Gaming Performance Part 1

Let's get into the results, starting with Grand Theft Auto V. This is a game that played reasonably well with the old eGPU setup, achieving 36 FPS in 1% lows, however the faster GPU and CPU with this new setup does help out here...

Average frame rates are up by 23 percent, but crucially 1% lows have improved by 38 percent. The performance doesn't match a proper GTX 1080 gaming system here, though we are getting 1070 Max-Q like framerates.

We haven't tested a lot with Batman Arkham Knight but it's back for this round of testing. The old eGPU setup couldn't run the game at maximum detail levels, however we are now seeing those 1% lows fall above 30 FPS. Again, 1% low performance from this ultraportable + eGPU combo is around the level of the 1070 Max-Q.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a punishing game at its maximum detail levels, but again we see this new eGPU take it to a playable level where previously 1% lows were sub-20 FPS. Performance here is actually really good from this heavily GPU-limited game, essentially matching the GTX 1080 Max-Q.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided is a rare title that doesn't benefit significantly from the extra CPU or GPU power. While average framerates do improve by 22 percent, 1% lows jump up by just 10 percent, which leaves performance between the GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 Max-Q. A bit of a disappointing result for the eGPU combo in this title.

The next couple of games are heavily demanding on the CPU so they could be quite interesting. Hitman benefits strongly from the quad-core power of the Core i7-8550U, pushing 50 percent more frames than the older eGPU combo looking at the 1% low result. The CPU limitation still gives proper gaming laptops a significant advantage - the GTX 1060, for example, pulls ahead in 1% lows despite falling behind in average framerates - however this combo does make the game playable at max settings for the first time.

Civilization VI sees gains of more than 50 percent in both average and 1% low framerates thanks to the faster CPU, bringing the 1% low framerate above 30 FPS for the first time. Again, performance isn't quite as good as some GTX 1060 laptops we've tested, but it's still playable.