Is an eGPU a good one cable alternative to a Thunderbolt dock?

rahulr1 · October 4, 2022

I've recently got a new laptop and am looking for a 1 cable solution to connect 3 displays, a few peripherals, and have 100W power delivery. I'm aware that Thunderbolt docks cannot support more than 2 displays and some of mine are 1440p270hz which may not even work in the first place.

I've got an old GTX 1080 collecting dust and seen some inexpensive eGPU enclosures that have a few USB ports and 100W PD. Does it make sense to use an eGPU to connect 3 displays and charge my laptop, or is there a benefit to Thunderbolt/USB4 docks that I should be aware of, or some entirely alternative solution that is better?

manikyath · October 4, 2022

an external GPU dock *is* a thunderbolt dock.

your problem sounds like you're trying to get far too much bandwidth out of a dock. might be better to run an eGPU if you insist on driving that many pixels, but do mind that you're probably gonna run into performance issues either way.