2020 15" Dell G5 SE 5055 (RX5600M) [R4K,8C,H] + RTX 3080 @ 32Gbps-M2 (ADT-Link R43SG) + Win10  

 

 

System specs

• Model: 15.6" Dell G5 SE 5055
• Internal screen: 144Hz 1080p
• BIOS: v1.4.4
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 4800H (Zen2)
• iGPU: Radeon Vega 7
• dGPU: RX 5600M
• RAM: Swapped 8gb stock with Samsung 64GB dual channel 2666Mhz CL20
• SSD: WDC SN530 512GB
• OS: Windows 10 Home x64 20H2
• External screen: 55" LG C9 OLED 4K G-sync compatible TV
• Laptop mods and tweaks:
  • Disable SmartShift and enable S3 sleep mod
  • CPU and dGPU re-paste with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut (LM) + DIY foam walls
  • Ryzen Controller with Temp Limit set to 95C (203F)

 

eGPU hardware

• Adapter: ADT-Link R43SG 50cm cable
• eGPU: Colorful iGame RTX 3080 Ultra OC
  • Stock clocks and fan curve adjust to +30%
• Power supply: Seasonic M12II EVO 520W
• Mods for eGPU:
  • Spare bottom cover (DP/N: 08N4MX)
  • Cut open by dremel the spare bottom cover above the 2nd M.2 slot
  • DIY cover: 3M dual lock strips + duct tape as cover
  • M.2 Riser with screw and nut for locking the adapter connector
  • Thick foam support below the ADT adapter

 

 

Hardware pictures

 

 

Installation steps

I did the mods mentioned above which is a bit similar approach to my Dell Inspiron 5482 build and just reused the adapter and M.2 riser. I have a spare 520w ATX PSU that I connected the 24pin to the adapter and two PSU PCI-e power direct to the GPU power slot and the third power slot is from the adapter.

 

With the M.2 adapter installed and TV plugged to GPU HDMI port, powering the laptop also turns on the adapter just fine. I installed latest Nvidia desktop drivers and applied nvidia-error43-fixer and restarted laptop. I switch to using the external display only when playing games at home.

 

I also found that updating to BIOS 1.5.0 is not good for eGPU as it seems to crash the Nvidia driver and reduces bandwidth to x2 (~1500 MiB/s) and sometimes x1.1(~800 MiB/s). Reverting back to 1.4.4 / 1.3.0 has none of this issues.

 

Benchmarks

• Bandwidth / System

 

• Internal screen - 1080p, dGPU disabled
  

 

 

 

• External screen @ 4K

 

 

•  Game benchmarks / framerates

 

• • Cyberpunk 2077 (4k HDR | Toggle all to high | RT toggle all & Medium | DLSS Performance) = ~40-58 FPS

 

• • AC: Valhalla

 

• •  Hitman 3 - 2021 (4K HDR | Ultra) = ~67-83 FPS

 

 

Comments 

I was previously using an 8th gen Dell convertible with a GTX 1060 from 2019 and that was good enough for 1080p gaming. Mid last year, I had the opportunity to finally upgrade my display and was convinced by a friend to try OLED as monitor. We were able to snag a good deal as the 2019 LG oleds were dropping prices in my country because of new models. It was very good for work having more screen space and watching movies, but gaming on my existing 1060 eGPU setup it was obviously not gonna cut it. Death Stranding was probably the only playable game natively at 4K.

Thanks to @itsage and @zdog291 because I found their build guides and got ideas for this. I purchased this laptop from a seller in ebay on the US and it was the cheapest one I could find at that time with an 8c16t AMD Ryzen. Then next came the hassle of finding the GPU, oh boy. I probably got the ugliest RTX 3080 and it was about 15% overpriced from SRP but at least they have local shop and warranty. I could say the AMD dGPU should be good enough for gaming when away from home with some tweaks. This was a significant upgrade from my previous build and helped relieve boredom since we still have long lockdowns recently.