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External graphic card.
- Thread starter Tjosansa
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Biggest problem is the fastest connection is Thunderbolt and it would be equivalent to a PCIe x4 slot from what I've read. Most high end cards use a x16 slot. So Thunderbolt simply does not have the bandwidth to drive video cards currently (not sure if you can run them at reduced speed) Also TB-PCIe expansion docks are extremely expensive - this might change if more thunderbolt peripherals come available with the introduction of the new Mac Pro. Basically something like this http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/PCIe_Chassis/Mercury_Helios/ but at that point it barely saves money over an iMac or gaming PC
The setups for this cost almost as much as a dedicated gaming PC. You have an expensive extension for thunderbolt, plus the cost of the graphics card.
There is a thread somewhere where someone showed a working external graphics card, but it was an ugly monster.
There is a thread somewhere where someone showed a working external graphics card, but it was an ugly monster.
This question was beaten to death in a thread/s in the last few months (and longer). You might want to search for it. Not trying to be difficult. There are probably just a few good comments in the threads.
Agreed. However I will give the cliff notes of those threads: Yes it is possible but only if you bootcamp into windows.
Please can someone find the thread? I'd be very interested to see this.
I've seen it done on MacBook Airs but not minis.
Ummm.... that is what he is talking about. Why would it be any different on a Mini vs an MBA? It is all about utilizing Thunderbolt which is no different.
*facepalm* It's thunderbolt. That means it works on all Thunderbolt enabled Mac. If it works on the MBA, it will work on the Mini. It's the same port.... I don't know what you are looking for here. Do you want someone to photoshop the "solution" onto a Mini for you so you can "see it the mac Mini as well"?
The Mini is nothing more than a laptop without a screen and keyboard.....
That's the point...I want to see what it looks like when hooked to a Mac mini.
No need to have such a mood about it.
Well what would be helpful? Everything you need to know to get this up and running is available at the Macbook Air thread. They ONLY difference is where the ports are on a Mini vs an Air but both setups would utilize the same ports.....
Perhaps linking to the thread instead of arguing and posting shoddy Photoshop pictures?
Why would the person bother posting it if it's no different than the MacBook Air thread?
You stated you have already looked at that thread! Why would we post to a thread you stated you had already seen!
To Quote YOU:
I've seen it done on MacBook Airs but not minis.
I have an external desktop graphics card working with my Mac Mini. Don't have a picture of it but imagine a ViDock (just google search it) with a Mac Mini on top of it; that is my desktop 
My ViDock has a MSI 660 GPU inside while my Mac Mini has a 3615qm i7 CPU, 8gb ram, and 240gb ssd. For the size, it is an EXTREMELY powerful desktop.
I currently have it working perfectly under Windows 8 (worked without problems in Windows 7 too) and I am working on getting it to work in OS X. Mac OS is possible! Check out this article (and no I didn't write it lol but this dude is a genius):
http://www.journaldulapin.com/2013/08/24/a-thunderbolt-gpu-on-a-mac-how-to/
The total cost was about $1400 including the GPU, ViDock, adapter, and Mac Mini ($800 model). Would I recommend it? If you own a 2011 or 2012 mac mini, then this is a great way to turn it into a fully capable machine while taking up no space at all.
And I know I could have built a system for cheaper, but someone has to try something knew for innovation to continue
My ViDock has a MSI 660 GPU inside while my Mac Mini has a 3615qm i7 CPU, 8gb ram, and 240gb ssd. For the size, it is an EXTREMELY powerful desktop.
I currently have it working perfectly under Windows 8 (worked without problems in Windows 7 too) and I am working on getting it to work in OS X. Mac OS is possible! Check out this article (and no I didn't write it lol but this dude is a genius):
http://www.journaldulapin.com/2013/08/24/a-thunderbolt-gpu-on-a-mac-how-to/
The total cost was about $1400 including the GPU, ViDock, adapter, and Mac Mini ($800 model). Would I recommend it? If you own a 2011 or 2012 mac mini, then this is a great way to turn it into a fully capable machine while taking up no space at all.
And I know I could have built a system for cheaper, but someone has to try something knew for innovation to continue
Get a PS4, almost the same GPU as the new MacPro. It will be hacked as hackmac too!
Yes, they will run at reduced speed. Even now, in some dual card setups, the PCI slots drop from 16x to 4x with multiple cards installed.
Stoooop the reduced speed barely does anything. My mac mini with a nvidia 660 runs most games at 80% performance and my bandwidth is pci 2.0 x1 compared to pci 3.0 x16 (53 fps compared to 46 in bf3). And the same goes for all my other games. Also, going from a 660 to 670 with an egpu still gives a boost in performance showing even for a high end card it isnt an insane bottleneck. Thunderbolt 2 which will run at pci 2.0 x4 gives 95% of desktop performance. Bandwidth is a huge bag of poop. Trust me.
Where did I say it would take a big performance hit? I was just confirming that yes, they can perform at lower speeds.
What Mac mini came with a nvidia gpu?