Sonnet eGFX Breakaway 650 vs Razer Core X - eGPU Comparison

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*Re-loaded without the sound issue.

Looking to add a bit of “oomph” to your Thunderbolt 3 enabled Mac? Then an eGPU is probably going to be your best bet. Now we’ve been using two different eGPU’s for our videos over the last year and we definitely know the differences between the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650 and the Razer Core X.

In short, the Razer Core X comes out on top.

When it comes to gaming, both were definitely better than the stock GPU but there was no measurable difference between the two.

When it comes to video editing, we had more success with the Razer Core X.

BUT outside of video editing and gaming, there are two things that I found made me like the Sonnet.

So here’s what we did for this video. We bought the two eGPU’s and to keep things simple, we have the same graphics card in both, a 8GB Radeon RX VEGA 56. Halfway through our official testing, we swapped the cards between the boxes and ran the same tests.

Now from our technical perspective, here are a few notable differences.

Sound - The Razer Core X is louder than the eGFX Breakaway Box when the box is idling and when under loads. When both units are under loads, the sound difference is smaller BUT the Core X is still louder by 2-5 DB’s. I will note that the Sonnet box will sound louder because the differences between idle and load is over 10DB’s so it is very noticeable when it spools up.

Portability - The eGFX Breakaway Box is easy to move because it only weighs 7lbs whereas the Razer Core X is 12lbs. The enclosure on the Core X is heavy. The extra length and extra weight gets annoying to move around so if you’re treating the Core X as a desktop and keeping it one place, then this won’t be an issue.

Another downside for the Core X when it comes to portability is that the sled where the GPU sits in slides around a bit so when you move it around, feels like it’s going to fall out.

BUT that’s a good thing when it comes to card swapping as you’re not peeling and prying the cover off like the Sonnet box.

Capacity - Both boxes fit my RX Vega 56’s without any issue. However, if you’re going balls out on a GPU and plan on getting one that’s a 3-fer, than Core X is going to be your only choice. Between these two eGPU boxes.

Alright, that’s the boring stuff out of the way. Let’s talk about how well these units perform when it comes to video editing and gaming/graphics.

I ran the test from Unigen Valley and captured the FPS for each pass. During this test, I didn’t notice much of a difference between the eGPU’s. Both were definitely better than the stock MacBook Pro but neither offered much difference between each other.

Now the only numerical benchmark I could run that would test the GPU’s was LuxMark whose scores didn’t provide much insight in terms of differences. Both devices had scores around 26,600 whereas the stock GPU clocked in around 5000. It was at this moment that I thought there wouldn’t much difference in the performance of the units but I was wrong.

When it comes to using both boxes with Final Cut Pro X, the Razer Core X performed in the most consistent manner before and after the card swaps. When adding a 50’s TV filter onto a 4GB 4K video clip took between 8 and 9.5 minutes whereas the Sonnet took between 8.75 minutes to 13 minutes.

As a side note the render took over 15 minutes to do without the eGPU so if you’re working in render heavy environments, you’re going to save close to 50% of your time. Now the eGPU has no effect on video exports or imports.

When it comes to games, I did two tests, one with a little known game called Starcraft 2 and a newer game called Subnautica. I choose these games because I’m in the process of replaying them because current games blow.

When it came to SC2 with the graphic setting put on Ultra, every card, including the stock card was able to produce FPS between 18-22 without any issue. Is this surprising? Not really since it’s a 9 year old game BUT it was worth testing to see what would happen.

Now Subnautica was a bit different story. For the base GPU as the game was hard to play at 7 FPS. Both eGPU’s put out numbers between 18-22 FPS. Is it stellar? No but that’s not the point of this video.
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Love how you actually give your "verdict" upfront on which case performs better. Great video!

chrisryancreative
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I appreciate the short/consciceness of video.

LeoUfimtsev
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Thanks for compare of the two eGpu boxes I was following to get. Now, I am glad to have ordered Sonnet. As I am not a video editor (yet) and getting this device to have external gpu run on my TB3 supported laptop for gaming, I am happy to pick right one.

metin_gungor
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Very precise and concise review. Absolute zero waste of time! :)

ArthurHau
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This is different. Thanks for something interesting

jedwardoo
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Does the Spigen case work with the 3d full coverage flolab screen protector?

ashleygray
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i like how ur dog keeps staring at ur soul

kiro
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Cool Vid, What is the max length graphics card that the Sonnet can support?

flaring_nostrils
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How do you measure the data transfer rates of the eGPU?

AdlinLing
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How do you use the Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650 in video editing?

HJBProductionsLLC
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Can you make a review on the limitless 3.0?

flamezyz
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I have some issues with monitor connectivity when the monitor is connected to the razor core x. Any one have the same issue?

TheTravelersPlanet
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So render times are faster but export times don't change?

HomeboiPhotography
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Would it have the same performance for windows ?

hederguillen
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Would it be great if you could add some benchmark for compute tasks? I mean, LuxMark is awesome, and audience would benefit more from more of such category.

jackxujh
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Great video! I have an LG Ultrafine 5K monitor, will the Esonnet eGPU work with it as I was told it would only work with the Blackmagic eGPU due to thunderbolt 3 port restraints on the EGPU enclosure.

Randomguy
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Can I use these units with PC Windows laptop (a non-Apple laptop)? Is there any thunderbolt port on non-Apple Windows hardware laptop?

orestesdd
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I definitely assumed a high priced eGPU would’ve given you absurd frame rates. Is that not something they would do?

hoonaynay
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My MacBook really needs help .. I keep watching these e-gpu vids but I really don’t know what to think ? Some people say yes, others no ? So confusing .. great post thou . Hope montys better .

OGtalks
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anyone here with sonnet egfx and rx 5500-5700 with game performance test? thx

gzull