Today we all know that it is possible to use a graphics card from a desktop PC in a laptop using external GPU cases with a Thunderbolt connection, but what if we want to do it the other way around? Would it be possible to use a laptop GPU on a desktop PC ? Yes, it is possible, and in this article we will tell you how.
As surely you are already imagining, what we are going to talk about today is an adapter to be able to connect the graphics card of a laptop to a desktop PC, and for that obviously we will need the laptop’s GPU to be MXM format, since If it is soldered to the laptop’s plate, obviously we will not be able to use it anywhere else.
How to use a laptop GPU on a desktop PC
Just as there are USB-A to USB-C adapters that allow devices of one type to connect to others with a different port, there are also MXM to PCIe format adapters.
In what is essentially an external GPU (eGPU) enclosure in reverse, the Eurocom MXM3 to PCIe Riser card allows users to install MXM3 laptop graphics cards directly into the PCIe slots of desktop computers. It is true that the product is aimed more at the professional environment than the home user, but it is also especially useful for specialized Small Form Factor (SFF) PCs, known as a home office.
Essentially, you just have to remove the MXM graphics card from the laptop, plug it into this adapter, and in turn plug the adapter into a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot on the motherboard of the desktop PC. As you may have already seen from the image, this adapter incorporates an 8-pin PCIe connector for the power supply, which allows it to offer compatibility with laptop graphics up to 150W TDP .
This makes the adapter compatible with a wide variety of graphics cards, including the NVIDIA RTX 2080 .
This accessory is available in two variants: one for NVIDIA and one for AMD. In addition, as logically when removing the MXM3 card from the laptop, its cooling system does not go with it, the manufacturer sells cooling solutions for both versions.
These adapter cards have four HDMI video outputs, one VGA and one DVI in the case of the AMD model, while the NVIDIA model has two additional HDMI ports.
Of course, for now the price of these adapters is practically prohibitive, and that is that only the adapter already has a price of 396 euros on the manufacturer’s website, and in fact, just by adding the fan you have to add 93 euros. The manufacturer also sells its own graphics cards in MXM format, with for example a 6 GB GTX 1060 at a price of 517 euros, or a GTX 1070 for 680 euros. Of course, it is not for all pockets.
Does this solution make sense?
Really, for the price at which it is sold it does not make much sense since for much less money you can buy a normal graphics card for desktop PC and you will have less complications. It would make some sense for users who have a laptop with a broken MXM GPU and want to take advantage of it to use it on the desktop PC, but that would be the case if the adapter had an acceptable price. What price would be acceptable? In our opinion, we would not pay more than 50 euros for a device like this.
In any case, answering the question of the owner of this article, it is indeed possible to install a laptop GPU in a desktop PC. Another thing is that someone wants to spend the money that the manufacturer asks for the adapter, of course.