eGPUs have been slowly growing in popularity, ever since the recent boom in the handheld gaming PC space. All solutions basically consist of a mobile/desktop class GPU that is contained within an enclosure, which can be then connected to the host device (which contains the rest of the hardware, such as the CPU and RAM) using an appropriate interface.
eGPU solutions can be broadly classified into three mainstream variants, which all utilize a form of PCI Express connectivity – which are discussed below.
Best eGPU solutions to use in 2024
There are a total of 3 mainline eGPU solutions as of the time of writing this article, ranked in terms of overall usability, availability as well as bandwidth in descending order:
- Oculink
- XG Mobile
- Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4
Each solution comes with a set of advantages and disadvantages over the other, making no solution truly ideal.
Oculink
Oculink utliizes a PCIe 4.0×4 or a PCIe 3.0×4 interface, and can theoretically deliver a maximum bandwidth of up to 64 Gbps. This bandwidth is usually enough for most mid-range GPUs, but is not enough for flagship GPUs.
The interface is also not as plug-and-play when compared to the likes of Thunderbolt.
Pros
- Can work with any desktop grade GPU with the proper Oculink enclosure.
- Performance loss is comparatively minimal.
- Oculink is one of the cheaper eGPU solutions.
Cons
- No hotplugging support.
- Not all devices support this interface.
XG Mobile
The XG Mobile is a proprietary eGPU solution from ASUS. The ROG XG Mobile interface can deliver Oculink-like performance thanks to its high bandwidth, but is quite expensive in comparison. Furthermore, ASUS seems to have dwindled the production of these units recently.
Pros
- Comes in a nice, sleek enclosure and has the least amount of setup quirks.
- Performance is adequate and the unit has a ton of IO ports as well.
Cons
- No hotplugging support.
- Very expensive compared to both Oculink and Thunderbolt.
- The XG Mobile carries mobile versions of GPUs instead of their desktop variants.
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt utilizes the USB C protocol to connect a wide range of accessories, and is the easiest to use interface among all eGPU options. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of performance, as the bandwidth in Thunderbolt GPU docks are severely limited in comparison.
Pros
- Easy, plug-and-play nature.
- Thunderbolt 3/4 docks are relatively inexpensive and can work with desktop and mobile GPUs.
Cons
- Bandwidth is limited to 40 Gbps, and can affect performance negatively.
- Using USB peripherals with the dock can affect available bandwidth and thus performance.
Things may change in the future with the arrival of Thunderbolt 5 docks though, given that they combine the easy to use USB C protocol with massively increased bandwidth (which should in theory eliminate the performance loss that is noticeable across Thunderbolt 3 and 4).
Which type of eGPU should you get?
Overall, most readers would fare better by sticking to Oculink if they want minimal performance loss when using an eGPU.
Thunderbolt is the more easy to use alternative, at the cost of lowered performance.
The XG Mobile is generally not recommended, given it is part of a dying line of products with a quirky proprietary connector that makes it unusable on a majority of devices.
