External GPU

stueng · 29 Nov 2013 at 13:48

Hi guys, Im sure this has been discussed before and have found a few posts but looking for an up to date answer.

Is it possible to connect up an external GPU to a laptop? And I mean a modern GPU that can play BF4 on high settings etc. I suppose the restrictions are around external multi-gigabit connectivity but has anyone come up with an answer to this?

Why havn't the laptop manufacturers solved this? seems a bit weird, everyone wants a thin laptop they can cart around with them for work and then when they get home dock it up and play some games, seems pretty obvious to me!

Stu

Stas823 · 29 Nov 2013 at 13:50

I'd imagine that it would use too much power too

stueng · 29 Nov 2013 at 15:02

which is why it would be external and powered externally, there are various posts around the internet of people doing it but they are all quite old posts, wondering if there is something up to date

anotherdude · 29 Nov 2013 at 15:49

wouldn't it be a matter of finding the pin out for said laptop motherboard and seeing if it's compatible, seems like a lot more hassle than it's worth to me but....

Hades · 29 Nov 2013 at 15:58

Google for eGPU. It can be done with laptops which have thunderbolt or expressport. There are a few other hacks too. None of them currently offer the full bandwidth of an internal PCIE slot but using a desktop GPU connected via one of those methods will yield very significant gains.

However there are not many commercial solutions because the market for it is so small and due to the cost involved its often cheaper to build a dedicated gaming tower.