MSI GS43VR Phantom Pro's Owner's Lounge

I didnt know it was that easy to which the network card as well! Maybe in the future then...
I'm gonna use arctic silver 5! Hope it works as well as the extreme variants

Wow really? Awesome! Just what I need, mine can't cool itself enough even on max fans in Witcher 3, goes to 90 and the game starts lagging hehe. Might be the summer temprature's fault as well (34c) but but.

 

Here is stock running on Windows 7


Here is after repaste running on Windows 10

 

Changed my cooling paste!
Does wonders, the fan does not have to work so hard anymore, still goes high temps in witcher 3 but does not start lagging to be able to handle temps anymore. (summer is here and inside temperature is 30c). As stated earlier, supereasy to change the paste as well, you do not need to loosen the fans themselves, just loosen the screws and lift, might be a little stuck at first. Original pastework is a joke, was thermal paste everywhere.
Would have taken pictures but my phone is broken!
Cheers!!

 

Anyone know how to make the iGPU the default when connected to an external monitor via hdmi? Mine always defaults to the nvidia gpu when connected to the hdmi port but defaults to the iGPU when connected via USBC port hub. Thanks in advance.

 

The HDMI port and DisplayPort are wired directly to the nvidia GPU, so it isn't possible to use them with the iGPU.

 

Thanks so much for that, been going crazy looking for a fix thinking drivers or something must be wrong.

 

Hey, new to the forums here. I have had a gs43vr for a few months now. Very satisfied with it, although it does run hot. I want to repaste the cpu and gpu, I just have a quick question for those of you who have done so. Did you also change out the thermal pads on the gpu memory, and if so what height thermal pads did you use?

 

Hi folks.

I'm in the market for a new c.14" gaming laptop. Trying to decide between the MSI GS43VR, the Gigabyte Aero 14 and the Aorus x3+ v7.

Any strong opinions on pros/cons between these laptops?

Many thanks!
P.

 

Hey steberg, did you do anything else (undervolt or anything) on your system as well. I just finished repasting with Gelid Extreme (and changing network card to intel 8265) and changing the stock thermal pads (used 1.0 thickness) and my temps went from around max 90 on CPU after running 3DMark on Sport mode with fans on Auto to around consistent 79 so I was happy anyway as it was about a 10 difference. My graphics card temps were about the same as yours after repaste. But I saw you have your CPU temps down in the mid 60's after 3DMark test and repaste and also your 13157 Score mark blows away mine (????). I have the exact same system, running Windows 10 Creator Edition, so I am wondering why the temp disparity one, and especially the 3D Mark score two?? Overclock? Anything?

**EDIT** Steberg...i didn't notice you were running 3DMark 11. I am running version 12 and using the basic free Fire Strike 1.1 to bench....i consistently get around a score of 10,100 to 10,200 final score . I am curious though...can anyone that has this comp is this a decent score with 3DMark Firestrike 1.1 as the bench or is it still lower than it should be. Steberg, can you download the latest free version of 3DMark and run Fire Strike and post your combined final score at the end and your temps with that? Thanks everyone!!!

 

I wanted 1080p, 14" screen, and as light as possible (carrying it as a 2nd laptop for work trips) - plus I prefer MSI as a company versus the other options. Very happy with my GS43VR 7RE.

 

I'll upload some benchmarks later today. And I UV the CPU with -100mv

 

Ok, so here are my Firestrike scoore
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/20205723.
And Time Spy
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/20205577.
I'm suprised how cool this notebook is.
Here is also Superposition look at the temp, running 1080 extreme

 

So I'm leaning towards grabbing this laptop over the Aorus X3+ or the Aero 14. May I ask if:

a) the stuttering issue is definitively fixed by getting the intel wireless card and a clean Win 10 install (both of which HIDEvolution offer)?

b) which SSD drive should I go for - I want 512mb and while cost isn't really an issue I don't want to just waste money - so the choices are
i: an unnamed "HIDEvolution Approved 512GB M.2 SATA SSD (+$144)
ii: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2 SATA (+$167)
iii: HIDevolution Approved 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD (+$240)
iv: Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 3D-VNAND SSD (+$265)
v: Samsung 960 Pro 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 3D-VNAND SSD (+$365)

c) XoticPC has a model named the MSI GS43VR PRO-210 while HID Evolution has the MSO GS43VR PRO-069. Is there any real differences between the Pro-210 and the Pro-069 apart from optional choices like RAM, SSD type, etc?

Any advice on the resolution of stuttering, model differences and SSD choices would be hugely appreciated.

Many thanks all!
P.

 

Hello,

Let me confirm that on mine was gone after installing all latest drivers from manufactures... BUT it all get back after couple of days and some Microsoft updates etc... so before I give that device to my family member 3 weeks ago I change thermal paste and killer wifi, and guess what... not only it is working cooler but as well stuttering issues is gone! And to be honest it is so easy to change paste, all can be done in less then 15/20min, even if you never did it before!

 

Thanks IOmazic. After having read through a lot of this thread my guess is that changing the killer wifi is what solved the stuttering issue for you, but it can't hurt to repaste! I've done a fair bit of repasting of CPUs in my life but if I buy this laptop I will get the reseller to do the repasting for me this time I think! Thanks again.
P.

 

Thank you Steberg! I feel much better now because my scores are right around yours with Firestrike. I am going to under volt for the first time ever here soon to see if I can get those CPU temps consistently down in the mid 60's too. Doesn't seem like it is too hard to do.

And Petrov, i bit my lip and repasted with Gelid Extreme and it was pretty easy like IOmazic said. Very easy to get to the CPU/GPU without having to take the whole dang thing apart. Just a few screws on the fans then the heatpipes and it pops right off. Made about a 10 degree drop difference in mine PLUS i was able to finally change out the Killer card to an Intel 8265 card with the heat pipes out of the way....runs cooler and no stutters on this end either. So well worth it....be aware though if you DO change out the wireless card yourself, the black/white antenna cables are reversed going from the Killer to Intel so just make sure the right color cable matches the right color little arrow on the card...

 

Thanks a lot guys! Any advice as to which SSD to choose?

P.

 

I just threw in a couple Crucial MX300 SSD on mine and they work fine and dandy and are fast. I don't need super blistering speed for the $200-$300 price difference and it is more than fast enough for everyday use and games. I have a Samsung 850 Pro SSD in another laptop and while a little faster, really in general you can't that much a difference for the price difference between that and the Crucial. Very good Price/Performance ratio. Unless you need blistering speed those should save you some money and still give you very good speed and reliability. But I think you are ordering and the Samsung models are all you have to choose from...did HIDEvolution say which type/brand is their "approved SSD"?

 

Nothing is definitive. Getting the Intel wireless card is probably the biggest factor, and will likely resolve (or reduce) the issue, but unfortunately results are not 100% guaranteed.

I recommend the Samsung 850 Evo 500GB M.2 SSD. The HID drive is likely not as fast as the 850 Evo, and it's barely cheaper. Also, in most real-world uses (like gaming), the 850 Evo is not noticeably slower than a PCIe SSD, and it's much cheaper (and runs cooler). Here's a pretty good guide comparing top-end SATA SSDs like the 850 Evo to PCIe SSDs like the Samsung 950: http://techreport.com/review/28032/a-fresh-look-at-storage-performance-with-pcie-ssds

Also, I use a 500GB M.2 850 Evo in my GS43VR, and it's plenty fast.

 

Thanks guys re the SSD. Regarding the "approved" HIDEVolution SSD, this is what they emailed me:

"HIDevolution PCIe M.2 SSD - Samsung PM951, PM961, SM961, Toshiba XG3

Are you after a SATA or PCIe SSD? If the latter, I would suggest the Samsung 960 EVO series since it is only incrementally more than the HIDevolution approved PCIe SSDs."

Now I've started looking my eye has been taken by the new Asus Zephyrus 15" thin and light laptop with the 1080MQ (gimped 1080 GTX). Argh!

 

Leave the default OS drive as-is. It's not a great drive (mine is a Lite-on M.2 128GB) but it is just fine. I replaced my 1TB 7200RPM HDD with a 1TB Samsung 850 EVO that I had hanging around from a build that I took apart. It is very easy to install drives on your own - so I wouldn't worry too much about having them upgraded by a 3rd party. Just buy from the cheapest place (be it MicroCenter, NewEgg, etc.).

I have had zero stuttering issues and I am still using the Killer wireless...but your mileage may vary.

I just don't see the value of buying a laptop like this and spending a ton upgrading it. I lived with the stock 128GB M.2 and 1TB HDD for quite some time and it was just fine. I just opted to tear down one of my gaming workstations due to moving to a new house, so I had a spare SSD to take advantage of in my GS43VR 7RE.

 

SUTTERING FIX FOR ME
I uninstalled ELAN touchpad app and disable auto driver install (via an app called wushowhide if i remember correctly.. seems like a troubleshooting windows app) for my touchpad and my stuttering problems are 100% completely gone. Ive also uninstalled loads of bloatware and went kaspersky instead of norton. I still keep the dragon centre app so I can monitor temp and coolboost.

THE STUTTERING PROBLEM
I started noticing stuttering problems when I am using only trackpad & I had the ELAN touchpad app .

OTHERS
I can alo confirm apple thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2/1 adapter works. I can access and work my mac formatted ARECA 8bay raid. But I have to have the raid driver & I bought Paragon HFS+. Thats all you need! Ive also changed my thermal paste to Gelid GC Extreme, upgraded to 32gb ballistix sport ram & waiting for my Samsung EVO 1tb hdd to arrive.

Great little machine. I use it for PremierePro 4K editing and occasional Davinci. Hope this is usefull!

 

Hey, basically anything is okay. I used Arctic Silver 5 cooling paste, works very well! The original pastejob is horrible.

 

Hi,
I registered here because I also have this micro-stutter issue, mainly with the touchpad freezing for a second or two using chrome, office, etc (I hate actually this touchpad, because its poor quality) but the most horrible issue is with youtube videos, it's so annoying, freezing, lagging very often and its worse and worse. I did my job and have red all the 113 pages of the forum But since I'm not a notebook guru like you, would you help me to confirm if I'm right at the following questions?
- some people solved the stuttering issue by receiving the win 10 creators update. I didn't have any clue what is this, but after digging the net a little bit, I think I have this version as well, this is the system info: OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home Version 10.0.15063 Build 15063. So the creators update did not solve the issue in my case I guess?
- I contacted the MSI Techsupport, and they wanted me to do a BIOS update. I asked them many times to provide at least the change log of the new version or to confirm that the BIOS update will surely fix the issue. They did not answer, did not provide, moreover it's nowhere available on the net, I did not see anywhere to be stated that this would surely solve this issue. I'm afraid to do a BIOS update if it does not fix the issue, plus I've never done such flash update, I something goes wrong I will have just a piece of metal or I will face with completely different new issues - if I understood well the risk. Do you know what this BIOS version changes, is it worth to update? I have the 6RE version.
- now MSI proposed RMA. I have doubts that it is worth to spend the money to send the notebook to the service and to be without notebook for a month. What is your opinion, is there any advantage to send it to them, would they be able to fix this issue, or do they refund on replace if not? I would not have doubts to send it if it would be just a change of a ventillator, or just repair. But this issue seems to be so complex - because there is no clear root cause - and I dont think they will spend hours just to try all the workarounds what the owners have already discovered. What do you think? Can I ask RMA later from MSI if I dont send now?

I have already tried to apply some solution ideas, bahh, I have already got an excels list to follow up this workaround. So far what I discovered is that the issue doesnt appear on external screen but the dGPU preferred nvidia setting does not help. I reinstalled the ELAN driver, no succes, but the stutter does not came at all if I use Bluetooth connected external mouse. The wifi connection drops quite often but I thought its AT&T stupidity, but if I disable the Killer card, no succes, the video still lagging, freezing. Oh, I also have this DPC latency issue, what I think I understand only as much as it's really needed, but the issues is caused mainly by Wdf01000.sys but this is not a driver so what the hell to fix here, and by the ndis.sys which is the Killer card driver or what? That's I hasnt updated yet.

What I think that it is not worth to update the BIOS and send the machine to MSI, but more play required by myself, and I hope after I while I will find which solution works in my case. I hope I will find, because I'm already out of the 30 days Amazon return policy, but still within the MSI warranty.

What would you propose? I appreciate any idea or opinion, thanks in advance.

 

Sounds like it. Not every user's stuttering issues have been fixed by the Creators Update, unfortunately.

They are most likely just shooting in the dark. Despite having been contacted by multiple users, MSI technical support seems to have no clue about this issue or how to fix it. I personally wouldn't risk a BIOS update unless I knew for sure it'd fix the issue, and given that they refuse to provide a changelog to you, I highly doubt that the BIOS update does fix it.

You should always be able to ask for an RMA, there aren't time limits on that (at least until the warranty period expires). It sounds like you're taking the right approach by putting that off and seeing if you can find another solution.

It sounds like you might have already seen it, but if not, have you checked out this thread about the micro-sutters and DPC latency, and possible solutions? Maybe there's a solution lurking for you in there. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ers-or-mouse-pointer-freezes-try-this.798873/

If your ndis.sys latency is high, I recommend that you experiment with disabling wifi, running off of LAN, and seeing if your stuttering improves - it might indicate that you'd be well served by swapping out the Killer wireless card with an Intel wireless card.

 

thanks a lot for your opinion! Now I'm bit fed up, so I did not do anything in the last some days, but I will go on with your tips.

 

Hi guys, iam new here and registered only to post in this owners lounge
i got the MSI GS43VR 7RE 064DE for 1325€ on amazon NEW.
they didnt cancel my order and it is shpping! wohoo

What i want to do:
- change the 1TB HDD for my 512GB SSD 850 PRO
- install my linux (im a developer) on the nvme ssd
- install my own windows 10 pro on the Samsung SSD
- repaste and while iam doing that change the killer for intel 8260
- undervolting

EVERYTHING is arriving today. Iam really looking forward to go home from the office and start tinkering with my new baby

iam planning on building a USB-C Dock. Firstly i wanted to use this laptop for an egpu. but the laptop almost gets the same FPS in CS:GO, PUBG ,etc. as my desktop(4770k, 32GB, ASUS GTX970) now (which will be sold in 4weeks). so need for that right now the gs43vr will be plugged in instead of my desktop.
So now i want a litte stand for my laptop which offers the following ports.
- Enough USB 3.0 (at least 4)
- 1x Displayport
- 1x LAN-Port
- audio in- and output

so i ordered a usb-c to displayport/usb3.0 adapter. in this usb 3.0 i will hookup my usb 3.0 active hub. in this active hub i will put all my periphals and my usb 3.0 to ethernet dongle and my headphone amp and my usb soundcard.

my dad has a cnc milling machine so i will put this all in nice looking carbon fibre box which will almost look like a thin client which is also a stand for my laptop.

dongle, adapter, dongle, adapter, dongle, adapter :O

 

I personally updated the bios and have creators update and micro stuttering reduced by about 95% for my setup. Had the bios update prior to the creators update and had a lot of micro stuttering so am not sure if its the combination of bios update and creators update that helped or simply the creators update alone would suffice for my version. In terms of the wifi card, had lots of issues with it crashing my system and dropping but after manually updating it http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads works flawlessly just in case you've not tried to new drivers.

 

I just received the GS43VR today, and I immediately downloaded League of Legends to test out the GPU strength of this laptop. Before doing so, I also deleted several bloatware applications like Candy Crush, Minecraft, etc. However, when I got into a game of League of Legends, my game began to lag quite a bit, and eventually crash, restarting my computer. I decided to try and play the game once more, but this time turn the fans up and also delete Norton which kept placing pop-ups on my screen. Deleting Norton did help stop the crashing, but the lagging did not stop, with the game periodically switching tabs to my desktop and opening back up one second later.
My next guess was to unplug the charger, and this did stop the game from switching tabs and reopening, but having the laptop not plugged in for gaming is not ideal, as I got a mere 30 frames per second (Other lower-spec computers get around average 100-200 frames per second). Whenever I tried plugging the charger back in, the game would again get decent framerates, but still switch tabs and reopen when I tried to play. League of Legends is definitely not graphically demanding, so changing graphic settings did not make a difference. It seems to be an issue involving the CPU usage fluctuating greatly, with CPU performance dipping down and going back up (explaining why the game keeps switching to a different tab then reopening again). This all happens when I plug in the charger, but when I unplug it, the framerate drops to an uncomfortable rate. Is there any explanation to this, or any possible solution?

 

Which Windows 10 Version did it come with? My GS43VR 7RE came with an older Win version, and it needed to be updated to Creators edition to get rid of lags. Also a clean install is also preferred.
Now I'm running windows 7 and it works flawless... But it's not for everyone.

 

Delete please.

 

Hey, everyone. It's been a while since I was on this thread!

I recently added an eGPU solution (EGFX Breakaway Box 550 watt + GTX 1080 Ti) to my 7th gen GS43. Would any of you be interested in a writeup on performance?

I can do 1080p and 1440p ultrawide.

Let me know.

 

Yes please !

 

Absolutely!

 

I'd love to hear the results at both resolutions!

 

Looking forward to your findings, thanks!

 

Hi All,

William's here. Im considering to purchase this laptop for its portability value.

My main concern is anyone heard roumour about coffee lake refresh for msi gs43?

Thanks in advance!

Sent from my Mi Note 2 using Tapatalk

 

The rumor is that Intel 8th Gen "Coffee Lake" laptop CPUs will release late in the 1st Qtr. of 2018, and will run hotter than "Kaby Lake". You might want to consider getting "Kaby Lake" while you still can.

 

definitely interested!

especially since kaby lake is already running quite hot on this laptop

 

I'll have a basic write up sometime this week, before the weekend.
I plan to use the following games:

• 3d Mark Firestrike
• 3d Mark Timespy
• Heaven
• Superposition
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (DX12)
• GTA V
• Gears of War 4
• Metro 2033 / Last Light Redux (Maybe)
• Destiny 2 (Maybe)

Resolutions will be 1080P and 1440P Ultrawide

GTX 1060 will be at DEFAULT clocks (tested on internal and external monitor)
GTX 1080 Ti will be at FACTORY DEFAULT clocks (tested only on external monitor)


I will only do 2 runs, back to back per benchmark (just to verify consistency)
I'll note CPU usage, and CPU temp when switching from dGPU to eGPU.

Any other requests? I can't say I'll do them, but I'll try if I have time.

 

BTW, has anyone updated to this bios?

• Bios - E14A3IMS.30C
• https://www.msi.com/Laptop/support/GS43VR-7RE-Phantom-Pro.html

Just curious if there may be some hidden performance increase or the purpose of this update...

 

Yes, I have flashed the E14A3IMS.30C bios. I can't tell any difference, guess it was only a Intel microcode update for their HT-bug.

 

what was the bug? I'm curious now... might update my bios before conducting my tests. So far, eGPU has been a little underwhelming but good.

 

Intel HyperThreading Bug in Kaby Lake and Skylake, you can read about it here;
https://wccftech.com/intel-hyperthr...sors-was-addressed-by-bios-fix-in-april-2017/

 

Could be placebo, but I saw a 5-7% increase in FPS. Destiny 2 went from 45FPS to 48FPS.
Granted, I didn't do any hardcore testing. I literally just booted the game and sat at a loaded map.
If anything, its an easy update with a potential for improved performance.

 

Should have already been patched probably in a BIOS release back in April with microcode update.

 

From the changelog;
Model : MS-14A3
MKT Name : GS43VR 7RE

;****************************************************************************;

New BIOS : E14A3IMS.30C
ROM CheckSum : 0x2A52
Release Date : 2017/08/16

;--------------------------- Description ------------------------------------;

1. Patch for Intel Hyper-Threading error. (Skylake and Kaby Lake Processors Only)

 

Very nice, thanks for sharing. Seems like it took them awhile to get it released.

 

Sorry everyone, got hyper busy at work. I'll have my data up this Wednesday.

 

*EDIT 11/9/17, see bottom*

Hey everyone,

After a week delay, here’s my small review of test results with the GS43 and GTX 1060, vs the eGPU GTX 1080 Ti.

This is a quick and dirty mini-review to help you decide if eGPU is worth it.


System:

MSI GS43VR 7RE

Intel Core i7 7700HQ (-132mV undervolt)

GTX 1060

1TB Samsung 960 Pro M.2

2TB Samsung 850 Evo

16GB DDR4 RAM 2400MHz


Sonnet eGFX Breakway Box 550

MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X


Resolutions – 1920x1080, 3440x1440​

Setup:

Setup was very easy. Install the 1080 Ti into the eGPU box, plug in the power, and plug in the Thunderbolt 3 cable to the port. The eGPU will remain off until it is plugged into the laptop. When unplugged, it will shut off again.

Once plugged in, the laptop immediately recognized the GPU and listed it as such. I installed the latest drivers, and it was ready to go. It looks like MAC users are the ones who have the most issues with this setup. For me, it was literally plugged, install drivers, and play!

Note that, you can turn on the computer with the eGPU plugged in, or you can plug in after being turned on. If you turn on the laptop with the eGPU plugged in, it will show the GTX 1060 as inactive, but powered in the background. This does NOTHING to performance. If you’ve been playing on your laptop and decide to plug in, the GTX 1060 may remain active if there is a program utilizing it. There is an icon in your toolbar that shows what each GPU is doing. You can close the application the 1060 is using to render it inactive.


Also, update your laptops with the latest bios and thunderbolt firmware available on the MSI website. I noticed a 5-10% increase in FPS when doing so. Results may depend on your current firmware. My laptop was utilizing firmware from January 2017.


Test methodology:

• Each GPU was set to factory settings
• Only games with a built-in benchmark were used
• Games were set to the highest PRESET available. I did not tweak single options to go higher than the presets.
• Games were run twice to verify consistency. If test 1 was 60 fps, and test 2 was 58.7 fps, I used the lower number and rounded DOWN. If there was a difference of ~2%, I would rerun the game 2 more times. Since this is a quick and dirty test, I consider this “good enough”.

Results :


Rise of the Tomb Raider (AVG FPS)

1060 @1080p - 62

1080 Ti @1080p - 79

1060 @1440P UW - 30

1080 Ti @1440P UW - 61​

Gears of War 4 (AVG FPS)

1060 @1080p - 76

1080 Ti @1080p - 101

1060 @1440P UW - 36

1080 Ti @1440P UW - 71​

Heaven (Score)

1060 @1080p - 1462

1080 Ti @1080p - 2732

1060 @1440P UW - 654

1080 Ti @1440P UW - 1540​

I had issues with Superposition doing 1080P and providing a score and didn't have time to do 3d mark. I'll do those when I have time.


Conclusion:

As you can tell from the data gathered, the additional 1080 Ti makes games run at high FPS. There is a performance increase when using the 1080 Ti but also a MASSIVE performance drop when utilizing a 1080P display (when compared to a desktop with full 16x PCI-E). If you’re gaming at 1080P, maybe even 1080P ultrawide, the GTX 1060 in the laptop is more than enough for you. If you’re like me and want 1440p, 1440p ultrawide, or even 4k, then eGPU may BE AN OPTION FOR YOU. The higher resolution you go, the less of a performance drop you will receive.

Cost is a big factor. The eGFX box cost $350 USD and the GTX 1080 Ti cost $750 USD, for a total of $1100 before tax! That’s a VERY hefty price tag. It’s up to you if you think it’s worth it. For me personally, I think the investment is worth it, but I didn’t think that in the beginning. At first, I wasn’t amazed by the performance, I expected a lot more. But after 2 weeks of having it, I now think it’s worth it due to these reasons:

1. A system for everything. My GS43 is used for school, gaming, and media production. I can take it anywhere and utilize it for all my needs. I can then save my work, go home, plug in the eGPU and continue school, gaming, or media production without a hitch
2. Upgradability. My desktop is a custom water loop. It’s a pain to drain the loop, add a new card with a new water block, and refill it. I can literally swap out cards in under 5 minutes and start playing.

In conclusion, unless you’re playing at very high resolutions, I wouldn’t add an eGPU to your setup. The cost and performance gained just aren't worth it IMO. I would consider adding one in once the GTX 1060 cannot run the latest games to your satisfaction or if you want to bump up your resolution.


I hope this mini-review helps, let me know if you have any questions.


Take care everyone.

-JayR481


Edit 11/9/17
I forgot to talk about CPU usage. You can see in Tomb Raider, the difference at 1080P between the 1060 and 1080 Ti is super low. I ended up being CPU and possibly PCI-E limited in that game.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_gtx_1080_ti_gaming_x_review,13.html
As you can see, I should have been over 170FPS, but I think the CPU and Thunderbolt limitations took over at 1080P. If you look at the 4k benchmark, I'm 5FPS below their test. That's about ~7% loss. Not bad considering the GPU is running through Thunderbolt and 4x PCI-E 3 lanes. As I said in my conclusion, you won't gain a huge amount at 1080P with an eGPU solution. The 1060 is good enough.