I have only had the eGPU setup for a week but am very happy with it. To be honest, I am merely an enthusiast who likes to tinker with computers and really have no need for the capabilities of the setup I have (either the eGPU or my mini as specced with the i7). I had a top spec (at the time) iMac, late 2010, from new and it was time for an update. The iMac served me well (and lives on in my younger son’s bedroom as his computer), with only an added internal SSD during its time with me, and I usually over-spec my computers to hopefully keep them for the long-haul. I saw the graphics card on a pretty significant discount during the Black Friday weekend sales here (I’m in the UK) and jumped on it. It was £389 (including VAT tax and shipping), which met my price point. I wasn’t specifically looking for a particular brand, just a good deal on a card with good reviews. I was pretty set on the Vega 64 to feed my weakness for high end parts.
I have not found the Core X and Vega 64 particularly noisy (in fact it is very quiet with just a hint of fan noise), and the air that does blow out is usually very cool. But I am not doing anything that would be stressful on the setup. I did have my older son play some Steam games on it for an hour or so at what he said were difficult settings on my 4K monitor and we didn’t notice any meaningful increase in fan noise or heat from the eGPU. He has a pretty well specced Windows machine that I built for him, and he was surprised how capably the Mac mini was running the games. I plan to let him game for a longer period on it to see if the fan does ramp up after prolonged use.
I can imagine many people think I must have more money than sense to spend what I have for capabilities I have no need for. All I can say is my only remaining vice (if you can call it that) is money I spend on high-tech stuff (mostly Apple products), and I get pleasure out of trying to learn what I can and tinkering.
