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The idea of an external graphics card (eGPU) was once the talk of fantasy, but that’s no longer the case. Thanks to Thunderbolt 3 and its high-bandwidth 40Gbps transfer rate, external enclosures can now accommodate high-end graphics cards.

That means you can now supercharge the visual performance of your Mac computer, even if it’s a laptop. There are some caveats to doing this, namely a limited number of supported graphics cards and the high price of getting started (for now, anyway).

What is An External GPU Enclosures or eGPU? An eGPU or External GPU is essentially a piece of hardware enclosure in which a desktop graphics card can be mounted to be used with your laptops for powering up applications and games. And, also at WWDC, Apple showed a MacBook Pro using an eGPU - external graphics processing unit - to provide a graphics boost for 3D games and VR. Right now, Apple’s external GPU support is fresh out of the oven and obviously needs more time to fully cook and become less of the “hit-and-miss” feature now served up in MacOS 10.13.4.

May 13, 2016 Hi, Some people have reported success in attaching an external GPU to Macbook Pro (and Air), via ExpressCard. I've been told it's also possible to attach an external GPU to a 2012 Mac Mini, although not as easy as with a Macbook because the Mini doesn't have ExpressCard, and there's no OSX driver for Thunderbolt external GPUs. Recommended eGPU Enclosures for Mac. Here are a few of the best external GPU enclosures on the market now, including those recommended by Apple. The Best External.

So let’s take a look at what you need to add an external GPU to your Mac or MacBook and which ones you should buy.

Best External Gpu For Macbook Pro

What You’ll Need

First, you’ll need a Thunderbolt 3-capable Mac or MacBook model. Thunderbolt 3 uses the USB-C connector, and appears on the following models:

MacBook Pro, late 2016 and newer
iMac, mid 2017 and newer
iMac with Retina Display, mid 2017 and newer
iMac Pro, late 2017 and newer

In addition to owning one of these Apple computers, you’ll also need macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Finally, you’ll need to purchase two additional items, either separately or part of a bundle:

A Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosure, into which your graphics card will slot.
A macOS-compatible graphics card.

With all this in place, you should be able to put the graphics card into the enclosure, then plug the enclosure into your Mac for a significant boost in graphical fidelity. However, you may still be limited in how you can use your eGPU.

The Limitations of External GPUs on macOS

Not every application you run can take advantage of your eGPU. In many cases, you’ll need to plug an external monitor directly into the eGPU enclosure in order to see the benefit. This is the case with many 3D games and VR applications.

Some pro-level software designed to take advantage of multiple GPUs will “just work” as you’d expect. This includes 3D modeling apps and video editors, but it’s worth confirming your preferred application will see a benefit before you buy.

Some applications and games have received patches allowing you to accelerate the built-in display on your iMac or MacBook. However, this is something that developers must enable on their end, so it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re thinking of using an eGPU purely to accelerate your in-built display.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to use your external GPU with Boot Camp to run Windows gamesHow to Keep Playing Games When You Have a MacHow to Keep Playing Games When You Have a MacYou don't have to give up on gaming if you have a Mac. You just have to go about it differently.Read More on your Mac. But since most of these enclosures are also compatible with Windows, this might improve in the future.

Mac Compatibility With External GPUs

At present, there are only a small number of compatible graphics cards you can use as an eGPU on your Mac. These are all AMD cards, with none of the popular Nvidia cards officially supported at present.

According to Apple, these are:

AMD Polaris cards: Radeon RX 470, RX 480, RX 570, RX 580, and Radeon Pro WX 7100
AMD Vega 64 cards: Radeon RX Vega 64, Vega Frontier Edition Air, and Radeon Pro WX 9100
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56

Users over at the eGPU.io community have managed to get Nvidia cards working on macOS, but not without a lot of tweaking. If you already own an Nvidia card and you want to try, its forums are your friend. But I wouldn’t buy an Nvidia card with the intent of “hacking” your way to success at this stage.

Picking an eGPU Enclosure for Your Mac

The eGPU enclosure you pick for your Mac largely depends on the graphics card you’re going to use5 Things You Have to Know Before Buying a Graphics Card5 Things You Have to Know Before Buying a Graphics CardHere are five key points to keep in mind before you buy your next graphics card, otherwise you may regret your purchase.Read More. Modern graphics cards suck up a lot of power, with the higher-end cards using significantly more power than the more affordable ones.

Power is delivered in watts, but some of that power is dedicated to powering the connected Mac. Make sure your enclosure’s GPU maximum power output doesn’t exceed that of the graphics card you intend to put inside it. This information should be available on the respective manufacturer’s specification sheets.

The size of the graphics card will count too. Your card has to physically fit inside the enclosure, so make sure the two components are compatible in this regard. If you intend on upgrading the GPU in the future, you might want to buy the best enclosure you can afford rather than the best short-term solution.

Some manufacturers aim their enclosures at the Mac market, while others create eGPU solutions with their own brand of Windows laptops. You should always ensure the enclosure you pick is compatible with macOS, though the vast majority will be.

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There are other aspects to consider too. Many enclosures function as Thunderbolt 3 hubs5 Thunderbolt RAID Systems to Serve Your External Data Storage Needs5 Thunderbolt RAID Systems to Serve Your External Data Storage NeedsRAID systems are awesome for external storage, and with Thunderbolt 3, they're faster than ever. Here are the best Thunderbolt-compatible RAID units.Read More, adding additional features like USB ports, Ethernet, SATA ports, HDMI, and similar.

Recommended eGPU Enclosures for Mac

Here are a few of the best external GPU enclosures on the market now,