Cheap and Painless eGPU Thrills on a 2013 MacBook Pro
This is interesting academically, but I wouldn't buy a hacked-together TB2 enclosure.<p>Thunderbolt 3 eGPU enclosures are available now, and are fully supported by Intel and windows. They started at $500 with the Razer Core, but new models like the AkiTiO Node and Powercolor Devil Box are coming in at $299, shipping Q1 2017. More will likely be announced at CES this week.<p>These TB3 enclosures have 400w+ power supplies, better cooling, and are large enough to fit large enthusiast GPUs like the Nvidia GTX 1080. You can plug a TB3 device into a TB2 laptop with a simple adapter. Apple sells theirs for $29; Chinese versions will be cheaper.<p>Depending on what features the manufacturer decides to add to their device, TB3 eGPU enclosures can also charge your laptop, offer USB3 ports, gigabit ethernet, audio jacks, etc. The $299 models tend to be very bare-bones but there's no doubt that competition will lead to cheaper prices and more features over time. Again, watch for more at CES this week.<p>Current list of TB3 eGPU enclosures:<p>AKiTiO Node ($300)
<a href="https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node" rel="nofollow">https://www.akitio.com/expansion/node</a><p>Asus ROG XG Station 2 (price unknown)
<a href="https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards-Accessory/ROG-XG-STATION-2/" rel="nofollow">https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards-Accessory/ROG-XG-STATION...</a><p>BizonBOX 3 ($650, probably because it says it works with Macs)
<a href="https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox3-egpu.html/" rel="nofollow">https://bizon-tech.com/us/bizonbox3-egpu.html/</a><p>Powercolor Devil Box ($300. Ugly, though.)
<a href="http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_DevilBox_features.asp?id=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_DevilBox_features.asp?...</a><p>Razer Core ($500)
<a href="http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-stealth" rel="nofollow">http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-stealth</a>