Would anyone else be interested in a Framework branded eGPU enclosure/dock? I think it would fit in very nicely with the modular ecosystem and satisfy users wanting higher graphics output potential without having to create a new mainboard that would be interoperable with the current platform. At least I would think it unlikely the engineers could figure out a way to add a mobile GPU to the mainboard and retain the same form factor.
A framework version of the CM eg200 case could ditch the extra cost of the sata connections and extra usb ports. As well I bet they would support a replacement PCIe bracket if needed.
Looking at the current cost sfx psu’s and what I think is the same pcie bracket it wouldn’t be that price competitive.
For a reliably repairable pcie to thunderbolt bracket that provides charging to the laptop I bet Framework could get it competitive or less than the cost of Razer’s Core X enclosure. Especially if they skipped the extra USB/Ethernet ports, leave that for a separate hub. Just an eGPU enclosure with charging pass through.
On a side note, cause I just thought of it now, has it been suggested to have a skeleton usbc hub that provides 3-4 more expansion card slots?
I have an egpu from ZOTAC it’s a mini one that takes an ITX sized gpu dual slot though and has an external psu, it’s a little thick and it has awful ventilation in reality gpu would have to be a blower and the combination doesn’t exist.
So you always end up with a massive egpu box unless you go the custom route like blackmagic did for apple I don’t think it would make a lot of sense at least at this time for framework to release egpu boxes considering the options in the market you can find many used razer core for next to nothing out there.
The other major problem with egpus in general is lack of bandwidth you’re always limited to your 40gbps which is slower than pcie gen 3 x4 under most circumstances and that will limit your performance so going for a powerful egpu is never going to be a sensible option, so you’re looking at mid range egpus or low end.
It might be a thing in the future 2-3 generations in the future for thunderbolt to catch up to gen 5 pcie speeds and when efficiency is good enough even a small egpu will have plenty of performance but might be too little too late unless it becomes a new standard.
Personally I really enjoy that idea. I also had the idea (and maybe this wouldn’t work, or maybe there is another thread already discussing this. But I was thinking there are some posts and stuff in the community of making casings to put your old Mainboards in and make desktop PCs with the old parts when you decide to upgrade. I would like to see an enclosure to hold it that is a little bigger and provides room to include a GPU in that as well, to allow for more capable builds all in one.
I do not have much experience with such things, and maybe it’s just a day dream but thought I’d atleast put the idea out there.
There are eGPUs with PCIe Gen 4x4 lanes but I think that’s pretty much all you can go with current tech.
I think there is a user (can’t remember his ID) has posted in the forums with a 3D printed chassis as well as the files to print one that fits an eGPU with the mainboard. Can check it out.
@Sun_Djinn_Kari I’m not sure if you’re asking me as an engineer or a consumer, as a consumer there’s nothing you can do other than some custom mods or desktops.
If you’re asking me on how to design a better egpu box that depends on standards and other factors that will in turn make them more expensive but personally i like the idea of having more pcie lanes that can be directly tapped from an external port like thunderbolt does, though one can also just route lanes directly and require a cold boot or hot plug support from the bios.
I disagree. A beefier GPU will always equal increased performance, but the bandwidth limitation means the effective performance is limited. Plenty of benchmarks exist comparing RTX 3000-series to lower end GPUs in eGPU setups, and I know with my own setup (1650 super) I’d get a performance boost from upgrading to a last-gen card (4000-series will exceed my power supply constraints before they actually cause problematic bottlenecking).
You are just exactly describing what a Razer Core X (not Chroma) is.
So, it already exists, and it works perfectly well with the Framework laptop, as I can testify (I am using that on Linux).
I’m rocking a Coolermaster eg200, which works like a charm. I mainly use it for GPU rendering. I think it would be a great opportunity to break open the eGPU market a bit, since it is pretty locked at the moment. Would love to see a modular approach coming from framework. The problem with adding and using ports other than video out and usb C, it eats away at the bandwith, making it less suitable for gaming f.e.
Question. Have any of you tried it with AMD hardware?
That’s becoming an option now in Framework. I’d like to have another go with AMD, it’s been a few years. Since Intel wants a license fee for Thunderbolt, AMD builds often don’t have that, even if they’re equipped with 40gbps USB4.
And some manufacturers like lenovo use the usb4 for artificial segmentation which is kinda sad, then again they also gimped thunderbolt on the non x1 versions for a while for little good reasons.
From what I have found on the internet the current 6000 mobile platform chipset has 2 full featured usb4 ports with tb3 backwards compatibility and everything so it’s only a matter of exposing those like it is on the intel chips. the 7040 series uses what looks like an extended version of the 6000 chipset so for the spec sheet of the amd framework it probably breaks out one of the usb4 ports on each side.
According to egpu.io the usb4 in the 6000 series works just fine for egpus when it is enabled.
But in the end we’ll know how well the implementation in the framework works when it’s out.