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

Spectrum said:
My feeling is that this is a problem for Asus to help fix. If you hadn't got DP inputs, essentially the combo of eGPU and monitor (both made by Asus) are not compatible (in two OSs). That cannot be expected, surely?
Click to expand...

At this point, that's where I'm at. The enclosure, the video card and the monitor are all Asus products. As much as I like the monitor, four HDMI ports that won't work via the eGPU with either macOS or Boot Camp Windows doesn't cut it. I'm going to tell Asus that I have until Friday to return the monitor, and that unless it has an immediate solution, it's going back.

My thanks to both you an @rmdeluca for your assistance. If I wind up returning the monitor, it won't be for lack of trying, with your guys' help, to get it to work.
 
Last edited:
F-Train said:
At this point, that's where I'm at. The enclosure, the video card and the monitor are all Asus products. As much as I like the monitor, four HDMI ports that won't work via the eGPU with either macOS or Boot Camp Windows doesn't cut it. I'm going to tell Asus that I have until Friday to return the monitor, and that unless it has an immediate solution, it's going back.

My thanks to both you an @rmdeluca for your assistance. If I wind up returning the monitor, it won't be for lack of trying, with your guys' help, to get it to work.
Click to expand...

I just got off the phone with Asus support. They think that there is a hardware problem with the monitor and have advised me to return it.

The hardware testing before the call was very useful, making for a fairly brief and focused discussion.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Spectrum
Thought that I'd pass this on...

I was having trouble getting an Acer 2560x1440 monitor to recognise a signal from the Asus XG Station Pro regardless of whether I used an HDMI or DisplayPort cable. It was hit and miss, mostly miss. Changing out the Asus Thunderbolt 3 cable for Apple's cable, which I have been using with USB-C portable drives, solved the problem. I don't know why this worked, but I note that the Apple cable connection is more secure (the Asus cable seems to me to be a bit loose) and is shorter (0.8m vs 1.5m).

Screenshot 2019-02-05 at 09.04.56.png
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U
Maybe a faulty cable or maybe an issue because it’s an active cable? (I don’t think passive TB3 cables go beyond .5m do they?)
 
Spectrum said:
Did this solve the HDMI issue?
Click to expand...

That was a problem with an Asus ProArt monitor. Asus support decided that that monitor was defective and it has been returned. See post #477. So I'm using an Acer monitor at the moment.

I think that the Asus XG Station Pro cable, at least in my case, doesn't have firm enough connectors. I'd previously noticed that the connection could be briefly interrupted with a bit of jostling of the enclosure or my mini, and the cable disengages very easily. The Apple cable connection is noticeably firmer/more secure.
 
Last edited:
Ah - oK. I thought you still had the Pro-Art.
In case it is relevant, the generic USB-C > DP cable I am using is so tight in the USB-C ports that to start with I didn't think I'd be able to push it in. It really 'clicks' in, and it takes a real yank to remove it. Is that similar to the connections on your new Apple cable?
 
Spectrum said:
Ah - oK. I thought you still had the Pro-Art.
In case it is relevant, the generic USB-C > DP cable I am using is so tight in the USB-C ports that to start with I didn't think I'd be able to push it in. It really 'clicks' in, and it takes a real yank to remove it. Is that similar to the connections on your new Apple cable?
Click to expand...

Yes, with the Apple cable I have to be firm when connecting it and removing it. Very different from a standard USB cable.

I don't know about others with the Asus XG Station Pro, but my Asus cable takes no effort to engage. I think that that may be the problem. It also takes no effort to disengage.
 
F-Train said:
I don't know about others with the Asus XG Station Pro, but my Asus cable takes no effort to engage. I think that that may be the problem. It also takes no effort to disengage.
Click to expand...

Yes, mine is exactly the same. The slightest nudge, and the signal is interrupted. I've just ordered the Apple cable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: F-Train
F-Train said:
I don't know about others with the Asus XG Station Pro, but my Asus cable takes no effort to engage. I think that that may be the problem. It also takes no effort to disengage.
Click to expand...

Fawkesguyy said:
Yes, mine is exactly the same. The slightest nudge, and the signal is interrupted. I've just ordered the Apple cable.
Click to expand...

My cable is very secure on the mini's side, but on the eGPU's side it does have a bit of play (although moving it around does not disconnect or interrupted the signal). Overall I have not had a single issue with the signal.

Has the graphics quality improved with the new cable? I am experiencing texture tearing in space on Star Trek Online, but so far I have assumed it is the games compatibility with AMD cards.
 
Hi @iAssimilated, I haven’t noticed a difference in graphics quality, but I was pretty focused on just getting the connection to work reliably :)

On another minor, but irritating, issue, and on the chance that I’m not the only person who doesn’t know this...

I installed Boot Camp Windows to use my external video card with Windows-only games. According to Apple support documents, I’m supposed to be able to press the power button, and then the Option key, to be presented with the choice of booting into Mac or Windows. Only it didn’t work. Turns out that if one uses a wireless keyboard, as I do, the computer might not get the message at the right time. The solution is to plug in the keyboard at startup. Now if I want the option, pressing the Option key brings it up without fail.
 
Last edited:
F-Train said:
Hi @iAssimilated,

I installed Boot Camp Windows to use my external video card with Windows-only games. According to Apple support documents, I’m supposed to be able to press the power button, and then the Option key, to be presented with the choice of booting into Mac or Windows. Only it didn’t work. Turns out that if one uses a wireless keyboard, as I do, the computer might not get the message at the right time. The solution is to plug in the keyboard at startup. Now if I want the option, pressing the Option key brings it up without fail.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear ... you must press-and-hold the "Option" key until the boot choices appear on the screen.

Using the wireless keyboard to do this is a bit tricky. It used to be you pressed the key during the chime ... but now there is no chime. I usually press the desired key(s) when I see the screen backlight come on ... or simply wait a short duration after power-on and then press the key.

As you found out ... it is foolproof with a wired keyboard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeepIn2U and F-Train
There was discussion earlier in this thread (posts 461, 466-67, 471) about external video cards and recording a computer screen. With AMD cards, the main options are OBS (Open Broadcast Software) and AMD ReLive*.

The advantage of ReLive over OBS is that it should significantly reduce the burden on one's CPU of making the recording. This is important if you want to record something that is CPU intensive, such as a game. However, macOS doesn't support ReLive, so to use it one needs to have Windows on one's Mac.

I have installed Boot Camp Windows on my mini and I know anecdotally that ReLive can be installed and made to work. I'll get there, but installing the current AMD driver package, which includes ReLive, is turning out not to be a simple plug and play exercise :)

Further to the earlier posts, I can now confirm that there is another solution, one that doesn't require Windows and that is plug and play. Like ReLive, it takes the burden of recording a computer screen off one's CPU. This involves using a hardware video recorder, which is placed between the external video card and the monitor. These are the connections:

Mac mini via Thunderbolt 3 cable to eGPU enclosure
GPU HDMI port to video recorder "HDMI In" port
Video recorder "HDMI Out" port to monitor HDMI port

With this setup, the video that is sent from my mini (for example, my desktop or a game) appears on both my video recorder screen and my monitor. It worked immediately, requiring no tweaking/fussing. I can record the mini's video output, up to and including 4K, in H.264 or Apple ProRes. ReLive records only in H.264/H.265. However, I need to investigate potential issues. For example, the recorder takes its frame rate from the source, which may or may not be problematic with games.

My recorder is a different brand, but similar to the one described in this recent YouTube review. These recorders are expensive (the one in the review costs US$700), but the idea may be of interest to people who already own, or are thinking of purchasing, an external recorder to use with their camera. The "HDMI In" and "HDMI Out" connections that I referred to above are shown/explained at 02:17:



Right now, I don't know whether this will work better than ReLive, worse or the same, but for me it's an interesting experiment.


* There is a lot of confusion on the internet about how to pronounce ReLive. AMD, in its videos, pronounces it as a verb, as in "She wants to relive the game".
 
Last edited:
F-Train said:
I think that the Asus XG Station Pro cable, at least in my case, doesn't have firm enough connectors. I'd previously noticed that the connection could be briefly interrupted with a bit of jostling of the enclosure or my mini, and the cable disengages very easily. The Apple cable connection is noticeably firmer/more secure.
Click to expand...


I've noticed the same thing with my XG Station Pro and the Asus cable. If you nudge it at the eGPU side the picture either flashes or I get weird snow artifacts.

Seems to me that the included cable isn't the highest quality.
 
  • Like
Reactions: F-Train
VideoCardz is gathering written and YouTube reviews of the Radeon VII as they come in: https://videocardz.com/79943/amd-radeon-vii-review-roundup

The review embargo ends at 14:00 GMT.
[doublepost=1549549543][/doublepost]Short version after quick looks at video reviews from Linus, Hardware Canucks, Gamers Nexus, Paul’s Hardware: too loud, too power hungry, too expensive, underperforms except maybe on content creation.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DesertSurfer
I decided to get an Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable as well to see if it changed anything with my setup. The Apple cable is slightly more secure than the one provided with the Pro Station, but not by that much in my case. Also, it did not improve the graphics quality, although this was a long shot anyways (still having weird graphical artifacts in Star Trek Online). Regardless, I am not upset with my purchase (huge bonus that Apple ended up sending me two cables for the price of one).

Question though, I have been wondering if upgrading from the RX 580 to the Vega 56 would be beneficial. I can currently get one for around $350, but I did not know if it was worth the upgrade or not. I would appreciate anyones thoughts on if this.
 
iAssimilated said:
Question though, I have been wondering if upgrading from the RX 580 to the Vega 56 would be beneficial. I can currently get one for around $350, but I did not know if it was worth the upgrade or not. I would appreciate anyones thoughts on if this.
Click to expand...

That's an awfully good price. Which Vega 56 model?

I went from an RX 590 to a Vega 56 and it made big difference for games. For productivity, I think that it depends on what specifically you are doing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fawkesguyy and iAssimilated
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