Bringing Desktop Gaming to MacBook Air: The Thunderbolt eGPU Reality

MacBook Air users increasingly seek high-performance capabilities like gaming and AI inference, but Apple's ecosystem limitations have traditionally restricted such uses. This investigation reveals the technical feasibility of connecting desktop GPUs to Apple Silicon Macs via Thunderbolt, yet uncovers critical barriers: missing drivers, performance penalties, and software incompatibilities. The findings expose a persistent gap between hardware enablement and practical usability that the industry must address.