External GPUs have been around for a while, but in the past couple of years, they really became much more popular with the introduction of PC gaming handhelds as a fully-fledged market. With these devices being so compact, performance can be fairly limited, so it makes sense to want more power when you're playing at home, especially if you connect your handheld to ane external monitor.

But while this may sound tempting, it's important to note that it's not essential. Modern gaming handhelds run most games just fine with some tweaks, and the hundreds of dollars you'd be spending on an external GPU can be better used elsewhere.

Do you really want to be tethered?

You can't take an external GPU everywhere you go

The first issue with external GPUs is a relatively obvious one, but it's easy to forget when you're caught up in the excitement. External GPUs get you a lot more performance, yes, but they do so at the cost of portability. These are power-hungry devices you need to plug into an outlet and then into your laptop or gaming handheld. Think about how often you're really going to be doing that.

After all, you probably bought a gaming handheld so you could play your games anywhere you go, on the couch or in bed. You're likely not using it to have at your desk all the time, and the external GPU can't really go with you if you're moving around. Not only is it tethered to the wall, but it has to be connected to your device, so if you're using a handheld, you become very restricted in your movement, and you run the risk of tugging on the cable and crashing your game while you're playing.

If you want to replace a desktop PC with a gaming handheld and an external GPU, then this might work, but keep in mind you still won't get the same performance as a desktop PC would give you, and you won't be saving that much money compared to just buying a desktop. You'll also probably want to buy a controller or a keyboard and mouse to play in this kind of setup, so it's adding a lot of complications to the setup.

Games already run fine on gaming handhelds

Performance has come a long way

It's also important to note that performance on modern gaming handhelds is already very solid. Sure, there isn't a discrete GPU, but AMD and Intel have been developing some very impressive integrated GPUs with their latest processors. A gaming handheld with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme or an Intel Core Ultra processor can already run most modern games without a problem.

Sure, you'll have to turn down some settings, but you're playing these games on a 7-to-8-inch screen, running these games at 720p instead of 1080p is not a big deal. Turning down some details will still look totally fine on a screen this small. You can plug in an external GPU and crank up the settings, and maybe you'll see a difference, but is it enough to justify the price? I don't think so.

Again, an external GPU only really makes sense if you have a large monitor or TV and you want to connect your PC to it. The bigger screens will make it very apparent when games are running at lower settings, so it's more warranted. But at that point, a desktop PC may not be that much more expensive and it will almost certainly be faster. Even then, that assumes you want to plug your handheld into the TV, which is already not the case for everyone.

They're expensive

And reselling won't be easy

Finally, the cost of an external GPU is just too high to be a good value purchase for most people. One of the cheapest GPUs you can buy right now is the OneXGPU from OneXPlayer, and that's still $700 for a mid-range AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT. That's on top of the price of a gaming handheld, which will likely cost you at least $600 to boot, so it's not a small investment by any means. And if you want a more powerful GPU, you'll have to spend a lot more.

At the time of writing this article, $700 can get you a full desktop PC at Best Buy, including an AMD Ryzen 5 processor and Radeon RX 6500 XT GPU, including a mouse and keyboard so you can get started gaming on it. If you want more performance for gaming, that's probably a better deal already, and you have the option to upgrade it piecemeal later, or at least the GPU. And a new desktop GPU will cost less for the same performance compared to an external GPU, so it's more financially sustainable over time.

On top of that, when you do upgrade, you'll likely have an easier time reselling your old desktop GPU compared to an external unit. That's because an external GPU is a pretty niche product, so only those with gaming handhelds or laptops with USB4/Thunderbolt ports will be able to use it. Many laptops still don't have this kind of port, so the potential market for resale is much smaller than you might think.

Sure, you could buy an external GPU enclosure that would, in theory, allow you to upgrade to a newer desktop GPU, but then you'd be limited by the connection of the enclosure, which is still PCIe 3.0 on most models today. At that point, if you need to upgrade the enclosure too, you might as well buy a fully integrated eGPU.

External GPUs can make sense, but only for specific cases

All of this isn't to say that external GPUs are stupid or worthless. In some ways, the market is more alive now than it has been in some time. But it's not a product category that makes sense for most people. You have to have a gaming handheld or premium laptop and buying a desktop PC has to be out of the equation for whatever reason. If you have a gaming handheld, you have to be okay with being tethered and using a larger monitor, because the benefits of an external GPU aren't that obvious on a small screen. And you have to be willing to spend at least $700 on top of the price of your laptop or handheld, knowing that the chances of reselling it are fairly low.

Regardless, I can totally understand wanting to boost the performance of a gaming handheld, and for some people, it may be worth it. It's just clear that it's not for everyone.