Gigabyte AORUS Gaming Box GTX 1070 Graphic Card GV-N1070IXEB-8GD eGPU

I purchased this as a boost to my integrated 1050 (2GB, mobile).The TB3 link on my lenovo 720P Laptop (with UHD Screen) is "only" x2, so just the 20GBPS limits me slightly. There are other reviews that prove it but essentially a full x4 link will give you slightly better frames but the CPU itself is more dependent.In other words, if you're torn between a laptop with a much better cpu and a x2 TB3 link vs a much slower one and a x4 TB3 link, get the faster CPU, the link doesn't matter quite as much except for one critical thing with VR (and I don't think x4 would help it a great deal.)This box has extra USBs including a charging port (a keyboard/mouse doesn't effect frames) and this is critical because you'll likely need them.VR:The GPU will work great with VR but you'll want to connect a monitor via DVI, the Occulus via HDMI, and disable the laptop screen. Otherwise the eGPU will think you want to re-direct video back to the laptop and cripple your performance. In theory an x4 TB3 link would work much better but it will hamper your performance anyway so don't bother.In short: If you needed an eGPU for VR, you're going to want a 2nd monitor to the EGPU and disable your onboard screen.The box is quiet, installs in a snap and doesn't need special software. The "Aorus Engine" app is meh, I don't use it and if the LEDs can be controlled I have no idea how. Those could theoretically be distracting but they're hidden in my setup behind my monitor anyway. You'll never hear it with headphones on, and even without, your laptop is probably louder.As far as performance goes, with the i7-7700HQ and TB3 link I was getting 4k@60+ ("Mein Leiben" settings) in Wolfenstein TNC. Not the newest game but it should give you a clue as to what to expect.Based on all the research and reviews I did, I came to these conclusions:1) CPU matters more than Link, ideally get something with a nice boost clock and 35-45Watt range, ideally NOT a 15 "U" processor (although this would work game well with it, miles better than integrated, you're tossing decent performance) at least not for VR.2) Trying to use an eGPU on your internal monitor is probably not worth it, definitely not if you're only a x2 link on your TB3 port.3) With a faster i7/i5 45W mobile CPU, you can expect about 20% performance drop from a DESKTOP version of the same graphics setup (native pcie x16 link) with TB3 x4 link (40GBp/s) and about a 25% performance drop with a TB3 x2 link (20GBp/s). Measurably slower, but hard to notice and works great, with my brandy new Occulus.If money is no object, get the 1080, it will do a little better and is probably worth it, I went with this version as I got it from a Warehouse Deal under $500.

This thing is incredible. HUGE upgrade from my GTX 760 that I previously had. Runs most games at max or almost max settings at 2k well above 60 FPS. I average around 180-200 FPS when playing League of Legends at highest settings (not a super graphically demanding game, just stating as a reference). Something I consider a positive is that it only takes a single 8 pin power connector (some people may consider it a negative, but I list as positive because it makes it easier to SLI due to taking less PSU connectors). The lighting is a nice touch to add to my already well lit rig (I have multiple Blue LED fans). Fans are not noisy (at least I do not notice them over the game sound) and the Fan Stop feature on all the 10 series is a neat idea for lowering noise and saving fan life. The Geforce XTREME Gaming app is actually pretty good. Still not quite as good as MSI Afterburner, but still a nice, easy to use interface. There are of course the default "Eco, Normal, Gaming" settings and then also the custom settings for overclocking. I have not tried over clocking as I have not had a need, but the software seems intuitive and easy enough to use. All in all a really great card for the price. Easily powers through games and is relatively future proof with SLI. I plan to buy another in a year or two when game specs make the next jump. Only regret is the price dropped $20 the week after I bought it, but such is life. As reference I will list my current rig below:CPU: AMD FX-8370E 8-Core (3.3 GHz, 4.3 OC)GPU: Geforce GTX 1070 G1 Gaming (duh)HDD: Seagate FireCuda SSHD 1TBMOBO: Gigabyte Ultra Durable AM3+ (could not find which model I have, It's 5 years old at this point)RAM: 4x4GB sticks of Mushkin Silverline DDR3 1333 (16GB total)COOLING: 9 fans: 4 Antec fans (3 140mm, 1 120mm), 2 Corsair SP 120mm, 3 Thermaltake 140mmPSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850WCASE: Thermaltake Core X71IMPORTANT: As a note the GTX 10 Series cards are designed to run hot, as such there are a couple of things to keep in mind:1. Make sure if your rig already runs hot to keep an eye on temps when upgrading to this2. Despite these cards being designed to take the heat I would caution watching GPU temp during gaming at least at first3. I would advise going into the XTREME Gaming app and editing the fan curves, the default settings appear to allow the card to get absurdly hot, so I changed my curves to turn the fans on at a lower temperature and to ramp up to 100% fan speed faster