Help: NVIDIA vs AMD for Mac Mini 2018 with EGPU (Gaming)

[NightLion]

HI all -
I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and have decided to get rid of my 2009 Mac Pro tower in favor of a 2018 Mac Mini i7. I currently have a flashed Nvidia 980 in the Mac Pro. I would like to upgrade this in the EGPU. I am torn between NVIDIA 2070 vs AMD radeon RX 5700 XT. I have been trying to find performance running games under bootcamp with EGPU and either of those video cards but information seems limited.

Does anyone have this type of setup? I have also been reading to expect a 15% loss of performance due to the EGPU setup, but I am not sure why this would be the case. I will be using this with a 4k UHD 28" external display.

Normally I would go NVIDIA all the way, but the lack of support on the mac is making me question if i should just suck it up and go AMD. Any personal experience out there? Would either card be fine running something like Division 2?

THanks!

 

[Meatsuit]

There is no support for the NVIDIA in Mojave or Catalina. Bootcamp into Windows then connect maybe.
Go with the RX5700. More chances of it just working. Not always the case with a Mini and the eGPU.
Catalina is still in its beta stage in regards to their AMD drivers. Sarcasm.

 

[a2jack]

Don't waste your time on Apple.

As a graphic, or VR or even a game machine, Apple is long gone.

I wasted over a year tiring to make Apple work. Fail.

Bite the bullet and go Windows and a PC. It's the only way to do it right. a2

 

[watakoola]

Don't waste your time on Apple.

As a graphic, or VR or even a game machine, Apple is long gone.

I wasted over a year tiring to make Apple work. Fail.

Bite the bullet and go Windows and a PC. It's the only way to do it right. a2

Shots fired!

 

[NightLion]

Don't waste your time on Apple.

As a graphic, or VR or even a game machine, Apple is long gone.

I wasted over a year tiring to make Apple work. Fail.

Bite the bullet and go Windows and a PC. It's the only way to do it right. a2

i appreciate the feedback.. I have considered this, but it's just not an option for me. Gaming is not the primary focus of the machine, but i do want it to be something i can do...
so that being said, back to my original question. AMD vs Nvidia? Would AMD work great in Mac but not windows?

 

[e1me5]

I guess both brands have extensive Windows support and drivers and perform well with games. If you will only use the EGPU for gaming maybe you can buy an Nvidia card if you have the budget and you believe it has better specs. If you are planing to utilise the card on the Mac side of things, then an AMD card is your only option. Having said that, please not that the EGPU solution doesn't have the full bandwidth of a PCI slot on a PC motherboard, so performance is affected by a sizeable margin, so the best GPU isn't always going to make a difference if it can't be fed with all the data it can process. Do your research and I am sure you will find the best option.

Good luck!

 

[Azrael9]

i appreciate the feedback.. I have considered this, but it's just not an option for me. Gaming is not the primary focus of the machine, but i do want it to be something i can do...
so that being said, back to my original question. AMD vs Nvidia? Would AMD work great in Mac but not windows?

It's not like the days of ten gpu card makers. Only two gpu makers now.

Apple fell out with Nvidia, I think, over the gpu debacle in Macbook Pros.

It's been AMD since then. So, for the Mac, it's Radeon. You have choices of 580, Vega and the newer Radeon 5700 XT (decent card for the price.) So for Mac, eGPU, Boot Camp or even Hackintosh? The AMD cards are also better value. Nvidia had used the lack of high end AMD card to push prices into the stratosphere and keep them high. Worth supporting the bang for buck with AMD on the lower to mid end. The 5700XT isn't 'that' far behind Nvidia's high end in the scheme of things. If you're doing creative work, you could probably get great bang for buck, ie buy two R7s or Radeon 5700XTs and have change vs the Nvidia high end Super Duper T and be competitive in most work flows. ie. You could buy one eGPU 5700XT now and get another when the price drops some more. Kick bottom card and you could boost performance later. Get an eGPU enclosure that can support adding two cards. One for now. One for later.

Forget Nvidia unless you're going PC only for a gaming PC or creative workstation. You['ll pay a premium for going NV'.

You answered your own question. 'Gaming is not the primary focus of...' So. Go AMD Radeon 5700XT. £350 quid give or take. And big Navi is on the horizon for later on this year. I'd say the 5700 will remain the sweet spot for bang and buck. It's very competitive with the Nv' 2700 whilst costing a whole chunk of money less. And you can fun Mac/PC bootcamp soundly with that card. No hacking about with Mac 'drivers' for NV Mac.

Azrael.

 

[sublunar]

HI all -
I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and have decided to get rid of my 2009 Mac Pro tower in favor of a 2018 Mac Mini i7. I currently have a flashed Nvidia 980 in the Mac Pro. I would like to upgrade this in the EGPU. I am torn between NVIDIA 2070 vs AMD radeon RX 5700 XT. I have been trying to find performance running games under bootcamp with EGPU and either of those video cards but information seems limited.

Does anyone have this type of setup? I have also been reading to expect a 15% loss of performance due to the EGPU setup, but I am not sure why this would be the case. I will be using this with a 4k UHD 28" external display.

Normally I would go NVIDIA all the way, but the lack of support on the mac is making me question if i should just suck it up and go AMD. Any personal experience out there? Would either card be fine running something like Division 2?

THanks!

I'm not sure if that Nvidia card can be used as a Windows card any more but for the price of an eGPU you could build a gaming focused budget PC to put that Nvidia card in and worry about the Mac side of things separately.

That said regardless of performance if you're looking for an eGPU for Mac that will also perform in Boot camp then AMD is the only game in town.