iMac 2017 + 1080Ti eGPU?

[Pangalactic]

HI! I've recently got a 2017 5k iMac for my work (mostly photo/video editing), and since I also like playing game I thought about getting an external 1080Ti eGPU for it. So my questions are:
1) Does it work in MacOS?
2) Does it work in bootcamp Windows?
3) How reliable/stable is this whole thing
4) What is the framerate loss I can get from it compared to a build-in GPU?
5) Do I need to get a separate external monitor for this?


Thanks!

 

[TheColtr]

I was actually about to ask something similar. I want to buy a iMac and since it has TB3 it should support eGPU. I can answer a few of those questions based on the MacBook Pro use of eGPU.

Yes it works on MacOS
Yes it works with windows
From videos I’ve see it’s stable, and since it’s officially supported it should run fine
You won’t lose any frame rate
Yes you need to connect the external monitor into the back of the GPU. The Mac isn’t able to use the eGPU on its own built in screen. Not on MacOS and not on boot camp.

 

[Miguel Cunha]

you need to connect the external monitor into the back of the GPU. The Mac isn’t able to use the eGPU on its own built in screen. Not on MacOS and not on boot camp.

So, if I understand correctly, in order to take advantage the processing power of the eGPU for my film editing application, namely it's acceleration and CUDA architecture, I must (it's mandatory) to buy an external monitor? iMac's macOS and applications, won't take any benefit from an eGPU, without an external monitor, regarding realtime performance, high resolution video, layers, visual effects processing, renewing and encoding - features and tasks that are not "visible"?

 

[ggggggmmmmm]

You need to goto ego.io for guides and stories on it.

It works differently depending on which Mac you have. The iMac can be tricky. I didn't have an external display plugged in and I was able to use cuda for rendering. I wasn't using it to drive the iMac display. For games on an iMac you'd need an external display.

 

[Miguel Cunha]

You need to goto ego.io for guides and stories on it.

It works differently depending on which Mac you have. The iMac can be tricky. I didn't have an external display plugged in and I was able to use cuda for rendering. I wasn't using it to drive the iMac display. For games on an iMac you'd need an external display.

That's exactly what I needed. I'm not interested in driving a display, just in the processing power to accelerate renderings and improve real time stream and effects count and playability.
Thanks!

 

[Samuelsan2001]

HI! I've recently got a 2017 5k iMac for my work (mostly photo/video editing), and since I also like playing game I thought about getting an external 1080Ti eGPU for it. So my questions are:
1) Does it work in MacOS?
2) Does it work in bootcamp Windows?
3) How reliable/stable is this whole thing
4) What is the framerate loss I can get from it compared to a build-in GPU?
5) Do I need to get a separate external monitor for this?


Thanks!

Which dGPU did you get in your Imac, they can all run VR and can all run most modern games at 60fps 1440p at very high or ultra settings (the 580 is a pretty powerful GPU in its own right), I have to wonder why you don't just try out gaming without an external GPU before you spend a fortune on something you probably won't need for a couple of years yet.

 

[Precursor]

HI! I've recently got a 2017 5k iMac for my work (mostly photo/video editing), and since I also like playing game I thought about getting an external 1080Ti eGPU for it. So my questions are:
1) Does it work in MacOS?
2) Does it work in bootcamp Windows?
3) How reliable/stable is this whole thing
4) What is the framerate loss I can get from it compared to a build-in GPU?
5) Do I need to get a separate external monitor for this?


Thanks!

1) Not yet, eGPU support will come to High Sierra in 2018 spring update (talking about internal display support)
2) It supposedly does, I couldn't get it to work, couldn't have Windows detect the onboard vga (Bootcamp disables this) even with much tinkering.
3) See 1&2
4) You'll lose 15% of computing power of the external GPU, on external display. This is around 25-30% loss on internal display. This is obviously when eGPU is fully supported (losses are due to Thunderbolt bandwidth and the back&forth data transfer through the port).
5) See 1&2

I have Aorus GTX 1080 Ti in Sonnet eGPU box. Did what many websites suggest for running eGPU under bootcamp, ended up with Windows not booting, had to re-install Bootcamp 4 times. You have to somehow enable the onboard VGA in bootcamp windows and disable the radeon 580 Pro (or whatever card you have on your iMac) to be able to utilize the external 1080 Ti. I'm patiently waiting for updates to fully enable eGPU.
Good read in below link
http://appleinsider.com/articles/17...ssive-but-six-more-months-will-make-it-better