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MagyarThe Aorus Gaming Box GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Turned Our Tiny Intel NUC into a 4K Powerhouse
The Gigabyte Aorus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Box is one of the fastest external GPUs (eGPUs) available alongside the recent Asus ROG XG docking station. Unlike the Asus solution, however, the liquid-cooled Gaming Box series does not use proprietary connectors to be compatible with any Windows PC or laptop so long as they have a Thunderbolt 3 port. The Gaming Box is even available with GeForce RTX 3090 options albeit in limited quantities.
For our host PC of choice, we paired the Gigabyte Gaming Box with the Intel NUC 11 Panther Canyon as reviewed here. We had also upgraded the main memory of the NUC to dual-channel 16 GB from single-channel 16 GB. The NUC 11 is notable for carrying the latest 11th gen Core i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake CPU and supporting Thunderbolt 4 devices at up to 40 Gbps which make it a perfect test subject for an eGPU. it also just happens to be one of the fastest Tiger Lake-U systems money can buy at the moment. All tests below were completed with a 4K monitor connected directly to the Gaming Box instead of the NUC to prevent video data from bottlenecking performance.
See the product page here for the official specifications.
More Gigabyte reviews:
Setup
The setup phase is relatively smooth but not without any hiccups. According to the booklet, owners should first connect the Gaming Box to a power outlet before connecting to a laptop PC with the included 500 millimeter Thunderbolt cable. Then, Windows should automatically detect the eGPU and notify the user to approve the Thunderbolt device. In our case, the NUC couldn't detect the Gaming Box at all until after we had updated its Thunderbolt drivers. Only then can users download and install the latest Nvidia drivers via the GeForce Experience software. Note that the video-out ports on the Gaming Box will not work until after this final step is done.
Connectivity
Most ports are along the rear with just one USB-A port on the front. There is no power button and so the eGPU is always "on" even if the main PC is powered off. Power consumption is concerningly high as a result as detailed in our Power Consumption section below.
A "reset" button on the back emulates re-plugging the AC power cord. However, an actual power button would have been better.
Software
The Gaming Box software UI is poor. Its window is fixed and so it cannot be maximized while its buttons and graphs are also very small. The automatic overclocking 'Auto Scan GPU Boost' feature also crashed the software on our first try and it appeared to have no impact on the performance of the Gaming Box at all. The horrid interface is a shame because its features and data recording are otherwise quite useful for enthusiasts.
Accessories
Maintenance
The first question most gamers will ask is if the GPU in the Gaming Box can be removed or replaced. The short answer is yes, but the long answer is more complicated. Gigabyte did not design its Gaming Box to be easily upgradeable unlike on the fatter Razer Core X or Alienware eGPU. Furthermore, the liquid-cooling apparatus was designed specifically for the Gaming Box chassis meaning owners will need to either modify their PC towers to accommodate the liquid cooler or install their own cooling solutions if transferring the RTX 2080 Ti onto their desktops. If GPU switching is your primary intention, then the aforementioned Razer or Alienware would be better options as their designs more actively encourage it.
Warranty
Gigabyte offers 2-year and 3-year base warranties for its peripherals and graphics cards, respectively. However, we're unsure if the Gaming Box is classified as a peripheral or graphics card and we've contacted Gigabyte for clarification.
Performance
Before we jump to the data, it's worth mentioning that we experienced a couple of strange problems with our unit including a few crashes when running GTA V and Far Cry New Dawn. Coil while or electronic noise was very apparent during the first couple of hours of use. This would eventually decrease in intensity over time, but it would never completely go away. We also noticed faint but periodic clicking from the internal PSU followed by noticeable micro-stuttering when gaming. A cold reboot fortunately fixed the issue. Nonetheless, we highly recommend that new owners check for these abnormalities immediately after purchasing.
System Performance
| PCMark 10 Score | 5885 points | |
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GPU Performance
3DMark results are strikingly close to a desktop PC with a "proper" GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Fire Strike 4K is just 7 percent behind our desktop PC reference while Fire Strike at FHD is 21 percent behind to suggest that the performance deficit against a desktop RTX 2080 Ti will be narrower when gaming in 4K resolutions. These results are consistent with what we observed on the Gaming Box RTX 2070 two years ago. Raw graphics potential can range anywhere between 8 to 30 percent faster than a flagship gaming laptop with the non-Max-Q GeForce RTX 2080.
Graphics performance is further reduced if the monitor is connected directly to the NUC instead of the eGPU. The performance loss is again greater at lower resolutions as shown by our table below.
| Benchmark | Desktop PC GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Reference | Aorus Gaming Box GeForce RTX 2080 Ti w/ monitor connected to eGPU | Aorus Gaming Box GeForce RTX 2080 Ti w/ Monitor connected to NUC |
| Fire Strike Graphics Score | 34141 | 26814 (-21%) | 23252 (-32%) |
| Fire Strike Ultra Graphics Score | 8226 | 7632 (-7%) | 7434 (-10%) |
| Time Spy Graphics Score | 14283 | 12747 (-11%) | 11803 (-17%) |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 24715 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 33660 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 19990 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 10632 points | |
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Gaming Performance
Performance in real-world games is similar to what the 3DMark results suggest — average frame rates will be much closer to a desktop RTX 2080 Ti if running at 4K than if running at 1080p. The difference will depend highly on the game, however, with CPU-heavy titles like Total War: Three Kingdoms running up to 30 percent slower on our Gaming Box setup compared to just 7 percent when running Final Fantasy XV. Even so, most modern titles can maintain a locked 4K 60 FPS on Medium settings which is mighty impressive for a Core U-series Intel NUC.