Laptop & eGPU =2k gaming? Help pls !

[Cymatrelic]

Hey guys!

I just bought a MSI GS60 laptop with the following specs:

- Thunderbolt 3
- i7 6700HQ
- GTX 970M
- 16GB RAM
- 128GB SSD
- 4k IPS screen

My Plan is to (once the Akito Node becomes available in Europe) buy an eGPU, connect via thunderbolt 3 and put a GTX 1080 inside to play games in ultra with 1440p resolution.

My question now is:

Will this CPU be able to handle it? I am afraid it will be a terrible bottleneck and will keep the GTX 1080 from performing as it could.

I don't want to start a discussion on if this setup makes sense financially or if it is the most efficient setup or not... Just need to know if this CPU will do the trick for future high end gaming. =)

Greetings
Cyma

 

[Supernova1138]

CPU bottlenecking is certainly possible on a laptop, as while the 6700HQ does turbo up to similar speeds as its desktop counterpart, it only does that if it isn't running into power or thermal restrictions. In practice, your CPU might run at a low clockspeed which could hurt performance. If you absolutely must have a laptop there really isn't anything better though. All you can do is keep it plugged in, have it run at maximum performance mode and make sure you've got good airflow going into the laptop.

A desktop is always a better choice for gaming performance, and if you're going for an external GPU dock you do have to seriously question whether you really need the mobility or not, or whether it would make more sense to get a cheaper laptop for basic stuff on the go and a desktop for gaming.

 

[Cymatrelic]

First off=
I accidently downvoted your answer! =O I'm new here and didn't know what that arrow does lol. Really sorry as it seems I can not reverse my vote...

Thanks so much for your quick response! That is really helpful. So if I have the laptop connected to a eGPU it usually should not even use the internal GPU, which means there will be a lot less heat produced inside the laptop. I'll make sure airflow is good and then the cpu should not have a problem staying cool or?

I got the laptop for under 1000€ and am hoping to get a eGPU and gtx 1080 for around 800€ in a couple of months. That would bring me up to 1800€ for a high end gaming station with the option of going mobile, at the cost of some GPU power. The gtx 970m will be able to play most games at least at medium for a couple of years I would hope... =(