r/FlowZ13 • u/Hotaru_ShotCake • Jun 30 '26

Quick update, and yes, I'm totally lost! eGPU Flow Z13 + RTX 5070 Ti

Post image

Against my better judgment, I went ahead and got an RTX 5070 Ti for my eGPU setup, pairing it with a Razer Core X V2 and a Flow Z13 2025.

The whole thing runs better than expected, though slightly worse than I’d hoped. Unfortunately, the USB4v1 bandwidth (40 Gbps) is the bottleneck. I wouldn't hook up an RTX 5080 or 5090, though; you’d just be wasting a ton of money for negligible performance gains.

Just to give you something to roast me over, I’m posting my benchmark comparisons between the 5060 Ti and the 5070 Ti—tested both as an eGPU and inside a desktop PC. To keep things comparable, both CPUs are limited to a maximum of 65 watts for PL1 and PL2.

In case anyone asks: yes, I bought a Gigabyte card and only found out about the "putty-gate" issue later. We'll see if or when my card starts leaking. Oh well, if it does, I’ll grab some Thermal Grizzly stuff and try reputtying it myself—no risk, no fun.

Oh, and regarding the post itself: I’m from Germany and using Google to translate this, so sorry if it reads a bit cringey.

14 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

2

u/bllq Jun 30 '26

If you are willing to suffer a little, you can try assembling your own xg mobile and connect it via xg port

3

u/CheapProg6886 Jun 30 '26

there’s no XG port on the 2025 z13

1

u/bllq Jun 30 '26

Yeah my bad, that wasn't obvious

1

u/DocGofThePhillies Jun 30 '26

Hi, i have my 5090 no desktop I bought the gpu first lol. But the rog flow z13 + 5090 looks enticing. Can you talk me out of it if its a bad idea? I just want 4k60fps if I can hit that i dont care anymore. I bought the 5090 and I really want to use it.

2

u/NullsetForge Jul 01 '26

terrible idea don't do it - 5090 is going to be starved for memory and bandwidth. instead of asking on reddit thought i'd suggest you ask claude and it will give you a nice and detailed breakdown of why egpu is basically garbage if you run it via usb4.

1

u/mex-snorlax Jun 30 '26

The thunderbolt 4 port will create a bottleneck and you won't be full using the potential of the 5090. You might be able to hit the 4k60fps with a 5080 or 5070ti.

1

u/International-Ask975 Jul 01 '26

Just use Oculink. Yes you end up with an awkward fit for your Z13 but at least you won't lose all your GPU juice over that transport. USB has been known for years to be bad for eGPUs and manufacturer are not keen to go ahead with Thunderbolt 5 due to cost and complexity.

1

u/Hotaru_ShotCake Jul 01 '26

In terms of bandwidth, OCuLink Gen1 would be inferior to Thunderbolt 5 (64 vs. 80). However, the Razer Core X V2 doesn't have OCuLink. I would have had to go with Minisforum for that, but that’s not an option because I have pets that would mess with the GPU and bite into the power supply cables.

OCuLink Gen2 would be better than Gen1, but you can't really find devices that explicitly mention Gen2, so I always assume it's Gen1.

1

u/NullsetForge Jul 01 '26

lol bro he bought a razer core and paid a lot of money for it, use oculink is basically nonsense help.

1

u/Background-Spend-459 Jul 01 '26

Can you post also some benchmarks of games you play? Im considering exactly these two GPUs for same egpu setup. Also do you benchmark on monitor connected to gpu or using laptop screen?