I really can't understand the desire for an eGPU for a portable machine. It seems to me that people would want to remain as portable as possible. I've seen a DIY setup on YouTube and it just seems like it's something Apple wouldn't want to develop. Who is using these? Why not just buy a desktop that is powerful enough to handle whatever they need to do?
People said similar things before Apple nailed the smart phone (phone, camera, portable music device, email/web device, games player - to be fair most competitors of the day were poor compromises). But they did and we know the rest.
Right now Apple is aiming its laptops at particular market segments that frequently don't include gamers on the go, but that doesn't mean there's no market there. It also doesn't mean Apple won't re-sight as the technology improves. But in the meantime, for those who want Apple portables something like an eGPU might be the answer for use cases such as gaming, as the OP suggested. For those who don't want one, they don't have to get one.
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^ that makes sense. I docked my powerbook for years and it drove my 30" ACD. I used it for college but it was more than powerful enough to run whatever I wanted to do in my spare time. I just think the external GPU is a total PITA.
Yeah having to plug a dedicated GPU in is definitely more annoying than having a decent dedicated GPU built in. Hopefully it will be a short term thing that is bypassed as fab technology and GPU design improves some more - kind of like when pass-through 3D cards gave-way to full solutions (anyone remember the Voodoo Graphics cards?)
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But he did purchase a machine that can't play games up to his standard...
OP didn't say that - read it again..