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SoNNeT eGFX Breakaway Box 550W (GPU-550W-TB3)
Brand | SoNNeT |
Color | Red |
Hardware Interface | USB |
Compatible Devices | Desktop |
Total USB Ports | 3 |
Item Weight | 2.6 Pounds |
Wattage | 120 watts |
About this item
- Connects High Performance GPU cards (up to 312mm x 160mm) to computers with a Thunderbolt 3 port. Also supports AVID HDX, Red Rocket-X and other x16 full-length PCIe cards (must have a Thunderbolt 3 connection, USB3C connection and Thunderbolt 2 adapters do not work)
- 550W power supply supports up to 375W card (up to 8-pin + 8-pin power connectors), and provides up to 87W of Power Delivery to charge a laptop.
- Breakaway Box 550 has one Thunderbolt 3 port, includes a 0.5m 40Gb Thunderbolt 3 cable
- Mac: Supports AMD RX 470,480,570,580/Vega 56 on Thunderbolt 3 Macs with macOS High Sierra (Boot Camp not supported). macOS supports two Breakaway Boxes.
- Windows: Supports NVIDIA GTX 1060,1070,1080,1080ti/Titan X, Xp,V/Quadro P4000,P5000,P6000 or AMD Radeon RX 570,580/Vega 56/WX 5100,7100 on Thunderbolt 3 computers with Windows 10.
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PRODUCT CERTIFICATION (1)
Carbon Neutral by Carbon Trust products reduce their carbon footprint year after year and any outstanding emissions are offset.
Product information
Product Dimensions | 17.01 x 11.46 x 10.83 inches |
---|---|
Item Weight | 2.6 pounds |
Manufacturer | Sonnet Technologies |
ASIN | B0764J5QVD |
Item model number | GPU-550W-TB3 |
Customer Reviews |
4.2 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #1,089 in Internal Computer Networking Cards |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Date First Available | June 16, 2017 |
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Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W (GPU-550W-TB3)
Sonnet86
Product Description
Desktop Graphics Power – On a Notebook
Nothing impacts gaming, videos, or graphic-intensive applications as much as a dedicated graphics card. Today's all-in-one and notebook computers may be sleek and thin, but their modern designs with integrated GPUs comes with the lack of high-performance graphics. Sonnet's eGFX Breakway Box brings the power of a dedicated graphics card to your system; simply add your compatible video card of choice, connect your Thunderbolt 3 computer with the included 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable, and enjoy desktop class level gaming performance and video acceleration in your favorite graphic applications.
Power to Play. Power to Work.
Need pixel-busting power to play games? Need graphic power to work? Sonnet's eGFX Breakway Box 550 opens a world of video processing power to your compatible Thunderbolt 3 Mac or Windows PC computer—just plug in a Breakaway Box and add the GPU power you want when you need it. By delivering much higher frame rates for smooth game play, the Breakaway Box is ideal for enabling graphic-intensive gaming on computers that otherwise would not be able to produce an acceptable gaming experience. For media professionals, harnessing the computational engine in today’s GPU cards is essential to keeping up with on-set and post production timelines. The eGFX Breakaway Box is ideal for supporting the acceleration of special effects, animation, color grading, rendering, and editing. The blazing fast 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface ensures a full 2750 MB/s PCIe bandwidth is dedicated to the installed card.
An eGFX Breakaway Box 650 + AMD Radeon Pro WX Graphic Card Performance Bundle delivers a significant graphics processing boost to popular video editing, visual effects, and modeling applications, cutting rendering times and enhancing VFX and color correction workflows.
Add Your Own Graphics or PCIe Card
Sonnet's eGFX Breakaway Box features a x16 PCI Express 3.0 slot compatible with a full-length, full-height, single- or double-width PCIe card. The system offers robust support for GPU cards with popular AMD and NVIDIA chipsets. In addition to eGPU cards, the Breakaway Box enables the use of Thunderbolt-compatible PCIe cards (regardless of the card's length or width) such as the RED Rocket-X or AVID Pro Tools|HDX.
eGFX Breakway Box Provides
- Equivalent to 500W (sometimes 600W) recommended system power
Learn more about eGPU power requirements - watch the video posted above - Two 8-pin (6+2 pin) power connectors
- Support for up to a 375W graphics or PCIe card
- Laptop charging up to 87W
Windows Users: Sonnet has compiled a list of compatible eGPU card PC systems. For details, please check the Specification Sheet under Technical Specifications on this page or visit Sonnet's website. If a listed computer has an optional discrete NVIDIA GPU, then it may not currently be compatible with external NVIDIA GTX graphics, even if the model is listed as compatible (these models should be compatible with AMD cards).
Mac Users: eGPU acceleration is not supported on a Mac running Windows under Boot Camp. Other than macOS High Sierra, macOS does not yet officially support eGPU acceleration; however, many users have experienced success using the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box for external graphics and/or CUDA with macOS Sierra. For support details, visit Sonnet's support library.
eGFX Breakaway System Includes: Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box, power cord, 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable, and documentation. Video or PCIe card sold separately.
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the performance, ease of use, and gaming performance of the docking station. For example, they mention it works reliably, is easy to setup and use, is recognized by MacOS right away, and provides desktop class graphics performance. Customers are also happy with appearance. However, some customers differ on noise, quality, and size.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the performance of the docking station. They say it is quiet, works reliably, and is easy to install. Some customers also mention that the performance is excellent and there are no issues.
"...(between 15 to 50% depending on the game) and I have had no issues at all with performance or stability...." Read more
"...No issues. All the plug and play issues seem to have been ironed out as the software side from drivers, bios etc are matured now." Read more
"...All in all, this eGPU thing and, in particular the Breakaway Box work perfectly." Read more
"...to last forever but 300 bucks for just over a year of usage = unreliable product...." Read more
Customers like the ease of use of the docking station. They mention that it is easy to set up and use, and is recognized by MacOS right away. They also appreciate the fact that no drivers are required.
"...the sonnet 550w breakaway box has worked flawlessly and is so easy to use.Firstly the box is whisper quiet and relatively easy to install...." Read more
"...It's recognized by MacOS right away, no drivers are required. All in all, this eGPU thing and, in particular the Breakaway Box work perfectly." Read more
"...rating for this product was closer to a 4.5 since it was easy to setup and use, sadly the lack of availability of the logic board as a serviceable..." Read more
"This box is housing a Radeon RX 580 liquid cooled GPU. No drivers needed it just works...." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the gaming performance of the docking station. They mention that it provides desktop-class graphics performance, and the edge technology with eGPUs produces a noticeable reduction in average load times. It is quiet, powerful, and efficient, and it offers outstanding external graphics support on Lenovo P series mobile workstation.
"...to a Thunderbolt 3 interface has produced a noticeable reduction in average load times (between 15 to 50% depending on the game) and I have had no..." Read more
"Pros:Bleeding edge technology with eGPUs provides desktop class graphics performance..." Read more
"...No drivers needed it just works. Love the frame rates in War Thunder and the graphics look beautiful...." Read more
"...Love it and the gaming performance boost." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the appearance of the docking station. They say it is well designed, well made, and nice to look at.
"...The Sonnet is however, well made, nice to look at with the beautiful stylized, backlit S on the front but ultimately unsuitable for Catalina based..." Read more
"...The product itself is well designed in regards to ergonomics, and touts that components such as the fan system that can be replaced for systems..." Read more
"...Love the frame rates in War Thunder and the graphics look beautiful. It will up your game and also give you more monitor options. Bigger IS better!" Read more
"...Very happy with the quality very well designed piece of equipment." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the noise of the docking station. Some mention that it's extremely quiet, while others say that it makes a high-pitched noise whenever it' is turned on. The discoloration and the screaming fans make the product unusable.
"...Easy. Box is quiet, temps reach a max of 74c with only a dual fan gpu and 15% overclock on the card...." Read more
"...One other thing, the case fan included is very loud even when the gpu is not stressed despite it being pwm, the gpu fans even turn off when it’s not..." Read more
"...RX580 throws out a lot of heat, however box keeps it cool and fan noise is very minimal. Sits under my desk and rarely hear it...." Read more
"...My only complaint is that the preinstalled fan is extremely loud...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the quality of the docking station. Some mention it's high quality, while others say it'd been poorly made.
"...The Sonnet is however, well made, nice to look at with the beautiful stylized, backlit S on the front but ultimately unsuitable for Catalina based..." Read more
"This product is poorly made. A slight movement such as fan vibration caused the unit to disconnect with my computer...." Read more
"The enclosure is very high quality and I've had no problems running an ASUS ROG RX 580 8GB card on it for a couple of months now...." Read more
"Shipped amazingly fast, and is an excellent product...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the size of the docking station. Some mention that it accommodates full size video cards and keeps them cool, while others say that it's very large and the fan is quite noisy, the case itself has a lot of empty space, and is too bulky for a 550w enclosure.
"...The case itself as a LOT of empty space and could easily be 30% smaller...." Read more
"Accommodates full size video cards and keeps them cool. Connects to PC with one Thunderbolt cable...." Read more
"Too bulky for a 550w enclosure" Read more
"Love that it works exactly as advertised, but it is big. It’s like a 1/3 to half the size of a normal Desktop computer." Read more
Customers have connectivity issues with the docking station. They mention that the fan vibration causes the unit to disconnect with their computer, resulting in blue screens and USB disconnects. The Thunderbolt 3 connection also breaks after a year of usage.
"...Blue screens, USB disconnects, failure to wake from sleep, failure to recognize the video card, etc...." Read more
"...A slight movement such as fan vibration caused the unit to disconnect with my computer...." Read more
"...does not make good contact with the cable causing the unit to disconnect if it gets bumped...." Read more
"Loose thunderbolt 3 connection breaks after a year of usage..." Read more
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Some things I wish I'd have been able to find more information on before I ordered it:
-Yes, at least with a Lenovo P series running Windows 10, you can have both the onboard discrete GPU and the eGPU enabled. The onboard GPU can be configured to drive an external display attached to the laptop itself and the built-in panel, or it can be configured as a dedicated PhysX coprocessor to offload those operations from the main GPU. Windows generally disables the onboard GPU when an eGPU is connected, but if you re-enable it in the Device Manager under Control Panel, you can then assign the GPU to a display(s), or configure it as a dedicated PhysX processor. Whichever is more useful (disabled, enabled on the laptop display + displays attached to the laptop, or dedicated PhysX) will depend on your specific intended use.
-The speed, if using adequate cabling, is on par with having the GPU connected via an internal PCIe slot. I am using an Nvidia GTX 2060 which had previously been in my desktop workstation that was built mainly for CAD. The machine was built around a pair of relatively dated hex-core Xeons, and though the motherboard had a 16 lane PCIe slot, the slot operated electrically as an 8x PCIe 2.0 interface. This was mostly fine for CAD and other applications that don't need to load lots of texture data, but it did show its limitations when running applications such as games. Migrating from an 8x PCIe 2.0 interface to a Thunderbolt 3 interface has produced a noticeable reduction in average load times (between 15 to 50% depending on the game) and I have had no issues at all with performance or stability.
-Hot-plugging: Yes, you can hot-plug the Thunderbolt 3 cable. I often come home, drop my suspended laptop into a laptop stand, and connect both this, and a second Thunderbolt 3 PCIe enclosure containing NVMe storage and a discrete sound card before opening the lid. Upon waking the machine up, it takes about 20 seconds to initialize the external hardware, but I've not encountered any issues with things not working when hot-plugged.
-Hot-unplugging: This has been a little more problematic, but those issues had more to do with specific software not recognizing the change. The worst that happens is I have to reboot the machine and manually specify what sound hardware to use.
-Noise: Some people have complained about the noise level of the internal fan, but I have no complaints. I use this setup for professional audio recording, and the noise levels aren't meaningfully higher than the fans in the laptop itself, and I don't have to do anything beyond what I'd normally do to remove background hiss from recordings. If you are particularly sensitive to the sound levels, the fan is just a standard PC fan that plugs into a regular fan header on the adapter board inside of the enclosure so you could easily replace it with a quieter fan. (in which case, I would highly recommend Noctua.)
One last note on cabling, the cable that comes with this is fairly short, but that's because actual 40gbps Thunderbolt 3 cables are fairly expensive items. You can get a longer cable, but you will want to make *absolutely certain* that it's a legitimate, certified cable, and that it's rated for 40gbps, and not 20gbps. A 20gbps cable *will* work, but it will obviously make certain things slower, but a standard USB-C cable WILL NOT WORK. When buying cables for any Thunderbolt device, it is imperative that you purchase legitimate, certified cables and not one of the cheap ones you find floating around, not just because those cables are likely to be slower and increase the risk of crashes, but in some cases they can actually damage your hardware.
In all, I'm very happy with my Sonnet eGPU Breakaway Box, and would recommend it to anyone who was contemplating an eGPU setup. Just be sure to do the necessary research to determine if the card you intend to use supports eGPU in general, that it's on the hardware compatibility list for the enclosure (on Sonnet's website), and that it's supported by your OS.
Firstly the box is whisper quiet and relatively easy to install. Once installed sure the back of the thunderbolt cable sticks out a little bit however it has never fallen out nor does it feels loose, no issues there, just a visual thing.
I already have a 1050Ti as a dGPU all i did was download the nvidia drivers for the GIgabyte RTX 2070, installed them and that is all. Nvidia has a taskbar icon which shows you which gpu is acive and you can connect or disconnect it through there. It is literally plug and play. I plug the thunderbolt cable in and the egpu intiates. To disconnect i click on the nviida taskbar icon and hit disconnet. Easy. Box is quiet, temps reach a max of 74c with only a dual fan gpu and 15% overclock on the card. I get about a 20% loss due to thunderbolt 3 as expected. Also works plug and play when used just with my laptop as oppose to laptop and external monitor. No issues. All the plug and play issues seem to have been ironed out as the software side from drivers, bios etc are matured now.
I tried an HP Omen Accelerator, and it didn't work I suspect because it only had 8 + 6 pin power connector. The 8 + 8 pins on the 550w Sonnet solved the problem. Computer recognized the Omen, but couldn't use it.
I updated the BIOS and Thunderbolt 3 firmware/drivers as per MSI's product support page for my specific laptop--MSI's support, btw, is amazing. There is 100% control over fans and RGB lighting, but overclocking will only cause the laptop to reboot. I e-mailed them and discussed whether or not an eGPU would work. They didn't think it would. I proved them wrong!!
I have 3x improvement in FPS @ QHD w/ Ultra Settings in just about everything I play (~80-90 FPS in Ghost Recon, Final Fantasy XV, Call of Duty series, Battlefront, etc.). I have 2x improvements, ~40-60fps @ Ultra in games like For Honor in 4k.
Even Oculus Rift works, plugged into the HDMI out of the eGPU/laptop USB for the Rift and 2xUSB3.0's for the sensors.
Time spy scores jumped from 3700 to 5500.
I heavily recommend if you have an already pretty decent setup. It'll turn into an amazing setup.