external GPUs and Thunderbolt 3...what's the reality?

Hi all and happy Sunday!

I have approached that point in my life when I must replace the gaming laptop again (my current machine is an Asus g74 that has served very well for almost 7 years. So, amidst all of the advances, I face that eternal question of "how much laptop should I buy". Anything I buy now will be leaps and bounds above what I have, naturally, but I'm left wondering if we'll see a true upgrade path in the future.

With Thunderbolt 3, will we begin to see bonafide universal eGPUs? If so, then does it make sense to max out the refresh rate of the screen? (Part of my debate is I can get a cheaper 1060 with a 60mhz refresh rate and a thunderbolt, but would the thunderbolt really be kinda useless).

I appreciate any and all input!

 

@D2 Ultima I summon you.

 

I guess my impression thus far is that eGPU's are being generally leveraged against ultrabooks (assuming they have the PCI express lanes to do it, which was a bit of a revelation in itself) and maybe driving external monitors rather than the laptop screen. Wondering if those are the general cases and, if power and universal compatibility also seems to be not so evolved yet, then I likely wouldn't bother making thunderbolt a requirement this upgrade cycle. Still looking for general thoughts. Thank you yrekabakery for summoning folks ( ' :

 

Thanks very much D2Ultima, I appreciate the info. +++++rep.

Given I won't have external monitors, I shall not make that a requirement.

 

glad to help

 

I second this. TB3 is a huge bottleneck and not worth the time in gaming laptops.

 

DON'T Buy an External GPU Right Now, Here's Why They Aren't Great
Hardware Unboxed
Published on Jun 26, 2018