Plugable TBT5-AI Thunderbolt 5 AI eGPU Enclosure
The Plugable TBT5-AI is a Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosure marketed for local AI inference, pairing an 850W ATX 3.1 power supply (80+ Gold, 600W dedicated to the GPU) with a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot and a built-in Thunderbolt 5 dock. It provides 96W host charging, a downstream Thunderbolt 5 port, 10Gbps USB-A/C ports, and 2.5GbE Ethernet. It is TAA compliant and supports Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4 (eGPU-capable) Windows 11 hosts with Intel 11th-gen+ or AMD Zen 4+ CPUs1.
Specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | TBT5-AI |
| Price | $629.99 USD1 |
| Host connection | Thunderbolt 5 (80Gbps) |
| PCIe bandwidth | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Host power delivery | 96W |
| Power supply | 850W ATX 3.1, 80+ Gold (included); 600W to GPU |
| GPU power connectors | 3x 6+2 pin + 1x 12VHPWR |
| GPU slot | Up to 3.5 slots, max 346 x 170 x 77mm, 600W |
| Downstream TB5 | 1x (15W) |
| USB-C | 1x 10Gbps (15W) |
| USB-A | 3x 10Gbps (7.5W each) |
| Ethernet | 2.5GbE (Realtek RTL8156B) |
| Compliance | TAA compliant |
| OS support | Windows 11 only (no macOS/Linux/ChromeOS/TB3) |
Framework Compatibility
| Model | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Framework Laptop 13 (Intel 11th/12th/13th Gen) | Works | TB4 (Intel 11th gen+ met) |
| Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040) | Works | USB4 port (Zen 4 met) |
| Framework Laptop 13 (Intel Core Ultra) | Works | TB4 |
| Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen AI 300) | Works | USB4 port |
| Framework Laptop 16 | Works | 96W PD covers iGPU-only use |
| Framework Laptop 12 | Incompatible | No USB4/Thunderbolt |
Plugable positions the TBT5-AI for running local LLM and image-generation models (Ollama, LM Studio, Microsoft Foundry Local, NVIDIA NIM) with an air gap, keeping prompts and data off the cloud. The GPU is not included — you supply a compatible NVIDIA RTX 30/40/50 or AMD Radeon RX 6000/7000/9000 card1.
The enclosure is supported only on Windows 11, and is not compatible with macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, or Thunderbolt 3 hosts. USB4 hosts must explicitly support eGPUs1.
Where to Buy
| Store | Link |
|---|---|
| Plugable | TBT5-AI |
| Amazon.com | Search |
| Amazon.pl | Search |
| Amazon.de | Search |
| Amazon.fr | Search |
| Amazon.es | Search |
| Amazon.it | Search |
| Amazon.co.uk | Search |