Laptop External GPU vs new PC

[ShadySocks]

I have a budget of $600, and was going to buy a new PC, to replace my 4 year old laptop. However, I just realized that it might be more cost-effective to use an external GPU. My current CPU is an overclocked i7 3610QM, which is equivalent to an i5 6600. The GPU, a 675m is starting to show its age, so I wanted to replace the laptop. However I could just use an external GPU and connect it to the MXM slot, or the spare mini pcie. I am worried about drivers, and the bandwidth of the connection. In addition, I would have to completely sacrifice my laptop, and it would have to become a desktop. The lappy is 4 years old, but it has USB 3.0 and an external SATA 2. Should I build a new PC, or use the lappy?

[PingPonguin]

I'm not good enough to answer your question, but just a heads up that an i5-6600 performs way better than your laptop i7 3610QE (I assumed it was this because i7 3610u doesn't exist). Information was gotten from various benchmarking websites such as passmark

[ShadySocks]

Just now, PingPonguin said:

I'm not good enough to answer your question, but just a heads up that an i5-6600 performs way better than your laptop i7 3610QE (I assumed it was this because i7 3610u doesn't exist). Information was gotten from various benchmarking websites such as passmark

3610QM, sorry. I'll update.

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, ShadySocks said:

I have a budget of $600, and was going to buy a new PC, to replace my 4 year old laptop. However, I just realized that it might be more cost-effective to use an external GPU. My current CPU is an overclocked i7 3610u, which is equivalent to an i5 6600. The GPU, a 675m is starting to show its age, so I wanted to replace the laptop. However I could just use an external GPU and connect it to the MXM slot, or the spare mini pcie. I am worried about drivers, and the bandwidth of the connection. In addition, I would have to completely sacrifice my laptop, and it would have to become a desktop. The lappy is 4 years old, but it has USB 3.0 and an external SATA 2. Should I build a new PC, or use the lappy?

Mini PCIe is an x1 slot, so that's completely out of the question (unless you like a really gimped video card). I haven't seen anyone make a PCIe to MXM converter and it's not showing up readily on the searches.

 

It's probably better to build a new PC.

[ShadySocks]

{Deleted}

[BleakMaker]

8 minutes ago, ShadySocks said:

I have a budget of $600, and was going to buy a new PC, to replace my 4 year old laptop. However, I just realized that it might be more cost-effective to use an external GPU. My current CPU is an overclocked i7 3610QM, which is equivalent to an i5 6600. The GPU, a 675m is starting to show its age, so I wanted to replace the laptop. However I could just use an external GPU and connect it to the MXM slot, or the spare mini pcie. I am worried about drivers, and the bandwidth of the connection. In addition, I would have to completely sacrifice my laptop, and it would have to become a desktop. The lappy is 4 years old, but it has USB 3.0 and an external SATA 2. Should I build a new PC, or use the lappy?

build a new pc. if you do it externally you will just keep on running into problems and in the end may see yourself spending more than one a new pc.

[Guest]

I would probably say build a new one. Even any lower end card would likely be bottlenecked by the mini pcie slot, which i think is 1x. Besides, you can always upgrade a desktop farther down the road if you need the power. 

[Guest]

Just under 600 without OS (Choose the 100R silent because it comes with 2 fans)

Spoiler

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kWNdd6
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kWNdd6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-6300 3.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($141.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($41.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($109.00 @ B&H) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card  ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair 100R Silent ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $583.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-07 20:26 EST-0500