I'm looking into the prospect of using an external gpu with a mac mini from around 2012. It's for a friend but I find the topic quite interesting. It looks like the 2012 Mac mini is limited to Thunderbolt 1 (no mention of usb 3?), and a 3000 series chip ~2.5 ghz, with what I imagine is an absolutely pitiful igpu. My friend isn't looking to build a serious high performance gaming rig, just something that can push 1080p with medium-high graphics of games released in the last decade.
So I imagine anything from a mid range 2012 gpu to low end 2016 onward gpu will do the trick, no reason to draw anymore power than necessary. So what are some budget options for this, or do those exist? Looks like the thunderbolt enclosures start at 300$ :shok: I'm not really sure what market they are targeting where they think they can charge 300$ for a weak power supply, a tiny case, and an adapter cable..but I suppose these are apple owners :rofl: