Beelink's new eGPU solution offers better performance than OCuLink ↺
OCuLink has set a new standard for external graphics card setups, thanks to its support for up to 64 Gbps bandwidth. Thunderbolt 4 and USB4, on the other hand, can deliver up to 40 Gbps. But Beelink has introduced a much better solution with the launch of the EX eGPU dock.
This external graphics card dock is for a couple of recently launched Beelink mini PCs, which include the GTi14 Ultra. These models have an accessible PCIe 4.0 x8 slot, capable of delivering up to 128 Gbps of bandwidth. This higher bandwidth means that the eGPU performance with the EX dock will be much better than that of an OCuLink setup.
ETA Prime has put Beelink's new eGPU setup to the test. The YouTuber has tested the EX graphics card expansion dock with the GTi14 Ultra (available on Amazon). This mini PC features the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, the top-end processor from the Meteor Lake lineup. It can be configured at up to 65W TDP.
As for the Beelink EX eGPU dock, ETA Prime has installed an Nvidia RTX 4090. While it's an overkill for the external graphics card dock, it will demonstrate the actual capability of the eGPU solution. First, the YouTuber ran Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p with ray tracing set to the ultra settings, and the game stayed above 60 FPS.
Next, ETA Prime tested Ghost of Tsushima at 1440p with "very high" graphics settings and without frame generation turned on. The eGPU setup could keep the game around 100 FPS. Then, the YouTuber ran the built-in benchmark of Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1440p with the highest preset, and the average FPS was 175.
Another notable game tested on the Beelink EX eGPU dock with GTi14 Ultra setup is Forza Horizon 5. The game was tested at the "extreme" visual settings at 1440p, and the FPS stayed over 160. The last game benchmarked at the setup is Black Myth: Wukong. It was tested at 1440p with maxed-out visual settings, and the game stayed above 60 FPS.
As ETA Prime notes, all the games benchmarked in this setup ran better than any OCuLink solutions. But of course, the RTX 4090 did lose quite a chunk of performance as it's a PCIe 4.0 x16 card, but both the eGPU and the mini PC rely on PCIe 4.0 x8. You can learn more from the video attached below.
Source(s)
ETA Prime on YouTube (video embedded above)