Unique AMD Radeon 7600M external GPU doubles as a 100W laptop charger

[zohaibahd]

What just happened? A GPU startup just unveiled the Hi GT Cube. It's an external docking station sporting AMD's current top mobile GPU. Besides its slightly unconventional design, the eGPU offers a feature you wouldn't normally expect from such a product – laptop charging.

Based on AMD's latest RDNA 3 architecture, the Radeon 7600M XT in Wiko's Hi GT Cube delivers a significant performance boost over integrated laptop graphics. Our tests found that the GPU performs similar to Nvidia's RTX 4060. It boasts 2,048 stream processors and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, meaning it should handle most new AAA titles at 1080p just fine – even demanding ones like Cyberpunk 2077 when using FSR upscaling.

The key differentiator is its 100W laptop charging capacity alongside the AMD graphics card, with a combined 240W power draw. All this tech is packed in a compact 139x119x41mm design, making it just a smidge larger than your average 4×4 inch Mini-PC. Lugging an adapter and external GPU can quickly add several hundred grams to your backpack, so having a device that fulfills both functions lightens the load somewhat.

Priced at 3,999 Chinese yuan (around $558 US), the Hi GT Cube undercuts most other 7600M XT eGPU offerings, typically exceeding $600. This aggressive pricing could make it an attractive option for gamers on a budget looking to supercharge their laptop's graphics performance.

The dock seems primarily targeted as a companion to Huawei's newly launched MateBook GT 14 laptop with Intel's new 14-core Core Ultra 9 185H processor. However, since the MateBook uses Intel Arc integrated graphics rather than AMD's solution, users will need to install drivers from both companies.

On the connectivity front, the Hi GT Cube opts for USB4 rather than the higher bandwidth OCuLink interface used by some competitors. This design decision caps throughput to 40Gbps. Video output options include HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4.

While integrated graphics in modern mobile chips have steadily improved, hitting smooth 1080p60 gaming with effects like ray tracing remains challenging without a discrete GPU. The Wiko Hi GT Cube aims to fill that gap at a reasonable price.

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Unique AMD Radeon 7600M external GPU doubles as a 100W laptop charger

 

[yRaz]

I'm a really big fan of external GPUs. I think the form factor and tech behind it is really cool. I understand they're more expensive and come with a performance hit, but I really like being to plug my laptop in and take my stuff with me and then "dock" it up for some more power when I get home.

I feel like it's been a long time since we've had something different in the tech world that makes it to market.

I'm interested to see how PCIe 6.0 will shake up the eGPU market or maybe we'll get some type of 8x cable instead of being limited to 4x 5.0

 

[J95qRP7]

Seems like a good option for the new handheld market. Enough power to charge the device and enough extra GPUs performance to make it an ok desktop solution.

 

[Axeia]

That's supposed an aggressive price? The eGPU market never has had my interest because of that.
I can get an entire used PC for that price including a similar or better GPU.
Hell, an entire PC with a desktop version of the Radeon 7600, 16gb of ram, 512GB SSD and a Ryzen 5 5600x can be had for just under $600.

Margins on sticking a GPU with a power supply in a box are insane. This should be 400 at the most and even that would still be too much imo. What they'd lose in profit per unit they'd likely make up for by selling more units.

The price of turning your laptop into a gaming station shouldn't be on part with that of a complete gaming desktop.

 

[CrisisDog]

Does it have USB ports for a mouse and keyboard? So it can actually be used as a dock?