portable, built-in PSU, sufficient I/O. Instead, we have boxes larger than most ITX SFF cases (which fit a full PC...) at >$300 for just a box, controller PCB and PSU.

@SrAlu: while I agree that they should also release a desktop GPU dock for the same connection, I have to disagree that the XG mobile is "horrible". It's the only actually portable powerful eGPU out there. And reportedly its single fan isn't even loud.

As for the single fan cooling "both the GPU and the power supply, LOL" - most gaming laptops have passively cooled power bricks, so I don't quite see the problem. At least this one has some active cooling - a good thing IMO. And while the mobile 3080 is a let-down compared to the desktop one, it's still a really powerful GPU. It's just not good value for money. But then again, laptop GPUs have never been that.

I get your point, but i have to disagree. someone who spends a premium 3-3.5k on a laptop with a good egpu will also have a premium monitor, like a 4k or something ultrawide (like my 3840x1600 ultrawide, which is almost 4k in pixel count).
Because driving a very demanding external monitor is the only real usecase for an eGPU, besides some gpu computing tasks perhaps. and for these, a 3080mobile is bad too.
A 3080 mobile can not drive such a monitor properly, thats just a fact and for using your internal laptop screen, an internal egpu is always the way to go

I think you're misunderstanding the target market of the Flow X13 and its eGPU. It is an explicitly designed fully portable solution, it's not your standard "leave the eGPU at home next to your monitor" setup. For that use case, a desktop GPU enclosure would indeed be better. The Flow X13 is for flexibility and travel.

As for "driving a very demanding external monitor is the only real usecase for an eGPU", that's just nonsense. Again, you're fundamentally misunderstanding the Flow X13 and who and what it's designed for. It's a thin-and-light laptop (that can do some very light gaming, but not much) with a very low weight and small size, but that hooks up to an eGPU for near desktop class gaming performance as long as you have access to a power outlet. It obviously isn't as powerful as a desktop 3080, but that's not the point, nor is it what you're paying for. If you're playing AAA games, that 3080 mobile will be a good match for the standard 1200p panel at high frame rates, though of course there's also a 2400p option if you're into insane pixel densities.

The 3080 mobile in the XG Mobile would be perfectly capable of native UHD gaming or 1440p/1600p ultrawide gaming, just as a desktop 3070 would be. So that's an added bonus, but it's not the core focus of this laptop. It's a niche product for people who travel a lot yet still want to game whereever they go, but don't want to drag around a big, hot-running gaming laptop. This gives you the equivalent of an ultrabook and a gaming laptop in one, with all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks. That's the use case here, not desktop replacement gaming.