The Razer Core X Chroma is an external GPU enclosure which can be used to improve the
performance of your laptop simply by connecting a single Thunderbolt cable. In this review
we’ll see what this new version of the Core X has to offer and find out if an external
graphics solution is worth it.
Basically the Core X Chroma is a box with a power supply that you install a desktop
graphics card into. The exterior is all metal with a matte black finish, it definitely looks
more premium compared to most others I’ve seen. It’s on the larger and heavier side
though, however this does also give it the advantage of supporting graphics cards up
to 3 PCIe slots wide.
The front has this grooved black plastic design, however there isn’t actually any air ventilation
here. The left and right sides have air vents, the left is the intake for the graphics card
fans, while the right is for air exhaust.
On the back we’ve got the power input and switch to turn it on, single Thunderbolt Type-C
port which is used to connect to the laptop, gigabit ethernet and four USB Type-A ports.
Once a laptop is connected via Thunderbolt, we can use the Core X Chroma as a USB hub
to attach additional devices and even network connectivity, so that single connection to
the laptop provides a lot of functionality.
To open it up there’s a handle back which comes out, then you just slide out the tray,
no tools required. The tray inside has a PCIe slot for the graphics card, and there’s
a little card in the x1 slot for the I/O. Otherwise in here we can see the 120mm exhaust
fan which blows warm air out the side.
The 700 watt power supply is also in here, and this provides up to 500 watts for a graphics
card, and up to 100 watts over Type-C for the laptop. There are two 8 pin power connectors
for attaching a graphics card, which should be enough for most options out there, however
some like MSI’s 2080 Ti Gaming X Trio do need more, so you’ll want to check what
you’re using is supported, you might be able to use adapters I’m not sure.
The only issue I had with the Core X Chroma was that it was a little difficult to move
the graphics card power cables so that they wouldn’t get pushed into the fan blades.
There are velcro cable ties though so you should be able to move them a bit.
Installation is very straightforward, just take out the single thumbscrew to remove the
PCIe cover, insert the graphics card into the PCIe slot, put the thumbscrew back in,
connect the power cables to the graphics card, and slide the tray back in.
That was basically it, I connected the enclosure to my laptop with the included Thunderbolt
cable, switched it on, and it was automatically recognized, in some cases you may need to
reinstall Nvidia drivers though, and make sure you’ve got Thunderbolt drivers installed.
Now it wouldn’t be a modern Razer product without some RGB lighting, there’s some
lighting underneath the front, and inside which lights up the graphics card. There are
a few built in effects, but you can also customize the side or front independently through the
Razer Chroma software, or turn lighting off if you prefer.
I’m testing the Core X Chroma with Razer’s Blade Stealth, a 13 inch laptop with MX150
graphics. I’ve got a separate detailed review on the Blade Stealth 13 already if you’re
after more information. It’s worth noting that the Core X Chroma should work with any
laptop that has Thunderbolt 3, it’s not limited to Razer laptops, as is the case with
Alienware’s solution. As the Blade Stealth charges over Type-C port, we can even power
this laptop with just a single cable, as the Core X Chroma enclosure provides up to 100
watts of power delivery over the Thunderbolt cable.
Next let’s actually check out some benchmarks to see how this setup is boosting gaming performance.
I’m testing with an RTX 2080 Ti, so expect different results based on the GPU you’re
using, this is best case at the moment.
My Blade Stealth has the quad core i7-8565U CPU, 16gb of LPDDR3 memory in dual channel,
and Nvidia MX150 graphics. In the upcoming benchmark results I’ve tested games on the
laptops built in MX150 GPU, then with the Core X Chroma both with the laptop screen,
and with an external monitor. In general, we expect higher performance when using an
external screen connected directly to the external GPU.
This is because there is less overhead on the Thunderbolt 3 connection, but also the
Intel integrated graphics is no longer involved in the process. When using the laptop screen,
the signal needs to come over Thunderbolt from our external graphics and get processed
by the Intel iGPU before showing on the laptop display. This step is avoided by running the
game directly on an external screen, resulting in increased performance. Not only is an external
screen a much better experience, especially as the Blade Stealth only has a 60Hz screen,
it can also be a lot larger, and to be honest if you’re using a docking solution like
this chances are you may also have space to leave a monitor on your desk.
Battlefield 5 was tested in campaign mode with ultra settings. The game wasn’t playable
on the MX150, averaging just 15 FPS at max settings. Even using the laptop’s own screen
in combination with the 2080 Ti resulted in a 370% boost to average frame rate, while
an external monitor connected to the Core X Chroma increased this by a further 15%.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the built in benchmark with highest settings.
It was a similar deal here, very low result with the MX150, this thing obviously isn’t
made to play modern games at max settings, but it does clearly demonstrate that we can
take a machine like this to playable levels of performance.
Far Cry New Dawn was also tested with the built in benchmark at max settings. The results
follow the same trend as the previous games, below 20 FPS on the laptops own MX150 graphics,
then above 60 FPS averages under ideal conditions with the Core X Chroma.
Apex Legends was tested with all settings at maximum. The MX150 wasn’t doing too badly
here compared to the other games, there was less of a difference with the 2080 Ti at least,
but still a big difference nonetheless.
Fortnite was tested with the replay feature, and was chosen as an example of a less demanding
game that I thought would still work alright on the MX150 graphics, however that wasn’t
the case. To be fair it did go alright at lower settings, but we can see the massive
boost to performance with the Core X Chroma in use.
I’ve only tested a few games to demonstrate what the Core X Chroma can do for this review,
I’m planning a far more in depth video comparing laptops with their own Nvidia graphics against
an eGPU enclosure with a wide range of different graphics cards installed, and then against
a desktop PC as well, so make sure you’re subscribed for that one.
Although there are both CPU and Thunderbolt bottlenecks present preventing full performance
like we’d see in a desktop PC, we are now able to get a more than playable experience
in modern games on our Blade Stealth even with max settings, compared to trying to play
games without the Core X Chroma.
So is an external GPU enclosure like this a practical solution? Honestly for most people,
not really. You could build a whole mini ITX PC that takes up less space and will easily
outperform any modern laptop and eGPU combination for similar money. I think this is a niche
solution for a small group of people, and if you’re in that group then it’s great
to have this as an option.
To me, something like this is for someone who must use a laptop for the portability
aspect, if you don’t need any portability then there’s less need to own a laptop.
Many people, myself included, just use a separate desktop PC at home and have a laptop for travel.
An advantage of the eGPU setup is you only need one machine, no need to maintain two
installations of apps and files, granted things like that could be mitigated with something
like a NAS. Personally I think it makes more sense to just have a 15” laptop with decent
graphics built in, but if you really want something smaller like a 13” I believe the
best graphics you can get at the moment is a GTX 1650, so this is at least an option
if you need more power and have a laptop with Thunderbolt support.
I’ve only used one other eGPU enclosure before, the Mantiz Venus, and I have to say
the Core X Chroma did feel like a more premium product, getting inside was a lot easier and
the sliding tray mechanism made installation simple, it’s even got RGB lighting for additional
FPS. That said though, it was on the larger and heavier side, though this does give you
more option with regards to the graphics cards you can fit inside. Otherwise the price is
one of the reasons that makes this more of a niche solution.
You can check updated prices linked in the description, at the time of recording, in
the US the Razer Core X Chroma is going for $400 USD, or $650 AUD here in Australia.
The older Core X is $100 cheaper, and offers the same basic functionality. The key differences
are that the older Core X has a lower 650 watt power supply, meaning less powerful graphics
cards are supported. The older Core X also doesn’t have USB ports or ethernet, which
in my opinion make the newer Chroma version a better overall solution, as you can just
plug in one cable from the eGPU enclosure to the laptop and get not just extra graphical
power, but also gigabit ethernet and USB devices like keyboard and mouse. Oh and as per the
name, the new Chroma also has the all important RGB lighting.
When shopping for an eGPU you of course need to factor in the price of a graphics card,
and this is why costs start adding up, so you’ll have to decide if this is an option
for you as opposed to just buying a laptop with more powerful graphics inside, or desktop
PC. In many cases even a more powerful external GPU will get similar results to even a lower
powered laptop GPU after things like Thunderbolt bottlenecks are considered.
So what did you think of the Razer Core X Chroma? Let me know down in the comments,
and get subscribed for future tech videos and eGPU content like this.