Aorus GTX 1080 Gaming Box Review

According to the small installation booklet, setup requires (1) connecting the Gaming Box to an AC outlet, (2) connecting the unit to a running laptop through Thunderbolt 3, (3) approving the Thunderbolt 3 device as "Always Connect", (4) connecting an external monitor via DP, HDMI, or DVI-D from the eGPU, and then finally (5) installing the necessary GPU drivers from the disc or website. The drivers consist of a generic Thunderbolt 3 firmware and a standard Nvidia firmware used for all desktop GeForce graphics cards. Thus, gamers will be familiar with the usual features from GeForce Experience and the Nvidia control panel.

Setup is quite straightforward to our surprise even with the new Kaby Lake-G platform, although it is definitely not perfect. Steps (1) to (4) above must be done sequentially whenever the eGPU is physically disconnected from the laptop or AC outlet. Otherwise, the laptop will not always recognize the eGPU no matter how many reboots or permutations we try. The actual recognition process could also be faster; when booting up, the system will sit for a few seconds on desktop while the Aorus software loads before finally outputting to the external display. Getting the eGPU to sync is finicky, but it fortunately remains synced until system shutdown.

Another very important note is that Windows Driver Signature Enforcement ought to be disabled or else the Aorus Graphics Engine software will give an error and not boot correctly. The software offers detailed overclocking, recording, and fan speed features, but it is disappointingly rudimentary in its UI and its features can sometimes be unresponsive. It's definitely a work in progress at the time of review.

The display can be extended to the internal laptop display for dual-screen use. Because our laptop display is 4K UHD, however, scaling issues will inevitably arise if the external monitor is of a lower resolution than 4K. We are unsuccessful at getting the internal display to run on the eGPU despite Aorus' claims as the system would always default to the integrated Radeon RX Vega M GL GPU instead. If attempting to "trick" the system by extending the screen to an external display and then running gaming apps on the internal display, a system crash will occur. As with the Razer Core, however, performance would be significantly reduced if running on an internal laptop display and so an external display is always recommended.

The Gaming Box is intended for Windows 10 laptops with Thunderbolt 3, but Aorus puts the onus on users to "please confirm the Thunderbolt 3 compatibility with your PC manufacturer" as a system requirement. After all, not all laptops with USB Type-C will support Thunderbolt 3. The eGPU dock should technically work with Windows 7/8 laptops as well. MacOS is not supported at all since it is incompatible with current Nvidia drivers.

An eGPU presents a unique opportunity to directly measure the power consumption of a graphics card without any motherboards, CPUs, or laptop PCBs. Idling on desktop will draw about 21 W while medium loads like 3DMark 06 will draw around 92 W. Gaming will demand about 150 W or almost 100 W less than the Aorus X9 with the same GTX 1080 GPU. Interestingly, our lone Aorus Gaming Box is very similar to the GTX 1070-powered Asus Zephyrus M GM501 in terms of power consumption on all tested loads.

Maximum load with FurMark will draw 206 W to be comparable to many performance gaming notebooks. Since the Aorus Gaming Box integrates a sizable 450 W PSU, it's technically possible (and not recommended) to upgrade to a GTX 1080 Ti graphics card should it fit inside the unit.

Our graphs below show very consistent power consumption over time when under constant loads to suggest consistent GPU performance. It's worth noting that the eGPU will idle at 8 W when turned off as long as it is connected to a laptop and an AC outlet since it will continue to charge any connected devices. Thus, users should unplug the Thunderbolt 3 cable or power cable when not in use if the constant power draw is a concern.

As mentioned earlier, users can also simultaneously charge Ultrabooks through the eGPU Thunderbolt 3 port at up to 100 W so long as the notebook supports PD 3.0. Strangely enough, our XPS 15 9575 can indeed charge via the eGPU albeit only at 65 W for reasons unknown. The standard AC adapter for the XPS 15 9575 is 130 W in comparison. As a result, the system will charge slowly at best or even not at all if under heavy gaming stress.

We can approach the Gaming Box from three perspectives: Performance, software, and cost. From a performance standpoint, users who are aiming for 4K UHD will get the most out of the eGPU as opposed to FHD. The performance delta between the Gaming Box GTX 1080 and a regular GTX 1080 is greater at 1080p where very high frame rates are common. Thus, while 1080p120 or faster is certainly possible, a GTX 1080 desktop will be able to achieve this target significantly easier on more games since it is not limited by Thunderbolt 3. A better goal for 1080p users would be 1080p60 with super-sampling enabled to create a GPU-bound scenario for a gaming experience much closer to a GTX 1080 desktop. Otherwise, performance dips of 30 percent or greater are not uncommon compared to a desktop GTX 1080.

As for the software, it still feels like a work in progress. Syncing and driver signature recognition can be slow especially for users who are constantly plugging and unplugging their laptops. Extending the screen across internal and external displays is more buggy than extending the screen across multiple external displays only. The eGPU works at the core level, but there is no question that more will need to be done before the experience becomes truly "plug and play" and seamless.

Finally, the cost of the GTX 1080 Gaming Box is currently $200 USD more than the MSRP ($500 USD) for a GeForce GTX 1080. Cryptocurrency miners are still inflating GPU prices at the moment and so the Gaming Box is actually a decent deal. As a result, users would not be paying all that much more for the added versatility of the eGPU. We can't stress how much smaller and more portable the Aorus eGPU solution is compared to those from Alienware, Razer, HP, or MSI. With that said, the GTX 1070 Gaming Box SKU may be more worthwhile in terms of performance-per-Dollar since the performance degradation from the costlier GTX 1080 SKU can be very steep in certain scenarios.

The Aorus Gaming Box is one of the smallest and most powerful eGPU docking stations currently available. A good portion of the software, however, is still very buggy. When considering the bandwidth available for Thunderbolt 3, the GTX 1070 Gaming Box SKU may be the better and more balanced option.