eGPU Advice

[Bradley Street]

I’m looking into getting the Blackmagic eGPU for my newly acquired 2019 21.5 inch iMac. My main concern is, do I absolutely have to use a separate monitor with this, or can it be used just connected to my Mac with a 4K display. I have no need to get an additional monitor like some people do with their MacBooks.
Second question is, is it worth it? I downloaded fortnite and it ran horribly. I just recently upgraded to 32 GB RAM and dropped a solid state drive in it, and clearly it needs some help in the graphics department, however I just want to use the iMacs beautiful built in monitor. Thanks!

 

[joelhinch]

When not using an additional monitor, at then end of the day the GPU inside the iMac will still display the image on the built in screen. So the eGPU will only be used for processing GPU tasks. It will probably help, but dont expect miracles as the bandwidth will have to go back and forth from the I would think something like (CPU > Thunderbolt > eGPU > Thunderbolt > CPU > GPU inside iMac > iMac Screen)

 

[Bradley Street]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was afraid of that. I really want something I can play the occasional game on, but it looks like you just gave me the excuse I needed to go get the new R11 from Alienware 😂

 

[BeatCrazy]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was afraid of that. I really want something I can play the occasional game on, but it looks like you just gave me the excuse I needed to go get the new R11 from Alienware 😂

Whoa there. An eGPU does indeed accelerate the internal screen for gaming. I’ve run several benchmarks to confirm my eGPU (Razer Chroma X + AMD 5700 XT Anniversary) improves the internal iGPU of my 2018 13” MacBook Pro (655 Iris) by quadrupling the frame rate I get without it

Use an external graphics processor with your Mac - Apple Support

Learn how to access additional graphics performance by connecting to an external graphics processor.

support.apple.com

 

[Bradley Street]

Thanks. I'll give it a look!

Found this on the link you gave me.

"Starting with macOS Mojave 10.14, you can turn on Prefer External GPU in a specific app's Get Info panel in the Finder. This option lets the eGPU accelerate apps on any display connected to the Mac—including displays built in to iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro"

Update

So it appears it will get the job done with my built in Retina display, however support for bootcamp isn't quite an option, so windows gaming with an eGPU would be out of the question from what I've seen.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Thanks. I'll give it a look!

Found this on the link you gave me.

"Starting with macOS Mojave 10.14, you can turn on Prefer External GPU in a specific app's Get Info panel in the Finder. This option lets the eGPU accelerate apps on any display connected to the Mac—including displays built in to iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro"

Update

So it appears it will get the job done with my built in Retina display, however support for bootcamp isn't quite an option, so windows gaming with an eGPU would be out of the question from what I've seen.

You can use the eGPU with Bootcamp: https://egpu.io/boot-camp-egpu-setup-guide/

 

[MarkC426]

You do know the bmd eGPU's have been discontinued don't you?
They are unavailable from Apple.

 

[Bradley Street]

I have noticed that, however on my end it shows delivery in 10-12 weeks.

 

[MarkC426]

If you can wait that long.... 😬