This will be a work in progress as I will continue to test new games as I get time to do so. This will be a long post but hopefully somewhat informative for some.
If you have any games you'd like me to test feel free to ask, I might have it and be able to test.
Important note: These settings are most likely not the best settings, in many of the games the CPU is the limiting factor meaning that higher graphical settings will not make the fps significantly worse. These are the settings I tested that I found to be good and playable, I prefer native resolution (2560x1440) above better settings, many games are run just on Auto or default settings.
Background
I always liked to play games but I want to try to do it more casually in the future instead, therefore I have looked into the eGPU solution for the Mac I need anyway.
I currently have a gaming desktop containing a Intel 7700k running at 5 Ghz, 16 GB of DDR4 ram at 3000 Mhz and a Nvidia GTX 1080 so that is my reference point and I will give you the FPS I see in games on that rig if I have it under the tag "Desktop FPS".
eGPU Setup
I am running the 2018 13" MBP with i5 and 16 GB of ram together with a Razer Core X with my Nvidia GTX 1080 in it. All tests are done in Windows 10 (Boot Camp) with Intel XTU setting the power limit to 34W and the boost power limit to 38W for 28 seconds, this allows me to run the CPU at 3.6 Ghz of sustained speed across all cores (which is max for the i5).
With fans set to max the temperatures are between 75-85 celcius so there is thermal headroom for higher clocks. I use Macs Fan Control in OS X to set the fans to maximum before booting into Windows, this leaves the fans at max. The FPS from this setup will be under the tag "eGPU FPS".
If it does any difference I have been testing this using displayport out to my AOC Agon AG241QG 165 Hz screen with G-Sync. Also all games are run from my external USB-C SSD (WD My Passport SSD) as I rather keep my Windows partition smaller, loading times are as fast as on my desktop that has a normal SATA SSD though.
Game tests
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/EA4knsQ
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/6QamvW1
Desktop FPS: 110-144 except for occasional big drops
eGPU FPS: 80-110 except for occasional bigs drops
Thoughts: Runs perfectly fine, I did not get annoyed by drops more than I usually do when I play the game. If you have the inventory up and run around you do get around 45 fps and that does make it feel slow.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Settings: https://imgur.com/LukdnxY
Desktop FPS: Bounces around a bit but mostly 450+ and never under 350.
eGPU FPS: Depends on map and amount of players, mostly around 250-300 but some drops below 200 did happen.
Thoughts: Runs perfect from a gaming standpoint, in CS:GO more FPS does make the game feel smoother but this was nothing to complain about. If I didn't know this was a different setup I might not notice.
Overwatch
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/icZ43qv
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/wPYz0m7
Desktop FPS: Usually keep it locked at screen fps, which for some reason was 171.
eGPU FPS: Locked at 161 for some reason with some drops down into 150.
Thoughts: More or less flawless, I played a few games and only had one problem, towards the end I started a download in the background and when that finished something launched and that seems to have made something wonky, FPS dropped to 23 and the CPU got power limited. Never happened again so I consider it to be a one time thing.
Fortnite
Settings: https://imgur.com/3hfHNpv
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 100-120, occasional drops to 85-90 ish.
Thoughts: Not experienced enough to say anything, did not feel laggy at all. I was using the 50v50 game mode and dropped somewhere and ran around some people and shot a bit, did not like the game enough to try more than that
League of Legends
Settings: https://imgur.com/tM2P40Q
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 170-270
Thoughts: Default Settings. Haven't played before but did not feel laggy at all, took ages to load but I was indicated to have loaded first so I dunno. Was mostly around 220 but dipped sometimes to around 170-180.
Destiny 2
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/ETYNWKX
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/ybzV3jN
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 80-100
Thoughts: Default Settings. Haven't played before but did not feel laggy at all and looked amazing. I only tried the start of the campaign so far and the FPS was mostly around 90 but dipped to 75-80 ish sometimes. Updated the FPS some after playing more intensive scenes, still no stuttering.
Battlefield 1
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/LlzsKfa
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/kFFZC4X
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 70-100
Thoughts: FPS was mostly around 80 with these settings and the game felt good. Randomly there were some drops, not every game but sometimes. The cut scenes before the matches were laggy sometimes while loading but mostly it was working very good. I tried to play different game modes and the ones with big maps and loads of explosions where I thought it would struggle it was doing it no problem.
Witcher 3
Settings: 2560x1440 resolution and high presets on both Graphics and Postprocessing. Could do Ultra preset without stuttering in what I tested but lower FPS.
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 50-60
Thoughts: FPS cap was 60 so couldn't go higher. Did not test too much combat but no stuttering at all in what I tested.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/ugFt3c7
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/9j53xVA
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 60-80, did the benchmark and got these results: https://imgur.com/7UJbhJD
Thoughts: Played really well, no stuttering at all although I did not try too long.
GTA V
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/BF9nRGG
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/8Cxf5ac
Settings part 3: https://imgur.com/EfWseqY
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 140-170, did the benchmark and got around the same FPS.
Thoughts: Plays well, never played it before so I do not have too much experience. Did get a bit of stutter when the "WASTED" thing comes up. Settings were the default that the game suggested.
World of Warcraft
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/a6nSHS6
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/f55jr9V
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 50-100.
Thoughts: Plays well, I put it all on max and ran around in Stormwind with my level one character as well as hit some mobs. In Stormwind it was around 55 fps with all the people there. Couldn't test raids or anything since well yeah, level 1.
Fallout 4
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/bkZwp5e
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/JeBw8uw
Settings part 3: https://imgur.com/AwfiDZL
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 60-80
Thoughts: Plays well and mostly around 70 fps in the outside world, it was all on the "Ultra" preset. Did get loads of lag in windowed borderless for some reason but fullscreen played nice. If course I did not have time to play a lot so I am sure the FPS will dip later on if a lot is going on
Realm Royale
Settings: 2560x1440 resolution and everything at max more or less
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 140-150
Thoughts: Quite stable around 150 where it seemed to be capped or something. Some stuttering in menus for some reason.
More to come...
If you have any games you'd like me to test feel free to ask, I might have it and be able to test.
Important note: These settings are most likely not the best settings, in many of the games the CPU is the limiting factor meaning that higher graphical settings will not make the fps significantly worse. These are the settings I tested that I found to be good and playable, I prefer native resolution (2560x1440) above better settings, many games are run just on Auto or default settings.
Background
I always liked to play games but I want to try to do it more casually in the future instead, therefore I have looked into the eGPU solution for the Mac I need anyway.
I currently have a gaming desktop containing a Intel 7700k running at 5 Ghz, 16 GB of DDR4 ram at 3000 Mhz and a Nvidia GTX 1080 so that is my reference point and I will give you the FPS I see in games on that rig if I have it under the tag "Desktop FPS".
eGPU Setup
I am running the 2018 13" MBP with i5 and 16 GB of ram together with a Razer Core X with my Nvidia GTX 1080 in it. All tests are done in Windows 10 (Boot Camp) with Intel XTU setting the power limit to 34W and the boost power limit to 38W for 28 seconds, this allows me to run the CPU at 3.6 Ghz of sustained speed across all cores (which is max for the i5).
With fans set to max the temperatures are between 75-85 celcius so there is thermal headroom for higher clocks. I use Macs Fan Control in OS X to set the fans to maximum before booting into Windows, this leaves the fans at max. The FPS from this setup will be under the tag "eGPU FPS".
If it does any difference I have been testing this using displayport out to my AOC Agon AG241QG 165 Hz screen with G-Sync. Also all games are run from my external USB-C SSD (WD My Passport SSD) as I rather keep my Windows partition smaller, loading times are as fast as on my desktop that has a normal SATA SSD though.
Game tests
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/EA4knsQ
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/6QamvW1
Desktop FPS: 110-144 except for occasional big drops
eGPU FPS: 80-110 except for occasional bigs drops
Thoughts: Runs perfectly fine, I did not get annoyed by drops more than I usually do when I play the game. If you have the inventory up and run around you do get around 45 fps and that does make it feel slow.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Settings: https://imgur.com/LukdnxY
Desktop FPS: Bounces around a bit but mostly 450+ and never under 350.
eGPU FPS: Depends on map and amount of players, mostly around 250-300 but some drops below 200 did happen.
Thoughts: Runs perfect from a gaming standpoint, in CS:GO more FPS does make the game feel smoother but this was nothing to complain about. If I didn't know this was a different setup I might not notice.
Overwatch
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/icZ43qv
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/wPYz0m7
Desktop FPS: Usually keep it locked at screen fps, which for some reason was 171.
eGPU FPS: Locked at 161 for some reason with some drops down into 150.
Thoughts: More or less flawless, I played a few games and only had one problem, towards the end I started a download in the background and when that finished something launched and that seems to have made something wonky, FPS dropped to 23 and the CPU got power limited. Never happened again so I consider it to be a one time thing.
Fortnite
Settings: https://imgur.com/3hfHNpv
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 100-120, occasional drops to 85-90 ish.
Thoughts: Not experienced enough to say anything, did not feel laggy at all. I was using the 50v50 game mode and dropped somewhere and ran around some people and shot a bit, did not like the game enough to try more than that
League of Legends
Settings: https://imgur.com/tM2P40Q
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 170-270
Thoughts: Default Settings. Haven't played before but did not feel laggy at all, took ages to load but I was indicated to have loaded first so I dunno. Was mostly around 220 but dipped sometimes to around 170-180.
Destiny 2
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/ETYNWKX
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/ybzV3jN
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 80-100
Thoughts: Default Settings. Haven't played before but did not feel laggy at all and looked amazing. I only tried the start of the campaign so far and the FPS was mostly around 90 but dipped to 75-80 ish sometimes. Updated the FPS some after playing more intensive scenes, still no stuttering.
Battlefield 1
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/LlzsKfa
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/kFFZC4X
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 70-100
Thoughts: FPS was mostly around 80 with these settings and the game felt good. Randomly there were some drops, not every game but sometimes. The cut scenes before the matches were laggy sometimes while loading but mostly it was working very good. I tried to play different game modes and the ones with big maps and loads of explosions where I thought it would struggle it was doing it no problem.
Witcher 3
Settings: 2560x1440 resolution and high presets on both Graphics and Postprocessing. Could do Ultra preset without stuttering in what I tested but lower FPS.
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 50-60
Thoughts: FPS cap was 60 so couldn't go higher. Did not test too much combat but no stuttering at all in what I tested.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/ugFt3c7
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/9j53xVA
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 60-80, did the benchmark and got these results: https://imgur.com/7UJbhJD
Thoughts: Played really well, no stuttering at all although I did not try too long.
GTA V
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/BF9nRGG
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/8Cxf5ac
Settings part 3: https://imgur.com/EfWseqY
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 140-170, did the benchmark and got around the same FPS.
Thoughts: Plays well, never played it before so I do not have too much experience. Did get a bit of stutter when the "WASTED" thing comes up. Settings were the default that the game suggested.
World of Warcraft
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/a6nSHS6
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/f55jr9V
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 50-100.
Thoughts: Plays well, I put it all on max and ran around in Stormwind with my level one character as well as hit some mobs. In Stormwind it was around 55 fps with all the people there. Couldn't test raids or anything since well yeah, level 1.
Fallout 4
Settings part 1: https://imgur.com/bkZwp5e
Settings part 2: https://imgur.com/JeBw8uw
Settings part 3: https://imgur.com/AwfiDZL
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 60-80
Thoughts: Plays well and mostly around 70 fps in the outside world, it was all on the "Ultra" preset. Did get loads of lag in windowed borderless for some reason but fullscreen played nice. If course I did not have time to play a lot so I am sure the FPS will dip later on if a lot is going on
Realm Royale
Settings: 2560x1440 resolution and everything at max more or less
Desktop FPS: N/A
eGPU FPS: 140-150
Thoughts: Quite stable around 150 where it seemed to be capped or something. Some stuttering in menus for some reason.
More to come...
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