Pocket eGPU | a 0.55L Thunderbolt RX6400 pocket eGPU

[htalker]

Hey, don't be embarrassed, you made a great product! We've all been through hours of puzzling and cut our fingers to get hardware into the tiniest possible enclosures, yet we're still here looking to shrink things even more

That's why I like to stay here.

 

[Valantar]

@htalker Really impressive work, well done! How are you sourcing those Caldigit boards, btw? Are you buying docks and tearing them down, or are you able to get your hands on just the boards?

 

[htalker]

@htalker Really impressive work, well done! How are you sourcing those Caldigit boards, btw? Are you buying docks and tearing them down, or are you able to get your hands on just the boards?

Thank you for your appreciation.
I bought Thunderbolt core boards from a local seller.
He specializes in selling second-hand Thunderbolt dock stations.

 

[Valantar]

Thank you for your appreciation.
I bought Thunderbolt core boards from a local seller.
He specializes in selling second-hand Thunderbolt dock stations.

Ah, interesting. You don't have access to more, by any chance? I might be interested in buying just the board.

 

[SFFMunkee]

Ah, interesting. You don't have access to more, by any chance? I might be interested in buying just the board.

I was thinking this too, would be great if we had a decently priced source for these PCBs!
FWIW the CalDigit TS3 doesn't seem to be available anymore, replaced by TS3 Plus (~$480AUD) or TS4 ($??)

I'm also building an eGPU and ordered:
1) a 'cheap' TB3 M.2 SSD enclosure (M-key, NVMe) ~$110aud
2) an ADT-Link M.2 to PCIe x16 (x4 electrically) riser

And for extra points, I'll be adding TB3 to an AMD system (DeskMini X300) with:
3) a Gigabyte Titan Ridge 2.0 Thunderbolt3 PCIe card (with jumper to force power-on, working and detected by Windows but haven't been able to test with any TB devices yet)
4) an ADT-Link M.2 to PCIe x4 riser

Plus as a test from my ITX machine, I've got a (bifurcated hopefully) PCIe riser to split the main PCIe x16 into 2 PCIe x8 slots to see if I can have my cake & eat it too

 

[htalker]

As much as you want.
If you are interested, can help contact.
My tghandtalker

Ah, interesting. You don't have access to more, by any chance? I might be interested in buying just the board.

 

[htalker]

I was thinking this too, would be great if we had a decently priced source for these PCBs!
FWIW the CalDigit TS3 doesn't seem to be available anymore, replaced by TS3 Plus (~$480AUD) or TS4 ($??)

I'm also building an eGPU and ordered:
1) a 'cheap' TB3 M.2 SSD enclosure (M-key, NVMe) ~$110aud
2) an ADT-Link M.2 to PCIe x16 (x4 electrically) riser

And for extra points, I'll be adding TB3 to an AMD system (DeskMini X300) with:
3) a Gigabyte Titan Ridge 2.0 Thunderbolt3 PCIe card (with jumper to force power-on, working and detected by Windows but haven't been able to test with any TB devices yet)
4) an ADT-Link M.2 to PCIe x4 riser

Plus as a test from my ITX machine, I've got a (bifurcated hopefully) PCIe riser to split the main PCIe x16 into 2 PCIe x8 slots to see if I can have my cake & eat it too

Great.
Look forward to your results.

 

[htalker]

As much as you want.
If you are interested, can help contact.
My tghandtalker

As much as you want.
If you are interested, can help contact.
My TG:
@handtalker

The text was incorrectly translated into emoticon...

 

[htalker]

The first batch production Pocket eGPU is going to be delivered to the user soon.

Pocket eGPU Laser Engraved Logo

 

[jeeves1234]

I definitely need this! Great Work!

 

[tn4321]

Great! How do you supply power to the card from 12v module?

 

[CC Ricers]

That looks so clean. An improvement on an already smokin' idea!

 

[feklee]

Are they still available? I'm in HK, could pay by Alipay and have it delivered to a warehouse in SZ, from where I would get it forwarded.

I actually already ordered an ADT-Link R43SG-TB3 for use with an Nvidia A2000. Documentation of the adapter points to a list of best external graphics cards builds, and in a post I found out about the Mini eGPU Dock. This is a sexy solution, much cleaner than the cable mess I would have with the R43SG-TB3. I would use it connected to a ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 3, running Rhino3D and a bunch of software packages that benefit from CUDA.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Are they still available? I'm in HK, could pay by Alipay and have it delivered to a warehouse in SZ, from where I would get it forwarded.

I actually already ordered an ADT-Link R43SG-TB3 for use with an Nvidia A2000. Documentation of the adapter points to a list of best external graphics cards builds, and in a post I found out about the Mini eGPU Dock. This is a sexy solution, much cleaner than the cable mess I would have with the R43SG-TB3. I would use it connected to a ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 3, running Rhino3D and a bunch of software packages that benefit from CUDA.

I saw he's taking orders on Xianyu / 淘寶

合手坞 Pocket eGPU | 自制0.55L便携口袋显卡坞

由于工作需要，出差是家常便饭，所以对“超”便携设备特别关注，连日常办公用的都是8寸Windows掌机。忙碌完一天，临睡前在酒店房间内打会游戏，放松一下，已成为一种固定娱乐。目前便携PC的核显性能稍弱，包括笔记本和Windows掌机，尚不能流畅运行所有最新游戏。为了在有限的娱乐时间内获得更高品质的享受，一个便携式显卡坞就成了刚需。起初我选择的是在售显卡坞中最小的Sonnet MXM坞，占地面积约为一片面包。唯一的缺点，即使海淘价格也过于昂贵。一片面包大小的Sonnet MXM显卡坞RX5700的性

www.bilibili.com

 

[Michael]

These still available?

 

[vavan_bonus]

parts used for this build:

• Thunderbolt control board from CalDigit TS3 (6540)

Have you soldered another female connector to the docs male?
I have found that there is some CalDigit TS3 Lite version that is cheaper and uses same main board. At leas it looks the same. and also there is Kensington Dock that looks very similar but is dirtcheap. Maybe you've tried it?

 

[htalker]

Since the first Pocket eGPU was successfully assembled, I have sold hundreds of them in local communities in China. Now it has been discontinued, but in this post I have given the links of all necessary components. Here I will upload the 3D model of the enclosure. Welcome to make it yourself. Enjoy DIY.

http://htalker.synology.me:5080/Share/pocket-egpu-r4.stp

 

[yunneg]

• Thunderbolt control board from CalDigit TS3 (6540)
• 120W 20V->12V DCDC power module
• ADT-Link PCIE 4X to 16X Cable
• VASTARMOR RADEON RX6400 single slot LP
• Aluminum alloy semi open housing, 160*80*43mm

Hi, I'm new to this kind of stuff, can you explain a bit what the no. 2 (power module) is for? Can I just use the external adapter 100w to supply without this module?

 

[msystems]

Hi, I'm new to this kind of stuff, can you explain a bit what the no. 2 (power module) is for? Can I just use the external adapter 100w to supply without this module?

Afaik the Caldigit thunderbolt control board is most likely a 19 or 20v DC input, so you would already be using 19v brick (( Or USB-PD which is 20v )) for that. The graphics card and riser needs 12v, so to avoid using a separate brick, the purpose of the power module is to step down the 19v source to 12v for the GPU.

There is, however, a similar thunderbolt egpu module with integrated PCI-e riser which uses 12v brick, it's called the TH3P4 Lite. And using this with a 12v PSU or brick you wouldn't need a stepdown to add additional power to a GPU. I have to say the design of the pocket eGpu is nicer though in the way that it holds the card nicely, while the TH3P4 basically has to lie flat on the desk in a sloppy way.