I have a MacBook air early 2015. By itself, it can't game for shit. I have 400$ and am looking to find a way to game on a budget. I can build myself an eGPU diy style rig to hook up to my mac for about that price, or I can build a very low end budget computer, for 400$, including a monitor. Does anyone have any knowledge of these e-Gpus? Would it be better to get one, or simply try to make a very low end budget build? I am aware the mac's cpu (1.6 ghz laptop i5) would bottleneck it significantly, but this way, I can at least get a full on Gtx 1050 ti or 1060.
eGPU vs low budget computer
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Hardware
I have a MacBook air early 2015. By itself, it can't game for shit. I have 400$ and am looking to find a way to game on a budget. I can build myself an eGPU diy style rig to hook up to my mac for about that price, or I can build a very low end budget computer, for 400$, including a monitor. Does anyone have any knowledge of these e-Gpus? Would it be better to get one, or simply try to make a very low end budget build? I am aware the mac's cpu (1.6 ghz laptop i5) would bottleneck it significantly, but this way, I can at least get a full on Gtx 1050 ti or 1060.
The amount I know about them is you're basically kneecapping your GPU with the thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt 3 only supports 4 PCIe lanes and adds a bit of latency to the entire process. I've only seen bench marks done with a GTX 1080, 1080 TI, and AMD 580 so I'm not 100% sure is 4 PCIe lanes are going to be enough for a lower end GPU like a GTX1050TI.
At the same time though trying to build a PC and get a monitor for $400 or less is going to be painful due to all of the compromises necessary.
The amount I know about them is you're basically kneecapping your GPU with the thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt 3 only supports 4 PCIe lanes and adds a bit of latency to the entire process. I've only seen bench marks done with a GTX 1080, 1080 TI, and AMD 580 so I'm not 100% sure is 4 PCIe lanes are going to be enough for a lower end GPU like a GTX1050TI.
At the same time though trying to build a PC and get a monitor for $400 or less is going to be painful due to all of the compromises necessary.
At the same time though trying to build a PC and get a monitor for $400 or less is going to be painful due to all of the compromises necessary.
get a quality CRT for like ~$20 (they can run at 100hz+ at lower resolutions) and build a ~$350 rig from used parts, you can get a i7 2600K and a decent graphics card for that. A bit clunky but it's your best bet.
get a quality CRT for like ~$20 (they can run at 100hz+ at lower resolutions) and build a ~$350 rig from used parts, you can get a i7 2600K and a decent graphics card for that. A bit clunky but it's your best bet.
2015 MacBook Air should actually be TB2.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.
2015 MacBook Air should actually be TB2.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.
Setsul2015 MacBook Air should actually be TB2.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.
Could also do a cardboard mounted system and not a full enclosure, lots of potential for dust (easy to clean though), and damage, but it's free. that or find and old ATX case probably an old PC and take the parts out via craigslist or a garage sale for like $10-20
[quote=Setsul]2015 MacBook Air should actually be TB2.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.[/quote]
Could also do a cardboard mounted system and not a full enclosure, lots of potential for dust (easy to clean though), and damage, but it's free. that or find and old ATX case probably an old PC and take the parts out via craigslist or a garage sale for like $10-20
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.[/quote]
Could also do a cardboard mounted system and not a full enclosure, lots of potential for dust (easy to clean though), and damage, but it's free. that or find and old ATX case probably an old PC and take the parts out via craigslist or a garage sale for like $10-20
ComangliaSetsul2015 MacBook Air should actually be TB2.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.
Could also do a cardboard mounted system and not a full enclosure, lots of potential for dust (easy to clean though), and damage, but it's free. that or find and old ATX case probably an old PC and take the parts out via craigslist or a garage sale for like $10-20
http://turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/Images/Cardboard%20Computer%20Case.jpg
[quote=Comanglia][quote=Setsul]2015 MacBook Air should actually be TB2.
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.[/quote]
Could also do a cardboard mounted system and not a full enclosure, lots of potential for dust (easy to clean though), and damage, but it's free. that or find and old ATX case probably an old PC and take the parts out via craigslist or a garage sale for like $10-20[/quote]
[img]http://turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/Images/Cardboard%20Computer%20Case.jpg[/img]
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/pcie-slot-dgpu-vs-thunderbolt-3-egpu-internal-display-test/
Scroll down to 2.1
Not completely terrible, but obviously you move down essentially one GPU class.
I don't think it's going to matter much when you're stuck with a 1.6 GHz CPU.
A 400$ build is doable with used parts. I mean you can do this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fXNDRG with new parts. Used monitor, cheaper HDD and a 1050 Ti would be within budget.[/quote]
Could also do a cardboard mounted system and not a full enclosure, lots of potential for dust (easy to clean though), and damage, but it's free. that or find and old ATX case probably an old PC and take the parts out via craigslist or a garage sale for like $10-20[/quote]
[img]http://turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/Images/Cardboard%20Computer%20Case.jpg[/img]
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