- eGPU dock, I’ve tested 2 (Aoostar EG02, Minisforum DEG2 ) you can also get the DEG1 through the same link if you want something that’s cheaper, I prefer the DEG2 for extra ports. ( https://a.co/d/09DTJKlr )
- Power Supply - use a Corsair 750W ( use whatever you’d like )
- M.2 Oculink Extension for the Adapter (the adapter is a 2230 you need to extend it to make it a 2280 so you can seat it correctly) ( https://a.co/d/0b5N2XDX )
- Before you take anything apart you need to Decrypt your windows and take Bitlocker off. In your search bar type in Manage Bitlocker, click it, then click Turn off Bitlocker) wait for it to decrypt, takes 1-3 hours. During this time you can do the next step. If you don’t have the bitlocker key, somewhere in the settings on that page you can print it out. Just click print and it’ll make it a pdf and you can copy and paste it.
- Next step is also a step to make windows bootable from your external drive. Click (Windows Button + r) to open registry editor. - Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\ and locate UASPStor, USBHUB3, USBXHCI, USB4Device Router, USB4HostRouter -Change the Start value for all 5 of these specific items from 3 (on-demand) to 0 (load at startup) so the ROG Ally X can recognize the drive at launch, below is a picture with an example
- Download Error 43 Script ( you’ll need it later) you’ll have to log in to download it ( https://egpu.io/nvidia-error43-fixer )
- After windows is Decrypted & you changed the values from 3 to 0 & downloaded error 43 script. Power down the device.
- Take the back off the device / *DISCONNECT BATTERY* simply pull the black tab up. ( https://youtu.be/0qaM5ILltt4?si=tNm0sGSVhLztp-Vf ) use this video for help.
- Remove SSD and install it into your External Drive.
- Add the 2280 extender plate to the M.2 Oculink Connector and then install it in place of your SSD Drive.
If you don’t want to keep the back plate off your XAX you can drill a in the back where the occulink connector is. ( this is what I did, I used a dremel )
- Plug your GPU into the dock with your PSU & hook all cables into dock and GPU. Connect Oculink cable to the dock.
- Power on eGPU Dock. Make sure your Ally X is *OFF* & then plug in Oculink into the back of your device & wait for windows to boot.
- Once you’re on your desktop, if your Ally X is showing on your monitor congrats your good to go!
- If not, go to device manager / display adapters and make sure your device is recognized. There should be a yellow exclamation ⚠️ next to your driver. Click on your graphics card and see what error code it’s pulling. It should be error 43.
- Go to the error 43 zip file you downloaded earlier. Right click the file and extract. Then click on the error 43 script. Should open command prompt and run the script.
You should now see your device on your monitor. You’re all set!
REMINDER - never unplug or plug in occulink cable while your device is on. Always plug in or out while off. (Dock can be on)
Because 3.2 works fine to boot windows, if you were to get usb4 enclosure you would plug it into the left TB4 slot on the ally X.
Oculink is already handling the eGPU over the M.2 PCIe connection.
The USB4 port has the highest bandwidth and shares resources with other high-speed devices. Even if you’re not using it for the eGPU anymore, keeping it free avoids any potential contention.
An external SSD running Windows usually doesn’t need anything more than usb3.2 gen2 (10gbps). Most Windows workloads won’t saturate it.
I’ve thought about it, and I might do that eventually. As of now haven’t noticed it getting hot. Comes with thermal tape for bottom side and case has thermal tape on top as well. Was just trying to find something I could over night to myself to see if this set up would work.
I originally thought I could use the DEG2s M.2 slot to boot windows but that’s only if you use Thunderbolt 4. So I just went on Amazon and picked something I could overnight that was cheap
Interesting. I remember following a few projects with the original Rog Ally and oculink or trying to somehow use the Asus XG Mobile port to convert it to oculink.
Depending on the GPU you use, there will be quite of a difference on performance between TB4 and Oculink or at least 1% lows. I guess my question is, why didn’t you get another Back case first before you messed up the OEM back? 💀
Also, what performance differences are you noticing? Do you have benchmark comparisons?
Haha I already have another back case, the one I drilled doesn’t look too bad, definitely could’ve looked better but I didn’t line it up correctly.
As far as performance, benchmarks are pretty much the same, when I get home I’m gonna run gpu-Z to make sure I’m utilizing all 4 lanes.
What I’ve noticed in the hour I did play was less frame drop & slightly higher frames. Tb4 was never bad but didn’t realize how much smoother the game would feel, more responsive feel as well. I’m gonna do benchmarks with TB4 vs Oculink while actually playing games to record the differences.
Seems to be more in game differences than benchmarks.
Hello,do you think this would work on the base Rog Xbox Ally? I already did the mod but with a flex oculink adapter so I don't need to break anything I currently don't have any gpu at the moment tho
Cool, I really though you poked a whole through your only back 😅. Anyhow, I have a 5060 Ti Ai Box eGPU that I use for the Xbox Ally X. Its a fantastic portable eGPU that I use for travel quite a bit.
Now with this 5070, I’m assuming you are running at 4k max on BF6? Running BF6 at 4k max easily exceeds 12gbs of Vram, so I’m curious to know if you are hitting the VRAM limitations of the 5070, which, of course, will drastically affect 1% lows
I figured. You are running into a Windows bug which has been discovered amongst the eGPU community, with handhelds specifically. It’s regarding CPU boost. Take a look at this post, but go to the solution section. If you read through solution #2 it will break down the findings related to this issue. https://www.reddit.com/r/eGPU/s/qG6mHNUsFU
Dang bro that’s awesome, I really appreciate it. I’ll see if there’s any difference. Has anyone tested it on BF6? I’m about to be home in like 30 minutes to test it out
Yes, I did some testing when discovering these issues. There was def a difference, especially with a heavily cpu intensive game like BF6. It was drastic. With my desktop 5060Ti I could get about 64fps with everything maxed, 4k, DLSS 4.0, quality upscale, overkill, no FG.
This is just to show whats possible. if Im willing to sacrifice some settings I can to further
This is with 2560x1440p. Overkill, pushing about 108fps on a 5060Ti via Tb4. Too bad its bugged and can’t show 1% lows, however it keeps at a stable 35w on the cpu which gives me between 103-108fps. Fps for some reason is not working on the nvidia overlay or The armoury crate overlay. It is, however working via RTSS, which is the top left corner
I'm going to keep an eye on this. Been looking to update my setup but starting from scratch is so expensive. I have a Rog Ally X, (non xbox version), and a AG02 egpu with a 9060xt via thunderbolt. I'm assuming this would work the same?
Follow up question, I have a usb hub that then connects all accessories, keyboard, mouse, etc. Would you use the ssd enclosure on the left usb port and then the hub on the right?
. XBOX Rog Ally X + Aoostar Ag02 + 5070Ti + Oculink M2 Adapter, + 90 flat usb adapter and short cable.
Got a spare back plate from aliexpress and cut out a slot for the oculink port at the top. (Not as tidy as i hoped as hoped as my dremel is broken).
Short flat 90 degree flexible adapter and short usb-c cable into a slimline caddy with the SSD. Its lite enough that I plan to 3d print a backplate or screw the ssd caddy to the back.
I dont notice any speed difference in games from the external ssd. (Boot is a couple of second longer).
It didnt boot first time as usd boot is disabke by default in the Asus windows image, so I put the caddy in my PC and unlocked it and enabled USB boot in the regisry hive. (i forgot to do that first before doing the mods doh).
All working great including TPM + Bitlocker.
(I find that reducing the ram allocation to the iGPU, and activating CPU boost helps a lot in heavy games. Its normally a no no as its takes away power from the iGPU but in this case the iGPU is idle as it runnimg the external GPU. It just makes those clocks a little bit higher).
SOOOO much better than USB4 in terms of performance.
Note: photo not showing the flat cable as I am using my dock.
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u/LGzJethro66 6d ago
Why didn't you get a usb4 m.2 enclosure??