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Any AMD Ryzen 7 Laptops + Thunderbolt 3 without Radeon Graphics?

I am looking to purchase a new Workstation Laptop and/or Gaming Laptop.

Thunderbolt 3 support is a must.

I would prefer two Thunderbolt 3 ports if possible so I could drive a pair of eGPu.

I need the Laptop to be capable of driving either Avermedia or Elgato external capture cards and record 4K60 FPS

Hence:

I  need a laptop with powerful CPU - hence Ryzen 7 is a thought.

The Laptop will need to have a reasonably powerful discrete graphics card with 6-8GB VRAM.
Something around RX580 8GB or RTX2060 8GB performance would do.

Edit: If AMD Discrete GPU I would prefer it to be RDNA based and not GCN.  

I do not want to have to spend much more than 1500 for the Laptop if possible but I do not think that is likely.

I strongly prefer that the Laptop CPU does NOT have any Radeon Integrated Graphics.

If anyone has any ideas w.r.t. Laptop Options that might fit what I am after please let me know.

Best Laptop candidates I have seen so far are all Intel CPU based:

Newer HP Zbooks - Newer models have  Dual Thunderbolt 3 which is great, but the graphics options are weak.
Latest HP Omen 15 and 17 have Thunderbolt 3, and some reasonable Discrete Graphics Cards. 

However HP Laptops have a tendancy to use Hardware Whitelisting in BIOS which is a problem I would prefer to avoid.

I believe that new Laptop options for 2020 will be available from April 2nd.

Thanks.

73 Replies

Fractal Node 202 spec:

  • GPU max dimensions (LxHxD)
    310x145x47 mm

https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/nitro-radeon-rx-5700-xt-8g-gddr6 

2.5 slot, ATX

Dimension: 306x 135 x 49 (mm)

There is no room for that particular VGA card, by 2mm.


So fit a 2 slot 40mm GPU.
Such as an Nvidia Palit RTX 2080 GamingPro OC = 292 x 112 x 40 mm

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All the more reason to stick with the enormous HAF 932 which has enough room for two Sapphire Nitro+ RX 5700 XT cards if I wanted to stuff the box with them

I suspect the VGA would also overheat seriously with the ITX platform.

I have used a lot of 11" and 12" video cards over time. I call them power pigs because the tend to have dual power cable which is why I have a HX1000i powering my hardware

Gaming is very demanding so ITX is not a sound choice 

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I am looking for a laptop but if laptop prices are ridiculous or laptop underpowered then a mini ITX build would be next logical "portable" option.
What are you going to do with Dual RX5700XT w.r.t. gaming?
DX11 Crossfire is not supported by AMD and active games that used to support it like BF1 are breaking because of updates.
DX12 MultiGPU is a joke. Very few titles "support" it. About 50% of those show any benefit.

PowerColor Red Dragon RX5700XT will fit.

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colesdav wrote:


I am looking for a laptop but if laptop prices are ridiculous or laptop underpowered then a mini ITX build would be next logical "portable" option.
What are you going to do with Dual RX5700XT w.r.t. gaming?
DX11 Crossfire is not supported by AMD and active games that used to support it like BF1 are breaking because of updates.
DX12 MultiGPU is a joke. Very few titles "support" it. About 50% of those show any benefit.

PowerColor Red Dragon RX5700XT will fit.

The Sapphire card is actually powerful enough to slug it out with the GTX 2070 Super which was eye opening.

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New HP Omen 17 released. Up to 8 core 16 threads and RTX2080 Super.
Only 1 Thunderbolt 3 port - I think that is big mistake to make. They should have provided 2.
Only Intel CPU options are available:

Intel® Core™ i7-10750H (2.6 GHz, up to 5 GHz, 12 MB L3 cache, 6 cores) + NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 Super™ (8 GB)
Intel® Core™ i9-10885H (2.4 GHz, up to 5.3 GHz, 16 MB L3 cache, 8 cores) + NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 Super™ (8 GB)


https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/omen-17t-cb100-laptop-8vd66av-1 

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Even most desktops only have 1 Thunderbolt 3 port. Adding ports starts to get into the HEDT where costs are rather lofty.

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There were previous versions of HP Envy 17 with Dual Thunderbolt ports.

The new i10 CPUs have enhanced support for Thunderbolt 3 anyhow. It should be easy to do it. 

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colesdav wrote:

There were previous versions of HP Envy 17 with Dual Thunderbolt ports.

The new i10 CPUs have enhanced support for Thunderbolt 3 anyhow. It should be easy to do it. 

Hope you got a few packs of franklins, you are going to need it

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Yes the 8 core 16 thread version with maxed out ram and storage with RTX2080 super is $3169.99.

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overkill

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Overkill for what? Blender?

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colesdav wrote:

Overkill for what? Blender?

yes

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If you run Blender you would know you can half your render time with 2 GPU and you can use 14 of 16 threads to render on CPU at the same time.
So it is not overkill for that.

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I use the Steam version which I can used to make custom maps for games based on the Source engine.

I like the Source engine, runs on a potato or better.

You should see all the maps on Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop which rallied the community to expand the game extensively 

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ZDNET just emailed this article about the best 2020 Laptops which seems to have some of the features you are looking for: Best laptops for design, graphics, video, and photography in 2020: MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 15, and mor... 

Thanks I will take a look later.

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I was taking a closer look at the laptops and they all have Intel processors but some have either AMD or Nvidia GPUs.

Possible to order one of the laptops mentioned with a Rzyen mobile processor, though.

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Thanks again.
I am likely to order an HP Envy 17 or Dell Alienware laptop as they both have Thunderbolt 3 and the Alienware has option to add a Graphics Amplifier.

Right now I am busy wasting time arranging the return of an RX5700XT that cost 370 to seller because AMD Rewards Codes (worth 100) did not turn up, and secondly they do not perfom much better than an RX Vega 64 Liquid anyhow: RX Vega 64 Liquid vs RX5700XT 3DMark performance results. 

EDIT - I received the codes, the RX5700XT stayed in the PC build, and worked OK with a Hybrid Adrenalin 2019 19.12.1 GUI/UI + Adrenalin 20.5.1 driver.

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For those looking for an AMD Laptop with AMD Graphics:

Dell G5 15 Inch Gaming Laptop with AMD Radeon CPU | Dell USA 
Dell G5 SE (Ryzen 4800H + 5600M) Gaming Benchmarks! - YouTube 
It performs pretty well against a similar laptop with Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti.
RX 5600M vs GTX 1660 Ti - 20 Game Laptop Comparison! - YouTube 

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Not seen any new reviews for HP Omen or Dell laptops.

Meantime - Mini - ITX case from Sliger: SM580 seems to be a very good option for a small form factor AIO cooled PC:

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Most of my video cards would never fit.

I tend to buy elite cards with dual fans or even triple fans.

My R9 Fury is 12" long.

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R9 Fury will fit.

The Sliger SM580 is a performance ITX case.

It supports triple slot GPUs up to 325mm long x 157mm tall


325 Millimeters (mm) = 12.79528 Inches (in)

157 Millimeters (mm) = 6.1811 Inches (in)
3 slot =60mm = 2.3622047 Inches (in)


A Sapphire Fury Nitro =

Card Dimensions (L x H)
12.09" x 4.92"
Slot Width
Dual Slot - (its actually 2.2 slots from memory).
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I have the Sapphire R9 Fury, it's a huge beast of a card.

Which is why I use a giant Cooler Master HAF 932 which can squeeze in a few of them as needed

Been refurbishing my old GTX 690 for UEFI but the card is still not showing the BIOS properly. But does boot at least.

I have 2 GTX 690 cards so I can run a 4-way SLI beast

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nelthorr
Journeyman III

since no one read my thread, ill post here 

Hello, here i tell you what is my problem to my graphic cards.

 

I have 2 switchable graphic cards...since the first time i bought the laptop, my laptop has 2 switchable graphic cards, that is Vega 3 and Radeon 535...

 

But in the device manager, it tells me that i have Vega 3, and RADEON 530 SERIES, whilst my laptop have 535 in it... why does it tells me I have Radeon 530 series in the device manager...just so you know guys i am not really good at this laptop knowledge or what ever xD...

 

But yeah, i tried to update my driver, the radeon 530.. so i went to the device manager, right click the radeon 530 and update driver, then...there is an update for my driver, so after the update is done, my laptop when restart, and then the radeon 530 didn't change yet, it is still the same as Radeon 530, nothing've installed,i have done this multiple times, right click and update drivers, hoping for it to change to Radeon 535...update, update, update, and update for it and automatically install it, but still it didn't change anything, is this a bug or what??....and also my windows is always up to date...my graphic card that's render right now is the Vega 3 500mb, not the Radeon 535 2GB..so whenever im gaming, the graphic is very low, like my laptop have not have any graphic cards..

 

I played CSGO, Dota 2.. all on low settings..last time i played in high settings, i dont know why..and what happened..

 

this is kinda sad..is this because my developer of my laptop didn't reinstall the driver correctly?

 

My laptop specs
Model: Acer Aspire 3
Windows: Latest windows 10
Processor: Ryzen 3 2200U
GPU1: RADEON 535 2GB VRAM
GPU2: VEGA 3 512MB 

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not sure why the 535 is present as the vega 3 is probably as powerful

make more sense if it was an rx 550 or rx 560

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Hey...when you get generic drivers from AMD you get generic names.

RADEON 530 SERIES has many different graphics cards..535 is part of the 530 SERIES..get it? You have the right driver.

If you want to see...download and run GPU-Z. When you open the app follow where my arrow goes and click it (lookup). A new page comes up with your exact graphics card. Maybe.

Anyhow you have the right driver.

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daredevil01
Journeyman III

Intel finally certified an AMD based ASRock board,  so anything is possible.  Fingers crossed. 

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Hi,

Do you mean this one that I posted above or are you talking about an AMD Laptop Motherboard?
ASRock > X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 

Thanks.

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dereksch
Journeyman III

Well, there are currently 0 laptops with what you have in mind. Thunderbolt 3 is an Intel technology, so they're not gonna be very eager to hand little of what they have left in terms of selling points in a premium laptop. 

While there are motherboards with TB3 that support Ryzen, I believe it's about 2 models, so it's not exactly a case of Intel handing put their tech.  

Either way, that kind of laptop, with the 2 thunderbolt ports and a dedicated GPU is not going to be a gaming laptop at all, you'd get something along the lines of an XPS 15/17 or MacBook Pro 16". Another issue then is price and no such laptop costs around $1,500. It's closer to 2 grand. 

BTW, please don't throw out money on dual eGPUs. Full fat desktop configs with multiple GPUs are extremely rare nowadays, aren't efficient, cost or performance wise, cause issues and aren't even supported outside of professional applications (if you were thinking of doing those kinds of heavy workloads on an eGPU and laptop, you've got the wrong idea). This is only worsened on Thunderbolt 3 enclosures, since you have relatively low performance ceiling from the bandwidth cap, without mentioning other factors like the controller (OEMs sometimes limit transfer speeds), number of lanes, etc. Still, don't expect to be able to run a full 2080Ti or even 2080 on TB3. Not a good time. 

At this point in time, as long as you don't want or need a 13" laptop, 6-8 core Intel chips aren't really bad, but when you go into bulky laptop territory, what even is the point of an eGPU or a laptop? So, a thin device with a good CPU is nice, since then it'll get extra oomph from the external enclosure (not to mention that you can actually take the damn thing with you to school or work and not be shunned for having a neon laptop that screams ROG in all colours). 

Know that isn't a solution (basically saying "what you want doesn't exist and probably won't" since Apple ARM-based laptops will probably get it before AMD ever does).

Silver lining time: TB4 won't improve anything in a significant way, BUT USB 4.0 WILL. USB 4.0 sets up it's bandwidth cap at 40Gbps, just like TB3, getting most of the features we'd want. So maybe, just maybe, you'll start to see AMD laptops (and those beefy CPUs), with a good dGPU and support for eGPUs.

Still have to get OEMs to feature AMD CPUs in their premium devices (no true such devices are out rn, just machines with good specs, but in upper-middle range). Another thing is that the OEM can seriously bend you over with eGPU support. I waited around 2 years for Dell to support eGPUs on my TB3 device, and it's not even that good. Don't see someone like Razer switching to AMD anytime soon, and they're the ones who really pushed others to adopt that. 

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RE: Well, there are currently 0 laptops with what you have in mind. Thunderbolt 3 is an Intel technology, so they're not gonna be very eager to hand little of what they have left in terms of selling points in a premium laptop.

I think the new Intel i10 mobile CPUs are fine. They still hammer AMD Ryzen at 1080p gaming for example.
I was out looking for a new laptop today, as it happens.
I saw nothing from AMD of interes at all. All paired with weak GPUs, no Thunderbolt3, expensive.

Intel did make Thunderbolt 3 technology open and  available for others to implement.

RE: While there are motherboards with TB3 that support Ryzen, I believe it's about 2 models, so it's not exactly a case of Intel handing put their tech.  
There are a few ASRock boards that support Thunderbolt3. Mini ITX only has 1 TB3 port.
There are also AMD  boards from Gigabyte that have Thunderbolt headers and require add in cards, but they are not qualified for running eGPU. That does not mean they will not work.However I do not want to purchase Gigabyte products anyhow.

RE: Either way, that kind of laptop, with the 2 Thunderbolt ports and a dedicated GPU is not going to be a gaming laptop at all, you'd get something along the lines of an XPS 15/17 or MacBook Pro 16". Another issue then is price and no such laptop costs around $1,500. It's closer to 2 grand. 

There is an older version of HP Omen with dual Thunderbolt 2 ports it has been done before. 
Dell Alienware have Thunderbolt 3 + Graphics Amplifier Port.


I have been looking at Dell XPS laptops with dual Thunderbolt 3. Thanks.
I will not buy anything Apple.

RE: BTW, please don't throw out money on dual eGPUs. Full fat desktop configs with multiple GPUs are extremely rare nowadays, aren't efficient, cost or performance wise, cause issues and aren't even supported outside of professional applications (if you were thinking of doing those kinds of heavy workloads on an eGPU and laptop, you've got the wrong idea).

I have multiple Desktop PCs for Blender Rendering running up to 7 GPUs, with some connected using TB3/2/1 ports.
It works. Render time scales well with number of additional GPUs.

Running Blender GPU Rendering  over Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 1 is working fine for me. 
RTX 2080 CUDA and OptiX render times are very competitve versus a multi core AMD Ryzen CPU.

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kingfish wrote:

Apple's new Thunderbolt 3 cable costs a whopping $129 

Everything at Apple is expensive.

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I saw that "special braided cable" today on Twitter.
I cannot stand Apple.
EGPU boxes are supplied with Thunderbolt Cables.
You do not need to buy any from Apple thank goodness.
Although if you want a bidirectional Thunderbolt 3 - Thunderbolt 2 cable you do have to use Apple for that.