Driving a Vive Cosmos Elite from an ASUS VivoBook S15 Ultrabook with an eGPU (RTX 3060 Ti)
ASUS lent me an ASUS VivoBook S15 — a compact laptop built around the concept of “Move forward, your way."
This configuration runs an 11th-gen Intel Core CPU and comes with a Thunderbolt 4 port. Can you connect an eGPU enclosure over that Thunderbolt 4 port and actually enjoy a Vive Cosmos Elite? Let’s find out.
The Test Setup: ASUS VivoBook S15 S533EA (S533EA-BQ032TS)
Here’s the spec sheet for the unit I borrowed. This is the configuration I’m testing throughout this article.
| Model | ASUS VivoBook S15 S533EA S533EA-BQ032TS |
|---|---|
| CPU | Core i7-1165G7 4 cores / 8 threads, 2.8GHz (Turbo Boost 4.7GHz) |
| GPU | Integrated GPU (Iris Xe Graphics) |
| Memory | 16GB |
| SSD | 1024GB |
| HDD | None |
| Power adapter | 65W |
| OS | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
What I Used: Razer Core X
| Item | Razer Core X |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Razer |
| Size (H x W x D) (mm) | 230x168x374 |
| Internal dimensions (mm) | 160x57x330 |
| Built-in power supply | 650W |
This eGPU enclosure has a fairly beefy 650W built-in power supply. I’m testing it here with an RTX 3060 Ti installed.
The Razer Core X doesn’t come with a Thunderbolt cable. For this test, I used the cable below.
GIGABYTE GV-N306TGAMING OC-8GD
This is a GIGABYTE-made RTX 3060 Ti — one of the more modest, lower-mid-tier models in GIGABYTE’s lineup.
Getting the Vive Cosmos Elite Running
Now let’s connect the Vive Cosmos Elite and see how much performance this setup delivers. As a benchmark, I’ll use the frame rate the PC is able to render.
For this test, I’m leaving the Vive Cosmos Elite’s graphics settings untouched: rendering resolution stays at 100%, and I’m also turning off the headset’s automatic frame-rate safeguard feature.
When you install the Vive app, you’ll see the warning below. The RTX 3060 Ti shouldn’t have any trouble performance-wise, so this is probably just the app’s compatibility list not having caught up yet. The CPU is a mobile part, so it makes sense that it’s not on the recommended list.
After the warning, it recommends changing your PC configuration, but I ignore that and click “Continue" anyway.
Also, “motion smoothing" doesn’t work with the RTX 3060 Ti. This, too, is probably just waiting on a Vive app update.
Connecting the Vive Cosmos Elite: The Cabling
The ASUS VivoBook S15 has a single Thunderbolt 4 port on its left side.
This is where I connect the eGPU enclosure.
I connect the Vive Cosmos Elite’s DisplayPort cable to the graphics card inside the eGPU enclosure, and plug its USB Type-A cable into the ASUS VivoBook S15’s left-side port. The port on the right side of the ASUS VivoBook S15 is only USB 2.0 — the Vive Cosmos Elite won’t run if you plug it in there.
Frame Rate in Beat Saber
As a classic example of a lightweight VR app, I’m testing Beat Saber.
The frame rate comes in around 150fps — plenty of headroom.
Frame Rate in Half-Life: Alyx
As an app with much richer visuals, I’m running Half-Life: Alyx.
Low Quality Setting
At the low quality setting, it runs without any issues, and the frame rate stays stable.
Maximum Quality Setting
[kimono_bar title="Half-Life: Alyx (Max Quality) — Vive Cosmos Elite x VivoBook S15 + RTX3060Ti" unit="fps" color="#1e90ff"] Rendering resolution 100%|88 [/kimono_bar]At the maximum quality setting, frame drops start to appear. You may not consciously notice them, but given the risk of VR sickness, it’s probably best to lower the quality setting.
Frame Rate in SteamVR Home
This is the home screen you land on when you launch SteamVR. Since you’ll see it every time you start SteamVR, if it doesn’t run comfortably here, that friction adds up fast.
The frame rate holds above 100fps here — comfortable.
Frame Rate in Asgard’s Wrath
This is the big-budget RPG announced alongside Oculus Link itself — a classic example of a heavy VR app.
Asgard’s Wrath’s recommended CPU is an Intel Core i7-7700 or better. Here’s how the CPU benchmark app Cinebench R20 compares:
[kimono_bar title="Asgard’s Wrath Recommended CPU Performance vs. VivoBook S15″ color="#1e90ff"] Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)|3864 Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)|939 [/kimono_bar]The ASUS VivoBook S15’s CPU doesn’t reach Asgard’s Wrath’s recommended performance level. With that in mind, let’s check the frame rate.
Quality Setting: “Easy"
[kimono_bar title="Asgard’s Wrath (Easy) — Vive Cosmos Elite x VivoBook S15 + RTX3060Ti" unit="fps" color="#1e90ff"] Rendering resolution 100%|79 [/kimono_bar]Frame drops do occur. In practice you can play without really noticing them, but you should still assume there’s some risk of VR sickness.
Quality Setting: “High"
[kimono_bar title="Asgard’s Wrath (High) — Vive Cosmos Elite x VivoBook S15 + RTX3060Ti" unit="fps" color="#1e90ff"] Rendering resolution 100%|55 [/kimono_bar]The frame rate drops to around 50fps, close to half of the Vive Cosmos Elite’s refresh rate. It doesn’t keep pace with head movement at this setting either, so I can’t recommend playing at this quality level.
Frame Rate Results at 100% Rendering Resolution
Throughout this test, I kept the Vive Cosmos Elite’s rendering resolution setting at 100% and tracked the frame rate from there.
Rendering Resolution: 100% Setting (4032×2380)
With the rendering resolution in the video settings set to 100% (resolution: 4032×2380), I measured the frame rate for each app.
[kimono_bar title="Vive Cosmos Elite x VivoBook S15 + RTX3060Ti" unit="fps" color="#1e90ff"] Half-Life: Alyx max quality|88 Asgard’s Wrath easy|79 Asgard’s Wrath high|55 [/kimono_bar]Nothing grinds to a serious halt, but if you drop each app’s quality setting to low, quite a few apps run fine. Heavy apps like Asgard’s Wrath, though, end up CPU-bottlenecked, so they’re not really enjoyable.
What I Could Not Verify
This is a single review unit lent by ASUS, so I can’t say how much these numbers would vary between individual units. I only tested with the specific Thunderbolt cable, Razer Core X enclosure, and GIGABYTE RTX 3060 Ti listed above — a different cable, eGPU enclosure, or card model could shift the numbers. I also stuck to four apps here; a heavier or more CPU-bound title than Asgard’s Wrath could behave differently.
In Summary: Yes, But Only at Low Quality Settings
Yes — the ASUS VivoBook S15 paired with an RTX 3060 Ti can drive a Vive Cosmos Elite, as long as you set apps to low quality.
Just give up on apps where the CPU becomes the bottleneck.
The Vive Cosmos Elite is a headset that prioritizes visual quality, and it’s on the heavier end in terms of what it demands from your PC. Its sharp, detailed image is the big draw, but the load it puts on your system is larger than the resolution alone would suggest.
The ASUS VivoBook S15 is a mobile ultrabook built around an 11th-gen CPU. CPU performance in mobile ultrabooks keeps climbing generation over generation, and once you fix the graphics bottleneck by adding an RTX 3060 Ti, it turns out VR is enjoyable to this degree.
That said, even this CPU falls a little short if you want to fully enjoy the Vive Cosmos Elite on the ASUS VivoBook S15. If you want to use a Vive Cosmos Elite without compromise, you’re honestly better off just buying a proper gaming laptop.