Have you tried a dummy HDMI dongle to trick the 5700 into thinking it is driving two monitors? Supposedly increases eGPU performance a lot. It is reckoned to be a driver issue.So in other words, I didn't have to buy a new eGPU enclosure. It was the fault of the OS. Great.
I like the Razer box a bit more because it's so easy to work on -- one handle opens the entire unit. It's a bit slimmer as well. But the Sonnet has more power, so I guess I'll keep that one for future-proofing (if that's even possible with current tech).
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eGPU question
- Thread starter patseguin
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It does seem a bit low for the 5700. My RX 570 with a Sonnet Breakaway Puck enclosure gives me ~33,000 Metal and 33,000 Open CL.
That said, I can do in the tasks I need to in Photoshop (on huge files) pretty much in realtime so I don't require more than that. Are you gaming with this, or video production, or chasing geekbench scores (had to ask)?
Some gaming, but mostly 4k video editing. Right now my setup is running about the same speed as my old 2013 Mac Pro with the dual Fire 300 cards. With double the horsepower in the 5700, I expected a bit more from it even as an eGPU instead of an internal card. I've seen results from older eGPU setups that are double my Geekbench scores. Perhaps my card isn't fully supported yet (which is what I suspect). My last hope is Big Sur, which might improve things. If not, then it has to be either something going on with my mini or Mac OS not working correctly with my card. My setup is running okay, but I just want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.
I don't blame you at all. I've sort of considered my Mini as a work in progress since I got it (by necessity). Because honestly, until recently I wasn't happy with the performance. Now that my Photoshop workflow is nearly in realtime (thanks to eGPU) I'm much happier with my machine.
My 2018 Mini kicks the crap out of my old 2011 iMac and yours should beat your old system handily. Were they both Geekbench 5 scores? Because Geekbench 3, 4, and 5 are widely different metrics.
My 2018 Mini kicks the crap out of my old 2011 iMac and yours should beat your old system handily. Were they both Geekbench 5 scores? Because Geekbench 3, 4, and 5 are widely different metrics.
I've been using Geekbench 5 only on my mini for the past few months, trying to figure out what was going on. I never ran Geekbench on my old Mac Pro because I was really happy with its performance. But as I gravitated toward more 4K video work, the Pro was starting to show its age. Plus it was limited to TB2. So I took a chance on the 2018 mini. It has 2 more cores than my Pro, similar RAM and storage. The Intel graphics gave me pause, but I'd heard good things about eGPUs. And my 5700 obviously does make a massive difference compared to the built-in graphics.
It’s possible. But this one (a Sapphire) is my second card, brand new. My first card was an MSI, and it had the same scores.
Not likely then, 2 enclosures 2 cards = Same low score. Im sure this is a simple fix, hopefully you figure it out.
FYI my Mac Mini iGPU 630 get’s a compute score of just around 5,000s
Edit: @jayducharme
Is your iGPU performing as expected?
FYI my Mac Mini iGPU 630 get’s a compute score of just around 5,000s
Edit: @jayducharme
Is your iGPU performing as expected?
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I'm with IngerMan. Not likely a hardware issue at this point.
I have you thought about doing a clean install of Catalina? Maybe you have a problem your a video kext? or a Kernel extension not playing nice? I would be inclined to load the latest Catalina installer onto a thumb drive and nuke it. Re-format, Re-partition clean clean. I just did it about two weeks ago. Only took about 6 hours to get everything back the way I like it. I didn't use my Time Machine backup. Worried it was going to put back the badness. My solution is free. If you don't count the time. I really would not count on Big Sur fixing anything.
I did do a reinstall a month ago and it didn’t make a difference. Given the issues Apple is having with 5700s in their iMacs, I’m thinking it’s currently just poor support for that particular card. That’s why I’m hopeful things will get corrected with Big Sur. I’ll know in a month or so.
I wonder.. what about support for the next gen AMD 6000 cards when they are released? I’m looking forward to adding an additional egpu to My MacBook Pro. I’ve seen leaks for the 6800/6900XT cards.
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If Apple is still struggling to support the 5700, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for support for the 6000 series.