Introduction:

I picked up a GTX750Ti FTW, and since I had some time and some cards on my hands, and I like low-budget computing/gaming, I figured I'd do a quick benchmark session of these cards on my T430s to create a data point on how older cards stack up to the GTX1050Ti. All these runs were done on the external monitor, with default 3DMark settings, and the cards were not overclocked from their default clocks. The eGPU enclosure is an AKiTiO Thunder2 across a Thunderbolt1 link, and the power supply a Dell DA-2 (which means all of these cards are easy to run on a GDC Beast or similar adapter powered by a 10$ Dell DA-2, making for a cheap eGPU setup for people on those interfaces). Since the Thunder2 was running without the cover, and located close to an open window, the cards ran extremely cool (it was around 50F/10C outside), so these are very much the best case results with regards to boost clocks.

The price of the cards, for reference, is:

GTX1050Ti 4GB: These sell for 119.99$ from EVGA's B-Stock listings (w/1yr warranty), or 129.99$ for an OC model. The card benchmarked is a slightly OC'ed Gigabyte offering which sits somewhere in between on performance.

GTX670 2GB: 65$ off ebay. My card is a PNY XLR8, which is reference model.

GTX750Ti FTW: 50$ off /r/hardwareswap. Hardwareswap tends to be a little cheaper than ebay. You can also get this exact card off EVGA's B-Stock list for 79.99$ (1yr warranty). This is a highly overclocked GTX750Ti, with a 17% OC from the factory, making it quite a bit faster than a regular GTX750Ti. It also requires an additional 6-pin power connector.

Results:

The first graph shows the Graphics Score only, focusing on purely the graphics performance:

The second shows the overall score, which also includes the CPU performance of the i7-3520M:

Conclusions:

Unsurprisingly: GTX750Ti < GTX670 < GTX1050Ti.

However, the differences are not very large, considering the difference in price: Looking at the graphics score, the GTX1050Ti was 30% faster faster than the GTX750Ti FTW in Cloud Gate, and 39% faster in both Sky Diver and Fire Strike, but it costs 50% more when the B-Stock prices are taken into account. If you take a look at the second hand market, the GTX1050Ti is at least twice more expensive (You can find GTX1050Ti cards for 100$, but very rarely, and most of the time a used GTX1050Ti goes for 110$ and higher, which is why the EVGA B-Stock option is so attractive, due to the included warranty). The GTX670 performs very close to the GTX1050Ti, coming within 6% on Cloud Gate, 15% on Sky Diver and 13% in Fire Strike, while coming in at a bit over half the price.

The GTX670 is by far the best card with regards to price/performance. While 3DMark performance is not 100% indicative of gaming performance due to a myriad of factors (the engine in question, driver optimizations, etc), it offers the performance of a modern low-mid-end card for half the price. This has been the case for a while now, and as GTX670 cards often sell around the 60$ mark on ebay (and before the mining boom, they could be found for 50$ often), they are my recommendation for a cheap eGPU setup that can provide decent performance at 1080p and below. The main drawback of the GTX670 is its power consumption: As a 28nm Kepler chip, it is relatively power-hungry compared to more modern architectures, requiring two 6-pin power plugs and consuming a maximum of around 165W of power. This is well over twice the figure consumed by the GTX1050Ti and the GTX750Ti.

The GTX750Ti is still a good mention for a cheap card. Despite two generations of video cards being released since its debut, the 1st generation Maxwell architecture is still showing its brilliance: Basing off from Techpowerup reviews, the GTX750Ti FTW is a match for a GTX950 and a RX460 (and the 896SP version of the GTX560, which is typically sold for 80$, which is the same price as the 750Ti FTW from EVGA's B-Stock), and, unlike the AMD cards, offers trivial internal monitor usage. If bought used for 50$, it is a great card for a great price for 1080p and under.

The GTX1050Ti? Well, it is a GTX1050Ti. It is still the most potent slot-powered card in existence (except for the 300+ USD Radeon Pro WX5100, which few people are likely to buy at that price - I really want one, by the way, anyone wants to buy one for me? ). It runs cool, consumes very little power, provides good performance, and as part of the latest Pascal architecture, enjoys all the driver optimizations released by NVidia as part of their updates. At 120+ USD, however, it is not exactly cheap-as-chips.

I hope you found this informative! Have a great weekend.

Benchmark Links:

EVGA GTX750Ti FTW 2GB - Stock - Cloud Gate 1.1: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23396592?

EVGA GTX750Ti FTW 2GB - Stock - Sky Diver 1.0: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23396672?

EVGA GTX750Ti FTW 2GB - Stock - Fire Strike 1.1: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23396751?

PNY XLR8 GTX670 2GB - Stock - Cloud Gate 1.1: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23397715?

PNY XLR8 GTX670 2GB - Stock - Sky Diver 1.0: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23397993?

PNY XLR8 GTX670 2GB - Stock - Fire Strike 1.1: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23398074?

Gigabyte GTX1050Ti 4GB - Stock - Cloud Gate 1.1: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23398591?

Gigabyte GTX1050Ti 4GB - Stock - Skydiver 1.0: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23398713?

Gigabyte GTX1050Ti 4GB - Stock - Fire Strike 1.1: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/23398802?