Poll - Which GPU would you use as a Thunderbolt eGPU?

[jblagden]

If you were to have a Thunderbolt eGPU, which graphics card would you choose? Also, if you already have a Thunderbolt eGPU, which graphics card did you choose?

By the way, this isn’t to help me choose a graphics card. I’ve already chosen the GT 740 because I don't want to spend more than $100 on it and it’ll do everything I need it to do. And since it’s a desktop card, I can easily upgrade it if I want to; it’s easy replaceable, unlike a laptop’s soldered-in discrete graphics card.

I’m just asking out of curiosity, particularly because since most Macs don’t have PCIe slots, Thunderbolt is the only way to plug in a graphics card, and Thunderbolt might not have enough bandwidth for a high-end graphics card like a GTX Titan. Also, since you have to spend at least $200 just for an enclosure, most folks probably won’t want to spend much on a graphics card.

 

[hkoster1]

Well, I picked the GTX 960 and with hindsight I wish I had chosen the GTX 970 for my Mac Mini Thunderbolt-2 PCIe interface. Yes, it's a lot of money, but otherwise the difference with the integrated GPU isn't big enough to bother. Just my €0.02 worth...

 

[jblagden]

Well, I picked the GTX 960 and with hindsight I wish I had chosen the GTX 970 for my Mac Mini Thunderbolt-2 PCIe interface. Yes, it's a lot of money, but otherwise the difference with the integrated GPU isn't big enough to bother. Just my €0.02 worth...

I have to beg to differ. Any dedicated GPU is a big difference. Just for rendering video, a dedicated GPU makes a big difference. It can take hours with integrated graphics while it can take minutes with a dedicated GPU. Also, if you overuse integrated graphics, the processor slows down temporarily.