Legion Go eGPU instability: RTX 2060 disconnects under load and causes system reboots
I’m having major instability issues with a Lenovo Legion Go + Razer Core X + ASUS RTX 2060 setup and I’m trying to figure out whether this is a GPU issue, USB4/Thunderbolt issue, driver issue, or power delivery issue.
Setup:
- Lenovo Legion Go
- Razer Core X
- ASUS RTX 2060
- External monitor connected directly to the RTX 2060
- Windows 11
What happened:
- Initially the eGPU was not detected at all.
- I discovered the issue was partly caused by a bad USB-C cable. After replacing it with a proper USB4/TB cable, the GPU was detected.
- The system then started randomly restarting under load (Fortnite, Minecraft Java, Ghost of Tsushima).
- Sometimes the GPU would disconnect entirely and Device Manager would lose the RTX 2060.
- Other times the whole Legion Go would reboot instantly with no BSOD.
- GPU fans inside the Core X would sometimes ramp to 100% after crashes.
- After repeated crashes, Windows startup became corrupted and repeatedly asked me to reset my Microsoft PIN/security settings.
Things I’ve tried:
- Reinstalled NVIDIA drivers multiple times.
- Used DDU and performed clean installs.
- Disabled Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling.
- Disabled PCIe Link State Power Management.
- Disabled USB selective suspend.
- Set NVIDIA Power Management Mode to “Prefer Maximum Performance”.
- Updated Lenovo BIOS/chipset/USB4 drivers.
- Enabled “Increase External Compatibility” in Legion Go BIOS.
- Used MSI Afterburner to reduce GPU power limit and underclock the GPU.
- Tried charging separately vs charging through the Core X.
- Tested both USB-C ports on the Legion Go.
Very important observation:
- Removing/disabling the NVIDIA USB Type-C / VirtualLink controller massively improved stability.
- After doing that:
- benchmarks started completing,
- crashes reduced,
- games became playable for longer.
- BUT:
- charging/peripherals started breaking,
- and reinstalling drivers brought instability back.
Current behaviour:
- System can idle and watch YouTube/anime for hours.
- Light tasks sometimes work fine.
- Heavy games (Ghost of Tsushima, Fortnite, Minecraft Java) still eventually restart the entire system.
- Sometimes even scrolling a browser page triggers a GPU disconnect/restart.
- Sometimes the eGPU disappears entirely until a full power reset.
- Top USB-C port appears more stable than the bottom port.
- No BSODs — usually instant black screen/reboot.
What I’m trying to determine:
- Is this likely:
- failing RTX 2060 hardware?
- USB4/Thunderbolt instability on the Legion Go?
- Razer Core X issue?
- power delivery issue?
- NVIDIA USB-C controller/driver conflict?
- Thunderbolt cable signal integrity issue?
Would really appreciate advice from anyone running Legion Go + eGPU setups, especially with Razer Core X enclosures or RTX 20-series cards.