62 PCWorld SEPTEMBER 2020

REVIEWS

IMAGE: ADAM PATRICK MURRAY

T

hunderbolt 3-based eGPUs have

been around for many years,

offering the ability to plug a full

desktop-class GPU into a laptop.

Theoretically it’s an appealing idea, especially

if someone is using an older laptop that has a

perfectly fine CPU to handle games, but the

GPU is long in the tooth. But there are some

drawbacks.

In the video (linked to at the end of this

article), I talk about my experiences using an

eGPU over the past 4 months to play 10 of the

biggest games from the past couple of years.

Each game was tested in four different ways,

and below are the specs of the equipment I

used—all of which is covered in the video.

DELL XPS 15 7590 SPECS:

• Available from go.pcworld.com/xp50
  
  
  • 15.6-inch 4K OLED panel
  
  
  • Intel 9th-gen Core i9-9980HK
  
  
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
  
  
  • 32GB DDR4/2666
  
  
  • 1TB Samsung NVMe M.2 SSD
  
  
  
  

We tested an eGPU in some of

2020’s biggest games

Can an eGPU upgrade your laptop’s gaming chops. BY ADAM PATRICK MURRAY