Mac mini 2011

[sroach01]

I have a mac mini 2011 I was thinking of purchasing an external thunderbolt enclosure to use a more powerful graphics card.
system specs intel i5 dual core processor
256 meg ram Amd graphics card.
I also plan on upgrading my memory to 8gig
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I use my mac for school work, web browsing, graphics work, programming, and some gaming games that work on macs.
I was thinking of using something like thishttp://www.sonnettech.com/product/echoexpress3d.html

 

[Ice Dragon]

It looks like it's for Thunderbolt 2. Am I reading it wrong?

 

[sroach01]

Mac mini 2011

Yes it is a thunderbolt enclosure.

 

[sroach01]

Mc mini2011

They are all supposed to be backward compatible with the first version of thunderbolt. I would like some user opinions.

 

[DeltaMac]

It supports both Thunderbolt 1 and 2, so you are OK there.
But - seems like the tail wagging the dog... nearly $1000 just for the adapter, then you also need a compatible graphics card, plus whatever else you might want to add to that adapter.
I don't know if the graphics card will be hampered by your somewhat "slow" Thunderbolt 1 bus,

So - anywhere from 1200 to 2000 to have a system, that will likely be overshadowed by a newer Mac, and you are spending all that "upgrading" a Mac that is worth maybe $250...
'tis your money - but...

(if you go for it - you also need to upgrade to an SSD)

 

[Synchro3]

I have a mac mini 2011 I was thinking of purchasing an external thunderbolt enclosure to use a more powerful graphics card.
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/echoexpress3d.html

The Sonnet enclosure is expensive.

I bought a ThunderTek/PX for $200, disassembled the board, and put it in an ATX case: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20899698#post20899698

ThunderTek/PX: http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/thundertek/chassis.php

Akitio Thunder2 PCIe boxes are also affordable: http://www.akitio.com/accessories/thunder2-pcie-box

Pls change the thread name to something with 'eGPU' or 'external GPU', I guess you will get much more feedback.

 

[Fishrrman]

$1,000 for "just the box"? Not including a card?

Why in heck spend $$$ like this on a 4-year-old Mac Mini (and I'm a Mini fan)???

If you're going to spend cash like that, why not get a used or refurbished Mac Pro?

 

[Synchro3]

$1,000 for "just the box"? Not including a card?

Why in heck spend $$$ like this on a 4-year-old Mac Mini (and I'm a Mini fan)???

If you're going to spend cash like that, why not get a used or refurbished Mac Pro?

ThunderTek/PX and Akitio Thunder2 are in the $200 - $250 range.