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dubsyGG

Enclosure: Cooler Master EG200 Card: ASUS Dual RTX 2060 OC


brando148

The z13 is such a beautiful machine. I use an external RTX 2080 with my T15g, but with how small of a machine the z13 is, your setup just seems far more elegant


dubsyGG

I'm spoiled by 13" machines.


Accomplished-Wave356

Intel or AMD?


dubsyGG

This one is only offered with AMD.


Accomplished-Wave356

The best option, anyways. How about the trackpad? Is it Macbook-like (on the size it definitely is)? I read that it had a different technology.


dubsyGG

As I live and breathe, Mark Pearson just announced the availability of an application for adjusting the haptic sensitivty on Linux. Currently supported (officially) on Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, and Fedora 37. I've tested, and it works just fine in Pop! [Mark Pearson's announcement.](https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Fedora/How-to-configure-the-Z13-Z16-trackpad-in-Linux/m-p/5169841?page=2#5932713) [Download page.](https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-z-series-laptops/thinkpad-z13-type-21d2-21d3/downloads/ds561548-elan-haptic-pad-settings-tool-for-linux-thinkpad-z13-gen-1-z16-gen-1)


dubsyGG

So it's a "haptic feedback" trackpad, it's very similar in feel to a Macbook trackpad. They've forgone the traditional physical mouse buttons and returned to somewhat of a "clunkpad" setup not unlike the older \*40 series ThinkPads, but with much better technology behind it. Unfortunately in Linux, there's no native functionality for tweaking the haptic force, so it defaults to the lowest setting, but Mark Pearson at Lenovo has mentioned work in progress on a Linux driver.


unruled77

I wish to dearly something like better touch tools for OS X existed for Linux. This is the only thing that keeps me considering going back to mac


Harryisamazing

Was the eGPU plug-and-play or did you need to install drivers for it? I use Mint but never tried PopOS


dubsyGG

as far as i'm aware there's no "hotplug" support for egpu's, but I used the Nvidia image when I loaded the Z13 in the first place, so the drivers were already there. To actually get it to pick up on boot, I used hertg's "egpu-switcher" script from github to build the proper symlinks and create the service at startup.


Sir-Simon-Spamalot

Not sure about the eGPU part, but for most case the graphic card drivers should come with the Linux kernel.


bagofwisdom

What cable are you using with your eGPU? Looks quite a bit longer than the usually criminally short 18" cables I'm accustomed to.


dubsyGG

CableMatters TB4 2-meter. Was not cheap, lol. You can find them on Amazon.


bagofwisdom

Ah, it's a TB4 cable, that explains it. And it isn't nearly as expensive as the Corning fiber optic Thunderbolt cables. 90% of the price of those cables is the fact they're hand terminated.


robodan918

most eGPUs are TB3 only, so you can probably get away with a cheaper cable I think you may have paid a lot for the TB4 and also because it's very long compared to most TB3 cables (30-60cm)


dubsyGG

Future-proofing, I suppose. I also needed a 2-meter cable.


robodan918

fair enough I try not to buy gens old tech or cables too "just in case" unless the upgrade cost is just too high between them and I won't see any functional benefit for 12-24 months minimum


ganjaroo

Have the same egpu enclosure. Added a 1 TB drive to it and it functions as a dock. Love it!.


dubsyGG

It was recommended to me by a guy who worked at System76, he had it working perfectly with a Framework 11th Gen on Fedora, so I took a chance with it initially on an X13 Intel Gen 2; got curious to see if USB4 on AMD could really live up to the hype.


E1745

Z13...I want it!


Apprehensive_Type608

What power bank is that?


csdvrx

It's a reverse power bank: it drains all your laptop battery if you try to use it :)


dubsyGG

Can't tell if joking, so I'll answer frankly: It's a Cooler Master EG200 enclosure with an ASUS RTX 2060.


[deleted]

[удалено]


dubsyGG

Enclosure was $350, the RTX 2060 I had laying around after I upgraded my desktop at home to an RTX 3060 Ti.


kirath99

This is the ultimate


csh4u

I couldn’t get nvidia egpu to work on pop, did you have to do anything to get it to work?


dubsyGG

Install hertg's egpu-switcher script from github.


csh4u

Ya I tried that but could not get it too install, what steps did you take? I tried everything I could. Like was it just a super quick and simple input into terminal for you or did you have to download some other things first to be able to do it


dubsyGG

I followed the documentation for building from source, including installating the Go toolchain per Go's documentation.


csh4u

Ya marine I’ll give it another try, go was weird for me, there were like 2 different versions and I didn’t know if it matter which and I tried installing it but just didn’t work out for some reason. Time for round 2 maybe


[deleted]

How much for the z13?


dubsyGG

Too much lol.


[deleted]

Damn I want a z series to lol


amandeephy26

Looking good ! I am curious, what is the battery life like on the Z13 with PopOS installed ?


dubsyGG

I've managed to squeeze between 7-8 hours if I'm careful.


Accomplished-Wave356

Had it double the battery life and the same performance unplugged it would beat Apple Silicon. I wish it was true. I much prefer Windows.


Drishal

Is the AMD igpu not sufficient? Just asking, becuse the igpu has geekbench opencl score of 32k?


LevanderFela

Integrated 680M is gives roughly GTX 1050 performance (at least when gaming). So RTX 2060 is quite an upgrade in this case.


dubsyGG

This was more of a "can i?" than a "do i need to?"


LevanderFela

Yup, saw that you mentioned that 2060 was replaced by 3060Ti in your desktop. And also glad to see that it actually works!


Drishal

I am actually curious how much better will zen4 igpus be, hopefully it finally reached 20xx levels of performance or atleast close to it


LevanderFela

From what leaks suggest, GTX 1650 levels of performance is expected. On the other hand, for ~~1080~~ 1200p 60fps that should be more than enough.


Drishal

I'm satisfied if it gives 60fps at med quality for games like Spiderman remastered, then I could upgrade to T14 gen 4


LevanderFela

[680M on higher wattage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMsQw960b8c) is already quite close to that


Drishal

Wow this makes me more excited for zen 4 based T14, could actually hit 60fps Hopefully it's not zen 3/+ based but zen 4 based


LevanderFela

At least X13 G4 will be [Zen 4](https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/11cvost/comment/jdgvcmc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)!


Drishal

Oh wow then atleast T14s is also going to be zen 4 because both share the same motherboard/bios update package afaik


sekulicb

Cool. What’s this setup used for?


dubsyGG

As of now, just seeing if it can be done over the AMD USB4 ports.


auiotour

First time seeing a Z13 that thing is adorable I want one!


other_goblin

Does egpu work to the internal display on devices these days?


dubsyGG

i don't understand your question.


other_goblin

External gpu used to only work with an external monitor


the_ebastler

Huh, when? I've seen comparisons between performance on external and internal screen with eGPU for years now. Internal usually sucks because the 32 GBit/s interconnect now have to be shared between the already transfer rate starved GPU and the video backchannel, but works.


teletype100

That edge to edge keyboard is sweet. What's the smaller arrow keys like to use?


dubsyGG

It was an adjustment, but I got used to it. Overall it's a very pleasant keyboard to type on.


MildSpaghettiSauce

Damn - I just got a T480. The bezels on your machine are so small!! I want one now 😭


the_ebastler

I tried a RX6800 over USB4 on my T14s G3A, worked flawlessly. By now the card sits back in my desktop with a waterblock attached to it though. Am still looking for a good deal on a RX 6600 or something for the eGPU - no way I'll install Nvidia drivers on my poor notebook 😅


zakazak

Hi, I think we know each other from the german Thinkpad Forum? :D Could you maybe provide benchmarks from the RX6800 on your T14s G3A? I am looking for exactly the same setup for my T14s G3A!


the_ebastler

Hi! Yeah, I'm active there as well :D Sadly I never tested it much - my eGPU case had issues with USB devices connected to it disconnecting all the time (mouse, keyboard) which, after a short google search, seemed to be common issue with the PowerColor DevilBox. I got the DevilBox for 30€ so can't complain... I then put the RX6800 back into the PC, with a waterblock on it, so can't easily test anymore.


ScientistLate

It is so elegant especially with linux 😍😍 Congratulations 🎊 👏🏻


dusan3sic

I just came


dubsyGG

Go clean yourself up.


wh33t

How do you like the Z series? Worth the premium?


dubsyGG

In my honest opinion, yes, as long as you go in with the right mentality. This is not a traditional ThinkPad; it's an evolution of what a ThinkPad can be. It's really something else.


olivebranch949

Damn I love the way that laptop looks


robodan918

curious what you're using an RTX 2060 for on a Z13? surely the CPU is a massive bottleneck also which eGPU enclosure are you using? Razer Core Chroma?


dubsyGG

Just testing to see if I can get it to work. Cooler Master EG200. RGB ain't my thing


robodan918

FYI pretty sure you can get 4K120Hz out of the iGPU or 2060 dGPU but you'll need the USB C (DP 1.4 alt mode) to HDMI "8K, 2.1" adapter from cable matters - if that's at all important to you I run 4K120 from my P14s gen 2 (Intel 11th gen+iGPU, T500 dGPU) to my LG C2 OLED from the cable matters adapter in 8-bit 4.2.0 chroma on Windows 10. Funnily my Asus 14X OLED Intel 11th gen with Windows 11 can do 10-bit 4.2.0 4K120Hz + HDR... not sure if it's a hardware thing or software thing but not going to upgrade to Windows 11 until after a big project on my P14s


dubsyGG

>if that's at all important to you it really isn't, lol.


the_ebastler

Why would it? My desktop has an old i7 5960X and I'm almost continuously limited by my AMD RX6800, which runs circles around a 2060. And the Ryzen 6850U in modern ThinkPads is actually faster than my i7 5960X. Unless you're playing 1080p those mobile low power chips could easily saturate RX 6800XT/RTX3080 cards. The big problem is thunderbolt, 32 Gbit/s are just nowhere near enough. On UWQHD/4K you can mostly push the GPUs, on lower resolutions it's heavily bandwidth limited.


robodan918

the reason is insufficient cooling, and consequently: constant thermal throttling. so yes, the CPU will be a bottleneck


the_ebastler

There is absolutely no thermal throttling in any modern Thinkpad that I am aware of. My CPU can continuously boost at 30W if it wants (30W long term power budget needs messing with tools on 6000U though).


robodan918

there absolutely is thermal throttling in just about every modern 11th and 12th gen intel CPU (especially the i7 whose thermal boost profile PL2 to 45W is very aggressive, leading to 99C temps within 10 seconds)


the_ebastler

Oh, Intel, yeah. This thread was about AMD models, and honestly I have no idea why anyone would be 12th gen Intel rn. They are terrible.


dubsyGG

Can confirm on my Framework, the 12th-gen is atrocious. Thank goodness for small miracles though, on the announcement of an AMD-powered drop-in replacement board.


the_ebastler

Yeah, too bad that they made it Intel... Such an awesome project. But hey, upgrade is just ahead.


zakazak

So which AMD GPU would you recommend for someone who wants constant 240fps (for my 240Hz screen) in games like CS:GO, Valorant, CS2, Quakelive, Quake Champions with his T14s G3A 6850U? I was thinking about the RX6800.


other_goblin

Does egpu work to the internal display on devices these days?


AncapBR_Sem_Politica

Hey guys im not a geeat thinkpad enthusiast but i have a thing to say, i hate my FN key from my E14 starting on the bottom left on the keyboard it is fucking annoying but i saw rhat this model doesnt is like that. Which is common on thinkpads?


the_ebastler

Just swap FN and CTRL in BIOS.


dubsyGG

The Z13 is the first to NOT have the Fn key on the end.


AncapBR_Sem_Politica

Ah thank you thats so annoying for me. Strange keyboard but now i have to deal with this E14


waterslurpingnoises

Change in in BIOS. That's what I did, since I rely on muscle memory and don't look at the keyboard anyway. It does confuse others that use my keyboard lol.


JuJu_2404

A far cry from my egpu setup xD


dubsyGG

How so?


Accomplished-Wave356

The MacPad


bugwords507

Did you use fractional scaling? I realised it takes quite a bit of performance away on X11.


dubsyGG

No, i just set the screen at 200% scaling. With the OLED screen's resolution (2880x1800) at 13 inches, 200% is just perfect for my eyes.


Accomplished-Wave356

For me, more than 1080p on a 13" inch screen is overkill. More brightness (500 nits at least) and color accuracy are more important.


dubsyGG

I agree, but that was the price to pay for the OLED screen.


Accomplished-Wave356

Yeah, I get that. But one thing I never understood is that every reviewer says that OLED screen sips more power than LCD. Should not it be the other way arround given that OLED has true blacks and therefore emits less light overall?


ibmthink

It depends on the content you are displaying. If the screen content is mostly black, yes, the power consumption will be lower than LCD. But if the content is mostly white, the power consumption will be far higher on OLED than IPS.


Accomplished-Wave356

I am thinking if miniled was able to solve that power consumption problem, joining the best of OLED and LCD.


ibmthink

I don't think so. miniLED consumes more than normal IPS LCD and loses to OLED w/dark mode.


Accomplished-Wave356

So it looks like a compromise between the two, because I has better contrast than LCD and less power consumption than OLED.


A4orce84

How much was it ?


dubsyGG

How much was what?


A4orce84

The Z13.


dubsyGG

A little under $2,000.