GIGABYTE Gaming Box RX 580 8G Graphic Card eGPU (GV-RX580IXEB-8GD)

*** Update / Tip for those who hear excessive fan noise ***For those who complain the fans are loud and always on, I noticed the same. At first, the fans were quiet and ramped up appropriately under load. Then as days elapsed, I noticed that the fans would immediately run full blast on first boot up even after not being used for a while, like say overnight.I was able to fix this behavior by simply unplugging the unit out of the wall socket if/when that behavior was exhibited, and plugging it in the next morning when I need to boot up the computer. Now the unit will stay nice and quiet most of the time.Paired this with a new 2018 Dell XPS 13 9370 (i7, 512GB PCI SSD, 16GB RAM).Either of the 2 TB3 ports on the left edge of the notebook can be used to connect with the RX 580 gaming box.The USB 3 ports on the box can be used to effectively hook up all peripherals, hubs, external drives, and all went without a hitch.My strategy is basically to replace my desktop PC with this solution, one that works particularly well for me.I leave the gaming box with everything attached to it on the desk, and when on the go, simply unplug the TB3 cable and off I go.Installation was stupidly easy. I was prepared to locate all the upgraded drivers for the notebook and scour the Gigabyte Aorus website to locate software and such.However, the first time I plugged it in, the gaming box was recognized and the TB software popped up to "approve" the device. Everything seemed to go very smoothly.I downloaded and installed the latest Radeon drivers.That's it.Performance is on par for what this box delivers, an RX 580 gaming experience that can run 1080p on mostly maxxed out settings for modern titles.I benchmarked this using Time Spy in comparison with my gaming desktop that this is supposed to replace, an entry-level but effective core i5 6500 GTX1060 rig:Dell XPS: Intel Core i7-8550U Processor, AMD Radeon RX 580>>> 3912 Time Spy <<<Desktop: Intel Core i5-6500 Processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060-6GB>>> 3913 Time Spy <<<Basically, ho-hum identical results. I ran the benchmark with a nice, chilly fan cooler blowing directly into the rear exhaust grills of the Dell notebook, and a second fan blowing air directly at the rear of the RX 580 gaming box. It does not really need this extra bit of cooling but I figured it wouldn't hurt, and this is basically how the notebook and gaming box is setup on my desk.Not all a bed of roses.Things can sometimes get a bit finicky for no obvious reason. Not enough to come anywhere close to being more than suffering the occasional irritating glitch.When I plug in the gaming box to the closer TB3 port, all usually goes well and I don't experience any hangups.But on rare occasion, when plugged into the distal TB3 port, the Dell system will hang until I unplug the TB3 cable, or I will very rarely get a BSOD.I haven't been able to reliably reproduce this behavior and I have yet to pin it down. It might be the plethora of peripherals I have attached to the gaming box, it might be a USB device that plays foul...Will update this review if I define the issue better.Overall, this is a very satisfying, albeit pricey, solution that fits the bill very well for a complete desktop replacement setup, one that allows me to carry all my work on the go and not have to sacrifice any gaming performance for when I am in the mood to fire up a gaming session at home.Of course, if I am also in need of taking the box on the go, it's easily doable and packs very easy, very light.A solid 5 stars!

3 - 4 RMA's later I think I've come to the conclusion that this is the worst product I've ever purchased in my entire life.In Windows 10 the box struggled to connect properly causing me to unplug and plug the thunderbolt cable 3 - 4 times, restart the computer and sacrifice my firstborn child before the thing ever decides to come on. Keep in mind this is the struggle just to get the box to connect to the computer!Later, you'll run into lagging text in VS code, lagging chrome, lagging games, lagging anything that requires hardware acceleration from the GPU.Linux is equally bad.I ended up selling the box on ebay to try to recoup my lose and apparently the box causes kernel panics on Mac as well.Gigabyte you should have never released this product. It is so bad I don't ever want to buy your products ever again. All of them.Whoever thought this product was a good idea needs to be fired.

Works well with OSX 10.13.4 and is currently driving 3 - 2k monitors. It it a little loud, not unbearable but it is a constant hum and certainly noticeable. Also the fan moves a fair amount of warm air around too. After running for about 30 minutes (desktop only, no gaming) the exterior of the unit is around 90F and the interior is about 105F.All in all it's a decent unit but I'm not sure it's worth the money. If you're gaming or need graphics performance then it's probably well worth it. If you're looking to get additional monitor support due to the recent OSX changes you may want to wait for something less expensive and less obtrusive to come out. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'll be keeping it or sending it back.

Second UPDATE: I’m putting the stars back. I troubleshot this box forever and could not find the weak point in the power supply or the communication breakdown in the TB3 cable at all. Long story short, thins thing has to be working. The problem is with the Mac mini and the HDMI output on the gaming box. If the monitor is connected to that port, no video. If I use any other port (in my case the HDMI on the mini) the thing turns on just fine. As far as I can tell, the Mac is causing the problem, not the gaming box.UPDATE: After about a year, this thing is failing. It seems to be an issue with the power supply. There will be long stretches where the box just won’t turn on, then it’ll start working for a while. Then it’ll just not turn on again. It seems to be related to having a monitor connected to the HDMI port on boot up. That connection must be doing something to the PS. I have not abused this thing at all. It just won’t work reliably anymore. That’s a shame too because it really helped my Mac mini. I guess I’ll go with another company and get a truly modular enclosure.ORIGINAL REVIEW: I picked this up refurbished for a nice discount. The eGPU is working great so far. Those who have purchased a 2018 Mac Mini already know what hot garbage the integrated VC is. If you’re getting a Mini for video editing, gaming (why??), or anything that is GPU intensive, you will have to get an eGPU. It’s just that simple. I like this one because it’s a very capable VC in a manageable package and gives a massive boost to GPU performance.You will see folks out there say that these eGPUs are overpriced. They do in fact cost way more than their internal counterparts, however they fill a role that the internals cannot. They boost GPU performance of computers where the internal GPU cannot be upgraded.I have seen some say that TB3 is too slow to make these eGPUs practical. Yeahno. You’re looking at a loss of about 10% performance vs. the internals. When compared to the integrated garbage the Mac Mini has, I have more that tripled GPU performance. You can be confident that this eGPU will greatly increase graphics performance in the proper circumstances.Now this RX580 is nice, quiet, has a great set of USB3 slots, and can drive high resolution monitors under intense workloads without a problem. If you’re looking to beat an internal PCIe RX580, don’t buy this. If you have a TB3 capable computer with underpowered graphics and need to Tim Allen that thing, this may be the solution for you