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This announcement by Dell is very interesting, mentioning a Surface type tablet with perhaps a low voltage Core i7 processor and with a Thunderbolt 3 connector from which we could hook up external GPUs. "Dell's latest will reportedly feature a 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution with an InfinityEdge design that cuts down on bezel size. There'll be a stylus for it, and other specs include a Thunderbolt 3 port, 10-hour battery life, and cameras on both back and front (8-megapixel on the rear, with a 5-megapixel selfie cam)." We don't know yet about the processors, but it wouldn't be surprising to see similar options to Microsoft's Surface 3/4 Pro. If so, hooking this up to a dock and eGPU could make for a very portable and powerful tablet PC. Have a look here for more info: Dell is also building its own Microsoft Surface clone | The Verge

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For those following Sonnet's offerings, they recently refreshed their range of TB2 products as well as their prices. The new Sonnet Echo Express SEL has a new MSRP of $329 (previous $399) and a new black color scheme. They've also introduced a new model that sits in between the SEL and the SE II: the Echo Express SE I for MSRP $349. This has also lead to a great decrease in the price of the older SEL to $269 at BH. The new and old SEL seem to have identical specs other than color, so this is a great deal. I'm personally interested in the SE I because it can accept full height, double-width cards. Unfortunately, the mechanical PCIe connector is still stuck at 8x, requiring a riser or some filing away of the plastic end. AC adapter is rated at 80W, which is too low for any card other than the GTX 750Ti (or its successor) without an external PSU. Still, I think that this enclosure is ideal for a compact solution, ignoring the Akitio Thunder2.

ASUS has announced their refreshed ROG laptop lineup, with the most interesting item being their new G501. It's a thin and light gaming laptop that takes many design cues from the Macbook Pro and the Razer line of laptops. Most importantly, it's another new notebook (see previously announced Dell M3800) that includes Thunderbolt for our eGPU use. G501: Coolest Thin & Light 15-inch Gaming Laptop, With 4K, PCIE SSD AnandTech | ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces New Gaming Laptops ASUS ROG Laptop Specifications G501JW-DS71 G751JL-DS71 GL551JW-DS71/ GL551JW-DS7 CPU Intel Core i7-4720HQ 4C/8T 2.6-3.6 GHz 47w Intel Core i7-4720HQ 4C/8T 2.6-3.6 GHz 47w Intel Core i7-4720HQ 4C/8T 2.6-3.6 GHz 47w GPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2 GB GDDR5 Display 15.6" IPS 3840x2160 matte 17.3" IPS 1920x1080 matte 15.6" 1920x1080 matte (TN or IPS) Memory 16GB DDR3 16GB DDR3 16 GB DDR3 Storage 512GB PCIe x4 SSD 1 TB 7200 RPM HDD 1 TB 7200 RPM/128GB SSD + 1 TB 7200RPM IO Ports 1x Thunderbolt, 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x SD Reader 1 x Thunderbolt, 4 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x VGA, 1 x SD Card Reader 1 x mini-DP, 3 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x SD Card Reader Wireless 802.11ac + BT 4.0 802.11ac + BT 4.0 802.11agn + BT 4.0 Battery 96 Wh 88 Wh unknown Dimensions 15.07 x 10.04 x 0.81-inch 16.4 x 12.5 x 0.9-1.7-inch 15 x 10 x 0.6-1.3-inch Weight 4.54lbs 8.4lbs 6lbs MSRP USD $1,999 USD $1399 USD $1099/$1299

I wonder about this as well. I'm guessing optimus still doesn't support more than 2 GPUs. It should be easy enough to disable the PCIe addresses of the dGPU within the UEFI shell I suppose. The lenovo is fine, but defeats the concept of a thin and light powerful ultrabook that can double as a gaming machine while connected at home. Will keep an eye out for the updated TB2 model. I see HiDPI laptops as ideal for productivity and a beautiful desktop experience, but of course gaming as such resolutions is too taxing. In the case of my MBP, gaming is done at half the native resolution, which provides performance without much visual loss. I find that these displays still display lower resolutions very clearly without much noticeable aliasing.

Well I've used the GTX 750Ti, which is rated at about 60W, in the Sonnet SEL, whose slot is rated at 75W, and it worked without issues. Nando also confirms that the PCIe power spec states that it should power up to 75W. In the case of the Akitio, the 25W limitation seems artificially limited. Now that you mention it, the OWC does look a lot like the Akitio. The pics in the OWC manual (http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/manuals/OWCMANHELIOS1.2.pdf) do look awfully like the Akitio. If it is just a rebranded product, then yeah we would have every reason to buy the cheaper Akitio.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/HELIOS1TB2/ Anybody have any experience using this enclosure? Price: Sits in between the Akitio Thunder2 and the Sonnet SEL, without the small size of the SEL and (perhaps) without the power slot restrictions of the Akitio. Specs: - Power adapter is 120W - Supports single double width, full height, half length card. - PCIe slot is 16x mechanical, 4x electrical (like all other TB2 enclosures) - "25W (slot) +75W (supplemental power cable)" - What does this mean? Does the slot really deliver 75W as per PCIe spec? Usage: I'm still looking for a self contained solution that can power a <75W eGPU like the GTX 750Ti (and perhaps its successor, GTX 950Ti?). So far, the Akitio needs an external PSU due to 25W PCIe slot power restriction, and the SEL is too small and needs a riser, besides being more expensive. The Sonnet EE SEII works best right now, but is even more expensive. Any thoughts/use/discussion? Full specs: Product Specifications: PCIe cards supported One half-length (up to 7.75"), full-height, double-width x16 PCIe 2.0 card Expansion slot One PCIe 2.0 x16 (4x mode) Device Interface PCIe (PCI Express) Port Configuration (2) Thunderbolt 2 ports, backwards compatible with Thunderbolt Compliances CE FCC Max Data Transfer Rate Thunderbolt – 20Gbps Bootability Bootable on Mac as long as the specific PCIe card installed is bootable System Requirements Mac running OS X 10.9 or later PC running Windows 7 or later Available Thunderbolt port Note; Boot Camp® is not supported. The Thunderbolt certification process does not include Macs running Windows through Boot Camp. External Case Dimensions 5.7 in (W) x 9.2 in (D) x 2.9 in (H) 114.78 mm x 233.68 mm x 73.66 mm Enclosure Weight (without card) 3.85 lbs. (1.75kg) Product Manual Helios Manual (2.2MB PDF) PCIe Card Minimum Guaranteed Power 25W (slot) +75W (supplemental power cable) Power Supply UL Listed Universal auto-switching power supply AC input 100/240V 50/60Hz DC output 12V/10A Adapter cables for International use sold separately.

For those looking to a sweet light alternative to using Macbooks for Thunderbolt powered eGPUs, check out this new beast! - 4K 15.6" IGZO display - Core i7-4712HQ (Haswell) - Quadro graphics (dGPU) and Intel graphics (iGPU) - Thunderbolt 2 port! It's not cheap, but neither are Macbook Pros. AnandTech | Dell Updates Ultrabook Thin M3800 Mobile Workstation With 4K Display

Great implementation, but yeah, we've known about Netstor for some time and their prices still aren't worth it. Still waiting for a <$300 compact solution...

Because these websites all have in common the fact that they pretend to be tech websites

Hi all, This guy has started popping up around tech sites, and I thought it's interesting that another mainstream manufacturer has released an eGPU solution! This box is a compact solution that includes the PSU and enough space for any graphics card. Build quality seems average, but good enough compared to the frankenbuilds we've been making. Now I know that it uses a proprietary connector like the Vaio Z, but it appears to be some kind of PCIe connection. I'm curious as to whether this is Thunderbolt with a different connector, like they did with the Z. If so, could it be modified to fit a standard Thunderbolt cable? Another possibility is that it's on the market because Dell did not go have to seek Intel's approval because this is not Thunderbolt at all. Who knows, one may hope. Here's some pics and a link to one of many articles out there for those interested. http://www.anandtech.com/show/8653/alienware-graphics-amplifier (added AnandTech link) Hands on: Alienware graphics amplifier | Digital Trends

Yeah, seems pretty unlikely to be able to run a 750ti without auxiliary connectors in a Thunder2 without an external PSU. Pretty much rules out the most compact solution. I hope they release an updated model without slot power restrictions! Until then, I guess the Sonnet SEL does a decent job, other than on price haha.

Hmmm... Seems like he is talking about powering the card through the Thunder2 without using a riser? Seems like nobody tried to power a card using a powered riser that was fed by the Akitio's power supply using a barrel to molex connector. But even if this works, I wonder if that 60w power supply would provide enough power to everything...

I can confirm the SEL made a somewhat annoying scratching/buzzing sound when the GPU was being used, such as any time 3D graphics were displayed. Performance seemed not affected, though games would occasionally skip a beat and this would coincide with the sound skipping as well. I have now sold the SEL and am considering buying a new one. However, I would prefer an Akitio if, and only if, it can work with a 750Ti with no auxiliary power connectors. In other words, can you confirm that using the Akitio with a powered riser, then using a barrel to molex connector to power the PCIe slot alone would make the card work? Would there be no need to power the Akitio board itself? Can the Akitio PSU alone power the entire card like this? Thanks for confirming, or if there are other possible solutions!

When I play games without eGPU on my MBP 15" Iris only, temps eventually go up and fans spin loudly. With my eGPU, the MBP fans do not spin up during the entire gaming session. I guess that the eGPU is offloading enough power from the computer that it doesn't heat up that much. Depends on the game though I guess. The only thing I hear is the GPU fan, which in itself is extremely quiet (ASUS 750Ti).

An update: I recently received a EVGA GTX750Ti to test with my Sonnet SEL. Like with most 750Tis, this card is only powered through the PCIe slot and is a compact solution. As posted by zuwow, there is the "bug" of the black screen at boot. When I turned on the MBP, the EFI loaded up fine, but as soon as Windows booted I got a black screen. I used zuwow's trick to get it working. Just had to plug it the Thunderbolt cable just as Windows was booting, and it was detected in Windows, allowing for driver installation. Unfortunately this EVGA 750Ti was defective, as it produced a weird scratching sound coming from its motherboard as soon as any graphics were displayed. I returned the card, and the the PC store staff asked whether I wanted to switch to another brand. I thought that I might give the ASUS version a try. This is the single fan, basic non-OC version of the card, which also does NOT require auxiliary power (internally powered), model number GTX750Ti-PH-2GD5. This time, however, I cannot get the card detected in Windows under any circumstances. Plug and play does not work as with the EVGA, and the plug in at boot trick doesn't seem to work. The card spins up fine, but it either gives me a black screen at boot if I leave it plugged in, or it is never detected when I try other methods. Does anybody have any experience with ASUS 750Ti cards? This is really getting annoying. I should have stuck with EVGA! It seems like perhaps some PCI adjustment commands might make a difference in the EFI Shell, but I'm not sure what to do... Edit: I seem to have gotten it to work. Still need to do a startup trick by plugging in the Thunderbolt cable at boot approximately at the same time as Windows boots. It works fine after that and is a mostly compact setup. Only problem I have now is that the Sonnet SEL might be slightly defective. When any graphics are shown, the SEL board makes a strange sound. Looks like the sound I heard previously with EVGA came from the SEL, not the GPU. Hope this doesn't reduce the lifespan of the SEL or doesn't mean it's going to break soon...

Hey all, I received an Echo SEL after not being able to cancel my order and switch to the Akitio Thunder2. This case is quite small and cannot fit an eGPU, but I thought that Squinks's solution in his SLI post is not too bad looking: While he uses regular risers, a more stable solution would be to use a 90 degree riser. The only one I've found on eBay appears to tilt in the wrong direction: PCI E 8x to 16x Riser Adapter Card for 1U 2U | eBay I can't find any others similar to this. Any tips? Thanks!

Very nice! This is the current best and cheapest solution we have. Can you answer the question from the other thread? Can you confirm that the powered riser is necessary? Does the Akitio not provide enough power through its original PCIe slot? (Of course, this would matter more with a 750Ti, since the 760 requires way more power anyway).

Good commentary. I'd like to recycle my old GTX670, but am not too keen on using an external PSU. Perhaps using a 750Ti or Mini 760 is a better idea... but using a large Dell external AC adapter would need modifying the DC input so that it can fit, right? Not sure my skills extend that far...

Ah, I see my error... it's 4 lanes at 5 Gbps each.... so 20Gbps! I'm switching to this guy!

I got this from the initial post here on tech inferno as well as from their website: Features Two Thunderbolt™ 2 ports for speeds of up to 20Gb/s 1 PCIe (x16) slot supporting half-length, full-height cards 4 lane PCI Express 2.0 compliant interface at 5.0Gbps I just ordered an SEL so I'm wondering if I should cancel for the Akitio!

I stayed away from the Akito because its connection speed is limited to 5Gbps compared to the SEL at 16Gbps. Is this wrong?

Thanks for the reply Sachin! eBay is full of risers that should arrive in less than 23 days...

Just to confirm: How do we know whether our graphics cards are internally power controlled? I have an MSI 670, and would rather use it instead of buying a new EVGA card. According to the first post, we can still use MSI cards with Optimus, but it requires some extra fiddling at startup? Regarding PCIe slots: Does the Sonnet SEL still ship with a mechanical 8x slot? I remember reading a post by squinks I think where Sonnet had replaced his unit with a x16 slot. Also, does the x8 to x16 riser have to be a powered riser? Thanks for clearing these up for me! - - - Updated - - - Could you post some pictures of this solution? I looks really elegant, though I'm worried that the 750Ti is a little underpowered...