Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

External GPU (eGPU) Resources

DesertSurfer said:
All true. Once you have your settings the way you like them, maybe you could share so we can see what you can do with x-Plane on the RX 590 in an eGPU.
Click to expand...

I'll be happy to do that. I want to change out the RAM from 8GB to 32GB before finalising my settings, but I should find time for that surgery in the next few days. This is my first X-Plane, JRollon's virtual SIAI-Marchetti SF.260, which comes bundled with a Reality Expansion Pack. I like it.

I took this screenshot in my new monitor's HDR mode and then changed it to sRGB for upload. I've just learned what a huge difference HDR makes. sRGB just ain't the same :)


pilot-final.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DesertSurfer and rmdeluca
Rasta4i said:
Thanks for such a detailed response, I was considering getting the mini. However I currently have top spec 2017 5k iMac with the 580 but I need a laptop but currently don’t want to keep using two systems.

I’m considering MacBook Pro 15” 2018 six core mobile processor with Vega 64 via eGPU. I’m hoping it’ll give me better graphic performance in Final Cut for video effects and things that are GPU accelerated tasks as for certain videos I do this element causes me the biggest delay.

I gusss i’m trying to figure out if MacBook Pro with Vega 64 can give me more performance than the 580 in the iMac?
Click to expand...

Ah, ok, sorry for the spiel.

Your iMac has a Radeon Pro 580, which is clocked about 11.5% slower than the stock desktop Radeon RX 580. Your "desktop equivalent performance" card would roughly be a Radeon RX 590 (which is ordinarily about 28% faster than your iMac's GPU).

The RX Vega 64 is substantially more powerful than the RX 590 (easily 50-75%), so that's all gravy above and beyond where you are now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rasta4i, louisitou and F-Train
rmdeluca said:
Ah, ok, sorry for the spiel.

Your iMac has a Radeon Pro 580, which is clocked about 11.5% slower than the stock desktop Radeon RX 580. Your "desktop equivalent performance" card would roughly be a Radeon RX 590 (which is ordinarily about 28% faster than your iMac's GPU).

The RX Vega 64 is substantially more powerful than the RX 590 (easily 50-75%), so that's all gravy above and beyond where you are now.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I know this in a Mac mini forum but you’ve helped me feel more confident about the performance of Vega 64 with MacBook Pro! I’m definitely going this route!
 
  • Like
Reactions: F-Train, rmdeluca and DesertSurfer
nampramos said:
Not sure if you saw he had a defective card?
Click to expand...

I skipped the article when I saw that and went to the comments. A number of them are worth reading, especially those by people who have tried the Razer Core with the Vega 56 and Vega 64 GPUs. The 64 sounds iffy.
 
Last edited:
Guys, just to go "System Preference" , "Security & Privacy", and Turn off the FileVault. Then once you pick the EGPU as primary display. it'll always be that. Turning off the FileVault solves the EGPU boot display/primary display issue (because you wouldn't have to login to unlock the computer from loading up the start-up disk) which allow it to boot with all the saved settings
 
Turning off FileVault is not a good option for me. The security of my data is a higher priority than convenience when I do a full reboot of my system, which I don’t do very often. I do appreciate your suggestion and I’m sure you have helped others.
[doublepost=1543996272][/doublepost]
F-Train said:
I skipped the article when I saw that and went to the comments. A number of them are worth reading, especially those by people who have tried the Razer Core with the Vega 56 and Vega 64 GPUs. The 64 sounds iffy.
Click to expand...
The PSU in the Razer Core V2 is not of a sufficient capacity to power a Vega 64. The Core X has a larger PSU and supports the Vega 64, or at least it does for me...
 
I turn the FileVault off and now the EGPU with Razer Core X and Radeon Vega 64 shows as primary
[doublepost=1544061995][/doublepost]See attached screen
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2018-12-05 at 21.03.08 PM.png
    Screen Shot 2018-12-05 at 21.03.08 PM.png
    58.9 KB · Views: 189
I’m posting this in case others experience a Bluetooth issue while running an external GPU.

Update: Actually, it looks like I just had my mini too far from my Trackpad and Apple keyboard. It's now much closer and I'm not having any interference issues.

...

I turned off my eGPU today and doing so appears to have ended a problem that I was having with intermittent disconnection of my Apple keyboard and trackpad.

When I was having the problem, the GPU enclosure and its separate power supply were less than 60cm/2’ from my mini. I think that the solution is more distance, which is easy enough to arrange as I have a long power supply cord and a Thunderbolt cable that is 1.5m/5’ long.

I’ll update this post after testing greater separation of the mini and eGPU/power supply, but I’m pretty confident that that will fix the problem.
 
Last edited:
F-Train said:
I’m posting this in case others experience a Bluetooth issue while running an external GPU.

I turned off my eGPU today and doing so appears to have ended a problem that I was having with intermittent disconnection of my Apple keyboard and trackpad.

When I was having the problem, the GPU enclosure and its separate power supply were less than 0.6m/2’ from my mini. I think that the solution is more distance, which is easy enough to arrange as I have a long power supply cord and a Thunderbolt cable that is 1.5m/5’ long.

I’ll update this post after testing greater separation of the mini and eGPU/power supply, but I’m pretty confident that that will fix the problem.
Click to expand...
Most of my problems ended when I returned the eGPU so I am guessing you’re right.
 
I have been using the Blackmagic eGPU Pro 580 for the past few days have not experienced any bluetooth issues. I wonder if Apple has some beneficial integration with Blackmagic eGPU. This is with File Vault turned off.
 
Rockies said:
I have been using the Blackmagic eGPU Pro 580 for the past few days have not experienced any bluetooth issues. I wonder if Apple has some beneficial integration with Blackmagic eGPU. This is with File Vault turned off.
Click to expand...

The eGPU that @inmnbob refers to in the post immediately above yours is the Blackmagic eGPU that you are using.
 
F-Train said:
The eGPU that @inmnbob refers to in the post immediately above yours is the Blackmagic eGPU that you are using.
Click to expand...

I have my eGPU about 1.5 feet from my Mini. I am using the short thunderbolt 3 cable that came with the eGPU and also using HDMI from my Dell 27" 4K to eGPU. No issues as of yet.
 
DrKeys said:
I turn the FileVault off and now the EGPU with Razer Core X and Radeon Vega 64 shows as primary
[doublepost=1544061995][/doublepost]See attached screen
Click to expand...
I have FileVault enabled on mine, and my "About This Mac" screen shows the same thing. Razer Core X with ASUS Radeon RX Vega 64 is my eGPU.
 
This morning, I ran Cinebench to get an OpenGL score for Sapphire's Nitro+ RX 590. This is the GPU out of the box, no tweaking. I've had a couple of scores at around 80.56fps, but the last three tests all came out at 81.38fps (photo below). Enclosure is the Asus XG Station Pro. Mini is currently i7/8GB/512GB pending RAM surgery.

If anyone cares to post them, I'd love to see other scores for the RX 590, as well as for the RX 580, Vega 56 and Vega 64. The Blackmagic eGPU score would also be interesting.

Screenshot 2018-12-06 at 11.21.38 AM.png
 
Last edited:
Not sure if I did this correctly, but here is mine. Razer Core X with ASUS Vega 64. I had a few programs running in the background, but nothing too taxing I think.
Screenshot 2018-12-06 at 16.48.21.png
 
KennethS said:
Not sure if I did this correctly, but here is mine. Razer Core X with ASUS Vega 64. I had a few programs running in the background, but nothing too taxing I think.
View attachment 808902
Click to expand...

Kenneth,

That sure demonstrates how much more powerful the Vega cards are. I'd like to see results for the Vega 56 now.

Is heat and noise a problem with the Vega 64, or is that overblown? I'm beginning to wonder whether these issues are qualitatively different depending on whether the card is in a computer case or an external enclosure.

I don't even notice heat or noise from the RX 590.

The Asus cards seem generally more expensive than others. Do you think that they're better in some way?
 
Last edited:
I have only had the eGPU setup for a week but am very happy with it. To be honest, I am merely an enthusiast who likes to tinker with computers and really have no need for the capabilities of the setup I have (either the eGPU or my mini as specced with the i7). I had a top spec (at the time) iMac, late 2010, from new and it was time for an update. The iMac served me well (and lives on in my younger son’s bedroom as his computer), with only an added internal SSD during its time with me, and I usually over-spec my computers to hopefully keep them for the long-haul. I saw the graphics card on a pretty significant discount during the Black Friday weekend sales here (I’m in the UK) and jumped on it. It was £389 (including VAT tax and shipping), which met my price point. I wasn’t specifically looking for a particular brand, just a good deal on a card with good reviews. I was pretty set on the Vega 64 to feed my weakness for high end parts.

I have not found the Core X and Vega 64 particularly noisy (in fact it is very quiet with just a hint of fan noise), and the air that does blow out is usually very cool. But I am not doing anything that would be stressful on the setup. I did have my older son play some Steam games on it for an hour or so at what he said were difficult settings on my 4K monitor and we didn’t notice any meaningful increase in fan noise or heat from the eGPU. He has a pretty well specced Windows machine that I built for him, and he was surprised how capably the Mac mini was running the games. I plan to let him game for a longer period on it to see if the fan does ramp up after prolonged use.

I can imagine many people think I must have more money than sense to spend what I have for capabilities I have no need for. All I can say is my only remaining vice (if you can call it that) is money I spend on high-tech stuff (mostly Apple products), and I get pleasure out of trying to learn what I can and tinkering.
 
  • Like
Reactions: inmnbob, Sustainerplayer, Spectrum and 2 others
So on Cinebench...

My RX 590 hit 80fps (post #243).
@KennethS's Vega 64 hit 120fps (post #244).

My working assumption is that a Vega 56 will come in at about 100fps. I wonder what difference that would make on X-Plane... err ... Final Cut.

I'd really like to see an actual Vega 56 score :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DesertSurfer
Hi guys,
I’ve searched for a similar query in this thread/forum but couldn’t find a specific answer for my setup, apologies if I’m repeating a previous post.

I have a Mac Mini and LG UltraFine 4K display. Will I have any issues connecting the Razer Core X to this display?

I know some people have mentioned issues with the UltraFine 5k, but not the 4k.

Help much appreciated, thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back