Turn an Intel NUC Into a Gaming PC With an External Graphics Card (eGPU)

Target Gaming PC Setup

“Gaming PC” can mean very different things depending on how demanding the games are in terms of graphics performance. For browser-based games, an Intel NUC can be more than sufficient as a gaming PC. But for games that require a discrete graphics card (dGPU), playing on an Intel NUC alone is almost impossible.

This article looks at how to play games that require a dGPU by using an Intel NUC.

How to Use an External GPU With an Intel NUC

Choose a Model With a PCIe Slot

With the exception of a few models, Intel NUC systems don’t include a PCIe slot for installing a discrete graphics card—and there’s usually no physical space for one anyway.

That said, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme and Intel NUC 9 Pro are the only Intel NUC models that allow a discrete graphics card to be installed. They include a PCIe slot, but an important limitation is that only special GPUs designed to work with this series can be used.

Use an eGPU Enclosure

After Thunderbolt 3 became available, one category of compatible products that emerged was the external GPU enclosure (an “eGPU box”).

By installing a retail graphics card into a GPU enclosure with its own power supply, the GPU can be recognized by the PC over a Thunderbolt 3 connection.

Some Intel NUC models support Thunderbolt 3, so they can use an eGPU.

This approach works across many Thunderbolt 3–capable NUC models, and because the external GPU can be chosen freely, it can often turn an Intel NUC into a gaming PC at a lower cost than buying an Intel NUC 9 Extreme or Intel NUC 9 Pro.

Intel NUC models that support Thunderbolt 3 include:

In general, Intel NUC models with 7th Gen or later Core i-series CPUs support Thunderbolt 3. (Some 7th and 8th Gen models do not.)

Budget Intel NUC models with Celeron/Pentium CPUs generally do not support Thunderbolt 3.

Important Notes When Using an External GPU With an Intel NUC

Choose the strongest CPU possible

With the Intel NUC 9 Extreme and Intel NUC 9 Pro, high-end CPUs are used, so this isn’t much of a concern. But when using an external GPU with other Intel NUC models, keep in mind that CPU performance can bottleneck GPU performance.

Most Intel NUC CPUs are “U-series” processors commonly used in thin-and-light laptops, so raw CPU performance is not especially high. The older the Intel NUC generation, the more likely gaming performance is limited by the CPU rather than by the GPU.

If possible, choose an Intel NUC with an 8th Gen or later CPU with 8 cores or more.

Expect higher electricity costs

When using an eGPU enclosure, the enclosure itself includes a high-wattage power supply and can consume as much electricity as several Intel NUC units. While an Intel NUC may consume around 60W, an eGPU enclosure can consume around 200W depending on the graphics card. Using it with the same “low-power” mindset as a standalone Intel NUC can lead to a much higher electricity bill—so be careful.

Noise may increase

In graphics-heavy games that fully utilize the GPU, both the Intel NUC’s CPU fan and the eGPU’s GPU fan can become quite loud. Depending on the environment, it may even become hard to hear game audio. Intel NUC systems are usually quiet, but under load the CPU fan can get surprisingly loud—especially if gaming through a TV’s built-in speakers, where it could become a real issue.

Buying an expensive eGPU enclosure only to find it too noisy to use defeats the purpose, so plan the placement of both the Intel NUC and the eGPU enclosure as part of the setup.

This article covered how to turn an Intel NUC into a gaming PC using an external graphics card (GPU).

One option is to disconnect the eGPU during everyday use to keep things quiet, and only connect it when gaming.

Expanding what an Intel NUC can do by adding gaming capability is worth considering.