Editing Graphics processing unit (section)

===External GPU (eGPU)===
An external GPU is a graphics processor located outside of the housing of the computer, similar to a large external hard drive. External graphics processors are sometimes used with laptop computers. Laptops might have a substantial amount of RAM and a sufficiently powerful central processing unit (CPU), but often lack a powerful graphics processor, and instead have a less powerful but more energy-efficient on-board graphics chip. On-board graphics chips are often not powerful enough for playing video games, or for other graphically intensive tasks, such as editing video or 3D animation/rendering.

Therefore, it is desirable to attach a GPU to some external bus of a notebook. [[PCI Express]] is the only bus used for this purpose. The port may be, for example, an [[ExpressCard]] or [[PCI Express#PCI Express Mini Card|mPCIe]] port (PCIe ×1, up to 5 or 2.5&nbsp;Gbit/s respectively), a [[Thunderbolt (interface)|Thunderbolt]] 1, 2, or 3 port (PCIe ×4, up to 10, 20, or 40&nbsp;Gbit/s respectively), a [[Thunderbolt_(interface)#USB4|USB4 port with Thunderbolt compatibility]], or an [[OCuLink]] port. Those ports are only available on certain notebook systems.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mohr |first=Neil |title=How to make an external laptop graphics adaptor |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/how-to-make-an-external-laptop-graphics-adaptor-915616 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626052950/https://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/graphics-cards/how-to-make-an-external-laptop-graphics-adaptor-915616 |archive-date=2017-06-26 |work=TechRadar}}</ref> eGPU enclosures include their own power supply (PSU), because powerful GPUs can consume hundreds of watts.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.gamingscan.com/best-external-graphics-card/ |title = Best External Graphics Card 2020 (EGPU) &#91;The Complete Guide&#93;|date = 16 March 2020}}</ref>