External GPUs: What should I get?

[ACMDogfight1997]

Grand Theft Auto 5 for PC

The Grand Theft Auto series has been my favorite video game franchise since I first played Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Having the ability to take control from over dozens of vehicles from cars to trucks, boats, choppers, planes and so forth in a large area is a kind of game I like. Since GTA 5 has been released for PC, I've always wanted to get the experience of playing the game straight from my laptop.

But unfortunately, I think my laptop is not good enough for it.

When I was looking to see what the requirements were for GTA 5 on PC, I found that my laptop met all but one requirement: a powerful enough GPU.





Now this isn't the only game that my laptop doesn't meet all requirements. GTA 5's predecessor, GTA 4, also requires a higher end GPU, but not as much as needed for GTA 5.



Now I have played GTA 4 and the Episodes for Liberty City DLC on my PC and so far the game can only work well on minimum graphics settings and even then the game can drop to ~10 FPS usually in highly active events or some moments in gameplay but this isn't much of an issue for me. However, I am a little worried that GTA 5 would have even terrible performance even at minimum settings on my laptop. The only little glimpse of hope I could find is upgrading to Windows 10 which includes DirectX 12 but I'm still a little worried.

Your Responses and Mine

Now I told you that I play on a laptop and I know what many of you are thinking: "You shouldn't have bought a laptop in first place anyways you dumb idiot!" (I know that maybe a little overdramatic). Yes, I have been told that gaming and portability do not mix and if so would not be pretty affordable. However, I was not thinking of this back in the summer of 2013.

The laptop I have was suggested by a Walmart employee who had a similar one of his own and recommended it to me. I was looking for a gaming laptop because I started to get into PC gaming earlier in the year. After my first laptop blacked out on me because of my snacking habits, I wanted to get another one. I eventually got one on March of that year but I was unimpressed of its gaming performance.

When I thought of getting a gaming PC, I wanted it to be portable so I can take it anywhere if I go on vacation so therefore I got a laptop. I would probably get a more gaming appropriate laptop, but the budget we had was limited to less than $600 because of financial burdens. Two years later, I've been through a lot and I think it's time for a change.

My Research and Questions

When I was told that laptops had limited and expensive options to upgrade its internal hardware, I was a little saddened by the truth. However, after a while I found out something new: Laptops and other portable devices can run on external GPUs. When I found this out, I immediately looked for information about this idea.

I have found a few sites that gives me the glimpses of hope I needed:

External Video Card Guide
External GPU for laptops. Supercharge your graphics. - Hardware Hangout - Neowin Forums

I went to a PC maintenance shop to talk at the guys there and ask if they have any information about external GPUs, there answers were no and suggested on getting an appropriate gaming laptop. But I wouldn't accept that as they said that it can cost at least $1500 to make one that is recommended for gaming. Well if you look at it now and two years ago from my perspective, the income hasn't changed much since.

What're your responses?

From the information I've gathered, I know that external GPUs are the way to go for my situation. I've read that they're a cheaper solution that buying a new computer and can work for even the least recommended PCs for gaming (business laptops, ultrabooks, etc.). My only problem is that I don't know where to start.

The thing is is that there are various kinds and various ways of setting up one. I want to hear you guy's responses on what I should get. Now I don't want anything high ended that's more than enough for me but rather some kind of GPU that just meets the requirements needed to play GTA 5 properly.

I'm looking forward to future ahead!

Cast:
Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4025: My first laptop
Dell Latitude D630: My second laptop that's now my mom's
HP Envy Dv7-7223cl: The laptop that I use now

PS: Don't complain that I'm poor! My dad is an electrician for the IBEW and makes approx if not higher than $20 an hour!

 

[RoasterMen]

You're not eligible for a discrete graphics card because it's a laptop, unless you buy one of these: https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=9YSpVYzqEcSM8QeQ3rbIAQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=ViDOCK+4

Or if your laptop supports Dedicated Laptop GPUs, I'd buy one of them (but they're a wee bit expensive)

 

[ACMDogfight1997]

You're not eligible for a discrete graphics card because it's a laptop, unless you buy one of these: https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=9YSpVYzqEcSM8QeQ3rbIAQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=ViDOCK+4

Or if your laptop supports Dedicated Laptop GPUs, I'd buy one of them (but they're a wee bit expensive)

Looks cool, but which one do you think I need?: Village Instruments : Store

My laptop is an HP Envy Dv7-7223cl with Windows 7. I'm looking for GPU power for at least 4 GHz which is the recommended requirements to run GTA 5.

 

[RoasterMen]

Refurbished: EVGA 02G-P4-2765-RX GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Superclocked w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card - Newegg.com

or

EVGA 04G-P4-3966-KR GeForce GTX 960 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card - Newegg.com

You'll need this if you want one of those card:
ViDock Nano (320W / Two 6-pin or One 6-pin & 8-pin Power connectors)

$279​

 

[ACMDogfight1997]

Refurbished: EVGA 02G-P4-2765-RX GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Superclocked w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card - Newegg.com

or

EVGA 04G-P4-3966-KR GeForce GTX 960 4GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card - Newegg.com

You'll need this if you want one of those card:
ViDock Nano (320W / Two 6-pin or One 6-pin & 8-pin Power connectors)

$279​

Okay, but I'm a little curious about the price. It makes me wonder: Could my internal GPU supplement my external GPU. I don't want to overpay but if this is necessary, I guess I'll have to stick with it.

 

[N00berG00ber]

here is my thread on these external GPUs:

http://www.sevenforums.com/graphic-cards/279406-external-gpu-egpu.html

in short, DONT DO IT! it was a complete waste of time and money. the drivers sucked and most laptops only support PCI 2.0 x1-x4 which is NOT NEARLY enough bandwidth for a GPU. my laptop when connected to the external GPU (gtx 560Ti) perforamed a LOT worse then when i was using the CPU graphics believe it or not. Also getting the drivers to actually work is also a PITA. it took me weeks, and i had to mod multiple drivers to accept the GPU i had.

Just dont do it. with everything that i bought to do it, you can build a PC for maybe $200 more. i spent about $150-200 on this project.