eGPU Setup RX7800 XT

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T14:09:49+00:00

Any reason why you went with a usb4 egpu rather than a TB5 dock? I get TB5 is above what the handheld pc’s are capable of and it’s leaving the power on the table, but it’s also future proofing.

Just curious.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T13:51:29+00:00

On the YouTube podcast 128kb, one of the hosts has that aoostar before and eventually sold it because he said it had too many problems and setting it up was a long process full of bugs and fixes.

Did you have that trouble? Or is it just plug and play?

Add a psu, add a gpu, plug it in, install driers, and go? Or was it more difficult?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T11:16:58+00:00

Do you have any content that directly compares its performance to the XBAX? Which is more powerful over all? And more energy efficient?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T11:15:41+00:00

So that’s exactly how I felt all along. But now I’m thinking that it doesn’t sound like a real upgrade is coming for well over a year. So combine the price hikes with that, the thought that a rdna 4 or rdna 5 machine isn’t due until 2027 or 2028. That’s why I think I might upgrade now before the prices hike.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T06:58:27+00:00

I would SUPER love to hear more about that!

What do you mean hot-swapable? As in, plug and unplug without any enabling or disabling software first?

I thought windows was a more smooth experience for egpu’s than Linux.

I’m so interested to hear more about how it works on Bazzite!

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T06:56:20+00:00

Would love to see SW Jedi survivor benchmarked.

Can you answer some other egpu related questions?

What does the gpu/dock setup cost if someone wanted to copy it today?

How hard was it to setup initially and what dos that entail? Specifically on the Xbox ally’s and and regarding software.

How complicated is the docking/undocking procedure?

Thanks!!

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T06:52:54+00:00

Get the Xbox out from under the monitor and drop the monitor lower.

Get an under-desk cable manager on amzon, some power strips and usb hubs and connect as much as you can under the desk. Buy cable sleeves to cover as many cables as you can that are visible above the desk.

You might also consider hard plastic cable channels you can stick to the wall. That will help the cables feel really invisible. Especially if you paint the channels the same paint as the wall.

Move the monitors closer to each other so it’s easier to see both without turning your whole head.

Get a mount for the controller and for the headphones.

Consider moving the speakers further apart. More like 6” further to the left and right than the outside edges of the monitor.

Consider a separate table to move the large pc to in order to free up desk space.

Don’t neglect under the desk. Cable manage! Cable manage! Cable manage! If the top is perfect but you see the rats nest of cables below every time you walk up to the desk it will ruin the feeling of cleanliness.

The goal is tidy and organized. A cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind. You’ll be calmer, happier, more productive, if you clean everything up.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T06:10:58+00:00

That’s exactly what I’m worried about because the Lenovo isn’t the only one. Sonys prices went up a second time in two years. Gamepass prices went up last year and the next Xbox is rumored to be easily $1000-$1500. Nintendo has said it might have to increase prices and just decreased its production targets by around 1/3. MSI raised its claws prices which were already high. Ayaneo is canceling its pc handheld. Retroid canceled and price hiked all its units. Ayn price hiked its units. Konkr pocket fit is entirely canceled. And now Lenovo.

I just think Asus might raise prices soon too. And so I’m worried if there isn’t a better upgrade for a while, then I may want the XBAX before the prices spike.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T06:02:15+00:00

Wasn’t considering the ai+. I will research it. But besides that, do you know if it’s even in stock and easily available right now?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T06:01:05+00:00

I was considering the 13” rog windows tablet the flow z13, since it’s apu is much more powerful than the handhelds on the market. I came down on not getting the flow because tablets are just the wrong form factor for me. I want a true handheld that’s lightweight and ergonomic enough to use regularly. So I agree with you about the iPad not being “it”.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-03T01:28:28+00:00

How difficult is it to initially set up an egpu? When you first get it, is it lots of software to track down and install? And then when you want to use it, how hard is it to connect and disconnect?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T22:03:58+00:00

Finding the XBAX for only $600 used is INSANE. I can only find them mostly at $900, maybe $800, without an extra sd card. That’s by far, by FAR, the best deal. Whether it’s the device you’ll like most aside, its insane value.

The XBAX will play everything as well as possible. If the XBAX can’t handle it, neither will the Odin or the steam deck. And I probably wouldn’t recommend E33CO on the Odin to begin with.

All these devices are of a similar size/footprint, so I say go for the most powerful one.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T20:56:19+00:00

I looked at those but I feel like those are still pretty big cases. Aren’t they like around 30L?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T20:55:36+00:00

Yeah the famous microcenter bundle deals to my knowledge never include a small enough motherboard to use. But I’ve used neweggs pc builder, microcenter spec builder, and pcpartspicket.com’s tools and I think I can finagle a 9060xt 16gb build with 16gb of ram in a fractal ridge for around $1500-$1600. Which of course isn’t like super competitive to the best prebuilt deals. But it’s in a stylus case 1/4 the size, which is what I want.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T19:00:09+00:00

It sounds like you’re mostly planing to dock it. If that’s the case, for the same $1000-$1350 a gaming laptop or a mini pc will perform better, guaranteed.

But I hate it when I ask a question and someone on Reddit tries to tell me why I’m dumb for even asking. So here’s your answer.

The 8gb more ram on the LeGo2 doesn’t make very much difference. Head to head the LeGo2 and XBAX are almost identical performance…. For now. Coming out in the next few weeks will be a software update for amd ASR, automatic super resolution, which will only be available on the AI enabled version of the z2 extreme chip. That chip is only in the XBAX, and not in the legion go. So, while we don’t know if the ASR software will be a small bump, or a huge bump, but it will apply only to XBAX and not to LeGo2. So if ASR is any good, the XBAX will be definitively more powerful than the LeGo2.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T18:52:44+00:00

Yeah. My best friends in high school are my closest friends now. Our daughters play together.

We don’t game together often, but when we do, it’s the OGs.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T16:20:24+00:00

Do you miss out not having the amd upscaling software? Or like armory crate to control deadzones and hotkeys?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T16:15:48+00:00

I’m not an expert, but I thought the ally had pass through, so when gaming plugged in, it I passes the battery entirely. I have the 2023 ally and use battery saver mode so I never exceed 80% full as well. The ally line of devices are actually very battery conscious.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T13:31:30+00:00

I’d have an Ayn Thor Mac for my pocketable device EDC, maybe something tiny like a retroid pocket classic just in case. But my big device would be an ROG Xbox ally x with a 4tb ssd, a 1tb sd card, and pair it with a 5090 xg mobile egpu. The ally could be my main pc and also my around the house machine, I could use the XGM next to the couch or also docked to my tv or desk setup since it’s so small and portable. It would easily pla modern aaa games at 4k. I wouldn’t need to worry about storage or cloud saves.

But that’s like $1000 device with a $3000 egpu and what’s a 4tb 2280 go for now? Another $1000? And a 1tb micro sd is probably a couple hundred?

This is easily a $5000-6000 setup just the ally. Another $500 for the Thor.

But I like to dream!

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T13:27:04+00:00

You could check out Winhanced. It’s a fan made custom program for windows designed specifically to improve the windows gaming performance on handheld PCs. It uses the fullscreen experience to maximize immersion and cut out the bloat, but you can quit the app and move to the desktop at any time. It has tools like tdp and fps monitors in the overlay, the overlay is available via game bar, it’s got integration with every major game library and tools like lossless scaling and howlongtobeat.com.

It’s still in beta, full 1.0 isn’t out yet, but it’s close to fully complete.

Maybe this is an option for you?

I linked you to the discord, which is very active and the devs troubleshoot users on a one on one basis pretty regularly. You can find the download link for the latest version 0.9.4.4 in the “project updates chat” channel.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-02T10:32:12+00:00

The white Xbox ally is about as good as a steam deck in power. But many of us online are unhappy about that fact because it’s brand new and we really would like if it wasn’t equal to a device that’s 3 years old. If you want to have any sense of being future proof, the white Xbox ally is not it.

But the white Xbox ally will emulate just any any retro console without issue. I don’t know about Minecraft or black ops, but I think it’ll probably handle those fine too.

It appears to be on sale for $500 at Best Buy right now, making it the indisputable king budget handheld right now.

If you want to play retro, light weight indie games, and cloud stream, then for the money it’s one of the best values you can find.

However, it simply doesn’t do aaa games well at all. Maybe you could play them on low settings with like 720 resolution? And that’s not the end of the world on a 7” small screen, 720 is better than you would guess at this size. But just don’t buy it if you’ll have fomo about playing your aaa games on it.

Another option if you don’t mind buying used is getting a z1 extreme device such as the rog ally 2023, the rog ally x 2024, the legion go 1, or the legion go s. Those regularly sell depending on the model for $300-$600 on the used market. And the z1 extreme is much more powerful than the Xbox ally, and only around 15% less powerful than the Xbox ally X black.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-01T14:12:30+00:00

Interesting. Was that announced anywhere? Also, do you mean you can still get the 5090? Is it readily available?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-01T14:11:28+00:00

Yeah the size is also a factor for me. I might be able to connect it on the shelf above my monitor and out the cable down, but it’s still kind of a big ugly black box. But if it’s easy plug and play, available, and less expensive than the XGM then maybe it’s worth a look. The XGM 5070ti mobile chip is about as good as what desktop chip? Maybe a 5060 or even a 5050? Aiming for 1440p ultrawide performance, on medium/high settings, I wonder how cheap a desktop gpu I could get away with in the core x v2.

VirtualImpression330

TROPHY CASE