KFA2 and GALAX Announce SNPR GTX 1060 External Graphics

[btarunr]

GALAX and its EU-specific brand KFA2 announced the SNPR external graphics enclosure, with a factory-fitted GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB graphics card. Measuring 165 mm x 156.5 mm x 73 mm (WxDxH), and weighing in at 1.38 kg, the enclosure relies on an external power brick. Internally, it's a stack-up of three key components, the main-board which takes in power and Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) host connectivity, and puts out a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot; the extremely compact graphics card PCB, and the custom-design fan-heatsink cooler, which combines an aluminium fin-stack heatsink, with a pair of 70 mm spinners, to keep cool.

The enclosure is made of SECC steel, that's perforated along three sides. Display outputs from the card include one each of DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and dual-link DVI-D. The internal GTX 1060 6 GB graphics card ticks at factory-overclocked speeds of 1531 MHz core, 1746 MHz GPU Boost, and 8.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory (against reference clocks of 1506/1709 MHz). An external 230W power-brick (included) supplies power to the unit. Available now, the KFA2/GALAX SNPR GTX 1060 6 GB is priced at 499€ in the EU, including taxes.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[dj-electric]

I love this idea! would really like to see what companies like ASUS and Gigabyte have to offer.

 

[TheLostSwede]

It's a shame the housing looks so tacky when the rest looks quite well made.
This is a much better concept than just slapping a desktop card into a huge case, although I'm curious to see how big the power adapter is.

 

[silapakorn]

It looks neat and all but why the retro design?

 

[Yukikaze]

I love this idea! would really like to see what companies like ASUS and Gigabyte have to offer.

If you are referring to eGPU enclosures:
Asus has the ROG XG Station 2.
Gigabyte has the AORUS Gaming Box 1070 and also the 1080 version.
Razer has the Razer Core V2.
AKiTiO has the Node.
Mantiz has the Venus.
PowerColor has the Devil Box.
This is not a complete list. Out of these, the Gigabyte offering is quite small as well.

 

[natr0n]

It's a shame the housing looks so tacky when the rest looks quite well made.
This is a much better concept than just slapping a desktop card into a huge case, although I'm curious to see how big the power adapter is.

 

[Valantar]

Is that a re-purposed mini-STX case? Given the power connector (and placement), size of the I/O shield, and ventilation placement, it sure looks like it.

If so: brilliant. Well done Galax/KFA2.

If not: still great. This is how eGPU solutions should be made, although it's a shame they've made upgrading the GPU more difficult than it has to be. If they made room for a standard dual PCIe bracket and a standard-orientation 6-pin power connector (which, given that this looks like a repurposed STX case, would require retooling the chassis, which is probably why it hasn't happened), this would be quite easily upgradeable (as long as you found a compact dual-slot card to fit in there). High-end eGPU solutions barely make sense at all, and fitting full-size desktop GPUs just make them way outsized. And unlike monitors, I really don't mind the external power brick for something like this, given the massive size increase necessary to fit a replaceable (and not excessively noisy) PSU inside, even at ~250W. This is probably not much bigger than an SFX PSU, after all.

Just wish the design had less of a 2005 vibe.

 

[TheTechGuy1337]

It matches my old A/V Receiver.

 

[_UV_]

Thunderbolt 3...
idk how many actually boards sold around the world having it, even laptops
and according to my own experience with external psus that 4 pin ones usually piece of garbage

 

[Valantar]

Thunderbolt 3...
idk how many actually boards sold around the world having it, even laptops
and according to my own experience with external psus that 4 pin ones usually piece of garbage

Laptops? Heaps of them. Pretty much every thin-and-light worth its salt in 2017. Not cheap ones, of course, but anything even approaching premium.

"Boards", as in motherboards? Not that many, but a few high-end ones, sure. Not that an eGPU makes any sense at all for a desktop PC though.

Also, quite a few UCFF PCs have TB3, and they're also decent candidates for eGPUs.

 

[wurschti]

Price of a GTX 1060 250€, price of the external housing 250€. Seems illogical, but still cheaper than most offerings that come empty at that price.