And, most older laptops (or even slightly older budget-friendly laptops) wonвЂ™t come with a USB-C port. ThatвЂ™s because external graphics cards currently rely on a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 connection in order to work.

But, unfortunately, for the majority of people who could benefit from the use of an external GPU (users with older laptops), using one isnвЂ™t actually possible. So, really, an external GPU is only a viable option for laptop users that donвЂ™t have a strong GPU inside of their system. A GTX 1070 inside of an external closure that is connected to a desktop computer wonвЂ™t deliver as much performance as if that GTX 1070 were installed directly into the PCIe lane inside of the desktop. Since eGPUs must be connected to your computer or laptop via a cable (USB-C Thunderbolt), there will be a loss in performance. While external graphics cards can give users access to more GPU-computing power, they arenвЂ™t without their own drawbacks.

Budget Pick: Sonnet eGFX Breakaway BoxДЄn eGPU (or, external GPU, or external graphics card) is, essentially, a graphics card that sits in an external chassis apart from the main computer (be it a laptop or a desktop.) ItвЂ™s basically the same idea as an external storage device (like an external hard drive.) In the same way that, if you plug an external hard drive into your computer youвЂ™ll have access to the storage on that device, if you plug in an external GPU to your laptop or computer, youвЂ™ll gain the ability to use the external GPU rather than the GPU that your existing laptop or computer is using.

Diy external graphics card for laptop