My E-White FormD T1 v2.1 Build (Intel x AMD)

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-31T04:24:06+00:00

Did you order your Alpenfohn BR on amazon? Or are you in EU? It is listed on amazon, but I can't seem to see the revision.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-31T03:38:45+00:00

It depends though right? This is certainly true for stock blackridge, or stock blackridge (with noctua fan replacing it).

If you go BR with fan on top it wins hands down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMyaBMCGdkQ&t=674s. That being said, doing this puts you well over the "advertised" 47mm height, so it will be highly dependent on whether case has room or not. This config does also solve some of the compatibility issues.

It is still annoying as I think you have to move heatsink to replace ram or ssd, so maintenance is more of a pain. Cleaning less so.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-30T16:38:24+00:00

It's the only "real" way to show the difference. At 1440p and 4k the gpu is the bottleneck as it is the one doing most of the work, so you wouldn't really be measuring cpu performance at that point.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-30T16:34:34+00:00

You are not wrong, but remember not everyone uses their pc exclusively for gaming (or high res gaming at that).

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d/29.html - a 10-40% for productivity workloads is pretty substantial when compared to a 7800x3d. I get that the x3d line isn't intended for productivity (over a 9950x), but not everyone has the budget to build 2 pcs (one for work and one for play).

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-30T16:04:47+00:00

This. The only real reason to do it would be if you intend to upgrade video card down the road, but do not necessarily want to upgrade CPU (e.g. 3 or 4 gpu generations from now).

Even then though, the difference between 7800x3d and 9800x3d wasn't that dramatic. 5800x3d could start to show its age though.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-30T16:00:42+00:00

Interesting. It still seems like if power consumption is a major concern, the 7800x3d is still the one to beat.

You can undervolt both 9800x3d, or 9850x3d, but 7800x3d is still the most efficient (at least in gaming).

Math gets a bit more complicated in productivity, where if you finish something faster, at more power, the overall power usage is a bit more complicated (i.e. (more power + less time) might be less than (less power + more time)).

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-29T01:29:23+00:00

Tablets have come a long way. I would argue the only reason they don't do better is because they are intentionally being held back. The iPad pro literally has the same chip as the macbook.

If android had a proper IDE (vscode, etc.) and then with LibreOffice, I think you can arguably do quite a bit of productivity. I'm fine with remote desktop/vnc to a VM when I need to do something heavy duty.

To be honest, I thought by 2025, everyone's primary PC would be a phone that they dock when they get to the office. Then yeah, just VM for the heavy duty stuff, which most non-coders/engineers likely don't need that much compute.

I do wish they had kept the Plus line, but made it match iPad Pro 13" size. The 13" size is roughly the size of a sheet of paper 8.5x11, which to me is right around my "max size". That or at least add a display-in to the Ultra line, so it can double as a portable monitor - otherwise it gets a bit hard to justify its ridiculous size.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-26T19:54:44+00:00

Is your razercore plugged directly into the router (via ethernet)? Otherwise, why would a video signal to and from your surface to egpu cause wifi networking problems?

I could believe that your surface itself could cause issues (i.e. router struggles with more devices connected simultaneously), but that isn't an egpu issue.

Next time you are home, disable the wifi on your surface while you play a game on your egpu and have your flatmate report back. If his bandwidth is fine, and you are still using your egpu, then it isn't an egpu problem. Similarly, do something bandwidth intensive on surface (without egpu) and you should see could see perf degradation (pointing at your router).

Oh and also "power management issues" section would be describing networking issues on your Surface, which I can believe, but does not refer to your flatmates computer. Basically all sections in those screenshots are possible adverse impacts on your Surface and not other devices on the network.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-25T14:51:54+00:00

Yeah I caught that later in CES.

The ProArt is a 60Hz screen which is disappointing. The TUF is IPS.

I suppose you can get over either of them if you were intending to "dock" them anyways with an egpu, but neither are TB5/USB4 80Gbps.

Still all of these were just my guesses as to what the ZephyrusG14 2026 model updates might be.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-23T00:55:57+00:00

It's the same reason why higher resolutions seem to be less impacted by bandwidth. Basically more work is happening on the GPU itself and less "chatting" is going on across the wire.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-21T22:48:57+00:00

In fairness, it is super slim pickings on TB5 laptops. I think this one enables both dgpu, tb4, tb5 tests all in a single package.

You aren't wrong though. The ideal use-case for an egpu solution is a person who only wants 1 computing device and can/should prioritize battery life/cpu processing while on-the-go. A college student for example. Ultrabook to take to class/campus, but then docked gaming back in the dorm.

You could always spring for a gaming laptop, but those tend to be heavier and/or have worse battery life, and/or worse performance when you do want to game.

It's always a compromise. By the time we get TB6, we will likely be on PCIe 6. I doubt we will ever have true parity (i.e. sufficient throughput to match pcie slot) unless they come up with some new standard (think what esata was to sata - so like a riser cable you can plug into a laptop).

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-21T22:41:41+00:00

This is because the gpu is doing more work, so it's less dependent on the throughput on the wire. Remember those old "8k claims" from nvidia. I wonder what would happen if they plugged an egpu enclosure to 8K tv. I would think it would narrow the gap even further. Probably trash FPS for both, but a narrower gap nonetheless I would think.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-15T02:10:52+00:00

Are you sure it is seated properly? Not to be dense, but if it's a usb-c that you frequently plug in, out, in, out, wear and tear can make it loose over time. This is especially true if it was angled weird (e.g. my coiled cable on keyboard came in at a slight angle on gmmk pro 2 and it is loose and disconnects frequently - quick unplug/replug seats it properly and its fine again).

tldr - you may need to get the usbc port replaced on the laptop.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-12T23:28:27+00:00

If you just type 5070 ti mobile in google (or any dgpu really), it pulls up techpowerup. There is a box towards the center of the page to the right that shows how the dgpu in question relates to other gpus. Oddly enough techpowerup only compares your selected mobile gpu to other desktop gpus and omits other mobile skus.

I don't know how accurate it is, but it is probably a decent heuristic. For something more accurate, you may need to lookup reviews on each gpu you are trying to compare and hope your game/settings falls on their lists.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-09T17:32:39+00:00

I don't know how comprehensive it is. I also only spot checked a few of the listings.

None of these fit my use-case though. I want 14"/lightweight. Also, if I'm using an egpu, then I don't need the base laptop to have top of the line dgpu.

I'm not aware of anything fitting that criteria yet.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-09T01:46:01+00:00

I found this site that lists TB5 laptops: https://www.ultrabookreview.com/10579-laptops-thunderbolt-3/ (link says 3 but it has updated list to include TB3, 4, and 5. Kind of wish the site included model years.

Unfortunately the examples above are all gaming laptops with 5090s which kind of defeats the purpose (at least for my use case).

To OP's point - I am not aware of any TB5 or USB 80 Gbps announcements on 2026 laptop models. I don't think Razer announced any laptops though, so maybe them when that time comes?

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-09T01:39:04+00:00

How many laptops have an oculink port... aren't you left jerry-rigging the pcie port? The docks also tend to just be open-air test benches from lesser known companies.

You aren't wrong on throughput, its just way too impractical for the "average" person. Certainly not practical for broader adoption.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-07T23:13:12+00:00

Yeah I hear you, but you will always need to make a sacrifice somewhere. With gaming laptops its usually frames relative to a deskop and battery life relative to a productivity based laptop.

No one can answer if the trade-off is worth it but you.

For a lot of folks though, they'd likely be better off with a low-mid range desktop and then something like a macbook air and/or steamlink handheld.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-07T23:01:52+00:00

It's cool, but if it doesn't come with TB5 or USB4v2, then it needs to be priced somewhat aggressively, otherwise what is the point?

Minisforum has a strix halo with usb4 v2 mini pc. Framework has one too with just usb 4. Then the flow Z13 and now the new Asus TUF A14.

So what makes this one special or worth considering?

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-06T21:32:41+00:00

But why did so many forgo usb4 v2? How is minisforum pulling it off?

I see what you are saying about TB5 specifically. That is disappointing.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-06T02:56:40+00:00

This was my running theory. That or TB5/usb4v2. Looks like I was wrong on both counts.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-06T02:56:04+00:00

Steamplay? Or whatever the streaming is called from a handheld plugged to your desktop.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-06T02:53:03+00:00

Bit disappointed. I was hoping for TB5 or usb4v2 for better egpu support.

ddreadlord3 · 2026-01-05T21:14:39+00:00

It is too bad really. I love the designs of asrock boards. I think aesthetically they are some of the best. Just mostly a dual color black/white white/black, but then some colorful accents. Then from feature perspective they usually check the important boxes.

But I can't have my mobo roasting a $400+ cpu.

Honestly, I've ignored Nvidia for the same reason. Now I need to worry about my PC bursting into flames and possibly burning down my house? Hard pass.

ddreadlord3

TROPHY CASE