April 2018 Update: Apple officially released external graphics card support to the public with 10.13.4 on March 29th, 2018. This update made external GPU functionality plug-and-play for Thunderbolt 3 Macs when paired with supported AMD eGFX. The bad news is the exclusion of older Thunderbolt 1 and Thunderbolt 2 Macs. The good news is we found a workaround, please read our State of External Graphics Card in 10.13.4 for more details.

October 2017 Update: If you plan on using a Thunderbolt 3 MacBook Pro with Windows, please read our External GPU Boot Camp setup guide.

September 2017 Update: This setup guide is applicable for macOS 10.9 to 10.12 only. For macOS 10.13, please read our High Sierra External GPU overview.

Our goal with this post is to provide a comprehensive beginner’s setup guide so that Mac users can build an external graphics card (eGPU) for their computers. As new Macs and Thunderbolt external GPU enclosures become available, we will update this guide with the latest information. To get started, you’ll need the following hardware:

External graphics cards work with all Thunderbolt-equipped Macs. A 2011 MacBook Pro with the first generation Thunderbolt and the latest 2017 MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 can both harvest the power of an external GPU. In our experience, a Mac with only integrated graphics is easier to set up with an external GPU. Mac models with an asterisk (*) denote they have discrete graphics as a standard feature. The table below details all Mac computers with Thunderbolt connectivity.

In order to get the most performance out of an external GPU setup, we recommend using a quad-core processor Mac. From the limited resources we’ve gathered to date, the Late 2016 15″ MacBook Pro is currently the best host for external GPU implementation. We found Apple attached the PCIe lanes directly to the quad-core i7 CPU in its newest 15″ MacBook Pro laptops.



⚡ 15-in Macbook Pro is the only current notebook to use the faster TB3-CPU architecture

This is unlike the majority of Thunderbolt computers which route the PCIe lanes through the Platform Controller Hub (PCH). The disadvantage of having the Thunderbolt connection through the PCH is that the PCH shares bandwidth with other internal components (e.g., PCIe flash storage, network cards, USB ports) and potentially limits the external GPU performance. In this table, Nando explains max bandwidth for external graphics card usage on the Late 2016 MacBook Pro.

late-2016 15″ Macbook Pro late-2016 13″ Macbook Pro Touch Bar

No. of active eGPUs : bandwidth per eGPU 1: 22Gbps

2: 22Gbps/16Gbps (on alternate/same side)

3: 22Gbps on side with single eGPU, 16Gbps on side with dual eGPUs

4: 16Gbps No. of active eGPUs : bandwidth per eGPU

1: 22Gbps/16Gbps (left/right) minus other PCH devices overhead

2: 16Gbps (on alternate sides or left side only) minus other PCH devices overhead

2: 8Gbps (right side only) minus other PCH devices overhead

3: b/w 8Gbps-16Gbps depending on ports used minus other PCH devices overhead

4: 8Gbps minus other PCH devices overhead



Before getting too excited about your Mac’s compatibility with external GPU, you should know that Apple never announced external graphics card capabilities as an official feature on its computers. Building and using an external graphics card with your Mac is totally unsupported by Apple; the Genius Bar will definitely turn you away if you haul your external GPU enclosure into the Apple Store. Our Mac Setup Forum is the appropriate place to ask questions about your external graphics card setup.



⚡ Apple has no current eGPU certified Mac systems

External graphics card development in Mac OS has been a process of modifying system files to enable support for external graphics cards. Future versions of Mac OS may break the existing procedure to enable external GPU. For the time being, these three steps must be completed to have a fully functional external graphics card:

Step 1 – Communication between the Thunderbolt enclosure and the computer.

Step 2 – Recognition in Mac OS that the enclosure contains a graphics card.

Step 3 – Installation and loading of the appropriate drivers for the GPU in Mac OS.

Step 1: Thunderbolt Communication

Most Thunderbolt enclosures with a PCIe slot are able to communicate with Mac OS (10.9 to 10.12). A Thunderbolt 2 enclosure such as the AKiTiO Thunder2 works directly with all first- and second-generation Thunderbolt Macs since the physical connector is the same and Thunderbolt 2 (TB2) is backward compatible with Thunderbolt (TB1). The introduction of the Late 2016 MacBook Pro brought Thunderbolt 3 (TB3) and a new type of connector in the physical shape of USB-C. Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt Adapter allows backward and forward compatibility. With this adapter, TB1 and TB2 Macs can use TB3 enclosures, and TB3 Macs can use TB2 enclosures.

Choosing a Thunderbolt 2 enclosure is very easy because there are only a handful of them. The AKiTiO Thunder2 PCIe Expansion Box is the most affordable and commonly used for external GPU builds. Other suitable TB2 enclosures for external graphics card setup are: OWC Mercury Helios, Sonnet Echo Express III-D, Netstor NA211TB-LD.

You have many more options for a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure. Since the arrival of the Late 2016 MacBook Pro in October 2016, it seems a new Thunderbolt 3 enclosure comes out every month. Intel is in high gear to promote the Thunderbolt 3/USB-C connectivity standard. Due to the thinner and lighter design language across the industry, the demand for expansion enclosures is at an all-time high. Below is a list of the most popular Thunderbolt external GPU enclosures currently available in 2017 (most up-to-date enclosure information at External GPU Buyer’s Guide: Top 2017 eGPU enclosures compared).

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