Thursday, January 10th 2019

PowerColor Shows Off New Thunderbolt 3 eGPU Enclosures at CES 2019

While at CES 2019 we had the opportunity to visit with PowerColor who were showing off their latest external GPU enclosures including the TBX-180/240FU, and the TBX-750FA. Starting with the TBX-750FA this external GPU enclosure uses a Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) connection and has a 750-watt internal power supply. Due to the size of not only the enclosure but the power supply as well, graphics cards measuring up to 335 x 170 x 58 mm (13.18 x 6.69 x 2.28 inches). When you factor in maximum GPU power is rated at 500-watts pretty much any GPU on the market should work with this enclosure like a cat with a box if it fits it sits. Connectivity options consist of the 1x Thunderbolt 3 port for connection to the host system, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 5x USB 3.0 (3 up front, 2 in back), 1x SD 4.0, and finally 1x SATA. Overall the enclosure measures in at 359 x 179 x 198 mm and supports Windows 10 and MacOS 10.13.4 or later.
Looking at the TBX-180F and TBX-240FU or the Mini and Mini Pro as they have been named, share similar designs but come in a few different configurations. The TBX-240FU or Mini Pro version will come with a Radeon RX 570 8 GB and has an extra fan for improved cooling. It also offers up 1x Gigabit ethernet, 2x USB 3.0, and of course a Thunderbolt 3 port for connecting to the host system. Concerning power delivery the system supplies 75-watts via the PCIe slot and has a Max GPU power limit of 150-watts. Rather than using a traditional power supply, these eGPU enclosures make use of an external adapter. The TBX-180F or Mini is very similar, but it sacrifices a few features and downgrades the GPU to a Radeon RX 560 4 GB. Gone are the USB 3.0 ports and extra fan while the ethernet connection is no longer a Gigabit offering. However, it also comes with a much more affordable price. The Mini Pro with RX 570 is expected to cost $499, while the regular Mini is listed for $359. Later on, a standalone enclosure with no GPU will be released for $199. As for GPU support at this time, PowerColor had a short list that consisted of various GTX 1060, GTX1070, and RX 570 cards, however, all of them were Mini or ITX versions since any graphics cards larger than 175 x 131 x 38 mm (6.88 x 5.15 x 1.49 inches) in size will not fit. The same goes for any graphics card that has a TDP higher than 150-watts.
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5 Comments on PowerColor Shows Off New Thunderbolt 3 eGPU Enclosures at CES 2019

#1
XXL_AI
I don't get this boxes, why not build a mini-itx system and carry it around? it already has the similar weight and there are tons of options as motherboard, cpu & ram when you build a standalone system. the TB3 -eGPU thing is.. weird.
Posted on Reply
#2
trparky
XXL_AIwhy not build a mini-itx system and carry it around?
This is for people who want a notebook computer for ultimate portability but when they go home they want to game. Then again, eventually that's even going to not be required since more and more notebooks are going to be equipped with desktop class GPUs.
Posted on Reply
#3
danbert2000
Yep, that's as big as my whole computer. I find it funny that people buy really thin low-powered laptops with 15 W U-series i7's and then plug them into basically PC-sized boxes. Why not just buy another computer at that point?
Posted on Reply
#4
ypsylon
This is mainly aimed at Mac market. See Mac users are really screwed with VGAs. If you are into 3D you basically need nVidia VGA by default. AMD offerings are basically nowhere with outdated tech and shitty memory capacity, not to mention ridiculous pricing. You get this box, plug in 1080/2080/Titan/Quadro and you can finally work.

Heck, you can even make cheap render station from a NUC. i5 NUC, slap some memory and storage and daisy-chain like 5 of these boxes for behemoth of a render machine. No need to worry about slot clearance or case size. TB3 is great standard, USB can choke it.
Posted on Reply
#5
jaggerwild
ypsylonThis is mainly aimed at Mac market. See Mac users are really screwed with VGAs. If you are into 3D you basically need nVidia VGA by default. AMD offerings are basically nowhere with outdated tech and shitty memory capacity, not to mention ridiculous pricing. You get this box, plug in 1080/2080/Titan/Quadro and you can finally work.

Heck, you can even make cheap render station from a NUC. i5 NUC, slap some memory and storage and daisy-chain like 5 of these boxes for behemoth of a render machine. No need to worry about slot clearance or case size. TB3 is great standard, USB can choke it.
YEAH AMD is OVER PRICED LOLZ!
I could buy a $5 PCI-E slot and add a video card to any computer, but why when i can pay $199. Stupid me..........
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