Mac mini 2018 - need a egpu?

[smurfyou]

Two definitely work just fine. They claim 3 is supported but like others mentioned it will probably run hot. I also use a USB3 port, out of convenience. But I did use the HDMI out for. awhile and I didn't have any issues...

[GoButtonGuy]

I'm running 3 displays from only the Mini and have used a puck RX560 eGPU (puck needs Display Port adapters). Three on a stock 2018 Mini is fine. I'm using the HDMI and two Thunderbolt using HDMI docks. If you're going to process video or do encoding you may find an eGPU will help. I don't see the pucks as a good value. If I had to do it again for a bit more you can get an external case and a more powerful GPU.

Between the pandemic and cypto mining indeed some cards are hard to find. Many that you can find are being hawked at a premium by those that were able to get them. Nvidia is starting to limit the hash rate in the new RTX3060 to discourage mining and introducing a card optimized for mining. That doesn't help us Mac users though. AMD is rumored to have a mining GPU on the way but no word if they'll throttle the gaming and general purpose GPUs to discourage use in mining.

[D'Animation]

Quick update, 3 seems to be fine (2xDP off a TB dock & 1 HDMI off the mac) - the HDMI occasionally disconnects for a second but rarely and not enough to annoy me at the moment. Biggest noise at the moment is a whine off my TB3 dock which i seem to have oddly fixed by plugging something into every port which seems a little silly...