Mini PC Power Up: Oculink vs. Thunderbolt for eGPUs

[@LonSeidman]

I am aware of all in one solutions but those don’t let you choose the GPU. For years thunderbolt eGPU enclosures have included the power supply. Remember also that there are other types of cards (like video capture) that can be used in this scenario too. A more integrated enclosure solution would be better imho.

[@drewnewby]

Forget the Thunderbolt enclosures, yesterday's overpriced tech. The overhead will not be overcome even in the next higher bandwidth revision. A cleaner solution is to shuck the mini PC, drop it along with the GPU and a SFF PSU into an ITX case. Makes for a very cost effective small form factor, without most of the SFF tax.

[@dktol56]

Maybe test a PCIe storage HBA or a10GbE network card in the oculink dock? Also perhaps you can test the dock with Linux on the GMKtec mini. My google searches have found very few references or discussions about these scenarios. Thanks for the oculink video!

[@kylejaeger7197]

There are "enclosures" such as the ones from aoostar that include the dock and power supply built in that allow you to use any gpu as long as it's power restrictions are under 350w. Somewhat limiting by that power but I see gpus hopefully becoming more power efficient over time.

[@chrisbullock6477]

Keep teaching the children LON...although you should have to, being that a person can easily be educated with a cell phone/tablet/computer via BING or GOOGLE Search😅

[@OldMan_PJ]

They should move the Oculink port to the left side or back of the mini PC so the cable doesn't waste space in front.

[@phertiker]

I have a GPD Win Max 2 that's a great travel companion, then when home I can plug it into the DEG1 and game on the big screen. EGPUs are my jam for sure, although it looks like we might be stuck at 64Gbps for a while...

[@jimpeter3453]

Nicely edited!

[@Poorgeniu5]

I still remember the Minisfourm Elitemini B550 and that mini PC have a full size PCIe slot and a enclosure to keep the PC, GPU & PSU tidy iirc.

[@ricbrook7059]

I have the Minisforum board and a SBC power supply with short leads so it's all very quite neat especially as the UM890 Oculink connector is on the back of the unit, very happy with the way it all looks with a MSI 4060Ti 16gb 2 fan card.

[@spladam3845]

Well done again Lon.

[@shanesterba3512]

I have a 4060 in a used razer core X chroma thunderbolt 3 enclosure for use with my surface pro 9. This is where I think eGPUs are the most useful...a fairly light portable pc with a mid-to-high end mobile CPU for non-graphics-intensive tasks on the go, and then an extra graphics boost when you're docked with large monitors. I know it's not oculink, but it's been working well enough for my engineering software and 1080p, 60 FPS gaming that I do with my son. In 3 to 5 years, we'll see where the technology is, and I'll upgrade. Hopefully, Thunderbolt, usb, and/or oculink will be up to at least 8 pcie lanes.

[@Kiyoshi_9606]

Educational in so many ways... (1) Never going to fuss with an "AliExpress-ish-cable-mess-fest" dock solution and would definitely go with Beelink or Minisforum solution, (2) Doesn't matter if you have the best AMD 890M iGPU or Intel Ultra iGPU, it's absolutely trash compared to even a modest dGPU performance, (3) Cost-wise, you're totally fine with an older 780M or 680M iGPU from a ~$200-$500 mini PC for tons of simple games and most emulators (except for PS3, X360, or running things at 4K) and don't need to fuss with an eGPU at all, (4) If you're keeping your mini PC in a static spot, go with OcuLink for improved performance; only use Thunderbolt/USB4 dock if you're pairing with a handheld device), and (5) best bet for most watching this video is to get an OcuLink-capable mini PC with an "okayish iGPU" and stick on an eGPU later... thumbs up if you agree! 👍

[@gudenau]

An interesting video might be to compare a full speed GPU via a motherboard connection, a TB one and a OCuLink one. With motherboards supporting TB that should be possible on the same exact system.

[@deadhand6873]

Hey Lon! Have you seen the Aoostar AG02? It is an egpu dock with a built-in power supply, it accepts both oculink and thunderbolt, also it lets you choose the gpu, I think it's the best solution for now.

[@LonSeidman]

I have not but will investigate!

[@MrApplewine]

They should just make motherboard that expose a PCI slot to the external of the case. Similar to how consoles used to have a port on the bottom.

[@santosovideo]

I guess this can make sense if you have some spare parts lying around. But only then.

[@GeeksAndGamingNetwork]

Don't they sell longer cables so you can maybe put the graphics card and power under the desk? If they do then that's probably what i will do.

[@john_in_phoenix]

There is a limit on the cable length due to the spec of the signal. Pretty sure they are close to the limit with what you see.

[@GeeksAndGamingNetwork]

@john_in_phoenix in that case I would get one of those small slim single fan gpu's that don't require a huge PSU. I find that a lot of people think the more power you have the better the game will play, although that's technically true, but in the grand scheme of things any game that can run over 60 frames is more than playable. I'm sure if the stats weren't on display most people probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

[@chimpo131]

@@GeeksAndGamingNetwork what a pathetic perspective 😂

[@GeeksAndGamingNetwork]

@chimpo131 don't they sell things for people's convenience? from different size extension cords, to different size USB chords. Consumers have different use cases for everything...then again, I wouldn't expect much from someone who calls himself a chimp...it definitely suits you.🙊🙄

[@gaillewis1765]

There are all in one solutions but they are expensive. The Gpd G1 and there is a new is dock by minisforum and another by one GPU 7600xt

[@mattiaippolito1625]

Can I connect a sfp+ network card?

[@LonSeidman]

Yes just about any PCIe card will work with it.

[@hellothere4599]

LOL and by the time all that stuff is hooked up to it its bigger than the tower again 🤣

[@spinpop01]

There are a couple of eGPU's on the market that support Oculink.

[@LonSeidman]

Yes there are but I’d prefer to have control over the GPU

[@dab42bridges80]

Apparently you aren't familiar with (or are ignoring) all-in-one products like the GPD G1 eGPU Graphic Card Dock that only needs an Oculink and/or Thunderbolt cable? Practical and portable.

[@LonSeidman]

I’m familiar with it but a roll your own can be less expensive to use and lets you choose the GPU .

[@dab42bridges80]

@@LonSeidman Similarly to a sound bar or a full surround system, the choice is the consumers and they should be made aware of both options.