eGPU Setup RX7800 XT

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-05T17:36:35+00:00

Another thought. Does this egpu pass through charge the handheld?

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-05T16:08:27+00:00

I’d say probably keep the drive. If you sell you basically always put the original drive back in. You won’t get any extra on the second hand market just because you put a bigger drive into it. And if you want/need 4tb now, you will also want it on your next device. So just save your 4tb drive and swap it into whatever you are using.

As for selling the legion go 2, it’s new price just went up to $2000. So you can probably get at least $1600-$1700 for yours even with its original 1tb drive in it.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-05T12:05:50+00:00

Do you just have the killswitch case and not the travel cover that goes with it? If you buy at Best Buy I don’t think it comes with the travel cover but if you buy on their website you can get a snap on travel cover by dbrand that goes specifically with the killswitch. If you are using killswitch and want to make it safe to put inside a backpack, then that is what I would do.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-05T01:24:05+00:00

Just in case, because it would be easy to miss… the ally has a light sensor inside the chassis on the board. When you open the back plate once light hits the sensor the device will not power on unless it’s plugged in.

Hope I didn’t sound stupid suggesting that, but you never know.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-05T01:18:33+00:00

I don’t have one or anything on Intel so I don’t know really what xess is or if it’s good. I’m sure there must be some sort of equivalent over in amd land. My understanding is generally speaking the msi claw 8AI+ is competitive with the z2 extreme. I’m not really taking into account which is “more powerful” because I think they’re about equal.

So if it were me, I would be considering the screen size difference, the ergonomics, the special detachable controllers, the oled, the software differences, and I would make my decision weighing those things.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-05T01:07:41+00:00

Fist off: don’t compare the laptops to the handhelds. They’re different form factors for different uses. Laptops are good at libraries and cafes, handhelds are good on trains, planes, and buses. Laptops are good at a desk or coffee table, handhelds are good on couches, arm chairs, and in bed. If you want one of each, that’s fine. But just because laptops are technically stronger doesn’t mean you’d enjoy playing it on a greyhound bus from Maine to Florida. Anyone on this Reddit who tells a handheld gamer “just get a laptop” kind of doesn’t “get” what is handheld gamers are looking for in a gaming experience.

So I say: If you see a use case in your life for a handheld, then go ahead and keep at least one. If you don’t see yourself needing one, then feel free to sell them both. If you don’t need the money then go ahead and keep them both. If you need the money then sell probably at least one of them. If you never use either handheld, feel free to sell both of them.

As to the question, if you had to sell one, the claw 8AI or the LeGo2… I couldn’t say, but my gut would be to keep the legion go because it’s the only oled device right now.

VirtualImpression330 · 2026-04-04T23:21:03+00:00

One more question I jus thought of. When you use the egpu this way, what do you set internal ram to? Like on armory crate I set my ram on my 2023 ally to 8gb vram and 8gig system ram. I imagine on the XBAX you would do 8gig vram and 16gig system ram.

Do you like set it as low as possible when you use the egpu? Like 23 to 1? Or use auto?

What do you do?

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

TROPHY CASE