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Jonathan Morrison’s Perfect 2018 Mac mini Setup
- Thread starter F-Train
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I think that the Blackmagic, at US$700, is a mistake given the ongoing, dramatic, post-cryptocurrency mining, fall in the price of GPUs. You can purchase a Radeon RX 580 GPU, which the Blackmagic uses, and a housing, for $400. If you want a small footprint, the cost with Asus’s housing (see my signature, although I’m using the new 590 GPU) is about $530. Plus, DIY solutions, unlike Blackmagic’s, are upgradeable.
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That Sonnet eGFX, which provides more power than is needed for an RX 580, is US$300. We are currently seeing RX 580 pricing at $200 to $230, with some sale pricing lower. You may have seen sale pricing on Newegg in the last few days of about $150, but that is not typical.
Also, I think that anyone who is thinking about purchasing a GPU via Newegg, or Newegg eBay, should have a careful look at its return policy on GPUs. Newegg is not Amazon.
It’s perhaps worth noting that the original launch/MSRP for the RX 580 in April 2017 was $230.
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True, but the Sonnet 550 watt version is 399. I got the OWC eGFX for 239.75 open box and the Sapphire RX580 from Newegg for 209.99. Yes that is true about Newegg return policy.
I think you meant to say US$299. I rounded it to $300. Actually, B&H is currently offering the Sonnet for $280.
Re Newegg, their web site language on refunds, replacement and restocking fees led me to do a bit of a search for customer experience. The upshot is that I’d rather deal with Amazon
Yes, I meant 299, but Sonnet eGFX compatibility page says you need a 550-watt version for vega cards.I think you meant to say US$299. I rounded it to $300. Actually, B&H is currently offering the Sonnet for $280.
Re Newegg, their web site language on refunds, replacement and restocking fees led me to do a bit of a search for customer experience. The upshot is that I’d rather deal with Amazon
Do you think the vega 64 sale on newegg is reasonable...
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ga 64&cm_re=rx_vega_64-_-14-202-326-_-Product
or are prices expected to drop even further?
That Newegg price for the Vega 64 is the original MSRP. I’m following prices but I don’t have a clear sense of where they are going. Last week, I purchased the new RX 590, Sapphire version, from Amazon on launch day for US$280. Today, the very same Sapphire is on Amazon for $318.
I considered the Vega 64 offer, and decided against it in part because I don’t think that I need that much GPU and because the 64, by all accounts, generates a good deal of heat and noise.
Newegg also has the Vega 56 for $340.
You have about three hours to make a decision
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It's a nice setup. But, I think this one is better:
It's a nice setup. But, I think this one is better:
That Apogee is a pretty nice piece of kit
That Apogee is a pretty nice piece of kit
And pricey, too!
What makes it cost so much compared to like a $150 DAC?
i have the blackmagic rx580 unit and it is great, i think vega is abit too pricey and i dont have needs to get vega, but i needed an external gpu for my mbp. For me the key feature is silence. I havent had egpu before, because they all suffers the high noise unless you get an alternative method to cool the unit.
Blackmagic was the first one i considered to buy and and oh boy, it is quiet! and a real pleasure to use it under the heavy load too. I rather pay some extra than having a jet turbine on my desk.
about ”the perfect setup” ... table is way too large, there arent any signs of thoughts used to think about ergonomics etc... the ”perfect” setup is just for a show. that is all it is. but again, this ”perfect” setup is just from a youtube dude.
Part of it is quality of components, part of it is build quality and part of it is after sales service. The audio interface mentioned in my signature is a mere two channels, but sells for US$895. Why will people pay that? Because like everything Sound Devices makes, the preamps are great, it's reliable, it's built to last, and if you have a problem you can call Sound Devices and have a real human being on the line, and a knowledgeable one at that, in a couple of minutes. When you get to a certain level of gear, Apogee is similar.
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Having had an RX 590 in an Asus enclosure for about two weeks now, let me give you my honest assessment of this.
I think that the claims that the Blackmagic/RX 580 is quieter are wildly overblown. Perhaps these claims make sense if the Blackmagic is compared to a GPU trapped in a standard computer case; and maybe, arguably, if it is compared to a GPU in an external housing that also contains the power supply, although I now think that the latter argument is pushing it.
The fact of the matter is that I've got an RX 590 GPU running in an Asus box and I hardly notice it. The fans aren't even running unless they are under load, and even then I have to listen for it.
The situation may be different for the Vega GPUs, especially the Vega 64, but I'm coming to the conclusion that if one is talking about one of the Polaris 500 cards, this is not the issue that one might think based on Blackmagic sales talk.
I'm not trying to trash the Blackmagic housing. It looks great, and I'm sure that it does a great job. I just think that the talk about noise is more than a little over the top.
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