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Hi there, Thank you for the insightful sharing and I am terribly tempted to build an eGPU for my mac mini 2012 (i7 2.3 quad core, 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD). I have been realising for quite a while that the limitation in my video editing working flow is the very limited GPU (Intel HD Graphics 4000 1.5GB) in the mac mini.

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Dec 20, 2018  2018 Mac mini + eGPU = Windows gaming machine! Unsubscribe from 9to5Mac? Cancel Unsubscribe. Subscribe Subscribed Unsubscribe 532K. Mar 19, 2020  B. 2.7 GHz I7 4 Cores, 16Gb, 1TB MBP 13 2018 TB3, EGPU Gigabyte Gaming Box RX580 8Gb, Mac OS Catalina 10.15.2, Ext SSD Windows 10 1803 C. 3.1 GHz I7, 16Gb, 1TB MBP 13 2015 TB2, EGPU Gigabyte Gaming Box RX580 8Gb.

An eGPU is a powerful addition to a laptop with Thunderbolt 3, adding incredible graphics power to a machine that simply might not have it. While there are some compromises, essentially it allows you to turn a laptop into a high-powered desktop PC, but even better than that is that it doesn't have to cost the Earth. And the Razer Core X ticks all the boxes if you're looking for an affordable eGPU.

What you get in an eGPU and why they're still fairly pricey

While products such as the Razer Core X are pretty affordable for an eGPU, you may well be looking at the prices here and thinking they're still quite expensive. It's important to understand what you're getting with one of these products to understand why they're still several hundred dollars.

An eGPU is, essentially, half a desktop PC. It contains a power supply, the necessary PCIe interface to process the GPU output, the Thunderbolt 3 interface and in some cases additional ports, as well as a chassis that allows the GPU to cool. You're providing the CPU and the RAM, the eGPU is providing the rest.

Considering a good quality power supply would cost between $60 and $100 at least on its own, the pricing starts to make more sense.

Our pick

Razer Core X

Great hardware and great value

Pairing any laptop with the Core X is a smart choice, with this little box packing a 650W power supply to handle anything you want to throw inside it while keeping the price sensible

Who should buy this eGPU?

Anyone looking for a top-quality eGPU to pair with a graphics card but wants to keep the cost down should check out the Razer Core X.

Is it a good time to buy this eGPU?

Absolutely! Pricing has been stable for a while, and there's no imminent sign of a replacement model. If you want something with a little added RGB, there's now a Chroma-enabled version for $100 more, but for most people that really isn't worth the extra cost.

Reasons to buy

• Supports NVIDIA and AMD GPUs
• 650W power supply with 100W to charge the laptop
• Compact size
• Good value
• Fits longer graphics cards

Reasons not to buy

• No additional ports to expand your laptop

The perfect affordable eGPU

The Razer Core was first launched as a companion to the Blade Stealth, adding gaming chops to the company's first true Ultrabook and arguably bringing the idea of an eGPU to the masses. The space has developed a little since then, and the Core X is Razer's most affordable eGPU to date at just $300.

The Core X is Razer's most affordable eGPU.

What you can do with the Core X is install a full desktop graphics card, even an RTX 2080 Ti if you wish, and use it with your laptop over Thunderbolt 3. That single cable connection to your is all you need, since the Core X has its own power supply to keep everything juiced up. Of its 650W on tap, 100W is left free to power the laptop connected to it, which is super convenient.

It also means plenty of overhead, so literally any modern graphics card will work without any issue. The Core X also supports both NVIDIA and AMD, so you really do have your pick. And because it keeps the cost down, you've potentially got more funds to put towards the GPU it will house.

It's also worth considering just why it's better to get an eGPU that you'll have to supply the graphics card to. Simply, it's longevity. In the long term, you'll never need to replace the Razer Core X, only upgrading what's inside if you need more power. An eGPU with embedded graphics both costs more initially (not factoring in an additional graphics card purchase) but hasn't that upgrade path, leading you to have to buy an entirely new unit down the road.

If you have a graphics card available already it's a no-brainer, but even on a budget you can now get great deals on new or used units that would be a perfect companion to a Razer Core X.

Alternatives to the Razer Core X

The Razer Core X might be the best choice, but it's not the only one. Here are a couple of alternatives for more specific requirements, including an even tighter budget and an eGPU that supplies its own graphics horsepower without breaking the bank.

All-in-one

PowerColor Mini

An eGPU with an included RX 560

Mac Mini Bootcamp Egpu

PowerColor is most well known for its Radeon GPU lineup and in the Mini they've combined a highly compact and portable eGPU chassis with a Radeon RX 560 4GB, which is handy for both 1080p gaming and professional applications.

Not only is this a pretty powerful little box, but it's also incredibly compact and portable, with the only real downside being you're unable to upgrade the GPU inside.

Unusually it opts for a power brick with a 6-pin connector to keep it juiced up, but it helps keep the noise and the size down. There's also a built-in Ethernet port, which is always handy.

Budget choice

Sapphire Gearbox

A solid choice from a respected brand

Sapphire is known more for its line of AMD third-party graphics cards, but this affordable box works with both AMD and NVIDIA GPUs.

Despite the price, you still get a 500W power supply to keep both your graphics and laptop powered up while you play. You also get a couple of regular USB ports and Gigabit Ethernet, which is extra nice.

The Gearbox is a tremendous value, but it's a little smaller than some eGPUs, meaning longer graphics cards may not fit inside. It's something to ensure you check before you buy against what you plan to use with it.

Conclusion

When shopping for an eGPU that's affordable, you need look no further than the Razer Core X. It's stylish and well priced, you have ample power to keep both your graphics card and your laptop powered up while you work or play and it's also big enough to fit even longer cards, so whatever you want to put in there, chances are you can.

A good alternative though for folks who simply don't have something they can slot into an eGPU is the PowerColor Mini. With this you get everything you need in one compact package. Simply plug it in, load up your favorite games and away you go. You lose the upgradeability you get with the Razer Core X and you'll not be pushing above 1080p for gaming, but it's an excellent place to start if you currently have nothing at all.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Richard Devine Richard Devine is an Editor at Windows Central. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him covering all manner of PC hardware and gaming.

Rich Edmonds is a staff reviewer at Windows Central, which means he tests out more software and hardware than he cares to remember. Joining Mobile Nations in 2010, you can usually find him inside a PC case tinkering around when not at a screen fighting with Grammarly to use British words. Hit him up on Twitter: @RichEdmonds.

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There are many criticisms of Apple's Mac products, but one of the most commonly cited is that they often don't have graphics power that's comparable to what you'd see in similarly priced Windows machines. Unfortunately, the company currently offers no desktop tower in which you could, say, slot two super-powerful gaming graphics cards, either.

Some of that could change soon when Apple moves to its own silicon on Macs or when it introduces a new Mac Pro. But for now, the company's official answer to this line of criticism is doubling down on external GPU support in macOS. Support for this began during the High Sierra cycle and was expanded upon in some helpful ways in last year's Mojave OS release.

In addition to providing software support for eGPUs, Apple has developed what is more or less its official-ish eGPU solution, in much the same way that a couple of LG's monitors have been Apple's recommended external displays for a while now. The company did so by partnering with hardware-maker Blackmagic Design, an Australia-based company that specializes in products for video professionals. The first eGPU from Blackmagic included an AMD Radeon Pro 580 and was priced at $699. We reviewed it late last summer and found that—while it was quiet and easy to use, and the GPU was a big upgrade over the integrated graphics in many Macs—we wished a higher-end GPU option was offered for creative professionals and hardcore gamers who needed more.

Enter the Blackmagic eGPU Pro. At $1,199, it includes a Radeon RX Vega 56. And in theory, that's a big upgrade. So we recently ran some basic benchmarks to see if this new offering justifies the gigantic leap in price and satisfies wishes for a higher-end version of the previous model.

Specifications

As noted already, the most important spec to consider here is the GPU itself: a Radeon RX Vega 56 with 8GB of HBM2 memory. That's a high-end workstation GPU designed for tasks like video editing and 3D modeling, and it's faster than even the top Vega GPUs available in the MacBook Pro or iMac (the mid-range Radeon Pro Vega 20 and 48, respectively).

It's the same GPU (memory included) as you'll find in the base iMac Pro, which starts at a wallet-busting $5,000. The only way you're getting a faster GPU than this in today's Macs without an eGPU is by buying that iMac Pro and adding on another $550 or $700 for the Radeon Pro Vega 64 or 64X with 16GB of HMB2.

The Blackmagic eGPU Pro will work with any Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac, and it has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, four USB 3 ports (Type A), an HDMI 2.0 port, and a DisplayPort 1.4 port. It's capable of 85W of power delivery to the attached Mac, which is good enough to keep any Mac laptop running. For a hot minute, some macOS releases supported eGPUs over Thunderbolt 2. But that brief moment has long passed.

The box includes the eGPU itself, a half-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable, and a power cable—there's no external power brick. As for dimensions, the enclosure itself comes in at 11.59 x 6.96 x 6.96 inches (29.44 x 17.68 x 17.68 cm) and weighs 9.92 pounds (4.5kg).

Design

There's not much new to add here on top of what we said about the Blackmagic eGPU last August. As far as we can tell, the chassis is the same. It's just the GPU inside that's different.

The Blackmagic eGPU Pro attempts to minimize its footprint on your desk by being tall. Its obelisk-like design is unusual; folks passing by your desk might have to venture a few guesses before figuring out precisely what it is. The Pro's design can definitely be described as minimalist, but it's at the same time just a touch too flashy for my tastes. That's subjective, though. Despite these efforts to lower its footprint, the overall volume is a little bulkier than we'd like. There are actually smaller eGPU enclosures on the market. But Blackmagic prioritized quietness above all else.

And as was the case with the slower model last year, Blackmagic has succeeded on that front, and that's really what you're paying for. If there's an eGPU enclosure that runs quieter than either of Blackmagic's eGPUs, I've never seen it myself. The eGPU Pro is only audible in an otherwise silent room, and even then, it's subtle. In fact, it's appreciably quieter than a MacBook Pro with fans fully revved up. Chances are, if you've got a desk covered in computers and peripherals, this is going to be one of the quieter devices sitting there.

Egpu Mac Mini

There's another positive to consider here. This thing has a ton of ports, and the Thunderbolt ports can be daisy-chained to a point. So odds are you'll end up having only one wire connected to your Mac: the Thunderbolt 3 port from this eGPU. That makes this not just an eGPU enclosure but a decent port hub.

Given that the best powered Thunderbolt 3 and USB hubs can run more than $300, that value proposition softens the blow of this eGPU's price just a bit. That's obviously no consolation if you've already invested in a setup that works for you.

Mac Mini 2018 Egpu Gaming

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