ROG Ally X with RTX 4090 eGPU setup 4K 240Hz

[Agall]

TLDR: This is an entirely viable setup now in 2024 with little to no downsides within reason.

 

 

Backstory and previous experience:

 

-I bought my first Thunderbolt 3 eGPU setup back in late 2016 with a purchase of a Razer Core and Razer Blade Stealth. I shortly replaced the Razer Blade Stealth with a Razer Blade 14, 6700HQ and GTX 1060 model, due to significant CPU and RAM limitations. The dGPU used was a GTX 1080 Founders Edition, a setup I daily drove for over a year. I regretfully switched back once I was able to measure a ~50ms increase in input latency that significantly inhibited my competitive gameplay, switching back to the i7 4790k setup I pulled the GTX 1080 from.

 

-Second jump into eGPUs was with the same Razer Core and GTX 1080 setup, but this time, with a Lenovo Yoga 14 and its i7 1065G7. This setup ran into similar limitations as the Razer Blade Stealth, sitting at 100% CPU utilization the entire time and eventually heat soaking the device enough to overheat the battery (after 6-8 hours). I daily drove this setup for ~3 months before switching back to my i7 4790k (then eventually to a 3950x, 5800x3D, 7950x3D).

 

-Regarding handhelds specifically, it all started with the Nvidia Shield Portable I purchased back in 2013. That product was half-baked, and is just a novelty at this point (I still have it and its follow up tablet version). I then purchased a Steam Deck OLED on release, which I subsequently used exclusively for an entire month while hotel living between closing dates of my previous house and new house.

 

This brings us to today, with the ROG Ally X.

 

I waited about a week after launch to finally decide to do it and try out the eGPU setup, this time, with the exact product I always dreamed of running this setup with- a handheld PC. The idea is to have the best of both worlds in one computer, eliminating the need to have two different installations of Windows to update and all the complexities of having multiple computers.

 

The idea is simple- have a capable handheld when needed and a fully capable desktop setup when needed with one computer.

 

So how does it fair? Far far better than I expected.

 

The setup: ORARA USB4 eGPU Dock (Amazon, $159 USD), RTX 4090 Gaming OC (had for almost 2 years at this point), Corsair RM1000x (2x8pin to 12VHPWR shown in the next photo). Dock plugged into the USB4 'left' type-c, USB3.2 type-c port to plug in mouse+keyboard+ wireless headphone dongle+ethernet. My actual desk is on the other side of the wall, so I dont have the heat+noise to deal with, with the cables routed through a hole in the wall.

 

 

 

The DIY eGPU dock next to my OG 2016 era Razer Core (with its RX 6600 8GB). Took this after receiving the 2x8pin to 12VHPWR cable to clean it up in comparison to the adapter.

 

 

I started off using my Razer Core with the RX 6600 8GB, since it was the most powerful dGPU I had around that would fit in the enclosure. The enclosure doesn't work unless its slid into the chassis, and I didn't want to disassemble the thing to bypass that. In this setup, the performance was dramatic, but GPU limited since I'm trying to drive a 4K 240Hz display. Obviously, get a more powerful dGPU than an RX 6600 if you're driving 4K.

 

Performance:

 

The handheld performance speaks for itself, its extremely capable, and the RAM upgrade is significant. I keep it in AUTO, otherwise it steals whatever value its set to even while using an eGPU. I imagine this is only necessary if you're worried about an application taking up too much system RAM, not leaving enough for the iGPU, but I haven't seen this be a problem.

 

For eGPU, after creating a Manual profile with maxed TDP and fans set to 85%, the Z1E with all 30W available to it was maintaining a ~4.2GHz boost clock. This put the performance hilariously close to my experience with CCD1, the non 3D v-cache CCD, of my 7950x3D, aka, comparable to a TDP limited R7 7700... This was a genuine shock to me, and overall, dramatically less of a hit to the quality of the experience than I expected.

 

The latency issues I experienced before do not appear to be there, potentially due to Thunderbolt 4's advancements and/or separating inputs to another USB port/controller. Overwatch and Warframe being the controls in this case, as best as I can get +7 years later, which requires extremely fast reaction just like any FPS.

 

Considering I came from a 7950x3D, direct-die cooled with CCD1 disabled that would maintain 5.25GHz while gaming, I'm coming from effectively the smoothest possible gameplay experience you can build+mod to get. Obviously this setup isn't as smooth as that, but its so hilariously close that I have no regrets (noting I full sended this and sold my whole rig minus the RTX 4090, so there was no going back which was the whole point). 

 

Theoretically, the bandwidth limitations of 40Gb/sec aren't as significant at higher resolutions, something Techpowerup tested in this article:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 PCI-Express Scaling | TechPowerUp

Theoretically, this creates a maximum framerate in any given scenario, since its unlikely the resolution driving the performance gap but the inherently higher framerate at lower resolutions. I have seen scenarios where I get significantly lower GPU utilization that doesn't involve a higher CPU utilization. I speculate this is a scenario where I'm limited by bandwidth.

 

Where some major disadvantages come in is regarding usability. This isn't always plug+play, and requires some experience/understanding to keep it working. I haven't experienced any instability/crashing, but mostly with the nature of the setup and running high bandwidth peripherals externally. I experience the same inconveniences now that I experienced across the last 8 years. Not to say a novice can't work through them, but it does requires some patience and troubleshooting occasionally. For anyone considering this, I would suggest creating a process/procedure when plugging in and unplugging. Once figured out, the process is simple and almost completely problem free. An easy example, if my monitor isn't on before plugging the eGPU in, it doesn't detect the Nvidia Audio device.

 

There's also the issue of graphics settings. Games don't understand that you're using two different GPUs, so it'll keep whatever settings you last set it to. This can be a problem if you're running such an extreme GPU like an RTX 4090, that can do 4K high/ultra no problem in intense titles (and ray tracing), settings that the Z1E's iGPU will struggle to even get double digit framerates in even at 1080p. I've found it best to balance at about medium, and I can dial up if I want. This also makes FSR vs DLSS complicated, since the iGPU obviously can't run DLSS.

 

My recommendations for dGPUs to run in this kind of setup; the mid-high range, so the x800/XT and x070/ti. There's enough scenarios even at 4K ultra where an RTX 4090 isnt reaching full TDP and with the whole settings conflict, an RTX 4070ti Super or RX 7900 XT would just be more fitting. I did have an issue with the iGPU driver breaking when using the RX 6600 which required me to uninstall+reinstall each time, but it wasn't game breaking. 

 

Another weird bug involves bitlocker, which has been an issue with the ROG Ally in the past apparently. This is likely triggered when the device detects a new PCIe device. The way around this is to NEVER restart the device with the eGPU plugged in, otherwise, have a keyboard handy since the onscreen keyboard doesn't exist when you have to type in the bitlocker recovery key in the preboot environment.

 

Regarding anything I didn't cover, feel free to ask. This is now my setup, and I plan to end up spending more $ in the long run upgrading handhelds+eGPU setups. So far, this is the best of both worlds, being the ROG Ally X.

[podkall]

Just now, Agall said:

TLDR: This is an entirely viable setup now in 2024 with little to no downsides within reason.

Price?

[Agall]

1 minute ago, podkall said:

Price?

 

4 minutes ago, Agall said:

The setup: ORARA USB4 eGPU Dock (Amazon, $159 USD), RTX 4090 Gaming OC (had for almost 2 years at this point), Corsair RM1000x (2x8pin to 12VHPWR shown in the next photo). Dock plugged into the USB4 'left' type-c, USB3.2 type-c port to plug in mouse+keyboard+ wireless headphone dongle+ethernet. My actual desk is on the other side of the wall, so I dont have the heat+noise to deal with, with the cables routed through a hole in the wall.

A power supply and dGPU and ~$160. The USB-c to 4x type A and USB-A to ethernet adapter costing something, didn't pay much attention there.

 

Obviously not as economical and 'future proof' as a proper desktop like a 7800x3D, but for someone who already has a handheld, its dramatically cheaper. Considering ~$320 for a power supply and the dock. I already had the RTX 4090 and RM1000x, only spending $20 on the 12VHPWR cable I should've already had for it.

[podkall]

5 minutes ago, Agall said:

 

A power supply and dGPU and ~$160. The USB-c to 4x type A and USB-A to ethernet adapter costing something, didn't pay much attention there.

 

Obviously not as economical and 'future proof' as a proper desktop like a 7800x3D, but for someone who already has a handheld, its dramatically cheaper. Considering ~$320 for a power supply and the dock. I already had the RTX 4090 and RM1000x, only spending $20 on the 12VHPWR cable I should've already had for it.

yeah but not everyone "already has 4090" that's what I was referencing to, it might have been "cheap" for you since you already had the GPU

[Agall]

1 hour ago, podkall said:

yeah but not everyone "already has 4090" that's what I was referencing to, it might have been "cheap" for you since you already had the GPU

Plenty of people though have a decent dGPU and an outdated CPU, and might be considering a handheld and eGPU setup. Its obviously not for everyone, but for those who have considered it, that's who this post is for. Those people can come out of it at about $1k total keeping their dGPU and PSU.

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 hour ago, Agall said:

a decent dGPU and an outdated CPU

Feeling called out with my 2070 Super and i7 7820X over here.

 

This is a pretty cool project, it's nice to see eGPUs are actually viable now. Never thought I'd see the day, I expected them to just fade into nothingness.

[Agall]

11 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Feeling called out with my 2070 Super and i7 7820X over here.

 

This is a pretty cool project, it's nice to see eGPUs are actually viable now. Never thought I'd see the day, I expected them to just fade into nothingness.

I thought the same with my previous experience with them. Where Occulink and XG mobile got me excited. Occulink should still be better with its higher bandwidth.

 

A 2070 Super eGPU with a handheld would work quite nicely compared to a 7820x  

[Crunchy Dragon]

15 minutes ago, Agall said:

I thought the same with my previous experience with them. Where Occulink and XG mobile got me excited. Occulink should still be better with its higher bandwidth.

 

A 2070 Super eGPU with a handheld would work quite nicely compared to a 7820x  

I could be tempted by it. I think if I'm doing anything like that though, I'd just rebuild my desktop with newer parts to be more power efficient and have slightly more modern features, particularly on the CPU side.

 

I don't need a handheld so much as I need a laptop most of the time, and I rarely game on the go anyway so size and power efficiency would be the only main selling points of going eGPU + handheld.

 

I also like my 27" monitors

[Agall]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I could be tempted by it. I think if I'm doing anything like that though, I'd just rebuild my desktop with newer parts to be more power efficient and have slightly more modern features, particularly on the CPU side.

 

I don't need a handheld so much as I need a laptop most of the time, and I rarely game on the go anyway so size and power efficiency would be the only main selling points of going eGPU + handheld.

 

I also like my 27" monitors

Yeah, its not a setup for most people, and I've really found no proper example to compare with newer hardware, no one discussing input latency and ease of daily setup.

 

The start of this project came out of the necessity for portability while I was active duty Navy 8+ years ago. This would've been a dream setup in that scenario since while out at sea, you couldn't always get a decent place to sit down and setup a laptop (even while using your lap).

 

Now a days, I run into scenarios where I'm stuck waiting at work for an hour+ waiting for something to complete successfully without much else to do in between. Also spending a lot more time at a desk during the day makes me want to not go home and be at a desk. Really just removing the shackles of a desktop, something a laptop doesn't even do compared to a handheld.

 

Its also the idea of having a portable desktop and not being locked down to a desk to use it. I think the Lenovo Legion Go pseudo-switch design is better suited for my use, but the RAM limitations of the current model just simply aren't worth it, and its software anomalies. Just as of right now, the ROG Ally X is by far the best product for this kind of setup.