Introduction
Gigabyte pulled a Hulk move by shredding the clothes off a mini-ITX GTX 1080. If the plastic cooling shroud was on, the massive 130mm cooling fan would have chopped it into pieces. All this transformation was done to fit a beast of a graphics card into the smallest PCIe Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure on the market. The result is the AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box.
AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box
Hardware Specifics
| Specifications compare | |
| Price US$ |
$700 |
| PSU location-type |
internal-fATX |
| PSU max power | 450W |
| GPU max power |
225W |
| Power delivery (PD) |
100W |
| USB-C controller |
TI83 |
| TB3 USB-C ports | 1 |
| Ports max bandwidth | 5Gbps |
| USB3.0 ports (+C type) |
3+0 |
| Ethernet & SATA port | ✖ |
| Other ports | QC,HDMI,DP,2xDVI-D |
| Size (in/mm, LxWxH) |
8..35 x 3.78 x 6.38 212 x 96 x 162 |
| Max GPU len (in/cm) |
6.65 / 16.9 |
| Weight (kg/lb) | 2.35/5.19 |
| Updated firmware | ✔ |
| Vendor page | link |
| Implementations |
link |
From the outside the Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box looks identical to its older and slightly less powerful brother, the AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box. Seven screws and one metal armor removed shows the major difference between these two – the graphics card itself. All other components are the same.
To handle the increased TDP, Gigabyte implemented a much bigger cooling fan for the GPU. While the AORUS 1070 Gaming Box uses an off-the-shelf GV-N1070IXOC-8GD which has a 90mm fan, the GTX 1080 in this Gaming Box is custom-built with a massive 130mm cooling fan. Due to spacial constraints, there’s no room for a typical shroud covering the GPU heat sink and other bits. In my opinion, it looks awesome naked.
Unlike the AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box at launch, the Thunderbolt firmware of this AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box does not suffer from H2D issue. When paired with a Thunderbolt 3 laptop that has full 4 PCI Express lanes for its Thunderbolt 3 port, Device-to-Host/Memory Read should show 2,6XX MB/s and Host-to-Device/Memory Write should show 2,2XX MB/s in either CUDA-Z (Nvidia GPUs only) or AIDA64 GPGPU benchmark. Keep in mind, macOS and Boot Camp Windows via apple_set_os.efi may show 1,6XX MB/s for Host-to-Device. This is a fairly recent observation by eGPU.io forum member lexine and confirmed by others. We’re still gathering more information to determine whether this is caused by the newer firmware of the Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pro.
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The remainder of the components are direct carryovers from the AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box. The PSU is an Enhance Flex ATX 450W unit that features a single rail 12V. Its wiring harness provides one 24-pin power cable for the Thunderbolt 3 board and one 6 + 2-pin PCIe power cable for the graphics card. There’s no power switch on the PSU. The AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box turns on when there’s communication with a Thunderbolt 3 host. The enclosure fans are two tiny 40mm units that omit a buzzing noise during use. For more details, please read my AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box review.
The main board contains all crucial components of a Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure as well as rear expansion I/Os. On the top side I spotted a TI83 USB-C controller and DSL6450 Intel Thunderbolt 3 controller. The Winbond EEPROM is located on the bottom side. The RGB LED strip is on this same board and can only be controlled by AORUS Gaming Engine software in Windows.
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Downsides are build quality and limited upgrade options. Gigabyte essentially built a metal enclosure to barely contain a small PSU, two tiny fans, and the naked mini-ITX GTX 1080. The benefits are a light and compact external graphics card that’s portable enough to be a regular travel companion. The sides of this Gaming Box are 90% mesh to allow sufficient airflow. This is essential to prevent thermal buildup and overheating given the tight space inside.
I’ve tried to swap a few AMD mini-ITX GPUs in this AORUS Gaming Box enclosure with mixed success. The only card I got to run was a Sapphire Radeon R9 285 Compact. This GPU has the same 8-pin power connector as the mini-ITX GTX 1080. My attempts with an HP OEM RX 580 mini-ITX have failed so far. While the GPU physically fits inside this enclosure nicely, the 6-pin power connector presents a challenge that I’ve yet to overcome. I remain hopeful that Gigabyte is working on an AORUS RX Vega Nano Gaming Box.
Power delivery and additional USB ports are nice features for Thunderbolt 3 ultrabooks. There are four standard USB ports in the rear of the box, one of which is orange and serves as a charging port for mobile phones. It has Quick Charge support (QC 3.0) but does not transmit data. The other three USB 3.0 ports can be used with peripheral devices. Power delivery (PD 3.0) is as promised at 100W when connecting with the supplied half-meter long Thunderbolt 3 cable. I tried a 2m Thunderbolt 3 cable, and PD drops to 60W.
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Testings & Benchmarks
Of great interest is whether this new Gaming Box works in macOS High Sierra as an eGPU. When released on September 25th, only a select few AMD graphics cards were suitable for external use. Since then there have been positive developments to make use of Nvidia graphics cards as Thunderbolt 3 eGPU in macOS 10.13. One of the workarounds was discovered by a new eGPU.io member, yifanlu. He has created an installer package, NVIDIAEGPUSupport for ease of implementation. I followed his instructions to install this workaround and was able use AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box with my 2016 15″ MacBook Pro running 10.13 [17A405] as well as 10.13.1 [17B48].
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Nvidia web drivers in macOS High Sierra are still very much a work in progress. To extract the most performance from an Nvidia eGPU, Windows 10 is the more appropriate operating system to conduct testing. The Thunderbolt 3 host I used for benchmarking this AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box is an Alienware 15 R3. It has a quad-core i7-7700HQ processor and an Nvidia GTX 1070 discrete graphics card. I know owners of a laptop with these specs are unlikely to need an eGPU. The reason I chose this laptop is to show the potential of eGPU were PC manufacturers to build more laptops catering specifically to external graphics use.
As discussed in my review of the Dell Precision 7520, the best Thunderbolt 3 eGPU host is one with a quad-core processor, integrated graphics only, and direct x4 PCIe lanes over Thunderbolt 3 connection to the CPU. There’s no such machine on the market that I’m aware of. This AW15R3 comes close in that it meets 2 of the 3 requirements. The discrete GTX 1070 can be disabled through Device Manager so that it works as an iGPU-only laptop.
One observation I had while benchmarking the discrete GTX 1070 graphics card is how loud the Alienware 15 R3’s cooling system was. The fans ran full speed for as long as the dGPU was taxed. I measured a range of 68-71 dB at the two rear exhaust vents of the laptop. Temperature wise, it was averaging 60˚C at these two vents. The Alienware 15 R3 ran much cooler and quieter with eGPU use. The only noticeable heat and noise were from the front of the Gaming Box where two tiny 40mm enclosure fans reside. Heat and noise generation from the AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box is considerably lower than the AW15R3 (around 57 dB and 38˚C).
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In gaming laptops, the dGPU level of performance output based on power source is another concern. The discrete GTX 1070 performs best while plugged in and Energy preference set to Best Performance. During battery use, the system is optimized to preserve battery life rather than maximize performance. Nvidia Experience also caps the FPS at 30 by default. This gaming laptop is very much intended to be used stationary and plugged in.
So who needs this much graphics performance in such a small piece of equipment? The Gigabyte AORUS team would probably say that’s the wrong question to ask. The AORUS brand is operating with a pioneer spirit that’s all about speed. So let’s take a look at the performance differences between the GTX 1060, GTX 1070, and GTX 1080 when used as external graphics cards.
GTX 1060 vs 1070 vs 1080
I ran the same synthetic benchmarks at 1080 (FHD), 1440 (QHD), and 2160 (UHD 4K). Here are the specifications of the four graphics cards I used for this review. The benefits of higher performing graphics cards start to show at higher resolutions.
- EVGA GTX 1060 3GB – 1,835 MHz – 1,152 cores – 9 CUs
- Gigabyte GTX 1070 8GB – 1,721 MHz – 1,920 cores – 15 CUs
- Dell GTX 1070 8GB – 1,695 MHz – 2,048 cores – 16 CUs
- AORUS GTX 1080 8GB – 1,733 MHz – 2,560 cores – 20 CUs
| AW15R3 @ 1920x1080 | GTX 1060 eGPU | GTX 1070 eGPU | GTX 1070 dGPU | GTX 1080 eGPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unigine Valley | 2,297 | 3,045 | 3,261 | 3,624 |
| Unigine Heaven | 1,284 | 1,816 | 2,017 | 2,273 |
| Unigine Superposition | 7,541 | 10,755 | 11,417 | 13,799 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 5,406 | 7,730 | 8,858 | 9,452 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 10,313 | 14,147 | 16,928 | 16,669 |
| Tomb Raider 2013 | 89.9 FPS | 120.6 FPS | 140.7 FPS | 141.8 FPS |
| Shadow of Mordor | 66.2 FPS | 87.3 FPS | 105.6 FPS | 112.6 FPS |
| Dirt Rally | 52.7 FPS | 79.0 FPS | 87.9 FPS | 88.7 FPS |
| Hitman | 47.6 FPS | 64.4 FPS | 65.5 FPS | 71.0 FPS |
| AW15R3 @ 2560x1440 | GTX 1060 eGPU | GTX 1070 eGPU | GTX 1070 dGPU | GTX 1080 eGPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unigine Valley | 1,456 | 2,106 | 2,211 | 2,346 |
| Unigine Heaven | 793 | 1,196 | 1,314 | 1,440 |
| Unigine Superposition | 5,138 | 7,735 | 7,885 | 9,468 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 3,517 | 5,421 | 5,556 | 6,498 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 6,277 | 9,196 | 10,951 | 11,068 |
| Tomb Raider 2013 | 61 FPS | 85.9 FPS | 91.6 FPS | 105.8 FPS |
| Shadow of Mordor | 36.4 FPS | 59.6 FPS | 74.8 FPS | 75.1 FPS |
| Dirt Rally | 42.1 FPS | 57.8 FPS | 68.6 FPS | 71.2 FPS |
| Hitman | 29.1 FPS | 43.3 FPS | 49.9 FPS | 51.3 FPS |
| AW15R3 @ 3840x2160 | GTX 1060 eGPU | GTX 1070 eGPU | GTX 1070 dGPU | GTX 1080 eGPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unigine Valley | 521 | 1,041 | 1,034 | 1,178 |
| Unigine Heaven | 204 | 572 | 569 | 629 |
| Unigine Superposition | 2,600 | 4,045 | 3,945 | 4,907 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,773 | 2,756 | 2,723 | 3,298 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 3,445 | 5,110 | 5,919 | 6,189 |
| Tomb Raider 2013 | 30.5 FPS | 44.5 FPS | 44.8 FPS | 55.9 FPS |
| Shadow of Mordor | 12.0 FPS | 34.2 FPS | 38.6 FPS | 42.3 FPS |
| Dirt Rally | 20.6 FPS | 36.1 FPS | 40.7 FPS | 43.2 FPS |
| Hitman | 11.1 FPS | 19.3 FPS | 22.9 FPS | 24.5 FPS |
Conclusion
External graphics performance disparity is appreciable going from GTX 1060 to GTX 1070 and from GTX 1070 to GTX 1080. Gaming at higher resolutions reduces frame rates as well as Thunderbolt 3 performance loss. Unlike larger eGPU enclosures, the custom enclosure for the AORUS Gaming Box limits your options for future upgrades. Therefore, my recommendation is to get the best one you can afford.
The Gigabyte AORUS GTX 1070 is already the best value for a full feature ready-to-go eGPU (US$599 currently). The AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box kicks it up a notch, priced at $700 with the performance improvements to match. This eGPU is a portable powerhouse that truly shines in QHD and UHD gaming.
See also
"Gigabyte pulled a Hulk move by shredding the clothes off a mini-ITX GTX 1080."
This is the best start to an article I have read in a long time.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Excellent review man 🙂 Mine is on the way as well.
One thing that was sort of disappointing was the lack of solutions for the 2 tiny and noise fans. Are you aware if anyone has ever tried to replace them for 3rd party more silent/efficient ones? Is that something that personally bothers you?
eGPU community probably doesn't care that much about noise but it would be a cool project. I might try doing it myself and open a thread about it if anyone is interested.
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
Awesome review! Thanks!
Did you try running Windows via USB3.0 SSD on Aorus by any chance?
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
I don't see any mention of the problems some users face regarding the USB Hub and the PSU fans that won't turn off when you power off the notebook, but doesn't disconnect the Aorus, have you really not encountered these problems?
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
@chaosmage I tested Windows on the AW15R3 only for this review. I don’t recommend running Boot Camp with Windows externally through the eGPU enclosure.
@Splitframe I didn’t encounter those issues during my testing for this review. My primary task was to share insights of the new GPU inside this box and its performance relative to the 1070 and 1060 eGPU.
The games I play are through a PS4 controller so I haven’t had much time using the USB hub. As with other Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosures with expansion I/O, the intermittent keyboard/mouse issues during gaming are not unique to any particular enclosure.
Thank you for the informative review. I just want to know if the rotation speed of the fan is manipulable through Aorus Engine? Or is it fixed? It could be noisy to me if it's the latter case.
To be more precise, I am referring to the fan of the graphics card itself, not the two little fans.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
@dream3, there’s very little space where these two 40mm fans are mounted. The two fans are daisy-chained together and connect to the main board via one connector. It’s going to be a challenge to find a third party solution to make it quieter. I personally don’t mind the buzzy noise from them. Please keep us updated if you decide to tackle this project.
Nice box but 57 dB still seems very noisy! :-/
I know it's hard to compare to other noises but it looks like this is almost as loud as a washing machine. And it's standing on your desk...
I think this can be a real issue for a lot of people.
I'm looking into buying one of the available enclosure and this noise they make is worrying me. It looks like this is very different between each enclosure and hard to test properly (depending on the room, the sound of the laptop attached, the card, the load on the card or the distance from the testing device). The Sonnet one is looking good but it's a big enclosure with a huge fan of course.
The 1070 Mini card from the previous Aorus gaming box had pretty bad reviews regarding sound level and I'm expecting this one to be the same.
A small enclosure will always have smaller fans making more noise but if the card itself is noisy that's not going to help.
I'm looking forward to some reviews on the new Razer Core V2 to know if they improved the noise of the enclosure's fans. If that's the case we could still use a pretty silent card like the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X and reduce the overall sound level under load.
I suppose you had the Alienware running when testing the gaming box decibel level? This laptop in crazy loud so it may have covered the sound of the box even from a distance.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
57db shouldn't be anything like a washing machine. Those measurements are very close to the box, and any distance/obstruction is going to drop the levels quickly. 60db is usually compared to an aircon unit 100 feet from the point of listening, and every 10db lower is 1/2 the perceived volume.
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I am going to be getting this enclosure ( Just the Enclosure) in the near future. Friend is reviewing then going to pull the card to use just for editing rig. Now i am Tech savvy but i am moving from PC world to the Mac side. I was wondering on how good the power delivery is for a 17" MBP w/Touchbar the and what is a good GPU to toss in the enclosure. I can solder and crimp and change power connectors. I know AMD RX Vega 56 was a card i was looking at. Figure i would ask here since it is going to be the same enclosure.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
@dream3, there's very little space where these two 40mm fans are mounted. The two fans are daisy-chained together and connect to the main board via one connector. It's going to be a challenge to find a third party solution to make it quieter. I personally don't mind the buzzy noise from them. Please keep us updated if you decide to tackle this project.
Ok, I see what you mean. I think I'll try to do this anyway but I just wanted to gather a bit more information before starting, since you are very familiar with the inside, if you don't mind.
1- Is the connector on the main board a 3 or 4 pin?
2- Are the 40mm fans 10mm or 20mm thick? If 10mm, do you think there would be space for 20mm thick ones or there won't be enough clearance?
I'm thinking about just using a Y split cable connected to the board and the 2 fans. Then use 2 of these https://www.quietpc.com/nf-a4x10 if the space is limited on the Z axis or these ones https://www.quietpc.com/nf-a4x20-pwm, for even lower noise, if there's clearance. Both models are 12V and work with a lower amperage of 0.05A each compared to the stock ones (0.10A).
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
Thank you for this helpful review. I'm now considering to get one.
And I'm curious about the GTX 1080 mini inside the gaming box. Is it possible to take it out and install it on a motherboard for desktop PC ?
I mean whether the crazy 130mm cooling fan will be a problem when putting this GTX 1080 mini on a motherboard for desktop PC ?
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
@Pwin98, the mini-ITX GTX 1080 inside this AORUS Gaming Box works just fine inside a desktop. Make sure you provide enough clearance so that there’s no damage to the fan.
Also, it’s tempting to put your fingers on the spinning 130mm fan. DON’T put your fingers near it! 😀
Hello everyone. Just received the GTX 1080 mini from gigabyte . For those who were planning to replace the card on the Aorus box 1070 , well , it's just working fine .
After 7 screws , the card was replaced . Then a driver update , reinstall the Aorus Graphic Engine and everything seems to be fine . The card itself is different from the one included in the Aorus Box 1080 : the fan is 90mm one like on the GV-N1070IXOC-8GD , but no sign of overheating.
On a XPS 15 9550 the difference is really noticeable for example on Wolfenstein2 the new colossus , running around 60 fps everytime when maxed out on 1080p and internal display .
If you were hesitating about replacing the card , don't anymore and go on , it is worth it .
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Thanks for the great review. If I read correctly you write that:
One of the workarounds was discovered by a new eGPU.io member, yifanlu. He has created an installer package, NVIDIAEGPUSupport for ease of implementation. I followed his instructions to install this workaround and was able use AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box with my 2016 15″ MacBook Pro running 10.13 [17A405] as well as 10.13.1 [17B48]."
So does this mean this external box run properly in High Sierra and what do you mean was able to use it? Can you run for ex. Final Cut Pro X, Da Vinci Resolve, Photoshop etc?
MacBook Pro 15" (Mid 2017), Aorus Gaming Box GTX 1070
Thanks for the great review. If I read correctly you write that:
One of the workarounds was discovered by a new eGPU.io member, yifanlu. He has created an installer package, NVIDIAEGPUSupport for ease of implementation. I followed his instructions to install this workaround and was able use AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box with my 2016 15″ MacBook Pro running 10.13 [17A405] as well as 10.13.1 [17B48]."
So does this mean this external box run properly in High Sierra and what do you mean was able to use it? Can you run for ex. Final Cut Pro X, Da Vinci Resolve, Photoshop etc?
I'm on 10.12.6 still and I have the 1080 box. Still having issues using eGPU to accelerate professional apps. There's not a very solid path, at least I haven't found it yet. I think most people in the community though use it for Windows in Bootcamp or MacOS gaming, so resources are limited.
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
I understand the box is more for people that want to run bootcamp and play some games but it would be very good if you could get that extra power for the apps you daily use in mac OS. The big question is: can you use it to drive an external display and switch to internal gpu when an app is not supported or you have to use the egpu if you have an external display?
MacBook Pro 15" (Mid 2017), Aorus Gaming Box GTX 1070
Is there any test of this with the thunderbolt 2 adapter?
I’d love to purchase this for my 2014 MacBook Pro.
We use Octane rendering for 3D and currently a thunderbolt 2 box with a 980ti works great.
3D Cinema 4D/Octane Artist
Gigabyte Aorus GTX 1080 Gaming Box w/ TB2to3 Adapter
2013 Mac Pro
2014 MacBook Pro
Thanks for the excellent review. I've been using AGB GTX 1070 with great success, and I was waiting for newer version to come out. Now, it's finally out and it looks to bump the performance quite a bit so I purchased it. I wished Gigabyte would come up with GTX 1080TI version,
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
1. The connector is a mini 2-pin.
2. Those 40mm fans are 10mm thick. I think 20mm would fit but it will be tight.
I am using two Noctua 40mm (10 mm) fans. My Aorus gaming box 1070 is much more silent now. Next up is to swap that noisy psu fan.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
1. The connector is a mini 2-pin.
2. Those 40mm fans are 10mm thick. I think 20mm would fit but it will be tight.I am using two Noctua 40mm (10 mm) fans. My Aorus gaming box 1070 is much more silent now. Next up is to swap that noisy psu fan.
Woowww that is great news! Can you share more about the specs of the fan and how you were able to connect them?
Is it this one? https://www.quietpc.com/nf-a4x10
By looking at it inside I couldnt find a way to hook 2 fans into that single mini 2-pin header.
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
Yes, that’s the one. Noctua fans are not the best to use though. You can’t solder of (remove) wires. This fan do come with 3 wires so I just cut the yellow one which only control fan speed. Then I cut the red and black wires close to the connector. Then I stripped the red and black wires and used a terminal crimping plier to merge the red and black cables from both fans into two pins. I also isolated the yellow cable and put sleeves on the wires.
Hope that make sense. 🙂
Btw you can just cut the wires from the old fans and solder the new fans to the those wires, but then I guess there will be some warranty issues.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Yes, that’s the one. Noctua fans are not the best to use though. You can’t solder of (remove) wires. This fan do come with 3 wires so I just cut the yellow one which only control fan speed. Then I cut the red and black wires close to the connector. Then I stripped the red and black wires and used a terminal crimping plier to merge the red and black cables from both fans into two pins. I also isolated the yellow cable and put sleeves on the wires.
Hope that make sense. 🙂
Btw you can just cut the wires from the old fans and solder the new fans to the those wires, but then I guess there will be some warranty issues.
Wait so once you merged both red and black wires from both fans, how did you connect them to the board? Did you buy a replacement connector?
I was thinking that you had found a way to connect the red and black from the fans directly to the connector's wires.
Also, which fan would you recommend since the noctua is not that great?
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
The two 40mm fans drive me nuts with the buzzing ... would something like this work: Scythe Mini Kaze 40mm 2 pin ?
Does anyone know the CFM for the original fans?
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
There is a member that just installed a Gigabyte 1080 mini ITX into the 1070 BOX successfully he said there was no overheating issues as of yet
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
The two 40mm fans drive me nuts with the buzzing ... would something like this work: Scythe Mini Kaze 40mm 2 pin ?
Does anyone know the CFM for the original fans?
I tried emailing the company that makes the original fans but got no reply unfortunately. Please let us know if you find out.
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
I've ordered two of the Scythe 40mm x 10mm fans. Will replace the PowerLogic ones and post the results here. I considered replacing them with one 20mm and one 10mm fan, but it isnt worth it as the 20mm fan supposedly does 4.8 CFM v/s 4.11 CFM for the 10mm.
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
I've ordered two of the Scythe 40mm x 10mm fans. Will replace the PowerLogic ones and post the results here. I considered replacing them with one 20mm and one 10mm fan, but it isnt worth it as the 20mm fan supposedly does 4.8 CFM v/s 4.11 CFM for the 10mm.
My Scythe fans came ... BUT ... the fan cable for the PowerLogic fans isn't the usual Molex 2-pin, rather it is a JST PH 2-pin connector. I could have simply solder the fans to the existing PowerLogic cable but why risk the warranty?
For anyone else trying to replace the fans, here is what the connector looks like:
... as opposed to the usual Molex 2 pin fan header
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
Or just buy the connecter from e-bay for $1 and solder it to that, I'm interested to know this works out in terms of how loud the new ones are. The PowerLogic fans just whine and it are too loud
2017 MBP 15" - Aorus Gaming Box 1070 - 2012 iMac 21.5"
Can you tell me what voltage these fans run at? 12V or 5V? Thanks!
Pending: Add my system information and expected eGPU configuration to my signature to give context to my posts
I just tested this out for you, the voltage is regulated on the board so it was a little difficult to tell but I tested the two pins when the output is at 100% and the voltage is 12v. These fans are also paired in parallel so the voltage stays the same.
I'm thinking of soldering 2 resistors in the circuit so that I can still get the fans to run all the time but at a lower speed
= Less noise.
Right now my fans are just unplugged because I hate the whine.
2017 MBP 15" - Aorus Gaming Box 1070 - 2012 iMac 21.5"
I'm on 10.12.6 still and I have the 1080 box. Still having issues using eGPU to accelerate professional apps. There's not a very solid path, at least I haven't found it yet. I think most people in the community though use it for Windows in Bootcamp or MacOS gaming, so resources are limited.
Hello dream3, what kind issues you have? And when you say "professional apps", what kind apps? Maybe you try Premiere Pro or Davinci, do you have some problems with this apps?
Macbook PRO 15' 2017 i7 3.1 / RP 560 + Aourus Gaming Box / Mac OS only
Hello dream3, what kind issues you have? And when you say "professional apps", what kind apps? Maybe you try Premiere Pro or Davinci, do you have some problems with this apps?
Man this is still a huge mess. I was having issues with that but I was able to find a fix to disable iGPU to force Adobe apps to see the eGPU. That worked. However now with latest MacOS HS update the whole eGPU setup is broken and nothing works anymore.
MacOS: 15" Retina Macbook Pro 2015 Iris Pro only
Windows 10: Tornado F5 laptop with discrete GTX 1060
eGPU: GIGABYTE RX 580
Unlike the AORUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box at launch, the Thunderbolt firmware of this AORUS GTX 1080 Gaming Box does not suffer from H2D issue.
Hello, itsage ! I have AOURUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box, I buy it empty. I interested, how to fix H2D issue ? That my Screen Shot from System Report 131636718
What I need to do with firmware and how it to update? I use MacBook Pro 2017 15' i7 3.1 / RP 560 / Mac OS 10.13.1
Thank you!
PS
And maybe you can tell which card is best to install in my empty AOURUS GTX 1070 Gaming Box?
Macbook PRO 15' 2017 i7 3.1 / RP 560 + Aourus Gaming Box / Mac OS only