Laptop for school under 1000 dollars that will support EGPU?

garretsw

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Oct 26, 2012
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I want to know if this is even possible. Right now I have a good gaming rig with and r9 290 OC but in the future I might want to buy a new gpu such as the 1080 once the external enclosures get better. It might seem impractical but i just want the option just in case.......... I don't want a built in gtx either for cost saving because I will only use it for gaming at home if i decide to use an EGPU.

So is there a laptop that will support EGPU with a 1080 in that price range? Are there any that will work without bottlenecking the GPU?

Thank you and sorry if this question seems utterly ridiculous
 

georgi5000

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Jan 2, 2013
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Razer Core is what you need to be looking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZSMcKbuEnA

Quad core i7 to avoid bottlenecking the 1080 (as much as possible), TB3 that supports that Razer Core and that should be enough.... check out the review on the Razer Core!

P.S. There WILL be a bit of bottlenecking on the 1080 with laptop i7 CPU (maybe get one of those laptops with desktop i7 CPU's)
 

Chugalug_

Estimable


The Razer Core is overpriced for what it offers. Not worth investing in that technology yet until it becomes more affordable. NO WAY is it ever going to be worth $500 for the enclosure alone.
There will be a little bottlenecking with the 1080 on a laptop i7 yes, but shouldn't be that noticeable.
I'll get back to you on the laptop in 10.
 

garretsw

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Right now I am not planning on buying the core. I am going to wait until (hopefully) a more affordable solution is offered. I just want the option. Just in case it becomes practical. especially since I already have a good gaming PC

 

Chugalug_

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The Dell I posted will be perfect for your needs. You shouldn't need anything more powerful, great CPU and specs.

 

garretsw

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Oct 26, 2012
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So the dell does not have TB3 correct? I love that laptop though seems really powerful

 

Chugalug_

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No, it doesn't have thunderbolt 3 sadly, however it does have top of the line performance as far as workstations go, and a solid battery life at "10+ Hours of battery life" with workstation and productivity use, which is generally lots of word and chrome tabs with maybe adobe photoshop. Take it with a grain of salt though, just marketing! :)
Realistically expect around 7-8 on balanced mode.
TB3 is typically reserved for higher end laptops which are more recent, this came out last year from memory.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bd98TW/dell-laptop-i75592512blk
Still a great bargain at $843, go for it.
 

garretsw

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Oct 26, 2012
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So realistically I wont find a TB3 laptop for under 1000 dolars that has a desktop i7?

 

garretsw

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Looks like I have a tough choice! Thank you so much for the help. I google this stuff and it doesn't pop up what are you using to find these laptops?
 

Chugalug_

Estimable


Always use PC Part Picker to create builds, find components, peripherals, monitors and laptops.
Sometimes it doesn't include some listings or displays incorrect prices, but typically I personally use Newegg to find laptops and used parts. They have great prices and a good amount of search filters.
Gives you all the specs and resolutions.
Pc part picker can also change region and therefore currency, which is really helpful for me since I live in AUS. :)
https://pcpartpicker.com/
 

georgi5000

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Chugalug_ I agree with you.
I just want to mention I have i7 6700HQ and 960M 2GB on my laptop and I am not that amazed by the GPU power...it's desktop equivalent is around GTX 750 Ti OC .... so It's not even better than GTX 950 desktop GPU. If I was garretsw I would go with the Acer with TB3, because he will be able to game On-the-Go a bit, but when he really needs more GPU power, just plugs-in the Razer Core or some more cheaper equivalent (which I am 100% sure will come in a couple of months) and he may enjoy using the Good CPU in the laptop, the portability of the laptop and when the power is needed - TB3 desktop GPU.
That is the smartest choice imo :)
There is no bad product, only too high price... (*cough* Razer Core atm *cough*)

P.S. The OP didn't posted something about cheap way to do it, so I gave the best - just plug-in the TB3 cable and rock on. The other way is through the mPCIe and removing the Wi-Fi adapter and it goes right down to my problem (I made a post asking the community about it, but still no answer, sadly) and that is a bit too much of a hassle and will "ground" your laptop so that you MUST use it as a desktop, unless you want to plug-unplug the external GPU via the mPCIe adapter everytime you need to go portable ....
Cheerz!
 

garretsw

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Oct 26, 2012
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That is exactly what I am looking for but sadly I cannot find a laptop under 1000. I am open to refurbished products from trusted companies too. I just want a laptop that has a powerful cpu and a TB3 adapter. I do not care about graphics on the go. It would be nice to have that ability but that is not what I am looking for.

I want a school laptop that I can lug around but has the ability to be a beast when I get home. I understand that the price markup is pretty high for something like the core but I wasn't necessarily going to jump all in right away. I have a perfectly good 1080p high-ultra desktop right now.

My graduation present is a new laptop and my parents gave me a budget of 1000 dollars. If i didn't need a laptop I would just buy a new desktop in a couple of years. Instead I want to be able to just buy a new GPU in a couple of years.
 

Chugalug_

Estimable


Yeah, TB3 is the best option for external GPU.
Note that I DID say that a 960m will be able to max E-sports titles and run others at medium/low settings, so its not exactly a beast that you want to regularly game with, but it will tide you over until you get the E-GPU later down the line.
 

Chugalug_

Estimable

Here are a few options, unfortunately most laptops with high end processors have mobile graphics included, especially the thunderbolt laptops, of which these were all the good value purchases there were. The last one is probably the worst value out of them.
Pick and choose from these, most have similar CPU speeds, although screen size and graphics are the main differences. Being a beast at home isn't possible without on board mobile graphics, so two conflicting things there.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232464&cm_re=Laptop_Thunderbolt-_-34-232-464-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834234001&cm_re=Laptop_Thunderbolt-_-34-234-001-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834234149&cm_re=Laptop_Thunderbolt-_-34-234-149-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834234268&cm_re=Laptop_Thunderbolt-_-34-234-268-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834232142&cm_re=Laptop_Thunderbolt-_-34-232-142-_-Product