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MSI eGPU dock in the works for GS30?


ha1o2surfer

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It's a nice concept and all but when the "expansion box" is as large or larger than a desktop computer (no mobility) I don't really see the point, especially when you must dedicate your laptop on top of this box so you can't hide it easily.

When looking at the laptop itself I'm extremely curious what they packed in there, did they manage to put a real i7 quad in there or the shitty "u-version" (excuse my language)?

The eGPU port is also very very interesting! Maybe they got something that matches the TB2 in performance or better? :P

My thoughts goes directly to DIY (assuming no u-cpu): Ditch the hideous box and make something portable out of it instead, love it!!

Reading a bit more and see that you can't render the eGPU on internal screen killed it for me :(

Repost of the review that @jcagara08 posted earlier:

http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/msi-gs30-shadow-and-gamingdock-preview/

Judging by the cooling assembly (dual heatpipes and blow outs) it could actually be cooling a 45W cpu, what do you think?

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It's a nice concept and all but when the "expansion box" is as large or larger than a desktop computer (no mobility) I don't really see the point, especially when you must dedicate your laptop on top of this box so you can't hide it easily.

When looking at the laptop itself I'm extremely curious what they packed in there, did they manage to put a real i7 quad in there or the shitty "u-version" (excuse my language)?

The eGPU port is also very very interesting! Maybe they got something that matches the TB2 in performance or better? :P

My thoughts goes directly to DIY (assuming no u-cpu): Ditch the hideous box and make something portable out of it instead, love it!!

Reading a bit more and see that you can't render the eGPU on internal screen killed it for me :(

Repost of the review that @jcagara08 posted earlier:

MSI GS30 Shadow and GamingDock Preview | KitGuru

Judging by the cooling assembly (dual heatpipes and blow outs) it could actually be cooling a 45W cpu, what do you think?

The box is somewhat similar to what we guys have on our DIY eGPUs, yes your point is valid, I wish to see a Intel NUC size eGPU solution in the future even with a proprietary cabling solution with real bandwidth performance of PCIE 3.0 X16, some room for another GPU to have SLI in a form of MXM module and a little more space for an HDD/SDD storage. Wouldn't that be great if that will come out of production? Core i7 4940MX with super downclocking solution to save battery...

Otherwise, I am really sold at this concept man of what MSI GS30 Shadow has to offer (no fees given for my endorsement LOL)

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The box is somewhat similar to what we guys have on our DIY eGPUs, yes your point is valid, I wish to see a Intel NUC size eGPU solution in the future even with a proprietary cabling solution with real bandwidth performance of PCIE 3.0 X16, some room for another GPU to have SLI in a form of MXM module and a little more space for an HDD/SDD storage. Wouldn't that be great if that will come out of production? Core i7 4940MX with super downclocking solution to save battery...

Otherwise, I am really sold at this concept man of what MSI GS30 Shadow has to offer (no fees given for my endorsement LOL)

Yeah that would really be something =)

Who knows, maybe they'll make a portable version of this box with a data cable, sonnet style?

I hope you didn't take my criticism personal, in that case I must apologize to you!

At least to me, when ever a built is large enough to be a PC on its own I really don't see any real benefits of it, except that it's a super fun project, which of course should be enough for motivation don't get me wrong!

We can't deny that we are making performance sacrifices going the eGPU route and the very important benefit for me is portability. I love the thought that my setup can make it into a backpack when going home to parents for holidays or visiting a old friend for a weekend of intense gaming. I must say it has really enriched my life!

For me this MSI project brings nothing new to the table and I assume it will cost piles of $$$$.

With those money you could probably go crazy and buy a macbook pro with the most hardcore i7 quad version + 2x Akitio's for a 32Gbps SLI setup =)

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Yeah that would really be something =)

Who knows, maybe they'll make a portable version of this box with a data cable, sonnet style?

I hope you didn't take my criticism personal, in that case I must apologize to you!

At least to me, when ever a built is large enough to be a PC on its own I really don't see any real benefits of it, except that it's a super fun project, which of course should be enough for motivation don't get me wrong!

We can't deny that we are making performance sacrifices going the eGPU route and the very important benefit for me is portability. I love the thought that my setup can make it into a backpack when going home to parents for holidays or visiting a old friend for a weekend of intense gaming. I must say it has really enriched my life!

For me this MSI project brings nothing new to the table and I assume it will cost piles of $$$$.

With those money you could probably go crazy and buy a macbook pro with the most hardcore i7 quad version + 2x Akitio's for a 32Gbps SLI setup =)

No apologies necessary bro! There is a difference between written and spoken language and these forums promotes everyone to share and express their opinions. I take everyones opinion as I am open minded, this product just augments our 5 plus years desire of using a full blown GPU for laptops. Yes a portable thunderbolt 3 enclosure might be very feasible in the near future I hope when new intel architectures come.

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  • 1 month later...

Full MSI GS30 specs revealed at AnandTech | MSI Announces GS30 Shadow Laptop and GPU Expansion Dock as:

* 13.3” chassis and 1080p anti-glare IPS display

* Crystalwell i7-4870HQ processor with HD5200 iGPU

* up to 16GB of DDR3L memory

* RAID SSD storage

* x16 3.0 PCIe expansion dock with 450W PSU. It supports full size desktop GPUs from lower end models all the way up to GTX 980, and Titan/Z/Black, as well as various AMD GPUs.

"The dock uses a proprietary connector, and the laptop sits on top of the dock rather than interfacing through a cable. The dock isn’t just for a discrete GPU either, as it supports an additional 3.5” hard drive, Killer Gigabit Ethernet, and it includes two speakers. I’m not convinced about the need for the speakers or networking support, especially considering the laptop already has a Gigabit Ethernet jack, but the additional four USB 3.0 ports certainly don’t hurt."

MSI eGPU dock done properly

MSI's eGPU dock implementation circumventing Intel's reluctance to allow Thunderbolt to be used for that purpose (REF: http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/8130-why-intel-not-allowing-thunderbolt-egpus-ideas-inside.html ), offering full x16 3.0 external PCie bandwidth. It completely annihilates the only other competitor doing something similar in the Haswell range. That being the Alienware 13 (ULV CPU, heavy/chunky unit, x4 3.0 eGPU dock) REF: http://forum.techinferno.com/enclosures-adapters/8142-%24300-alienware-graphics-amplifier-%5Bdiscussion%5D.html .

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Full specs now on MSI US' website. They make reference as being 8x faster than x4 2.0 (16Gbps-TB2). While this is true, their dock is only usable on their MSI GS30 machine. DIY TB2 eGPUs using AKiTiO Thunder2 enclosures can be used across any TB1/TB2 equipped Macbook, Mac Pro, Lenovo W540, HP ZBook 15/17 making it possible to time share a GPU across multiple machines.

MSI USA GS30 Shadow (Intel Iris Pro 5200)

The GS30 Shadow Gaming Dock is the world's 1st eGPU solution using PCIe 3.0 x16 which is 8x faster than PCIe 2.0 x4 and utilizes its bandwidth to take full advantage of any desktop graphics card. The gaming dock allows you to expand and upgrade your graphics card and hard drive to always stay on top of your game.
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AU$2600 (US$2133) for the MSI GS30 + dock: MSI GS30 Shadow 13.3in Gaming Notebook [2M-003AU] [GS30-2M-003AU] - $2599.00 : PC Case Gear . It's a pricepoint where 13" and 15" Macbook Pro owners would look but here we are getting near on 15" Macbook Pro performance levels in a 13" chassis. A unique product.

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We can see from the review the cons of this product: overly expensive, large proprietory dock, cpu throttling under load, and questionable build.

A 15" Macbook Pro Iris + AKiTiO Thunder2 TB2 enclosure can be had at a similar pricepoint. While it does provide less bandwidth and requires a DIY approach to attaching an eGPU, the Macbook has higher usability, performance and build quality.

I hope MSI can polish this product further in their Broadwell refresh.

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

And another Review from a german website: MSI GS30 Shadow mit Gaming-Dock im Test: Unterwegs arbeiten, zu Hause spielen - das geht besser - Golem.de

Bottom line is:

- The dock stock fan is too noisy

- The Laptop fan is getting noisy as well, audible under low load

- The Laptops battery isn't enough (13" Laptop with a 47W CPU...)

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