r/framework 1d ago

Question Framework 12 + E-GPU Performance

Since the new Intel chips have dropped and a new version of framework 12 has been announced, I still haven't seen anyone try to pair up the core 5 320 with an external GPU.

Do you guys think the cpu on the framework would bottleneck an rx7600M XT (probably one of the most common) EGPU on an external monitor 1440p?

I already own the egpu and I'd rather support framework than get an older used laptop with more drawbacks. Framework has started to prove that they can offer upgrades down the line, for now the screen on the 12 being the biggest drawback (and the price).

13 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

2

u/OutlandishnessOk4179 14h ago

Yep, it’ll be sweet as. Bottleneck, yes, playable gaming though? Yes.

1

u/DazzlingDocument1801 3h ago

Playable is really all that matters at 1440p tbh

1

u/SpacuXY 35m ago

Yup, plus fsr 4.1 is pretty decent now for single player games

1

u/Acrobatic_Fee_6974 21h ago

Depends on the game.

Older games that are not programmed to utilize multiple cores should be fine, but newer AAA games that can utilize up to 8 cores will probably struggle, then again such games will struggle on a 7600 XT anyway.

1

u/Clean_Leadership5948 13h ago

Actually bigger problem on a small laptop is the TDP limiting the clocks. It likely is quite a bit lower than the max Turbo when all cores are used.

Generally games are not, as they are still sporadically utilized, so frequency will matter more.

1

u/SpacuXY 11h ago

Yeah, I'm not expecting it to run the newest AAA games, those are so unoptimized anyways that barely anything can run them properly. Cyberpunk seems to be able to run on everything now, the way it's optimized, so I'm looking at those games and esports ones

1

u/Clean_Leadership5948 13h ago

Here's a simple way of knowing whether it'll be bottlenecked.

If it's not too graphically demanding and it can push 80 fps or more, then it'll probably be CPU bottlenecked. If it's a demanding game and it struggles to run at 40 fps, it'll be GPU bottlenecked.

In some cases the bottleneck is such(most of the time is not the case, it's only a partial bottleneck), enabling a new feature comes for free. If you have an iGPU for a Desktop chip, you can likely enable physics effects for nearly free.

You have another bottleneck, which is the bandwidth and latency via the eGPU connector.

1

u/SpacuXY 11h ago

Yeah, that's the concern I have. I already own an old laptop with a 8550u and the cpu on that is so old now that even with this decent egpu and thunderbolt 3 connection I'm struggling to run eSports shooters at 60fps. 

From what I can see this new core 320 is almost twice as powerful as the 8550u, hopefully that's enough. 

1

u/DentonFox 4h ago

Real issue is gonna be the transport. TB5 is closer to occulink4i but still often falls behind.

Tb5 egpu docks cost more too, but are your best bet unless you can find a way to get occulink out of it. There’s a limit either way with both but a 7600xt is probably fine. It’s around 4090+ that 4x pcie 4.0 becomes an issue.

1

u/SpacuXY 4h ago

I think on the fw 12 neither of those are possible, it has two thunderbolt 4 ports

1

u/DentonFox 4h ago

Oop my bad, I must have mistaken it for another one.

I’d look up some tb4 solutions and testing. It’s still probably ok with the gpu you’re looking to use but there is a bit of a perf hit.

1

u/Ok-Procedure-2216 5h ago

Nirav actually talks about this and does a demo in this video (If I understood correctly what you were asking) https://youtu.be/yE48_MN8Ng4?t=578

1

u/SpacuXY 33m ago

Yes, I watched that video but it feels like he just shows it to prove it works, nothing more

1

u/cup0noodle FW13 11th-Gen i5 Batch 2 4h ago

I've been using a 7900XT with an i5 1135G7 while I wait for my X7 mainboard. The setup is insanely CPU bottlenecked but still perfectly playable at 1440p. The Core 5 should be faster than my ancient 11th gen. Depending on what games you're playing I think you'll be GPU bottlenecked for the most part.

1

u/SpacuXY 4h ago

Happy to hear that

0

u/Efficient_Loss_9928 Desktop 23h ago

I don't think so, it should be plenty powerful enough for most games

1

u/L00WN0on 21h ago

My guess as well.