eGPU question

[patseguin]

I have a Mac Mini which I love, but I wish it had a better GPU. Since nvidia just announced the 3080 card, I'm going to be buying that for my gaming PC. I have a 1080 in there now. Would that make a good card for an eGPU on my Mac Mini? or does it have to be specifically supported cards? Is there any noticeable lag when using an eGPU?

 

[iluvmacs99]

I have a Mac Mini which I love, but I wish it had a better GPU. Since nvidia just announced the 3080 card, I'm going to be buying that for my gaming PC. I have a 1080 in there now. Would that make a good card for an eGPU on my Mac Mini? or does it have to be specifically supported cards? Is there any noticeable lag when using an eGPU?

Starting with Mojave, Apple dropped support for Nvidia cards. If you want to run your 1080Ti, then you need to dual boot between High Sierra and Mojave/Catalina in order to take advantage of the 1080Ti as High Sierra is the last OS to take advantage of the 1080Ti. Since your Mac Mini 2018/2020 can't run High Sierra (min OS is Mojave), there is nothing you can do to make it work. Moving forward, only AMD cards are supported by Apple until Apple Silicon Macs come out where they will support their own GPUs. I think AMD will have the Big Navi 2 to counter Nvidia's Ampere RTX 3080.

 

[patseguin]

Starting with Mojave, Apple dropped support for Nvidia cards. If you want to run your 1080Ti, then you need to dual boot between High Sierra and Mojave/Catalina in order to take advantage of the 1080Ti as High Sierra is the last OS to take advantage of the 1080Ti. Moving forward, only AMD cards are supported. I think AMD will have the Big Navi 2 to counter Nvidia's Ampere RTX 3080.

It's a regular 1080gtx, not TI. I'm glad I asked though. I guess I'll need to buy an AMD card. Thanks.

 

[iluvmacs99]

It's a regular 1080gtx, not TI. I'm glad I asked though. I guess I'll need to buy an AMD card. Thanks.

Thank you for clarifying. I was assuming that like most PC enthusiasts out there that most have a Ti version. The only equivalent card performance to your GTX 1080 in the AMD side is the AMD RX5700 XT which is supported on Catalina, so you need to be on that OS if you hadn't already on it. Compared to PC Windows 10 vs Mac OS, I find that the PC with the Nvidia card is more responsive compared to my Mac Pro with an AMD card despite the fact that the AMD outperforms my current Nvidia card by a few percentage points. There won't be a lag if you're coming from an iGPU like a Mac Mini. In fact, that's the reason why I moved to a Mac Pro with the AMD GPU because of the lag on my Mini. iGPU is no match against a real AMD GPU.

 

[joevt]

You can use Nvidia eGPU with the Mac mini while running Windows. Go to egpu.io website for more info.

 

[patseguin]

You can use Nvidia eGPU with the Mac mini while running Windows. Go to egpu.io website for more info.

Yeah, I know man. The whole reason I use Mac though is for MacOS - final cut pro, logic pro, etc.

 

[jayducharme]

One thing I discovered is that the manufacturer matters. I had an MSI Radeon RX 5700 in my Razer Core X. My mini was continually refusing to boot properly. And when it was running, I'd often experience random crashing. So I swapped out the card for a Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT, and now everything's stable and noticeably faster. Apple recommends Sapphire for eGPUs, so I should have known better than to try a cheaper brand. Booting is still wonky, but hopefully that will be fixed with Big Sur. 🤞

 

[tpivette89]

I've used a few MSI cards in my Razer Core X equipped Mini... a RX 480 4GB, a RX 480 8GB, and a Vega 64. I haven't had any problems with any of those cards. It seems as though the drivers for the 5700 XT aren't fully baked yet. Big Sur may fix these issues... however, for now, I would proceed with caution buying an 5700 XT until all the bugs are worked out. Even the Mac Pro guys are having issues with them, and Apple themselves sell them as an option for the 7,1s.

 

[doobybiggs]

One thing I discovered is that the manufacturer matters. I had an MSI Radeon RX 5700 in my Razer Core X. My mini was continually refusing to boot properly. And when it was running, I'd often experience random crashing. So I swapped out the card for a Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT, and now everything's stable and noticeably faster. Apple recommends Sapphire for eGPUs, so I should have known better than to try a cheaper brand. Booting is still wonky, but hopefully that will be fixed with Big Sur. 🤞

dang, did not see the sapphire recommendation ... just bought an XFX 5700XT. hopefully it doesnt cause issues.

 

[Meatsuit]

I have a Red Devil RX5700XT. No issues with 10.15.6. It was a toss-up for me between the Nitro and Red Devil.

Posted some Benchmarks here.

Catalina & eGPU...

Recently Upgraded GPU in my OWC Helios FX 550. Relaced the Gigabyte RX580 for the Power Color Red Devil RX5700 XT. Booted up the first time the same way I have been for the last few months, With the Mini connected w/HDMI to a TV for a login screen and the Mini w/TB to eGPU and DP to my...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[jayducharme]

just bought an XFX 5700XT. hopefully it doesnt cause issues.

One thing that's helped (though it's no guarantee) is that I've resorted to what many others are doing: I have an HDMI cable from the mini to my monitor (I have only one) when I boot, but I keep the monitor set on the DP input from my eGPU. When the mini has booted, I unplug the HDMI from the monitor. After I've shut down the mini, I plug the HDMI cable back in. So far that seems to be the most stable workaround for me.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

People (those who are reading this and are considering purchasing an eGPU for their Mac),

READ THE OFFICIAL APPLE SUPPORT DOCUMENT.

They are very specific in their eGPU hardware recommendations. This doesn't mean that brands/models that aren't listed won't work. However it does mean that they haven't been tested and endorsed by Apple.

I read the Apple support document very carefully several times and cross-checked it with the compatible GPU list from my eGPU enclosure manufacturer (Sonnet) before I clicked the Buy button. Sonnet's list is meticulous enough to specify the exact GPU vendor part number. I just plugged everything in and It Just Worked(TM).

• Mac mini 2018 (Core i7) running Mojave
• Sonnet Breakaway Box 650
• Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580

Now if you want to (possibly) bang your head against a brick wall for hours/days/weeks because you saved $30-50 on a second-tier AIB's card, be my guest.

DO NOT SKIMP ON THE THUNDERBOLT 3 CABLE. Just pony up for the Apple TB3 cable or make sure that you buy a high quality third-party cable from someone who will actually list the throughput (you want 40 Gbps, the TB3 spec). If the cable is notably inexpensive compared to others, this is probably bad news.

Same with the video cables. Make sure you have a DisplayPort 1.4 cable, HDMI 2.0 cable, etc. from a reputable vendor to connect to the GPU and your monitor. Don't buy the cheapest video cable you can find. I buy mine at Monoprice. Put an "EGPU" label on the video cable so it doesn't migrate its way to another usage that doesn't require rock-solid performance.

My eGPU successfully works with two monitors:

• LG 27UL850 (27" UHD, 4K @ 60Hz), incl. USB-C connection, built-in speakers
• Dell S3220DGF (32" QHD, 1440p @ 165Hz), no USB-C connection, no speakers

Those two monitors also work great with my current Windows gaming PC, running an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card as well as a Windows ultralight notebook (Acer Swift 3, 10th generation Intel CPU with integrated Intel UHD 930 graphics).

A monitor I tried but returned was the BenQ EX3203R. The DisplayPort connection was particularly unstable with my Windows PC and HDR didn't work.

Like JayDuCharme, I boot my Mac mini 2018 with an HDMI cable connected to the monitor (Intel integrated graphics). I turn on the eGPU (which is a mirrored display) and then yank the Mac's HDMI cable.

 

[doobybiggs]

People (those who are reading this and are considering purchasing an eGPU for their Mac),

READ THE OFFICIAL APPLE SUPPORT DOCUMENT.

They are very specific in their eGPU hardware recommendations. This doesn't mean that brands/models that aren't listed won't work. However it does mean that they haven't been tested and endorsed by Apple.

I read the Apple support document very carefully several times and cross-checked it with the compatible GPU list from my eGPU enclosure manufacturer (Sonnet) before I clicked the Buy button. Sonnet's list is meticulous enough to specify the exact GPU vendor part number. I just plugged everything in and It Just Worked(TM).

• Mac mini 2018 (Core i7) running Mojave
• Sonnet Breakaway Box 650
• Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580

Now if you want to (possibly) bang your head against a brick wall for hours/days/weeks because you saved $30-50 on a second-tier AIB's card, be my guest.

DO NOT SKIMP ON THE THUNDERBOLT 3 CABLE. Just pony up for the Apple TB3 cable or make sure that you buy a high quality third-party cable from someone who will actually list the throughput (40 Gbps is good). If the cable is notably inexpensive compared to others, this is probably bad news.

Same with the video cables. Make sure you have a DisplayPort 1.4 cable, HDMI 2.0 cable, etc. from a reputable vendor to connect to the GPU and your monitor. Don't buy the cheapest video cable you can find. I buy mine at Monoprice. Put an "EGPU" label on the video cable so it doesn't migrate its way to another usage that doesn't require rock-solid performance.

Like JayDuCharme, I boot my Mac mini 2018 with an HDMI cable connected to the monitor (Intel integrated graphics). I turn on the eGPU (which is a mirrored display) and then yank the Mac's HDMI cable.

I read it several times ...

AMD Radeon RX 5700, 5700 XT, and 5700 XT 50th Anniversary
If you've installed macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later, you can use these graphics cards that are based on the AMD Navi RDNA architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 5700, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:

• Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
• Razer Core X4

I dont see anything about brands for the 5700 ... so figured any would be ok.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Apple is specifically recommending the RX 5700 AMD reference cards -- not any from their AIB partners. The conscientious exclusion of Sapphire Tech raises an eyebrow.

 

[watakoola]

One thing that's helped (though it's no guarantee) is that I've resorted to what many others are doing: I have an HDMI cable from the mini to my monitor (I have only one) when I boot, but I keep the monitor set on the DP input from my eGPU. When the mini has booted, I unplug the HDMI from the monitor. After I've shut down the mini, I plug the HDMI cable back in. So far that seems to be the most stable workaround for me.

Ditto, but be sure to turn the eGPU to "off" before yanking the cable!

My start-up procedure is with the eGPU power set to "off" and a HDMI cable attached direct from the Display (DP) to the mini (HDMI). Once the computer has booted, I pull the HDMI cable from the back of the mini and attach it to the eGPU. Only then do I put the eGPU power switch to "on".

My eGPU is the OWC Mercury Helios FX 650, with a Radeon Sapphire RX 580 8Gb card, output to 2 x 24" ASUS displays.

It took ages to get Catalina to play nice with my eGPU, so I'm hoping Big Sur will 'fix' such workarounds...

 

[jayducharme]

Ditto, but be sure to turn the eGPU to "off" before yanking the cable!

I haven't had that issue. My eGPU automatically powers up with the mini. Once I get the login screen, I pull out the HDMI cable without issue and log in. After I shut down, I plug the HDMI cable back in. That seems to be working fine for me. I assume I could leave the HDMI cable plugged in with my monitor set to DP instead of HDMI. I'll have to try that to see if it presents any issues.

Update: By leaving the HDMI cable attached, the OS seems to get confused as to which monitor input is active. When my desktop comes up, I can see the menu bar and move the cursor, but the dock is nowhere to be found. I can switch to the HDMI input and I can see the dock, but then I'm back to 1080p at 30 hz. So I'll just keep unplugging the cable.

 

[opeter]

In long term it is not the best thing, to pull everytime out and put back the cables. Just saying...

 

[jayducharme]

In long term it is not the best thing, to pull everytime out and put back the cables. Just saying...

I know. That's why I'm hoping Big Sur fixes the issue.

 

[doobybiggs]

I haven't had that issue. My eGPU automatically powers up with the mini. Once I get the login screen, I pull out the HDMI cable without issue and log in. After I shut down, I plug the HDMI cable back in. That seems to be working fine for me. I assume I could leave the HDMI cable plugged in with my monitor set to DP instead of HDMI. I'll have to try that to see if it presents any issues.

is this for basic MacOS usage as well or bootcamp type stuff?

 

[jayducharme]

is this for basic MacOS usage as well or bootcamp type stuff?

I don't use Bootcamp, so I can't answer that. I run Windows through Fusion, and that's been working fine.

 

[jayducharme]

For the heck of it, I ran Geekbench with my new Sapphire eGPU. The results were definitely an improvement over my previous setup.

 

[hagjohn]

I know. That's why I'm hoping Big Sur fixes the issue.

I'm using Big Sur PB (20A5354i) and so far, it will boot to login screen with only the eGPU plugged in (I'm using DP from eGPU to monitor). No Apple logo when booting. You can see what equipment I have in my signature.

NOTE: You should unplug the eGPU before updating MacOS. I have an HDMI to HDMI cable to do OS upgrades.

 

[doobybiggs]

I'm using Big Sur PB (20A5354i) and so far, it will boot to login screen with only the eGPU plugged in (I'm using DP from eGPU to monitor). No Apple logo when booting. You can see what equipment I have in my signature.

NOTE: You should unplug the eGPU before updating MacOS. I have an HDMI to HDMI cable to do OS upgrades.

is that the only issue you have had is an OS upgrade? If so, thats not bad since we really dont upgrade an OS all that much.

 

[jayducharme]

NOTE: You should unplug the eGPU before updating MacOS. I have an HDMI to HDMI cable to do OS upgrades.

I've heard that from many people. It seems counter-intuitive; I'd think the OS would want to know there's an eGPU when installing the upgrade. But I'll make sure to go back to HDMI for the upgrade when Big Sur officially is released.

 

[IngerMan]

Im running a 2018 i7 32GB Ram. I have a Radeon RXVega 56 Asus with a Asus XG Station Pro eGPU box. It has drove me buggy sometimes on Mac OS upgrades with the boot up issues. It seems more stable lately. I have HDMI from the MM to the monitor and Thunderbolt 3 from the eGPU to the MM, DP from Monitor to Vega 56 card. It usually powers up with out issue lately, I just switch the monitor to HDMI on a blank screen power up then I switch it back to DP on the monitor.

Worse case I have to force shut down, turn off the eGPU and power back up HDMI. I don't need to remove cables. It has not done that to me for some time but I typically leave everything on.

I use to have a Sonnet 550 and a Saphire RX580, that did run smooth for the short time I had it but then I sent it back and upgraded to the Vega 56. My only issues I ever had with the eGPU is the boot up, and during the time that was an issue for many and I am not sure any setup would have been an issue with File Vault on. Like I said it seems to worked itself out over the last several OS upgrades.

I have noticed on my last restarts, if I restart while on DP Monitor but also have Auto-Select “on” for the monitor inputs, when it reboots it automatically switches back to HDMI with logon screen visible. Login then manually switch back to DP. I can live with that if it continues to be tried and true

e.