I tested this X20W-D with the Mantiz Venus eGPU almost a year ago. At the time I didn't know about OPI mode and PCIe lane allocation for Thunderbolt 3 so I didn't think much of this Toshiba laptop. Now that we've learned more about what makes a good ultrabook for hosting an external GPU, I wanted to test the X20W-D again to confirm its Thunderbolt 3 configuration. Thanks to @yukikaze for his post in the Deals section I got this ultrabook for a great price, new in open box.
First of all, the Toshiba Portege X20W-D has excellent build quality. The body is magnesium and very light weight. It has one Thunderbolt 3 port that also serves as charging port. I vaguely recall it was running very well with the Mantiz Venus + R9 Fury X eGPU so my hope was this is another single-TB3 ultrabook with 4 PCIe lanes.
As can be seen above, HWiNFO64 and AIDA64 show the external GPU run through a x4 PCIe connection via TB3 and the laptop has 4GT/s OPI mode. One issue I encountered is the AORUS Gaming Engine software. The latest version on Gigabyte Support website is 1.32. It threw these errors when I ran it. I was able to locate version 1.28 [download link] and the software worked well changing RGB light and GPU performance modes.
All benchmarks were ran with the internal display. AORUS 1080 Gaming Box results are on the left. Sonnet Breakaway Box 350 + R9 Fury X results are on the right.
Now that Intel 8th gen ultrabooks are more widely available, there's nice discounts on last year models. While the Portege X20W-D is not as good of an eGPU host as quad-core counterparts, it's a well-built machine and should be decent for eGPU users on a budget. As can be seen in Intel Thunderbolt Software, it's actually certified for eGFX.
Not bad for a 2 core CPU....not bad at all.Thanks @itsage for the review and benchmarks.
Thank you for giving the Toshiba Protege Portege some representation. You got it at an excellent price, which may otherwise be a sticking point for US customers, considering it's price there.
Toshiba was one of the originators of ultraportable systems. eg: 2007 12" R500 (1.14kgs with optical drive), 2010/2011 13" R700/R830 (1.45kgs,6-cell, optical drive). That's before late 2011 saw Ultrabooks arriving. Definitely worth keeping an eye on this brand for some of the lighest chassis available.
@nando4 Thank you for the insight on Toshiba ultraportable lineage. This X20W-D definitely shows it's not a first generation hardware. I wish the matte coat/film on the display was done better. Other than that, it's a great value. Here's the video from last year testing.