Just got my 13 with the 7840 and I’m realizing that even the integrated GPU is more powerful than the one in my old PC, which has an i7 4790k and a GTX 970.
Is there any reason I shouldn’t just sell that relic and just run the Framework docked at home? I lose a little desk space, but I’m failing to see why I should keep using this desktop.
I daily drive my FW with an eGPU. And to be quite honest, it’s even saved me money in comparison to getting an older mid-range laptop and a desktop upgrade.
However, the eGPU comes with it’s fair share of downsides. First of all, you’ll want to plug the hub and eGPU into two separate ports to not take bandwidth from the GPU (on the intel laptops, you’ll have to use one port on each side, not on the same), and it is also less stable than alternatives.
Sometimes a simple knock against the cable will immediately disconnect the GPU causing half your programs to crash, so you’ll want to put it somewhere where it doesn’t move.
Also, drivers can be a bitch. I know nvidia can cause issues if you have both an integrated and external nvidia gpu, not sure about AMD.
Things like screen sharing or streaming will also significantly cut into your GPU performance as it will take further bandwidth from your GPU that is already hungering for more, so you’ll want to avoid applications what want to capture your monitor video as much as possible. Although in practice, you won’t notice this very much unless you are actually pushing gpu limits without the capture.