External graphics (eGPU) is ideal for improve laptop performance or other equipment such as Mini-PCs that do not have dedicated graphics. They are usually not cheap, but allow you to increase the graphics level for demanding tasks such as video games or professional editing.

Not all users have separate dedicated computing equipment for mobile and desktop work the vast majority use a laptop for everything. Although there are fantastic models with dedicated graphics (large gaming laptops or professional mobile workstations), they are not usually common among mass consumers or in the education sector, who usually opt for more modest versions with integrated graphics.

To understand the use cases for dedicated graphics, we also include a retailer or professional who uses an ultraportable computer that, while high-end, should be as light as possible and with the most autonomy. Graphics performance is not a priority here either, and they settle for integrated processors. But what happens when you get home or to the office and need the graphics power of a dedicated computer.

Are external graphics profitable?

This is where the product group comes into the picture it has offers more and more and becomes more attractive. It takes advantage of the latest (and greatest) connectivity interfaces like OCuLink and also often doubles as a docking station to add more ports and options.

The model that led us to tell you about these products comes from the BoostR Team and appeared on the crowdfunding portal Indiegogo. Set up a dedicated chart Radeon RX 7600M XT from AMD, which is the most advanced based on the RDNA3 architecture for notebooks. BoostR features a patented cooling system. It supports a default TGP of 100 watts, which can be increased to 120 W (AMD’s highest setting) with a single button.

It is not the fastest available (neither from AMD nor from NVIDIA), but with its 8 Gbytes of dedicated memory, GDDR6 is a commonly used model in external graphics and is used as an example by popular models such as ONEXGPU, AYANEO AG01 or GPD.

Like them, the manufacturer takes the opportunity to provide him with typical parts docking station, which always come out great. In addition to the OCulink port for connecting an external graphics card to the computer, it therefore contains four other high-capacity display interfaces (two Display Port 2.0 and two HDMI 2.1), a USB4 port, a USB 3.2 port and a memory card. reader.

The early booking price for this BoostR model is 499 dollars. The price is much lower than the other GPD or ONE solutions mentioned. Although it can be used with computing equipment such as Mini-PCs (you will see the review in the following video), we believe that its preferred use would be for powering laptops when we use it on a desktop computer.