Anyone have the DuoModo xMac mini/Echo III Desktop System?

[InuNacho]

Does anyone have the DuoModo xMac mini/Echo III Desktop System and a 2018 Mini? Does it keep the Mini cooler? With a standard video card in the slot, are the other 2 still accessible?

I plan on cheating with this device and using it as an eGPU with my RX 580 as the PSU is rated at 400W, I can't tell what "with 75W Auxiliary Power Connector" means though. Any ideas?

 

[InuNacho]

Updating this with some more background info and an email from Sonnet themselves.

Sonnet says the following:
"There is a single 6-pin connection on the main logic board of the Echo 3 device, that is designed to provide up to 75W of additional power total."

In the past I had made an eGPU from an OWC Helios Thunderbolt 2 PCIe card adapter. This adapter is NOT recommended or rated for graphics cards, but I did it anyways. This was for my studio's 2012 MBP with only 512MB of VRAM and it really struggled under Mojave.
IIRC the power supply was only rated at 90W but it worked perfectly with a cheap AMD WX4100 4GB I found locally.

Now that I know that this enclosure can only take PCIe power + 1x 6 Pin I plan to swap out my RX 580 for a WX7100 since 8GB seems to be my current cushy spot. I don't need the GPU processing power as much the vram according to my current workflow.

Since this expansion allows for 3x slots I plan to occupy the others with my BlackMagic Intensity Pro and SSD cards for fast storage.

 

[PeterJP]

Nice to see your experience with this chassis. While I find the concept very attractive (also the rack mountable one), I think the price is quite high. The Echo III is €700 empty. Can you elaborate on why you picked this one vs other solutions?

 

[InuNacho]

So I haven't bought it yet, I will if I can find a WX 7100 at a good price.

I find this solution to be the most streamlined for my needs at the moment. I ultimately need a graphics card, slot for my capture card, and more fast storage. I can easily sell my current enclosures, dock and eGPU setup to offset part of the price.

My current set up is a rat's nest of cables and AC adapters. I would like a completely self-contained setup like my old Mac Pro but with a smaller footprint.