{"video_id":"FHwXOwTgYB0","title":"Best Desktop Graphics for your Laptop - Proprietary vs. Thunderbolt!","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2018-05-06T14:53:29Z","duration_s":606,"segments":[{"start_s":0.64,"end_s":11.4,"text":"external graphics cards dead or dormant","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":6.919,"end_s":15.12,"text":"stillborn or still relevant well we've","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.4,"end_s":18.88,"text":"got two identically speced laptops and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.12,"end_s":21.88,"text":"both of the top external Graphics docks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.88,"end_s":24.8,"text":"that are ready to battle it out each","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":21.88,"end_s":32.719,"text":"armed with a top-of-the-line NVIDIA GTX 1080 TI but will The Identical specs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.119,"end_s":38.41,"text":"yield identical results for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":32.719,"end_s":43.35,"text":"once no no they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":46.12,"end_s":53.559,"text":"won't the be quiet! purebase 600 features","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.719,"end_s":56.079,"text":"a versatile design noise insulation and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.559,"end_s":61.559,"text":"optimization for different liquid cooled radiator configurations learn more at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.879,"end_s":67.96,"text":"the link below first we need to explain why we're using","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.199,"end_s":71.799,"text":"such op graphics cards the goal here was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":67.96,"end_s":74.68,"text":"to expose any weaknesses or efficiency","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":71.799,"end_s":80.96,"text":"differences between these two by eliminating the graphics card itself as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.159,"end_s":83.439,"text":"a bottleneck and also to make sure that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.96,"end_s":90.56,"text":"both of them can keep even the power hungriest cards safely fed each are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.6,"end_s":95.84,"text":"equipped with plenty of power power the Razer core sports a custom 500 W power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":93.56,"end_s":102.2,"text":"supply while the Alienware Graphics amplifier has a hunt key 460 W ATX power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.6,"end_s":108.399,"text":"supply that was clearly made for a full system and repurposed for this the cor's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":105.32,"end_s":110.24,"text":"aluminum chassis feels solid and opening","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.399,"end_s":115.759,"text":"it up to insert the graphics card only takes a couple of minutes whereas the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":112.799,"end_s":122.2,"text":"graphics amplifier well everything about that setup frankly felt a little janky","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.56,"end_s":124.52,"text":"the build is all plastic and although I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.2,"end_s":128.64,"text":"had the right idea for opening it I actually ended up having to consult the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":126.32,"end_s":133.64,"text":"user manual because it felt like I was going to break it oh God when it got","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.36,"end_s":139.04,"text":"stuck halfway I mean there isn't even RGB Lighting on this one for crying out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.0,"end_s":141.76,"text":"loud and if you thought the poor ease of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":139.04,"end_s":149.44,"text":"use for the amplifier was over think again the connectors on the proprietary","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.16,"end_s":152.599,"text":"cable that carries a PCI Express 3.0 X4","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.44,"end_s":155.239,"text":"signal from the computer to the dock","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":152.599,"end_s":159.28,"text":"have these latches that can actually get caught if you're not careful when you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":156.84,"end_s":165.159,"text":"removing them not to mention that Alienware solution requires a restart of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":162.28,"end_s":169.8,"text":"the laptop whenever you connect or disconnect it so that the internal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.56,"end_s":175.76,"text":"dedicated graphics card can be activated or disabled razor on the other hand","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.84,"end_s":181.56,"text":"keeps up their strong performance in this area just plug in a Thunderbolt 3","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.36,"end_s":186.159,"text":"cable into the blade notebook of your choice they don't officially support","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":183.72,"end_s":191.28,"text":"thirdparty laptops but we'll discuss that more later install the NVIDIA","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.159,"end_s":195.08,"text":"drivers and you're good to go every part","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":191.28,"end_s":199.76,"text":"of the process felt smoother and more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":195.08,"end_s":202.56,"text":"polished on the Razor side though if its","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":199.76,"end_s":208.56,"text":"performance can hold up I suspect many will forgive the Alienware Graphics","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":205.159,"end_s":212.68,"text":"amplifier for its lack of uh spit and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.56,"end_s":214.68,"text":"shine given that retails for 200 bucks a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.68,"end_s":220.84,"text":"whopping $300 less than the core though in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":218.72,"end_s":227.12,"text":"razer's defense with the purchase of a blade laptop you do get $100 off so I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.239,"end_s":231.12,"text":"guess it's only twice the cost of the graphics","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.08,"end_s":234.72,"text":"amplifier let's get to the test every","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.12,"end_s":237.599,"text":"game Benchmark was Run 10 times in a row","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.72,"end_s":242.519,"text":"to reward strong thermal performance and we recorded both the average and and the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.239,"end_s":249.079,"text":"minimum frame rate that was maintained 97% of the time we used identical","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.959,"end_s":252.12,"text":"drivers and settings and ausa's 240 HZ","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.079,"end_s":255.04,"text":"gaming display for both systems","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.12,"end_s":261.0,"text":"everything between them was equal except for one thing gaming","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.479,"end_s":267.24,"text":"performance for Rise of the Tomb Raider and for honor the Alienware pulled out a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.08,"end_s":269.0,"text":"bit ahead of the core while the core","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":267.24,"end_s":275.039,"text":"actually pulled slightly ahead in the all important minimum FPS metric but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":272.72,"end_s":280.479,"text":"where things really got interesting was in Ghost Recon wildlands and DX mankind","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.36,"end_s":286.8,"text":"divided where the Alienware Graphics amplifier showed that it has the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":282.479,"end_s":289.32,"text":"potential to absolutely spank the core","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":286.8,"end_s":295.639,"text":"delivering buttery visuals compared to the questionably playable performance on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":292.56,"end_s":298.32,"text":"Razer solution and as a troubleshooting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.639,"end_s":304.12,"text":"step then we tried comparing them using the built-in laptop display rather than","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":301.0,"end_s":307.039,"text":"an external monitor but this changed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.12,"end_s":312.72,"text":"nothing for Alienware and then generated even slightly lower performance for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.52,"end_s":315.32,"text":"Razer due to the extra display signal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.72,"end_s":319.56,"text":"data being carried back to the blades display something that we actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.0,"end_s":326.319,"text":"tested more thoroughly in the Razer core Deep dive which you can check out here","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.52,"end_s":328.72,"text":"so what gives well we could only think","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.319,"end_s":334.639,"text":"of two differences between these solutions that might affect performance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":331.44,"end_s":336.319,"text":"one thermals either of the CPU in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":334.639,"end_s":343.199,"text":"laptop or the graphics card in the enclosure and two the connection to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.639,"end_s":348.6,"text":"graphics card so to see if thermal throttling was the issue we booted up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":345.52,"end_s":352.24,"text":"Ida 64 and monitored temperatures on our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":348.6,"end_s":353.84,"text":"blade while gaming it got hot but it was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":352.24,"end_s":360.4,"text":"nowhere near overheating then to rule out the laptop","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":357.28,"end_s":362.96,"text":"entirely we gave our 7600 100 HQ","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":360.4,"end_s":369.36,"text":"equipped Blade Pro a shot but it performed nearly identically within our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":365.479,"end_s":371.68,"text":"margin of error no dice let's move on to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":369.36,"end_s":378.16,"text":"that connection then the theoretical bandwidth of the two should be equal in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.0,"end_s":381.08,"text":"GPU Z both have the same number of PCIe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.16,"end_s":384.639,"text":"lanes and the same reported 40 gbit pers second","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":381.96,"end_s":390.44,"text":"bandwidth is there some way that we could pin this on Thunderbolt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":387.319,"end_s":393.24,"text":"3 what if the gigabit ether controller","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":390.44,"end_s":399.0,"text":"on the core is sucking up resources we used disabling device","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":395.52,"end_s":401.479,"text":"manager and it was not very effective so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":399.0,"end_s":406.08,"text":"it was time to go spelunking deep into the depths of the specs searching for a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.16,"end_s":411.24,"text":"single difference between the two and finally we found one in the dark","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.56,"end_s":417.44,"text":"crevices of the device manager on the Alienware amplifier the GPU gets","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":414.16,"end_s":421.36,"text":"connected directly to the PCI controller","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":417.44,"end_s":424.84,"text":"on the CPU so the lanes that it gets are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":421.36,"end_s":427.24,"text":"solely devoted to Graphics the razor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.84,"end_s":432.879,"text":"core on the other hand gets connected through the motherboard chipset meaning","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.96,"end_s":437.319,"text":"that the graphics card has to share its PCI El lanes and perhaps more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":434.68,"end_s":443.879,"text":"importantly the DMI interface with things like networking USB ports and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":440.72,"end_s":446.479,"text":"probably the biggest bandwidth sucker","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":443.879,"end_s":452.039,"text":"storage but can we prove once and for all that the lanes are causing the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":449.039,"end_s":454.44,"text":"bottleneck NE for a complete Apples to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":452.039,"end_s":460.879,"text":"Apples comparison we needed to be able to connect the core to the Alienware 13","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.08,"end_s":465.8,"text":"something Dell doesn't want you to do in spite of the 13th's higher-end four-lane","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":463.84,"end_s":470.319,"text":"implementation of the Thunderbolt 3 standard good news though it turns out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":468.599,"end_s":476.12,"text":"that if you disable enough Alienware Services it will begrudgingly let you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.84,"end_s":478.68,"text":"use a Razer core and in games the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":476.12,"end_s":483.68,"text":"Alienware 13 connected to the core recorded results within our margin of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":480.84,"end_s":487.039,"text":"error proving then that the bottleneck wasn't in the laptop but in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":485.759,"end_s":493.479,"text":"connection itself so final pros and cons list then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":490.84,"end_s":499.039,"text":"Razer has some big advantages they simple setup and hot swapability will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.879,"end_s":503.08,"text":"definitely win over customers who value ease of use and the excellent","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":501.199,"end_s":507.96,"text":"compatibility enabled by using a standard Thunderbolt 3 Connection in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":506.0,"end_s":512.56,"text":"spite of advertising the core as only working with their own blade and blade","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":509.8,"end_s":517.56,"text":"stealth makes them the default winner for many but if you're willing to look","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":515.599,"end_s":522.24,"text":"the other way on build quality a little bit you're willing to Shell out for a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":520.039,"end_s":527.24,"text":"matching Alienware laptop and you want the best no compromises performance out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":524.8,"end_s":535.48,"text":"of your graphics stock at a much lower price the amplifier comes out way","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":532.08,"end_s":538.44,"text":"ahead Fiverr is totally unique it's this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":535.48,"end_s":543.56,"text":"huge digital marketplace where Freelancers startups and small","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":540.44,"end_s":546.76,"text":"businesses connect and as Fiverr says","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":543.56,"end_s":548.72,"text":"get stuff done whether you're in a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":546.76,"end_s":553.079,"text":"startup or a small company and you need a logo or business plan or maybe you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":550.76,"end_s":558.12,"text":"need an entire website developed for you Fiverr has the talent pool that can get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":556.12,"end_s":563.24,"text":"it done at a price that fits your budget so check out some of the gigs that we'","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":561.04,"end_s":570.279,"text":"use through our landing page at the link below and the first 300 viewers who use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":567.24,"end_s":573.24,"text":"code Linus will get 20% off Fiverr","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":570.279,"end_s":577.48,"text":"services so join the hash inders We Trust movement on Fiverr and start","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":575.519,"end_s":581.2,"text":"getting it done today so thanks for watching guys if you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":579.8,"end_s":584.92,"text":"dislike this video you can hit that button but if you liked it hit like get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":583.48,"end_s":590.04,"text":"subscribed maybe consider checking out where to buy the stuff we featured at the link in the video description also","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":588.6,"end_s":593.959,"text":"down there is our merch store where you can buy cool shirts like this one as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":591.8,"end_s":598.68,"text":"well as a link to our community Forum where you can discuss all kinds of Great","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":596.32,"end_s":604.16,"text":"Tech things like could you run both of them in SL on the Alienware 13 to which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":601.839,"end_s":607.16,"text":"the answer is unfortunately no we did try","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"external graphics cards dead or dormant stillborn or still relevant well we've got two identically speced laptops and both of the top external Graphics docks that are ready to battle it out each armed with a top-of-the-line NVIDIA GTX 1080 TI but will The Identical specs yield identical results for once no no they won't the be quiet! purebase 600 features a versatile design noise insulation and optimization for different liquid cooled radiator configurations learn more at the link below first we need to explain why we're using such op graphics cards the goal here was to expose any weaknesses or efficiency differences between these two by eliminating the graphics card itself as a bottleneck and also to make sure that both of them can keep even the power hungriest cards safely fed each are equipped with plenty of power power the Razer core sports a custom 500 W power supply while the Alienware Graphics amplifier has a hunt key 460 W ATX power supply that was clearly made for a full system and repurposed for this the cor's aluminum chassis feels solid and opening it up to insert the graphics card only takes a couple of minutes whereas the graphics amplifier well everything about that setup frankly felt a little janky the build is all plastic and although I had the right idea for opening it I actually ended up having to consult the user manual because it felt like I was going to break it oh God when it got stuck halfway I mean there isn't even RGB Lighting on this one for crying out loud and if you thought the poor ease of use for the amplifier was over think again the connectors on the proprietary cable that carries a PCI Express 3.0 X4 signal from the computer to the dock have these latches that can actually get caught if you're not careful when you're removing them not to mention that Alienware solution requires a restart of the laptop whenever you connect or disconnect it so that the internal dedicated graphics card can be activated or disabled razor on the other hand keeps up their strong performance in this area just plug in a Thunderbolt 3 cable into the blade notebook of your choice they don't officially support thirdparty laptops but we'll discuss that more later install the NVIDIA drivers and you're good to go every part of the process felt smoother and more polished on the Razor side though if its performance can hold up I suspect many will forgive the Alienware Graphics amplifier for its lack of uh spit and shine given that retails for 200 bucks a whopping $300 less than the core though in razer's defense with the purchase of a blade laptop you do get $100 off so I guess it's only twice the cost of the graphics amplifier let's get to the test every game Benchmark was Run 10 times in a row to reward strong thermal performance and we recorded both the average and and the minimum frame rate that was maintained 97% of the time we used identical drivers and settings and ausa's 240 HZ gaming display for both systems everything between them was equal except for one thing gaming performance for Rise of the Tomb Raider and for honor the Alienware pulled out a bit ahead of the core while the core actually pulled slightly ahead in the all important minimum FPS metric but where things really got interesting was in Ghost Recon wildlands and DX mankind divided where the Alienware Graphics amplifier showed that it has the potential to absolutely spank the core delivering buttery visuals compared to the questionably playable performance on Razer solution and as a troubleshooting step then we tried comparing them using the built-in laptop display rather than an external monitor but this changed nothing for Alienware and then generated even slightly lower performance for Razer due to the extra display signal data being carried back to the blades display something that we actually tested more thoroughly in the Razer core Deep dive which you can check out here so what gives well we could only think of two differences between these solutions that might affect performance one thermals either of the CPU in the laptop or the graphics card in the enclosure and two the connection to the graphics card so to see if thermal throttling was the issue we booted up Ida 64 and monitored temperatures on our blade while gaming it got hot but it was nowhere near overheating then to rule out the laptop entirely we gave our 7600 100 HQ equipped Blade Pro a shot but it performed nearly identically within our margin of error no dice let's move on to that connection then the theoretical bandwidth of the two should be equal in GPU Z both have the same number of PCIe lanes and the same reported 40 gbit pers second bandwidth is there some way that we could pin this on Thunderbolt 3 what if the gigabit ether controller on the core is sucking up resources we used disabling device manager and it was not very effective so it was time to go spelunking deep into the depths of the specs searching for a single difference between the two and finally we found one in the dark crevices of the device manager on the Alienware amplifier the GPU gets connected directly to the PCI controller on the CPU so the lanes that it gets are solely devoted to Graphics the razor core on the other hand gets connected through the motherboard chipset meaning that the graphics card has to share its PCI El lanes and perhaps more importantly the DMI interface with things like networking USB ports and probably the biggest bandwidth sucker storage but can we prove once and for all that the lanes are causing the bottleneck NE for a complete Apples to Apples comparison we needed to be able to connect the core to the Alienware 13 something Dell doesn't want you to do in spite of the 13th's higher-end four-lane implementation of the Thunderbolt 3 standard good news though it turns out that if you disable enough Alienware Services it will begrudgingly let you use a Razer core and in games the Alienware 13 connected to the core recorded results within our margin of error proving then that the bottleneck wasn't in the laptop but in the connection itself so final pros and cons list then Razer has some big advantages they simple setup and hot swapability will definitely win over customers who value ease of use and the excellent compatibility enabled by using a standard Thunderbolt 3 Connection in spite of advertising the core as only working with their own blade and blade stealth makes them the default winner for many but if you're willing to look the other way on build quality a little bit you're willing to Shell out for a matching Alienware laptop and you want the best no compromises performance out of your graphics stock at a much lower price the amplifier comes out way ahead Fiverr is totally unique it's this huge digital marketplace where Freelancers startups and small businesses connect and as Fiverr says get stuff done whether you're in a startup or a small company and you need a logo or business plan or maybe you need an entire website developed for you Fiverr has the talent pool that can get it done at a price that fits your budget so check out some of the gigs that we' use through our landing page at the link below and the first 300 viewers who use code Linus will get 20% off Fiverr services so join the hash inders We Trust movement on Fiverr and start getting it done today so thanks for watching guys if you dislike this video you can hit that button but if you liked it hit like get subscribed maybe consider checking out where to buy the stuff we featured at the link in the video description also down there is our merch store where you can buy cool shirts like this one as well as a link to our community Forum where you can discuss all kinds of Great Tech things like could you run both of them in SL on the Alienware 13 to which the answer is unfortunately no we did try"}