Thunderbolt cable for eGPU

[Hades]

I've just bought a used eGPU to dabble with on my ageing Thinkpad laptop. It has the power cable but no Thunderbolt cable. It is a Razer Core X Chroma. I need to buy a Thunderbolt 3 cable in the next few days before it arrives. Because this will be for an eGPU and power delivery is there anything particular to look out for? e.g. it must be under a metre long or must have xyz mentioned in the description.

EDIT: Also would a Thunderbolt 4 cable work?

Thank you.

 

[Hades]

Following up on this. I took a chance on the following Thunderbolt 4 cable and it works fine:

Cable Matters [Intel Certified] 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 Cable 1 m with 8K Video and 240W Charging - 1m - Backwards Compatible with USB4 Thunderbolt 3 Cab

 

[Rroff]

I think any USB-C cable that supports 40Gbps, TB 3/4, video (not sure if the video part is strictly necessary unless displaying back to the internal screen in this case) and at least 100W charging should work.

I've been considering dabbling with something like this to connect up with my Lenovo Legion Go but the prices aren't exactly keen for what it is :s

In my experience so far Cable Matters make good stuff - boringly reliable and does what it says on the tin.

 

[Hades]

I've been considering dabbling with something like this to connect up with my Lenovo Legion Go but the prices aren't exactly keen for what it is :s

I've been spending a lot of time at my daughters flat recently so I was looking for something to help me play a few games on my really quite old laptop, a Thinkpad T480 (i5 8250 CPU). I saw a Razer Core X Chroma on auction with no bidders so I put the minimum bid in a few seconds before the end and won it. I happen to still have an old AMD Vega 64 which I never got around to selling. So this was a fairly low cost way of trying it and I can probably sell it for the same money I got it for if I decide it's not for me. It also acts as a docking station with USB ports and an ethernet port on the back.

Well it does allow me to play a few games. The most demanding one I play is Quake Champions so not exactly cutting edge. If I put most of the settings on low it can hit over 100 fps on an external monitor and 70 to 80 fps on the internal monitor. But it still feels glitchy for some reason. Putting vsync on and restricting it to the 60hz of the monitor helps a bit. It's certainly playable now although it still feels weird. That may be because of the small 14" low refresh screen, playing on the laptop keyboard and a different mouse that has a completely different sensitivity. I think the old CPU is probably holding it back the most and if I recall this laptop didn't have all Thunderbolt lanes enabled. I guess it's to be expected that it will feel different to a desktop gaming PC with a widescreen 34" high refresh monitor. But it is playable and I expect single player games will be great with it. I may also upgrade the laptop at some point soon anyway. I've never had an eGPU before so it's another toy to play with for a while.

For the Legion Go you can get portable eGPU's now (take a look at the GPD G1 eGPU) although it will indeed be a slightly costly solution.

 

[Rroff]

For the Legion Go you can get portable eGPU's now (take a look at the GPD G1 eGPU) although it will indeed be a slightly costly solution.

Most of them are ridiculously expensive and/or only come already populated with a low to medium range GPU you pay way over the odds in addition to the eGPU chassis for

 

[Rroff]

It is a Razer Core X Chroma

Just bought one of these - as per new it has a TB3 cable in the box - though quite short and I can't see specs for it but from the look of it I'm guessing 100WATT PD/40GBit/s, maybe 4K 60 or 120Hz video - not sure on the video side as it isn't required if using the enclosure GPU outputs.

I'm using my own USB4 cable anyhow though.

 

[Roughneck]

This one works, I have a Razer X (6650xt) attached to a minisforum nPB5 no problems and it cost me £17
Anker 515 USB C to USB C Cable, USB 4 Cable 3.3 ft, Supports 8K HD Display, 40 Gbps Data Transfer, 240W Charging USB C Charger Cable, for Type-C Laptop, Hub, Docking, and More

 

[Rroff]

I picked up a LINKUP branded one which was being promoted with a discount and has a lot of good reviews, so far seems to be a decent cable, also got Anker and Cable Matters ones which work fine though the Anker one doesn't seem to work with everything (works with the Chroma though). Along with the one provided in the box which seems to work fine but a bit short.