EXP GDC Beast - Laptop Graphics Dock

Leigh K · 13 Feb 2017 at 08:26

Hi everyone

I was wondering if any one has one of these External Graphics Docks for their laptop and what their thoughts were?

I would also like to know if its possible to connect the device via USB 3 instead of the on board PCIE port.

Thanks

Lmg80 · 13 Feb 2017 at 09:13

No, USB would not provide sufficient bandwidth that would limit any benefit of an eGPU.

You should just stream from steam to your laptop if you need a portable solution for gaming. If you do not have a powerful pc to stream from then you're outta luck unless your lappy supports an mxm and can be upgraded

MiSJAH · 13 Feb 2017 at 09:50

Docks either use proprietary pcie connection or thunderbolt.

Given that new laptops contain desktop gpus I think they will die out pretty quickly.

Leigh K · 13 Feb 2017 at 11:46

Would a USB 3 - MXM Express-card reader work? or would the bandwidth issue still be there.

I see you can get a EXP GDC for a MXM port. I am looking for a way around instead of removing the WiFi card from the on-board PCIE.

I would use the steam stream, however i don't have a PC with a good enough spec.

Thanks again

WantoN · 13 Feb 2017 at 12:39

MiSJAH;30498098 said:
Docks either use proprietary pcie connection or thunderbolt.

Given that new laptops contain desktop gpus I think they will die out pretty quickly.

I suppose it depends. I Buy light, slim, beautiful laptops with top end CPU grunt. I don't like bulky laptops or gaming on the go.

If when I get home I could then plug it into a dock or connect it to a box which provided say 1080 performance and desktop I/O I'd be sold. And it should prove quite a bit cheaper than buying an addition rig for gaming at home.

MiSJAH · 13 Feb 2017 at 12:58

WantoN;30498699 said:
I suppose it depends. I Buy light, slim, beautiful laptops with top end CPU grunt. I don't like bulky laptops or gaming on the go.

If when I get home I could then plug it into a dock or connect it to a box which provided say 1080 performance and desktop I/O I'd be sold. And it should prove quite a bit cheaper than buying an addition rig for gaming at home.

I hear what you are saying. Look at my sig. I have a slim and beautiful laptop with a 4Ghz CPU and a GTX 1070 that hit's 15K on FS.

To enjoy a 25-30% performance increase would cost ~£500 for an enclosure (that would support the bandwidth) and ~£600 for a 1080.

Just my 2p's worth.

krooton · 14 Feb 2017 at 10:46

MiSJAH said:
I hear what you are saying. Look at my sig. I have a slim and beautiful laptop with a 4Ghz CPU and a GTX 1070 that hit's 15K on FS.

To enjoy a 25-30% performance increase would cost ~£500 for an enclosure (that would support the bandwidth) and ~£600 for a 1080.

Just my 2p's worth.

But yours is a £2k+ laptop.

I get where the OP is coming from, as I would like to do the same. Ideally a slim, 14" sized (overall dimensions, not just screen, so the XPS 15 would be great if it had a better cpu) laptop, with good CPU grunt, that can be plugged in to an external GPU when needing gaming oompfh.

Remove the expensive graphics card from a laptop, and you can shave a lot off the price, so getting a nice laptop for £1-1.2k and using the difference for an external graphics enclosure would work out to the same price as your X5, and allows for easier upgrading of the graphics in the future, no MXM faff.