Ever since the introduction of Thunderbolt 3, manufacturers have used the interface in many interesting ways. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons external graphics enclosure have gotten more popular recently, and MSI’s new GUS – that stands for Graphics Upgrade Solution – may just be the most polished one yet.
Unlike other products of its kind, the MSI GUS is a rather compact external graphics enclosure. Even so, MSI mentioned that the GUS can be fitted with all of the company’s recent graphics cards, including its GTX 1080 cards. Of course, GPUs from other manufacturers will also work with the GUS; it’s packed with a 500W power supply too.
In retrospect, the GUS isn’t actually a new idea from the company. Back in 2012, MSI introduced the GUS II, which is very similar to this new GUS. However, the GUS II was never released to consumers; it allegedly did not meet the company’s “production criteria to launch as a viable product.” Hopefully, the new GUS won’t suffer the same fate. Considering the fact that the GUS will be compatible with any Windows machine that supports Thunderbolt 3, it’s definitely an interesting graphics enclosure.
Ultimately, however, it is the retail price of the MSI GUS that will determine how compelling it is. At the time of this writing, no pricing information have been released yet; the MSI GUS is set to be released sometime in the second quarter of 2017.
