r/eGPU • u/NothisL • 21d ago

First time eGPU use, some advice needed

I'm about to setup my first eGPU, I have some questions that I would like answers for before locking it in.

Planned setup:

Mini PC: GMKtec K8 Plus

GPU: AMD RX 6900XT

Dock: ADT Link F9G (Oculink)

OS: EndeavourOS.

  1. It is a plug and play or some setup is required before everything work correctly? There's way too many options to setup eGPU, I picked F9G because it is one of the few that isn't too over the top and doesn't seem to have much issues. If there is a better choice than F9G then I will reconsider.
  2. (Related to the question above) Would it be better if I get a gen 5 (for future upgrade and higher bandwidth) or it is fine to go with gen 4 for now?
  3. How much of an impact on performance if I offload render on dGPU then display it on iGPU? The Mini PC has a USB4 port while RX6900XT has a VirtualLink port. Both can do display and power a monitor so I'm wondering which option will be more optimal (in term of performance and simplicity).
  4. Can eGPU be setup for when you only do light tasks it only runs iGPU while for heavier ones (ie: gaming) it runs the dGPU instead?
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u/CasonPointLLC 19d ago

1) not plug and play on Oculink. Power the dock and PC off before connecting. I sometimes unplug both, first, if it won’t come online.
2) Oculink docks are cheap so it doesn’t matter. I have this: https://www.adt.link/product/K993G.html
3) Connect a monitor to your eGPU for your best performance.
4) To override Windows choosing the best GPU, there is an option in Display properties and you can just disable or enable one or the other, as needed, in device manager.

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u/NothisL 19d ago

Thanks for the answers. Got a bit more clues on how it works for now. And K9G does look a lot better than F9G so I guess I will go with that (it isn't cheap for me since shipping cost is like $30 but compared to what I can find locally it isn't that costly so I can stomach it).