Does notebook + eGPU make more sense than notebook with expensive GPU?

Caporegime
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Hi guys,

I have been thinking about my next gaming laptop upgrade of late as earlier this year I unfortunately spilled a drink over my notebook and killed the battery and keyboard so it runs only off the mains and with an external keyboard. Doh.

With this in mind, it got me thinking about the benefits of buying a laptop with an 'mid-range' GPU inside (eg: GTX 1650/1660) and then also investing in an eGPU solution with something like a RTX 2070 Super. This is of course instead of forking out for a laptop with an RTX 2080m inside.

eg:

HP Omen 15 (15.60", Full HD, Intel Core i7-9750H, GTX1650 16GB, 512GB, SSD) - £1000
eGPU box - £360
RTX 2070 Super - £440

Total: £1800

I see the long-term benefits as:
  • More speed and future-proofing than internal laptop GPU's
  • I would then have a badass GPU at home where I game most of the time but also still with a 'respectable' GPU inside for when I travel around for holidays etc.
Clearly the initial cost is not going to be cheap, but the eGPU housing should be compatible with the next few generations of NV GPU's and so offer more performance for a long-term lower outlay.

Thoughts... does it seem like a good solution? :)
 
Soldato
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The eGPU, to me, is an odd one. That kind of money, for the whole caboodle, would get you a decent build. Even an ITX that could pack a punch. Saying that however, I bought a gaming laptop to use while at my Mrs house - can't take the PC easily - so I see the benefit.

Why wouldn't you got for a laptop with an 2080m? It would still last a considerable about of time (4+ years) I would have thought.
 
Soldato
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Makes no sense given the numbers ££ since you can buy a complete new laptop with 2070/2070 max-q easily or 2080 at a push for that budget.

You can buy the Omen 15.6" with i7/RTX2070 and 16gb ram for £1500. Or the Acer Predator Helios 17.3" for similar. Are there any games unplayable on Ultra settings on one of those even in max-q guise?

Should you then need the eGPU at a later date you can still get one but in the interim you have a wholly capable self contained laptop.

Otherwise, since the eGPU box effectively creates a desktop, you can buy an equally capable desktop for much less.
 
Caporegime
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The eGPU, to me, is an odd one. That kind of money, for the whole caboodle, would get you a decent build. Even an ITX that could pack a punch. Saying that however, I bought a gaming laptop to use while at my Mrs house - can't take the PC easily - so I see the benefit.

Why wouldn't you got for a laptop with an 2080m? It would still last a considerable about of time (4+ years) I would have thought.
Laptop GPU's rarely comfortably last 4 years, especially Max-Q versions which are 30% and sometimes even 50% (at high resolutions) less powerful than their full-fat siblings.

Makes no sense given the numbers ££ since you can buy a complete new laptop with 2070/2070 max-q easily or 2080 at a push for that budget.

You can buy the Omen 15.6" with i7/RTX2070 and 16gb ram for £1500. Or the Acer Predator Helios 17.3" for similar. Are there any games unplayable on Ultra settings on one of those even in max-q guise?

Should you then need the eGPU at a later date you can still get one but in the interim you have a wholly capable self contained laptop.

Otherwise, since the eGPU box effectively creates a desktop, you can buy an equally capable desktop for much less.

No it does not effectively create a desktop, it creates a powerful desktop replacement that is also portable when unplugged, which as I stated in my first post is my critical goal for those times when I am on the move. If I wanted a static machine then I would simply buy a desktop, that is self-explanatory.

CPU power in laptops is now rapidly getting to the point where it is crazy powerful... the latest i7 hexa-core and i9 octa-core processors are enough to power high-end GPU's at higher (QHD+) resolutions (I use an external monitor at home) for the forseeable future, not to mention serve as powerful photo and video editing platforms.

In my view, the only weak link in a modern laptops arsenal is the GPU power and upgradeability, which an eGPU solution would to a large extent solve with the ability to swap desktop-class GPU's in and out and still having a reasonable GPU in the laptop for portable gaming.

Buying a high-end laptop with RTX 2080 is of course an option but that brings the price to £2000 which is basically more expensive than the eGPU solution for 20-30% less horsepower than a 2070 Super.

PS: I am not arguing here I am taking your points into account and genuinely figuring out the pro's and con's . Currently, I am not currently seeing many cons from a price/performance perspective. :)
 
Man of Honour
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External GPU boxes also bottleneck the GPU and this gets worse the higher up the GPU chain you go.
I remember seeing somewhere of a ballpark figure of 25% less FPS than expected from a 2080 (don't quote me on the figures though...can't remember exactly)
 
Soldato
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Laptop GPU's rarely comfortably last 4 years, especially Max-Q versions which are 30% and sometimes even 50% (at high resolutions) less powerful than their full-fat siblings.



No it does not effectively create a desktop, it creates a powerful desktop replacement that is also portable when unplugged, which as I stated in my first post is my critical goal for those times when I am on the move. If I wanted a static machine then I would simply buy a desktop, that is self-explanatory.

CPU power in laptops is now rapidly getting to the point where it is crazy powerful... the latest i7 hexa-core and i9 octa-core processors are enough to power high-end GPU's at higher (QHD+) resolutions (I use an external monitor at home) for the forseeable future, not to mention serve as powerful photo and video editing platforms.

In my view, the only weak link in a modern laptops arsenal is the GPU power and upgradeability, which an eGPU solution would to a large extent solve with the ability to swap desktop-class GPU's in and out and still having a reasonable GPU in the laptop for portable gaming.

Buying a high-end laptop with RTX 2080 is of course an option but that brings the price to £2000 which is basically more expensive than the eGPU solution for 20-30% less horsepower than a 2070 Super.

PS: I am not arguing here I am taking your points into account and genuinely figuring out the pro's and con's . Currently, I am not currently seeing many cons from a price/performance perspective. :)

The eGPU reviews have always reported a ~10-30% performance drop so not going to achieve anything better than the laptop variants or it can actually end up worse depending on card/spec.

It does absolutely effectively create a desktop too, especially if you want to game since you are starting with a pretty low spec GPU laptop although, I can't find the HP Omen model you mentioned unless this is a US version? I presume gaming is a main focus given your approach.

You gain some portability but I'm not sure the Omen have Optimus any more so battery life is pretty poor. It only used to be on the low end GTX1050 model. I had the i7 9750 16gb memory and GTX1660ti Omen briefly (15-DC1024NA) this year and compared to my i5/GTX1050 one it needed the power supply at all times really as didn't have Optimus.

It's a lot of compromises otherwise.

Desktop replacement for gaming go integrated RTX2070/80.

Desktop replacement for productivity go Dell business latitude/precision especially if you need proper portability.
 
Caporegime
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External GPU boxes also bottleneck the GPU and this gets worse the higher up the GPU chain you go.
I remember seeing somewhere of a ballpark figure of 25% less FPS than expected from a 2080 (don't quote me on the figures though...can't remember exactly)
The eGPU reviews have always reported a ~10-30% performance drop so not going to achieve anything better than the laptop variants or it can actually end up worse depending on card/spec.

I didn't know it was a 30% drop, that is indeed pretty big and I didn't see that yet. Hmm, I will go do some more research so thanks for drawing that to my attention as it does change things if true.

It does absolutely effectively create a desktop too, especially if you want to game since you are starting with a pretty low spec GPU laptop although, I can't find the HP Omen model you mentioned unless this is a US version? I presume gaming is a main focus given your approach.

It does absolutely not magically create a desktop, it still creates a hybrid desktop replacement that can be taken elsewhere easily in a rucksack. You can not in general take a desktop and monitor travelling with you so please lets drop that particular line of logic. I would in general be fine with a powerful GPU static at home and an average GPU when travelling in a hotel room doing some gaming or editing. However, if it's a really a 30% performance drop for eGPU then that does make an internal RTX 2080 more appealing. :)

You gain some portability but I'm not sure the Omen have Optimus any more so battery life is pretty poor. It only used to be on the low end GTX1050 model. I had the i7 9750 16gb memory and GTX1660ti Omen briefly (15-DC1024NA) this year and compared to my i5/GTX1050 one it needed the power supply at all times really as didn't have Optimus.

Battery life isn't of much importance as even when travelling I am always plugged in when doing anything of significance such as gaming or editing, plus I have a light 13" ultrabook for browsing.

In the end at this point it may be worth holding on to my battered laptop with GTX 1070 and waiting to see what Ampere is like next year.
 
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Caporegime
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Well guys I gave it a lot of throught and was shopping around for laptops with RTX 2080. I saw a great deal on the following laptop, a HP OMEN 17-cb0900nz with the following great specs for £2000:

Core i9-9880H (16MB Cache, 2.3GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (8GB GDDR6)
(17.3") Full HD 1920 x 1080 144hz IPS
32GB DDR4-SDRAM (2 x 16)
512GB M2 SSD

It's the same as this one from OCUK for £2500 but I live in a non-EU country where prices are lower and that only ship internally, so sorry guys but no chance of you getting the same deal https://www.overclockers.co.uk/hp-o...c-intel-i9-9880h-gaming-laptop-lt-046-hp.html

My only concern is the i9 CPU as the clock speeds are 20% lower than the i7 9850H which will mean less gaming clout and realistically I don't really need 8 cores.

Hmm, considering I will be buying to last the next couple of years I need to decide if its worth buying now or waiting till next year when Intel 10nm and Nvidia Ampere are released...
 
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Caporegime
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That's a good deal.

The benchmark performance on the CPU won't result in under performance of the 2080.
True, but the more I think about it the more I think that I can hold on a little longer until 2020 for Intel 10nm and Nvidia Ampere. I know I would have buyers regret if the performance gains of Ampere were really as significant as they say they will be. :)
 
Soldato
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True, but the more I think about it the more I think that I can hold on a little longer until 2020 for Intel 10nm and Nvidia Ampere. I know I would have buyers regret if the performance gains of Ampere were really as significant as they say they will be. :)

There's always be tech around the corner. Plus with new tech comes new pricing. I recall the Omen in your spec was well north of £3k at launch. It's still over £3k from HP now.
 
Caporegime
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There's always be tech around the corner. Plus with new tech comes new pricing. I recall the Omen in your spec was well north of £3k at launch. It's still over £3k from HP now.
Thanks but I have been in the tech game for a long time so have a good feel for timing of purchases. I want a new laptop but it's not super urgent so I think I can wait a wee while and splurge some extra for the bleeding edge next year. :)
 
Soldato
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You did set an initial budget of 1.1-1.8k though.

The Omen with 2080 seem to hold values second hand so you wouldn't lose much buying that then selling when the new one launches so your not left short.
 
Caporegime
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You did set an initial budget of 1.1-1.8k though.

The Omen with 2080 seem to hold values second hand so you wouldn't lose much buying that then selling when the new one launches so your not left short.
Ahh, I think that's a misunderstanding. I didn't set any definitive budget, that just happened to be the cost of the laptop I was comparing against. My budget is flexible as long as I get good value and performance for the money. Regarding buying then selling, setting up a new machine is always a bit of effort and stress so I will do it when I settle on the one I want. And thanks for the advice, I do appreciate it. :)
 
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