Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 1

14 points

Mac Mini 2012: External GPU experiences?

Hi,

Some people have reported success in attaching an external GPU to Macbook Pro (and Air), via ExpressCard.

I've been told it's also possible to attach an external GPU to a 2012 Mac Mini, although not as easy as with a Macbook because the Mini doesn't have ExpressCard, and there's no OSX driver for Thunderbolt external GPUs.

So... do you know of anybody who is trying to achieve this with the 2012 Mac Mini, or who already achieved it? If you know any pointer to a web or blog explaining such experiences, please share it, as I'm very interested about this!

Thanks!!

Posted on Nov 9, 2012 2:57 AM

Best reply

woodmeister50

Level 6

19,981 points

Posted on Nov 9, 2012 11:23 AM

There is some yes and no here. At least in the case of

2011 Minis, some of the new Thunderbolt->PCI-X card

boxes can nearly fully support any PCI-X video card,

if running Windows7 via Bootcamp. In OSX however,

a Thunderbolt aware driver for the video card is required.

So, this would also be true for the 2012 as it is an OSX

limitation and not hardware.

There are Thunderbolt->Express Card adapters (Sonnet

is main source). They seem to be limitied as to which

Express Cards are usable. Again, it seems to be a

driver issue.

So as yet, external GPUs seem to be accessible only via

these pricey Thunderbolt->PCI-X boxes with Windows