Introduced at CES 2019, the new VisionTek Thunderbolt 3 Mini eGFX Enclosure is ideal for creative professionals who want to boost performance of a Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptop.

Presented as one of the most compact and customer configurable eGFX enclosures in the market, the new model from VisionTek combines a sleek and portable design that easily fits discretely on a desk, or hidden away, to handle all your graphic intensive applications. VisionTek’s Mini eGFX Enclosure can be plugged into any Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptop or mini-PC to accelerate the most demanding 3D intensive software programs.

The eGFX is the next step after the eGPUs that first made it to the market. While some may use the two acronyms to refer the same, they do represent different things. In fact, Intel encourages the manufacturers of Thunderbolt 3 certified systems and devices to use them so as not create confusion to consumers. This is because while eGPU is an abbreviation for External Graphics Processing Unit, eGFX stands for External Graphics.

From eGPU to eGFX

According to Intel, “External Graphics (eGFX) is a more generic term that is used to refer to the external device and/or the feature enabled in the host system that allows a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to be used externally to the PC”. In this context, the term External GPU (eGPU) is used to refer to the actual GPU (i.e., the graphics card) which is physically installed within an eGFX enclosure that is connected to the PC using a Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Intel also recommends using and maintaining the two terms separately, so that the meaning is crystal clear. So, what VisionTek introduced at CES 2019 is a Thunderbolt 3 Mini eGFX, designed for whoever seeks the ultimate GPU performance improvement to Thunderbolt 3 equipped laptops. Delivering up to 40Gbps of bandwidth, Thunderbolt 3 is the industry’s fastest interface that is rapidly becoming popular on new generation of laptops and mini PCs.

Use an eGFX to turbocharge a laptop

VisionTek’s Mini eGFX combined with a graphics add-in card significantly boosts the GPU performance of a Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptop, via a plug and play connection to the enclosure.  Best of all, the Mini eGFX enclosure can be upgraded to perfectly match the application’s performance requirements. Consumers have the option of selecting from many mini ITX cards or standard compatible graphic card models for the Mini eGFX to optimize GPU processing requirements for each user’s specific needs.

“With the launch of the Mini eGFX external enclosure, users can turbocharge their Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptops with cutting edge discrete GPU add-in cards on the fly,” said Michael Innes, President, VisionTek Products, LLC. “VisionTek embraces technology innovations from Intel that enhance the way we utilize our GPU technology to increase the efficiency, performance, and resolution of 3D visual PC applications.”

Compatible with many 2019 laptops

“The VisionTek Thunderbolt 3 Mini eGFX enclosure is one of the most compact, yet flexible eGFX enclosures available in the market today,” said Jason Ziller, General Manager, Client Connectivity Division at Intel. “With this solution, VisionTek can broadly address the many professional graphics verticals, enterprise and consumer gaming markets as it can be easily configured to fit the needs of the customer with many inter-changeable graphic cards available.”

Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptops and mini-PCs connected to the new VisionTek Mini eGFX dock enclosure drives the most demanding 3D graphic intensive applications. Compatible with many new Thunderbolt 3 equipped laptops and mini-PCs in 2019, Visiontek’s Mini eGFX eliminates limitations of a laptop or mini-PC environment and opens possibilities for the perfect combination of portability and performance when required.

Six displays at 4K @ 60fps

Those interested can select from a wide performance range of add-in graphics cards certified by VisionTek to improve 3D imaging rendering, 4K HD applications, video editing, run multi-monitor displays and more. The VisionTek Mini eGFX is design to fit most mini ITX discrete graphics cards, as well as select reference card designs.

Able to support up to six 4K displays @ 60fps from laptops & mini PC’s, and also scalable to the needs of the user with the addition of a graphics card to fit the application’s needs, the enclosure uses a second Thunderbolt controller with PCIe-to-USB and PCIe-to-LAN controllers to provide Two (2) additional USB 3.0 ports that are conveniently accessible on the front panel of the eGFX enclosure and one (1) RJ45 ethernet Gigabit LAN connection located on the back side of the enclosure.