#Make vmware use graphics card for mac 1080p#
#Make vmware use graphics card for mac Pc#

ItвЂ™s still listed on PowerColorвЂ™s site, but it isnвЂ™t easy to find. PowerColorвЂ™s Thunderbolt 3-based Devil Box was a similarly fancy box that sold for $450 in the early days of external graphics docks.

#Make vmware use graphics card for mac Pc#

YouвЂ™ll also need a relatively new notebook equipped with a Thunderbolt 3-compatible USB-C port.В These days most Thunderbolt 3 laptops and graphics card enclosures play nicely together thanks to IntelвЂ™s Thunderbolt 3 external graphics compatibility technology, which PC makers must specifically enable. Enclosures are, for the most part, still a pricey proposition-much more so than the DIY method weвЂ™ll outline later. Thunderbolt 3 levels the playing field, and several companies now offer TB3-based graphics card docks, complete with dedicated power supplies, additional ports, and-of course-room to slot desktop graphics cards.ДЄll is not perfect in the world of Thunderbolt 3-powered graphics, however. For resource-intensive activities like gaming, a speedy connection between your laptop and an external graphics card provides a big boost for performance.Д®arlier attempts at external graphics card docks existed, but they were usually overpriced and relied on proprietary connection technologies. Thunderbolt 3 (TB3) is IntelвЂ™s high-speed external input/output connection, capable of speeds up to a blistering 40 gigabytes per second (GBps) over a compatible USB-C port. Thunderbolt 3 graphics card docks Adam Patrick Murray/IDGДЄ Razer Core connected to a Razer Blade Stealth laptop via Thunderbolt 3/USB-C. First, letвЂ™s tackle the modern approach of using a graphics card dock via Thunderbolt 3. WeвЂ™ll walk you through the DIY process for configuring an external graphics card later in this article, along with the sudden rise of streaming PC games from the cloud. ThatвЂ™s far cheaper than building a whole new gaming desktop, and you can still take advantage of your laptopвЂ™s portability by disconnecting the eGPU hardware.

When itвЂ™s done, however, youвЂ™ll be left with a console-toppling PC gaming setup for about the same price as a new Xbox One S, depending on which graphics card you choose. Many do-it-yourself types using Thunderbolt 3, ExpressCard, or mPCIe end up with a plug-and-play experience requiring little to no modification-though it takes some research first. The wide availability of Thunderbolt 3В combined with external graphics card docks has simplified the process even more for people with a modern notebook. It isnвЂ™t hard to configure, and using desktop graphics cards with a laptop has become even easier in recent times.

ThatвЂ™s why I decided to examine external graphics card (eGPU) setups.ДЄnd indeed, I found entire communities of people creating DIY setups that connected desktop graphics cards to their laptops via ExpressCard or mPCIe slots to play games on an external monitor.

#Make vmware use graphics card for mac 1080p#

Sure, the laptop on its own works well enough for older titles like Diablo III, especially on the laptopвЂ™s tiny 1366Г—728-resolution display, but forget about more graphics-intensive modern games on an external 1080p monitor. That just wouldnвЂ™t cut it for proper PC gaming. My desire to power up a laptop with an external graphics card began in 2015, when I set out on a quest to get back into PC gaming-a beloved pastime IвЂ™d neglected since childhood.Д«ut the only PC I had at the time was a 2011 Lenovo ThinkPad X220 laptop with Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics.