This summer during the Computex convention in Taipei, PowerColor revealed the Devil Box, an external graphics enclosure similar to the Razer Core and the Asus ROG XG2. Now we’re into October, and this external graphics enclosure is finally up for grabs at Newegg here in the United States for $380. However, at the time of this writing, the product still wasn’t listed.
In a nutshell, the Devil Box is meant to beef up the graphics of a Thunderbolt 3-powered desktop or laptop. But there’s a catch: Customers must supply their own graphics card. The enclosure supports a number of products from AMD and Nvidia such as the new Radeon RX 400 Series and GeForce GTX 10 Series from AMD and Nvidia, respectively.
Despite its obvious compatibility with Nvidia graphics cards, the Devil Box is based on AMD’s XConnect technology that was introduced on March 16. This was developed in collaboration with Intel for connecting external Radeon cards through a Thunderbolt 3 port. Customers can plug in and unplug the XConnect-compatible device just like any USB flash drive: no reboot is necessary.
The good news for Intel customers is that the system requirements don’t demand an AMD processor. However, the desktop or laptop needs to have Windows 10 build 10586 (64-bit) or later installed, and the BIOS needs to support external graphics over Thunderbolt 3. If you’re not sure about that latter requirement, check with the motherboard vendor’s website to find out more information.
Here are the specifications for the new Devil Box enclosure:
| Size: | 400 x 172 x 242mm |
| Internal power supply: | 500 watts |
| Connection to host PC: | Thunderbolt 3 via 40Gbps cable |
| Graphics card type: | PCI Express x16, Max Gen3 x4 speed |
| Max graphics card size: | 310 x 140 x 500mm, 2-slot bracket |
| Max graphics card power: | 375 watts |
| I/O Ports: | 1x Thunderbolt 3 1x gigabit Ethernet 1x SATA 3 for a 2.5 inch HDD/SSD 4x USB 3.0 1x USB 3.1 Type-C |
Thanks to the added ports, the Devil Box extends the capabilities of a laptop or desktop on top of boosting graphics. For instance, after installing a 2.5-inch hard drive, the unit can be used as an external storage solution. It can also be used for wired networking, as it will pass the transmission from the Ethernet port through the Thunderbolt 3 connection. The Thunderbolt 3 port even supports charging a laptop up to 60 watts.
Now here’s a list of cards this enclosure supports:
| AMD Radeon | Nvidia GeForce |
| RX 400 Series | GTX Titan X |
| R9 Fury | GTX 10 Series |
| R9 Nano | GTX 980 Ti |
| R9 300 Series | GTX 980 |
| R9 290X | GTX 970 |
| R9 290 | GTX 960 |
| R9 285 | GTX 950 |
| GTX 750 Ti | |
| GTX 750 | |
“With a qualified graphics card installed in the PowerColor Devil Box and connecting with Thunderbolt 3 specification, gamers and enthusiasts will be able to play any types of games on the market without sacrificing the portability of a thin’n’light notebook,” PowerColor said during the convention earlier this summer.
According to PowerColor, there is a very limited supply of the Devil Box units for now, so keep checking back with Newegg until the listing appears and then grab it quick. An abundant number of units will likely happen once the Devil Box gains popularity. In addition to the United States, it’s also sold in Germany, the U.K., China, and soon in Japan and Singapore.
