AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS Review (RTX 3080 eGPU Tested)

1. Ryzen 9 5980HS - 8 Cores at 35W2. Testing Configurations & Methodology3. Tests: Compute Performance - Cinebench4. Tests: Compute Performance - Blender5. Tests: Compute Performance - Handbrake & 7-Zip6. Tests: System Performance - PCMark 10 & 3DMark7. Tests: GPU + eGPU Gaming 1080p8. Tests: GPU + eGPU Gaming 4K UHD9. Closing Thoughts10. View All Pages

For game testing, we are using the GTX 1650 Max-Q dGPU utilised in the ASUS Flow X13 laptop. As this modestly powered GPU is unlikely to push the Ryzen 9 5980HS hard, we are also using ASUS' ROG XG Mobile eGPU enclosure which features a 150W RTX 3080 Laptop GPU and connects via a proprietary PCIe Gen 3 x8 connection. For more details on this enclosure and its features, check out our video review on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.

Comparison will also be made against the Razer Blade Stealth 13 competing system using a Razer Core X Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure. Inside this enclosure, we fit a 340W-rated desktop-calibre RTX 3080 Eagle OC from Gigabyte. It will be interesting to see how the more powerful graphics card but lower bandwidth Razer solution competes against ASUS' less powerful GPU but higher bandwidth alternative.

We are testing the eGPU configurations running the display back to the laptop screen and also running to an external monitor. There can be sizable variations in eGPU performance from test-to-test and some games are less punishing than others for routing back to the internal laptop display. It will be interesting to see if the higher bandwidth connection on ASUS’ technically less powerful eGPU will allow it any performance victories.

F1 2020

We run the game quality set to Ultra High.

Grand Theft Auto V

We use the DirectX 11 mode, anti-aliasing disabled, and the Maximum quality settings.

The Division 2

We run the game with quality set to Ultra, VSync disabled, and DX12 mode.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

We use the DirectX 12 mode, anti-aliasing disabled, and the Highest quality preset.

Performance from the Ryzen 9 5980HS-powered solution with the XG Mobile dock is very hit or miss. There are clear signs of the Ryzen chip's gaming prowess, as highlighted by the RTX 3080 Laptop GPU inside the ASUS dock often outperforming the desktop-class RTX 3080 in the Razer competing solution. This is not only down to bandwidth benefits on the ASUS solution, but also the more powerful Ryzen 9 5980HS CPU that does not bottleneck the GPU.

However, eGPU gaming still has plenty of room for improvement at 1080p, especially when looking at games such as GTA V. Sometimes, it seems, powerful internal hardware is simply a better setup than ASUS' proprietary solution.

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