eGPU Wishlist

[Kmpkt]

Hey Guys,

I am currently involved in an upcoming eGPU project and would like to solicit any suggestions for what the SmallFormFactor.net community would consider to be the most desirable options. While I can't promise anything as I am merely consulting on the project, I would like to see something truly compelling come to market as I find most of the existing eGPU options on the market to be very underwhelming.

 

[Biowarejak]

Small volume But more seriously, if it were brickless that would be awesome.

 

[Kmpkt]

Check and check (I believe)

 

[Biowarejak]

Awesome!

It would also be nice if it could fit reference length, for when the next generation comes out. But I'm not sure if that conflicts with the smaller volume goal or if anyone else wants that.

 

[ondert]

Great to see this topic here. I’ve just sold my sff pc to use my macbook along with an egpu setup. Already ordered a Sonnet Breakaway 550 and Sapphire RX 580 Nitro+. Before I ordered these, I had searched much about making it smaller but now MacOS supports only AMD cards. So there is nearly no option to build a real sff egpu setup for Mac unless you mod sth.
On the Windows side, Gigabyte Gaming Box is the best and the real sff egpu setup for me. I wrote my concern to Aorus before if they can release an AMD version of Gaming Box and they replied like this; “Hi xxxx we understand and we are looking into it.”
So, is it something to get excited?

For your project please do consider the Mac users and the AMD GPU restriction situation. Also for some (including me) 87-100 Watt Power delivery over the cable is important.

 

[Ionrent]

 

 

[darksidecookie]

Something that i haven't really seen before and i'd be very interested in is it being light,small and rugged so that it can be tossed into a backpack for easy portable compute power.

Also if it could be powered of a powerbank over usb type-c, this would be amazing. (Not shure how feasable this would be)

For me compute power is most important for renders and simulations, gaming would be an afterthought . Upgradability would also be pretty important regardless if it's pcie or mxm.

 

[Martix50]

To me all those existing eGPU don't make sense because with the same space of their enclosures (see the Razer Core) i can usually build a full PC inside the cases present in this forum.
So in my opinion you need to focus in keeping the quality of the components up and the size of the whole thing down !

 

[AleksandarK]

Small volume But more seriously, if it were brickless that would be awesome.

You think in a same way as i do

Check and check (I believe)

That is great. I am really looking forward to see it.
Btw, out of what material would it be produced? Aluminum or steel?

 

[Kmpkt]

To the best of my knowledge it will be made of aluminum.

 

[VegetableStu]

Your thoughts on showing the underside (where the PCIe socket goes) of the GPU card? Not a serious question for the project, but because some company decided that's a good idea

 

[chx]

What I'd like to see is thin. Even the Sonnet puck is two inches and that's MXM.

It should be as thick to fit a dual slot card and not thicker. One half of the case the card lies down, fan up, slot to the middle, connecting to a short flex riser, the other half of the case you have the base board from https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node-lite . The Node Lite is 2.99 thick, I want to make it less than 2". Hopefully 1.8". I would also put down next to the base board a 160W Hdplex AC-DC and https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/kmpkt-dynamo-dc-12v.1628/ thus supporting up to 1060, easily. MSI or EVGA 1060 ITX is the target here. Possibly with the shroud and fan removed and a TY-14013R attached to the case or perhaps two 80mm x 10mm Akasa fans as space permits.

If someone is interested in this project let me know.

 

[entropy]

This might not appeal to everyone, but I would be interested in a minimalist, enclosure free eGPU that just consists of a base with a slot to plug in and stabilize the GPU. Ideally it would be powered by a 12V power brick. A nice looking GPU with a back plate could really stand on its own next to most desk setups. Like that Star Wars edition Titan for example. I wonder if you could make this an option by allowing the base to be removable or something.

 

[KepKe]

I wonder: Wouldn't it be very convenient to have more functionality while connecting a laptop to a eGPU? A BluRay Drive and 3.5" HDD build in to the box together with a USB HUB and SD card reader would make for a true all-in-one expansion box! Ofc all with an internal PSU.

 

[thewizzard1]

Why not add USB-C power passthrough, and a 'standard' form factor, maybe shaped like a console / S4 Mini / etc? A 1U power supply, with a video card mounted horizontally next to it.

I also like the ideas of added functionality, IE storage, docking, hub. Also, drop all the goofy logos - Just anodized aluminum, maybe with some milled/extruded fins but nothing fancy.

 

[Biowarejak]

Kinda love the idea of it being an aluminum enclosure that acts as a passive heatsink

 

[CC Ricers]

This might not appeal to everyone, but I would be interested in a minimalist, enclosure free eGPU that just consists of a base with a slot to plug in and stabilize the GPU. Ideally it would be powered by a 12V power brick. A nice looking GPU with a back plate could really stand on its own next to most desk setups. Like that Star Wars edition Titan for example. I wonder if you could make this an option by allowing the base to be removable or something.

The EXP GDC Beast sounds like it's what you're looking for. It's even compatible with the 220W Dell DA-2 adapter which can go for very cheap. I haven't used one of these docks, but other people online have shown it and it seems reliable.

 

[entropy]

The EXP GDC Beast sounds like it's what you're looking for. It's even compatible with the 220W Dell DA-2 adapter which can go for very cheap. I haven't used one of these docks, but other people online have shown it and it seems reliable.

If I could get get something like that with a Thunderbolt 3 connector instead, I would definitely buy it. I do not really want to take apart my laptop to force in that mini-pcie connector.

 

[Kmpkt]

I would consider the Inxtron eGPU developer package if this is what you want. It is the same hardware used in the Akitio Node series of eGPUs as Inxtron is either their OEM or somehow affiliated with them. They used to sell it directly through their website, but that option no longer seems to be there so you'll likely need to email them.

 

[entropy]

I did not know something like that was available. Do you know how much it was?