eGFX Breakaway Box General Information and Known Issues
Keeping the Installed Card Cool
With its optimized airflow design and temperature-controlledmain fan providing cooling at all times, eGFX Breakaway Box
provides adequate cooling for the installed card. Do not block
any of the vents! Otherwise, the card and Breakaway Box’s
components may overheat.
Main Fan and Power Supply Fan Operation
The Breakaway Box’s main fan does not operate when thecomputer to which the box is connected is sleeping or turned off.
The Breakaway Box’s power supply fan runs whenever the box
is powered and switched on, even when disconnected from acomputer, or connected to a computer that is off or sleeping.
Power Indicator LED Operation
The Breakaway Box power indicator LED only turns on whenthe computer to which the Box is connected is on, and turns off
when the computer is sleeping or powered off.
eGFX Breakaway Box Has Only One Thunderbolt 3 Port
As a requirement for Thunderbolt certification as an external
GPU-ready enclosure, the eGFX Breakaway Box was designedwith a single Thunderbolt 3 port. Connecting additional
devices, especially a Thunderbolt display, could rob critical PCIebandwidth from a GPU card.
Not All Computers’ Thunderbolt 3 Performance is Equal
While the eGFX Breakaway box features a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3interface, some computers equipped with Thunderbolt 3 use an
x2 PCIe (2-lane) implementation of Thunderbolt 3 technologythat limits PCIe performance to 20Gbps. For more computer
information, visit http://gtrusted.com/technology/thunderbolt/
thunderbolt3-hosts/
GPU Card Power Requirements
Visit the eGFX Breakaway Box product page on the Sonnet site atsonnettech.com/product/egfx-breakaway-box.html for a power
requirement list.
Replacing a Card After Initial Installation
If you decide to swap the card after the initial setup, shut down thecomputer, and then disconnect the power cord and Thunderbolt
cable from the Breakaway Box before replacing the card.
PCIe CARDS ARE NOT HOT-PLUGGABLE!
Never install a PCIe card into Breakaway Box while it isconnected to a computer or power outlet! If you do, you risk
injury, and damage to the card, chassis, and computer.

Most GPU Cards Will Not Perform at 100%eGFX Breakaway Box performance is defined by the host system,graphics card, and Thunderbolt bandwidth. While you may notachieve full desktop performance in all applications, you will see asignificant graphics performance boost.
eGFX Breakaway Boxes Provide Upstream PowerThe eGFX Breakaway Box is designed to provide 15 watts ofupstream power, the eGFX Breakaway Box (Developer Edition)
provides 60 watts, and the eGFX Breakaway Box 550 & eGFX
Breakaway Box 650 models provide 87 watts of upstream power,
useful for charging your notebook.
Using the eGFX Breakaway Box to Charge Your Notebook orLaptop Computer
Apple® MacBook Pro® computers with Thunderbolt 3 and someWindows laptops with Thunderbolt 3 may be charged via theeGFX Breakaway Box’s Thunderbolt 3 port, but some PC laptops
will not accept charging from a Thunderbolt peripheral; see
https://gtrusted.com/technology/thunderbolt/thunderbolt3hosts/ for more information. Computers with Thunderbolt 2 orThunderbolt ports may not be charged via Thunderbolt.
How to Identify Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) Cables
Look for the Thunderbolt icon ( ) AND the number 3 on theconnector housings to identify these cables. Cables with USB-Cconnectors that only have the Thunderbolt icon without thenumber 3 support 20Gbps speeds, and are not recommended for
GPU and other PCIe cards with high bandwidth requirements.
Not All Thunderbolt 3 Cables Deliver Full Performance orPower Delivery Capabilities
Full performance and power delivery capabilities from the eGFX
Breakaway Box require the use of the included Thunderbolt 3(40Gbps) cable (which also supports up to 100W power delivery),or a comparable Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable. When shopping
for a Thunderbolt 3 cable, please be aware that some cables supportonly lower data transfer speeds (20Gbps) and/or power delivery
capabilities (60W).
Operating System (OS) Updates May Break Compatibility
Specific device drivers that work under one OS version may not work
under a later version. Before updating your computer to the latest OS,
we recommend that you contact Sonnet or your PCIe card’s
manufacturer to verify that the existing drivers work. Notethat other software updates for the computer may also breakcompatibility.

©2018 Sonnet Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sonnet, the Sonnet logotype, Simply Fast, the Simply Fast logotype, and Breakaway are trademarks of Sonnet Technologies, Inc. Thunderbolt 3 and the Thunderbolt logo aretrademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Product specifications subject to change without notice. GI-GPU-XXXW-TB3-E-A-022318