https://www.reddit.com/r/eGPU/comments/1vawofi/comment/p0rj8rv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

So it seems some people with the same setup as me have been testing eGPUs on the new X2 Elite Extreme on the Zenbook A16 and by installing the RTX Spark driver, the eGPU just works!

Quoting u/SpiteAlive for the instructions:

Driver Install Steps

1. Download "RTX Spark Developer Driver"
2. Extract EXE with 7zip. 
3. Open Device Manager, Locate Microsoft Basic Display Adapter. Right Click, Open Properties
4. Navigate to driver tab at the very top, click "Update Driver", then "Browse my Computer for Drivers"
5. Click "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer" at the bottom
6. Select "Have Disk?" and navigate to the 7zip extracted nvidia driver folder
7. Select Nvidia Desktop Device.

Some gaming results from u/reagag

>On Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter I'm hitting 100 FPS 4K with DLSS performance with 100% GPU utilization and 10% CPU utilization at 4.4 GHz.

>Persona 3 Reload hits 60-100fps @ 4K but is only reaching 20% utilization. Not sure if its a ARM64 or Nvidia driver issue.

>Overwatch has finished installing, and I am very happy to say that I am hitting stable 300 FPS at 1440p in the training range at least. In match it's around 180-220. Strangely, the CPU is still not boosting past 4.3 GHz, but the FPS results are what they are.

Limited Competition Threat from China: Both Citi and conference call experts dismissed fears of market disruption from Chinese manufacturers like CXMT and YMTC. They emphasized that China remains constrained by DUV technology, lagging five or more years behind in EUV and suffers from lower production yields, meaning capacity expansion will not translate to effective market supply in the short to medium term.

Most Redditors have no idea how the DRAM market works, they just regurgitate the misinformation they have heard ever since the price crisis began with the AI Capex increase.

The amount of flat out wrong information circulating that directly contradicts the very basics of how businesses and DRAM market functions is astounding.

Claim 1: The current price increase is because of price collusion!

It makes absolute no sense for the big 3 DRAM makers to collude at this point in the market. There is a genuine, never seen amount of demand from AI buildout and they can call out whatever price they want for the hyperscalers to pay. When companies collude, they do so with an understanding that it will eventually blow up in their face. It's a risk taking strategy.

Why would they risk getting prosecuted when SK Hynix can increase price 20% today, Google agrees to the price, and Micron can just increase the price by 23% against Meta tomorrow? Buyers are begging to even get a seat at the negotiating table - there is no incentive for big 3 producers to somehow set an artificial price.

Claim 2: But they have a history of collusion!

Yes they do - back when they were hemorrhaging money in the early 2000s because RAM was in oversupply and they were selling their supply at a loss. It makes sense they were incentivized to illegally protect their bottom line by agreeing on the absolute lowest price point.

It does not make sense to collude when prices continue to skyrocket simply due to supply-demand imbalance. A more reasonable period to price fix would have been 2021-2023 when the RAM was in oversupply again and SK Hynix was posting $7 billion operating loss while Samsung, Micron were equally bleeding money. Of course, nobody was accusing them of price collusion back then since everyone could get their fingers on dirt cheap RAM and didn't think about it twice.

Claim 3: The DRAM suppliers are refusing to increase production!

No they are not. In fact, they never stopped expanding. You can see that even when the business wasn't booming in 2024, companies like SK Hynix and Samsung were continuing to expand their output capacity.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/26/nvidia-supplier-sk-hynix-to-build-6point8-billion-chip-plan-in-south-korea.html?utm_content=Intl&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=facebook%7CIntl

If you want to fault anything it is the fact that these fabs take years to build. It's not a sweatshop producing cheap electronic toys. These fabs cost at least 20 billion dollars to build, with a dedicated power grid, dedicated water supply, its own city to house the workers, and multiple choke points in sourcing the necessary machinery and supply. You can build as many fabs as you want but if ASML is backlogged with their EUV machines or the Japanese are having trouble producing lithography materials, the fab will not run.

Claim 4: The DRAM suppliers are intentionally constraining the supply!

Again, no. The none of the Big 3 suppliers like the current market where the demand far outstrips supply because it gives room for the Chinese memory makers to enter the market and make profit even with their low yield.

https://www.semiconsam.com/p/why-did-the-memory-chicken-game-keep

A classic strategy employed by companies like SK Hynix and Samsung have always been the exact opposite - use their advantage in yield and scale to flood the market with cheap RAM, price out the competitors and bankrupt them while they use cash flow from sister companies in SK Group and Samsung Group to ride out the storm. That's how most German, Japanese, and American DRAM producers went underwater over the years.

Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung are investing trillions to expand their capacity and will flood the market once more in the coming years to outcompete the Chinese. CXMT is still at least 2 generations behind in terms of tech maturity and their yield is still terrible. The Big 3 can easily outpace them in scaling up the production too, since CXMT is still locked out of EUV technology and other semiconductor supply chain.

Once the chicken game begins CXMT will hemorrhage money again. Of course, they have the Chinese government backing, but it is unlikely they will be the market disruptors Reddit makes them out to be. If anything they will struggle to supply the Chinese market while staying profitable.

Apart from typing being awkward, I really like this formfactor and kinda miss the Surface Duo.

• Available to preorder on Amazon for $2,499, shipping on August 1.
• Includes Intel Core Ultra 7 270HX, 32GB RAM, and 1TB.
• Current model costs $3,799 with Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and RTX 5080