DIY eGPU for Intel HP Envy Laptop Question

Cobalt1

Estimable
Nov 19, 2015
3
0
4,510
Hello, everyone.

I am new to the world of PC gaming and was considering doing a DIY eGPU for my laptop. The integrated graphics it currently has is not really that great for games like the new Star Wars and I don't have the budget to buy a $1,000+ gaming desktop.

I have a HP Envy 15-k227cl and was thinking about doing an eGPU setup using the thunderbolt port and connecting the GPU to its own power source if needed.
Current O.S. is Windows 10 (64-bit) if that helps with anything.

First I would like to ask: Will this even be possible with my laptop? What graphic cards could I use for this laptop and port type? Any issues I should look out for?
Any tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
 
First thing, I don't think that system had a thunderbolt port.

Second, for the cost of buying a video card, power supply and the adapter for it, you can build a low end gaming computer for almost the same thing. A $500 system will run games faster than your laptop. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2865143/build-poll-500.html

The only external video option would be using an empty PCIe slot, the adapter for those is limited to PCIe 1x speed even though the connector is physically a 16x, which means that a gaming card over the lower ones will be bandwidth limited by it.
 

Cobalt1

Estimable
Nov 19, 2015
3
0
4,510
Thanks, hang-the-9! I have a few more questions. I believe this is a thunderbolt port but I might be wrong, can you let me know? I took this picture of the port on my laptop: http://imgur.com/16Cx8NE

Which build from the link you posted would you recomend for a GPU-heavy game like the new Star Wars Battlefront ? I know I won't be able to run the game on Ultra or even High settings with a build that cheap, but I'm just looking to get at least 60 fps on medium if possible.

Right now my laptop runs 20 fps max on medium....playable but not the greatest.
 


I thought I replied to this already but my post is not here.
I'd probably go with the first build with the latest i3 CPU and a GTX 950 card.