For example, if a friend gives you their old GPU, you can hook it up to a laptop using an eGPU case without needing to buy all the other hardware. However, there are a few niches that fit the bill. We won’t specify GPUs and prices here because they’re constantly fluctuating at the moment, but the good news is that prices seem to be on a downward trajectory now so hopefully by the end of the year they’ll be at a sensible level (currently they’re still around 20-30% higher than their RRP 18 months ago!) Is an eGPU Worth Buying in 2022?Īnyone considering getting an eGPU also has to balance the idea with the idea of simply buying a new computer.
If you take a look at GPUs currently, you’ll find that they typically sell as “enclosures.” These are boxes with a connector cable and a dedicated power but no graphics card. As such, you can grab an eGPU and plug that into the laptop instead. For a laptop, it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to mount a GPU on it. For a PC, you can purchase one to fit inside it. Many low-end PCs and laptops sell without a graphics card inside of them. To clarify: there is no difference between the actual hardware of a GPU and eGPU – you use a regular GPU as an EGPU if you mount it in an external enclosure like an eGPU box or eGPU bracket.ĮGPUs shine most on systems that can’t accept a regular graphics card. An external GPU, therefore, works outside of the system to render media.
Also read: How to Stress Test Your GPU with Furmark What Is an eGPU?Īn eGPU stands for an “external graphics processing unit.” You’ve probably heard of a GPU before: they’re the graphics cards that help render games and movies on our PC.