13 R3, AGA, S2417DG, set up?

Question

Hi,

So I recently decided to upgrade my setup. I have an Alienware 13 R3, and I bought three things:

- AGA (Alienware Graphics Amplifier)
- GeForce RTX 2070
- S2417DG monitor

However, I noticed that the AGA doesn't have a DP which I need to connect to the S2417DG in order to make use of the 144Hz and G-Sync capabilities. If I connect my 13 R3 to the AGA and my 13 R3 to the S2417DG, will that bottleneck and ruin my performance?

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@LtEaGkAaCY  The AGA itself doesn’t provide ANY display outputs, only a few USB ports for convenience, because the display outputs built into the GPU you install into the Graphics Amplifier will all be accessible, so you’ll connect displays directly to the RTX 2070 just as if you were installing it into a regular desktop. And yes you should do that because using the GPU in the AGA to run the laptop’s built-in display or displays connected directly to the laptop does cause a performance penalty because the AGA then has to send data back to the system rather than directly out to displays connected to that GPU. In fact if the display outputs on the laptop are wired directly to the laptop’s own NVIDIA GPU rather than the Intel GPU, I’m not sure it would even be possible to use the AGA with external displays connected to those outputs on the laptop. You can use the AGA GPU with display outputs wired to the system’s Intel GPU because in that case the NVIDIA GPU can use NVIDIA Optimus (which is how the AGA can be used for the built-in display), and you may find that different display outputs on that system are wired to different GPUs, but again you would take a performance hit there.

jphughan · Answer

@LtEaGkAaCY If it helps you to see this visually, Page 19 of the AGA manual, linked below, shows a GPU installed with its display outputs clearly accessible. Reading the manual is always a good place to start when questions or concerns arise.

http://ftp.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_alienware_dsk/alienware-steam-r2-console_User's%20Guide_en-us.pdf

jphughan · Answer

@LtEaGkAaCY  Did you check the page in the manual that I mentioned? Have you ever looked at the back of a desktop PC? The display outputs available on a GPU are all mounted on a bracket. When you install the GPU into the AGA (or a desktop PC), that bracket sits flush along the rear of the chassis, with its display connectors unobstructed, so you just plug display connectors into it. You don’t have to keep the AGA open at all.

LtEaGkAaCY · Answer

@jphughan Ok. Sorry for my noobishness lol, I know nothing abt desktops. Thanks for all your help, you really saved me from a headache.

jphughan · Answer

@LtEaGkAaCY  No worries, we all start somewhere! Often in those cases though it helps to look at pictures of the various components and read their manuals to see how everything will go together. Happy gaming!

LtEaGkAaCY · Answer

@jphughan ok, thanks for the information. I've never used anything besides a laptop before, so I had no idea that graphics cards have DisplayPorts. What I'm confused about though is how I would connect it; would I just leave the hatch of the AGA open so that the cable can come out, or is there some way for me to connect my monitor to the rtx 2070 while still closing it?

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13 R3, AGA, S2417DG, set up?

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