How to turn your MacBook into a high-performance gaming laptop
London-based kickstarter “bull.box” has recently gained attention for introducing a line of external graphic cards, designed especially for MacBook laptops that do not have advanced graphics capabilities, including some of the more entry-level MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and 12 inch MacBook laptops.
In a month from now, should bull.box reach its 155 thousand dollar goal, the device lineup will include a wide range of nVidia GeForce options, ready to power virtually any MacBook, as well as Windows 10 laptop PC, provided a Thunderbolt port, or a USB Type-C connector. According to the Kickstarter page, future iterations of this product will follow upcoming trends and provide compatibility options for Thunderbolt 3 and PCIe 4.0, which will support greater bandwidth.
The return of the eGPU
External graphic cards are far from being a new concept, in fact they were initially introduced as a way to expand graphic capabilities and the number of displays supported by earlier laptops. The performance of some of these cheap external GPUs has always been notoriously poor, as these devices were merely a means to connect more external displays, and most of the products of this kind, available at retail level, were never meant to replace a laptop’s integrated graphics.
While the bull.box lineup of external graphic cards is definitely not cheap, with some of the more entry-level options starting at close to $700, there are some considerations to be made, especially for those consumers with a specific need for graphic performance, such as gamers, or professionals who need to work with 3D applications, video processing, and other intensive tasks for which a professional GPU is required.
The great thing about these devices is that they are agnostic of the host computer they are connected to. As long as a Thunderbolt port or a USB Type-C connector is available, these cards will be able to supply desktop-class performance, on-demand to any laptop.
The selection of GPUs available includes the entire GeForce GTX lineup. In its current iteration, none of these cards have been provided by nVidia as an external peripheral version.
Another added bonus is the fact that by taking integrated graphics out of the equation, using these external GPUs will allow a MacBook to run at considerably lower temperatures.
One caveat
The one problem with external graphic cards of this level, is that they require a 360W external power source, which requires the host MacBook to be desktop-bound when connected, as there is no way to power this type of hardware without causing a MacBook’s battery to drain.
Other than that, the folks at bull.box seem to be onto something, as they are working on a product that has the potential to appeal primarily to uncompromising consumers who may no longer need to worry about settling with a mobile GPU, when shopping for a new MacBook or Windows 10 laptop PC.