eGPUs are becoming increasingly needed.

zipur said:

kinda harsh are you not. The OP is just saying that you should be able to do Anything on a premium machine at this price. you should not have to purchase two laptops just to play games. He is not the first nor the last to says that.

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But he did purchase a machine that can't play games up to his standard...

Rhinoevans said:

I wouldn't buy a VW if I need a truck. Buying a Mac for gaming is rediculous. I've looked at eGPU and they are way expensive. If you REALLY need to play games, then don't buy Mac, and for sure don't buy Mac's with integrated graphics .

I find it hard to believe that so many people are complaining about the integrated graphics on the 13 Mac. If it doesn't fit your needs, move one. Buy something that meets you specific requirements and quit complaining.

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Check the original post again. The OP observed that most of Apple’s laptop options are deficient in the GPU department - so perhaps no model met their requirements - and suggested that an eGPU would supplement this deficiency.

zipur said:

kinda harsh are you not. The OP is just saying that you should be able to do Anything on a premium machine at this price. you should not have to purchase two laptops just to play games. He is not the first nor the last to says that.

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Just so.

jessica. said:

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?

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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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jessica. said:

^ 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.

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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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bwhli said:

But he did purchase a machine that can't play games up to his standard...

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OP didn't say that - read it again..

UpOver said:

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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I have to admit I have some worry over where Apple seems to be aiming their computers. They've been ignoring the desktop pro market and increasingly dropping the BTO stuff that some users want (matte screens for example). Doing away with proper graphics cards would seem to indicate they aren't overly fussed about appealing to casual gamers or designers. The latter group pretty much kept them going in the 1990's.

People who currently buy Apple because it's considered cool, or just to do basic things like email, surfing, a bit of word processing, don't have so much invested in the platform. They drive away the power user at their peril.

m00min said:

I have to admit I have some worry over where Apple seems to be aiming their computers. They've been ignoring the desktop pro market and increasingly dropping the BTO stuff that some users want (matte screens for example). Doing away with proper graphics cards would seem to indicate they aren't overly fussed about appealing to casual gamers or designers. The latter group pretty much kept them going in the 1990's.

People who currently buy Apple because it's considered cool, or just to do basic things like email, surfing, a bit of word processing, don't have so much invested in the platform. They drive away the power user at their peril.

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Yeah it is worrying. While the gaming, design and development markets mightn't be as much of a cash cow as the consumer market, unlike the consumer market they stick around when fads die down. They also create the content other people use, not to mention spreading the word.

Hopefully Tim Cook's intimation that next year will be a big one for the "pro" Apple market signals a shift on Apple's part here and a return to offering products for more demanding uses.

I'd buy it. If I'm playing COD, it'll probably be with my power cord because of how fast my battery will drain, so I would not care one bit to have an external GPU. I mean you DON'T have to buy it, but there certainly is a need for it for some people like me. I like to max things out

If it was an eGPU/ thunderbolt hub that would be the ultimate laptop gaming device! Imagine your monitor, gaming keyboard mouse hooked up, and just plugging your macbook in via thunderbolt when you get home! awesome

thekev said:

I don't see them catching on unless they somehow become popular on Windows.

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They already are popular on Windows machines. Nando4 maintains an extensive thread on the subject over at NBR. Thousands of posts, many people opting for very portable machines with an eGPU on the desk at home. Pretty much ExpressCard type solutions but some Thunderbolt choices.