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External GPU over Thunderbolt 3 takes Intel's NUC to next level

The Intel® Skull Canyon NUC Kit NUC6i7KYK is a mini PC with integrated graphics that offers great performance for gaming and other multimedia experiences. It comes with the latest Thunderbolt™ 3 interface, which makes expanding the capabilities of this PC not only possible but also very convenient.

Naturally, the Thunderbolt 3 connectivity on the Skull Canyon NUC made us very excited and we wanted to see how much we could boost the performance with an external GPU to take the gaming experience to the next level.

In short, the results are amazing and all of it through just a little USB-C connector.

The following tests were done with a Thunderbolt 3 expansion chassis from AKiTiO on Windows 10 (64-bit) using the 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition program in 1080p mode. We've included the results of the internal GPU as well as the following external GPUs: