PowerColor Starts Selling the DEVIL Box External Graphics Solution

[btarunr]

TUL Corporation, a leading and innovative manufacturer of AMD graphic cards since 1997, has announced DEVIL BOX is ready to sell Now. PowerColor DEVIL BOX is based on AMD XConnect Technology which was introduced on March 16th, 2016 by AMD. AMD had developed this technology in collaboration with Intel's Thunderbolt group and Razer Inc.

The PowerColor DEVIL BOX is primarily for the users who would like to have an even more powerful graphics card on his/her notebook in pursuit of desktop-class graphics performance. With a qualified graphics card, not limited to either AMD or nVidia, installed in the PowerColor DEVIL BOX and connecting with Thunderbolt 3 specification, gamers and enthusiasts will be able to play any types of games on the market without sacrificing the portability of a thin'n'light notebook.



Quantity is very limited so Devil Box can ONLY be bought on below websites. MSRP is US$379 or 419 €.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[P4-630]

can ONLY be bought on below websites.

I don't see any links...

 

[silentbogo]

I don't see any links...

The quantity is very limited, so all links also remain secret for mere mortals like us.

Full specs:
http://www.powercolor.com/Global/news_content_HTML/160530_DEVIL_BOX/20160530-DevilBox.pdf

 

[P4-630]

The quantity is very limited, so all links also remain secret for mere mortals like us.

 

[Arrakis9]

I only want it if it has the star of david on it somewhere so it matches the devil 13 cards

 

[Air]

Why is it so huge?? There are many smaller itx cases that houses full systems!

And this logo... Will sure look prefessional/classy along a XPS 15, right?

 

[silentbogo]

Why is it so huge?? There are many smaller itx cases that houses full systems!

And this logo... Will sure look prefessional/classy along a XPS 15, right?

1) a biult-in 500W PSU
2) It also has a USB 3.0 HUB
3) I guess there are optional provisions for additional SATA-III expandability.

So, even though it looks funny - it is a little more than your typical external GPU enclosure.

Plus, it is not marketed for XPS or Alienware series, because both already feature a "proprietary" interface (basically an external PCI-e x4 connector) and have an equally overpriced shitty enclosure.
It is marketed as a perfect expansion for Intel Skull Canyon NUC.
Just imagine the conversation with your nerd friends:

Spoiler

- Heard you bought a new gaming rig?..
- Yep. It's a Skull Canyon with a Devil Box. Kicks ass... though it's loud as a f$%ng commercial jet plane.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

It has to fit a 500w AC->DC power supply as well as a full length ATX spec card with up to dual slots. Then it needs whatever circuitry Thunderbolt needs to bridge the gap between PCI Express and its own protocol.

What I don't get is that it says Ethernet and SATA III HDD upgrade. I think it goes far beyond just a graphics card. I get the distinct impression it's like a desktop companion for notebooks.

 

[Air]

1) a biult-in 500W PSU
2) It also has a USB 3.0 HUB
3) I guess there are optional provisions for additional SATA-III expandability.

Systems like SG13, Ncase M1, A4 and Im guessing many others, can house all that plus internal HDs, MB and CPU.

So, even though it looks funny - it is a little more than your typical external GPU enclosure.

Plus, it is not marketed for XPS or Alienware series, because both already feature a "proprietary" interface (basically an external PCI-e x4 connector) and have an equally overpriced shitty enclosure.
It is marketed as a perfect expansion for Intel Skull Canyon NUC.
Just imagine the conversation with your nerd friends:

Spoiler

- Heard you bought a new gaming rig?..
- Yep. It's a Skull Canyon with a Devil Box. Kicks ass... though it's loud as a f$%ng commercial jet plane.

Well, there are smaller itx cases that house all that plus MB, CPU, SDD and some of them even some water cooling, so that hardly justifies the size. Just check the A4-SFX case.... full system with full length GPU in half the volume.

I used the XPS 15 as an example because it was heavily used to test compatibility of the Razer Core to other TB3 notebooks (with great sucess as I undestand), so it should work with this. Only the Alienware laptops have the proprietary conector.

I don think pairing these things with NUCs is a good idea, as you would and up with a bigger, less powerful, more complex, more noisy, less upgradeable and more expensive system instead of just building an ITX system.

 

[Yukikaze]

This thing is way, way, way too big. Not to mention the styling sucks (that is subjective, but I am willing to bet a bit of money on the fact most eGPU users will find it gaudy). That said, it is a lot cheaper than the Razer Core, so that is good. Now we just need Akitio to release the Akitio Node and start an eGPU price war.

 

[Frick]

500W PSU. That's monstrous.

What I don't get is that it says Ethernet and SATA III HDD upgrade. I think it goes far beyond just a graphics card. I get the distinct impression it's like a desktop companion for notebooks.

Aye this. Which makes it ... kinda useful, actually. An actual laptop while away (instead of those luggable gaming monsters), a proper desktop at home. The problem, as I see it, is that the good CPU's (non u) don't generally come in the smaller laptops. Also, with Pascal, mobile GPU's are quite fast to begin with, and there is no such thing as a cheap TB3 computer.

 

[cdawall]

So is this "500w" for the PSU or an actual like 500w gold or better unit made by someone reputable?

 

[silentbogo]

The demand is there. Implementation and pricing is what I'm worried about.

I have a client, who runs a small engineering firm.
He opted in for a fleet of Lenovo X2xx and T4xx series laptops with PCI-e extension kits and external GPU enclosures from China.
The end result is not pretty, with all the cabling sticking out of the laptop, but a built-in 150W PSU makes it good enough to run a GTX660 or something similar for rendering tasks or GPU-assisted CAD workloads, when needed.

Well, there are smaller itx cases that house all that plus MB, CPU, SDD and some of them even some water cooling, so that hardly justifies the size.

Well, that really is a problem, but this is the price some people are willing to pay, when they want to have something capable of handling anything, including an overclocked GTX Titan XP, or a hypothetical RX490x2 (both in terms of power, size and cooling).

What worries me more than its size, is the price. Your point about ITX rig being cheaper and more beneficial at this size is exactly what I'm concerned about. $379 will buy you an entry-level Skylake rig in the same form factor.
If you take into account the fact that laptops and mini-PCs with Thunderbolt 3 ain't cheap either - you have even larger disadvantage over traditional Desktop+Laptop combination.

 

[cdawall]

The end result is not pretty, with all the cabling sticking out of the laptop, but a built-in 150W PSU makes it good enough to run a GTX660 or something similar for rendering tasks or GPU-assisted CAD workloads, when needed.

You can run a 1060 on that?

 

[Air]

Well, that really is a problem, but this is the price some people are willing to pay, when they want to have something capable of handling anything, including an overclocked GTX Titan XP, or a hypothetical RX490x2 (both in terms of power, size and cooling).

What worries me more than its size, is the price. Your point about ITX rig being cheaper and more beneficial at this size is exactly what I'm concerned about. $379 will buy you an entry-level Skylake rig in the same form factor.
If you take into account the fact that laptops and mini-PCs with Thunderbolt 3 ain't cheap either - you have even larger disadvantage over traditional Desktop+Laptop combination.

Well i think this only makes sense as a laptop docking station. In 1 or 2 years laptops sold in 2015 with a 960m or 970m will be very outdated on the GPU side, but all the rest will be perfectly fine, including the CPU (as long as it is an intel quad core). So, instead of spending 2k on a new laptop, just spend the money on a eGPU dock and desktop GPU.

About your comment on high end GPUs, I dont think that the Titan would be a problem, since now days SFX PSUs ara available up to 600 W, or 700 W for SFX-L.

 

[silentbogo]

You can run a 1060 on that?

Yep. I've even seen some prettier chinese devices with a built-in 220W PSU.
They use HDMI as an electric interface for PCIe x1 (older models used USB 3.0 connectors). Easy to install in almost any laptop, but requires drilling and lots of hot glue.
Never tried that myself, but I guess it works for some people. Price-wise there are models with a dock, but no enclosure or PSU, going as low as $40.
Kinda like a fancy riser card.

 

[Yukikaze]

Yep. I've even seen some prettier chinese devices with a built-in 220W PSU.
They use HDMI as an electric interface for PCIe x1 (older models used USB 3.0 connectors). Easy to install in almost any laptop, but requires drilling and lots of hot glue.
Never tried that myself, but I guess it works for some people. Price-wise there are models with a dock, but no enclosure or PSU, going as low as $40.
Kinda like a fancy riser card.

As long as the laptop has an Expresscard slot (Lenovo X220s, X230s have them, as to most of the T420/T430/T440/T450 line) there is no need to drill or hot glue anything. Mini-PCIe or M.2 is where eGPUs get messy. Thunderbolt is where they become "clean" again

 

[silentbogo]

As long as the laptop has an Expresscard slot (Lenovo X220s, X230s have them, as to most of the T420/T430/T440/T450 line) there is no need to drill or hot glue anything. Mini-PCIe or M.2 is where eGPUs get messy. Thunderbolt is where they become "clean" again

But a laptop with Thunderbolt3 is very expensive...

I think that's the one the guy was using, except his device had a female HDMI breakout board:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EXP..._7&btsid=08688f56-f3a9-4c1f-8c9e-ac42c137df1e

 

[Yukikaze]

But a laptop with Thunderbolt3 is very expensive...

I think that's the one the guy was using, except his device had a female HDMI breakout board:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EXP..._7&btsid=08688f56-f3a9-4c1f-8c9e-ac42c137df1e

Yeah, the GDC Beast is one of the most common low-cost eGPU adapters. The other one is the BPlus P4EC.

You don't need Thunderbolt3, though. My main point was that Expresscard is a neat solution as well, but obviously much more bandwidth constrained than Thunderbolt. Still works for render work and so on.

That said, Thunderbolt 1 and 2 also work, and are significantly cheaper than TB3 laptops. The T430s comes to mind.

 

[yogurt_21]

digitaltrends quoted the price as 380$ US.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/comput...-external-graphics-dock-now-available-newegg/

For what you're getting and the market they're trageting, not bad.

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/

at least a grand for the laptop and another grand for desktop graphics + the box. Still cheaper than many "gaming" laptops which are far less portable and won't match a single desktop 1080 by a long shot.

 

[Harbear]

I hope the price can come down to $150-$200 mark, then I am getting rid of my PC entirely. For a little over $400 I can comfortably build a decent PC without a graphics card.

 

[jumpman]

1) a biult-in 500W PSU
2) It also has a USB 3.0 HUB
3) I guess there are optional provisions for additional SATA-III expandability.

So, even though it looks funny - it is a little more than your typical external GPU enclosure.

Plus, it is not marketed for XPS or Alienware series, because both already feature a "proprietary" interface (basically an external PCI-e x4 connector) and have an equally overpriced shitty enclosure.
It is marketed as a perfect expansion for Intel Skull Canyon NUC.
Just imagine the conversation with your nerd friends:

Spoiler

- Heard you bought a new gaming rig?..
- Yep. It's a Skull Canyon with a Devil Box. Kicks ass... though it's loud as a f$%ng commercial jet plane.

The XPS doesn't have the amplifier port, only the Alienware does. And Dell's solution is way better priced than any of these thunderbolt enclosures. MSRP is $200 but you can regularly see it for $160 or less. Plus, their proprietary port achieves better performance than thunderbolt enclosures because of less overhead. As much as I'm not a fan of Dell or Alienware, their external enclosure is better priced with better performance than any of these thunderbolt 3 ones.

 

[silentbogo]

The XPS doesn't have the amplifier port, only the Alienware does. And Dell's solution is way better priced than any of these thunderbolt enclosures. MSRP is $200 but you can regularly see it for $160 or less. Plus, their proprietary port achieves better performance than thunderbolt enclosures because of less overhead. As much as I'm not a fan of Dell or Alienware, their external enclosure is better priced with better performance than any of these thunderbolt 3 ones.

It was initially $300, and its working principles and internal structure are exactly the same as chinese eGPU boxes. The only difference is that it includes a PSU, an ugly case and a fancy PCIe cable.
At $199 it is actually not too bad, plus a used device like that can be adapted to work with other laptops via few hacks (at least in PCIe x1 mode).